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air- posted:
Everything they make is good to astounding. Start with the Oro de Calabaza, La Roja, or Weizen Bam.
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Mar 5, 2012 20:40
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Manky posted:I wasn't really paying attention to the Mikkeller talk. Should I be excited my bottle shop got some in? Of these bottles, any I have to pick up for good times? Black Hole, Draft Bear, Hoppy Easter, Green Gold, Mikkeller/BrewDog I Hardcore U Black Hole is alright. I liked the ˙īred wine barrel version, too.
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Mar 6, 2012 21:16
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CalvinDooglas posted:Sam Adams makes mostly good stuff. It's a drat sight better than any adjunct lager. Sam Adams, New Belgium and Sierra Nevada are all a lot of people's entry into craft beer and thus inevitably tend to get poo poo-ed a bit once people get a little deeper. Fact is they all make good to great beers all the time. I just discovered SN bottled Hoptimum. Praise god.
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Mar 12, 2012 01:54
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Wouldn't be the beer thread without the occasional hilariously pedantic argument!
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Mar 25, 2012 01:43
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TenaciousTomato posted:What got ya'll into craft beer? For me it was my family offering me a La Fin du Monde last Christmas which is still one of my favorites to this day. When I did americorps in Oakland after college (in Michigan) my partner was an utterly badass retired African American Studies PHD who'd quit her tenured, university level teaching job and joined the corps for what I can only assume are dark reasons. We were at a bar together after one of our first days at work. I ordered a bud light. She laughed in my face, called me a sissy and bought me an Old Rasputin. Haven't looked back since.
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Apr 8, 2012 23:08
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So, a bar here in Kalamazoo had a pretty sweet two part event last night: Part the First: Goose Island bourbon barrel tasting. Flights of King Henry, Bourbon County, BC Coffee and BC Bramble for 15 bucks. They also threw KBS on tap for comparison because they're just good people. King Henry: Great. Bourbon, caramel toast and toffee, just like you'd expect. Slightly thicker in the mouth than Abacus, which is all I can really compare it to. Bourbon County: Still too hot and boozy, but much closer to being great when served as a 4 oz taster. BC Bramble: Smelled just like a pie, tasted like a confused mess. Not awful, but I'd certainly never buy any more. BC Coffee/KBS throw down: I've been down on KBS in the past, but have enjoyed a few bottles this year as the vanilla seemed more toned down. However, BC Coffee blew it away. Far and away the best coffee beer I've ever tried. Like a KBS with every dial on some kind of beer flavor mixing board just jacked all the way up. PART THE SECOND: Livery sour beer tasting. I don't know how many people outside of southwest MI know of the Livery, but they're a small, awesome little joint that barely distributes at all and they tend to make some wacky poo poo which varies between pretty cool and "holy loving crap give me more". Anyway, their three offerings: Grand Reserve Wheat Triple Bock: a 13% dark brown monster soured in bourbon barrels. Amazingly different and tasty. Starts with the classic, soft and warming vanilla/honey/toast bourbon profile and then transforms on your palate, finishing tart and fruity. Two people described it as almost cidery on the finish. Really unexpected, really good. Cherry Bomb: dopplebock soured in barrels with sour MI cherries grown by a family I know. Out of all the beers I had, this was easily the best. I don't know how they did it, but this was basically double Supplication. Crazily tart, acidic and dry, balance by a dump truck load of cherry flavor and funk. I want more of this. Runemeister: "imperial honey pilsner" soured in barrels. Not as much of a home run as the other two. Had a fairly standard sour profile, without the dense funk of the cherry bomb or the powerful base beer and bourbon flavors of the Triple Bock. Still sort of impressive that the honey taste was still noticeable though. Tl;dr : Kalamazoo is an awesome beer town, and you're a chump if you come to southwest Michigan and miss The Livery.
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Apr 14, 2012 00:06
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Speaking of "can do no wrong" Jolly Pumpkin Biere de Mars may be my new best beer in Michigan. Seek it out, folks.
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Apr 16, 2012 02:48
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Phanatic posted:Is it bottled, or am I SOL? Bottled, 12 for a 750 in my neck of the woods.
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Apr 16, 2012 04:23
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Any other west Michigan folks going to the Black Party at Founders tomorrow? Want to meet up and drown our cripplingly awkward conversation in Black Biscuit?
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Apr 20, 2012 23:09
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Huge_Midget posted:Goose island, 3 floyds, founders, dark horse, jolly pumpkin. The Livery.
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May 2, 2012 17:54
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danbanana posted:Worth it. Probably the 2nd best bourbon-aged stout on the planet. What's your pick for number one? Parabola's easily my favorite and I've had quite a few.
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May 14, 2012 21:56
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Munkaboo posted:Lagunitas Lil Sumpin Wild is great. God drat right. So are Raging Bitch, Brewery Vivant's Triomphe and...that's all I can think of. I'm going to channel Rage Saq and say that hoppy saisons are where it's at.
