Beer in the new era

Wha?????

Gose is awesome.

Westbrook/Stillwater Gose Gone Wild is one of the best examples of the style.

heh, Leipziger imho.

has anyone here had the Claudiator? https://untappd.com/b/weissbrau-andorfer-claudiator/703491

it's like, the best thing ever. i think you might only be able to get it at brauaus schmitz on south street and, i guess, germany.

Tried some crazy stuff that I normally wouldn't have access to at a tasting yesterday:

Nonna's Blend #5 by Sante Adairius Rustic Ales
Surette Provision Saison by Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Brainless on Peaches by Epic Brewing Co.
pseudo Sue by Toppling Goliath Brewing

All were fantastic, especially the Nonna's and Surette Provision.

wow nice selection

I like all of those very much, nice score.

FOBAB tickets on sale today!!! The greatest beer festival.

J/V/C, are you going? If so, what session will you go for?

How big is a "tasting?'

Like pour size? About 4 oz.

I'm going to certainly try for tickets! I've been debating which session myself, I like the sound of the 1-5 session on Saturday, but I'm imagining that's probably the most popular one. I'm trying to decide whether to go for the one I want to go or the one that will be least likely to sell out first.

I'm going to go for the sat 1-5. It will be the easiest to get childcare for. There should be more spots per session available this year due to the new venue. I think you're on the site right at 10, you should be ok.

I actually think the Fridays session is going to be popular. Then you'll have all weekend to recover from your hangover.

Fair point, cool, I think I'm going to shoot for Sat 1-5. I totally forgot about the move to the new venue factor!

Got them! That was painless.

I'll be the first to admit I lack beer tasting finesse, but I just had an Allagash Saison, and I can barely taste how it differs from an Allagash White. What should I be looking/tasting for?

― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, August 19, 2014 8:16 PM (6 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

White is 5.1% abv, Saison is 6.1. Gimme the Saison.

Ha, I'm so used to double IPAs and the like lately that 6.1 seems light!

allagash saison has a significantly different finish from allagash white.

I guess? They seemed pretty similar to me, but I;m sure you're right.

I'm aiming for Friday night for barrel-aged beer fest, btw. Do these things sell out?

Typically within minutes, but more sessions and bigger venue seems to have made things better.

Not sold out yet! Waiting until tomorrow so that I'm not the only of my friends to get tickets for Friday.

I know, I'm kind of surprised. Also they raised the price this year so I'm sure that helped too.

Actually, it looks like Friday and Saturday night are both sold out and may have been for some time, there's just been no formal announcement, and the site makes it seems like there are still tix. However, I did check to see about Saturday afternoon, and there did seem to be tickets for that. But it was ringing up as $65 + fees (fuck Ticketmaster), so screw that. For $65+ of drinking I know I can have a much better time elsewhere, on my own schedule.

Huh. I tried for Saturday afternoon late yesterday afternoon and couldn't find anything available. It was telling me there was nothing available for all three sessions. Anyway, looks like I'll be passing on FOBAB again this year.

I kinda wish these things would go on sale on a weekend, when I can guarantee that I'll be able to access my computer. Work days make it really tough, like getting called into a 3-hour conference call yesterday that started at 9:45.

I have no beef with the $65, this is one of the few festivals that is worth it for me. You get tons of one-offs and special releases, not breweries just bringing their normal regular lineup beers.

$65 plus fees. How much were the TM fees, btw?

$5.20 order processing fee
$2.50 print at home fee

I'll spot you $7.70! Join me!

Can't! Got stuff going on that afternoon, the only time there are/were tix left.

PRINT AT HOME FEE?!??!?!?!

I just don't have the time, nor really the $, for fobab. Josh otm re: drinking beer on your own schedule.

Speaking of drinking beer on your own schedule, how about a 99 pack for $99?

http://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/peacemaker-anytime-ale-99-beer-pack-for-99

I've just moved to the US from the UK, and I'm struck by the number of craft brewers that don't put the alcohol content anywhere on the packaging. It might well be a legal requirement in the UK that's the primary reason for making it clear, but at the same time, it's one of the first clues you look for when faced with a completely unknown beer. I'm just curious what the reasons for not showing it might be. Beyond cultivating an air of mysteriousness, why hide it? Particularly when it can usually be found on the internet anyway.

