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funkybottoms posted:i was gonna go to that, but i'm gonna kill the 64oz growler of CCB Ligaro i got for $7.99, instead (with some help from my brother). already tried the SB604, anyway- curious to know what you think of it. The event was so-so. I never got to try the randall since it wasn't clearly marked where they had it, and by the time I finished my regular Bourbon Cru the lines were all absurd. It was packed, to the point where the lines for caps were about 20-ish minutes long and the beer doubly so. The shandy was goddamn delicious, though, and I hope they do it again. Easily the highlight of the event. Still, I kinda wish I'd gone to Whole Foods instead. The SB? Not to poo poo on them, but I was a bit let down. It's a nice beer, don't get me wrong, and it was fantastic for being in the blazing heat and sipping out of a mason jar. But I guess I was expecting an ESB with the usual British maltiness. Instead it felt like a very light pale ale, but with a little too much lingering bitterness for the light body and not a lot else going on. Though if you're looking on a light beer to sip on all day, it's a good'un.
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Jul 5, 2012 09:21
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Midorka posted:They are two different styles. And? They're not radically different styles. Impartial tastings are a great way to separate name brand/category bias from taste alone. It's pretty drat amazing how much your opinion of a beverage is informed by its reputation, even if you feel like you're immune to the effects. You can learn a lot about your tastes by removing context and puzzling over it afterwards. After a weekend-long cookout/boozing venture, I'm pretty much ready for more breweries to switch to cans. Between a pair of broken bottles becoming a hazard to the mostly barefoot populace, taking up more room in trashcans, and taking all the fun out of shore-to-water beer dispersal, it's becoming more apparent to me that cans are really the way to go. Aside from the cost of switching over to a new method of packaging, are there any other concerns with regards to cans vs. bottles? Kraven Moorhed fucked around with this message at 08:33 on Jul 10, 2012 |
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Jul 10, 2012 08:23
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Thanks to the boundless generosity of one Mr. bottoms, I got my hands on a bottle of Pliny the Elder tonight and cracked it with a friend. What we had (which had a few months on it, so the hops had faded) was a pretty great base of a high-ABV IPA. The hops were present, though had lost some of the floral/fruit notes that I was looking for. If you took Hopslam and toned down the sweetness by about half, you'd get pretty much what I experienced. Considering I found Hopslam to be too sweet for my liking, I quite enjoyed it. Not only was it quite tasty under the very conditions the label rails against, but it has redoubled my resolve to one day try a fresh one. And seeing as how my brother is in California at this very moment, this may end up being quite soon. Or Supplication, god I hope he can find that somewhere.
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Jul 18, 2012 08:43
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Turns out chocolate beer floats with Edmund Fitzgerald are pretty tasty. Not a bad way to kill the second half of the bottle after dinner, though now I'm interested in trying that out with Moo-Hoo once it comes around again. Hazelbean talk got me thinking: are there any good nut flavored beers out there? I know Abita does some form of almond beer but I've yet to try it, and it's the only one that springs to mind. Barring some sort of unholy Thai peanut beer, I could see some nuts contributing a little something interesting to a flavor profile. Edit:  106 pictures? How long was the tour? That said, I'm gonna steal that tree house one day and live in it. poo poo's awesome.
Kraven Moorhed fucked around with this message at 19:48 on Jul 22, 2012 |
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Jul 22, 2012 19:45
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Whoever (bartolimu?) recommended Uinta's Baba Black Lager knows their poo poo. Lots of roast and malt character for a lager, and only 4% to boot. Impressive! Then I had a moment of divine inspiration and made a black & tan with Full Nelson, which I highly recommend trying if you have access to both. The transition between layers is a lot smoother and more pleasant than most black & tans I've had. Pretty drat delicious. Also tried Uinta's Punk'n. I'll have to do a side-by-side, but it tasted like a slightly watered down DFH Punkin. Aptly named as it turns out. Not a fantastic beer, as it's another entry into the rather played-out pumpkin-pie-in-a-bottle school of autumn beers, but not terrible. Just a little lacking in the mouthfeel department. Might wanna pass on this one. Lastly, I had a pint of Blue Mountain's Dark Hollow on tap the other day. Having tasted it a few times a month or two previously, it was interesting to come back and see that it'd developed a taste not unlike my halfway botched homebrew RIS. It's hard to describe it as anything other than an off-wood flavor. Lactic maybe? I'll have to pop a bottle of my homebrew and see if I can get a better read on it. Seeing as how Blue Mountain had some issues with one of their other brews from their Barrel House series, there might be some issues down the road if it's not the taplines or my finicky tastebuds.
