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bartolimu posted:Bottle shops: Beverages 4 Less in Santee has ludicrous selection but you'll definitely pay for it. Holiday Wine Cellar is close to Lost Abbey and has become my default spot to visit. Other than that, maybe locals can suggest some other places. Bev 4 Less is great if you don't know where else to go...and their service can leave a bad taste in some folks' mouths. Though, if you love to ogle rare/retired beers from all over the world that aren't for sale, they have a shitload up on a pair of shelves that line the beer side of the store. Given other options though, despite it being a little closer to my home than some of the others below, it's not a place I frequent. My top 3, and I say this not having been to Holiday Wine Cellar or Bottlecraft, two places I've heard positive things about... KnB Wine Cellars in Del Cerro (by SDSU). Probably my favorite shop in SD. Great selection, turnover is what you'd want for IPAs and the like, and they have a bar/restaurant IN the store that's got a fantastic tap list. Bonus points for consistently stocking Pliny without bottle limits. Also, the neighborhood's safe, centrally located, parking is never an issue, and I don't feel like I'm going to turn my body and knock over a display, like I do when I go to... Palm Springs Liquor (La Mesa). I hesitantly tell people about this place, as it's always loaded with the latest releases and keeps finding more and more places to cram beer on shelves. Eventually they need to drop the pretense of being a full-service market, clear off the food shelves (think 7-11's canned/prepackaged food selection), and spread the beer out. Also, they get Cantillon here, something I can't say I see anywhere else in town. Alpine's fond of them, and they tend to get a decent load of Alpine's bottles, especially in contrast to some of the other shops. Downsides are that it's in a mediocre neighborhood, so you're bound to get crackheads/dudes out on parole/hobos rolling through with you in there. Another place that's got hobos abound is... Best drat Beer Shop (downtown). I can set my watch to being accosted by bums on the way in and out of the store, and when these guys want money for booze and you're walking out with $50 of beer the equation turns against your favor. That said, the selection here is pretty outstanding, another place which gets the latest and greatest, and prices are perhaps the best in town. I think they have the best selection of singles too, especially 12oz bottles, compared to Palm Springs Liquor which is all about bombers. Of the three I like to visit, I'd estimate they have the most beer in coolers. Places I find slightly overrated/overhyped (aside from Bev 4 Less)... Pizza Port bottle shop (Carlsbad, next to the C'bad Pizza Port restaurant) - great if you're going to the PP restaurant, and their employees know their stuff, but it's definitely on the small side and the hours suck. That said, they seem to stock things which nobody else does, though whether that beer is good or not is a roll of the dice. Olive Tree Market - I made it over there and after a few minutes thought to myself 'really? hrm, okay." The second best saison selection in town (more on that in a moment), and while they may only have 3-5 bottles of each beer, so lots of empty shelves, they have a lot of different bottles. This equals out in the end, where you might theoretically go in there looking for 5 things, they'll be out of 3 of them, and you see 2 other things you didn't know you were looking for. Really, really nice service at this place, and from my little interaction with their stockers they seem to know their stuff. New place I haven't been in enough to make a judgment call on... Bine & Vine (South Park) - close to the Stone retail store, close to some of the better beer bars on the west coast, close to all the hip new restaurants, etc...good location overall. Geoi (pronounced Joey), the owner, is almost always at the register and is good for recommendations or new arrivals. Best saison selection, likely because it's Geoi's favorite beer type, which gets bonus points from me. Plenty of cooler stock, and they tend to stock some of the smaller breweries that I haven't seen in stores before. This place used to be South Bay Drugs, which was one of the preeminent online beer sellers before they got kicked out of their long-time home and had to relocate. I think their online store is officially up and running now (bineandvine.com), unlike a month ago when I posted about them and nobody could buy anything they tried to order. Next time someone posts about their upcoming beer trip to SD, just link them to this post as a jumping-off point, god knows I rambled long enough...
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Apr 23, 2012 19:44
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Vertigo posted:Headed over to the local bar tonight.. How's that cayenne treating ya?
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Apr 24, 2012 00:19
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This came up a few weeks back, but someone on here recommended to me 8 Wired's Batch 31 Imperial Stout, aged with coffee in oak barrels. Very. drat. Good. Think Speedway on oak, or Yeti with coffee and less oak. Find it, buy it. Hops make their way through, it's thick and sweet but not cloyingly so, and finishes nice and warm. Enjoying this immensely.