Huh, where are you living? I believe it's state jurisdiction rather than federal.

here's a good post on the topic

http://www.notchsession.com/2010/11/label-fun/

aha - thanks for that. someone did suggest that the alcohol content of big name 'lite' beers might have something to do with it, and the mention of Coors in that story adds credence to that theory.

i'm in Houston, TX for a three year stretch. very much enjoying the beer at the moment. couldn't resist picking up some of these...
http://cdn.beeradvocate.com/im/c_beer_image.gif

sorry - sneaky beer advocate html coding

http://cdn.beeradvocate.com/im/beers/123416.jpg

so maybe I'm perverting the purpose of this thread, but sometimes eight pints of Guinness is the most satisfying experience you can have

i don't see anything wrong with that.

I'd have to get up and pee a lot.

Some fun news -- a new brewery is opening literally a block and a half, if that, from where I live. Full site isn't up yet but they've been posting on FB etc.

https://www.facebook.com/barleyforge

General preview by a friend:

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforkinit/2014/08/barley_forge_brewing_costa_mesa.php

Annnd listing of their initial offerings. I'm not expecting the world to suddenly change but it's going to be nice to have somewhere I can just literally walk to and back in five minutes.

http://www.brewbound.com/news/barley-forge-announces-opening-beer-lineup

Remind me why I buy anything from Evil Twin that's not an Imperial Porter/Stout again?

bc justin blaeber is delicious

Ok, I haven't actually had that yet. When will it be released again?

i have long been reluctanct to spend more than $10 on a six-pack but shit if there isn't a big leap in quality when you even just go up to $12. have gotten a little tired of the beers at my local store in the lower range so i am spending a little more, it seems worth it. bought the stone saison and it's fucking incredible

This Lips of Faith biere de garde is great.

Wow, my liver's out of shape and that 9% is saying "lol I fly at u face"

treesh and i hit up monk's tnite - they had a bunch of russian river on tap. pliny elder + i tried the sierra nevada collab - kinda saison'y? spicy. i liked it! not as good as pliny the elder tho.

so that evil twin nomader weisse is fucking awesome! so much depth of flavor for a light sour, really makes me want to hunt down more westbrook. @ $2.50/can this isn't cheap but it is definitely on the cheap-ish end of things i could see myself drinking quite a lot of

got to try a bunch of other great collaborations recently:

boneyard & three floyd's armored fist imperial cda - i've been finding that my favorite cdas/black ipas combine imperial stout thickness/sweetness/complexity with a super bright/clean hop presence. this one might be the best so far, though barley brown's chaos is p competitive too

boneyard & alpine brewing chingadera IIRA - have been pretty let-down by a lot of IRAs but this is a great tropical IIPA with a a complementary malt character that doesn't ruin the fun with added bitterness, probably closer to a barleywine than anything else

reverend nat's and barley brown's envy imperial hopped cider - another wholly unique offering from reverend nat's... who the hell else has even attempted something like this? imagine if you made an incredibly strong and well-balanced west-coast IIPA (prob closest to the enjoy-by series or other stone offerings) with suuuuper-unfiltered cider like you find at farmers markets. hands down the best use of hops in a gluten free beverage i've ever tasted, even if GF is not a concern of yours this is 100% worth seeking out

had a faction brewing anomaly milk stout this weekend. it tastes just like a stout but it looks like this:

http://i60.tinypic.com/o58fhz.jpg

brewed with cacao nibs, coffee and lactose. a very weird taste/visual experience.

My brother in law and I laid waste to the craft beer samplers at the Minnesota state fair over the weekend. I really enjoyed the Indeed and Bent Paddle offerings.

This time of the year is truly the gloomy end of summer for me as we enter the autumnal days of pumpkin ales followed by undrinkable holiday ales.