Beer in the new era

Also surly, I luv u and all but gtfo with your pricing dudes. $16 for a 4 pack of tallboys is some bullshit.

srsly, surly

is that only the price for wet or the price for all their 4packs?

I haven't had Surly in forever.

just the wet, but still. fest was 14 iirc, furious is usually around 10

today i had my first day of my new part-time job at a craft beer and artisanal cheese shop!

brought home some things i have had before, some i have not --
2x sculpin ipa (not many places in brooklyn cary this so i am stoked to finally try it after reading the raves itt)
1x flower power ipa
1x founders breakfast stout (had this before but love it)
1x founders dity bastard (had this before, i just like it)
1x southern tier harvest ale which i have never had.

also we have six taps for growlers and i tasted the stillwater why can't I.B.U? which is an ipa/saison hybrid and DELICIOUS and the carton brunch/lunch/grub 'hoppy brown ale' which was okay i thought but did not grab me by the balls ora anything

anyway, i look forward to posting on this thread with more regularity!

very cool!

sculpin started appearing all over the place in six-packs a month or two ago. it's pricey and i'm watching the bottle dating but it's nice to have. did not know breakfast stout was already coming out, but i suppose it's that time.

i want to try that sculpin.

i stopped by 3 floyd's on the way back from a wedding in michigan, there were people lined up outside for when they opened at noon. good food, i got the arctic panzer wolf, which was great except that i didn't expect it to be a 1/2 pint. there are some bars in madison that are pretty generous with some of their higher ABV beers. also they were dicks but in a way didn't bother me too much, they're doing their thing out in that industrial park in munster.

Finally getting around to trying 21st Amendment Back in Black, which is billed as a "Black IPA". I'm kind of a stan of black lagers and I'm kind of meh on IPAs. This is a very well balanced beer and it "works" and I'm enjoying it, but it's probably not something I'd reach for again.

On second try it kind of reminds me of a hoppier version of Butternuts Moo Stout

Really enjoyed 21st Amendment's "American Bitter". Nice, delicate sock of hops that's easy to drink and refreshing.

"Bitter American" that is.

Picked up two four packs of Founders Breakfast Stout on the way up to a wedding the other weekend. Never had it before, but I'm aware of the reputation. Had one after an Oskar Blues Ten Fidy and... was a little let down? Solid, but not really the legend I was expecting. Might've been a bad bottle. Zero head or lacing, looked like a totally flat coke. Is that typical? Have 7 more, we'll see.

Ten Fidy rules though. Goddamn. Shame that they're so expensive. Might be my favorite stout.

i'm working off memory but i don't *think* bfast stout has much head. no head at all is kind of weird tho.

i think the appeal of it is how it sits in between a normal dry stout and a big imperial stout in terms of flavor and intensity.

yeah, the breakfast stout does not have a ton of head or carbonation -- pouring vigorously will give you more of that, rather than the carefully angled pour, you an just dump it into the pint glass..

Looking back at the beers I had in Maine this past week, the best were Smuttynose Rhye IPA (not actually a Maine beer, but still regional) and Oxbow Farmhouse Pale Ale. Both just really solid hybrids (rye/IPA, saison/pale).

Worst was probably Shipyard Pumpkinhead, which my wife and I bought only because the only liquor store open past 6 PM in the town where we were staying on Wed. night was a gas station, and that was the most "interesting" local beer available there. Watery and artificial-tasting.

I also realized how good Allagash White is. I see it fairly often in Chicago, but since I don't usually gravitate toward witbiers, I've rarely ordered it. But it's quality stuff -- and was an especially nice pairing for some Thai noodles I had.

Mentioned it upthread, but Three Floyds fans ... what the hell is up?

