Beer in the new era

Got myself a bottle of Kwak tonight. Pretty good, but slightly too boozy tasting and not really worth the money.

I have 496 unique check-ins so far on untappd - trying to figure out what I should drink for my 500th. Any ideas?

kwak kinda sucks

yeah tbh on my second pour from the bottle it's kinda sweet and not too interesting, almost like something dogfish would make

zing!

but yeah i had it in belgium and it was maybe the one subpar beer i had there

I haven't had it in forever.

oh man, tart of darkness is so fucking delicious

the Kwak special glass is a real pain in the ass

btw does anyone in the nyc area have a recommended place for stocking up on craft brews at good prices?

This place is just outside the Holland Tunnel on the NJ side:
http://www.buyritewines.com/main.asp?request=PROMOGROUP&name=DOM.%20CRAFT%20BEER

They have a lot more than is shown on that webpage.

great taste of the midwest happened, i don't even know where to start with that, except that bourbon barrel was definitely the big thing and they were all amazing.

Sadly, I'm skipping the Festival of Barrel Aged Beer this year. It is my favorite beer festival I've ever been too.

Costco had a 24-pack of Paulaner Oktoberfest Marzen for $24. Could not resist that.

It's kind of a perfect anytime/keep-in-stock/offer to friends beer.

that's a steal but i refuse to buy oktoberfests for abt 2 more weeks

Sadly, I'm skipping the Festival of Barrel Aged Beer this year. It is my favorite beer festival I've ever been too.

Last year's was so much fun. I'm skipping it this year too, but by skipping it I mean I didn't get in under the 45 second or whatever it was wire to get a ticket this year.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m134/johnjusten/null_zps9d43a5ce.jpg

Dudes

For those of you that are not fb friends w/me, my take on it. -

"It's a little like someone peeled the enamel off my teeth, soaked it in bile, and then punched me in the throat with it. But in a good way!"

Had it but can't remember having that reaction. Will try again.

Mikkeler way too expensive to get here in Belgium so will have to wait til next visit to Copenhagen

tart of darkness on tap is maybe the greatest of all time

Schlitz

Back in Michigan, bought a grip of in-state beers for sampling. Only ones I've tried yet are Bell's the Oracle double IPA and Brewery Vivant Triomphe Belgian IPA. Oracle was more well rounded than Hopslam, thicker and more boozy even though it is the same abv. Triomphe was really good and drinkable, definitely could have more than one in a sitting.

Mmmmmm bell's

rinsed the san miguels tonight #realbeer #everyoneinthisthreadisaposerlol

I don't even understand that joke, so it must be true

i miss bell's so much :(

Oracle was good.

So I'm relatively new to Untappd, and I don't always remember to log my beers (or, in the case of last night, my phone died before I had the chance). Do you guys ever check in retroactively, or mostly just do it in the moment (which means it's not necessarily comprehensive)? Personally, I probably don't care about missing the opportunity to log something I've had a million times, but the other stuff, maybe.

I've checked in retroactively, but only a few times. As you said, never when I'm just drinking like a honkers ale or something. But if I'm drinking something awesome I'm not going to let phone problems obscure my glory.

I never retroactively checkin. Checking in is always a priority for me so I make it happen one way or another.

I also log everything, even if I've had it a bunch. Fun to look at the stats and see how much I've had of a particular style/brand/etc.

Bought a couple 6-packs of domestic craft pilsners recently: Lagunitas Pils and Victory Brewing Company Prima Pils. Think I prefer the Lagunitas - the hops flavor isn't as strong, but it seems crisper and more refreshing.

haven't had the lagunitas but prima pils never did it for me.

Yeah, it's probably good if it's really fresh, but somehow it seems to be trying too hard.

it tries to be like an american-hopped pilsner but the hops just really don't work at all

Yes, I agree with that.

The Lagunitas is pretty good though.

Checking in is always a priority for me so I make it happen one way or another.

Ha, well, of course you do. Sometimes I am stoned out of my mind on a dance floor at midnight and drinking Schlitz.

saw a friend I see once in a while who is probably one of the more into beer people I know, and from talking to him something sort of depressed me about how ravenous it seems like a certain segment of the market has become for novelty and checking off boxes (tried x tried y etc.) But then maybe that's just his personality. In any case, we enjoyed a couple of Berkshire Brewing Company Steel Rail Extra Pale Ales that were brought from Massachusetts, and they were very tasty -- maybe the driest pale ale I've ever had.

yeah no he's pretty otm

i love berkshire brewing, though i feel like all of their beers use a similar malt profile and thus have a similar taste despite succeeding as different styles. but they're good though. i also appreciate that they are priced reasonably.

totally agree with you about the ravenous search for novelty. nowadays there is plenty of good beer available that you don't need to hunt down rare shit for your checklist or whatever, or spend $20 on a bomboer or $25 on a 4-pack. i just can't afford that anymore. i totally appreciate the range of lower-priced crafts that are starting to become available.

that said, when friends like yours, hurting, bring by their $20 bombers to share with me, i am grateful for their obsession!

I'm probably firmly in that segment of the market.

I don't know If I do a lot of rare seeking. I don't buy multiples for trading, or really trade any except with CAD. I buy what I know I'll like.

Yeah I'm also just budget conscious so I'm usually more about a very good beer for a reasonable price than an expensive excellent beer.

Like if I had less limited funds, sure, why not make a hobby of rare seeking and lining up tasting flights of $20 bombers and the like.

i had a good $13 bomber of rye double IPA from Uinta last night - Cahoots or something. affordable + delicious!

Uinta is great

I just drink beer. No real tracking of what I've had or much of any extraordinary seeking of specific beers. That smacks of effort, and the last thing I wanna do is make drinking into work.