Beer in the new era

i went to the lagunitas brewery in chicago a month ago, a buddy of mine was playing a show there. an insane place. i like the beer. i prefer goose island but mainly for their specialty brews, which i agree are a lot better than their regular ones. i'm a fan of their winter ale though.

This is what I saw: http://thefullpint.com/dans-blog/dans-reaction-to-firestone-lagunitas-saint-archer-stone-news/

Anyway, easier to get good beer is a win for everyone. Though we are so spoiled here there's very little that doesn't hit our shelves.

What didn’t jive well for me was the IPA scandal earlier this year, in which they tried blocking Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter IPA from hitting the market due to the IPA mark on the Sierra Nevada label. Their approach was puzzling for being ‘craft beer’ as it seemed greedy and huge corporation like. Their street cred took a big hit from that and I’m not sure they ever completely bounced back from that.

what the hell, did not know this

Lagunitas brewery in Chicago is insane but they serve beer in jars so fuck them all to hell.

i had never heard of golden road but am reading some reaction and lol @ how nobody likes their beer very much

Thought the Lagunitas/Sierra Nevada spat was mentioned upthread here.

I figure if these guys end up making crappy beer it'll just open the way for more craft brewers. Good beer is not going away.

A local brewery to me (Craftsman in Pasadena) makes a lager that re-engaged me with that style, and I find Golden Road's 329 lager a pretty good version, and GR's seasonal IPAs can be pretty good too, though I can never remember which one(s) I like (20/20? Better Weather? Heal the Bay?).

cad what do u think of jack's abbey (speaking of lagers)

My favorite brewery in LA is probably Beachwood.

The recent AB acquisitions are just so mild and unoffensive. Say what you want about Goose Island, but their barrel program is pretty phenomenal and a class or five above anything from Golden Road, 10 Barrel & Elysian.

St Archer (the Miller/Coors acquisition) is pretty average/forgettable.

Lagunitas' deal seems more like a distro deal for Europe/global than any sort of management influence, in fact, the contract language I skimmed said as much: the NA operations are unaffected by this deal.

cad what do u think of jack's abbey (speaking of lagers)

― marcos, Wednesday, September 23, 2015 4:04 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

jack's abbey is.....adequate? i can't remember the last time i picked up their beer when i had other choices, but it's all pretty good.

CAD sent me a BA Framinghammer from Jack's Abbey that was pretty tasty.

yeah that is a nice beer; they do another seasonal called kiwi rising which i like a lot. more their regular lineup that i pass over.

yea agree with that assessment cad

nothing is bad from them, they are v competent but nothing really is really must-buy

mmm drinking a Firestone pilsner, really good - never tried it before.

I've been buying a lot of Two Brothers beers lately, mostly their Dortmunder and Extra Pale. They're the most reliably fresh offerings at my neighborhood grocery store which is pretty much the thing I care most about any more... Although they did have random 4 packs of that New Holland Night Tripper recently.

I did also splurge for a Revolution BA scotch ale, Gravedigger Billy, last week but haven't found a good time to crack it open yet.

Ninkasi to expand into Maryland, DC, VA

http://www.ninkasibrewing.com/news/blogs/press-blog/2015/09/23/ninkasi-brewing-company-expands-east-coast-distribution/?ageVerified=defaultValue

mmm drinking a Firestone pilsner, really good - never tried it before.

Yeah, the Pivo Pils is one of the better American craft pilsners I've tasted. Hits that difficult balance of flavor, body, carbonation and crispness. Nothing really jumps out on first sip, but it goes down very easy.

http://www.gooseisland.com/rareday.html

$60 a bottle.

that...is not going to go over well

2010 Rare was $45-50 iirc... but that was Pappy.

bigger bottle too right?

Weird shaped bottle, I want to say. Like, smaller than a bomber but bigger than the 12oz bottles? At least that's the case for the rest of them. No longer 4-packs? Pretty lame all around, I think. I think the small/regular bottles are great to share.

The $60 is straight from goose too. Can't wait to see the markups the corner liquor stores around here give it.

https://twitter.com/joshbnoel/status/648628825518006272
https://twitter.com/joshbnoel/status/648629012713963520

Rare sat on shelves at $45, I think it was even marked down in some markets after a few months.

New era, new problems.

lame

pretty much covers it

the attention goose bcbs gets seems so inflated, is it really that good? barrel-aged stouts are everywhere these days, how much better is this beer?

