Beer in the new era

http://www.allagash.com/musette.htm

okay i did not have that. sounds awesome tho. belgian-style scotch ale. i got pretty into scotch ales this past winter, they're delicious

i actually had kwak in belgium. it's really funny to be in a restaurant where everyone has this ridic glass in a big wooden stand and no one is really considering that it's weird. mostly when i was there i just hit the duvel tho.

I wish there was somewhere to get Old Rasputin on tap around here. Someone fill a brother in.

where r u?

brooklyn, NY.
surely there's at least somewhere in manhattan, one of the many gourmet beer bars.

yea no clue about new york. i did have it on tap a couple weeks ago at delaney's tap room in new haven, CT. ha, not sure if rasputin is worth that much to you but delaney's is a pretty incredible beer bar. make a day trip out of it and get some new haven pizza too

will maybe stop by next time i'm going to RI via automobile; lunch & beer break.

http://www.northcoastbrewing.com/distributor.htm

any of you peeps lucky enough to be in the distribution area of the Yards brewery in philly should def try the new "brawler" ale they have out. a friend of mine brought out a case of it when she came to visit and it is AMAZING.

http://www.yardsbrewing.com/ales_brawler.asp

nice label

The beer for Wondermark readers.

Warming up with Negro Modelo's with lemon wedges. Will soon proceed to Grimbergen.

Okocim O.K. 16oz.x4pack you are O.K. w/ me!

jaymc, I have been to the two brothers brewery many times! I haven't been on the tour, but it looks like a run-of-the-mill microbrew tour. Basically just one big room with big vats.

The restaurant that is attached is fantastic though. Tasty food, all of their currents on tap and always something on cask (hit and miss, but always interesting). Last time I went, I had their coffee porter, domaine dupage and cain & ebel.

http://www.twobrotherstaphouse.com/

Okocim, the official deuce-deuce of the Greenpoint deli!

I am also determined to go at some point to the Two Brothers brewpub, and Three Floyds too. Maybe Flossmoor. Chicago's southern suburbs are a wonderland of beer.

Though upon further investigation, Two Brothers is in the western suburbs...

Victory Prima Pils -- bought cuz it was on sale/being promoted at the liquor store, and it's A+. Normally skeptical of pils, just cuz of Bud et al., but this is really, really good. A nice break from the over hopped American IPAs I've been drinking lately

^ yea that's just a flat-out awesome beer. i'm a big fan of pilsners, and tbh i think regular bud or lol 'bud heavy' as it's known is a good beer

Swearing by ThunderHead IPA, which I never heard of before (brewed by Pyramid Breweries Inc. in Portland and Berkely) since moving to Austin, where I can't find Harpoon in the stores like I could in Queens. (Regular Harpoon in the blue-labeled bottle, that is; their yellow-labeled summer brew was too acidic, and the dark-green-labeled winter one too thick.)

Still stick to Stella where it's on tap, though.

everyone i know is firmly love or firmly hate (i am the latter). other harpoons (ipa, ufo, summer) are drinkable but there's almost always something better around

In Queens, I never found anything better around than the IPA. I miss it now. And I was definitely a winter hater. The Polish/Russian stores in Sunnyside had plenty of Zwyiec and all its cousins; they were okay, but I never found one I loved.

And Harpoon's Celtic and Octoberfest never killed me either, fwiw. (Not a Hefeweizen fan; never tried the UFO.)

yeah i gotta revisit the ipa as i haven't had it in ages. had the celtic maybe a month ago and it def continued w/my impression of harpoon as a shop producing solid but unexciting brews.

zwyiec is a whole different story--if it were cheap or readily available (or i lived near the polish grocery store in dorchester) i would drink it probably all the time. definitely one of my fav lagers ever.

i actually went pretty nuts at my local fancy beer joint tonite. drank something called port brewing hot rocks which was a dark lager brewed the traditional way--by heating rocks over open flames and tossing them into the brew.

also cisco grey lady which was a really nice witbier from nantucket.

to top it off i went to the nearby retail story and stumbled upon some jever, as mentioned by ice cr?m upthread. will report on that soon.