Hmm, I rarely seek out specific beers, so I hadn't noticed.

lazy hands brewery is the shit

sorry, i meant tired hands but i got drunk at tired hands and accidentally wrote lazy hands oops

yes tired hands is outstanding.

jaymc you would be amazed at how many ppl around here flip out about pumpkinhead, i have seen ppl hoard cases of that stuff

Huh. I guess there's some built-in excitement/demand for seasonal beers, like "It's Pumpkinhead time!" (Around the Midwest, I see that most with Bell's Oberon.) But the beer definitely does not warrant that reaction. I haven't drunk a ton of pumpkin beers, but I actually just today picked up a 4-pack of Dogfish Head Punkin Ale (which I don't recall if I've ever had) because I wanted to try a better one.

yeah i haven't had one in years but my lasting impression was a beer for ppl who don't like beer

(re: pumpkinhead)

i generally don't like any of the pumpkin beers except for pumpking, but i had timmermans pumpkin lambicus this weekend and it's like a pumpkin sour

Pumpkin lambicus is fantastic.

I really liked red hook's pumpkin porter, and I don't get why more brewers don't make pumpkin porters/stouts. Seems like a perfect match.

I'd never seen nor heard of sculpin before, read about it here, lo and behold I find it at the co-op yesterday. Haven't had one yet.

Have we discussed Tallgrass itt before? Been buying their 4 packs (Velvet Rooster, Ethos, 8-bit) a lot lately b/c the store in my new neighborhood has 'em for cheap. Ethos is probably the best but I think they're all pretty solid.

http://www.collegehumor.com/article/6921709/the-complete-guide-to-the-craft-beer-at-your-local-bar

saw that on fb, thought it was actually pretty funny for collegehumor

lol that is really good

Evil Twin "Femme Fatale Brett" IPA is SO SO SO GOOD. Citrusy grapefruit flavor, 6% ABV makes it v drinkable. Highly recommended.
Also got into some Islander IPA by Coronado Brewing Co. this week, which is excellent.

Can i also take a moment to say how much I hate pumpkin beers? If I wanted to eat a goddamn dessert I would eat a goddamn dessert.

yeah I think the femme fatale yuzu is basically a twist on the femme fatale brett, and I thought it was amazing

haven't had a pumpkin yet this year, probably won't.

if i need seasonals i'll just get some good german oktoberfests.

i pretty much hate pumpkin everything

but especially beer

Pumpkin lambicus

fuckin gross

I'm pretty immune to gimmick beers but they found my weakness dammit

http://distilleryimage1.ak.instagram.com/620afe202c7c11e3b3da22000a9e05c2_8.jpg

(it's not that good, shocker)

In the continuing saga of "why do I fight this", the Sierra Nevada Flipside red IPA is totally delicious.

Also I am in the pumpkin ale can go fuck itself camp

Had an Anderson Valley Bourbon Barrel Stout recently, and while I liked the bourbon flavor I couldn't help but wish the stout was better - just not "stouty" enough. At $10/bomber I might even buy it again, as I don't know of any other BBA beers available here at that price range.

The AVBBS is good, surprisingly good. And the best thing about it, is that it's just under 7%. A BBA stout that is sessionable. More or less.

there's only 2 pumpkin beers i like: southern tier pumking and dogfish punkin ale. most of the others are pretty bad imo.

also just bought a sixer of green head IPA from newburyport, MA, really fucking good west coast style IPA. one of the better new england IPAs. feel like there are some better new england breweries popping up, it was fucking dire for a long time when we had substandard boring craft ales with shitty boring labels. there are some really good NE options now.

In the continuing saga of "why do I fight this", the Sierra Nevada Flipside red IPA is totally delicious.

― O_o-O_O-o_O (jjjusten), Thursday, October 3, 2013 11:34 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i might be interpreting you wrong, but i'm understanding "why do i fight this" as some kind of reluctance to buy sierra nevada b/c they're so ubiquitous and standard nowadays? if so, i've felt the same way, wanting to buy something new or different and therefore avoiding SN. but anytime i do buy SN i'm continually impressed because their beers are really, really awesome.

Sierra Nevada is one of the greatest American breweries, and their beers keep holding up as more and more competitors come in.

Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale, you guys. It's a good one, I promise.

Also, yeah, SN consistently does good stuff so fuck being "ashamed" or whatever.

yeah i always rep for SN their beers rarely disappoint and they seem like good dudes to boot.