Beer in the new era

happy channukah to mordy! i knew my beer place was going to get some of the bourbon county coffee stout variants this week, but i didn't know when. anyway, i figured tonight i should drop in, remind them i exist, etc and when i got in the manager told me (discretely bc the place was packed) that they came in. but instead of a case of the 24 smaller bottles they only got 12 of the larger ones! anyway she surreptitiously sold me one. it must've been psychic resonance that got me to come in tnite. now i can't decide whether to drink it sooner or save it for a special occasion.

The coffee flavor fell off a lot for the 2011 release after a year. Still good, just in a different way. This years coffee is drinking really good fresh. So drink it.

Also, it only comes in larger bottles.

ok, maybe i'll drink it for new years then

yeah drink coffee fresh--legit amazing beer and flavor integration.

that terrapin moo-hoo chocolate milk stout kinda actually tastes like chocolate milk. i don't know if it's something i'd drink regularly, but chocolate milk beer is definitely something i'm happy i tried. (and it wasn't super heavy - which i was worried about; though it's very dark. it had that easy drinkableness that real chocolate milk does)

also, what charming packaging!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_A_opcg_BeKs/TOxDle_JavI/AAAAAAAAB44/sN3x1uay0rk/s1600/Terrapin+Moo-Hoo+Chocolate+Milk+Stout+2.jpg

enjoying my first chimay blue atm. Kind of a similar variety to the unibroue trader joe's ale I had the other night, so I have a good point of comparison. I'd say this has a bit more bite and carbonation, and is less sweet but still relatively sweet like most belgian ales. Strong maple syrup notes inasmuch as I'm even able to discern "notes" in beer.

now get a rochefort 10

So it looks like I might wind up here a bit later - any good? http://bangersandlacechicago.com/

Any recommendations from their beer list? Anyone suggesting anything European gets the gas face, and anyone suggesting the - frankly, awful - Abbot Ale gets gas face squared.

I would definitely order the Allagash Bourbon Black + the Southern Tier Choklat.

man there is a world of difference between the beers you dudes get and the ones we get up here, i am woefully unaware of most of the non imports on that list

Bangers and lace is great, hard to go wrong with just about anything on draft. I really like the Local Option Kentucky Common. But seriously, try as many as you can.

they've got pappys on the bourbon menu

Sure, you can get Pappy here in a few places. If you've got some $$$ burning a hole in your pocket.

Here's probably my three favorite beer menus in the city, or at least to the places I go to frequently.

http://fountainheadchicago.com/menu/beerdrink/our-draft-bottled-beers/
http://localoptionbier.com/beer/
http://www.northdownchicago.com/drink/beer/

There are many many more though. too many.

those are pretty great

i wanna play too!

http://thehappygnome.com/menus/drafts/
http://muddypig.com/draft-beers.aspx
http://www.thebulldoglowertown.com/beer/

bulldog layout is super shitty, but oh man, theres some good stuff (same place that did the sour beer night i mentioned on here a while ago)

am i the only person that thinks that the mikkeller stuff is sorta overpriced garbage

I've liked some. There's like a million of them. Maybe two million. A couple have to be good.

Would go to The Happy Gnome. May live there.

re: local option, gdamn cantillon bottles are such a good buy in bars

man there is a world of difference between the beers you dudes get and the ones we get up here, i am woefully unaware of most of the non imports on that list

Bangers & Lace has a pretty well-curated menu, tbf.

Jaymc, I need to have you over to drink beer. Otherwise I will never drink this beer.

http://www.thepourreport.com/a-visit-to-peekskill-brewerys-new-digs/

i think i'm gonna go check out peekskill brewery's new space this weekend - very excited about this place's potential (they have a coolship and hired away ithaca's former head brewer, who was responsible for ithaca's increasingly excellent wild ales)

Enjoyed Bangers & Lace, only stayed for a couple because I needed to eat tacos and sleep (only landed yesterday).

Mild irritation when we thought they'd poured the wrong beer (the bock didn't match their menu description at all, tasted like a weissbeer, when we asked they didn't even check what was in our glass, just gave us a patronizing little chat about how some bocks can be very light.). NBD though

Struck by them having Abbot Ale in the menu - it's really no good, if I'm in a pub in which Abbot is the only cask ale I'll drink something else entirely. By a street the worst beer in the building, I reckon.