Probably my favorite beer of all time, FWIW.

But there is plenty of amazing stuff out there, for sure.

it's better than anything that sits around on shelves imo

I brought a couple of BCS bottles to our block party this past weekend and shared them with neighbors, one of whom (a UK beer guy) knew of the beer but had never had it, the other of whom had never even heard of it. The former was blown away, and the latter so impressed her first reaction was (almost literally) "OMG, this is incredible, I have to go to the store tomorrow and buy this for my husband!" I had to give her the bad news.

the attention goose bcbs gets seems so inflated, is it really that good? barrel-aged stouts are everywhere these days, how much better is this beer?

― marcos, Tuesday, September 29, 2015 6:56 AM (57 minutes ago)

New era problems! Goose Island invented the bourbon barrel aged stout 23 years ago.

The first edition of Rare in 2010 was the base stout aged for 2 years in Pappy Van Winkle 23* barrels.

*PvW23 is perhaps the most elusive and desired bourbons in the world, a single bottle costs a fortune: http://www.wine-searcher.com/find/old+rip+van+winkel+pappy+fmly+rsrv+23+straight+bourbon+whisky+kentucky+usa/0

This new 2015 Rare was aged for 2 years in 33- to 35 year old Heaven Hill (Elijah Craig, Evan Williams, Rittenhouse, etc.) barrels discovered in an abandoned wherehouse. Why no more Pappy barrels? They are extinct, no more barrels are available as they've all been repurposed.

So yes, what you say is true: There are plenty of bourbon barrel stouts these days. And BCBS is one of the best BBA stouts that gets distro (FW Parabola is another imho).

But the beer being discussed yesterday (BCBS Rare) is on a completely different level than BCBS. I had a decent pour of the 2010 Rare at a friend's birthday party a couple months ago and it might be my favorite BBA stout I've ever tasted.

Wow, this year:

http://www.brewbound.com/news/dogfish-head-sells-15-percent-stake-to-lnk-partners

xp yeah 2010 rare was incredible. this new edition being its equal is anything but a slam dunk. those are some really, really old barrels.

And to think they used to saw these barrels in half and sell them at garden stores.

Topical post on the cost and labor going into BCBS Rare:

http://goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2015/9/30/critical-drinking-what-beer-costs-why-we-need-more-flexibility-in-the-market

You can buy a great bottle of bourbon for $60.

xp that's a good post but i do wonder how much inbev is influencing the pricing and the format change and if they're the people i want to be changing the perception of what beer should cost

I can't help it, I don't want to hear this kind of analysis from someone getting paid (in any way) by Goose Island.

Also get a copyeditor, it looks like you rushed that post out to counter backlash.

And unique bottles are not a necessary component of this beer imo, a needless expense.

Had New Belgium's Le Terroir yesterday, which was great. Sour and sweet and bitter all in one beer!

― first it smells like donuts, then it smells like don't ask (askance johnson), Monday, March 7, 2011 12:54 PM (4 years ago)

I know new Belgium lips of faith is like 95% bullshit, but you guys, this le terroir dry hopped sour ale is so so fantastic. Like a sour mixed with a goze?

― O_o-O_O-o_O (jjjusten), Saturday, September 14, 2013 8:30 PM (2 years ago)

There's a convenience store/lunch place in Tupelo with a serious beer evangelist building up a great stock -- he seems to be there 24/7, educating the shit out of everybody who will stand still for it. Anyway I was in there Friday looking for something interesting and new and picked up a bottle of Le Terroir, and he snuck up behind me and said "I just tapped a keg of that if you want a growler for 13 instead of that bottle for 15." OH SHIIIIIIIIIIT IT'S SO GOOD.

Currently enjoying a 3Floyds/Gigantic Crescendo of Doom Tactical Lager. Love the collaboration between these breweries that has grown out of mutual soccer fandom.

http://brewpublic.com/beer-personalities/gigantic-brewing-3-floyds-brewing-collaborate-on-crescendo-of-doom/

Bought a bottle of Pipeworks Sure Bet, sounds like a sure bet.

Not one of my favorite of the fish series. But enjoyable.

Not a fish though, it's a barfing unicorn!

True. I guess I mean the double IPA series with honey and other stuff added to it.

Many of which have fish on the labels.

Kelso Pilsner seems like a pretty decent, drinkable, milder pilsner - goes well with food. I'm a big fan of cans for the convenience factor.