speaking of 10% alcohol, red hook 8-4-1 expedition @ 9.5%. "oak aged ale brewed with honey" (and brown sugar and smoked malt). nice, though unsurprisingly cloying after a the first few sips. they try to offset the sweetness with massive hops, but it winds up more aggressive than balanced. still pretty tasty. one of a billion short run big beers produced every month by the nameless numberless american craft/micro/indie brewery hordes. wtf at the name though. like it's a sleeping bag or a bike seat.
anyway yeah, dogfish 90, all the way. i have often remarked that it gets my dick like a nail.
― a dystopian society awaits if we continue on this path. (contenderizer), Monday, 23 August 2010 07:17 (thirteen years ago) link
TMIPA
― Ground Zero Mostel (Hurting 2), Monday, 23 August 2010 20:59 (thirteen years ago) link
i was just thinking baout great lakes and i skimmed this thread and i'm shocked that people like grassroots! it's the only great lakes beer i've hated. it tastes like it's made from actual grass.
― the girl with the butt tattoo (harbl), Monday, 30 August 2010 23:10 (thirteen years ago) link
i also think harpoon ufo is really good so maybe i just have bad taste
― the girl with the butt tattoo (harbl), Monday, 30 August 2010 23:15 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.2beerguys.com/images/forblog/weyerbacher_verboten.jpg
if you see this, buy it. absolutely incredible, starts as a straight belgian and finishes as a sharp pale ale, a total knockout imo
― Cat Bin Ladyn (jjjusten), Monday, 30 August 2010 23:32 (thirteen years ago) link
really wanna try stone ruination but i'm... scared
in the mean-time new glarus moon man is working for me, satisfying my hop-tooth
― del griffith, Tuesday, 31 August 2010 00:02 (thirteen years ago) link
went to local fancy pants organic deli/cafe/grocery and got a 'mix a six'
all 12oz
saranac imperial ipa fire island red wagon ipa (only one of these i've had, and only on tap)river horse hop hazard (not sure why i got a third ipa)lake placid ubu ale (red/brown ale?)weyerbacher blithering idiot barleywineriver horse tripel horse (inna belgian-stylee)
i will report my findings.if the saranac is good, it's some nice bang for yer buck as at the cheapest one ($2.15 lol new york) and also like 8.5%
― not everything is a campfire (ian), Tuesday, 31 August 2010 00:52 (thirteen years ago) link
new to these parts is the sierra nevada fall seasonal--it's a very nice brown ale.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 31 August 2010 01:28 (thirteen years ago) link
Ruination is really good, haven't had one in a while - it's hoppy but I remember it being pretty well balanced and interesting instead of just straight up bitter. But my concept of such might be damaged after four years of PNW IPA excesses.
― koch-o brovaz (joygoat), Tuesday, 31 August 2010 04:45 (thirteen years ago) link
new glarus moon man tastes kinda like grass, but in a good way
― dan m, Tuesday, 31 August 2010 06:34 (thirteen years ago) link
have never liked a single beer produced by stone people. they taste burly and that is all. do not want my beer to taste like sweaty woodman compost.
― a dystopian society awaits if we continue on this path. (contenderizer), Tuesday, 31 August 2010 06:36 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah i had levitation a couple weeks ago and i thought it was "good" but probably wouldn't get it again, and also like 4.5% or something
― the girl with the butt tattoo (harbl), Tuesday, 31 August 2010 11:19 (thirteen years ago) link
have really gone off anything over 5% these days... why? i think it's because i like to drink beer. and i have to drink less of it if it's like Yeasty Buck Hammer Strength Hop Town Pot Bangle, 9.2% ABV
― progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 31 August 2010 11:25 (thirteen years ago) link
yup
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 31 August 2010 11:45 (thirteen years ago) link
Same with "scrumpy" ciders tbh - rough as guts, most of them, bleugh.
― YOUNG POLLY GERNO'S (Trayce), Tuesday, 31 August 2010 11:56 (thirteen years ago) link
Picked up few of the Dogfish Head/Stone/Victory collaboration beer, Saison du BUFF. Not really my cup of beer. I'm not a fan of the Saison style to begin with. Add the contents of my spice drawer and this one was hard to get down at times.
