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Vertigo posted:So silly question : a guy I know did a cellar sale to fund a vacation. I bought about ten bottles from him. All at cost no markups and got some good stuff... Nobody I know has had an uninfected bottle. 2013 was pretty rough for them, capping off with the Three Floyd's collab being infected (which, while released this year, had been barrel aging for a year). None of the 2014 stuff I've gotten has had major issues though - the worst has been Filmishmish being cloudy as gently caress (but still heaven in a glass). I genuinely don't mind the 'oh hey this was a tasty fuckup' approach as long as you tell the buyer.
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May 19, 2014 07:55
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Sirotan posted:I've not had the '14 but I've always found fresh DL to be disgustingly sweet. Usually with 2-3 years on it it's much improved. '14 isn't as sweet as '13, but I'd agree that it's probably worth sitting on for a while assuming you have the proper cellaring. That being said, it was tasty enough that I wouldn't hesitate to crack it for an appropriate occasion if one cropped up.
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May 29, 2014 04:03
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Glottis posted:Holy crap I'm excited for the Firestone Walker Invitational festival on Saturday. Read this list and weep. http://justanotherbeerblog.com/blog/2014/5/27/firestone-walker-invitational-beer-fest-2014-fwibf I am ridiculously excited. It's going to be a great time. So much great stuff that I have basically no idea how to prioritize. Hopefully between myself and my friends we will at least get sips of most of the chase beers. Just hope it isn't 100+ degrees like last year.
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May 30, 2014 08:44
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Kudosx posted:Apparently The Bruery is going to be splitting into two brands, one for wild ales, one for everything else. I guess this is should be good for them, considering all of their issues with infections. They've made a couple over the years, and one was on tap at the Tasting Room fairly recently. The current one, Salty Weisse, is solid but not spectacular (http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/99079/). The previous try, Salt of the Earth, (http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16866/66677/) I liked better than Salty Weisse but a lot of people found way too salty. As far as the split is concerned, I don't know how much it changes things. The biggest weirdness for me is the separate tasting room, but that's mostly because I'm a local. Maybe Terreux will be closer to home.
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Jun 5, 2014 00:39
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I wish it were possible to purchase a lifetime supply of Naughty Sauce because goddamn do I love that beer. It never ceases to be a bit surreal to me that Noble has a lot of solid, workmanlike stuff and then this one radical innovation that's unlike anything else out there. In other recent consumptions, Alpine Hoppy Birthday is enjoyable: well-balanced with strong hop notes but a much milder finish than you'd expect from the initial taste. Living in southern California just keeps getting better. It's not Zombie Dust or Edward, but what is?
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Jun 15, 2014 07:37
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crazyfish posted:Sigh. Really glad I didn't order this beer now. Yeah, I'm pretty bummed. Had some fresh from the tap and really enjoyed it (smooth and rich with a nice cocoa finish and excellent mouthfeel, not nearly as high-octane/intense as a Black Tuesday variant or Anniversary). Took a bottle to a party this past weekend and it had gone downhill substantially (noticeable sour 'bite' on the initial palate, though it still kept the finish which made for a weird loving beer). At least they're doing a straight refund rather than asking for bottle redemption (carting a case and a half of beer back when they had the White Chocolate/Autumn Maple/Ebony and Oak issue last year sucked). It's frustrating, because almost everything I got in 2012 was great, and it had seemed that they'd fixed the issues with the 2014 releases (the only one this year that's had problems was the Rue D'Floyd which was technically a 2013 fuckup due to aging length, and those were very mild problems in that I've been drinking mine and have yet to actually have a significantly soured one). It's making the decision for next year pretty hard (especially with the Terreux split). When I like a beer they make I love it, and there's a long list of beers there, but when they miss they miss hard. quote:I wish. Fruited Berliners aren't stupid, you jerk. Ironically, Bruery's actually done randall'd fruit Hottenroth variants at their tap room that are incredible.
