Beer in the new era

Tis the season... to spend way too much money on beer.

50% off Black Friday sale at Cost Plus, bought a few Belgian 750 ml bottles for about $7 ea, and an Allegash Currieux for $11 (figured I'd never cough up $20+ for one).

Didn't even bother grabbing any BCBS this year. Don't like the big bottles, didn't like how so many got screwed up last year (even if Goose Island was great with the rebate). 'Tis the winter for going through the various bottles of big beer I already have on hand.

http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2718077

This just sold out in less than 10 seconds.

I got tickets for the KBBS/Assassin release at Toppling Goliah (Decorah, IA) in January. I have no idea how to plan the logistics.

Goliath*

Btw I managed a trade for the Night Stalker on reddit, it worked out perfectly. Also got a bunch of Pipeworks in the deal.

Also recently had the coconut Dragon's Milk and it's pretty ridiculous.

nice one jordan

also while i love beer, i don't get this whole lining up/pre-ordering/etc

if i can score some semi/hard to find brew i'll get it, otherwise i'm not planning an entire day dedicated to acquiring it

You mean you don't understand traveling across the country to the frozen great plains in mid-January to pick up 3 bottles for $200?

if that's your thing, that's cool

i was in chicago for the bcbs release and i travelled 2k miles

but i ended up not going and just enjoyed the city instead

Tis the season for my local grocer to over-stock seasonal brews and not have pilsners. The only thing left that I like is Founder's PC Pils, which they've never entered into their scanning system, so I hold up the line every time I buy it while they do a price check.

glad you tracked down the night stalker, jordan

also while i love beer, i don't get this whole lining up/pre-ordering/etc

if i can score some semi/hard to find brew i'll get it, otherwise i'm not planning an entire day dedicated to acquiring it

― F♯ A♯ (∞), Friday, December 9, 2016 1:44 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yea. my local beer & wine store has an enormous range of outstanding, reasonably-priced beers in an ever-expanding variety of styles. it would take me a long time just to exhaust the options in that one store. i guess there has always been that rarity-seeking impulse among so any type of enthusiast - beer, records, books, whatever -- but i don't share it. obviously just because a beer is rare and expensive doesn't mean that it is any good.

Thanks, I definitely got some snide replies, but I think my guy took pity on me because it was a birthday gift for my w1fe rather than regular beer nerd hoarding.

Lagunitas sour tastes like Christmas trees smell

that actually might be wonderful

always loved the smell of a christmas tree

and i'm really getting into sours these days

best i had: four winds nectarous dry-hopped sour

worst: prairie funky gold mosaic (not technically a sour, i guess)

you mad, funky gold mosaic is not only a dry hopped golden sour, but it is also delicious.

that said, the head brewer of prairie left the company so I'm not sure if their quality will continue in the future.

Just had it a week ago and the pineapple or whatever it's supposed to be seriously smells like urine

one time i went to a blind tasting at a beer store near here that was mostly industry ppl and wannabe cicerones and correctly called mosaic as the hop in what turned out to be funky gold mosaic /braggin

lagunitas sour is really good

ive mostly had a bunch of local things lately. the cleveland beer scene has exploded in recent years and there are a bunch of places i've never even heard of before moving back here. platform is probably the best of these. i had an outstanding winter ale from portside brewery/distillery, a murky barleywine-type thing.

also after living on the east coast for 14 years it is really nice to be able to buy bell's anywhere!

there are so many places i haven't even tried yet, lots of brewpub places that don't sell bottles too. there's a brewery and meadery place near by, a cider house, all these little places that have sprung up in the past few years.

Had a real nice rye IPA from Block 15 the other day. Also on the tap list was Dogfish Head's stout brewed with maple syrup and Scrapple. There's a point in beer experimentation where I just walk away.

Also just want to mention that anyone visiting Seattle should do their best to get some Holy Mountain.

http://a63.tinypic.com/f03tdz.jpg

Conspiracy theories abound. Bots are buying all the beer we are entitled to.

lol

Wait, are you guys talking about Lagunitas Aunt Sally as the sour?! I thought that was terrible.

To be fair, sours are one of the weirdest beers to rate and I feel like maybe it's more of a "to each their own" sort of vibe.

That's the only sour lagunitas has as far as i searched on their site

Mentioned it a bit ago but i recently got into sours, and they're so refreshing after being a stout guy or generally really malt forward beers for so long

They have another one called Dark Swan, it wasn't terrible:

https://lagunitas.com/beers/dark-swan

oooh

okay will have to look out for as it's on tap only

On the plus side, this year Lagunitas released 6-packs of High West-ified Barrel-Aged Coffee Stout, which is better than bombers. On the downside, this year people were scrambling for them like BCBS, and they vanished pretty quickly, afaict.

Yes aunt sally
The only sours I've had are that one and the Peekskill one and basically I wake up craving the taste

Having it on tap if that makes a difference

Ooh that high west stout is on tap in my neighborhood

gonna pick up aunt sally and give her a little taste today

She was dece

Heard that some BCS dropped at my local store so I went, and of course it was gone.

But I snagged the last bottle of Big Hugs instead so I'll count it as a win.

Smuttynose Single Digit Dubbel aka Winter Ale is kind of nasty. Now I need to figure out what to do with the other 5 bottles in the six pack. I had a very nice Affligem Noel recently and I guess I was thinking this might be like that, but it was just kind of cloying and bland instead.

Beer bread?

Please to Chicago must-drink recommendations, no idea where I'm staying yet either just to be as unhelpful as possible.

So im at hangar24's pugachev bottle release

Please to Chicago must-drink recommendations, no idea where I'm staying yet either just to be as unhelpful as possible.

I'll come back to this.

Must-drink places or drinks?

Drink with me at Maria's!

Are you looking for bar/brewery/with eats/all of the above?

Food is not necessary, brewery is not necessary, just recommendations for somewhere I can drink a good beer or 2 in the city.

Chicago beers I've enjoyed:

Vanilla Rye
Apex Predator
Zombie Dust
BVDL

Duseks
Publican
Bad Apple

Hopleaf!

If I'm recommending one place to have a beer in the city, it's going to be the Hopleaf. Been around for a long time, great selection, great food, and I had my wedding reception there. Other bars that I would put in the top tier Maproom, Local Option, Northdown, Quenchers, Maria's, Sheffields, Fountainhead. Breweries with taprooms, I would hit Half Acre. In fact, you can hit Half Acre, Begyle, and Dovetail all within a mile radius. That's a fun few hours. Dozens of other places, depending on where you are in the city.

Beer bread?

Good idea, thanks!