|
bananasinpajamas posted:Seeing all these stores getting KBS just makes me more puzzled as to why so many people lined up for the KBS release. I understand Dark Lord and Hunahpu's; you're not getting those bottles anywhere else (legally). i think it depends on where you are. one of the suburban chicago shops i check out was allocating 2 per customer at a huge mark-up because they were selling (illegally) the bottles they got at the release. outside of a trade, that was the only way i had a shot at getting it so i bit. i'm willing to bet very, very few other chicago stores got any at all via legal distribution. of course, this particular shop of mine also puts new glarus and shorts on their shelves, neither of which have illinois distros...
|
#
¿
Mar 16, 2012 16:10
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 5, 2024 23:08 |
|
|
Since I just ran across this thread, I figure I'll throw out a cry for help (or something): my little ikea cabinet that I use to store/cellar beers is overflowing. I figure that since any new cabinet is going to cost me money anyway, I might as well invest in a wine fridge to do it right (at least for the fancier things I plan on keeping for a few years). So... What do people use? I'll be keeping it in my dining/living room, I'd prefer something quiet. My research says that means I should get a system that uses thermoelectric tech rather than a standard compressor, but those seem to have smaller capacities and seem to be dependent on the ambient air temperature on the low end. I'd like something that holds at least 15 bottles and stays under $200. e: Best part of my research was running across this. That is seriously the worst reviewed product I've ever seen on Amazon: 27 reviews, 22 One-Stars. danbanana fucked around with this message at 20:29 on Mar 16, 2012 |
|
#
¿
Mar 16, 2012 20:26
|
|
|
Docjowles posted:$10 is on the high end of what I'm willing to pay for a beer that isn't a limited release or barrel aged or something. When I can get a sixpack from a world-class brewery like Deschutes or New Belgium for less than $8, yes, $10 is pricey. Not outrageous by any means, but pricey. Sorry for being a poor plebe who has expenses in his life besides booze. I don't think that's what people are saying. Personally, I can't find a 6 pack of craft beer for much less than $10. It's not about spending more as a choice (which I do) but the cost of beer in my area (Chicago). While I understand that the cost to manufacture wine is much higher, I've never understood why people are so willing to spend $20 without blinking on a bottle of wine but beer geeks cringe at a store charging more than $13 for a bomber. I've gotten shocked looks when I tell people I've paid $30 for a bomber at a bar. "For beer?" Yes, for beer. I've also thrown down $100 for a bottle of wine, but that's to be expected I guess... Goose Island took a lot of heat for MSRPing BCS Rare at $40. First of all, it's worth it (maybe the best beer I've ever had). Second of all, that "greed" is no worse than what happens weekly at beer releases amongst the beer geeks. Standing in line for a couple of hours to pay $15 for a bottle then immediately putting it up on ebay for 5 times that? Ask Flossmoor Station's brewmaster how he took that news during this year's BA Hi-Fi release...
|
|
#
¿
Mar 21, 2012 17:58
|
|
|
funkybottoms posted:
Really? I'll take their 2XIPA over all but a handful of other IPAs made. It's awesome and relatively cheap.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 22, 2012 02:56
|
|
|
crazyfish posted:Had KBS for the first time last night. I'm happy to have had it, and it is a drat good beer, but I'm really not understanding why people would camp out overnight after driving several hours just to get a case of this (trade value excepted). In truth, I enjoyed the Firestone Walker XV that I had right after it a hell of a lot more. I still haven't tried KBS but have been given a couple "cellared" ones by a buddy of mine from 2010 and 2011. And, strangely enough, I'm doing a local trade tomorrow for a 4-pack of 2012 where one of the things I'm giving up is a bottle of XV (which I can still find at a couple local shops, as well as on tap at my local beer bar). I've been to a few releases in the last year or so and I agree that camping out is pretty insane. But I figure people get as much out of the communal aspect than the actual beer. There's usually lots of trading, tasting, etc. Not really worth it for me, but never underestimate the willingness of geeks.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 22, 2012 21:48
|
|
|
SUPER HASSLER posted:They also had XV, but is that worth $22? It's very good and probably a must if you like barrel aged stuff. It's got a mouth I think is closer to a barley wine than a stout. I think the closest thing I've had to it is GI's King Henry (but not nearly as good). I had XIV on tap once and I remember enjoying that VERY much, but without having them side-by-side I think it's hard to say.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2012 00:47
|
|
|
Paul Proteus posted:Huh. Haven't seen this in Illinois. I got a 4-pack of the Bourbon Barrel Barleywine from CW and wasn't terribly impressed. Although, that was after I tried their BBS and Pervian Morning (which is maybe the best coffee stout I've ever had).