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Apr 27, 2012 04:23
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wattershed posted:This came up a few weeks back, but someone on here recommended to me 8 Wired's Batch 31 Imperial Stout, aged with coffee in oak barrels. Moving on, on my around-the-world beerventure tonight, to the Doppelbock (Korbinian) from Weihenstephaner. Never had a doppelbock before, actually. If this were a bit more estery, finished with that back-of-tongue bitter yeast profile, or were a touch thicker, I'd think this was a tripel or quad. Only minus? It just dawned on me that the nose is a bit like really, really fresh horse poo poo. Like, when a horse at the track lays a load in the paddock and it just sits in the air smothering everyone. Aside from taking me back to going to the races with my dad as a little kid, this is another outstanding beer from Weihenstephaner. For all the love their hefeweisen gets, and rightfully so, this might be better. Finishes sticky on the lips, light on the tongue, and very clean in the mouth overall. Second recommendation of the night!
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Apr 27, 2012 06:12
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From one of the new San Diego breweries coming this year, their stainless steel flip top growler: They're apparently the first brewery to have SS flip tops, sourced from this company: http://www.brewsuit.com/stainless-steel-growler.php Very awesome as it meets the freshness preservation concerns the other SS growlers out there don't really address, and I don't have to worry about banging it around the fridge.
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Apr 27, 2012 22:17
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Angry Grimace posted:Gonna have the same problem I had with Hess's cut-glass growlers though: I don't want to pay 30 dollars for the vessel. Ah, but I can take the Societe growler to my weekly softball game since it's not glass! When we play doubleheaders in our beer league, and sometimes there's an hour between games, it gives us plenty of time to get slightly lovely, but even then I have a hard time drinking terrible beer. Also, I didn't think there was anything worth paying for from Hess, recommendations?
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Apr 28, 2012 06:07
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I actually emailed Oskar Blues to find out if they held onto Ten Fidy in their warehouse or something before sending it out to stores, as I was suddenly seeing a few different places stocking 4-packs canned in November '09. Randomly, the first 4-pack I bought was dated exactly two years prior to the date I bought it. They confirmed that, no, they don't hold onto their beer and do us the courtesy of aging their product before sending it out, and that I was just lucky to find a place that was cellaring it for me the last 24 months. I stocked up on a few of those 4-packs, and still haven't had a 'fresh' Ten Fidy - I'm nursing my '09 cans...hoping when I have it fresh (can or tap) it's not a major letdown and I discover I've set my expectations too high.
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May 1, 2012 18:14
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Arnold of Soissons posted:I hate that. So many beers that have Crazy poo poo wind up not actually having anything going on except for that one gimmick, whatever that one gimmick is. Barrel aging can make for a fantastic beer, but if you just dump some generic beer into a barrel, you're going to get generic beer out the other end, just bourbon flavored. Note to self: name next high-gravity, oak-aged beer 'Crazy poo poo Bomb'
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May 1, 2012 19:28
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crazyfish posted:Can you get Alesmith around you? Speedway Stout is pretty great, but it's not as coffee heavy as some of the others. Ironic you posted this as I came in here to post that Alesmith is tapping the Kopi Luwak version of Speedway this afternoon at 4:30 pm PST, as part of their rare tap rotation during beer week. Definitely a 'lives up to the hype' beer, and there's something about that coffee that turns Speedway - already an outstanding beer - into something extra worldly. It becomes brighter, sharper, altogether more crisp, not a way I'd normally go about describing an imperial stout but it's the best I can do from my humble little palate.
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May 2, 2012 22:10
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Kudosx posted:Both Trappist Rochefort 10, and St. Bernardus Abt. 12 come in bottles smaller than 12 oz (I don't remember exactly how big they are, I wanna say 10.8 oz or something). They're both very highly rated quads, and I think they're worth checking out! I tried Rochefort 10 recently and it was absolutely phenomenal. I'll also throw in Malheur 12, another fairly decent quad that I've been seeing more and more in the smaller bottles.
