Beer in the new era

does anyone here use ratebeer or any other similar service on the reg? for finding how well regarded stuff is, keeping track of what you drink etc

i consult BA all the time but i don't have an account w/ them

I use BA all the time.

i use ba and *very* occasionally post there

so idk how widespread the distro is but

http://www.indeedbrewing.com/

just showed up in 6 packs at my fave beer store and it is craaaazy stupid good. only got the day tripper and the midnight rider so far but daaaaaamn

where are you jjj? acc to their distribution map it's only in minneapolis!

And apparently that World of Beer place is already open in Evanston?

The irony; Evanston was bone-dry until 1985. But will definitely check out WoB next time I'm there.

Bought one of these today, never heard of the brewery before but was absolutely suckered in by the can design:

http://www.seattleite.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/can_saison-400x600.jpg

Very interesting. Not sure I've ever seen a canned saison.

Mordy, it has already made its way all the way to Saint Paul!

I really hope it gets more distro though, I bought 2 singles to check it out, drank them, drove back to buy 6 packs of both.

love those cans, looks like good stuff

The irony; Evanston was bone-dry until 1985. But will definitely check out WoB next time I'm there.

― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Saturday, February 2, 2013 5:59 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Better than that: FEW Liquors, based in Evanston, takes its name from WCTU leader and Evanston resident Frances E Willard

Anyone ever tried http://www.letspour.com? I've been thinking about it to get some brews that I can't get here.

store buddy that is launching his own brewery this year just decided to have me be part of his testing crew and dropped off a six pack full of test batches. twist my arm

jeff i have no clue if you've ever done ba trading but if you ever want to do kind of a low-key locals for locals thing to get some new england beers let me know

i picked up bottles of old rasputin barrel aged and gueuze lambic cuvee rene at a nola deli -- looking forward to trying them. also grabbed a bottle of bayou teche courir de mardi gras (http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/22408/77369) mostly bc it's mardi gras in nola yo i gotta try some local brews.

also, when i get home i'd def be interested in doing low-key locals for locals stuff w/ ilxors

I've never done trading. I mainly only lurk on BA forums. Dudes get too intense about fair trades, throwing in extras, etc. low key trading would be more appealing.

sweet, i'm up for doing this w/any of the ppl who post here--there's prob a decent amount of detail to work out so we could, like, ilxmail or something to get it started.

How is postage for mailing beers across country? Seems like that might make things untenable.

Better than that: FEW Liquors, based in Evanston, takes its name from WCTU leader and Evanston resident Frances E Willard

― jaymc, Sunday, February 3, 2013 1:44 AM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Ahahaha! Didn't know that! (about FEW, I mean)

How is postage for mailing beers across country? Seems like that might make things untenable.

― nickn, Wednesday, February 6, 2013 7:15 PM (42 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

my friends who do it use fedex, it's not cheap but not horrible

yeah so I just opened one of these palo santo marrons (dogfish) and I think I agree with most people in this thread -- SUPER boozy tasting, thick as molasses, a bit of a jack-and-coke flavor to it although not as bad as that. Could possibly be delicious at a few % points lower ABV but that thick, syrupy, liquory taste overpowers everything.

http://alewatcher.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-trader-tips.html?m=1

Good tips on shipping beer.

CAD, I'll ilx mail you.

Do any of you guys know anything about flying w/ beer bottles in carry-on luggage?

Sure, just took a bomber of Bourbon County Coffee to Australia. But to answer your question: you can't do it. Liquids and all that. However, you can pack bottles, carefully, in checked luggage.

Mailing is a PIA, because for the same reason you can't use the US Mail. You need to use FedEx or UPS, and pack really well and somewhat mysteriously (ie, do not declare it as beer or whatever). In fact, a good way to pack for the plane is to buy a UPS padded mailer, stick the bottle in there and wrap it tight with tape.

BTW, per trading, I have several bottles of BCBS I'd probably want to get rid of...

uh, has anyone seen this brooklyn brewery 'dry irish stout' ? just tried it i likey

I guess this will be in the US too? The UK brewery involved is really good, looking forward to checking it out:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/526495_477326158996103_1454753181_n.jpg

local offie has sierra nevada pale ale in cans

nnnnnnnggggh

hey jeff! i ilxmailed you back; forgot about the masking thing before so i included an actual email you can use for me.

so that gueuze cuvee rene was so tart it made my tongue curl. i liked it but no one else did and i couldn't finish something that sour myself. i probably drank about 2/3rds of it tho.

At least for buying beer in bottles for home, I think the Seirra Nevada Pale Ale is like crack. I just don't even really care to try other beers. There are exceptions, as a porter or any dark beer or a wheat beer is just a different kind of thing, but anything ale or lager I get a six pack or a couple of most things and I like it but it's not as good as Sierra Nevada. Only thing I have gotten in bottle that I come close to liking is Breckinridge and it's way better on tap and there is only one place around here that I can find it.

Beer on tap is a whole different thing...as all that German beer is a whole other thing on tap than in bottle.

All that said, I think living in Kentucky for over a decade I've become pretty damn enamoured of bourbon and drink as much of it as I do beer anymore. And to be honest, most of that from the expensive stuff to the cheap stuff is all good with me.

paging ned:

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/535023_334051373361459_1534585088_n.jpg

Only thing I have gotten in bottle that I come close to liking is Breckinridge...

I picked up their Lucky U IPA recently because it was new to me (I've had their other stuff) and was on sale, and it's pretty thin and underwhelming. Discovered it only got a 65 on ratebeer. Wouldn't buy again. Totally agree on Sierra as a go-to brand though, they're consistently very good and not crazy expensive.

And once again I'll rep for SN Torpedo IPA, my go to for that style. It's also available in cans (16 oz, 4 for $8).

word! great balance and easy drinking

imna break my bottles of 2009 Bigfoot Ale for the snowstorm.

kernel IPA is so delicious

got a mallinson's columbus, sierra nevada hefewiezen, magic rock IPA, and mikkeler coffee IPA tonight

heading over to NOLA brewery tour in about an hour!

not even sure that coffee IPA is anywhere near a decent idea; give anything a try once tho

mmmm beer

kernel IPA is so delicious

it is amazing. there is so much great uk beer now.

so the brew tour was great. not much of a tour tho - they gave us glasses when we came in (which we got to keep!) and then we basically drank w/ a bunch of ppl for a while. everything i tried was great. the brown ale had the lowest apv but was pretty complex despite that and flavorful. the mechahopzilla was, as you could expect from the name, super hoppy (the tap that poured it was sorta-broken so i got a ton of head) and super boozy, that one laid me out and i stayed drunk for hours after drinking it -- also drank this flambeau red ale which i thought was the best of the bunch. it's pretty awesome trying local brews in a new city -- maybe the best thing about going somewhere new.

i've been using this untapp'd app, which is like foursquare but you check in with beers. if anyone else uses it, my username is the same as my ilx dn -- when i remember i've been snapping photos w/ it to remember what i drank for later.

mechahopzilla tap was ridic cool too

http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_full_width_scaled/hash/6b/6a/6b6a7cd257f316d4fabce72e6cdfbb67.jpg

I'm on Untapp'd, but I stopped using it b/c I don't have a smartphone, so I can't log beers when I'm out, and I never remember at home. I know that other ILXors use it, tho.

i just started it so i'm not totally attached yet (esp since i've got a separate spreadsheet w/ like ~90 beers reviewed that i'm loathe to jettison) but it's cool. the badges are pretty lame unfortunately - drink the 3 biggest market lite beers? i'll pass on that one, thx.

I added you.