Beer in the new era

Wake up early!

Lines were pretty bad everywhere. I picked up a regular 4-pack at my local Binny's, which is all that was left but fine with me; the other stuff ran out in the first 25 or so people (I got there at opening). But man, first thing in the morning beer nerds smell terrible. The fragrant old guy behind me was clearly aging something in his stomach. He kept threatening that if all the special brews were gone he was going to go home empty handed, because "I have three years of the stout in my basement." Then we got a little closer to checkout and they said they were out of Proprietors. He declares, "I don't want the regular, I've got four years of the stuff in my basement." Then even closer and they're out of the coffee and barleywine. "I don't want the regular, because I've got two years of the stuff in my basement." Yet mysteriously, he keeps waiting in line! Five minutes later, he gets to the check-out, where all they have left is the regular stuff, and poof, he waves his hand and huffs off.

larger store around here threw a release party, coffee and donuts for first 200 people, etc. etc. didn't really communicate that they only had a single case of vanilla, lol.

Got really lucky today. I was going to get up and wait in the long line at binny's at ass o'clock in the morning, but decided to sleep instead. After running some errands I thought I would go out to Jewel and see if I could at least get some regular. They hadn't gotten anything, so I just went to the liquor store across the street on a whim. Nothing on the shelf, but I saw two bearded dudes in their 30s just standing around while the owner was rooting around in the back. I just looked at them and said, "bourbon county?" Yep, they had just pulled it off the truck and they were waiting for the owner to bring it out. Had no idea what he was going to bring out, but then he trotted out regular, barleywine, vanilla, and proprietors. Bought them all and went home happy. So glad I didn't need to wake up and stand outside in sub-freezing weather to get them.

Still need some more regular though, to last me through the year.

wow good work

barely any vanilla around here, i was able to get two each coffee/bw and four 4-packs of regular with not too much effort. need more variants tho.

At the big Binny's here, that gets more Bourbon County than anywhere else in the universe, people started lining up at 4:30 PM yesterday. By the time they opened up at 9:00 AM, there were over 900 people in line. Sold their last bottle at 11:38 AM.

Enforced same day release both more democratic and more encouraging of lining up 12 hours early. Got a lead on coffee tomorrow, but no harm if not. Did pick up a clown shoes extremely angry beast today that was set aside in the consolation pile.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXOmTxLqSD0

Modest line in the local Whole Foods at noon today, so I got a couple of bottles of coffee and barleywine. And they said as much regular as I wanted, so I got two 4-packs. Line smelled much better than local Binny's line.

Just saw a post that people were lining up this morning at the Lake Zurich Binny's as early as 4:30am.

A friend in the Ann Arbor MI area told told a funny story about going to a store and having a shady looking guy with missing teeth offering to sell him bcbs out of his trunk on the parking lot.

I still haven't found any but I'd like to think I wouldn't sink to those depths unless the price was really good.

totally uninterested in chasing beers like this, but I enjoy reading tales of the hunt

drinking Hop Valley Alphadelic atm

10 year vertical tonight. In my drunken opinion, 2012 was the best, 2007 was the worst.

I'm still on my PacNW trip and picked up the Portland Beer Guide that Willamette Week publishes. I could completely ruin my health trying to keep up with just the sour beers in that town. Hope I get the chance.

Don't the BCS labels say up to 5 years on them? Could that be why the 2007 was a letdown? I also figure they've been getting better and better at this. Do you remember how much the ABVs varied?

I did pick up a Revolution Blue Gene recently. Revolution does pretty well with their barrel-aged stuff, but the hype tends to pass it by, imo.

so i opened my bottle of allagash confluence on thanksgiving. it was good, very interesting finish that was a little funky and weird, very dry. it was good but not $24 a bottle good. shared another bottle of the uinta sour farmhouse ale w/ my brother, still think that is one of the best sours i've had recently.

also any of you folks in the midwest try 5 Rabbit Cervecería? my brother had a lot of their stuff, i was really impressed. oaxacan black beer is outstanding, and i really really liked the latin witbier, it was fucking awesome. was almost like a champagne.

Yeah, they're local here. I usually try everything they put out but don't repeat buy very often. Their recent collab with cigar city was really good. El Bizarron, porter brewed with caramelized plantains.