I live right near the local (state i think it is actually) Polish Club, they sell zwyiec really cheaply .

I'm going there tomorrow night <3<3

Dr. Johnson, three floyds is going to have their dark lord day on like april 26 i think and its the only time and place you can get their acclaimed imperial stout. I heard that there was some sort of ticket system this year, but i have no idea how it works. Last year a buddy and I went, but we got there too late and missed out.

Ska brewing is kind of obnoxious, but i do love their modus hoperandi (sp?). It comes in cans in Illinois and has been hitting the spot lately.

iirc i've got some bros in chicago that have already got tickets for the dark lord day. when surly released Darkness here this fall, ppl fucken camped out like two days in advance to secure their spot, no joke. friend of mine bought six bottles (the max) and has been trading/selling them online---it's got a real rep

Yeah, sadly, you can only get Surly on tap in the Chicago area. They had a release party out in Lisle (the same place that had the oak aged Rasputin) and was lucky enough to at least drink some. The place in Lisle is also having a release party for this year's Founders Kentucky Bourbon Breakfast Stout soon.

And to think, I used to get excited about album releases...

http://www.nilsoscar.se/_upload/se/produktbilder/God-Lager_72.jpg

I know, not "beer" but surprisingly "beer" like. I really liked it. I think it may be the first Swedish beer I've drunk too.

http://www.nilsoscar.se/_upload/se/produktbilder/God-Lager_72.jpg

I mean it is a "beer" but obviously it's called a lager...oh you know what I mean.

Tonight I'm drinking the Raven's Eye Imperial Stout by Eel River BRewing Co. It's a bit boozy tasting, but it's nicely warming and I don't mind. I chose it over the other fancy schmancy brews at the yuppie supermarket because of the very nice label design:

http://www.simplybeer.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/img_7274.jpg

I'd definitely drink it again. It's significantly sweeter & less bitter than other imperial stouts I've tasted.

yum. right now i'm drinking anchor bock, it's pretty good. really dark in color but not thick or viscous or anything like an imperial stout. ha, it tastes like dried fruit in so many ways. like dried apricots. guess it's a spring seasonal. it's pretty perfect right now for the early spring's cool nights

http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/bockbeer.htm

there's a restaurant in l.a. that pours an insanely good pint of old rasputin

hmmm, in Oregon it is illegal to pour pints of beer over 9% I think, you have to get a 12 oz glass.

liking that new strong Sierra Nevada Torpedo extra IPA.

when I was in NYC in August, there was a bar that was pouring pints of DFH 120 minute IPA... and only charging like 5 dollars. It was ridiculous.

That Torpedo IPA is darn good.

victory prima pils is awesome. not really a fan of the surly stuff, but that might be due to its current omnipresence in MPLS - speaking of which, the new summit horizon red ale is surprisingly good (this is coming from a dude that has 100% hateraded on all non EPA summit across the board)

the pervasiveness of surly is a little off-putting, it's true, but at least it's decent beer, you know? there are worse home-town brands to rep for. i just wish it wasn't so expensive

and i'm with you on non-EPA summit. i also wanted to like finnegan's, but man i just couldn't

I really liked the Surly Coffee Bender when I had it a few months ago. I've had beers with coffee notes (you know, beers described as "dark, toasted"), but this was like a delicious blend of beer and coffee and surprisingly smooth and light-tasting.

Curious if any Minneapolitans have tried Flat Earth. Not as ubiquitous as Surly (and not as good, IMHO) but...

http://flatearthbrewing.com/beer.html

there's a restaurant in l.a. that pours an insanely good pint of old rasputin, and i believe also serves up allagash curieux (which is still one of the best beers i've ever had.) most recent discovery

where's this

take a left at ur butt

Could be Lucky Baldwin's in either Pasadena or Sierra Madre. I know they pour both the Allagash Curieux and the Kwak in question.

theres a bar five blocks from my work that has ol raspy on tap right now ian! if u hurry u can make it in time

flying out to sf with tax refund money is not the worst idea.

toronado?

oh and the one in l.a. is golden state on fairfax. really good burgers too.

curieux is also on tap at bottle rock in culver city, which is predominantly a wine bar but has a very good beer selection too.