Beer in the new era

otter creek citra mantra is so tasty

I mentioned it earlier but I'm liking Deschutes Pinedrops, which doesn't have any Citra (it's Nugget, Northern Brewer, Chinook, Centennial, Equinox, per their site) but does have a nice piney flavor. A local supermarket has a 30% off when you buy four 6-packs deal so I get it for $8.40, which is real bargain.

https://www.deschutesbrewery.com/beer/pinedrops-ipa/

yeah that one's a winner, very nice, probably the best Deschutes attempt at an IPA along with the Fresh Squeezed

Surly Xtra-Citra Pale Ale ... eh. Sometimes I think that what some of these session beers do to try to taste like their full-octane brethren mostly serves to highlight, like diet soda and vegetarian meat substitutes, just how far short of the mark they fall as substitutes.

Sucaba 2014 on tap at South Loop Binnys, Chicagoans. BCBS too.

For a change of pace from the goses I had a Humboldt Brewery Black Xantus Imperial Stout tonight. 11% abv and it showed, but it was a really nice, complex but smooth, almost a barrel-aged quality, though it's not.

Black Xantus is totes barrel aged, and it's great. It's like a coffee version of Parabola.

http://www.humboldtbrewingco.com/black-xantus/?age-verified=b7835d5e1c

Did not know that, funny they don't mention it (or the coffee) on the bottle. Also didn't make make the connection to the Nectar beer line. Will drink again.

This is the year my wife got back into running and stuff, and she was the only one helping to put a dent in my stouts and other heavy/big beers. I had a party over the winter to try to make a bigger dent, but the lightweights there (me included) barely did damage. As summer creeps closer and I see my cluttered beer closet, I can't even imagine a pace that would help me reduce my backlog. :(

It's hopeless. But we're set for the next prohibition.

@nick n... yeah and in previous years it's basically been Parabola (with coffee adjunct) merely rebranded with a different label, it's made at Firestone Walker by the FW brewmaster.

Well, I can't remember what I paid for it (seems like $10 or less), with no scouring liquor stores or pleading for favors. I'll have to go back for more.

TIL:

Grimm (Brooklyn, NY) is run by Lauren & Joe Grimm... Joe is Larkin's brother and performed as The Wind-Up Bird.

I had no idea, but now that I see the names of their beers, it makes sense.

finally a reason to return to catholicism

http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-monk-beer-20160513-snap-story.html

“I knew the difference between craft beer and run-of-the-mill factory beer,” says Father Benedict Nivakoff of his life before committing himself to monastic life. He is from Connecticut, but you’d hardly know it from the traditional black robe, long-growth beard and intonation, which is a result of his polylingualism.

Monks have a storied history of brewing beer, but in Italy the industry has always been wine. Today, these Benedictine monks are brewing and exporting Birra Nursia to the U.S. as a means of fulfilling the Rule of Saint Benedict, which requires self-sufficiency through work.

so i was in denver last week and hit up some great places. crooked stave is the goat as per usual. also went to stem cidery which was fantastic (ciders have blown up there - there must have been 10 cider breweries), spangalang, strange brews, some other less notable places. unfortunately i've been way sick so i couldn't really drink to my heart's content but it truly is beer mecca.

also grabbed a 6 pack of the new lagunitas sour yesterday - excited to try it.

aunt sally?

if so, it is outstanding

yeah that one - looks great

anyone checking out the sierra nevada beer camp mixed 12? it's expensive but i was bringing beers to a friends house anyway and justified the purchase by giving away half the box. the dipa ("imperial session" lol) and imperial brown are very nice so far.

I bought one last week, but haven't tried any of them yet (too much other beer in the house). I paid $30, which was more than any previous beer camp box, even the 12-brewery collab of a few years ago.

jjj was telling me last night that the Beer Camp mixed 12 had some great things in it; I'm probably picking one up tonight

Those things always let me down. Tickers love 'em tho.

the only sierra nevada in my fridge is a bottle of bigfoot

bought a bunch of other beers but they're all sub-7s so nothing of note

http://www.worldbeercup.org/winners/award-winners/

i know this is all subjective, but this is a weird list

Ommegang makes sense to me, at least

was referring to the winner list pdf actually: http://www.worldbeercup.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/WBC-winners-2016.pdf

Those awards are only given to breweries who bother entering them. Many of the best breweries in the world have no desire to enter such competitions.