I've never been too impressed with anything of theirs I've tried, but that's limited to what's widely sold in stores and one pint at their taproom. I'm not super into fruit-flavored beers in general, and that seems to be all they make.

I'm convinced their grapefruit beer is just a single six pack that just makes the rounds. Someone gifts it to someone, they regift it, and it just keeps circulating, because no one really likes it.

anyone know if Allagash farm to face is suitable for storing medium to long term? or is it more like an IPA, best consumed as soon as possible?

porter brewed with caramelized plantains

I'll see you, and raise you milfoil and zebra mussels.

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2014/11/24/milfoil-and-zebra-mussel-beer-sells-out-in-less.html

farm to face should be fine to store for a while

Skipped the BCBS madness in lieu of the Bourbon Barrel Aged Abominable release at Fremont Brewing in Seattle. Absolutely wonderful beer. Though it's officially an "American Strong Ale" the barrel character makes this taste like a oaky Barleywine.

Heading back to New Jersey this weekend and will try and grab some Carton cans from down the shore to bring back to WA.

xp thanks

xp- i really want to try the fremont barrel aged beers, been hearing great things about the abominable variants and kentucky dark star

http://chicago.craigslist.org/chc/for/4782207586.html

lol

lol until somebody buys it

what is the typical retail value of that

the regionality of this stuff is weird, BCBS sits on the shelf for months and months in NYC

Thought I noticed a decline in quality in the Ommegangs this year. Probably won't buy again. Or maybe my taste has just changed.

Really enjoyed two Evil Twin imperial stouts I tried recently -- Christmas in a New York Hotel Room, and I Love You With All My Stout

New craft brewery opened earlier this year in Glendale, Queens which is kind of an out-of-the-way neighborhood for something like this (although sort of a beer culture heritage I guess with german beer halls around). Curious to check it out.

http://www.finbackbrewery.com/home.html

what is the typical retail value of that

they're selling it for $20/four-pack at whole foods here in pdx, so about $120 total lol. pretty sure there is plenty to go around still, and no limits or anything either

lol.

i didn't bother trying to get any of the bombers this year, and stores around here still have the regular 4-packs (my gf grabbed one at 8:30pm on Friday).

Still haven't really warmed much to the BCBS, just feel gross when I drink it

I'd sell every beer in my closet right now for 10 grand.

Don't the BCS labels say up to 5 years on them? Could that be why the 2007 was a letdown? I also figure they've been getting better and better at this. Do you remember how much the ABVs varied?

― Josh in Chicago, Sunday, November 30, 2014 7:45 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It does say 5 years. 2007 was the worst, but 2006 and 2005 tasted much better. Not great, and a shell of its former self, but still drinkable. The ABV's did vary, and evidently, GI is better about putting the right ABV on the bottle now. That's why you see two different batches of the current BCS, 13.8% and 14.4%.

still need to try it, but huge heavy stouts i can enjoy every once in a while, but really i am not as into them as i used to be. i had the anderson valley bourbon barrel-aged stout on draft the other night and it was awesome, only 6.9% and it felt nice to drink a barrel-aged stout that wasn't 12% or some shit.

agree w/ feeling gross sometimes with heavy alcoholic stouts. though i could definitely be into splitting a bottle w/ someone when it's -10 outside and i'm sitting by a fire.

The Evil Twin stouts are like 9 and 10%, I think. I find that to be about my limit of drinkable beers.

also noticed when i smoke a little weed stouts are like the grossest fucking thing

Maybe balance it with a bowl of ice cream?

wdyll when holding a 3l bottle of dragons milk

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B3zYMBIIYAAHGlM.jpg

xps - i don't see any problem whatsoever with boozy beers in cold weather. in the middle of august - no thanks. but december when it's 34 degrees and raining? yes please, i need something warming.

i broke down and supported the AB-InDevil by buying a couple bcbs 4-packs over the weekend and i have to admit - it's tasting pretty delicious. i also had the 10 barrel rum-barrel aged pumpkin thing and it was damn near perfect for thxgiving dessert. to atone for my sins i made sure to buy a couple of bottles of the also-recently-released deschutes abyss, and a midnight sun berserker (not as much of a bourbon-bomb as bcbs of course, but red wine/chocolate/tobacco/dark fruits for days. my current favorite RIS)

and not to be a west coast cliche, but IPAs + w33d amirite?

hell yeah

+1

yep