Beer in the new era

Pour Decisions: Newish St. Paul brewery I hadn't had anything by until New Years Eve. Maroon & Bold (Double Infuriatingly Passive Aggressive ale) was weird: actually an imperial red ale, murky, unfiltered, barely carbonated, and rather malty/sweet up front. The hops are mainly in the finish. Sort of like someone's semi-successful homebrew experiment. Also pricy. Would not re-buy.

i feel like the name "pour decisions" was....not a good choice.

i saw a guy at tired hands yesterday wearing a pour decisions t-shirt and had no idea what it referred to

Yeah, PD's rep from the outset has been brewing beers that don't fit traditional styles, but this was not a good first example for me.

^^^ isn't this also Surly's MO?

it sounds like a bad version of arrogant bastard based on what you're saying (xp)

I had a Pour Decisions Patersbier a little while ago at Ward 6 (super recommended ultra local bar/restaurant on St. Paul's east side for locals) and it was pretty fantastic actually.

This guy: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29624/88304/

Also, oscar blues is coming to mn

Sorry I mean Oskar Blues - forever proving that awesome beer sometimes comes with the worst graphic design imaginable.

surprised they weren't already there!

My understanding is that mn beer distribution is a total shitshow - but getting green flash, ballast point, and Oskar blues all in a 4 month period gives me hope.

i am srsly in need of a surly care package :(

the gas stations around here stock dale's pale and dogfish head, which is great and all, but i'm missing my home brews :(

Just picked up a 4 of Over Rated tbh.

Also a bottle of Solemn Oath \m/ RAVAGED BY VIKINGS \m/

so I just skeptically tried that trick where you put a metal spoon in the opening of an opened beer bottle, and holy crap, it works! Two days later my corsendonk 750ml is still fully carbonated.

yeah we do this with cava all the time.

I was in Tampa for the Outback Bowl last week and there as a pub called, creatively, "the Pub" in a mall near where i was staying. Great selection, i had the some bourbon barrell ale (forget the name) also had very many London Prides on tap, which were extremely tasty.

hmmm gbx maybe we can work something out if someone wants to tell me how to ship beer properly

this is the super-detailed guide on how to ship beer properly: http://alewatcher.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-trader-tips.html

speaking of- dear cad + dan i finally got a bunch of bubblewrap so yr boxes will def go out this week

Yeah I ran out too, plus I don't think one of my boxes is sturdy enough (dude in cad's link would definitely sneer at it) so I'm in the hunt for another. The freezing of Chicago the past few days hasn't helped on those fronts, either.

Patersbier sounds good to me. I haven't written off the brewery, just that weird purple ale.

theyve apparently partnered up with a new local brewery that is str8 garbage that i cant remember the name of, so im not too optimistic on their stuff from here on out.

these dudes - they are the ones that make the stout that tasted like blood, and that nordic blonde is the blandest shit ive had in a while. not worth the $4 bomber price, and thats saying something

http://www.bentbrewstillery.com/

Jewbelation 14 is at my local, $17 for a bomber. Worth trying?

if you plan on sharing sure

Lagunitas IPA is dry-hopped (ie, not fresh hopped). Both are good beers at any rate, just two different styles.

I was getting over a cold when I sampled the Celebration Ale, and my appreciation for it increased as the cold wore off. So I think there were some fresh nuances to the hop flavor that I might have missed at first taste. Maybe I'm developing more tolerance for bitterness in beers as well.

Anyone tried the Goose Island Ten Hills Pale Ale?

hmmm gbx maybe we can work something out if someone wants to tell me how to ship beer properly

― Wendy Carlos Williams (jjjusten), Tuesday, January 7, 2014 10:13 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i'm all ears! i may even be able to get some of the elusive Heady Topper

place close to my job:

we have now have Bell's on tap including the newly released Cherry Stout, Java Stout, Winter White and Two Hearted Ale.

been waiting for this! never had the Bell's here before

am i in for a treat ?

I haven't had Cherry or Java in a long time. Java definitely the better of the two iirc. Winter white is quite good if you like wheat ales, and Two Hearted is all fucking time tops.

nice! i've never done any kind of trades so only get what's available through distribution. Bell's and Three Floyds have been on the wish list forever, at least we got one down now.

back from my east coast excursion, which was sort of a crazy mess (in a good way) so i didn't have time to do half the things i had planned on. really dug the cigar city stuff i came across, drank a lot of tasty oskar blues tall cans (much cheaper out there!) and a lot of good-to-great ipas from breweries i don't remember anymore. i *do* remember, however, that i should never again try to find rare belgian beers in williamsburg because wow $$$$$$$$

I have a contact who has connections with Lost Abbey & To Øl, can anyone give me recommendations on must-haves from either brewery?

duck duck gooze is great if you can get

i'd be surprised if either brewery had anything that was less than great. seems like most people really dig the lost abbey wild ales

The only Lost Abbey wild I've had were a selection of the last few editions Cable Car (each of which was mind-blowing fwiw).

Lost Abbey Deliverance, Red Poppy, Angel's Share, & Serpents Stout are all fantastic to me.

Two Hearted is all fucking time tops.

^^^ delicious. There's a perfumey quality to their hops bill (an ex-girlfriend said 'tastes like soap') that, when I haven't had a Two Hearted in a while, just makes me go ahhhhhh.....

oh god two hearted i might like more than any Surly

http://draftmag.com/features/americas-100-best-beer-bars-2014/

not one bar in NJ? fuck that

i've been to a lot of bars in NJ and none seem like the 100 best

well neither do some of those NY bars. Tørst as the highlighted bar in the NE? that place is like polished hell i don't really care what they have one tap

They missed some of the best places in Chicago.

A lone man with a worn leather Macbook sleeve hunkers down at the bar with a copy of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The House of the Seven Gables.”

lol

Basically the same Chicago bars as last year with the addition of Fountainhead (worthy) and Old Town Pour House (a horrible place). Sub Maria's for Pour House and I'm fine with the Chicago choices.

Basically the problem with the Pour House is that it has 90 taps, but the majority of them are the typical beers for each style or brewery. They have a rotating seasonal tap list that can be decent but doesn't have anything else you couldn't get at a better bar with a better overall list and much better atmosphere.

based on what i've been to...

absolutely deserve to be on this list, these spots are top notch:
beer revolution
belmont station
saraveza bottle shop & pasty tavern

these places have a lot of beer, aren't terrible places to hang:
bailey's taproom
imperial bottle shop & taproom
toronado sf

overrated, expensive belgian beer bars unworthy of your brew $:
bazi bierbrasserie
the trappist
spuyten duyvil

really weird that they didn't list apex for portland, esp considering how many other pdx bars made the list

Whoops, I was reading the wrong list. Old Town PH dropped off for 2014. Good job draft mag! But still no Maria's. Bad job draft mag.