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May 3, 2012 14:58
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Docjowles posted:How was the Wookey Jack? I'm always dubious of black IPA's but if anyone can pull it off I'm sure it's Firestone. I read a review comparing it to Stone's Sublimely Self-Righteous, which I love, so that's a good sign. I thought it smelled amazing, the taste was decent and they balanced the rye & hops terrifically. I picked up a wood flavor in there too which I kinda despise in anything hop-forward, so that's the one knock I have on it. As usual with FW's stuff, the price was right for the style. If it was a go-to type of beer for me I'd definitely go back to it.
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May 4, 2012 04:15
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I need another SDSU/Michigan game for a great excuse to get back to A2. Fun little town ya got there.
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May 5, 2012 01:11
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Angry Grimace posted:I went to the Founders's event in San Diego intended to get as many different beers as I could and not be shithoused, but I ended up just getting three glasses of KBS - - Was delicious, and I was suprised how well it worked given how much I have disliked other barrel aged stouts. I did get Double Trouble and Dirty Bastard yesterday and was a fan of both. I know it's sad but I didn't want to go to that thing by myself at what I figured would be a packed bar full of groups of people. I'm fine with going to a more relaxed place solo but totally pussed out on KBS for fear of feeling like a loner on what I'm sure was a very social evening. I justified it by "choking down" some Pure Hoppiness at home and confirming what I thought I remembered about the one other time I had it...I really don't like it. I'm okay with many one-hop beers, or beers that tend to let one hop dominate the others, but it's such a cascade blast (which comes through frighteningly well) that it tastes like hop extract tea more than beer. I last had PH about a year ago, and my notes reference tasting artificial flavors and a harsh mint-like mouthfeel. At least my palate's remained consistent.
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May 5, 2012 07:10
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Angry Grimace posted:I'll grant you that not everyone can just go to Hamilton's at 3 pm on a Friday My day started and ended early, I was completely free by 2  quote:I would really like Hamiltons if they would a) remove the shuffleboard and pool tables and b) knock out the cafe next door. The problem is that the bar is always super crowded at night time to the point that there's barely anywhere to stand. It's even more annoying since I think the kitchen service at Hamilton's is a lot better than the Toronado, but you never actually get anything since you never have a table or spot at the bar. I'm not a hermit by any stretch, but even with friends I can't loving stand packed bars, which is why I so rarely find myself at Hamilton's. Problem is that those shuffleboard and pool tables are being used by people with drinks in hand, which allow them to pull a quicker, easier profit than feeding customers, sitting down, at tables. I've heard it explained that a meal will take the place of as many as 3 or 4 beers, so if you can keep your patrons upright and occupied, it's considerably more profitable to do so.
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May 5, 2012 22:09
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CalvinDooglas posted:Incidentally, I am drinking a new Shipyard beer right now. Monkey's Fist IPA, sort of an English style IPA. Seems like sort of a rip off of Left Hand's 400 Pound Monkey I see your monkey beers and raise you some monkey cans: 
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May 8, 2012 05:03
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ShaneB posted:Bud Light Lime-a-Rita is honestly delicious and tastes approximately like a Tom Collins in a can when poured over ice. I figure if you add a little gin it will be even better and closer to a TC. It's going to be my summer drink of choice, at least until something terrible happens (which is basically inevitable). It happened, folks. His roommate killed him, drank all his top-shelf cellared brews, moved onto Limearitas, and is now posting from his account. To that point though, my default 'it's hot as gently caress and I want alcohol in my pool' drink is sweet tea vodka + lemonade in a 32oz tumbler with crushed ice. I make no apologies, it's divine.
