it really exceeded my expectations -- I thought it was just gonna be some goofy novelty beer, but the flavor was surprisingly well-balanced. would definitely drink it again, preferably in late September with a slice of pumpkin pie close at hand.
― I'm the head soul brother in the US. Where to now? (bernard snowy), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:02 (fifteen years ago) link
yea the chipotle ale is actually pretty good, not just a gimmick
the palo santo would be awesome if you only had like 6 oz of it in a brandy snifter or something. a whole bottle is just too much
― mark cl, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:05 (fifteen years ago) link
had this crazy belgian sour beer a few weeks ago, it was amazing. Any recommendations for good sour beers, belgian or otherwise?
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_LuIPHnbJaVQ/R9xHIhjcxNI/AAAAAAAAAHc/F_AAefeSbJU/s400/IMG_0852.JPG
still on the fence about sours but i think this one is supposed to be pretty good. ^^^
had it a few weeks ago and wasn't sure if it was my thing or not
― mark cl, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:10 (fifteen years ago) link
if the image doesn't show it's monk's cafe flemish sour ale
awesome. wonder if it's available in IL?
― Dr. Johnson (askance johnson), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:16 (fifteen years ago) link
dogfish head apricot beer = suckstone vertical epic = fine, not really my favorite of theirs or even close.stone old guardian barleywine = ah, my old friend
― ian, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:21 (fifteen years ago) link
What is barleywine beer like?
― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:26 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah aprihop is not DFH's best. i like palo santo, but basically, im thinking "why am i not drinking 90min?" im very excited for the sah'tea, immort ale, fort, and world wide stout releases this year -- hope they hit the west coast...
― 69, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:27 (fifteen years ago) link
barleywines are real big and malty, high alcohol content, heavy. not bad if you have one.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:28 (fifteen years ago) link
barleywine beer is good and strong and a little acrid tasting? definitely tastes like theres a lot of stuff going on in there (ie not crisp or clean like a german beer obv), and often tastes (at least has been made to taste) woody, like cask-fermented beer?
― 69, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:29 (fifteen years ago) link
dogfish head's old school barleywine is great and kicks like a mule!
― 69, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:30 (fifteen years ago) link
barleywine makes me think of brandywine which makes me think of hobbits so i like it for that reason as well.
― ian, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:34 (fifteen years ago) link
shitll put fur on your feet
― 69, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:42 (fifteen years ago) link
OK, you just ruined it.
― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:49 (fifteen years ago) link
hobbits have never ruined anything in their sweet, innocent little lives.
― ian, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:50 (fifteen years ago) link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barleywine
― ian, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 17:57 (fifteen years ago) link
yea barleywines are delicious
― mark cl, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:12 (fifteen years ago) link
Oh man, how is it? I almost tried it at Hopleaf last week.
awesome. so bell's is officially back in chicago now, huh?
― Ømår Littel (Jordan), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:16 (fifteen years ago) link
so has anyone tried aging beer? i bought some north coast old ale a few months ago that was just too hot, too boozy. i set it down along w/ some palo santo in my parent's basement (my apartment is far too temperature-variable, gets way too hot in the summer), will try it next year
― mark cl, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:17 (fifteen years ago) link
may xps - i thought DFH aprihop was great, tbh. tho i tried only a small sample at a bar. thought it would be a good spring beer
― mark cl, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:18 (fifteen years ago) link
has anyone besides mr que tried GUMBALLHEAD? its an IPA, not of extreme hoppiness or anything, but SO SO tasty and fresh. def one of my favorite rare beer finds.
― 69, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:18 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, Jordan, it's been back for about 6 months now.
― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:18 (fifteen years ago) link
i've always been kind of curious abt aging but def do not have the infrastructure to try it.
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:18 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, Gumballhead is good. Doesn't seem that rare here, because the brewery is in northwest Indiana. I downed three of them pretty easily a week ago at pub quiz.
― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:19 (fifteen years ago) link
science experiments
― Ømår Littel (Jordan), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:19 (fifteen years ago) link
loving this thread today
― open up a cat of whup-ass (dan m), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:31 (fifteen years ago) link
btw jaymc: Full Sail is available around town
― open up a cat of whup-ass (dan m), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:34 (fifteen years ago) link
Huh. It doesn't even look remotely familiar to me.
― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:44 (fifteen years ago) link
so we didn't take any photos, but our homebrew the other night ended up looking pretty similar to this (from GIS):
http://greenpreferred.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/dsc02948.JPG
― mark cl, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:46 (fifteen years ago) link
we did the all-american thing to do and brewed an strong IPA
― mark cl, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:47 (fifteen years ago) link
Thanks for the Gumballhead tip! Hadn't heard about that one, but <3 <3 <3 Three Floyds Brewing.
― Such A Hilbily (Dan Peterson), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 18:50 (fifteen years ago) link
v v good
― 69, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:00 (fifteen years ago) link
did you use your bathroom as the brewing space?
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:02 (fifteen years ago) link
ha, no, that's not my photo
― mark cl, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:03 (fifteen years ago) link
just found on GIS, used it b/c the color was pretty similar to ours
lol yeah i'm just playin
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:05 (fifteen years ago) link
perfectly good use for extra bathroom space though
yea totally, would actually not be a bad place to do it once all the boiling's done
― mark cl, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:08 (fifteen years ago) link
er except for all the nasty-ass microbial shit prob floating in the air
― mark cl, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:09 (fifteen years ago) link
yeah on second though it's kind of weird
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:09 (fifteen years ago) link
Alaskan stuff is super common here in WA, like available at your basic gas station. When I used to live in AZ 10 years ago, Fat Tire was a huge cultish kind of thing but now I see it all over and honestly haven't had one in ages. I like other New Belgiums but Fat Tire doesn't do anything for me.
Barleywines are great, I see a lot of those over the winter and they're usually really good. The Stone Old Guardian is really nice.
And jaymc, the only time I've ever seen anything from Harpoon was actually in Chicago last summer - I bought a bunch of their IPA (and a lot of Gumballhead) to take back home because I was road tripping. I got it at some crazy huge beer and wine store in Lincoln Park area? I've been there twice but don't remember the name of it.
― joygoat, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:20 (fifteen years ago) link
I got it at some crazy huge beer and wine store in Lincoln Park area?
This would either be Sam's (North/Clybourn area) or Binny's (Clark/Belmont area). Yeah, I bet there are probably a number of craft breweries that you wouldn't necessarily see at your corner liquor store that have a presence at one of those warehouse places.
― Bianca Jagger (jaymc), Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:35 (fifteen years ago) link
I've also recently been consuming a bit of Troegs "Nugget Nectar" and I swear it's not just for the name. It's an "Imperial Amber" but is comparable in taste to, um, I dunno like Lagunitas Extra IPA or something? Sort of flowery and fruity. Strong, but quite drinkable.
Another ugly label, though not as ugly as the similarly-marketed "Hoptical Illusion" by Bluepoint.
http://mondaynightbrewery.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/nugget-nectar-mnb-pint.jpg vs http://farm1.static.flickr.com/159/397050610_be72beb238.jpg%3Fv%3D0
― ian, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:39 (fifteen years ago) link
http://www.shoppersvineyard.com/img/productImages/02788.gif
― ian, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:40 (fifteen years ago) link
oh now i understand the name of our scrabble game i thought it was an easter bunny thing
― 69, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:42 (fifteen years ago) link
i bought a single of nugget nectar a few weeks ago, since i had heard about it so much (beer message boards talk about it nonstop, wau). think i just wasn't in the mood at the time. it's got almost a thick mouthfeel doesn't it? almost syrupy up front? agreed btw that it's much more of an extra/double IPA than an amber tho
― mark cl, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:44 (fifteen years ago) link
i kind of love nugget nectar. i like the label too
― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:47 (fifteen years ago) link
Yeah, it's got an almost syrupy sweetness. I've been buying one or two at a time and then usually switching to an english ale (Old Speckled Hen, if the bodega has it) or the Brooklyn IPA which is a much more beery-tasting beer, if that makes sense. xp
― ian, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:47 (fifteen years ago) link
yea the label's cool. i like the fist grabbing the hop flower
― mark cl, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:48 (fifteen years ago) link
btw this thread made me contemplate buying a beer instead of an iced tea to go with my lunch.
― ian, Tuesday, 14 April 2009 19:48 (fifteen years ago) link