Beer in the new era

I've had Aprihop on tap and liked it, but can't remember if I've ever bought bottles.

Well, I just bought bottles. Will report. It's hard to believe so many folks love it on tap and hate it in bottles. How radically different could it be? (I will see!).

OK, Aprihop is perfectly fine. Pretty subtle, hardly disgusting. Pairing well with strawberries right now.

RFI I guess. I don't know a whole lot about US beers, and I think we only get the most widely-distributed breweries in the UK. But what would you guys suggest best starting points to seek out in terms of appreciating that big beer continent of yours?

Xpost Aprihop getting less OK as it warms up.

A couple weeks back we started chatting about the new era and what defines it, specifically in the context of a post of Michael Jackson's best American beers list from 2002.

It kinda had me thinking of different milestones and landmark beers I'd enjoyed over the years, and what has changed in the new era.

I recently remembered in 1996 getting into a Red Hook x Starbucks(which somewhat of a niche company at the time hah!) collab called Double Black Stout.

So I looked it up online to see what people thought of it then...

''On a scale of 1 to 10, it was between a 3 and a 5,'' said Keith Mackie, brewery general manager for McMenamins Pubs and Breweries. ''I bet Double Black Stout's going to be a flash in the pan.''

And as of 2014 BA rates it very good/outstanding: http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18134/55/

Similarly around this time (1995?) I took a trip to Seattle in January and it was really cold compounded with this bone chilling wind coming off the Sound. We ended up seeking refuge in a bar and the bartender recommended Black Butte Porter from Deschutes and it was served absolutely ice cold in a frozen mug, like the top of the beer was iced over... and I can still remember how delicious it was.

#beerstalgia

seandalai i have no concept of what you get over there so if you can talk a bit abt what you see on the shelves that would help.

I did a quick little google of a couple of UK beer shops the other night, and the handful of "American craft" offerings were pretty run of the mill, iirc, at least from my perspective.

This is the biggest selection I've found over here: http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk/american-beer
Plus my local shop seems to have about 50 varieties of Rogue.

Based on that page, Founders, Green Flash, Jolly Pumpkin, Stone, and Lost Abbey are all very good buys. And hell, they have BCBS, may as well get that too. Also lolled to see Huber on there, haven't seen that shit in years.

yeah those would be many of the breweries i would start with, alesmith as well.

if i were you i would be trying to figure out how fresh the pale ales/ipas they're stocking are, no real use in overpaying for a 6-month old green flash ipa

BCBS may be as American as it gets, relatively speaking.

Awesome, thanks. Some of those (Stone, Founders, Lost Abbey) I can get locally too so I can check the dates on the bottles. How fresh should an ipa be to count as "fresh"?

within 6 months imo

slowburn LOL at "Millers Genuine Draught"

I saw Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on tap last time I was in London, I'd have to look through expense report journals to try to find out more specifics though.

Rumor is Surly to start distro to Wisconsin?

really? that would make me very happy. thinking about going to a tap takeover thing tonight (part of this insanity, which i don't want to get too caught up in).

i had a bottle of the Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout last night, i'm not generally into cherry but this was really good.

seandalai - i'd add epic and drake's to the list of stuff to check out, but i think the other suggestions are probably a bit more universally-acclaimed. drake's is surprisingly solid though! stillwater and southern tier are pretty good too, though some are definitely better than others

re complaints about Beeradvocate reviews upthread, found this one for Torpedo there:

This IPA has the flavor I have been searching for in a beverage for half a century. I can't explain how the entire experience of ordering a Torpedo and drinking it is so complete. Adjectives disappear. I become one with the total experience. If it's not the perfect beer for me, it's as near perfect as I have ever found. I have tried to describe the experience to friends and family, but lately, I don't even care if no one else likes it. I'm totally selfish about it. I'm hoping Torpedo is served in the afterlife. Otherwise I may never check out. Well done Sierra Nevada!! I have checked off the perfect beer from my bucket list.

overall: 4.75

lol

lol i would like to see the rest of that bucket list

Still on the lookout for the perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

idk anything about BA rating scales but I would figure "perfect" would equate to a round number

saving the 5.0 rating for when they actually drink sierra nevada torpedo in heaven

Awesome. I guess Torpedo is the real answer to my US beer questions.