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May 16, 2012 21:37
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wattershed posted:From one of the new San Diego breweries coming this year, their stainless steel flip top growler: Went to Societe Brewing yesterday afternoon. San Diegoons (and surrounding environs), here's my little report: Not a ton of parking, easily accessible from a few different freeways though and I had no problem finding the building. They're growing some hop vines on the south side of the building, those obviously just got set up but I bet it'll look cool in a few years. Will Societe be there in a few years, though? Absolutely. First, they're starting off big. I don't say that as a way to guarantee success, obviously, but it seems like they trust in their abilities, know what they're doing, and expect to need that room for their company quite quickly. To compare, their tasting room is about the size of Green Flash's (or 3x Alesmith or Lost Abbey's). They're still in that soft opening phase, so when you walk in there's absolutely nothing which says 'Societe' on it aside from their growlers and the employees' t-shirts. Nobody's going to be stumbling across the building. Their tanks are visible from the entrance, and there's an L-shaped bar which runs roughly 50' overall. I may have miscounted, but I think they have a 16-tap setup along the shorter part of the 'L'. There's no place that I can see they'll be able to write a big overhead list of beers at, so as they add options they'll have to do more than using a label maker right above each tap. That said, they have only 2 beers ready as of right now: The Harlot - a 6+% Belgian Extra (apparently they were shooting for 5.5% and...missed), it was a bit thin but wasn't lacking in bready esthers and had a surprisingly clean finish. They were aiming for a sessionable Belgian pale with the typical Belgian yeast profile. In that sense, job well done, but I'm not racing back to try it again. The Apprentice - an 8.2% DIPA that is loving OUTSTANDING. A slightly less malty Exponential Hoppiness, or a more piney/citrusy Pliny. The balance in this thing is magnificent, and like The Harlot, it finishes incredibly neutral and lets the palate return to fully appreciate the beer. This is something you need to try if you're in the area. They're going to have another two beers ready by around the end of the month, another IPA and (I think) another Belgisn...one of those is called 'The Poet' if I heard the guy right. Of course, my main reason to go was to hopefully enjoy one of the beers (done) and pick up a growler of it:  These stainless steel growlers are kinda awesome. I don't think the swingtop is removable, though, which is one downside...I'll have to tinker with it a bit more to see if that's the case. That said, the top is stainless steel with a hard plastic piece inside it, to which the silicone sealing piece slips around. As we worry about long-term viability of the red washers on swingtop growlers, this shouldn't be a concern here. Also, in what I can only describe as an improvement upon the usual swingtop/fliptop pieces on glass growlers, the arc of the swingtop is much tighter which seems to lead to a consistently snug seal, much better compared to the glass versions.
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May 18, 2012 00:26
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Arnold of Soissons posted:Why are you worried about the red washers wearing out? They cost like 80c to replace. I'm not made of money!
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May 18, 2012 01:23
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Angry Grimace posted:I drank a sixer of that over the week and I gotta say, as much as I like Sculpin AND it's been quite hot, I'm not in the mood for IPAs at all right now. It seems like a progression I see a lot that people go through is wanting more and more hops, and then burning out on IPAs for a while. I've timed my light/dark cycle for Memorial Day. Today I killed my growler of Societe's The Apprentice (I'll reiterate that it's outstanding), now working on some bottles of my own saison. When the pool's 87 degrees and it's 80 outside, that's IPA weather no matter how you slice it. Can't wait for the holiday weekend.
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May 19, 2012 05:37
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Midorka posted:I've been wondering about this the past few weeks with word of many breweries moving (Sierra Nevada, Lagunitas, etc), does anyone know if they intend to keep their old breweries? If not I wonder what that means for the employees since it isn't likely that everyone would move with the company, heck a lot of them probably couldn't afford to. Expanding ≠ moving. Those companies are looking for better ways to distribute to the other side of the country, not to pick up and relocate operations.
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May 23, 2012 17:11
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escape artist posted:Can someone tell me which beers age well and which ones do not? High abv? Yes Dark, thicker beers (which frequently mean the above but not always)? Yes Anything that's already been aged before it goes into a bottle? Yes Anything that relies on a lighter grain bill, has a sub-8ish abv (there's exceptions but I like to use that as a rule), or is a hop-forward beer above all else, should be consumed quickly. I've also read some brewers say that they make their beer to be consumed immediately, regardless of any of the aging qualifiers. The takeaway from that is that it's likely the flavors will change over time, and it helps the drinker understand flavor evolution as a beer ages, whether they even like aged beers, or if a certain brewery's beers age well at all.
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May 23, 2012 21:54
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(I loving love the new easy multi-quote feature on this forum now...)danbanana posted:Or you can do what Goose Island did and get a multi-billion dollar company to back you and then open up an entire building for barrel-aging. I have heard their current setup is a sight to behold. And now they're expanding... When Jim Koch was on MSNBC the other morning (where he broke a glass by accidentally nailing it with a bottle of Sam Adams) he was trying to make a point about "these big beer companies, trying to sell craft beer that's not really craft - Goose Island, Shock Top, Blue Moon, it's still macro breweries..." I wished someone on the set knew a little more about the industry and could call him on his BS...it's one thing to say Blue Moon and Shock Top are corporate swill in craft clothing, but to throw GI under that same umbrella simply because of who they're owned by now seems a little shortsighted and unfair. Angry Grimace posted:Pure Hoppiness is a Double IPA which is very good (although wattershed won't agree here). I grabbed a few more bottles recently and just feel it's missing something. Perhaps my palate's got a blind spot where there's some additional dimension - I'll never say I have a terrific and reliable set of tastebuds to trump everyone else's - but after the piney punch to start, it consistently follows with a weak and flat Cascade finish. Nelson's not as "big" of a beer but it's got considerable balance for the IBUs and the Rye/Sauvin combo is a winner.