― Jeff, Tuesday, 31 August 2010 12:15 (thirteen years ago) link
ian, how was that weyerbacher ?
― Aerosol, Tuesday, 31 August 2010 12:21 (thirteen years ago) link
I dig the strong-ass high ABV beers because I like to drink like one beer per evening and don't mind if they're really strong and dense.
I like all the Stone beers I've had but there are breweries out there where I categorically dislike all of their beers because they all taste really similar. Is this due to a particular strain of yeast / variety of hops thing? Like for me all Rogues taste like Rogues and I don't necessarily like that.
― koch-o brovaz (joygoat), Tuesday, 31 August 2010 14:56 (thirteen years ago) link
Yeah, i think I like 6-7% abv in general -- anything higher than that is a little too alcohol-y for me. the sierra fall tumbler thing mentioned above is great. i think i bought it in hopes that it would bring fall weather sooner out here. but it's still in the 90s.
― tylerw, Tuesday, 31 August 2010 16:12 (thirteen years ago) link
beer in the old era:
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/09/03/baltic.sea.beer/index.html
― progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Sunday, 5 September 2010 10:54 (thirteen years ago) link
finally found a good place to buy american beers in london, picked up a few yday, maybe these are all quite standard but should be nice nonetheless.
i got
stone ipaodell brewing company ipadogfish head 90 minute ipahopdevil ipaflying dog snakedog ipa
― I see what this is (Local Garda), Friday, 10 September 2010 11:12 (thirteen years ago) link
Thinking about going to this event in a couple weeks. Interested, Jeff?
http://www.metropoliscoffee.com/blog/2010/09/kegs-for-kids-a-craft-beer-tasting-party/
― jaymc, Friday, 10 September 2010 13:35 (thirteen years ago) link
Maybe. It would be really cool if you got to drink at the elementary school. With the kids.
― Jeff, Friday, 10 September 2010 14:57 (thirteen years ago) link
if any of you are in the denver area: www.denverbeerfest.com ... ties into the Great American Beer Fest next week.
― tylerw, Friday, 10 September 2010 15:12 (thirteen years ago) link
Been slowly making my way through a 6pck of Dogfish Raison D'Etre. Very satisfying.
― Romeo Jones, Friday, 10 September 2010 15:58 (thirteen years ago) link
Picked up a 6 of the first new Bell's I've tried in a while, Oarsman Ale. Pretty unremarkable, sadly. Fairly light and very drinkable, something that I'm sure could be called a "session" beer. Nice touch of sour taste in place of the hops, and nice label art. But overall kind of boring, sadly.
― dan m, Wednesday, 15 September 2010 17:16 (thirteen years ago) link
curious to see the reaction to the london ipa smorgasbord - of the ones you listed, i LOVE the odell and am indifferent to the rest iirc - but not in a bad way (hopdevil can be a little bit of sork tbh.
actually i think there are two odell ipas - which one is it?
yeah the oarsman ale was kind of a miss, like a really boring sour ale. and as a dude who loves sour ale, thats the last thing they should be.
― Gerard Depardeauxnt (jjjusten), Wednesday, 15 September 2010 17:23 (thirteen years ago) link
just spent a mixed 12 pack confirming that i think that the flying dog stuff is indeed shit
― Gerard Depardeauxnt (jjjusten), Friday, 17 September 2010 01:33 (thirteen years ago) link
going to City Beer Store now, psyched
― bike chain dust? (lukas), Friday, 17 September 2010 01:34 (thirteen years ago) link
southern tier pumking on draft today = one hell of a beer
― call all destroyer, Friday, 17 September 2010 01:38 (thirteen years ago) link
followed by ayinger and paulaner oktoberfests. my local is rad right now.
is the pumking strongly pumpkiny or super allspicey? i have yet to find a pumpkin beer i liked
― Gerard Depardeauxnt (jjjusten), Friday, 17 September 2010 01:41 (thirteen years ago) link
pumking is pumpkin pie in a glass. it's incredibly rich dessert beer stuff.
― call all destroyer, Friday, 17 September 2010 01:42 (thirteen years ago) link
hmmmmppphh. that prob wont be the one that will sway me then tbh
― Gerard Depardeauxnt (jjjusten), Friday, 17 September 2010 01:43 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah most pumpkin beers are mediocre at best imo but it sounds like it's just not the flavor for you possibly?
