Beer in the new era

Tbh, in Philly you have a better shot than many places because of the state site. Get yourself on their premium mailing list - the mailing list is free, it just announces premium limited stuff - and they'll send you an email as soon as they're on sale. The plus in PA is that you will pay a normal price. The minus is that they sell out in a hiccup. So the best bet would be to call someone there and politely suss out the day they'll be offered and then lurk/stalk that morning for the minute it goes live. Also, be sure to have your info - CC number, address, etc. - already registered so that you don't have to waste time setting that up.

Even then, the website gets slammed and slows down, and last year they screwed up the distribution of the Pappy 15, so that lots of folks (like me) got a purchase confirmation for bottles that didn't exist, and when they mea culpa'd they gave me $15 an order or something silly.

FWIW, bottles from the Antique Collection are slightly easier to attain in PA via the same route. But given how things went last year, I can only imagine the demand has only increased.

remind me plz what the state website is?

Fine Wine and Discount Spirits in PA.

very excited about fresh hop season

I had Ninkasi's new fresh hop beer (called "Hoptimist", I think) and it was truly amazing, the best thing I've ever had from them ( I like Total Dom and Maiden, think the rest is overrated)

I really like Ninkasi Tricerahops but only on tap - someone at the local bar that always has it told me it's actually a totally different recipe than the bottled version, like the ABV is a full point higher or something.

yeah I heard something similar about Kelso Industrial IPA, in cans its 1% less ABV than on tap

oh right I like Tricerahops too, did not know about the draft/bottle difference

Tried a two diff bottles of Bell's Mars DIPA this week. Easy drinking for 10% but can be a bit cloying. Was hoping for more thrilling hop zing.

Still not going because of the potential for clusterfuckability, but the drafts for the Chicago edition of Zwanze Day is nice:

Draft List:
Imported
Zwanze 2014 Cuvée de Florian • Brasserie Cantillon, Belgium
Gueuze • Brasserie Cantillon, Belgium
Cuvée Saint-Gilloise • Brasserie Cantillon, Belgium
Mamouche • Brasserie Cantillon, Belgium
Kriek • Brouwerij Kerkom, Belgium
Weltmerz • De Struise Brouwers, Belgium
Ypres • De Struise Brouwers, Belgium
Shawnigan Handshake • Le Trou Du Diable, Canada
Arctic Sunstone (Collab with Three Floyds Brewing, Indiana) • Amager Bryghus, Denmark
Blå Spøgelse (Collab with Three Floyds Brewing, Indiana) • Mikkeller, Denmark
Beer Geek Brunch Weasel • Mikkeller, Denmark
Spontanredcurrant • Mikkeller, Denmark
Calypso • Siren, England
Roter Baron • Mahrs Bräu, Germany
Bonator (Gravity Keg) • Klosterbrauerei Weiβenohe, Germany
Mönchsambacher Unfiltered Lagerbier (Gravity Keg) • Brauerei Zehendner, Germany
It’s Still Weisse (Collab with Stillwater Artisanal Ales, Maryland) • The Monarchy, Germany
Salty Angel • Birrificio Toccalmatto, Italy
Madamin 2013 • LoverBeer, Italy
Cease & Desist • Brouwerij de Molen, Netherlands
Fresh Hop Wired IPA • 8 Wired Brewing, New Zealand
tba…
Domestic
BCS Coffee 2012 • Goose Island Brewing Co, Chicago
Matilda Lambicus • Goose Island Brewing Co, Chicago
Vallejo • Half Acre Brewing Co, Chicago
Yuzu Berliner Weisse • Off Color Brewing, Chicago
Mosaic • Pipeworks Brewing Co, Chicago
Tart Lychee 2012 • New Belgium, Colorado
La Folie 2013 • New Belgium, Colorado
Crépuscule • St Somewhere Brewing Co, Florida
Gose • The Sour Note, Indiana
Cimmerian Sabertooth Berzerker • Three Floyds Brewing Co, Indiana
Man-O-Awe • Three Floyds Brewing Co, Indiana
Yum Yum • Three Floyds Brewing Co, Indiana
Kentucky Breakfast Stout 2013 • Founders Brewing Co, Michigan
Funky Wit • Perennial Artisan Ales, Missouri
Society & Solitude #7 • Hill Farmstead Brewery, Vermont
tba…

So I am back in lol school and on a halved budget and don't buy nearly as many fun beers anymore, but I got the Sierra Nevada Red IPA tonight and am kind of irrationally excited to drink a couple.

i liked that one! that and their rye ipa are both better than they probably need to be

anyone have any good oktoberfest/marzen style beers this season? heater allen bobtoberfest was predictably delicious, but i really was not feeling the firestone oaktoberfest. kinda starting to hate these west coast variations of styles where copious amounts of hops are added to nearly anything, it can definitely work for certain styles but what's the point of a german lager if you can't taste the malt?

OTM

i didn't taste much of anything in the firestone one. disappointing.

ayinger oktoberfest is my go-to oktoberfest.

firestone oaktoberfest was completely disappointing

kinda starting to hate these west coast variations of styles where copious amounts of hops are added to nearly anything, it can definitely work for certain styles but what's the point of a german lager if you can't taste the malt?

― hug niceman (psychgawsple), Wednesday, September 24, 2014 1:34 PM (52 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OTM

― sleeve, Wednesday, September 24, 2014 1:47 PM (40 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^^^

I had the Oktoberfest Revolution and thought it was a well-done example of the style, but not particularly memorable. I've been drinking more Revolution stuff lately because I finally found a place that sells it for a reasonable price, that is, less than $10 per six pack.

This listicle *gets* me, tho non-warning: not a slideshow/clickbait...

http://draftmag.com/features/25-breweries-you-should-know/

So. Much. Beer.

