Beer in the new era

furious imo

Is that the hoppy one?

one of them!

honestly im just trying to stemn the tide of everyone pushing bender/coffee bender as the surly to try, they both put me off surly for about a year

Saw the smoked lager in the South Loop Binny's over the weekend but every rauchbier I've ever had has been offputting so I didn't pull the trigger.

I would go for Furious too. Or maybe Over Rated.

had some Sucks on tap last night, i'd forgotten what it tasted like but turns out it's really good, huh.

http://www.mightysweet.com/mesohungry/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/08-ginga-kogen-beer.jpg

Had this at a japanese restaurant. SO GOOD.

Abrasive has hit Chicago, buy it if you see it.

i think sleeve had mentioned laurelwood above, but it bears repeating - workhorse ipa is one of the best bottled single ipas out there right now. if you are into citrus-y, bright ipas that aren't commonly referred to as "hop bombs", buy this if you see it:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ckCX-i2crSE/Ub-kVVLlckI/AAAAAAAAVo0/Gc2AV1v7Pdg/s1600/Laurelwood%2BWorkhorse%2BIPA.jpg

it's usually priced similarly to deschutes/new belgium sixpacks, which is another plus. i think they had some production issues with it a few years back so it wasn't really on my radar, but this most recent batch is a good'n (seekabrew says it only has full distro in washington, oregon, and for some reason vermont?)

I enjoyed Surly Smoke, one of the better smoked beers I've had. It wasn't overwhelming as much as something like a Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier.

I bought a pack of abrasive and a pack of coffee.

wooooow guys this round guys brewery is something special. more tk when I sober up

Got two 4-packs of abrasive. Haven't had this in forever, excited to become aquatinted again.

Not cheap!

It wasn't! I believe 17.99 each?

I got one too :D and yeah, pricy.

I realize now that it is what I compared with Heady Topper, not Over Rated.

Also met the HP Binnys beer guy and got his card, which may come in handy down the road.

http://thehopreview.com/features/2014/2/16/brewer-chat-the-incomparable-pete-crowley-of-haymarket-pub-brewery

Relevant to Chicago beer drinkers, he drops the bomb that FOBAB is going to be at UIC Pavillon this year. Three sessions over two days.

Whoops, bought Bender yesterday, not Coffee Bender.

Stupid Surly names. Should just call the beer Confusing, or maybe sell purple cans with random contents, like dum dum lollipops.

Do any of you Chicagoans know how the Half Acre special releases work? There's a collaboration between them and 3Floyds coming out today, can you only buy them at the taproom or do they go to stores?

It really depends on the release. Last year I got Shewolf from the shop, I don't recall it being in stores. Others show up in stores, at least in some limited qualities. Like Big Hugs, Double Daisy, Galactic Daisy, etc. Best bet is to go to the store front. And then drink in the wonderful taproom.

I thought the Shewolf release was tomorrow though?

One of my twitter friends said today. It doesn't really matter for me, getting there from the south side is not really feasible on weeknights.

It should be around through the weekend. Perhaps famous last words.

crooked line not yet mentioned itt?

in other 3floyds collaboration news: http://apintaday.com/three-floyds-x-mikkeller-bla-spogelse-sour-ale/

i saw some crooked line in the store today but i don't buy random large formats without a strong recommendation.

i did buy a single of sam adams bandwagon jumping ipa, it's called rebel, lol

I've been enjoying the Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA lately. It tastes kind of like a regular Sierra Nevada Pale Ale but slightly different. "Peppery" seems to be a good word.

^ seconded on the ruthless rye. good stuff

the crooked line bottles i've tried are great! they're an offshoot of uinta, which is another relatively solid brewery all around. of course, i usually try that stuff when i'm visiting my folks in utah (not that it's not available elsewhere) so it might just be that it tastes amazing in comparison to utah's horrendous 3% abv mandated beers that you find most places. iirc the black ale was the best (labyrinth) and the imperial pilsner was mildly impressive too

Nothing sexy but I really like the Surly Bender brown ale I accidentally bought. Worked well for washing down Chinese.

http://thefullpint.com/beer-news/firestone-walker-barrel-works-feral-one-release-march-8-2014/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=firestone-walker-barrel-works-feral-one-release-march-8-2014&utm_reader=feedly

Las two nights I've had Perennial Abraxas at the bar on my walk home from the train. Love this beer, wish I could repeat every day of the year.

picked up the new sixpoint 'hi-res' to try -- imperial IPA; not that great. too boozy and sweet for me. not the worst but would not buy again.

also picked up some blood orange pale ale which i am excited/nervous to try -- i love citrus/orange aroma but don't want anything that tastes like minute maid

I liked hi-res. I see how the sweetness would be off putting thought.

Huh, I don't typically find "too sweet" to be a flaw of Sixpoint offerings. Curious to try it. Haven't met many imperial IPAs I like though.

speaking of imperial ipas... is it worth skipping out on work early to grab pliny the younger tickets? $15 for a glass of elder and younger, with half going to charity

i would

definitely

Las two nights I've had Perennial Abraxas at the bar on my walk home from the train. Love this beer, wish I could repeat every day of the year.