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Aug 23, 2012 21:22
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Midorka posted:I think I love ESB Amber Ales. I drank the poo poo out of Flying Fish's mediocre rendition until I fell in love with Southern Tier's Harvest Ale and am not greatly enjoying Goose Island's. I guess I need to try to find Fuller's for an authentic English one. Pretty sure ESB is its own style apart from Amber. Anyways, I'm kind of an ESB fanatic myself. Goose Island's Harvest isn't so much an ESB as it is a pale. Pretty disappointed with it since I've loved everything I've had from them so far. To be honest, their Honkers Ale is actually closer to an ESB than the Harvest. I will have to try Southern Tier's take on it, though. But yes, get Fullers. Especially if you can find it on tap. It really is the standard to judge all others. There's an English pub near my school/job that always has it on tap, and despite the markup on what should be a pretty cheap beer, I always fall for it. You might also want to try Wells' Bombardier for another decently accessible and authentic ESB, and Coniston Bluebird for a different interpretation on the style.
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Sep 10, 2012 07:36
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I keep getting confused and think that people talking about BCS are referring to Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout, which is a fantastic loving beer, by the way. Drinking a Honkers Ale currently. I stand by my previous statement: this is more ESB than GI's Harvest. And it turns out it actually is an ESB, which I was not aware of but am delighted to know. Might have to see what the case prices are around here. Or maybe invest in a keg...
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Sep 14, 2012 03:37
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Just got a 120 Minute on draft for free tonight since it kicked the keg. Then I walked two stores down and, on a whim, stepped into a wine shop to see if they had any craft brews. Turns out they still had a 4-pack of Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout from last year, and it was $9.25. Also picked up an Apollo 'cus why not. Today was a good day. 
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Sep 18, 2012 07:04
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funkybottoms posted:i was gonna post something earlier about a bottle share last night, but the power went out and i never got back to it. instead, i will point out that local bar/restaurant Mekong won Best Beer Bar in America on craftbeer.com. this is, despite my love of the place, entirely not true, but they're celebrating with $1 drafts all night, so i don't care. This was utterly hosed up, by the way. Both in the value and the bizarre crowd that it got: lots of beer nerds fervently, drunkenly arguing surrounded by a swarm of bros who'd never heard of the place before that night. Can't complain, though, as I got generous pours of Wookey Jack, Heresy, and JW Lees' Barleywine for $1 each. That's just unreasonable.
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Sep 26, 2012 04:52
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Munkaboo posted:Nah not personally upset. I have a soft spot for Capital Ale and don't know why it doesn't get more love. It's one of the biggest reason I got into craft. Cap Ale helped get me more into craft beer, too, but Mekong is a different beast altogether. Like funkybottoms said, An's incredibly active in the community and makes himself known as a personality which really helps people feel a sense of loyalty to his restaurant. Capital Alehouse doesn't really have a personality, per se--it's just a chain of german-inspired restaurants that have a great selection of beer and some good weekly specials and Oktoberfest. But for the folks talking about the selection, yeah, the website isn't your best bet. He's currently posting stuff on Facebook about how it needs an overhaul, and hell, I didn't go for awhile because the bottle list looked meh. But the taps are interesting, updated frequently, and really drat cheap.
