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Docjowles posted:On a completely unrelated note, I'm going to San Antonio, TX in a couple weeks. There's a few breweries in town it looks like, anyone know anything about them? We may also day trip up to Austin, although it's SXSW that week so the city should be a total shitshow. Their Flying Saucer is the one decent beer bar in SA. I wouldn't call it good because they are inconsistent about cleaning their lines. Freetail is the one place that's a must-visit in that city. IMO best brewpub in Texas. Old Bat Rastard (a winter warmer) was released this past weekend in bottles. E: Also forgot something important. If you are into sours/wild ales, the new batch of Ananke is ready to go. It's a wild ale aged in wine barrels, so more delicate and not aggressive on the tartness. Bottles will come out in April but I think there's a good likelihood you can find it on draft at the brewpub when you go. Most updated drafts will be on Facebook/Twitter. You could go to Blue Star and Ranger Creek but can't say anything more as I've never personally been to either. It's worth spending some time in Austin and I think it's a more fun town as far as a place to visit. Jester King is actually throwing a party for a beer release on the 17th if you're interested. Other breweries to visit are (512), Live Oak, Austin Beerworks, and Adelworks. My favorite bar in the entire state is Draughthouse and be sure to go on Tuesday night when all pints are discounted. I also like their Gingerman and Flying Saucer. NXNW and Black Star are interesting brewpubs too, except they are a little farther north of downtown. Shop at the Whole Foods downtown and Whip In (you can also drink at Whip In, they usually have at least one hard to find local TX craft on draft). Also people exaggerate on how bad it gets during SXSW. Shoot me a PM if you end up going and you have more questions. This will be my 5th time going and I'd be glad to help you out. air- fucked around with this message at 15:17 on Mar 5, 2012 |
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Mar 5, 2012 14:13
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SUPER HASSLER posted:I went to Freetail like a year ago and judging by its very positive Internet rep I must have just come on an off day -- no interesting beer on offer, lovely food, far-too-drunk frat dudes getting aggressive with me at the bar. I need to come back sometime, maybe during a release. As it was I liked the Blue Star a hell of a lot more -- better beer (especially in the styles I like), better food, and also right by the Riverwalk where you can borrow a bike and work off those beer calories beforehand. Yeah, that's the unfortunate nature about Freetail. If you come when they haven't done a release in the recent timeframe, they usually won't have anything interesting on. When there's a release, they will have their top beers available and they put at least a few interesting TX craft handles on. The food there has always been meh to me, but it's nice for bar food since nothing is fried. Overall best time to go is November for Dia De La Muerta, especially for the crazy bottle share. Other big news: Alaskan Brewing is now available in Texas! I do like their Smoked Porter but haven't tried anything else. Also, Stillwater is opening a pub/bottle shop/cafe in Baltimore!
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Mar 5, 2012 18:16
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Julio Cesar Fatass posted:What are some good seasonal releases I should keep an eye out for in the OK/TX area in the next month or so? Bigfoot and Colette have already been mentioned (and last weekend I discovered that Bigfoot is v. nice stuff!), but I want to know if I should keep an eye out for anything that might otherwise pass unnoticed. (512) Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter St. Arnold Spring Bock Real Ale Phoenixx ESB Real Ale Devil's Backbone Tripel I believe OK now gets Jolly Pumpkin too, so someone could chime in for that?
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Mar 5, 2012 19:44
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SUPER HASSLER posted:Hey air-, 'cos I know you had it, how is Tweason'ale? Not a fan. The body and carbonation reminded me of a Berliner Weisse, but the flavors seemed artificial and off. Think strawberry you get on Quaker Oatmeal or like a pop tart filling, just really chemical and fake tasting.
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Mar 6, 2012 05:39
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I love Churchkey so much. It's almost unfair in convincing me to move out here, dammit. So I talked about Tweason'ale, but that's the only beer I've disliked so far this year. Recent acquisitions include FW Sucaba (which I didn't think to spell backwards and now understand why I saw a shelf of it disappear in less than 3 minutes), Terrapin's Chocolate Milk Stout and Bell's Consecrator. I couldn't resist cracking open a few bottles of the Consecrator as nightcaps the past few days. Spaten Optimator was what got me into craft beer to begin with, and Consecrator reminded me why I fell in love with doppelbocks all over again. So much sweet/roasted malt and caramel flavor, yet it's so drinkable and smooth. Wonderful cold weather brew. I need to find another sixer of this in NOVA/DC, otherwise I don't know if I can stop myself from bringing some back to Texas.