― Jeff, Thursday, February 20, 2014 6:23 PM (Yesterday)

This post just convinced me to jump off the fence and go to this event tomorrow .

Join us for a night of incredible beer, delicious food, and great company this Saturday night, 02/22 at Clinton Hall NYC with Perennial Artisan Ales' brewer Jonathan Moxey!

Perennial La Boheme
Wild Ale - 6%

Wild ale aged for 2 years in fermented in Cabernet red wine barrels with Pedio, Lacto, and Brett Brux, and steeped on Michigan tart cherries for 6 months.

Perennial Trixie
Saison - 4.5%

Saison/Farmhouse Wit brewed with grape must; brewed specially for Annie Gunn's Restaurant in St. Louis.

Perennial Abraxas
Imperial Stout - 10% 80 IBUs

An Imperial Stout brewed with ancho chili peppers, cacao nibs, vanilla beans, and cinnamon sticks. Pouring deep brown with a thick head, this beer has a complex body with a delicious lingering roastiness. Abraxas is brewed with unique ingredients intended to challenge and excite the palate. It may be enjoyed right away or allowed to age in the bottle.

Fete De Noel
Belgian Dark Strong Ale - 10%

Belgian style strong ale brewed with orange zest, rosemary and raisins, brewed specially for Washington DC and St. Louis. An intricately woven profile offers brown bread, caramel, sweet dark fruits and a prominent thread of floral, earthy rosemary; just a subtle hint of orange zest accents the swallow. A drying finish tidies up each delicious sip.

Perennial Peach Berliner Weisse
Berliner Weisse - 4.1%

Our Peach Berliner Weisse is a German-style tart wheat beer that's perfect for the hot summer months. We violate traditional German beer production methods in every way by adding hundreds of pounds of Midwest-grown peaches to each batch. We hope you enjoy the irreverence as much as we do.

Perennial Heart Of Gold Wheat Wine
American Barleywine - 10%

Heart of Gold is our Wheatwine, an American take on the classic Barleywine. Brewed to "wine strength" but with a malt bill full of wheat, Heart of Gold has a beautiful tawny color from its extended boil. Flavors of molasses, brown sugar, and honey covered biscuits are characters of the maltiness that are accentuated by the fruity and nutty yeast that was used to fermented it to 10% ABV. American hops balance the bold body with their clean bitterness and citrus forward flavor. 2013 GABF Silver.

Perennial Black Walnut Dunkel
Munich Dunkel - 6.6%

Black Walnut Dunkel is a chocolate brown German Dunkelweizen aged on Missouri?grown black walnuts. Big aromas of banana sit on top of this malty wheat beer, and it finishes with a nice black walnut nuance on the palate.

Perennial Sump Coffee Stout 2014
Imperial Stout - 10.5%

Imperial stout brewed with Sump coffee, a local St. Louis roaster.

Perennial Saison De Lis
Saison - 5%

A straw colored Belgian-style Saison brewed with chamomile flowers. It is fermented with a traditional saison yeast strain that imparts fruity and spicy notes that dovetail perfectly with the tea-like quality of the chamomile. Finishes dry, tart, and refreshing.

Aria
Belgian Pale Ale - 7.2%

Brewed in the style of a Belgian Ale fermented with wild Brettanomyces yeast. Pours a clear copper color with a frothy white head. Aromas of Belgian yeast and earthiness. Medium-bodied with a solid backbone of malt. Flavors of sweet fruit and citrus with earthy notes. Moderate hop bitterness.

Perennial Hommel Bier
Belgian Golden Strong Ale - 5.9%

A dry hopped Belgian Pale Ale which defies tradition by combining Chinook and Columbus hops, American malts and a Belgian yeast strain. The result is a beer with earthy and spicy tones from the yeast and a slight orange note contributed by the hops.

ok looks like i'm gonna do it! if anyone wants in feel free to pm

Good grief, that list. Yum!

http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2014/02/issues-craft-beer-gender-environment-competition-safety.html?ref=title

i'm slightly acquainted with heather, she's cool and usually otm

yeah, she's rad! i did a waterbury run with her once. i really like the stuff she's been writing lately, and i totally can't believe the patience she has in dealing with some of the absolute biggest creeps ever (cf the dude in the comment section: "We have to empower women to like/brew craft beer? Can't we just drink what we want to?")

drinking southern tier warlock right now and good god. i don't think i've ever been disappointed by a southern tier product, honestly, they might be my favorite brewery.

Sierra Nevada 4-way ipa sampler is a must buy, FYI.

xp sourthern tier 2xmas beer was god awful, one of the worst beers I can remember having

some others:

sam adams honey porter
bell's batch 5000
leinie's summer shandy
camo

Totally agreed, the 2 worst beers I had last year that I had hopes for were Alaskan hop-o-thermia and the 2xmas

I didn't hate Southern Tier's Creme Brulee, but it really was a lot like drinking candy.

oh man, camo!

the worst beer i can remember drinking offhand was bootlegger's mint chocolate porter, picked up as a joke during an LA trip. cool colt was before my time, but i feel like i got the gist of it