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Jun 21, 2014 00:48
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a worthy uhh posted:So who drank anything interesting while the forums were down? In awesome, 2008 BA Decadence is, well, decadent. Hasn't lost a step flavorwise, but had lost a little carbonation. Hangar 24's Barrel Roll #4 (Hammerhead) was also very good, though I think a year or so of aging will put it in a perfect place - it was a little hot on the nose which obscured some of the more subtle flavor, and finished with drier notes than you'd expect. There were a bunch of other really nice ones cracked at the same share (DDG, 2008 Older Viscosity, SpontanenCherryFrederiskdahl) that I'd already had. In the good camp, we've got Soroboruo - you still get all of the characteristics of Scotch ale, just mildly sour. Nice rich malt, the earthiness on the finish, just with a nice fruit sour paired with those. Also a very sneaky one that doesn't rep the 10.2% alcohol at all. High Water Campfire Stout was also suprisingly tasty - very much on the sweet side, with a hint of smoke and maple. Seems like it would be a perfect pair with breakfast. In mediocre, Noble Ale Works New Edition is a to-style brown. Ayup. Wish they'd sell me growlers of Naughty Sauce or Gosebusters. :'( Finally, on the sad side, I'd recommend staying away from the Madeira BA Sucre (the blue wax) - the barrel clashed heavily with the sweetness of the beer itself and it was pretty much a huge disappointment, especially as it was the bottle I brought to the housewarming. 
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Jun 26, 2014 02:38
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Vertigo posted:I have 4 beers in my cellar that I've been saving for "special occasions". My birthday is on Saturday.. You can't really go wrong there. Just make sure whatever food you're having can stand up to a relatively sweet, very boozy beer regardless of the options.
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Jun 26, 2014 23:07
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Glottis posted:Oh man. I just got this year's INSANE Sierra Nevada Beer Camp box and the first two have exceeded my expectations. Everyone buy it. This is the Beer Camp Across America one?
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Jul 10, 2014 06:02
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Local had them on tap, which was dangerous and delicious. My favorite two were Yvan and There and Bock, followed closely by Maillard's Odyssey (I don't know what's happening that people have finally started producing dark beer that's tasty, but I like it).
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Jul 17, 2014 01:59
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Patrick Rue was on a podcast talking about Terreux: http://beergeekradio2.podomatic.com/entry/2014-07-21T11_51_36-07_00 Pretty softball all around - the interesting bits are that they're keeping the Reserve/Hoarder's Societies unified, and that they are planning for it to have several new year-round beers specific to Terreux, along with separate location tasting rooms that act as 75/25 splits (so Bruery TR would be 75% Bruery, 25% Terreux and vice versa).
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Jul 23, 2014 06:10
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air- posted:Anyone gotten to try Sour in the Rye with pineapple and coconut? I have too many growlers to drink but gently caress that sounds pretty good. Yeah. It's very good, but relative to the Peaches/Kumquats/Beach Plums variants the additives change the beer more substantially. It's basically a pina colada with a tangy finish. The fruit really pops (you get a whoompf of coconut on the nose). However, it does all work together and it's drat tasty. I snagged a growler and brought it to work, so I'll report back with what my coworkers think in six hours or so. Edit: beer nerd coworker reports - 4/4 really like it, they notice less coconut on the nose than I do, more surprised by the way that the flavors interact with the finish. wodin fucked around with this message at 01:48 on Jul 29, 2014 |
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Jul 28, 2014 19:51
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Spanish Manlove posted:That infected Rue D'Floyd was the perfect accompaniment to the bacon wrapped bandaids and used syringes I had for dinner that night. Kudos for humor, but I will actually rise to the bait anyways because I'm a big dumb idiot. I don't know anyone who kept the beer cold post-warning who's had souring problems with Rue D'Floyd. The counterpart beer was absolutely overwhelmed by the rum barrel, but Rue D'Floyd was pretty clearly what it advertised on the label - a big, boisterous beer with a lot of complexity and a lot of interesting notes that come out when you focus on them but harmonize into something tasty.
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Sep 18, 2014 09:42
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Mikeller bar is a lot of fun in terms of their beer selection, but the crowd was pretty miserable. Some non-beer-nerd SF friends took me while I was there and were aghast at the crowd (but we had some really tasty stuff).
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Oct 18, 2014 02:39
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cryme posted:Were they sacrificing puppies? What made them so reprehensible, if I may ask? Lot of lack of respect for personal space - pushing through people waiting patiently to be served, knocking over someone else's glass. We also had the poor fortune to be seated next to a couple where one half tried to send back a sour after having been warned about it. Not like super out-of-bounds or anything, just very different than the little local places they generally go to.
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Oct 19, 2014 19:31
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dphi posted:FW has a holiday 4-pack of 22oz bottles out now that includes Wookey Jack, Union Jack, DBA, and Velvet Mocha Merlin (w/ Intelligentsia espresso beans). The box says Mocha Merlin is a one-time release only available in this box, so of course I had to get it. High hopes for this one! Friends who went up to the 18th Anniversary release party were universally happy with Velvet Mocha Merlin as being amazing, so you did well for yourself. A little sad there's no Beachwood or Noble in the CA top 50, but looking at the list pretty much everything on there is something I'd be delighted to drink so I can't be too down about it. In unrelated Beachwood news, though, they're doing an event on a night I have other commitments that's out of this world - themselves, Hill Farmstead, Cantillon, and Drie Fonteinen. Augh.