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May 24, 2012 22:21
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Ubik posted:In other news, Anderson Valley's Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout is a drat fine beer, and will easily become one of my new defaults considering how widely available and inexpensive it is. It was one of the first stouts I had, and perhaps the first beer where what I read was in the beer was something I could actually taste. I realized beer could have flavors beyond 'wheaty', 'sweet,' or 'bitter'. Also, it's cheap and has awesome body for a lower-abv stout. Additionally, their tripel, I think it's called Brother David's Triple, is another one of those beers that's got great flavor for the price. Oddly enough, it seems to be all over one of our supermarket chains in southern california, right next to the Stone, one random Belgian (usually either Delirium or Chimay), and the larger-sized BMC bottles. Odd that AVBC's beers are able to find a home in that small space despite being 600 miles away.
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May 25, 2012 07:23
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I encourage any and all of you to try the actual donut this beer is theoretically based off of... It kinda sucks. Take the random maple bar your office puts in the break room on a Friday morning, slap a tiny burnt piece of microwaved bacon on top of it, let it sit for 50 minutes, then take a bite. If that sounds lovely, well, that's because it is. I love so many things about Portland, but that donut is absolutely not one of them.
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May 27, 2012 06:46
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danbanana posted:Victory's V-Twelve: I'm not a huge Belgian fan so my experience is limited, but I like. Lots of heat, lots of Belgian sweetness. For those who like the style (quad), I'd be curious how it compares to more traditional takes. It comes off as very much a "How big can we get this?" but actually works here. Consensus in these parts, of which I agree, is that V-Twelve is one of the better American Quads. I've found the Belgian quads, on the whole, tend to taste like what an imperial brown ale with an infusion of dark fruits would taste like. V-Twelve, Judgment Day, and some of the other American quads seem to run more estery with the direct focus heaver on the raisin/plum/fig notes than the caramel/sugar/dark malt notes. The translates in a glass to the Americans being a bit more mahogany in color than the Belgians, which I've found appear browner and with heavier viscosity.
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May 29, 2012 03:57
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Arnold of Soissons posted:Honestly having a hard time wrapping my brain around this sentence. I really don't know how else to describe it without saying "it's like a BSDA but with darker fruit qualities." Well, no poo poo it's like that, they're very similar in profile. I was trying to relate it to something outside the Belgian realm. Just...use your imagination :) Also, speaking of Koningshoeven, have you or anyone else had the barrel-aged version of their quad? It's always so expensive, I have trouble pulling the trigger on it but I can't see it being anything less than awesome.
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May 29, 2012 04:27
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SD's newest brewery, Societe, is up to 4 beers on tap now. I loved their Apprentice IPA, and they have a Belgian Dark now, called the Widow. It's at 9.1%, has a mahogany tint to it and not much of a head after sitting in the glass for a few minutes. A couple days ago I made a remark in this thread talking about how I'd differentiate US quads vs Belgian quads, and said a US quad reminds me of what "an imperial brown ale with an infusion of dark fruits would taste like." Lo and behold, I think this beer is actually trying for that profile. A cross between Brasserie Des Rocs Grand Cru Special Brown and a less sweet/fruity Lost Abbey Judgment Day, the Widow is definitely more quaffable with the lighter viscosity but gives off a unique nutty flavor at the end too, differentiating from other BSDAs. Easy drinking for 9.1%, and is a great example of how flavors change as a glass warms up. Another highly recommended beer from these guys. They're going to bust out an RIS around the end of June which I have high hopes for - a few more months of dialing in their flavors and learning their equipment and they'll be ready for consideration in that upper echelon of local breweries the rest of the country knows.