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Sep 27, 2012 04:55
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So the other night a friend decided to layer a Liefmans Raspberry Lambic and a Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. While I may have chosen a different combination (way too tart for the BCS's body) it did turn out interesting, and I think I need to find a less intense fruit beer to pair with Moo-Hoo. Or something a bit less tart for the BCS, I guess. Also I forgot World Wide Stout was 18%. Well, until I took a whiff. How well does it fare with age on it? I've only had it ~a year old. Kraven Moorhed fucked around with this message at 01:17 on Oct 1, 2012 |
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Oct 1, 2012 01:14
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Midorka posted:I personally think that anything over 6% with more than a mild-moderate bitterness is an IPA. Dale's is too high in alcohol and has too much hop bitterness for me to even think of it as a pale ale. I mean it's 65 IBU too, that's just pushing it imo. Well, I'll go ahead and be that guy: a quick google search shows that the Brewers Association lists Pale Ale as being up to 5.6% ABV, but Strong Pale Ale as up to 6.3%. Didn't know that category existed. Looks like they've got your back on the IBUs, though: even the Strong Pale only goes up to 50. In the end, though, it's really up to the brewery and how they think it'll best be marketed. It's not like these things are actually regulated. And I now know there's not only a Bitter, Special Bitter, and Extra Special Bitter, but also a Best Bitter. Where can I find this Best Bitter? Is it really the best? These are the things I need to know! In other news, I had Glazen Toren's Cuvee Angelique on tap the other night. What a fantastic, complex beer. A lot of robust, dark fruits and a surprising amount of malts that ramps up into a tangy sourness right at the end. Surprisingly light mouthfeel for a barrel aged dark, as well. Definitely worth checking out!
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Oct 7, 2012 20:13
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Midorka posted:I'm from Jersey. Anyways, I'm looking into planning a rather extensive Euro trip this coming summer, mostly focusing on Scotland (based out of Perth, Glasgow, or Edinburgh) and Paris, probably also including a day-ish trip to Belgium because who the gently caress am I kidding. What are some spots I should be on the lookout for? Breweries of course, but I'm also looking at bars, pubs, or restaurants worth hitting up. Trying to start assembling a list of possible places to hit while I'm there.
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Oct 14, 2012 05:27
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funkybottoms posted:i might even drink the Fou'Foune out of a frosted mug! Come on man, I thought you had better taste than that. Proper etiquette demands you use one of these babies: 
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Nov 12, 2012 20:12
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Pouring hot water over the wax means you don't have to whittle or saw it-- the hotter, the better. Wait until it gets nice and pliable then cut a seam all the way around. Easy peasy.
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Nov 18, 2012 00:06
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Gunder posted:As for English Strong Ales, I'm going to try the Samuel Smith Yorkshire Stingo with my dinner tomorrow. Anyone tried it? It's been a month or two, but I remember it being pleasant. It did a nice job of incorporating the booziness of the high ABV and the oak from the wood without either being overbearing. Balanced for sure and a nice drink, but I'm not so sure it's worth the price ($12 for me) of entry. That said, I'm going to keep an eye out for it at my local Total Wine in case any are still laying around. Might've improved since then. As for Scotch Ales, I'm a huge fan of Dirty Bastard by Founders and Old Chub by Oskar Blues if you can find them. Both good beers from breweries I've yet to be disappointed by. And if you haven't tried any yet, you might like ESBs if you're into Scotch ales for their maltiness and body-- preferably English, as American ESBs tend to overdo the hops. Kraven Moorhed fucked around with this message at 06:50 on Nov 26, 2012 |
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Nov 26, 2012 06:40
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Gunder posted:I payed about half that for mine. I live in the UK though, so it's probably cheaper over here. I also got bottles of their Nut Brown Ale and Oatmeal Stout. About $4 Each.  Lucky bastard. Their usual fare is pretty cheap over here too, but this is the first limited/seasonal I've seen from them so I'll have to wait and see what happens to the price.