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Mar 6, 2012 15:37
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Munkaboo posted:Whole Foods in Clarendon has some Consecrator. Oh nice, when did you see this? I thought I got the last one when I stopped by Sunday night.
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Mar 6, 2012 16:27
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Midorka posted:Incoming poo poo-storm post: Were you trying to drink it by yourself? That's a ton of beer to drainpour and an expensive one at that. That was actually the most sour beer I'd ever had up until last friday when I had an '09 La Folie (cork/caged). Oh so tart.
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Mar 7, 2012 19:16
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CalvinDooglas- did you get to participate in Kate day? I recall you moved up there somewhere unless I'm completely mistaken..
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Mar 7, 2012 21:46
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CalvinDooglas posted:Every day is Kate day when you live with a woman named Kate! Ah now I remember, it was Portland, ME! I initially remembered Port... something. Hunahpu's Day is this weekend. That tap list just blew my mind.  http://www.facebook.com/cigarcitybeer/posts/365609000125851
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Mar 7, 2012 22:15
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SUPER HASSLER posted:OK it looks like I'll be in the SF bay area in late April/early May. Moylan's/Russian River/21st Amndt are on my list, but where else should I make a point of visiting? Lagunitas is right off the highway to/from Santa Rosa and I'm still kicking myself to this day for not stopping by two years ago. Sipping a Terrapin Moo Hoo right now. The chocolate aroma on this beer is so robust. Really light bodied yet kind of reminds me of drinking chocolate milk. Midorka and I totally feel the same on the Tweason'ale, nice! I really don't like that off flavor on the strawberry.
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Mar 8, 2012 04:38
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SUPER HASSLER, I remember you asked me about DFH Alehouse 75 when I was on Untappd and checked that in at their alehouse in Falls Church. From what I can tell, it's still 75 minute, but for some reason, the alehouse calls it that name and I did notice it's on draft (I typically hear about 75 min being on cask). Has the drinkability of 60 and the depth of 90's flavor. I like the sum of the two better than the individual parts. This was a really nice sessionable IPA and the bartender mentioned they started bottling it, but I haven't seen it yet.
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Mar 8, 2012 14:43
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Traded a St. Arnold Endeavour for a Williamsburg Alewerks Bitter Valentine. Seemed fair to me to trade two dark horse IIPA's. Also picked up some Uinta Hop Notch IPA, which looks like it's pretty well rated. Trying to hunt this Tilquin down at the moment. From what I understand they are a pretty new gueuze blender, so this is exciting. Anyone here had it?
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Mar 9, 2012 15:40
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funkybottoms posted:who are you getting Williamsburg Alewerks from? if you love it, i have another bottle (and i think it was popular enough that they're gonna make more), not to mention whatever else they bottle. the Tilquin is good, especially for the price, and seems pretty readily-available on the east coast. Did it face to face (I'm in the area right now). I know the guy works at the Total Wine in Chantilly, I don't remember his name at the moment. Oh yeah, I'm still looking for more Southern Tier Choklat, and his store still had some so I'm definitely gonna pick those up.
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Mar 9, 2012 15:56
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Munkaboo posted:
Hell yeah, I'm bee lining downtown right after work tomorrow. I really want to try Five and Abrasive. Sitting at Meridian Pint right now and I like that almost all their 4oz pours are cheaper than Churchkey. Very solid selection too.
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Mar 12, 2012 00:12
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Docjowles posted:I meet people regularly to whom Fat Tire is literally the name of the brewery. If I ask if they mean New Belgium, they're like, "who?". One time I had a bartender completely flip out on me and was dead set on proving that New Belgium was a Belgium-based brewery  Had a Jolly Pumpkin Maracaibo Especial, wasn't impressed. I think if it had more orange peel/citrus, the tartness could have worked better with the cacao. I kinda feel like the sour flavor was an after thought.
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Mar 12, 2012 03:37
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Forget horse blanket, I just heard the latest descriptor for hops kudos to these idiots behind me at Churchkey. Apparently cat piss is the most accurate description for Furious on cask and beers like Hopslam. I don't want to know how a cat has peed in your mouth. 