Does anyone know if GI does bottle sales (like vintage esp?) during Migration Week events?

seen small drops of last year's at bottle shops during previous migration weeks but anything vintage is prob going to be poured at an event.

I saw a call-out on an invite (paraphrased): "chance to taste and buy some of our rare offerings"...

I was intrigued.

Locally they do some limited out of season bottle sales at events, but mostly at the brewpub. Usually a shitshow.

Is anyone Boston-based going to the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp on June 18?

so i think i've asked this before but my in-laws are coming to visit in a few weeks from buffalo grove and they wanted to know what local beers they can bring with them and i was hoping chicago ppl could give me some names / breweries to pass along. i think they'd prefer to go to whatever local binny's they have but they did indicate that they'd go to a brewery if there was one not too far away (and obv worth going to).

Costco by me now has Stone and Ballast Point variety packs. I picked up the Ballast Point today. Solid brewery imo. Sculpin is v good.

xp

Any Binny's will have piles of local/regional stuff. I was at one in the city today and there were cases and cases of Half Acre, Revolution, Pipeworks, and smaller Chicago breweries like Arcade, Ale Syndicate etc etc... oh and Lagunitas. There will also be lots of regional offerings: 3 Floyds, Two Brothers, Bell's, Founder's, and the like.

All the Chicago places (as well as 3F and TB) have breweries that sell stuff except for Pipeworks and Arcade afaik. There is more, of course, because there's always more, but those are the ones I drink a lot.

I got a six of Bell's Hopsolution today fwiw.

The Revolution "Deep Wood" barrel aged beers are all very good and really easy to find at most stores like Binny's.

Yeah, they have them at Whole Foods and stuff, too. Mordy, you're in Philly, right? (I'm from West Chester). There's so much here you can't get there, and most of it will be pretty good, but going for the "big" (in every sense) beers might be the most efficient way to go, like those Rev Deep Wood beers, specifically (if you can find it) something like Deth's Tar. Pipeworks makes lots of really good big beers, too, and as far as cans go Ninja Vs. Unicorn is excellent.. Half Acre is great, but I want to say more for cans of solid everyday stuff. I've been enjoying their Vallejo APA lately, not least because the cans are pretty and for once don't look like something a high school kid scribbled on a Trapper Keeper.

But yeah: Revolution, Lagunitas, Off Color, Half Acre, Pipeworks, ... Regionally, you've got Three Floyds, Bell's, New Glarus in WI, Founder's, Dark Horse ...

thx guys - we actually get a lot of stuff here in pa now - lagunitas, half acre, bell's, new glarus, founder's + dark horse. but i'm going to mention the others to them.

You sure you get New Glarus there? That's WI exclusive.

St. Louis has lots of great beers, dunno where they go. Schlafly, 4 Hands, Perennial ...

If you like sours Penrose is a good Chicago area option, too.

oh, yeah, you're right about new glarus. idk what i'm confusing it with.

Surly is distroed in Chicago now right?

Yes

Not exactly the type of beer to usually get hyped in this thread, but... Stroh's is returning to Detroit, and with a higher alcohol content:

http://www.dailydetroit.com/2016/06/12/strohs-coming-home-detroit-going-stronger/

My Michigan pride has gotten all swole up because of this. Now if they'd only bring back Stroh's Dark...

Chicago dudes... tell me about Kentuckley from Transient.

Good question! I know Transient has usually got the goods. I got a couple of bottles of their collaborative Neckbeard Nectar last winter, and it was great.

I tried a very nice red lager from William Bros brewery in Scotland and started looking at online ale sellers to get some more. I couldn't help notice what a bunch of ripoffs they are, everything marked up way too high. So I went directly to the William Bros site and found I could get a dozen 330ml bottles for £21, including delivery. Well impressed with that.

My inlaws are in Decorah, Iowa, so my 4th of July weekend included a trip to Toppling Goliath Tap Room. Incredible beers from a small (but soon to expand) brewery in a small town.

Pseudo Sue is fantastic. I've never had their BA stouts (only Morning Delight, their coffee & maple stout) but they are probably the hardest beers to obtain in the USA, maybe the world?