Beer in the new era

i love the design but cosign that ruthless rye is pretty bleh, tho bigfoot barleywine is delish (and of course celebration is awesome)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jJzNKv9zfow/Tvr_w8rnu8I/AAAAAAAAHBw/5MZdqJPq-SE/s1600/Sierra-Nevada-Ruthless-Rye-570x426.jpg

I liked the Ruthless the last time I had it. I just got a six pack. I will report back.

Stone just opened a filling station in Pasadena - growlers, pints, and kegs. No food, no waiters. Lots of Stone merch.

Got a growler of the Ruination for like 7.50, which is a good price compared to bars or even at Von's/Ralph's.

everything tastes better in a growler

Thought the Lagunitas Sucks was good, but nothing special. NIce overtones of citrus and floor cleaner.

I had two big bottles last night, both Boulevard. Doublewide IPA and Tank 7 farmhouse ale. Delish.

I liked Ruthless this year. Seemed a bit more mellow than the 2012 release.

nugget nectar super overrated

it's probably the best amber beer on the planet, make of that what you will

that might be legitimate. i liked the yulesmith i had in december more, but this was better than any other amber ales i can think i've tried recently. compares well to an average IPA but considering its reputation (98 on BA?) idgi

actually i had the hopback amber ale this afternoon + i think i liked that more (also troegs)

i have another nugget nectar in the fridge so i'll give it another try later this week. maybe i'll like it more (i am enjoying the hoppy aftertaste as i sit here - it's tasting better finished than it did while i was drinking it)

yeah i don't think it's a bowl-you-over type of beer but it's really nicely done in terms of balancing the malty amber style with piney hops. ba score are frequently wacky imo; to me nugg nectar is a spring seasonal that i'll buy like a six-pack of a year and be quite happy with.

i'm going to be two blocks from this bar in two weeks. i don't think i can drink everything (but i can try???):

http://theavenuepub.com/beer-spirits/big-beer-list

That's a really good bottle list. Any of the BFM's if you like sours. There's a Cantillion on there, but I've never tried it. Almost bought the Iris this weekend in a bar but didn't want to drink the whole thing myself. Imperial Biscotti Break is great.

fritz briem berliner weisse on draft!!

keep the recommendations coming. i'll drink them all.

I second the fritz. I recall really liking the Soft Dookie too. Soft Dookie.

yeah idk there's tons of stuff worth getting--if you don't mind spending the money this would be a good place to get exposed to geuzes and sours and stuff. if you get a cantillon don't get bruocsella, it's not really a good representation (in that it's basically flat). the drie fonteinen oude geuze 12 oz. for 15 bucks is nicely priced and great to start with.

I haven't had many of those drafts, many breweries that aren't available here. I'd try the Green Flash / cigar city barleywine.

yeah id check out a lot of those locals on ba; might be something interesting in there

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130128/BLOGS09/130129808/first-look-at-howells-hood-in-tribune-tower

The restaurant will have three separate bars with 120 taps each that will flow from a glassed-in beer cooler in the center of the restaurant. Mr. Bisaillon says he believes the 360 taps will be the most of any restaurant in the world. Offerings will range from local craft brews to beer from around the globe.

Read more: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20130128/BLOGS09/130129808/first-look-at-howells-hood-in-tribune-tower#ixzz2JIULGoed
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I can't imagine this is going to be well done. We've had a few places that tried to do tons of taps, but most of them were run of the mill selections that are the most likely representations of a style, region, or brand.

360 taps is crazy. It would seem impossible to do it well, unless you have several staff members who do nothing but order beer? Maybe there will be some overlap among the three bars?

The thing about that many taps is don't you have to have massive turnover to keep stuff from going flat. Not to mention all the maintenance to keep the lines clean.

There's a place called World of Beer or something similar that is supposed to open up in downtown Evanston, they're claiming some such crazy number of beers on tap (not THAT crazy, but a lot). I'm curious to see how it pans out. For a Big Ten college town, Evanston really have very few bars, thanks to the draconian anti-alcohol dating back to Prohibition, so I'll be glad to have a new place with a decent selection. Though, I'm doubtful that it will last long.

thx to this thread for the lagunitas sucks recommendations -- that is a nice beer.

I keep seeing recently that people have been picking up the BCBS variations, but I've come up empty still. Any Chicago area brewxors found any lately?

I've heard of coffee popping up in some stores from the beer advocate bcs sightings thread.

And the one miraculous cherry rye that I found.

Thanks. I tend to avoid those BA forums, mostly due to the fine folks like that guy you linked to on FB.

That is probably a good idea! I find I hate myself for reading them sometimes.

You can also follow a few guys on twitter that work at the various binnys and other stores around the city. They'll usually tweet out when they get something like that on the shelf and then it's off to the races.

I had a lagunitas sucks last night and it was definitely a fine beer. I wonder what kind of hops they used?

And apparently that World of Beer place is already open in Evanston? Draft list seems pretty good, if not mind-blowing. http://wobusa.com/Locations/Evanston/Menus/Drafts.aspx. Apparently it is a growing chain, partly from ex-Outback Steakhouse executives. I know it was only a matter of time before craft beer bars became a corporate trend, but it's still pretty hilarious.

I heard end of January for an opening date, maybe it just opened. It wasn't yet open when I was down there a week ago. Lol I had no idea it was a chain thing.

But, chain or not, a nearby place that I can get some decent beer on tap? Sure.

Yeah, I'd definitely go there if I lived in Evanston. I'll probably end up going there at some point anyway.

Already heard some complaints about the local World of Beer along the lines of "they have no idea about local beers and are staffed by amateurs."

Hmm, well given the chain thing, that makes sense. A few months ago they had a sign up asking for applications, which made me think they weren't exactly going to be super selective.

Healthy debate here:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=36742

Ha, that first post is a really excellent example of awful beer snobbery...

lol the op seems like a dick but these trend-jumping chains super lame so i guess it's a wash

He should be snobby enough to know that the brewery is called Begyle, not Bergyle.

I had never heard of spiteful brewing either, even though it is apparently located 2 blocks from my apartment.

Yeah, the shit about the Guinness pour ... label facing in, label facing out, 45 degree angle ... just pour me a fucking beer.

i lost it at the part where he asks about ciccerone certification

I met the Spiteful dudes at FOBAB, they are super nice and I'm hoping they make it big. Unfortunately the stuff they brought to FOBAB was long gone before I had any. Friends swear by their Imperial Stout though.

"Stump the server" is the worst be-a-dick game ever.

Yeah that guy is one of the ones that give beer enthusiasts a terrible name, just like the BA guy that Jeff posted on Facebook that threw a huge hissy fit because a shop wouldn't hold special beers aside for him.

Warehouse on Wabash in the South Loop still has "plenty" (whatever that means) of Hopslam left if you are still looking. I grabbed the last two sixers off the shelf tonight and the guy working said, "Sure you don't want more? I've got more in the cooler and plenty more downstairs". I passed, I'm not really a huge hoarder when it comes to stuff like this, so there's more there if you want it.

Usually one 6 pack of hopslam is good for me. I just can't drink it fast enough to have a lot of it.

Apparently this Chicago brewery

http://www.pipeworksbrewing.net/#!__master

has been named "New Brewery of the Year" by ratebeer: http://www.ratebeer.com/RateBeerBest/newbrewers_012013x.asp

...never heard of 'em! Jeff?

Oh yeah, pipeworks is great. They focus on small batch releases and are very prolific. Tons of their stuff in Binnys.