|
|
#
¿
Mar 23, 2012 13:33
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:It's hard to say if this, or Surly Abrasive is my #1 on my "Want to try" list. Abrasive is so, so good. Lucky to have it on tap once and it ranks as one of the 10 best beers I've ever drank.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2012 17:12
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:Random question: did you actually try it in Minnesota, or did you get to try it at a random Surly event? Surly distributed kegs in Illinois for about a year back around 2008-2009. I don't know why or why they stopped. I never saw cans. I live a block from a really great beer bar (Poor Phil's in Oak Park, if you're ever in the Chicago area) that had Bender and Furious on tap for pretty much that full year and got a keg of Abrasive when it was released. About 9 months after Surly pulled out, I wandered in and they had Darkness on tap. They had been sitting on it for a year. Seriously, I love that place. I also have a sister in Minneapolis. When she visits, she usually brings me 4-packs of whatever's around and likewise, I've found a couple of good bottle shops in the Twin Cities that I usually stop in while I'm there.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 24, 2012 17:58
|
|
|
I also popped open my first KBS last night. From the rep, I was expecting fireworks and hosannahs and everything else. What I got was a great BA coffee stout that was a little lacking in mouthfeel and which left my palate too quickly. For comparison sake, I opened a CW Peruvian Morning (nearly an identical style of beer) right afterwards. KBS was better, but not nearly so much as to justify the hunt and the price-gouging that comes with it. I also had Bell's Black Note for the first time. That one should get more hype... Absolutely fantastic BA stout, maybe a half-step under GI's BCS.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 26, 2012 14:14
|
|
|
I Dont Like You posted:Have you seen it's selling price on eBay? It has enough hype I think. I don't see any on there right now... What prices are we talking about? Dark Lord level? My point about KBS is that, while excellent, I certainly don't understand why people would camp out for it or trade ridiculous things for it or ask for $20 a bottle. Especially when I really don't get too much more out of it than Peruvian Morning, which is relatively easy to find when it comes out. By the way, I traded a Firestone XV and a Flossmoor Barrel-Aged Hi-Fi for my 4-pack of KBS. XV I can still find at one shop by me and I've got a couple Hi-Fi's left. So in retrospect, I think I did over-trade but it wasn't anything that I'm kicking myself for.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 26, 2012 19:20
|
|
|
ShaneB posted:I recently had to get a roommate for the first time in like 6 years... and it took him just over a week to drink a bunch of my beer cellar without asking. Good Lord! I think I'd ask him to pay my share of utilities for the next month or something. That's terrible, especially if he "knows" beer people. Are you saying he drank those in one sitting? Because I agree: that might kill a lesser man.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 28, 2012 17:24
|
|
|
SUPER HASSLER posted:"In the case of Shane's '08 WWS, roommate...you ARE the drinker!" they can probably still test his BAC to prove this...
|
|
#
¿
Mar 28, 2012 23:43
|
|
|
Midorka posted:Edit for new page content: This year's Aprihop is better than I remembered, much better than the two years of drain pour. It's a moderately bitter ipa with a tarty apricot flavor. I'm not a fan, but I can see why people would like this. I'm assuming you're getting these for free? If I had two years of drain pouring a beer, I wouldn't waste my time with a third unless someone handed me one.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 28, 2012 23:44
|
|
|
I've never understood the Zombie Dust love, especially for the cost (the gouging is terrible with that stuff). I think it's good, not great, and there's plenty of others available that are superior in my opinion.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2012 18:56
|
|
|
Munkaboo posted:I wasn't amazed when I had it GABF either, but maybe it was the other beers messing with my t-buds. Y'know when there's a lot of good sentiment about something and you try it and you're all, "Man, what's wrong with me where I think this isn't that great?" and then you just keep trying it to convince yourself that you agree with the crowd? Yeah, I've done it with ZD. And I'm still convinced the rest of the world is wrong. Gimme a Two Hearted, a Daisy Cutter, a Crooked Tree... Gimme standard stuff I can get year round over it.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2012 19:05
|
|
|
And speaking of 3Fs... Had Topless Wych and Tiger Jelly on tap last night. The former is an amazing porter that oozes coffee notes. The latter is lighter than it's description and that makes it a little too drinkable (unless your goal is to be really wasted.)
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2012 19:08
|
|
|
crazyfish posted:Thing is that ZD is a year-round Really? They bottle it year round? It seems to be available in Chicago only in early spring, so maybe they only do a large distributed batch once a year? I dunno. My wine/cheese/bottle shop had it in on Sunday. The woman behind the register said they got 20 (!) cases in that week and the 3 sixers on the floor was all that's left. She recommended I get some, to which I replied I'd rather spend my money on something else. Turns out, it was Abacus-backwards which my local Whole Foods had a half-case of! Huzzah!