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Jun 6, 2012 00:43
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danbanana posted:Ah. Misread. That seems like a more fair trade. I guess I am in the minority when I say that Parabola and Abacus > Bourbon County and King Henry. Abacus vs King Henry might be a personal preference thing, but this thread is the first time I've heard of someone liking Bourbon County more than parabola.
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Jun 15, 2012 17:03
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CYBER SLIMER posted:Hopefully it'll be back soon. So loving cool, congrats!
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Jun 21, 2012 02:30
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Mahoning posted:I'm in Lake Orion, MI for the weekend and was wondering if anyone knew of any places that sell a lot of good beer. I'm looking to find a few things I can't find in Ohio, maybe something above Ohio's 12% limit. Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree. Stuff is awesome.
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Jun 25, 2012 00:06
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Midorka posted:I had a great time at the Prohibition Taproom last night I tried a 2007 Expedition Stout which was good, but I'm not a huge fan of the fig/grape flavor in my stouts. Yes, I knew to expect that in here but I wasn't going to pass up trying it anyway. I also had a 21st Amendment Lower da Boom which is there barleywine and it was a bit cloying towards the end with a lot of caramel and toffee, it was nice to sip but not to drink a lot of. Expo stout is one of the only beers I've experienced tons of vintages of, and my take is that it's amazing from fresh to about a year and a half, drops off until five or six and then becomes increasingly port and sherry-like. Those middle years just taste like soy sauce. I've gotten the same awkward stage soy thing from a couple 3 year old bottles of Stone's imperial stout, too. E: double post, so sorry.
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Jun 25, 2012 00:09
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danbanana posted:I would be very surprised if this was still available. That said, one of the best DIPAs on the planet. I agree. It's phenomenally balanced and drinkable at 13.6%. Also, for what it's worth there is still plenty to be had here in Kalamazoo, it seems like they've upped production on it in the last year.
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Jun 25, 2012 00:46
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Harminoff posted:So I went and got that Duvel today. They also had some Founders Breakfast Stout which I didn't realize was seasonal (how they had six 4packs beats me). Does it age well? Might go pick it up if it does. It'll age fine, but it really is best fresh, when the coffee flavor is really bold. Typing that really made me want some Perkolator. I went to founders yesterday and tried a few new beers, but the only real standout was Looking Glass, which I guess is double trouble aged in brandy barrels. It's really, really good. Big jammy fruit, vanilla and toast at first, then a warming, spicy, slightly bitter finish. A lot if not virtually all of the hop flavor is gone, but the residual bitterness really balances what I think would otherwise be a pretty cloying flavor profile. I hope this one or Hnd of Doom make it into their big bottle series.
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Jul 20, 2012 21:15
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Holy crap.
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Jul 20, 2012 21:42
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Sublimer posted:I don't normally get MAD ABOUT BEER, but if I was at that tasting this alone might do it. Who gives a gently caress about some stupid game I dunno, it sounds weird as is, but the guessing game bit sounds like it'd be a gas with friends.
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Jul 21, 2012 02:31
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My favorite 'tasting' I've ever done was myself and a few friends at the Bells brewery, trying to determine which of their beers worked best as a 50/50 blend with black note. Sort of surprisingly, it was Oracle, a beer I'm not super crazy about most of the time. Best black and tan ever. Close second was the smoked stout/black note mixture "black bacon". Also, currently sipping some brewery fresh centennial IPA and marathoning batman movies with friends. Life's good.
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Jul 21, 2012 02:57
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Ubik posted:Anybody else going to Great Taste of the Midwest in Madison this weekend? I'll be there pouring beer with Goose Island (and likely getting a bit snockered with coworkers afterwards). I'll be there. I really hope you goose folk are bringing some of the more bizarre BCBS variants. I long to try the ghost pepper.
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Aug 6, 2012 22:44
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Munkaboo posted:gently caress Toronado. At least the one in SF. The one in SD is cool though. Whats wrong with the Toronado? I love that place, definitely one of my top 5 bay area bars.
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Sep 12, 2012 13:16
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As many of you know, Bells discontinued their batch series after 10,000. They've apparently decided instead to brew something special every, oh, thousand batches. Batch 11,000 aka 'this one goes to 11 ale' just came out and, terrible, terrible name aside it really kicks rear end. It's an 11% imperial red hopped out the wazoo, like a more tropical Hopslam with a delicious caramel note in the finish. Really, really good beer. Makes me excited to brew with galaxy hops.
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Sep 23, 2012 15:57
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So Bells, continuing to be awesomely against the hype thing, has tapped Bourbon Barrel Batch 9000 and not told anyone or listed it on their board. I guess they just told the bartenders and have allowed word to spread on its own. Also, the beer is really loving good. The new lemon verbena saison is great too. Bell's: on a roll.
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Sep 24, 2012 20:43
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Bell's continues their roll with Bourbon Cherry Stout. Super well executed with sweet, slick bourbon flavor giving way to the tart cherry finish. Its incredibly delicate and restrained for an 11% beer. All stouts day is going to be (even more) awesome this year. Also, come on neighborinos, it's called Fred Flanders.
