Beer in the new era

yeah, troegenator is probably my favorite troegs beer - i had a variation that was bourbon barrel aged + it was great. also if you ever make it to the actual brewery they have some bottled sours that can only be purchased on premise that are far-out and also they make a great grilled cheese sandwich

Parabola is out and about.

Evil twin nomader Weiss. Good.

Yeah, wow, the Lagunitas High West-ified Imperial Coffee Stout is a steal at $8.99. Don't get a lot of coffee from it, but as far as a bourbon barrel aged imperial stout goes, it's excellent. And for a (supposedly) limited release, I've seen it all over, especially at Whole Foods, which has been my go to as of late for reasonable beer hunting. They get smaller quantities of stuff in than Binny's does, but they're fair. No tweeting out new arrivals for beer nerds, no dudes stalking the loading doc. If you ask them when something is coming in (like, say, Parabola yesterday), they'll tell you, and they might even save you a bottle. Binny's, it's gotten to the point where I just don't trust the way they operate when it comes to special releases. Then again, I made a point of running around less than I did last year, so maybe I am the problem.

I gave up on Binny's long, long ago. Worthless store, imho, though maybe just because of the ones around my house. The one in Skokie, in particular, is absolutely shady about handling special releases. I can't tell you how many times I've been in there to ask about something, been able to literally see the boxes of them behind the counter, only to be told "nope, never got any". Fuck 'em. I won't spend money there.

Funny coincidence: Binny's just stopped tweeting new releases or otherwise announcing limited stuff. Rumor has it they will be introducing a loyalty card of some kind, which is fine by me, because right now their card is stupid, or at least does nothing for beer purchases.

I'm not as bothered by the tweeting of new releases as I am by how blatantly they hold stuff back for friends. At least pretend a toss a couple bottles out on the shelf.

Man, it's been a couple of years since I've seen anything special in the beer n bourbon scene actually make it to the shelf. Even modestly scarce but regularly released stuff, like Grapefruit Sculpin, or Zombie Dust, or Dino S'mores, barely sticks around for more than a few hours.

I like the way my place does it. They have a rewards program where you get points for every purchase. When a special release happens, you bid those points to get an option to buy an allotment. That's it. No stress, no waiting in line, you just go pick up your beer.

Man, it's been a couple of years since I've seen anything special in the beer n bourbon scene actually make it to the shelf. Even modestly scarce but regularly released stuff, like Grapefruit Sculpin, or Zombie Dust, or Dino S'mores, barely sticks around for more than a few hours.

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, March 20, 2015 1:43 PM (20 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

distro issues are so weird. grapefuit sculpin has been available in my very unremarkable but decent local beer store in boston for months

I always hear tales of Bourbon County Stout sticking around on shelves in New England, even NYC.

I'm in Capitola, CA currently, headed to Sante Adarius Rustic Ales with my brother in law very soon. Thanks to Al B for the recommendation!

jealous!

No bottles to go. :(

Fuck me, this thread's American now

Halfway through a Hanssens Oude Gueuze and let's just say it made me post to this thread despite enormous reservations - possibly the best lambic I've ever quaffed (hi nakho!)

my gf is midway through imbibing (hi!) the st bernardus tripel, which is exceptionally elegant and summery of execution

have moved onto the liefmans goudenband, which is a fine dark red lambic, perhaps not as intense as rodenbach grand cru but highly drinkable and full-bodied

gf is onto liefmans kriek which gives a far above-average fruit beer sip & comes recommended

On the Montmorency vs Balaton Blend 2 Release

We managed to stop several people throughout the course of the weekend who attempted to go through the Montmorency vs Balaton line multiple times. However, other people were successful in breaking the limit. Certain individuals managed to go through the line more than once by removing the ink stamp applied to each customer’s hand upon purchasing a bottle and/or by using disguises to fool our staff.

lol

So Sante Adarius was badass despite the lack of bottles. Had their house saison, Anaïs, a berlinner weiss called MF Choom, and some of my BiL's IPA. All were tasty. Serious indie nerds working at that place with MF Choom + "I See A Darkness" as beer names. Fun joint, and only a mile from the ridic beach house we were staying at. Wish I'd had more time there.

