Beer in the new era

those modern times cans have the most appealing design - do they taste as good as they look?

Here's how it generally appears to work, btw, for any limited release product (beer and bourbon and whatnot) out in the 'burbs, or at least inner burbs. (I'm focusing on Binny's, because they get the most product, and also out of the city, because the city is where you get 300 crazy people lining up at opening.) I know for a fact the managers of my local Binny's tell their staff that when the stuff comes in, whatever it is, it is absolutely not to be put out on the shelf. It goes straight to either the safe or otherwise stowed away until the manager comes in later that day or the next day. The manager then figures out how much there is, and next may or may not hold tight until regular customers or polite people who have expressed interest stop by to see what's up; they generally get first shot. But after that the stuff they have more of is pretty much up for grabs, though still often stowed away. One of my local stops had both 10 and 12-year Van Winkle and regular BCBS behind the counter; all one had to do was ask.

White Chocolate Cinnamon Roll Coffee Oatmeal...?

ffs you guys are worse than housewives at Starbucks.

Also, long term storage of bottle-capped bottles is not a good idea unless you believe that degradation of flavor/quality is part of the "aging process". Corked beers are your friends for aged beers, I guess you could dip the bottle top in hot wax if you were in a pinch.

yeah, nothing worse than coffee drinking housewives, amirite?

Nothing wrong with that at all, can I get you another salted caramel peppermint candy cane stout?

i'll try anything once that isn't made from some guy's beard yeast, or called chocolate peanut butter bacon donut stout

lol i had to search this thread to remind myself of this longstanding and bizarre strawman you have re: other folks' taste xp

Yep, that's me, the Chris Ott of the new-era beer thread.

let me know when i can expect your ranked list of each enjoy by release of 2013.

lolz all round

It's Miller time.

One of my local stops had both 10 and 12-year Van Winkle and regular BCBS behind the counter; all one had to do was ask.

Binnys in Lakeview had a sign on the door "WE DO NOT HAVE ANY PAPPY".

on friday i called one store and said "heyyyy..." and the dude said "yeah, we got it, come on down."

I had a pretty sweet Budweiser 24oz can over the weekend

re gimmicky beers:

(San Francisco, CA) – San Francisco, CA’s Cellarmaker and Ardmore, PA’s Tired Hands Brewing companies are happy to announce that they have collaborated on a taco spiced IPA called “Taco Hands.” The beer was inspired by that special aroma one’s hands take on after eating tacos – an aroma, that in spite of several solid hand-washing sessions, just doesn’t go away. “Taco Hands” incorporates lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, cumin, black pepper, coriander, sea salt, tortilla chips and shells, flaked maize, and pasilla peppers alongside Citra and Motueka hops.

This conceptual brew will be available at Cellarmaker Brewing Company’s tasting room starting on Taco Tuesday, December 3rd at 3pm. Visit www.cellarmakerbrewing.com for more details.

but it is tired hands so i'll probably try it when it gets to philly

as far as gimmicky things, my inner Deadhead talked me into buying the Dogfish Head American Beauty (granola!), though the reviews i've read since don't leave me super enthused for it.

I really liked the American Beauty, but I am not a big IPA-head.

Well, I found the other secret to finding BC varietals -- shop at a store where they don't know what they have & stock the shelves very slowly.

WTF Taco Hands. It's not beer, it's "conceptual brew." Do not want, but ty for the dn.

That Taco beer is some sub-Rogue trolling.

Managed a growler of the backyard rye and a 12oz bottle each of coffee and barleywine. They were being pretty stingy at my secret spot.

OK, another data point. After I picked up those bottles yesterday, I got home and very politely called my (second) favorite Binny's in the 'burbs (very down to earth place) and asked if they could set aside a coconut for me. The nice woman said yes, and even sympathized with how hard these are to come by! So I stop by first thing this morning to pick them up, and after joking with me a bit (confirming the information on the note then saying, nope, don't have it, as the guy put it in his coat pocket) basically treated me like a rock star, saying how hard it was to hold onto the bottle for me, how the manager chastised them for holding a bottle, how they only kept hold of it because they said it was for a "regular, very good customer," which I am - at a different Binny's. This place, I mostly check for overlooked hard to find stuff a couple of times a year (usually with some success). But they were so nice and helpful it made me happy. Then the manager, who I met there earlier in the week when I first stopped in the ask about the Goose Island, called me back to say hi, telling me that if I ever needed his help with anything, just to let him know. Then he gave me his card. So I got my coconut (which everyone seems to like) as well as another 12oz of coffee for my friend without the flexibility to zip over there, all as far as I can tell, just for being patient and polite. And given how many customers are apparently neither of those things, maybe that's all it takes.

