Beer in the new era

Hop stoopid is pretty great. And cheap!

Lil sumpin sumpin, despite the terrible name, is wonderul.

tbh I don't think I've had anything from Lagunitas that wasn't good to great. glad they're expanding.

Not only was I able to find some Peruvian morning stout, it was mispriced at half off.

sup y'all
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other than sucks which is a seasonal is there like a universally loved lagunitas beer?

― call all destroyer

Hop Stoopid like Jeff says, Little Sumpin Sumpin, the IPA is solid.

I got a 6-pack of Ballast Point Sculpin thanks to this thread - it was really good, but I can almost buy a 12-pack of 10 Barrel for $15 and it wasn't twice as good.

^^^Sleeve OTM: Hop Stoopid is great (I always tend to confuse it with Maximus, but I prefer Hop Stoopid). Their plain old IPA is highly underrated imho.

Capuccino Stout is seasonal and very good as well.

They do a very limited annual release called Fusion that's worth checking out if your local picks up rare kegs.

So, my WI beer haul included:

New Glarus: Raspberry Tart, Strawberry Rhubarb and Belgian Red (cherry), plus more Serendipity, all if which I consider closer to wine than beer, but which should be good for the spring/summer. I had the strawberry, and it was like drinking strawberry shortcake. I also got a six-pack of foil-wrapped Spiced Ale.

Central Waters: Peruvian Morning (I guess they taste OK if I drink them sooner than later?), plus some Brewhouse Coffee Stout.

Sand Creek: Noir Black Belgian Barley Wine.

Oh, and some Bell's Cherry Stout, which was sort of like drinking a cherry beer with soot in it.

OK, I had my first bottle of 2014 Peruvian Morning Stout. Bullet: dodged. But my understanding is that one of a couple of scenarios could play out. Either my bottles will taste fine now, but will (may?) increasingly go sour/bad over time, or my bottles will taste off from the first sip. No idea if the problem is so pervasive that every one of my bottles is doomed, though, and (again, if I understand correctly) even if one bottle of my four-pack is good, the other three could be bad, or the other way around. Shame, as this is a tasty beer. Best case scenario is that my sense of taste is so unrefined I don't notice anything wrong!

Also hearing at least one bottling of the CW BBS may be bad. So far I think the Barleywine is testing fine.

sixpoint's hi-res is very good. Surprisingly un-boozy for 11%+ ABV, also not overpoweringly bitter for something that touts its hops so heavily. Definitely a little on the sweet side, but finishes dry.

not a fan of the hi-res tbh.
but i do REALLY like the 2xOne single-hop IPA by Southern Tier; could drink all day.

A few more Lagunitas Chicago shots:

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oops, doubled up that first/last one

wow!

i'm gonna be in san diego for work around the end of the month. i probably won't have a lot of time to go beer touring, but can anyone recommend 1 or 2 must hit spots in the area? i'm definitely not going to be able to make it up to san fran.

I think Stone gives tours at their brewery (Escondito?). Might be fun. I don't know any bars there.

http://toronadosd.com/
http://www.blindladyalehouse.com/

i always hit these two up when in town

Stone is an awesome facility but a bit far from san diego proper

Also, I noticed an Anderson barrel aged stout today that's stronger (13.5%) than their regular one, called Huge Arker. Also claims 6 months in the barrel where the other doesn't state how long. Anyone try this? It's $15/22oz and I'm thinking I might pick one up tonight.

I did buy a He'Brew RIPA on Rye, the BA version of their Bittersweet Lenny RIPA. I read about it on their website and had to try it, as the regular RIPA is a favorite.

Top 3 breweries in San Diego*:
Stone
Pizza Port/Lost Abbey
Alpine

*unfortunately as carne asada hints at, none of these are particularly close to SD proper.

Societe, Green Flash, Ale Smith and Ballast Point are also worthy mentions.

Toronado was the best SD beer bar but it's been a while since I've been there. Fond memories of non-sober lunches at Board N Brew in Del Mar as well, I'm pretty sure they've expanded to other locations across the SD region.

Other non-SD SoCal breweries that you should probably keep an eye out for bottles/taps: Firestone Walker, The Bruery, Smog City.

firestone is central coast fwiw ;)

i haven't been there in forever but based on that list alone sd has a ton of amazing breweries

Heh, Firestone's distribution is run through LA so calling it a "Central Coast" vs. "SoCal" brewery is not really worth getting into when recommending stuff to an East Coaster. ;-) They make some great stuff and it should be pretty easy to find in SD (as opposed to other parts of the country).

no lol i'm just being stupid

how far do alpine and pizza port distribute? they're pretty hard to acquire outside of the area, no?

