Beer in the new era

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/04/blind-tasting-116-of-the-best-american-ipas-we-hav.html?a=1

I just want them all.

nice bucket list there

Of the top 25, I've only had 11:
#23 Alesmith IPA
#20 Sculpin
#18 Hermitage Citra (that this is #18 and Blind Pig isn't in the top 50 boggles my mind)
#17 Boneyard RPM (top 5 for me, maybe top 3?)
#15 Bell's Two-Hearted (all-time classic)
#10 Jai Alai
#9 Union Jack (wayyy too malty for my tastes)
#6 Stone Delicious IPA (also wayyy too malty for me, normal basic Stone IPA blows this away imho)
#5 Maine BC Another One (super juicy... MBC makes the juiciest IPAs)
#3 Grapefruit Sculpin
#2 Maine Lunch (see #5)

I just had the Grapefruit Sculpin for the first time this weekend. Kind of interesting, but not really my thing.

I love GFS.

prob have had around half of the top 50. Wonder how I would rank them blind.

I've had the habanero and grapefruit Sculpin, neither is as good as regular Sculpin, imo. The habanero is just too spicy, and the grapefruit just doesn't "marry" with the beer as well as it should.

Also had the Humboldt Nectar IPA, $7/6-pack, and surprisingly good as a low hop IPA.

check it https://instagram.com/gooseislandbeer/

Can't wait to pay $30+ for a 16.9 oz bottle.

those are ugly

Yeah. Also, Rare loses some allure minus the hype of Pappy barrels, plus the Proprietors blend scans pretty unappealing to me, compared to the flavor profiles of previous iterations. Doubt I'll jump through hoops for these this fall.

From the Trib piece:

"A Goose Island spokeswoman said the suggested retail price for Bourbon County Stout will be $9.99, which would approximate the same suggested price-per-ounce cost as last year. However, retailers are free to price the beer as they wish. (I paid almost double what I should have at a downtown Walgreens last year for a four-pack.) She declined to comment on the suggested cost of the other Bourbon County beers."

not a fan of any of the sculpins tbh

stone delicious ipa is really really good imo

Outside of the big box retailers that will be close to MSRP, I'm sure we'll find regular priced at $15-$20 each. Coffee/Barley wine probably $20-$30. Variants $30-$40 and beyond. Rare, who knows.

The prop sounds good to me, I like barrel aged stouts with peppers.

Shit's not worth it IMO.

for sure

I thinks it's worth MSRP. But the gouging that will occur makes it not worth it.

Did you try any of the Dragon's Milk with peppers from last year?

It was good.

I think I still have a bottle of that and the raspberry one. Bargains, really.

i do not have positive memories of the captain lawrence ipa. nice to see breakside and gigantic on there, but i have a soft spot for two hearted and rpm.

also jai alai really is amazing. at first i was pissed that they charged me $17 for a 6-pack at the bodega, but when i tasted it again all was forgotten. so much mango.

I drank way too much Upper Hand and Bells Oracle tonight.

Speaking of Bells, picked up a couple of Neptune's last night. Haven't tried yet.

The prop sounds good to me, I like barrel aged stouts with peppers.

― Jeff, Thursday, July 30, 2015 8:33 AM (Yesterday)

I do not know of many of these, but Barrel Aged Abraxas was truly spectacular. I've had many more non-BA chili stouts (Bomb!, Hunaphu, regular Abraxas, Xocoveza, etc.)

Speaking of Xocoveza, has anyone tried the tequila barrel-aged variants that have been showing up this week?

I guess I don't either, and more meant stouts with peppers, like the ones you mentioned.

I opened last year's prop last weekend, didn't get to drink a lot of it since I was sharing with 4 other people, but it was delicious, liked it more than the 2013 variant. Drank a lot of other good stuff, really liked Forces Unseen (Batch 3) by The Rare Barrel.

Lexington, KY over the past few years is starting to get a bit of a local beer brewing industry going. Kentucky Ale has been going for a while their main beer being the bourbon barrel beer they make. I like their regular ale on tap, but it seems to lose something when bottled. Country Boy and West 6th have some good beers. Country Boy's Cougar Bait Blonde is quite good. They got a beer called Amos Moses too, but I haven't tried it yet. Haven't tried all their dark beers. West 6th's Amber Ale is great probably my favorite of the local beers. West 6th's IPA seems to be their 'popular' beer. It's pretty good but to me it's not that different (or as good) as Sierra Nevada's pale ale.

Just had my first sighting of pumpkin ale this year. Wtf who's gonna drink pumpkin ale in august?

I would shut up.

Unless it is pumking, because that Shit is horrible.

Very touchy about this, I see.

I'll certainly be drinking the 1st Stevens point whole hog pumpkin ale I see. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Even though it's 80+ outside I'm drinking an Expedition Stout. This used to be the stuff of legend for my friends and I 10-15 years ago, now it's relatively easy to find, but still a treat.

I also like how the Bell's website lists its shelf life as "unlimited". The bottle I'm drinking is a year and a half old.

Solid

Really digging this Sam Smith Yorkshire Stingo.

Working my way through more American craft beer renditions of Mitteleuropa style pilsners:

Firestone Walker Pivo - This one is very nice. Complex hops flavor, crisp, well balanced. Will buy again.

Neshaminy Creek Traguer Pilsner - Disappointing. Not much hops flavor other than bitterness. Will finish the six-pack but would not buy again.

I'm drinking some Green Flash Cellar 3 -- a sour ale with plum and aged in red wine barrels. It's very tasty, but it kind of just tastes like a cocktail or wine spritzer or something, and probably not worth the relatively high pricetag.

Was out west for a bit and had some Snake River Brewery stuff. Mostly just OK, but some solid IPAs. Really enjoyed the Old Greg.

Why am I not surprised someone named a beer after that bit

Please tell me it tastes like baileys

I drank a bourbon county the other day, on a 90 degree day. Still enjoyable.

It was either drink it or use it to repair the cracks in the street.

Tonight I drank some Berkshire Brewing Co. Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think I like pale ales more than IPAs.

I'm enjoying the Otter Creek Over Easy. I guess it's what they call a "session ale". A nice alternative to a pilsner for something drinkable and refreshing with a lot of flavor.

i've had some good light sours lately

lost nation gose (VT), quite salty, a little funky too in very pleasant way
rising tide gose (ME), tasted like the ocean man this was awesome
white birch berliner weisse (NH), super tart, very cloudy, one of the best american berlinner weisses i've had

anyone try any grimm beers? i have "psychokinesis" a dry hopped sour, wild ale, in my fridge, excited to try it

I had the Party Guy from Hermit Thrush (VT) by accident. The cans are not labeled, they just write the name of the beer on it but don't indicate the style. This was quite a surprise. I enjoyed these in a "I can drink lots of them and they're kind of refreshing on a hot day, but still taste gross" kind of way.

I'm going to be in VT Friday-Monday... Writing these down, any others I should try besides Heady and Hill Farmstead stuff? We're also planning on hitting up Citizen Cider in Burlington, been saving up for a drunk weekend.

Lawson's is another one worth hitting (I think Sip of Sunshine is better than Heady).

PS: There is a Sante Adairius/Hill Farmstead collab ($30/2pp) that goes on sale tomorrow at HF and should be there throughout the weekend.

Google says HF is about an hour and 15 minute drive from where we're staying, I'm going to try and make it there if I can find the time.