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Nov 26, 2012 07:09
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Cromlech posted:I know Troegs is a "big name" and stuff, but seriously Mad Elf is awesome for being 11%. Not calling you out here in the least, but you reminded me that I tried it a few nights ago. I don't see what the hubbub is, and I actually ended up sending it back less than halfway through. This is the first time I have ever sent a drink back. Ever. It was a boozy, over-spiced cherry mess to me-- and I'm usually a fan of strong ales. I felt it neither hid the alcohol or incorporated it into the flavor profile. It just... languished. And the 6 packs of it around here are bizarrely inflated in price, which just makes me even more bitter about it. Can't really hate on Troegs, though. Flying Mouflan is the bees' knees. Luckily that got replaced with an Old Rasputin on nitro. Dear loving lord that's dangerous, and is the first beer I've truly enjoyed on nitro. Between that and learning they've got Legend barleywine available for growler fills for $12.50 on Thursday, well, I know what I'm drinking this weekend.
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Dec 5, 2012 03:04
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Mahoning posted:I've noticed Weyerbacher packaging getting progressively easier on the eyes.  Were?
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Dec 7, 2012 19:27
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lifts cats over head posted:Also what criteria do you typically use when deciding what to buy/store? Do you go by word of mouth or reputation or do you gamble and buy the beers that look interesting? Well, first we cross-reference this set of market trends with this buying guide--keeping in mind your local distributors, of course, which can be found by talking to the guys who run truck at convenience stores. Barring that, a clandestine rendezvous with the creepy wine guy at your local Kroger can be productive. Edit: In all seriousness, go with your own opinions and take others' with a grain of salt. Drink different stuff until something sticks. When you find something you really like, find out what style and brewery it is and start hopscotching around by style to figure out what it is you like about certain beers. Oh, and don't chase whales until you have a good base in the style already. I've had friends spend a lot of time and money on beers they ended up hating just because I was doing it. Kraven Moorhed fucked around with this message at 03:39 on Dec 13, 2012 |
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Dec 13, 2012 03:35
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Popped my last Dark Hollow after splitting one with a friend a few weeks ago and noticing it was continuing to go south. No surprise, another harrowing experience. I would suspect myself of just having some odd taste aversion or being unlucky with bottles, but my bottle of Mandolin that I'd kept around started tasting worse for wear at Thanksgiving, too. This sucks.  I love supporting local breweries, but Blue Mountain Barrel House is torpedoing me so hard I don't think I'll ever buy a bottle again. Between this poo poo and their mediocre ESB going for $10 I'm just done.
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Dec 14, 2012 06:29
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Vice Zoomler Aestro posted:Actually, I did want to ask if anyone else has been having trouble finding Brown Shugga? It was in every store around Thanksgiving but already has vanished from most. It's arguably the best Lagunitas seasonal, but I usually don't have problems like this finding them. There's one shop in my area that has it tucked into a corner. Everywhere else has been stripped clean. I don't remember it being this sought after last year, as I could find it pretty reliably at any of my local shops for a few months around release. I think the hype train got a bit out of control this time around, which is odd for Lagunitas. They're usually slightly under the radar even though they're so widely distributed.
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Dec 14, 2012 09:18
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funkybottoms posted:KM, you should've come out Yeah I probably should've ventured out, but after dropping so much drat money on beer just the day before I wasn't feeling it. I'm happy just having some BCBS to call my own, and my buddy is popping his bottle with me so I can give it a shot.
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Dec 17, 2012 06:32
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Ommegang is doing several Game of Thrones beers. Not sure how I feel about this. I like most of their stuff, but a tie-in beer? I can't imagine that would be anything but middle of the road. Still, I'm enough of a whore to buy it.
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Dec 18, 2012 01:12
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Mahoning posted:Winter Ales are coming. Gonna be really upset if they don't have Ned's Head Red Ale as one of their entries. Or Ned's Head Flanders Red if they feel like double-dipping with Fox, too.