― call all destroyer, Friday, 17 September 2010 01:45 (thirteen years ago) link
flying dog is sort of okay but a bit sweet or something. i hate the marketing of stuff like that which is offputting enough too!
odell was great, maybe the best. i thought hopdevil was maybe the great too tho, really good aftertaste.
the odell i had was this bottle http://www.freewebs.com/johnnydrunkenirishman/Johnny%27s%20pictures%20024.JPG
― I see what this is (Local Garda), Friday, 17 September 2010 01:50 (thirteen years ago) link
flying dog has the absolute worst labels which is saying something
― call all destroyer, Friday, 17 September 2010 01:51 (thirteen years ago) link
not as bad as the brewdog craft beers in the uk....."PUNK IPA" etc......i have to tear off the labels if i'm drinking with friends as i am scared someone might think i believe in the brand.
― I see what this is (Local Garda), Friday, 17 September 2010 01:53 (thirteen years ago) link
the two brands are really similar tho....
http://www.brewdog.com/slideshow/pic3.jpg
― call all destroyer, Friday, 17 September 2010 01:54 (thirteen years ago) link
http://www.kbsinstitute.org/images/pullo/244_4414.JPG
they do look different but the shared dog name makes me lump them together
― I see what this is (Local Garda), Friday, 17 September 2010 01:56 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah the odell stuff is amazing - if you see a bottle of 90 shilling ale, pick it up (although honestly ive liked everything theyve done so far so its hard to go wrong). i was hoping it was the elephant label - thats the one i like better as well. also speaking of label/bottle design, odell is way ahead of the pack on that front.
― Gerard Depardeauxnt (jjjusten), Friday, 17 September 2010 01:56 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah the label on the bottle is really nicely designed. the craft beer place i went to is actually pretty amazing so hopefully can get more odell stuff, i love a trip there, so good and got a friend into the idea too...
― I see what this is (Local Garda), Friday, 17 September 2010 01:59 (thirteen years ago) link
xp yeah i just felt like posting them both--they are equally aesthetically terrible--though flying dog offends me more
― call all destroyer, Friday, 17 September 2010 01:59 (thirteen years ago) link
And the Odell has a great label! (xpost)
We should do a separate thread on best/worst beer labels.
Meanwhile I've lately resolved to stick to Trader Joe's beers (or the ones they sell at TJ's prices) until I run out of ones to try and get sick of them. I can't really justify $12-14 for a sixpack when these are so perfectly good for $6-7. So far I've done the TJ/Josef's Hefeweizen, Dunkelweizen, Bavarian Lager, Vienna Lager and Hofbrau Bock. All of these are good, my favorite is probably the Dunkel, and I need to taste the Vienna and Bavarian side by side because I don't know what the difference is. I've also had Mission St. IPA and Blonde Ale, both of which were fine and as good as some of the premium IPAs and Blondes I've had, if not the best, and now I have a sixpack of Stockyard Stout, which I like very much. Once in a while I'll buy a pint or two of high-end stuff to round this out I guess.
― Ground Zero Mostel (Hurting 2), Friday, 17 September 2010 02:01 (thirteen years ago) link
I had a really nice Japanese wheat beer called Ginga Kogen with some yellowtail ceviche the other day.
― Donovan Dagnabbit (WmC), Friday, 17 September 2010 02:20 (thirteen years ago) link
SOMEone's living the life
― call all destroyer, Friday, 17 September 2010 02:30 (thirteen years ago) link
Try Mendocino's beers at TJ's, Hurting, if you haven't yet. I like the Eye of the Hawk and White Hawk types (8 and 7% abv, resp) when I'm looking for a stronger beer.
― nickn, Friday, 17 September 2010 04:56 (thirteen years ago) link
mendocino is good beers.
am drinking a stone 14 "emperial" IPA. bought due to the momentary sense that there was too much dirty ugly money in my pocket. tastes like a stone beer, which is to say excessively hoppy up front and syrupy underneath. not bad, not great.
― having taken an actual journalism class (contenderizer), Friday, 17 September 2010 06:26 (thirteen years ago) link