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May 31, 2012 18:25
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Angry Grimace posted:I tend to doubt that. It's just sitting in unreusable barrels and they don't make enough of it for it to really consume a large amount of space in their brewery. Seems like it would be easier to just time the release for Imperial Stout season. Perhaps they're releasing it now specifically because there aren't any other big stouts coming out right now? I've never had Parabola - going to pick up two on the way home from work and see what the hubbub is all about.
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Jun 1, 2012 23:50
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Grabbed two bottles of Parabola, went to two different places but I wanted one for now and one for later. Also splurged on a bottle of Cascade's Sang Noir, haven't had a sour in a while and heard enough good things about this one to give it a try. Anyone try the Sang Noir and care to suggest if I should have it now or sit on it for a while?
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Jun 2, 2012 03:42
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Corbet posted:Does the shop you bought it at happen to have more? I'd love to get my hands on a couple bottles. I'd make it worth your while... They only had one on the shelf...if history's any indication with their rarer stuff they tend to keep the stock out on the shelf, but I'll keep an eye out for next time.
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Jun 2, 2012 04:45
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Mahoning posted:Do bottles of Speedway Stout have a bottled date on them? Nope. Their updates to their bottling line late last year were supposed to lead to bottle dates but that didn't happen. The coffee in SS is predominant enough that I wouldn't recommend sitting on it for too long. Obviously flavors will evolve but it prides itself on being such a coffee-forward stout that you wouldn't want to lose that essence.
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Jun 2, 2012 05:39
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Just a few sips into Parabola, very glad I poured myself a small glass and kept the rest in the bottle. I'm brewing today and wanted to wait until I was almost done with the day to crack it open in case it was an asskicker. It is. Reminds me first and foremost of World Wide Stout - it's got that super-boozy bourbon nose, one of the prettiest heads I've seen on a beer, ever, is tempered a touch by the wood from the barrels, but somehow doesn't become a mess. It's the difference between being bludgeoned by a hammer and a careful cerebral dissection. Wonderful.
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Jun 4, 2012 00:31
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Midorka posted:Name a great beer that is shipped out of state that isn't available in Philly and prove me wrong then. There probably are a decent amount, but you're not going to have an easy time finding one. Midorka, I really don't jump on the 'give Midorka poo poo' wagon. You're green to the world of beer, but you're trying, and I can totally relate to where you're at in the hobby. I like your enthusiasm and unbridled appreciation for awesome beer. I still want to post every great thing I try, even things which 75% of the thread's already had and knows is good. I also try to stay away from the dogpile because I really don't think it's justified and has a twang of lazy internet bullying. That said, dude, you're really moving the goalposts here on what's already a strange boast. I'm not really sure how 'every great beer that's shipped out of state makes it to Philly' is a barometer of excellence; I can drive literally 20 minutes on interstate 8 east, and reach one of the top breweries in the world in Alpine (who don't distribute to California, let alone Pennsylvania). I can also go the other direction in the same time and come across Alesmith, Ballast Point, Stone, Green Flash, and (it'll be great, trust me) Societe. This isn't...what do the kids call it, a humblebrag? Because it's not, because there's a ton of people not only in this thread but in this city who are in the same boat. I'm not a unique snowflake. I'm stating it primarily to illustrate that there's other metrics, not better or worse, to hang your prideful hat on, and also to have you see that we can all throw out a boastful statement based off whatever metric we want to craft. poo poo, there's probably someone reading this from Belgium going "haha you guys are adorable. Going to get my monthly case of Westvleteren 12, brb." Let's just enjoy this poison while we're here and not dive into the e-wang waving game.
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Jun 11, 2012 03:55
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TenaciousTomato posted:Palate Wrecker is much more drinkable, anyone agree? I'd take Palate Wrecker just barely over Hoptimum, and maybe every other IPA below that, including Expo/Pliny. Expo's too rye-heavy for me to compare it to other IPAs, and while Pliny's obviously a benchmark for terrific IPAs there's something about Hoptimum and Palate Wrecker which manage to find a way to bring out a sweeter profile without sacrificing the huge bitter side as well. (Edited to say that I like the sweeter IPAs only when it's matched with an equally bitter side, which rules out the more "east coast" IPAs, Maharaja, etc) As I was discussing the PtE recipe with Angry Grimace in the homebrew thread, I'd also like details on Silva's methods to make Palate Wrecker. I know there's a part where the wort of the first brew is used as the "water" for the second, but I don't think the rest of the details have ever been made public. Having that wort on boil for two cycles worth must be the reason they can add essentially two beers worth of hops without it seeming completely unbalanced. If one were to leave an IPA-profiled wort on boil for, say, 2.5 hours, what would that taste like? wattershed fucked around with this message at 02:37 on Jun 12, 2012 |
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Jun 12, 2012 02:35
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Kosher man posted:Yeah there are tons of brewers using hop extract. It is different then the stuff being used by the big boys as there are a few different types of hop extract. Not only does it not soak up as much wort (it soaks up like none) it is also usually cheaper then hops when looking at how much you need to use to get the bitterness you want. The bitterness is usually very pleasant as well. Could you see hop pellets falling by the wayside in place of extract? Or are the costs and barriers to market entry going to prevent that?