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Oct 29, 2014 23:15
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obi_ant posted:So I finally got my hands on some Bomb! by Prairie. It's been hyped up for me for a long time, and while it's *very* good, it didn't blow my mind away. I like Victory at Sea by Ballast Point more than this. Is there anything else out there like that? You have nowhere to go but up in ABV and intensity, really. Speedway, Black Tuesday, Parabola, Older Viscosity, that kind of jam. I think there is a finite limit on what can be done with that style(aged stout on X) and after a certain point of craftsmanship it comes down to personal preference and what you are looking for within the style and the X.
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Dec 5, 2014 09:21
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Pizza Port Carlsbad's Strong Ale fest was not a clusterfuck and there was a lot of tasty beer to be had. Turns out 2007 Duvel is still an excellent representative of the style, and a few years makes the 2011 Elijiah Craig Eclipse 50/50 incredible. Going with friends also helped a lot because we got to try a huge variety of stuff. Also if you're in the Oceanside area, Bagby Beer Company (started by the former head brewer from Pizza Port Carlsbad) is a really awesome space and had some solid stuff on draft. Should be fun to see what they've got on offer a year or so from now! edit: also bartolimu you'd be proud of me, I totally didn't evangelize any of the Bruery stuff even though they had Melange #3 which is really solid this year. wodin fucked around with this message at 06:51 on Dec 6, 2014 |
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Dec 6, 2014 06:32
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LeafHouse posted:The list of Bruery beers I would ever open by myself is a very short one. I love their stuff but yeah the bottle sizes make it impossible to solo them. I would kill for a 4 pack of Chocolate Rain or Beaureguarde. They sell specialty stoppers that do a pretty good job of letting you space the beer across 2-3 days, but yeah, I definitely wish they did 375s.
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Dec 12, 2014 03:37
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Uuudar posted:So it's more of a "you can buy X of Y beer by Z date?" No bum rushing the website at 2am or whenever they put it up? Yep, that's what you get for your dollars - they're guaranteed to sell you the allocated amount. You can wait till the last day to buy your Black Tuesday if you want. Typically it's a 3-week window between allocations being put up on the website and them closing purchases. For example, November allocations went out on November 3rd and the last day to purchase them was November 21st. You should get an email with the various beers when they go up (sometimes before they go up, even). Occasionally there will be some mild weirdness when they release an additional beer for purchase midway through a month (they actually did it this December, with allocations going up on the 1st and then Oaked Old Richland and Geriatric Hipster Club added in on the 15th).
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Dec 19, 2014 00:03
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Retemnav posted:Why isn't the beer world going nuts over Avery BBA Tweak? Because that poo poo is loving AMAZING. Engage beardo mode: It's solid but the barrel is much more prominent than the ones people are truckchasing for, which lends it a harshness and slightly bite-y finish that's sort of an acquired taste. It's obviously an excellent beer, but the imbalance really ends up holding it back relative to stuff like BCBS (at least, in my opinion). That said it's still delicious and I'd probably need to cab home after finding it on tap, soooo... /beardo
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Dec 19, 2014 04:34
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Not going to lie, the wax shredder functionality looks pretty sweet. Mine is generally a workhorse, but fails miserably when I'm trying to open something with thick wax. 
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Jan 16, 2015 02:24
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A friend gave me a can of Alchemist Luscious as a Christmas present, and it's pretty phenomenal. I tend to like sweeter stouts in general (both milk, and even in my preference regarding BA stuff where I'll go for a Black Tuesday), and Alchemist managed to seamlessly tie the nice roasty character of the RIS with a sweeter, richer finish than they usually have. I may be in love a little bit.
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Jan 18, 2015 23:45
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a worthy uhh posted:Veritas 015 sounds pretty drat good, but $41... Apricot sours are my favorite, so they'll get my money. I guess the Bruery's desensitized me.
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Jan 28, 2015 20:43
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MunchE posted:I'm not even worried about the alcohol on some of those, they're just so loving rich that it's a chore to finish by yourself. GF and I slogged through a Black Tuesday on Thanksgiving....the first half was great, the second half I was beyond done. FWIW, and I know this is a localized solution since it requires giving them another $5, they actually recognize the problem and sell a special stopper that's designed to fit their wider-than-wine-standard bottles that keeps things fresh. When I crack one of the stouts or old ales I drink it over 2-3 days with little ill effects to the beer on day 2/3, assuming I'm religious about immediately recorking. It's not 100% the experience, but honestly it's better than trying to drink an entire bottle at once. Or share! I literally ended up accidentally starting a beer share at work because I had bottles that I didn't want to drink myself and other people joined in.