Between bourbon and beer, it's been a good few weeks.

I bought 3 Proprietors and 2 Backyard Ryes yesterday and a 4 pack of Coffee today at my local and there's no wait, no line, no markup. I could have bought a dozen more Proprietors and Ryes today b/c they stocked the shelves since yesterday.

I feel like I'm a kid again, collecting hockey cards. The thing is I don't even especially like the stuff, most of it is gonna be xmas gifts.

dan u've got webmail.

wtg dan

if u want to send me a christmas present i would not turn it down

I feel like I need to share this honeypot with my fellow beerlxors. I'll gladly do trades if you wanna webmail me.

you got a webmail from me too

You know where I live, send me beer eh?

yaaaaaaah

I hate this limited stuff, but I feel very fortunate to be able to go on the hunt now and again. One of the guys working at Binny's winced when he saw the price my beers rang up to: a "mere" $40. But he's totally right, it's such a luxury, which is why I always try to help my buds if I find something they want.

Ok I got paranoid so I went back and sure enough, I got the last two Proprietors for cad and Mordy. Still some Backyard on the shelves and I wouldnt be surprised if they restock the coconut shit tonight or tomorrow. I'll keep checking back.

Thank you dan!!!!!!!!!!

aw man you're the best

I'm not in your area but I'm sure people are wondering, "Where is this magical store?"

Treasure Island Foods on 55th/Lake Park in Chicago.

Hyde Park ftw!

Any idea if the coffee is as scarce as rumored this year? Even though it's being sold in 4-packs, I've yet to find a store that didn't break those 4-packs up for individual sale.

Yup, the HP TI is the best. A little spendy for groceries but they always have good stuff.

I had to ask this little old dude who was stocking wine and beer if they had any coffee, but he went into the back and came right out with it. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they have a stockpile of all the varieties that they're putting out slowly, it's not a store with a ton of alcohol or a lot of turnover.

You might as well just buy everything!

Man, I thought I had some Coffee Stout today, but forever fuck Irving Park Liquors. Maybe these dudes have always had a shitty rep, but I've never been there before and I'll never go back again. All week they've been updating their Beer Menus page to say they've got the BC Coffee Stout (I've been trying to track it down like a madman). Anyway, thought it was likely an oversight or something, but I figured I'd stop on my way through town back from Champaign to home. About 45 minutes out I called them verify. Dude that answered sez, "yep, we've got about three bottles but, no, I won't hold them for you, come on though". So I get there, walk in and ask. Dude behind the counter (who's voice was DISTINCTLY the same dude from the phone) laughs and says, "HA! we were out 45 minutes into Black Friday" and gives this other guy sitting in a folding chair in front of the counter a "get a loud of this fuckin' guy" look. I said, "I just spoke with you on the phone and said you had some as of 45 minutes ago". He goes, "don't know who that was, but it's not true". I called him out on it and he got really indignant and then tried to give me the hard sell on some Pipeworks stuff, was like badgering me without mercy. Walked out and will never return.

Glad you found some dan!!! Wish I'd saw this post before heading through the city today.

"loud" = "load", obvs

I'm almost glad it's not distributed out here, saves a lot of hassle.

Yeah, it's been so much more stress this year. I'm giving up on getting a Coffee Stout at this point. To give my story a happier end, I went over to The Beer Temple and picked up some good stuff, nothing special, but it was nice to talk to some friendly people about beer. He said he's heard the rumors about a "spoiled" batch of Coffee, but that so far he's heard from Goose Island that it's not true. He said he wouldn't expect many more varietals to trickle out.

Have you seen the Beer Temple gift baskets? Those look awesome. Pricy but awesome.

Yeah, drooled over those today, couldn't justify it though.

They still had Coffee and Barleywine at that place (Artista?) at the corner of California and Armitage earlier today. Probably because they're asking $32.50 for them, but still--they've got some.

Asking $32 for a 12oz?!

Meanwhile, what's with Goose Island's farmhouse ales? $30 for Gillian? Those others? They're not hard to find at all here. No hype? No excitement? Are they any good?

They're very good but so expensive