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Mar 12, 2012 23:12
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bartolimu posted:As far as Public House is concerned, it ignores the origins of its name, tries for gastropub, but feels more industrial/clubby. That's mostly due to the loud-rear end music and not at all homey/intimate decor. The beer selection is very good for Vegas, and it's nice to have another place doing cask pours. It suffers from the usual Strip pricing problem ($9 for the local adjuct lager I can find a sixer of for $7?). There were some uncommon things on tap, like Oro de Calabaza - served too cold, but thankfully that's something that fixes itself over time. Vegas is so service oriented that I'm sure they will set that guy's tone correctly over time. I really hope that place survives because the strip is pretty much all about macro beer and they will have to find that right tempo of getting someone to try new things and educating. I might be going for Evo this summer and I'll check it out.
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Mar 13, 2012 18:09
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WaffleStomp posted:You might be able to find a case or two if your area gets anything from Bella Vista, who I believe is the only distributor that gets Sculpin cases in. However, the last I checked, cases were going for $90 at the distributor. Is that for 12 bombers, or six packs?
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Mar 13, 2012 21:42
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SUPER HASSLER posted:It should be added that Crooked Stave is totally the real deal when it comes to Brett stuff. One of the great things about living in CO. Not that Funkwerks is inferior, but. Bring some next time you come to TX! I had Adelbert's biere de garde recently and this was my second experience where the cork popped itself off, flying across the room upon removal of the cage. The beer itself wasn't a total gusher, fortunately, and it's got a lot of spice/coriander notes. Remarkable how different this was from the other biere de garde I tried from Southern Star, which was more refreshing like a saison. What are other beers within this style that I should try?
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Mar 19, 2012 16:07
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SH: Oh yeah, Crooked Stave doesn't bottle? Dammit. Saw someone post about Abt 12 and St. Bernardus Christmas beer was actually the other cork I had that popped itself off! Sipping a New Belgium Dunkelweiss at the Moth now. Why do they not make this into a seasonal, it's so refreshing, clovy/citrusy, and just way too easy to drink.
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Mar 19, 2012 23:09
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Seaniqua posted:So my parents-in-law know I'm a beer enthusiast so they got me a very thoughtful gift. A four pack of those Sam Adams glasses. I'm pretty uneducated when it comes to glassware. It has the tulip shape and etching on the bottom of the glass but I've never actually tried one of these. Any thoughts? SA Perfect pint glasses are pretty good, nothing wrong with them!
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Mar 21, 2012 16:17
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wattershed posted:Is Heady Topper readily distributed? I just assumed it was hard to find given the haves/wants on BA. Best bet for Heady Topper cans could likely require a trip to Waterbury, which is maybe 30-45 minutes drive from that area. The Alchemist posts up their stock on their site/twitter. I'm not sure how to get Hill Farmstead bottles however.
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Mar 23, 2012 06:58
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Retemnav posted:Anyone had the DFH Saison du Buff? It's one of the more spicy/herb flavored (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme if I recall) saisons. Definitely a DFH "off-centered" approach to the style. A little too effervescent and carbonated for me. I prefer the Victory one out of the three because of how citrusy and refreshing it is.
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Mar 23, 2012 20:52
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Sirotan posted:What? No. Just no. Taking on a roommate doesn't bring with it the expectation that they will take/use your things without your permission. Exactly. That kind of courtesy just goes without saying and going through someone else's things is very disrespectful. Those beers are gonna be difficult or impossible to replace, so I'd say sending him to line up and pick up a big beer release is a good way to make things right. Ballast Point debuts in Texas today  I actually applied for a job with their distributor, but it got filled internally. Oh well, I am gonna drink all the Sculpin.
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Mar 28, 2012 20:36
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Just picked up a four pack of Deviant Dale's and I'll be cracking that open as I pack because... It's official- I'm moving to D.C.! So I will be roadtripping from Dallas sometime next week and I think I'll sidetrack to spend a day in Asheville, NC. If you had one day there, where would you go, what would you do?
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Mar 31, 2012 22:08
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Thanks for all the suggestions! I had it in my mind that Asheville has all these breweries within walking distance but Pisgah and Wedge require driving, so I'll have to try and find a bar that serves their beer. I was hoping to just take it easy and have that stop for unwinding a little, and was planning on staying at this hostel right by LAB, then walk to a few places. Possibly get a cab for Appalachian Vintner. But if they're really worth a drive I'll adjust plans.
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Apr 2, 2012 01:46
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funkybottoms posted:are you going to be in DC, or nearby? also, depending on your route, i might have suggestions for another stop or two Nearby (Rockville, MD is where I'll be staying for now) and I'm leaving Wednesday and shooting to be there by Friday. So gonna be in Asheville on a Thursday.
