Beer in the new era

Untappd has changed the way I drink and made me drink a ton of beers I wouldn't have normally tried, like the 15 German beers I had to drink to unlock a badge.

maybe i should just pass it forward.

totally - keeping it would be very shellfish of you

(sorry, there was no excuse for that)

have drunk over 55 different beers already this year but just logging them in iphone notes, untappd is too much effort.

/chronically lazy

untappd is super lazy-mode compared to the spreadsheet i used to update

Has anyone here had an oyster stout? I love shellfish in all forms, even including Clamato, but this seems several notches below bacon in my list of desired beer flavorings. I can't even imagine...

they don't taste of oysters. some of them don't even contain any oyster.

Untappd has changed the way I drink and made me drink a ton of beers I wouldn't have normally tried, like the 15 German beers I had to drink to unlock a badge.

I'm all in favor of trying new stuff but not for the purpose of unlocking badges. Fuck gamification.

The oyster stout I've seen most often is by Porterhouse:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2243/5686

But I've never tried it.

I love gameification! I have little motivation otherwise in all my hobbies.

xp Personally I don't mind oysters, I'm just rarely in the mood for an English/Irish-style stout.

some of them don't even contain any oyster.

Huh, wasn't aware of that. I haven't seen that many, I think 21st Amendment was the one I was checking out at my local, which does have 20 lb. of oysters per batch.

I had an oyster stout last night, by Flying Dog! It was pretty good, though the porterhouse stout I had before it (not their oyster one) was better. T

yeah, some oyster stouts are just meant to be eaten with oysters, I guess?

the flying dog oyster stout is very nice

the flavour of oyster sauce, rather than actual oysters, is prob a bit closer... at least in my mind.

thornbridge jaipur really is my beer of the millennium, so far. honeyed and hoppy, surprisingly light considering it's 5.9%.

I tried Southern Tier's Eurotrash Pilz yesterday. A fairly mild pilsner, more malty than hoppy. Good, but probably not going to become one of my favorites in the style.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/thepourfool/2013/01/29/americas-ten-best-beer-towns-the-non-fiction-list/

much more otm than previous lists

Pretty good.

not really, doesn't even rate Sonoma County, which IMHO is the best brewing uh... area in the USA?

I'm going to this tonight: https://dabble.co/courses/chicago-suzanne-wolcott-the-art-science-of-barrel-aging-beer/schedules/70861-2013-02-22-00-00-00-utc

Maybe stretching the limits of my beer nerdom.

trying to bury my civic pride while reading that list, but its pretty good. wondering how many places suffer thx to the insane business of beer distro in these fine united states

i might take my city off the list and put on yours

just so its clear that this isnt sour grapes, i do think that tons of the stuff from here doesnt actually get to seattle (well or much of anywhere) whereas the nw and cali have pretty much super distro across the country (well except in mn)

yeah I just said "more otm" not definitive, honestly I'd take chicago off of it for now

got a completely stupid tasting lined up for tomorrow:

BCBS (2009)
BCBS Coffee
Bramble Rye BCBS
Cherry Rye BCBS
Rare BCBS
King Henry
Black Tuesday
HF Birth of Tragedy
Arctic Devil
T25
Allagash Resurgam
NEBCO Gandhi Bot

wow nice! i'm going to a wolaver tasting nite

thornbridge jaipur really is my beer of the millennium, so far. honeyed and hoppy, surprisingly light considering it's 5.9%.

i love all their beers. magic rock's big top tho is prob my favourite beer of recent times, it is quite a high abv but has an incredible flavour.

i don't seem to have the right tastebuds/much luck with this stuff

had various (expensive) beers at the old fountain nr old street the other day amongst some very committed craft beer trendies and i couldnt see what the fuss was about

one of the £5 kernels (i forget which) was indeed like a delicious rich chocolatey taste sensation but do i go to the pub to drink a whole pint of that? no sir i do not

the pale ales were mostly akin to sheep dip

do you like any you've had in particular?

I like Thornbridge Kipling a lot.

Barrel aging class was extremely nerdy. Lots of talk of bacteria, brettanomyces, yeast, lactose, pediococcus, etc. More than I really want to know, but I did like the tastings. Drank Sofie that comes from three different barrels to compare the taste, which can be vastly different. Ultimately the Sofie that goes in the bottles is a blend that comes from many barrels. Also had Bourbon County that has spent 1 months, 3 months, and 6 months in a barrel.

Didn't know Thornbridge was in the US.

@rtc weirdly am actually in the old fountain now, for first time in ages, assuming it's the same as when you were in it's not a great selection. Magic Rock Highwire is good tho.

It's not very many places but I've had it on tap at Bangers & Lace and local Option here in Chicago.

friday beer haul:

http://i48.tinypic.com/dfjf28.jpg

The book-ends are your best bets imho.

those are the ones i'm most excited about! can't waiting to wreck my fucking palate! XD

(loose gerand indicated that i've started drinking already this lovely fri nite!)

I really like Green Flash beers (certain I've said this already, but it's worth repeating). They're just solid all around, never had a bad one.

i am going to go buy something interesting tonight to drink with my brother in law, but what? itisamystery.gif

My corner store seems to get distro from some place that specializes in microbrews that don't sell well elsewhere, so they have a bunch of random dogfishes, some riverhorse brews, a few founders, and a bunch of unusual sam adams varieites. I tried the Midas Touch tonight although both the packaging and description ("ancient ale with barley, honey, white muscat grapes & saffron") were offputting. It's not as bad as I thought. Definitely has a little of that white box wine flavor/feel to it, but not bad.

racer x was really outstanding imo

Finally had the Rasputin barrel aged Russion Imperial Stout. Good, but not $20/half-liter good. Followed it with one of the Full House Coffee/Chocolate lagers I've been drinking and it came off a little watery by comparison, but not bad.

i don't know what their distribution is like but if you get the opportunity to try the fegley's hopsolutely triple ipa (http://www.thebrewworks.com/brews/flagship-beers/hopsolutely-triple-ipa/) you def should.

Surly Pentagram is ok fresh, but I am looking forward to what 6 moths to a year does to it in the bottle

months

it's definitely not as sour as i would like, but judging from what happened to the Surly Six over time, I have high hopes. Cuvee has ruined me for sour beers that dont go the distance i think

Received this nice box in the mail today from call all destroyer. Excited to try everything because I've never had or even heard of any of it.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8250/8516279077_eccdd8f1fb_o.jpg

CAD, looks like you'll get my box tomorrow.

http://media.avclub.com/images/425/425216/16x9/627.jpg?6572