Decided to pick up a 4pk so I am ridin' the ~chillwave~... I didn't know it was a Great Lakes surfing reference. Tastes better than when I had it on draft.

Found a couple of bottles of Pipeworks barrel aged Jones Dog milk stout. Stoked.

I moved on to the Allagash FV13 that CAD sent a few weeks ago. Solid sour with a nice balance of flavors so nothing really dominates. Good amount of barrel to it, good carbonation. This was just over 2 years in the bottle and I guess 4 years in the barrel prior to that? I'm not sure we get any of their barrel-aged products in Chicago but I'd definitely try some more.

We do, don't we? Bourbon barrel black Belgian, Curieux ...

We do, and I'm always too cheap to buy them.

Ah okay, can't recall ever seeing any.

you guys prob get the large-format aged allagash things but not fv13 and the other stuff they've put out in 375s.

Right

finally got a chance to open that heady topper last friday and DAMN. exactly what i want from a double ipa, so jealous of people who have easy access to that stuff, thanks so much CAD

picked up a can of BLAKKR the other day, not bad. every time i see it i think of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFY2kJ96jNY

xp no prob! it's certainly worth the semi-annual trip to me, but from the vermont locals i've talked to even they don't get tired of it.

not sure i would either. i love that the beer is fairly "unbalanced" in terms it being a major hop overload (especially compared to pliny the younger or smthg), but within all that hop flavor there's a perfect balance between sweet and bitter

just last week i started to see a ton of trinity bottles popping up in shops across town, is this happening anywhere else?

the bottles are not cheap at $9 for 375 ml but i had to buy a bottle of red swingline, because if it's as delicious as i remember then it's worth the $$$. i know they are really going crazy with bottle production there (compared to last year at least) but i don't know where they're distributing to besides colorado and oregon right now

so the "aged" beer I had lying around was Eel Creek Triple Exultation Old Ale, it was freaking delicious but I'm glad we split it five ways.

Sadly the peanut butter porter is slightly disappointing. It's good, but I was hoping for a bigger, sweeter, creamier peanut butter taste. It's there, but very subdued.

Drinkin' Orval.
Pretty good! Very drinkable.

new england/east coast folks - what are your thoughts on newburyport green head ipa? i'm really digging it. murky brown-colored ipa, malty and floral at the same time.

Years ago, in the dark days before microbreweries, I was in an import beer club at a local pub, and drank 108 beers from around the world. One of the imo undrinkable beers (at that time) was Orval. I believe it was the first Belgian I ever tasted. I would probably like it much better now. (xpost)

orval is nice. a little tart but not truly sour, a little bit of brett funkiness, but still manages to be crisp & refreshing, especially as it warms up a little bit. not my fave trappist beer, but one i like to sip on a nice afternoon -- helps that it's a manageable ABV.

xxp i haven't had green head since probably late last summer but i remember liking it well enough, i think they made a conscious choice to brew a very "balanced" ipa and as a result it's more malty than i'm often in the mood for. i should try it again soon tho, basically any decent local ipa in cans is good in my book.

Anyone had Widmer's Upheaval? Really BAD name, but it's an unfiltered IPA containing wheat. I'm always up for reasonably priced, mass market IPAs to try, and I liked this one a lot.

I think it's pretty new - Widmer is almost at like a Henry Weinhard level of "meh" mass production (are they owned by a major?, but it's nice to hear a positive report. See also Pyramid's IPA.

I'm heading to Los Angeles for the weekend. Is stuff like Pliny easy to find there, or just easier? Or am I out of luck on that front? Any other must-seeks?