Beer in the new era

nah (some) sour beer is good.

I wonder if the North Coast Blue Star Wheat Beer is good. I remember liking their Pranqster Belgian Ale, but it's been a while since I've had it.

This barrel aged Racer 5 is... Intense

I feel like I should be wearing a baggy hat, waving a wand around

found a secret stash and i picked up five bottles of BCBS in L.A.

Which store?

BevMo in pasadena, the one on arroyo just north of the 110. Went there because their online stock said they had 55(!) bottle. If you go you may have to ask someone, the dude stocking shelves who hooked me up told me they had more in the back but no one knows about it, they're kinda keeping it on the low. Also the bevmo in west L.A. near Santa Monica and sepulveda had a few bottles last time I checked online.

Tank 7 rules imho

My first beer of 2016 is a mikkeller keeper pils that was just hangin' out in the fridge
Could have done better but we'll be ok

1 year old Enjoy After 12/26 was pretty boring. Far too foamy despite best efforts.

I do like Tank 7. Also had this year's Founders Mosaic Promise which was fantastic, better than the last.

That's the Bevmo I got one at a couple weeks ago. They had a box behind the counter on the floor that I happened to notice, limit 1 bottle then. Guess I should try again.

Been in Mexico, pretty shitty beer.

https://twitter.com/BellsBrewery/status/682958471860367360

Dos Equis Amber is pretty drinkable.

oh man "drinkable"

I'm having a Grolsch because big green swing top bottles are awesome and I am still working on that jedi power of blindly distinguishing between mass produced lagers. BUT!

I found a big stash of BCBS '15 at my local Harris Teeter, of all places, and one is in the fridge now so I can finally find out what the rest of y'all won't shut up about. Will update later.

Chug it.

Squeeze an orange slice into it.

Was gonna rim the glass with salt and old bay, but I'll take your advice instead

My biggest problem with strong stouts is always the greasiness. So to me, this kind of tasted like somebody melted down a caramel chocolate cake and poured it through a filter. That's a taste I can respect but I'm way more into hops and bright spicy tripels - just not my thing.

A friend was over and split it with me and actually liked it a lot - he agreed it was a bit strong and the taste lasted too long, but he compared it to a port or a sherry, and I can see appreciating in that regard more than I appreciate it as a beer.

otm

Bottle share tonight and had a bunch if ridiculous bottles. Probably too much.

Highlights?

I'm attending a similar share next weekend where I'll be the weakest link*, the first time reprising that role since prior to my first ILBeer trades (holla!).

*fresh Fou'Foune, Hommage b2, DeGarde Passion Bu & a West Ashley.

xp:
Was gonna rim the glass with salt and old bay, but I'll take your advice instead

― El Tomboto

If you do this be sure to a a generous pour of Clamato.

to "add"

https://untappd.akamaized.net/photo/2016_01_02/112e608a62ba1a3c923c7c159eb25a37_320x320.jpg
Copped a single of this over the weekend but have not yet consumed; very excited to treat myself to fancy beers in the new year

ALSO: folks upthread be raving about the Ballast Point Victory at Sea, but have any of y'all tried the Calm Before the Storm yet? I'm seeing it in stores, looks interesting

Highlights were; Skully Barrel No. 35 from Paradox, Another World from Rare Barrel, Convivial Suarez by Grassroots, a trio of Westy's, and Caribbean Chocolate Cake from Siren/Cigar city, Green and Haze from Treehouse. Worst was Black Fist by Mikkeller. Holy rocket fuel.

Full list:
Mikkeller - Black Fist
Boulevard - Imperial Stout X - Tart Cherry
Goose Island - BCBS ‘15
Goose Island - BCBBW ‘15
Mikkeller - Spontanwhitegrape
Brouwerij De Molen - Hel & Verdoemenis 666-ish
Leelanau Brewing - Good Harbor Golden
Mikkeller - Spontancranberry
Upland - Cherry Lambic
West Blonde/8/12
Founders - Frangelic Mountain Brown
Russian River - Temptation
Tree House Brewing - Haze
Tree House Brewing - Green
Three Floyds - Baller Stout
New Glarus - Raspberry Tart
de Garde Brewing - Hose
FSW - Parabola
Marz Community Brewing - Double Jungle Boogie
The Rare Barrel - Another World
Three Floyds - Amber Smashed Face
AleSmith - Reforged
AleSmith - Barrel Aged Speedway Stout
AleSmith - Old Numbskull
Pipework’s - The Murderous
Founders - Bolt Cutter
Brooklyn Brewery - Black Ops
Evil Twin - Double Barrel Jesus
Bruery - Floyd D’Rue
Briery Terreux - Imperial Cabinet
Santa Clara Valley Brewing - Heart’s Delight (Apricots)
Siren Craft Brew - Caribbean Chocolate Cake
Revolution - Very Mad Cow (2012)
Paradox Beer Company - Skully Barrel No. 35
Mikkeller - Spontanpassionfruit
Grassroots - Convivial Suarez

Last time I had Convivial Suarez was drinking with CAD and DJP in 2013. It was awesome again too.

decent list

How was the Double Jungle Boogie?

very nice list

Siren Craft Brew - Caribbean Chocolate Cake

must try this collab - siren is always one of the better uk brewers.