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2012 19:27
|
|
|
Half Acre has blown up and deservedly so. Good beer. But it's strange hearing about them distribute outside of the city. There's an amazing bottle shop/beer bar on the south side of Chicago called Maria's. Eighteen months ago, Half Acre wouldn't sell to them because they couldn't meet demand on the north side. Basically, if you were an independent liquor store or bar south of 290, you were SOL. Now they're in Philly? Weird...
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2012 22:18
|
|
|
I think it depends on the market. XV is hard to find by me except one shop that always seems to have it. Sucaba/Abacus has always been a buy-it-when-you-see-it item.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 29, 2012 23:09
|
|
|
Midorka posted:New Jersey must be saturated then, most places I know got 2-3 cases of 15 and the two places yesterday have 2-3 cases of Sucaba. In general, the Chicago beer scene has gotten stupid-popular. I never bought multiples at once a couple years ago because I always figured I'd be able to grab more of something good later. Even things like Bourbon County would sit on shelves for weeks. You could buy at leisure. Now you need to reserve bottles of just about anything "rare." So running into a half-case of something as good as Sucaba (at least Abacus was awesome last year...) is a rarity. I feel compelled to buy a couple just because I don't know if I'll see it again.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2012 00:23
|
|
|
Ubik posted:I took my brother-in-law out to Haymarket Pub for dinner tonight I think Defender is great. And their barrel-aged black belgian (I forget the name) is amazing as well. But other than that, I've never been super-impressed with their stuff. If you're in the Chicago area (it sounds like you are), make a trip out to Villa Park one day to hit Lunar Brewing. They recently got bought out by Rock Bottom, but nothing in their bar seems to have changed because of it. Great selection and most of their brews are good, especially their dry stout, which is my favorite of that style ever. It's Defender, only better.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2012 12:41
|
|
|
BoredByThis posted:Two Brothers just bought the brewpub at the Roundhouse in Aurora. I haven't been to the new Two Bros. location (at the old Roundhouse, which did some brewing back in the Payton days but was always bad...) but the old one wasn't mind-blowing. The couple times I was there, they had their standard stuff on tap and the food was mediocre. Hopefully the new location means more small-batch stuff. That said, Domaine Dupage is one of my favorite year-round beers ever. Absolutely drinkable in any weather, malty and just a little sweet, full-bodied but not heavy. And I'm not sure if I've ever had a beer that tastes exactly like it.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2012 15:26
|
|
|
BoredByThis posted:Also, Domaine DuPage is a Gluten Free beer. Certified. Kinda cool for those people who have celiac issues. I had no idea. Also, I should point out that I wasn't being dismissive of the brewery. Northwind was the first non-Guinness stout that I ever loved and I still consider a great Imperial stout, even after years of trying others. Everything they do is good to great, except Dog Days which is... boring as hell.
|
|
#
¿
Mar 30, 2012 16:47
|
|
|
Mahoning posted:I don't often go for stouts, but tonight I just randomly grabbed a bottle of Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout. Dear god is that gross. I'd like somebody to tell me that it was just a terrible stout to try, but I'm pretty sure it's just me and I don't like stouts. I want to, but they just taste like liquor to me because they're so strong. if brooklyn is too strong, then you might want to avoid anything but dry/irish stouts for now. then maybe move into imperials and others. personally, i think brooklyn's is a solid, complex stout that isn't at all overpowering. and speaking of overpowering... at a bbq this weekend, a buddy opened one of his bottles of black tuesday for us. first, we probably lost 10% of the bottle when it practically exploded when opened. second, as someone who loves booze heat in his BA beers, holy crap did they go overboard with it. too sweet, too strong, too much. so i'm still looking for something that's as good as bourbon county (parabola is the closest i've found).
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2012 13:54
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:I'm so drat bummed that we don't get bourbon county at all in OH. i live in chicago and i barely can find it when it comes out now...
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2012 14:36
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:I also saw bottles of Oak Aged Unearthly, and Gemini. i like the standard unearthly better. haven't had gemini.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 2, 2012 21:15
|
|
|
Midorka posted:I think it's only aged for 4 months or something, just a minor oak flavor I picked up. I still think it's an excellent beer though. agreed. it might be my favorite from DFH.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 3, 2012 01:49
|
|
|
Kudosx posted:Good rules! I shouldn't say I regretted buying them, I am glad to have tried them. I am just a bit disappointed by both of them, was hoping to have another go-to IIPA! what is your go to, then? i like maharaja, but it's a few levels below hopslam and double crooked tree. as far as other IIPAs, i think southern tier's 2XIPA is really smooth and two brother's hop juice is good.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 3, 2012 15:05
|
|
|
Manky posted:I know there's been some glassware chat before, but are there any dishwasher-safe glasses people can recommend me? My two nice DFH glasses were wrecked this weekend, it's just too hard for me to keep certain stuff separate with two roommates and an endless stream of visitors and guests. seconding this. my pint glasses are fine but the couple tasting/snifter/nice glasses i had are all gone...