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Jun 12, 2012 06:25
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Captain Payne posted:I just turned 21 and am interested in drinking beer that's a bit better than the Keystone or Natty Ice found at your typical college party. I really know nothing about beer though--whenever me and my housemates want "nice" beer we get a sixpack of Blue Moon belgian whites. Do you guys have any recommendations for decent beer that could be found at a typical Safeway or other grocery store? I live near Seattle so are there any good microbrewery beers worth checking out? My time in Oregon has taught me that the Safeways seem to stock fair amounts of Deschutes' beers. Seattle proper may host more variations, especially some WA-based beers, but you can't go wrong with Black Butte Porter, Inversion IPA, or whatever else will be on store shelves from Deschutes. Those two beers themselves will give you a nice jumping off point for the darker as well as more hoppier, lighter sides of the craft spectrum.
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Jun 12, 2012 07:12
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bartolimu posted:- Dear Societe Brewing: Why the gently caress were you closed for Father's Day? I went to five other breweries that day and all of them had families there getting Dad some great beer. I wanted a drat stainless steel growler full of (allegedly) delicious Societe beer but no, you had to be closed Sunday-Tuesday. I think they're going to go 6 days a week once they officially open at the end of the month. They sent out feelers on twitter to see if the public wanted expanded hours; the fact that their two opening day sessions sold out so quickly is a good sign they could justify doing it.
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Jun 21, 2012 20:23
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bartolimu posted:I knew they were closed Mon/Tue (and that's pretty common even among established SD breweries). They have Sunday hours on their website, though, and I went down to try their beer at opening time. The signs on the door said they were closed specifically because it was Father's Day. Which is bunk. At least put something on the website so people don't show up for a big beer-drinking day. That's all I'm saying. Oh, I thought they were normally closed Sundays. Yeah, that's kinda lovely, I hear you there.
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Jun 21, 2012 23:01
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Whodat Smith-Jones posted:So I have the fortune of spending 3 months in San Diego for work from July through September, and I plan on checking out as many breweries as I can. Other than the obvious choices (Stone, Ballast Point, Green Flash, Mission), what are some others in the surrounding areas that you guys would recommend checking out? I think Alpine is fairly close. I've also heard Pizza Port is pretty awesome. Also, what are some good west coast beers to look out for while I'm there? Lost Abbey/Port, Societe, Alesmith are the others that immediately come to mind for me. Will you have transportation? That makes getting to some places much easier - there's not exactly a train or trolley service that'll get you to Lost Abbey/Port or Alpine. I can't even start on which beers to specifically check out; you'd best be served realizing which beers you can't get in your area right now and seeking those out, as many of the places here distribute all over the country. Alpine, for example, doesn't really distribute out of the area so if nothing else, make sure you load up on their swill when you have the chance.
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Jun 22, 2012 18:32
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Whodat Smith-Jones posted:Thanks. I'll add those to the list. And I will have a car while I'm out there, so I'll be able to get around easily. I'm hoping to get a friend from work who lives out there to be my DD as much as possible though so I can try as many things as I can without killing someone in the process. You'll be more around the big bars than the big breweries, so check out Hamilton's & Blind Lady Ale House for sure. Great pizza at the latter. I'll have to defer to others for more opinions on bars, I don't hit them up very often. Oh, also, Toronado (not to be confused with Coronado), from what I've heard, would also be worth a visit. Most of the breweries, from where you'll be staying, are a good 10-20 minutes away, for what it's worth. But, since our public transportation sucks around here and the county is so spread out, most things are 10-20 minutes away when you factor in traffic, so it's close, relatively speaking.
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Jun 22, 2012 22:17
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