Too much beer?

Never too much beer.

Tomorrow will mark four weeks since my last beer (not-very-serious medical reasons), I've been having to make do with delicious white wine.

My friends are at Borefts.

Not enough beer. :(

In Delaware now, have been drinking Heavy Seas beer. Every one I've had has been solid, really enjoyed the uber pils.

Was in the store last night and was sort of just randomly picking from the regional selections. Any specific recommendations for stuff I can't get in Chicago?

i drank a lot of heavy seas when i lived in DC. remember them being really really good, but it's been years since i've had any heavy seas and for some reason i never buy any even though i see them in boston shops sometimes. i got into them shortly after i started getting into craft beer and i guess i feel nervous that they won't hold up to my memories (same goes for rogue). but i should give them a try again.

This listicle *gets* me, tho non-warning: not a slideshow/clickbait...

http://draftmag.com/features/25-breweries-you-should-know/

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, September 25, 2014 10:30 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lots of new england/MA beers there. do feel like in the past couple years new england has really stepped up its game, shit used to be dire here 5-7 years ago

mystic and aeronaut have done nothing to deserve being on that list tho

never had either tbh.

and lol with one exception every photograph is a bearded white dude. and the one exception still has a bearded white dude but also has a woman.

btw cad i have been meaning to say "hi" for a while - took a long break from ilx but you know me from simmons and a boston fap from a while ago!

thought it might be you :)

pretty decent list, but the carton brewery beers sound awful (beers based on cigars and trail mix and panzanella? why?)

just made it out to de garde last weekend :) picked up about a case of assorted bottles, looking forward to the next few months

Perennial just launched in Seattle. Looking forward to Abraxas. Saison De Lis, and a few others being readily available.

I as initially skeptical of Carton, but they've managed to impress me with nearly everything I've tried. The Swisher one was pretty great; hoppy and smoky. Regular Coffee was spot-on, and Boat Beer is just a world class Pale. Kane in NJ is also doing great things, but it's a real hassle tracking down their beers.

Shared a bottle of Firestone Double DBA with friends after dinner last night, perfect application for such a beer. Another one of those where about an 8oz glass is perfect, and despite the stuff tasting great I couldn't imagine trying to consume a whole bottle solo. I was also under the impression that it was much more boozy and big-flavored than it turned out to be.

Ha, I think every time I've had that beer I've finished off the whole bottle myself. I do what I got to do.

i've drank bottles of merkin solo before, prob could do a ddba.

i am getting worryingly bored of beer at the moment. been a fairly long time since anything really knocked me out. boo me.

i'm with ya

I think there's an element of choice paralysis crossed with general high quality across the board going on. I have enough great, easy to buy/drink standards that I'd have to go out of my way (or drink everything) to find some truly shitty beers. If anything that explains all the even weirder novelty beers popping up. It's like the brewers are getting bored, too, having perfected all the normal/not disgusting permutations of beer.

Found a bottle of V. Merkin on a shelf today. Still some DDBA, too, though less of it sitting around than there was last year.

1st paragraph OTM, I think. I am also feeling a bit burned out, going for lighter beer in general.

Idk, I still drink something different almost every time. Still an adventure for me.

agree with that, jeff. also i don't feel a huge need to get blown away by every beer i have. it's nice when that happens but i don't expect it to.

^ thirded. i'm not a huge wine guy but it seems like people know the parameters of the wine world enough that they don't buy a bottle expecting to be blown away by some new and previously unheard-of style or w/e, it's more about regional variation, subtle differences in craft, etc. it's not a perfect analogy but it doesn't seem crazy to notice the higher-end beer market developing in a similar way, with tons of options for each partic style and fewer ways to immediately differentiate between them

yeah basically i think we can officially say creating good beers is no longer a problem, the problems now are accessibility, consistency, volume, and price.

One thing I do love about beer more than most drinks is that it's so seasonal. What I like to drink, and what brewers produce, changes with the weather, and each season also offers its share of new surprises to explore. It's also great fun that each region produces its own stuff, and they all overlap a little but rarely wholly. So here in Chicago, we've got all the local stuff, but also nearby is Bell's, and Founders, and Three Floyds, and Central Waters, and New Glarus. Etc. Then in, say, Portland, they have all their own stalwarts, plus their own regional satellite brews. Same in Denver, and Boston, and Los Angeles, and so on. Tons of fun exploring this world.

I will readily admit that my taste for beer is nowhere near as refined as that of some, and that I do have trouble differentiating between similar (or not) expressions. Like, say, as I posted above, Allagash White vs. Saison, or some of the barrel aged stouts. That said, one other problem I have is that many of them taste so good and few totally disappoint, which is a nice problem to have.

FWIW I was at a Triumph brewery restaurant this weekend (New Hope PA) and tried their bitter and their eichweizen, and while not blown away by either I enjoyed the exceedingly "fresh" taste that the beer had, which I can assume was just the result of having it on tap right where it was brewed.

Hey, it's finally beer camp day! Scheduling with my pal has been tricky, and I was worried that it would be faded by now, but hooray for careful storage.

Just started, but the cigar city tropical maibock is incredibly good, great kick off.

2/2 the ninkasi double latte is right up there with mikkeller beer geek breakfast and lagunitas cappuccino. Going to be a great boozy afternoon.

Just started, but the cigar city tropical maibock is incredibly good, great kick off.

That may be my Best of Show for the box.

Square grouper

^ ha, you seemed to like that one?

fresh hop stuff is still very much in its prime. commons' fresh hop myrtle was pretty incredible - a light, slightly sour, drinkable saison with added earth complexity from the hops. awesome.

so i started messing around with untappd, 'ChantsWI' if anyone wants to add me.

hoegaarden with lemon slice is the best beer to have with lunch