We get Pizza Port in Chicago. I should drink it more often.

checking out the sierra nevada ipa mix pack someone upthread recommended (jjj was that you?)

the white ipa is lovely, great aroma and a lot going on with the flavor. the black ipa is solid too.

Yeah that was me. I would be super stoked if they made that white ipa a year round thing or a 12 pack seasonal

yeah i would drink a ton of that in the summer

On the other hand I am drinking my way through a six of the lagunitas undercover investigation shut down ale (not like all in one night obv) and eh it's pretty underwhelming

huh i don't know if i've seen that around here. listed as an american strong ale which i will continue to maintain is not a real thing.

The nassau inn in princeton has its own beer called the yankee doodle ale. I've been drinking it a lot recently. It has a unique, sort of chemical taste that is addictive but I don't know if this is a great beer or a terrible one.

the fact that you describe the test as "chemical" is not a great sign

yo treesh u should check out round guys brewery - it's like an hour from where u're at and it has some fantastic sours + berliner weisse

Thanks for the tip! Yeah, if they have good sour beers I will definitely check it out soon.

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I want to try this Hanson beer, mmmHops.

The nassau inn in princeton has its own beer called the yankee doodle ale. I've been drinking it a lot recently. It has a unique, sort of chemical taste that is addictive but I don't know if this is a great beer or a terrible one.

― Treeship, Wednesday, March 12, 2014 6:29 PM (Yesterday)

Pretty sure this is Sam Adams 2nd quality beer sold under a different name.

Mordy, that Blitzkrieg Hops label is filled with so many incorrect facts and misinformation it's hard to tell if it's a joke or not.

what's incorrect on the label?

a) Double IPA is a style invented <20 years ago outside of San Diego.

b) IPAs are the fastest beers to spoil. IPAs need to be kept refrigerated to maintain flavor and alcohol content. If they are not kept refrigerated and drank soon after production, two things happen: 1) the hoppy flavor begins to mellow followed by a corresponding decrease of the IBU; 2) The alcohol content begins to decrease*.

(*Some may think this is a gimmick but there is a reason why certain hard to find IPAs are kept intentionally low on supply: it is a supply-side device to ensure top quality flavor and freshness.)

c) I admittedly don't know much about the history of the East Indian export beer trade from England to India, but I would wager that the taste, brewing practice and recipes of a modern IPA bears very little in common with the traditional IPA export from Georgian era England. I can imagine that the journey from England to Bombay was about 6 months minimum through mostly tropical climes. A common beer in that era would be around 4%ABV and IPA was known to be lighter and more refreshing, probably half the ABV of that at best and most likely served with ice cubes in it.

d) And then naming a "traditional British-style double IPA" after a Ramones song just to capitalize on a hop-pun that's surely been used several times already is kinda goofy.

i understand your point about freshness but i don't understand how the alcohol content could change in a beer post-fermentation

IPAs are not the fastest beer to spoil. They may lose some of their hop flavors, but they will not actually spoil. Hops actually have a preservative effect on beer, which is one of the reasons their use took off 500 years ago or whenever.

You guys with all your facts and/or opinions.

seriously though! i've never heard of a beer decreasing in alcohol content over time. if there is any change at all i'd suspect it would an increase (say, in a bottle-conditioned beer that continues fermenting)

i'm not a brewer though. i've homebrewed a couple times but i'm no expert at all

Evaporation if not sealed properly?

A common beer in that era would be around 4%ABV and IPA was known to be lighter and more refreshing, probably half the ABV of that at best and most likely served with ice cubes in it.

nope

i mean actually almost everything you're saying is wrong but this is the part where you're clearly just making things up

i mean was that a joke post? ice cubes in india in the 18th/19th century?

At least in the 19th century, yes:

"The international ice trade continued through the second half of the 19th century... Exports from New England to India peaked in 1856, when 146,000 tons (132 million kg) were shipped... Spurred on by the introduction of artificial ice plants around the world by the British Royal Navy, the International Ice Company was founded in Madras in 1874 and the Bengal Ice Company in 1878. Operating together as the Calcutta Ice Association, they rapidly drove natural ice out of the market.[80]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_trade

ah alright, well anyway the rest of it is still wrong, ipas were 6-6.5% abv which was average or even below average for the time.

beer lawyering lol