Do beer people make EOY lists?

we had a new year's eve party this year, 3 families came over, lots of toddlers running around, it was really fun. we had a selection of northeast and mostly new england beers

grimm purple prose sour ale (NY)
mystic berliner weisse (MA)
otter creek oatmeal stout (VT)
mikkeller american ipa (denmark?)
the shed brown ale (VT)
lord hobo boom sauce ipa (MA)
lord hobo steal this can ipa (MA)
troegs doublebock (PA)
brattlebeer sour ale (VT)
brattlebeer sour session ale (VT)
berkshire brewing ipa (MA)
victory headwaters pale ale (PA)

highlights for me were the grimm and brattleboro sours. mystic weisse was disappointing for sure. i quite liked victory headwaters, just a really good pale ale, it was kind of an awesome palate refresher between various drinks

later in the night we brought out the whiskey and the weed when the kids went to bed. last drink of the night was a bottle of the otter creak oatmeal stout poured into our whiskey glasses w/ a little bourbon left over in the glass

How was the Double Jungle Boogie?

It's awesome, grab one if you see it. I have a hard time describing the subtleties of beer, but it was unique. Juicy, tropical, fruity, for lack of better words.

And the parabola was the one I traded for with you Josh. Finally drank it and it was as delightful as expected.

Always nice when Plead the 5th pops back into stores.

mikkeller american ipa (denmark?)

Either Alesmith (SD, CA) or Faction (Oakland, CA) depending on the batch. Their main brewery is now in SD.

...which was the former Alesmith brewery until they relocated for exopansion.

i have such mixed feelings about bottle shares. yes you get to try a zillion amazing things at once but inevitably only the most sour/bold/boozy beers end up standing out and you lose a lot of the subtleties. also kind of a shame to go through such a large stash in one night, and usually you're too drunk to remember much of anything anyway.

it is definitely nice tho to enjoy delicious beers with other enthusiasts (in other words please disregard what i said above and invite me to your bottle shares ;)

was lucky enough to be in the area and make it to kuhnhenn shortly after the solstice festival so i picked up bottles of bourbon barrel 4th dementia, bb barleywine, tripa, and dark heathen. kinda scared to crack open the old ales until like 12 years from now but i am curious

This afternoon

Pliny
Jai Alai
Blackrocks 51k

Tallgrass BBA Buffalo Sweat

New Glarus Belgian Red
New Glarus Strawberry Rhubarb

(at bar: Surly Furious)

I mostly agree re: bottle shares. I've always been a binary judger of beer (good/bad), not too concerned about the subtleties. But honestly for me, I'm drunk enough after two beers usually that I can't appreciate the subtleties anyway.

And it's a good excuse to open those beers, I'd keep them in the closet forever otherwise. I'm not (and most people at this bottle share) struggling for rare/out of market beer, we have closets/cellars full of it.

Goose Island Brewing is offering refunds to customers who bought two 2015 Bourbon County Brand Stout variants after bottles “developed flavors that are not consistent with our expectation of how these beers should taste,” the Chicago brewery said today.

Goose's 2015 Bourbon County Coffee Stout and Bourbon County Barleywine don't “meet our standards for the taste profile of these beers,” leading the brewery to offer refunds to customers unsatisfied with them, head brewer Jared Jankoski wrote today in a blog post on Goose Island's website. Other versions of the high-gravity stout, including its flagship Bourbon County Brand Stout, Rare Bourbon County Brand Stout, Proprietor's Bourbon County Brand Stout and Bourbon County Brand Regal Rye Stout, are not affected.

“That's not to say the beer doesn't taste good, in fact some drinkers may enjoy it very much,” Jankoski wrote. But the two versions of the 2015 Bourbon County “have drifted out of their target character.”

A Goose Island spokeswoman said neither of the beers, which were released in Chicago and other cities in late November, is infected with bacteria or any other contaminant and remain safe to drink. Further, she said, the problem applies only to bottled versions of the beers, not kegs.

Megan Lagesse, the spokeswoman, said the brewery dug into the issue after seeing discussions in online beer forums and through social media, and brewers eventually determined that the two beers developed off flavors after they were bottled.

"We're still doing our best to get to the bottom of it," Lagesse said. "We just thought it was the right thing to do" to offer the refund.

The Anheuser-Busch/InBev-owned brewer, a pioneer in barrel-aged beers, said it intends to continue producing its line of barrel-aged beers, including its decorated and highly sought line of Bourbon County Brand stouts.

Goose Island urged customers seeking a refund to call 800-466-7363. The brewery will accept both full and empty bottles of the beer, and require a proof of purchase, including a receipt, a credit card statement, or a photo of a bottle, for the refund.

Has anyone tried the Anochor Winter Wheat? It's fucking 7%, not that unlike a lighter barleywine.

Sorry, Anchor.

http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/01/35-of-the-best-barleywines-blind-tasted-and-ranked.html?a=1

Otm

I'm a craft-beer dilettante compared to you guys, but I did have the Oskar Blues Death by Coconut by the pint last night at Hopleaf and loved it. Super-strong smell of coconut on the nose, and at first it smelled almost like suntan oil. But loved the whole thing in the end. Mounds-bar-like.

got some glasses of the stone xocoveza last night on draft and damn what a beer that is.

that sounds great, I had their latest "drink by" stout on Monday and it was similarly fabulous