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Jan 30, 2015 03:18
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HatfulOfHollow posted:Jesus loving Christ can black IPAs/CDAs/whatever the gently caress else you want to call them stop being a thing immediately? Concur entirely. I've had one that I liked, and I'm a soft rater when it comes to beer. A bottle of Bois over a day would be fine (particularly the variants like New American Oak that weren't in a sweet barrel. Brandy would probably be the hardest. Sucre, on the other hand, would be rough. It's much sweeter and more palate-fatiguing as a result, and there are variants someone could pull on you that're just a straight up drain pour.
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Jan 30, 2015 04:56
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It's done because beer that's not picked up is a liable asset on the financial balance sheets. The period of time in which you've accepted money for the asset and which it's written off means during that time you can't count it as earnings. So while their policy (which, mind you, is identical to Lost Abbey's) of aggressively requiring you to pick up beer within a certain window is not exactly customer friendly, it can also be derived from a reasonable place when you're a small business with limited liquidity. That said, I don't particularly think that what he said was the best PR move and it's not how I would have approached things, but he also has the brewer who makes Duet and the recipes for the ridiculous stuff they make so it's hard to fault him for feeling like one customer one way or the other won't matter.
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Jan 31, 2015 06:16
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funkybottoms posted:actually, it's pretty easy to fault him in this instance- if i were on the receiving end of this i would both tell everyone what a dick the guy is and and not give him any more of my business I can't believe you're making me argue the side of an outright rear end in a top hat, but you have a product where you place an onerous restriction on the conditions of sale, it sells out in less than 30 minutes, and then someone who fails the conditions complains to you. As much as I'd like to believe that people who start small businesses are generally benevolent and/or kind, the fact that his product is in such high demand that he gets those kind of numbers suggests that any individual customer is replaceable. Now, it's also probably true that in 3-4 years he will deeply regret the combined ramifications of that kind of behavior, but right now it's not going to make a wet fart on his bottom line whether the Alpine/RR collab sells out in 5 minutes or 10 minutes.
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Jan 31, 2015 06:29
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Mahoning posted:Yes the purchase restrictions in that beer totally required him to laugh in his face and then taunt him by telling him how good the beer was. ... I think you misunderstood what I said. I'm not justifying it, I'm explaining why it's easy to understand that he would do it. There's an important difference there. He has a license that turns plants into gold, someone complained that they could not give them their gold for wheat, and he taunted them because they wanted the plants so badly because there were literal thousands of people who would replace the complaining individual. quote:I talked to some of the brewers and they said that it's probably going to be pretty expensive, though. Something like $16 for a 6 pack. He also made it sound like it was going to go to distro, not be a brewery release. Obviously all of that could change when they actually get up to making it happen. That's Sculpin price, which while not great isn't particularly ruinous for a beer that good. wodin fucked around with this message at 06:43 on Jan 31, 2015 |
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Jan 31, 2015 06:40
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Mahoning posted:*uses entire previous post to justify lovely actions* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWdd6_ZxX8c In happier news, what's the best beer you drank today? Mine was A Stein's Throw (the Bruery/TAPS Fish House collab), which after two years has lost a lot of the treacle-sweet nature that originally dogged it and matured into a well-rounded barleywine with a slightly fruit-forward start and a lot of mellow caramel on the finish.
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Jan 31, 2015 06:59
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danbanana posted:Especially when they own the brewer of arguably THE modern American beer that created those nerds. There is some bitter irony in making fun of Peach Pumpkin when they just purchased Elysian who literally makes that beer.
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Feb 2, 2015 04:00
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funkybottoms posted:i hope they go and completely blow everyone else out of the water Yeah, I was going to say that this is sort of like punching the tiger on the nose. People love to rag on macro-brewers but these guys have top of the line equipment, experience, and more importantly all their creative energy is pent up because their day jobs are refinement. I would not be surprised if they have some killer small batch stuff. The entire thing is pretty funny, though. Regardless of intent, it's at least gotten people talking about both the community itself and interesting beer.