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Apr 2, 2012 04:51
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rage-saq: I actually have a 3rd edition of that Nogne O Dark Horizon. Have you tried more than one batch? Curious to see how different they might be.
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Apr 3, 2012 06:12
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I had a Deviant Dale's and I thought it sucked. The beer had a metallic, medicinal, sort of chalky taste like I was sucking on aspirin tablets, is that due to certain hops in the beer? And I've seen "resin" used for describing this beer, but I was under the impression that descriptor means the beer coats the mouth in a syrupy, floral sort of way, not artificial/metallic.
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Apr 3, 2012 17:09
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Docjowles posted:Yeah I didn't get that at all. Maybe it's just one of those things where people are super sensitive to a hop flavor like the infamous Simcoe cat pee or Summit onion/garlic I did get a strong onion presence when I had Gubna for the first time, but then I had it on draft and it had a more appealing grapefruit citrus flavor, while the "onion" was a lot subtler. I really don't know how it was a big variance.
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Apr 3, 2012 18:02
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When I describe a beer as resiny, I'm thinking pine pitch which I definitely get from some IPA's like Union Jack.
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Midorka posted:If it's any consolation I wasn't huge on Deviant Dale's, especially for $15. Also not a fan (see: aspirin taste in Columbus hops). Barleywine chat: Try Pike Old Bawdy. Wouldn't call it world class but it's a happy balance between malt/hoppy styles. Made it to DC, gonna post up a bunch about Asheville later. Very much in love with Wedge and Appalachian Vintner.
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Apr 12, 2012 18:48
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CalvinDooglas posted:Is this Sixpoints brewery stuff any good? It's new in town, but I feel like I've heard of it. Their Resin DIPA is rated well, at least. I think I saw it in single cans the other day. To me, Resin is like Maharaja but take away some of the fruit/floral notes, and raise the bitterness and hop presence. The aroma kinda reminds me of Brooklyn Blast if you've had that. Also this is really syrupy as the name says. Worth trying once sure, but to me it's tough to down more than a single glass.
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Apr 13, 2012 15:02
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CalvinDooglas posted:Sounds like I'll enjoy it. I don't usually have more than on DIPA in a night, anyway. Knowing your IPA preferences, you'll likely enjoy Brooklyn Blast. Tastes sweeter/fruiter than Maharaja. Black Chocolate Stout is my favorite beer from them, and it's totally a textbook imperial stout. Local 1 and 2 are also both solid Belgian pale/dark ales. Monster if you are into sweeter not so hoppy barleywines. Sorachi Ace is interesting for that unique sorachi ace hop profile imparted on a saison. IMO Black Ops is one of the most overpriced beers in the market. One unique thing about Brooklyn to note: Pairing their beer with food usually enhances the taste over having the beer by itself, and maybe that's Garrett Oliver's style/modus operandi. I really hated my initial taste of Concoction. I thought I was licking a cough drop that was wrapped in a rag doused in floor cleaner. Paired it with dark chocolate though and it tasted much, much better. Local 1/2 and Sorachi Ace are excellent beers to bring to a party and they pair well with a ton of foods. air- fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Apr 13, 2012 |
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Apr 13, 2012 15:41
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Pretty Cool Name posted:Just opened an Maredsous 6, it's pretty drat good. Orval and Ommegang Rare Vos shouldn't be a problem for you to get. Depending on your location also look at Jolly Pumpkin Luciernaga The Firefly and Green Flash Rayon Vert if you get either in your area.