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Dec 18, 2012 05:21
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FreelanceSocialist posted:Cracked an '11 Victory Old Horizontal. If you like American BW's, I highly recommend it. Huge, dry, bitter hops right up front, followed by a nice balance of malts and dried fruits, then a dry finish. Solid stuff. Buy as much of this as you can once it comes around again and sit on it for a nice, long time. 5 year Old Horizontal is one of the best beers I've tasted to date (only beaten out by Nemesis). The hops are almost absent at that point, but it draws out the malt and fruit flavors like crazy. If you like it fresh as much as I do you need to try it with some years on it. God I love that stuff. It was my first legal six pack.
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Dec 20, 2012 06:52
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Retemnav posted:Unfortunately, not much to compare because the '11 is definitely infected. In recent news, bought the last Black Ops in Beer Run (what a store!) that was obviously hidden behind several other bottles. Popped it the very same night in place of the ceremonial champagne. Happy New Years, Charlottesville.  To be honest, though, I didn't feel like it was worth the price of admission. Cool bottle that I'll certainly keep but talk about overhyped. Ended up enjoying the North Coast Grand Cru quite a bit more. And on a previous night I found a 2 year old bottle of Sublimely Self Righteous ale that blew me the gently caress away. Didn't expect a black IPA to age that well, but hot drat that was a lot more delicious than fresh. Kraven Moorhed fucked around with this message at 00:58 on Jan 2, 2013 |
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Jan 2, 2013 00:56
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Uggggh. Stores less than 2 hours from me are overflowing with Belgian Yeti, but none of the local stores get any Great Divide. At least I got to pick up a few to hoard.
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Jan 21, 2013 02:57
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Saranac White IPA Dogfish Head 120 Starr Hill Northern Lights Budweiser Platinum Catching Grass Clippings With My Mouth Edit: For content, just replace all those with Maximus and you've got my list. Or really any IPA that Lagunitas puts out.  Despite having explored a lot of different IPAs, I just keep going back to Maximus and Sam Adams Latitude 48.Also, my town has started getting Dark Horse and I've only just recently given them a shot. One Oatmeal Stout is a Tasty Beer and should be drank by people who like those things, y'hear? Kraven Moorhed fucked around with this message at 04:30 on Jan 31, 2013 |
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Jan 31, 2013 04:26
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Midorka posted:Assuming a 6 month best before date, the Big Eye is a month old while the Sculpin was 2 months. I'm guessing that may be part of the reason why. The only way to know for sure is to hope Sculpin comes fresher next time.  I know that hops degrade over time, but I doubt a month is going to be enough to completely change your opinion about an IPA. You might be giving age a bit more weight than it's worth.
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Feb 4, 2013 03:53
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ShaneB posted:3F just sold out of Barrel Aged Behemoth with cherries. At $40 a bottle. By 4pm. On a workday. We need to get elementary school teachers to start regulating production of these releases. "Now now, Three Floyds, if you didn't make enough for the class I'm afraid you'll have to put the Behemoth away."