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Sep 30, 2012 21:48
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Well then they dropped the ball. Big time 
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Sep 30, 2012 22:31
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Midorka posted:People call Zombie Dust a pale ale, but it's 6.4%, that's an IPA to me, just like Dale's Pale Ale, I don't know why they call it a pale ale. I think of 7% as the IPA/pale ale cut off, I realize. As always, Two-Hearted sets the standard.
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Oct 7, 2012 19:17
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Retemnav posted:Would you consider Lagunitas Daytime a pale ale since it's low ABV? Yeah, pretty much. With craft beer really taking off among even the non-nerdy types (speaking mostly anecdotally here) the label IPA has a lot of cachet that pale ale can't quite match. Although even typing this has sort of rekindled my distaste for 'beer styles' as anything more than a spur for discussion.
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Oct 7, 2012 21:10
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wattershed posted:Hill Farmstead's Edward is right there with Alpine's Duet for the best APA/IPA in the land. Really one that helps set the bar for the style. Tremendous nose, nothing overwhelming or "big" about it in the mouth, but the balance and drinkability is top notch. Really trying to make it to the brewery tomorrow. You spelled 'Two Hearted Ale' wrong
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Oct 20, 2012 23:05
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So...who's coming to eccentric day  http://bellsbeer.com/blog/151-Eccentric_Day_2012__60_beers_on_tap_____take_a_look_at_the_full_list_and_menu
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Dec 5, 2012 22:57
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Black Note is back in bottles at Bell's. Merry Christmas to me!
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Dec 22, 2012 15:24
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Here in Kalamazoo we've been drinking Hopslam since Friday  . It's incredibly good as always. I'd only call it sweet in comparison to Pliny. It's really just balanced, nothing like Maharaja or 90 Minute. I think that balance lets a lot more flavor complexity come out rather than be drowned out by bitterness...said balance also makes it really approachable for such a big beer, as my all-weekend hangover would have attested.Also, someone earlier said Dark Lord was the best Imperial Stout out there, if you didn't factor availability. I can safely say a) I really disagree and b) so do the brewers from Three Floyds, who I met at Bell's. They all volunteered that they liked Expedition better.
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Jan 8, 2013 22:12
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Saw and passed on the Black Note four packs last night. I hope that Bell's adopts the 4 pack format for some of their big beers though. I'd way rather pay 10-11 bucks for four bottles of Expo, Hopslam or Third Coast than 18 for six. I apparently can't decide if I like typing out numbers or not.
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Jan 10, 2013 22:56
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danbanana posted:Founders, Cigar City, and Alesmith off the top of my head. With Founders' being way easier to 'land' than either of the others.
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Jan 23, 2013 05:03
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rage-saq posted:Somehow my fav bottle shop in town got a case of black note and I happened to coincidentally be there upon arrival so I snagged 2 bottles. How is the 2012? Does it need any more aging? No. It's 100% ready to go.
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Jan 26, 2013 19:46
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danbanana posted:Went to a beer dinner featuring Bell's a couple years ago and the Bell's rep there said that they were in the process of expanding pretty much because of Two Hearted, which was- at the time- their fastest growing product. Now that's a rep, who are often not the best source, but I found that kind of interesting. 60% sounds like a lot for Oberon... I've heard from both the brewmaster and cellar manager that Oberon and Two Hearted are their two biggest sellers. I also really enjoyed brewemaster John Mallet's comment on Hoplsam. Something to the effect of "We make 4000 barrels a year, it flies off the shelves at 20 dollars a six pack and it smells like your cat ate your weed and pissed on the Christmas Tree." According to Bell's it's gone from the home market (Kalamazoo) for the year. It's a bummer, but I believe the Two day old may have been the freshest commercial beer I've tried, period.
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Feb 6, 2013 01:28
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danbanana posted:A bourbon barrel aged india pale ale or a bourbon barrel aged double india pale ale, which is what Doom is (Double Trouble aged in bourbon barrels). I'd just like to confirm that both (Hand of) Doom and it's brandy barrel counterpart Looking Glass are Really loving Good.
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Feb 12, 2013 21:44
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Perfectly Cromulent posted:There are plenty of DIPAs that balance hops and malt and Hopslam isn't one of them, IMO. Like Maharaja, it is heavily on the malty sweet side of the spectrum. That's not a criticism; it's a good beer. Honestly though, it's absurd how often Hopslam is described as balanced given how far to one end of the style spectrum it lies. FW Double Jack, Boneyard HopVenom, Ninkasi Tricerahops, and DFH 90 Minute (though that's pushing the sweetness a bit) are all much better examples of balanced DIPAs, IMO. One thing this thread has taught me is the crazy divergence of palettes. For my money, 90 minute is way, way sweeter than Hopslam, and comparing Hopslam to Maharaja is just crazy.
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Feb 18, 2013 21:34
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Anyone else find the new KBS to kind of...suck? I've had it plenty of times before and found it good to great, but this round has a really artificial tasting coffee component that doesn't seem at all in harmony with the rest of the beer. I'm pretty glad I didn't put my name on a waiting list for the privilege of paying 10/bottle. It's not even playing the same game, much less in the same league as Parabola or Black Note.
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Apr 2, 2013 20:36
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