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Apr 13, 2012 17:46
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 Asheville beer tourism trip report Long story short, if you love craft beer, make it a point to spend a couple days here. There's a ton to do and it's all within a short distance. I spent only a day there and it was definitely not enough. Plus I am kicking myself in the face for driving with a car too full to bring any additional beer. I would have filled up my whole hatchback with cases and cases of beer like a bootlegger. All pictures are here if you wanna quickly browse. http://imgur.com/a/LZCHb Here was my itinerary: Appalachian Vintner Bruisin' Ales Pisgah Brewing Wedge Brewing Thirsty Monk Walking into Appalachian Vintner, there's a huge rack of nice beer glasses immediately to the left. The bar is in the center of the shop, and just to the right/back of it, you'll see this:  The only real downer about this place was lack of refrigeration but the quantity and depth of their selection more than makes up for it. They do have refrigerated sealed growlers from Pisgah and a few refrigerated bottles, and you can open them on premise with a small corkage fee.    I've never seen this many Evil Twin beers in one place.  Sitting at the bar, this flyer caught my eye.  They have 10 taps, half are "sessionable" lighter beers, and this was the back half that had some bigger/"rarer" beers.  Had to hit Bruisin' Ales as well, but next time around, I'd spend a lot more time at Appalachian Vintner instead since it's more spacious and comfortable.  They have two taps and they only do sample pours, $2 each or $3 for both. So why not both (Foothills Barrel Aged People's Porter, Sweetwater Happy Ending).  Pisgah Brewing was totally worth the drive and Black Mountain wasn't far at all. Great that their flagship beers are easily sessionable and it's fun to just hang out there. And even though it's the typical brewery in an industrial park area, their taproom's vibe was cool since it looks like it doubles as a music venue too.  It wasn't easy to find Wedge. I spent a good 20 minutes going in circles before I finally realized it was on the side of the building facing the French Broad river. Neat looking metalwork was put together out in the patio as another sitting area and the whole place had a friendly communal air. Very fun to kick back and hang out there and it was overall my favorite stop.     Final true beer stop way later on in the night was Thirsty Monk. Phenomenal bar that has two completely different vibes (upstairs is all about American craft, downstairs is Belgian).   They had this rare New Belgium beer on tap, which had a balanced tart flavor from pomegranate/raspberries and really light and refreshing body. Almost wine like. Prices were on the higher end compared to other beer stops in Asheville, but I felt it's like Churchkey where you'll get what you pay for. Regarding the Valentine's ale, did NB decide to mass produce this beer? I've never heard of the stuff and there's extremely limited information about it, but I ran across it at RFD in D.C. last night. RFD and Iron Horse are both not bad options if you're looking to grab a beer and you're in Chinatown!
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Apr 14, 2012 15:00
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BoredByThis posted:I am a huge fan of Victory's version of Saison du Buff. It's just a light, spicy, herbal saison. I agree that Victory's Saison Du Buff is the best one of the three. Stone/Alchemist/Ninkasi More Black than Brown is a good collab beer too.
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Apr 16, 2012 20:40
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Munkaboo posted:Goddamn, made it to Toronado in SF tonight. Biggest bunch of dickbag bartenders I've ever met in the beerscene. If they didnt have any Russian River or Deschutes that I wanted to try on tap I would have left instantly. Never before have I seen such a tremendous rear end in a top hat at a bar. Especially even AFTER he knew we were from out of town. gently caress that place. To me, their blend of surly service (typical of just about any shithole dive bar really) is better than the pretentious hipster vibe that comes off at some "premier" beer bars in other parts of the country. I do admit that neither is ideal, but this particular bar has a reputation for pure lack of respect towards customers, so it's unfortunate that no one gave you a heads up. I happened to go during a non-peak time so it wasn't so bad and I actually managed to have a good conversation with a bartender about what I need to be trying while I'm there. You also gotta consider they are charging some pretty low prices in an expensive city. If you can make it to Beer Revolution, that is by far the best beer bar I've been to in the entire US.
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Apr 17, 2012 14:09
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I completely forgot about picking up SAVOR tickets a couple weeks ago, and didn't realize that it was like DLD as far as how fast the presale tickets sold out. I've heard good things about it, but is it really worth $120? A few of the salons sounded pretty awesome (Terror of Terroir, Odell Woodcut, Rare Beers of Tarheel State), assuming you got a decent amount to sample. And one thing I'm curious about, since this is so huge, could I expect something like say, SXSW/GABF, where the side events are a better use of time/money? I already read that BeerAdvocate's putting together an event that Saturday. Ah well. Going to this tonight, what stands out to y'all? http://dcbeer.com/2012/04/12/global-beer-network-tap-takeover-and-large-format-raffle-at-churchkey/
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Apr 17, 2012 15:56
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ShaneB posted:I've been to SAVOR twice and I don't think it's worth the money. The salons are hit and miss. Asking because I wasn't sure if I should be bothered to look for that inevitable person trying to get rid of their tickets. It sounded like the salons were additional money on top of the registration fee too! So forget it, I'll just go hit tap takeovers at Churchkey or whatever else is happening.
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Apr 17, 2012 16:40
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LeeMajors posted:Hopefully with the renewed interest in sessionable beers, we will see more Berliner Weisse. Between Oarsman and Howling Wolf I've really grown to appreciate that crispness. Oarsman is oh so good  I've had saisons on my mind as the warm weather beer of choice, but I'm singing a new tune now that I have access to Bell's.
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Apr 18, 2012 16:25
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