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Feb 6, 2013 01:00
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Midorka posted:Edit: Brought the 3Beans into the shower to experience a shower beer, it's all that I've been led to believe and more. I will be doing this more often. Try an IPA or wheat in the shower. My best shower beer was a Bells Oarsman after several hours of summer yard work. It was a transcendent experience; just enough tart to cut through the parch and the humidity of the steam. Really, I think any beer that's light on malt and sugar is made amazing by a hot shower. I've tried a stout and an IIPA before, and in both cases I ended up finishing them after I got out. Kraven Moorhed fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Feb 6, 2013 |
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Feb 6, 2013 03:14
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WaffleStomp posted:Is New Holland Blue Sunday worth getting at $15.50 a bottle? I love sours and I've never had access to this one before. I'm assuming you're talking about a 750. It's probably worth a shot if you enjoy the style, but I wasn't all that impressed with it when I had it on draft recently. My girlfriend really enjoyed it, though. I just feel like there's better sours available year-round, but that might just be my market. Kraven Moorhed fucked around with this message at 02:19 on Feb 12, 2013 |
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Feb 12, 2013 02:15
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 JW Lees' Lagavulin-aged Harvest ale was sure something. I was expecting a hint of smoke or maybe a faint peat-ish aroma, but instead I got suplexed straight into a flaming barrel of peat. Couldn't taste anyone else's beers through the aftertaste which didn't linger so much as cling to me like a wet turtleneck. Scotch and barleywines don't sound like they go together, and I can't even say the flavors of this beer mesh as much as they should, but this is definitely worth trying. Goddamn.Edit: Jesus, I just checked the site and it's a keg of the 2003 vintage. How the hell did this tiny little place get something like that? Kraven Moorhed fucked around with this message at 02:05 on Feb 19, 2013 |
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Feb 19, 2013 01:55
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Last time someone corrected my pronunciation while drinking I went on a rant about prescriptivism and how our understanding of a constantly shifting morphology has outmoded rigid standardization, but that didn't make me any less wrong so I just went back to my beer. Genghis Pecan, by the way, didn't taste like pecan pie. Or pecan. Or anything, really, aside from an ordinary stout. Luckily I went to Saison, a brew/gastro-pub in Richmond, that very same night. Totally made up for it. I'd been before (for the Lagavulin cask JW Lees I mentioned awhile ago. Still there, it turns out) but returned to try out the food which turned out to be pretty great. It's a lot smaller than the other beer destinations in Richmond, but if you find yourself in the area it's definitely worth it to stop by for a drink. Great staff, too.
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Feb 26, 2013 06:02
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Kenning posted:Hey, just so you guys know I'm selling a bunch of used beer taps on SA Mart that I got when my restaurant remodeled. Check it out if you're interested. I was actually about to mention this. I'm a total whore for Lagunitas, so those in particular really tempt me.  Speaking of which, this may be old news, but I just saw that Lagunitas has an amazing bottle opener in their online shop. Complete with two fantastic videos on how to use it.
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Feb 28, 2013 06:49
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Found myself up in NOVA 5 minutes from a Total Wine yet again, so I stocked up on Boulevard beers, snagged another Belgian Yeti ( ), and decided on a whim to pick up the Barrel Aged Gonzo. Didn't have a price tag, but I figured it wasn't going to be that bad.$18 later and I'm a little suspicious, especially since I haven't seen this before. People seem to dig it on RB and I think the base beer's alright. Anyone give this a shot before?
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Mar 4, 2013 19:46
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I've been on a bit of a Wee Heavy kick, so I had a lapse of judgment and reneged on my promise never to buy Duck Rabbit again. Their Wee Heavy is frustratingly close to being good. Really liked the caramelly, malty goodness and the just-right mouthfeel that attracts me to British style ales. Not a whole lot of hop presence, which pisses me off in some American interpretations. But then the prevalent banana-y esters on the back made me do a double-take. Waaay too strong for a Scotch ale, or really any British style for that matter. I'd love those fruit notes on the back in a lighter or sweeter beer, but in a dark, thick brew like this? No thanks. Looks like Duck Rabbit's back on the poo poo-list for awhile. Also tried Double Crooked Tree by Dark Horse. I was quite a ways through a decent but not stand-out IPA when I found myself feeling a little funny. Then I found out it was 12% and was, well, surprised. This stuff's sneaky and hides the alcohol like a good stout, but without being too intense. Still have a few bottles, so maybe I'll let it warm up more next time to see if I missed something. Oh, and that Lagunitas butterfly bottle-opener I posted about earlier? A friend saw me hesitate, so he pulled the trigger for me. This thing's much more fun than it has any right to be, and is now a viable contender for the title of "Dumbest thing I own".
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Mar 12, 2013 01:16
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wattershed posted:Here they come... Holy poo poo. Those cans look so much better than the bottles.
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Mar 20, 2013 07:59
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funkybottoms posted:guaranteed to be better than Virginia Strawberry, anyway. Aiming high, I see. And I can't believe Mekong has 32 taps now. That's absurd in the best way.
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Mar 20, 2013 17:57
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