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Feb 3, 2015 23:22
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Vertigo posted:So, Bruery question. These are just guesses, but the Bruery's my local and the only place I give serious money too. As far as distribution goes: I'm guessing Jardinier is supposed to be everywhere. The price point plus the way they're talking about it as an eternal means that I assume we'll see it everywhere like Saison Rue or Mischief. Or Xata will probably be less common, but still available. Their seasonal stuff can vary as far as production runs, but it was basically vanishing instantly last year. On the website if you're on the page for the beer it will have an availability line under the ABV. "Hoarder's Society/Reserve Society only" means it's only for the year-long members, "Society only" includes the 3-month Preservation Society, "Seasonal" means they brewed a bunch and when it runs out you wait till next year and anyone can buy it, and "General Distribution" means they try to keep it in stock. As far as the beer itself, Or Xata is pretty much what it says on the label. If you like horchata you'll probably get a kick out of it, but it you don't like milky, semi-sweet things you'll probably dislike it. I actually haven't gotten a chance to try Jardinier or Freckle yet, so those should be exciting.
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Feb 4, 2015 20:38
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Brewbies was a lot of fun and Jeff Bagby was a really chill dude. The line looked like it was sort of a shitshow but we took the train down and were there early, so it was a non-issue for our group. As far as new things I'll drink a lot of if I get the chance that I didn't know about prior to the festival, Monkey Paw Great Ape delivered on being a wonderfully sessionable hazelnut stout which is a weak spot as one of my favorite beers ever is Grey Monday. The Phantom Carriage raspberry Berliner was also very good (they had zero signage and a not-as-outgoing volunteer, so I wasn't able to get the actual name). Sadly the other offering from both of those breweries was pretty weak, so I'll have to see how that turns out. A lot of the usual fest standbys brought their solid 'awesome thing' either in its native form or tweaked some way (e.g. Noble had Naughty Sauce, Almanac had Valley of the Heart's Delight, Alpine took Bad Boy and added pomegranate to make 'Naughty Girl'). All in all it was pretty worthwhile and I'd cheerfully pay another 10 or 15 bucks for the ticket if it meant shaving the crowd a little.
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Feb 16, 2015 09:28
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As far as interesting beers that you should keep a weather eye for go, we had a bottle of Apple Brandy Barrel Noir from Prairie at the bottle share yesterday that was really enjoyable. A confusing nose ( a friend described it as almost smelling like the brandy it was aged in) but then a nice smooth blend of the stout with the rich apple flavors. I like Calvados and company so I might be biased, but it was definitely an experience I was happy to have.
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Feb 21, 2015 22:01
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air- posted:Nonono it's "first batch was better" Nah, "one more year till I host my vertical party" 
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Feb 23, 2015 07:02
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HatfulOfHollow posted:Even the most innocuous BA threads are loving terrible. It's all hearsay and rumors. Let's just stop linking to BA as the source for anything because it is a garbage pile. I just about died laughing when someone started complaining about "infected" Tart of Darkness with Cherries and Vanilla.
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Feb 24, 2015 08:15
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wattershed posted:What should the non-gouge-y price be for a 750 of Cantillon Gueuze in a U.S. beer store? I'd be fine paying anything under $30. Alpine showing up everywhere has been a wonderful surprise, even if it's usually clearing out in a day or two (Southern California). quote:poo poo, how could i forget- we also had Bruery Roble Blanco last night and yes, it was loving horrible. my friend said that it tasted like the sweat of someone who got completely shitfaced on margaritas the night before Yeah, that was not their best moment (particularly because it was loving 15% for that flavor). Don't let it put you off their cocktail series - both Sourrento and Geriatric Hipster Club are excellent and worth drinking. Has something recent happened that's caused ADWtD to blow up? I've heard about it from two or three non-internet connected beer friends in the last couple of days and it's weirding me out that it's going beer-viral.
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Feb 28, 2015 04:47
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Whodat Smith-Jones posted:Is Indra Kunindra a spring release? I saw a bunch of bottles of it at a store today, but they were all from 2014. I feel like the last time I bought it was around April It popped up for me here in Orange County around February, but I haven't been super looking out for it. In the breakfast beer category, I know most people don't really care for Smoking Wood since there's too much smoke, but the Blueberry/maple syrup variant is an incredible pairing with toast and eggs.
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Mar 2, 2015 01:56
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Holy mother of god. Do people not get the basic concept of a share that you bring something you enjoy and want other people to try and beyond that everything else is gravy? Jeez. Also I absolutely loving love the fact that Gose are common now. Noble has been brewing their Gosebuster (Green Tea Gose) a fair bit, so I guess it's selling to the ballpark crowd as well as the beer geeks, and it's glorious having a nice easy-drinking beer that still tastes incredible but doesn't give me heartburn that I can snag growlers of.
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Mar 3, 2015 06:50
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