|
|
#
¿
Apr 3, 2012 17:04
|
|
|
FreelanceSocialist posted:Oh no, there are some that are so far off 'drinkable' that they require a drain pour. They're worse than any bland macro. My only drain pour, in my entire life, has been an AB Wild Blue. i've never drain-poured anything... except this. and it was only a few weeks ago. holy god is that stuff bad.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 4, 2012 01:07
|
|
|
mysterious frankie posted:Just had Zombie Dust for the first time and was drat impressed! I don't feel like $14 was too much to try it, but I couldn't see spending that much on it constantly. I also saw some Arctic Panzer wolf, which I've only seen on the draft list at Local Option, on the shelf next to it; worth a trip back to the liquor store before it disappears? panzer wolf is year round. i assume you're in chicago (local option), so any binny's or any half-respectable liquor store will have it on the shelf pretty much any time. that said: it's awesome and i can't believe i forgot it when i listed fave DIPAs/IIPAs above. much better than zombie dust, in my opinion, but it's unfortunate that they moved away from the original label: http://thebeeralmanac.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/3floyds-arctic-panzer-wolf.png
|
|
#
¿
Apr 4, 2012 20:42
|
|
|
Mahoning posted:So my sister is proud of me for finally going back to school and getting dean's list and poo poo, and she's agreed to send me some beer. (She's in Orange County, CA, I'm in Ohio) I've already told her I want Pliny the Elder, help me figure out a few more for her to send that are west coast only! i'd say anything she can get her hands on from russian river would be worth it if only because they don't distribute very far. if she can get oregon breweries, hair of the dog or pelican stuff are also pretty highly rated, west coast-only things. also: pliny (elder) is horribly overrated in my opinion. i'm pretty sure i've said that here but i'll say it again: there's lots of better IPAs available in the midwest that i'd rather have.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 4, 2012 21:19
|
|
|
lazerwolf posted:I'd say its worth having once if he can get it relatively easily which appears to be the case. I really like it but I agree there's a lot better IPA/DIPA everywhere oh yeah, i'm certainly not telling him not to get it, just that if he's like me, he'll be a little disappointed given the hype.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 4, 2012 21:48
|
|
|
Sirotan posted:I'm at Jolly Pumpkin right now and I just have to tell someone that I'm drinking Biere de Mars on tap and it's probably the most prefect beer I've ever had. Holy poo poo. I wish I could sit here and drink this all night. Drink this beer now if you can. Had this on tap this weekend at jerry's in chicago. Excellent and recommended.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 5, 2012 00:22
|
|
|
internet celebrity posted:I completely missed out on KBS this year but I'm still curious about the style. What are some good bourbon barrel aged imperial stouts I can find in southeastern North Carolina? I've had Dragon's Milk and it was way too sweet for me, tasted more like Bailey's than beer. by you, definitely hit foothills' cafe royale if you can find it. i thought it was about as good as KBS and it's a coffee stout, so it's less sweet. if you get firestone walker by you, look for parabola when it comes out (probably get out around june). but parabola is going to be on the bigger/sweeter side.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 6, 2012 13:33
|
|
|
funkybottoms posted:i'm wondering if danbanana means Williamsburg Alewerks' Cafe Royale, which is indeed very good and not too heavy on the barrel/booze side of the equation. unfortunately, you're going to be incredibly lucky to find any at this point, as it came out months ago and is their most popular and highly-rated beer. crap. sorry, funky's right: that's williamsburg. BUT that means i can point out foothills' barrel aged people's porter (which is good). and sexual chocolate, which i've never had but have been told is very good.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 6, 2012 14:25
|
|
|
had hoptimum on tap last night. thought it was pretty excellent. also for chicago people: two brothers is brewing red eye again. coffee porter that is so, so good. find it!
|
|
#
¿
Apr 6, 2012 17:09
|
|
|
Paul Proteus posted:Coffee flavor was ok, but it was quite thin and the alcohol was pretty forward for me. It's ok this time around. it was very coffee forward for me and i kind of expect (and prefer) a coffee porter to be thin.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 6, 2012 19:54
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 5, 2024 23:08 |
|
|
SUPER HASSLER posted:Y'know, I'd like to ask that same question, 'cos Hopslam tastes totally unique to me along those same lines. That bit of sweetness to it. I'm surprised no one (that I know of) has tried to copy that part of it. i don't know any year-round DIPA/IIPA that's as good as hopslam or similar. the only one i know of that has that mild sweetness is dark horse's double crooked tree, which is seasonal and, in my opinion, slightly better than hopslam. i'm assuming the sweetness comes from the high alcohol content with DCT, but bells uses honey in hopslam.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 10, 2012 12:49
|
|