Scored a grip of Russian River at a store in SJ that Al B suggested, too. They had a bottle of Abacus (not Sucaba) in there for $100 and a bunch of Cantillon behind the counter because people try to rip it off, I guess.

berlinner weiss is such a tasty style

dan m: you did NOT get to try any West Ashley at SARA????

i'm really into bocks now

xp nope :(

When I win the beer lottery, I will send you a case.

http://i103.photobucket.com/albums/m134/johnjusten/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-03/94C7C563-9446-482C-82F2-88C8EBF07A50.png

Welcome your teeth peeling sour overlord, fyi

damn just saw that today but didn't buy, I should have

sour bikini sounds... wrong

is it brewed with crotch yeast?

lol yes th name is godawful, which is basically why I didn't buy it

And at $12 it's also 2.7%ABV putting it somewhere between kombucha, vanilla extract, non-alcohol beer & a watery berlinerweiße.

lol

haha, tbf though i've had 3-4% beers that are very complex and tasty

Even if I like a beer, paying full price for something in the 2-3% range just seems wrong.

I've been going all-in at Holy Mountain here in Seattle. Great crew of dudes, great taste in music, incredible mix of classic styles and some fancier sour/brett fermented offerings. Their Celestial Lineage Imperial Milk Stout tasted better than any adjunct heavy cocoa-cream-vanilla-chile stout I've had all year.

Seattle's also getting Alpine and E. House no. 9 kegs now too. Going to be a good summer.

I drank some of those refreshing Stiegl Radler beer-based beverages last summer and went through four tall cans with no discernible buzz, but a sugar high

watery berlinerweiße

I somehow read this as weiner water!

^ tbh i've tried a few rauchbiers that fit that description

Just went to Holy Mountain yesterday for the 2nd time, that Celestial Lineage was great. Haven't tried everything but haven't been disappointed yet.

Well, I've acquired 4 Parabolas over the past week, so I'm happy.

Got a couple this year as well. Might have gotten more if I really tried, but those I did get were relatively easy to come by, thank goodness. Though I must reiterate, barrel aged Lagunitas coffee stout is right up there for me, at a fraction the price. And it was everywhere. As was/is Coffee Dino S'Mores, mysteriously, which I thought would be nowhere but has been a few places I've looked, in plain sight. Cold it's super coffee-y, almost like iced coffee. Warm, like the base Dino S'Mores, it's a lot better and tastier.

I haven't seen that Lagunitas coffee stout anywhere, does it say barrel aged on the label?

looks like this:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8_cN36RLSd8/Uhs1NTyiASI/AAAAAAAAEPA/94Si7OaYJNk/s400/LAg-highwest.jpg

It's good, but nowhere in the same league as Parabola or BCBCS in my opinion.

OK, too rare for my BevMo and Whole Foods stores, I guess. I've had their regular Cap Stout and liked it well enough.

On a different note, I finally had the Anderson Valley orange gose, and while it's not subtle at all (high orange flavor and carbonation), I still like it. The other one is better, but this looks to be a solid summer beer when I'm in the mood for it.

Wait, that's not the one I have! I have:

http://www.craftbeerkings.com/image/cache/data/SAM_0896-500x500.JPG

Anyway, it's not as good as BCBCS or Parabola, but it's pretty darn close, imo, and for the price ($8 a bomber, which is 50% a Parabola) it really can't be beat.

I had a taster of that at the taproom in Chicago a couple weekends ago, I liked it a lot.

Is anyone on this thread from Austin, TX (or have a Jester King hookup)?

Green Flash Le Freak is pretty damn good

http://dontdrinkbeer.com/2015/03/31/21-pics-that-only-rare-bottle-releases-attendees-will-understand-18-may-shock-you/

lol #9

related to that... is today KBS day in Chicago?

I think it started hitting on Monday? I'm not even going to look, I'll just get my guaranteed allotment from Beermisc and be done with it.

In Knoxville this past weekend they had Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour on tap at the Casual Pint. Yesterday I made one last trip there to get a growler of it before coming home, but it was already gone. ;_; (settled for a 4-pack of it instead)

that's a good one!