Picked up a copy of http://mashtunjournal.org in the fancy clothes shop my wife likes over the road from B&L. Enjoying it.

never heard of mashtun but the website looks cool and the top article is about freshness, which i've been wondering a bit about lately. i know heavier APV beers and stouts can keep for a while (and sometimes improve w/ aging), but that the hoppier IPAs and stuff can lose flavor fairly quickly. for a bottle of lagunitas sumpin sumpin, or sierra celebration how long can it sit before it starts to go bad? is it really a couple weeks? my dad had some cases of yuengling in his garage for a few years and we broke them out not long ago and they tasted fine. do you guys rush to finish bottles of IPAs or is it really not that big a deal?

I can't keep Celebration in my fridge long enough for it to "go bad!" Couple weeks seems way cautious to me, but I don't generally squirrel away hoppy beers for more than a few months.

I had a 2010 celebration the other week, it was pretty good.

I also have a 2011 120 minute IPA in my closet. Supposedly it ages well.

I'm always impressed by anyone who has the self-discipline to keep good beer in the cupboard for any length of time.

I used to think it would be impossible, but I just started buying so much that I couldn't possible drink it all. Put it in the closet and sort of forget about it. Getting it out of the fridge is the key. I do worry about the temp in the closet though. It's okay through the winter, it's usually 65 or lower, but this summer I feel like I should look for alternatives.

i try to finish ipas w/in like 3 mos. of bottling date. the "couple of weeks" crowd is weird and paranoid but it makes no sense to let an ipa sit around either.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8359/8293771973_26d79896ec.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8493/8293771473_4a44d1851f.jpg

Using the word 'cellar' strikes me as especially aggrandizing, so I'll just say I've stashed the following in a Rubbermaid in the corner of my basement. Not the most impressive, but it's a solid start I think:

-Two 2012 Abyss. Really going to commit to aging these- the two bottles put together cost more than my typical trip to the liquor store, so I'm going to do it right
-Three Backwoods Bastard (this one ages really well imo)
-4 pack of BCS (so affordable, so good)
-1 Narwhal, found this one too hoppy and boozy, hoping it mellows
-I think an Old Rasputin or two?
-6 Homebrewed Tripels

Also, buddy of mine was over the other night, and we cracked some 2011 Darkness, that shit really gets better with age! I didn't find the 2011 so good last year when it came out, but the 2012 now came off as impossibly sweet in comparison. I don't know if it was the age or a difference in recipe, probably both.

I should get a few Rochefort 10s for my don't-call-it-a-cellar. Hmmm.

Also, Jeff, is that Founder's bomber a Bolt Cutter or a Frangelic? If it's the Mountain Brown, I would recommend pouring it directly down the drain. Also, I've heard mixed things on aging Breakfast Stout. I just didn't bother because it was so good fresh, don't know what you think.

drink breakfast stout for breakfast: y/n?

Duhhhhh. Do it.

I have bolt cutter and mountain brown. I love the mountain brown, already drank 2 bottles of it. Haven't tried the bolt cutter yet but have read mixed reviews.

I'll drink the breakfast stout sooner rather than later. Just need to move it to the fridge.

i'm pretty suspicious of aging any beer with coffee notes

^^ That was my worry on Breakfast Stout. It seems similar to an IPA in that the element you bought it for would fade w/ time.

And to each their own on the Frangelic, I found it tasted like some Nescafe shit.

I could see that, but maybe I just like Nescafé.

Agree with the coffee beers. I don't plan on leaving everything in there for years. I'll drink all my bourbon county coffee sooner because it is so good fresh.

a great startup beer for cellaring/stashing/holding/etc that i'd recommend is north coast's old stock ale. phenomenal beer to begin with (and glad it hasn't reached the hording status of bourbon county) and pretty easy to track down, even previous year vintages. bell's expedition and goose island nightstalker also benefit tremendously after a year left alone imho.

had brooklyn blast on tap tonight -- imperial ipa -- good!

v. drinkable for a 9% ipa imo

wish that one came up this way

are you supposed to refrigerate ale?

Struck by them having Abbot Ale in the menu - it's really no good, if I'm in a pub in which Abbot is the only cask ale I'll drink something else entirely. By a street the worst beer in the building, I reckon.

I read that Abbot Ale is Tim Martin's favourite beer, which I assume may be one of the reasons it is available in all Wetherspoon's. I don't think I've ever drunk it. This is partly because it seems like a boring choice, plus I tend to avoid beers above about 4.5% in strength.

Regarding "coffee beers", I had Dark Star's Espresso the other day (hand pump at the Toll Gate, Turnpike Lane) and it was really nice.

i think ale should be stored in a fridge if temperature fluctuates in your abode, but not served that cold. personally prefer verying temp. depending on the brew. beers are served too cold for their own good in bars (in the states)in general; exception at my local being cask conditioned that doesn't get refrigerated

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