Beer in the new era

origin story
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hIC7F-qe9Q

Sipping a glass now, gotta say that Lagunitas's The Waldos Special Ale - "the hoppiest, dankest beer we've ever brewed!" or something - is not an easy drinker. Super bitter and surprisingly strong at nearly 12% (which is more than I thought it be when I poured it), though given the alcohol level well balanced. I like double IPAs, but might not be my thing and might not be the best thing to drink while I'm getting dinner ready.

had this one the other night, it was a very solid Belgian style. for a SoCal brewer it's perhaps a tad bit distasteful depending on what you think the statute of limitations is for this kind of thing.

http://barleyforge.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/hero_the_black_dahlia.png

josh, you sound surprised that a 12% 3xIPA is not the best aperitif

Wow, that label is pretty ott.

xpost Ha, I honestly didn't even look at what it was before I bought it or even opened it! I just thought, huh, here's one of their one-offs, I'll pick up a six-pack. This was weeks ago, iirc. So I had put a couple in the fridge when I came back from a trip, then finally opened the first one tonight. It wasn't until I was a few sips in that I decided to investigate what I was drinking!

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/GD6qtc2_AQA/maxresdefault.jpg

lol fair

yesterday: ABI buys Wicked Weed
today: Heineken doubles down on Lagunitas to 100% ownership

tomorrow?

I'm for sale, buy me ABI!

OK, gave The Waldos Special Ale another chance, and ... just can't do it. Way too bitter for me, not fun to drink.

i've been enjoying ciders a lot lately

there are a lot of bad ciders through. most of the ones on the shelf are not good. but the good are ones are amazing

link:

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Heineken-buys-rest-of-Lagunitas-as-beer-sales-go-11121674.php

RE Waldo's: maybe my tastebuds are IPA-fried, but I thought there was quite a bit of sweetness (peach/apricot notes) along with the bitter. Alcohol burn, too. For all that I thought it was well-balanced. I liked it, but probably not enough to buy again.

I tried a cider from 101, which I had avoided because of their "probiotic" claims, but the Black Dog one was good. It has blood orange and lavender in it (the lavender was also off-putting but a friend said it was good).

And I will re-state my enjoyment of Seattle Cider's "DRY" type.

I got the sweetness in the Waldo, but my tastebuds still got bitter first and foremost. No alcohol burn, though, but that is a bugaboo of mine. Wine is higher ABV than all but the strongest of beers, and there's no burn there. So why should beer have burn? Unless I am misunderstanding the term and/or have had too much high proof bourbon.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/articles/15649/its-official-new-england-india-pale-ale-is-a-style/

yesterday: ABI buys Wicked Weed
today: Heineken doubles down on Lagunitas to 100% ownership

tomorrow?

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Thursday, May 4, 2017 9:35 AM (ten hours ago)

http://www.independent.com/news/2017/may/03/firestone-beer-maker-donates-250000-trump/

oh for christ's sakes

A spokesperson for the Firestone Walker Brewing Company confirmed that a family trust on which company founder Adam Firestone and his wife, Katherine Firestone, sit donated $250,000 to the inaugural effort of President Donald Trump

The fuck does this mean. Inaugural effort? Did they mean inauguration?

Drank a coors light tonight

My local is asking me for a reccomendafion for a draft sour that they can put on tap. Thinking of pitching the lagunitas aunt sally, as it's the best that I've had (over Brooklyn bel air and Peekskill) that doesn't come in limited quantities / cans / bottles etc.

where is yr local (what state)

I'm guessing tri-state area. Does your local get Allagash or Grimm kegs?

NYC

I didn't know Grimm has kegs! Nor am I sure if the bar has an exclusive supplier, and what their selection is, and so on so at a disadvantage

Yeah ask them who their distributor(s) is/are.

grimm if they do kegs would be the best, those guys are awesome

grimm ipas have shown up at bars in boston so i have hope for u.

yes Grimm is very good in my experience as well. I've had the Vacay sour (apricot tinged I believe) in the 22 oz bottle and would love to try the one with grape dust

Sorry, the grape one was either by Threes or Other Half...memory a little hazy

Grimm kegs (including sours) get NYC distro via Union Beer Distributors. Check if your local has an account.

thanks Al

I guess nobody bought Backwoods Bastard on the west coast because there's a ton for relatively cheap at Grocery Outlet. Frootwood and KBS still hard to get, though.

I think it's a better beer than KBS, too. Frootwood was gross.

yeah backwoods bastard owns

I also like Backwoods more than KBS, but the availability and price may be part of it. I didn't mind Frootwood, but I'd take a rubaeus. Also had my first New Glarus Belgian Red last week, and my memory of Frootwood did not compare favorably.

i think founder's is a little overrated honestly

New Glarus fruit beers rule.

I have family in Grand Rapids that we visited last July 4th. They had tapped KBS at the brewery and CBS at HopCat. I love that city and all of its beer now because of that. I never hate a Founder's beer, which is more than I can say for five or so of the local breweries doing well around here. I felt stupid paying $20 for four Founder's Harvest Ales once, though. The smaller shops def cash in on the hype.

Backwoods has become a shelf beer basically. Still great!

This summer I'm moving to a place that's 10 blocks from the HopCat in East Lansing and I'm quite excited about this - I was there a couple weeks ago and kind of amazed at the sheer number of mostly Michigan beers on tap.

nothing wrong with fresh founders. their core lineup is excellent even if their one-offs have a pretty significant miss ratio.

otm

xp I loved hopcat. The food was also good. I am jelly.

http://i.imgur.com/5RNr1wv.jpg
First cider in an age. Pretty sour and good

My local has a "bartender's choice" beer selection where you typically get a mass-market craft bottle and its $4. Tonight a friend and I each ordered one. He got an All Day IPA, not a bad choice. I got an Odell Mountain Standard Double Black IPA, a 10%+ monstrosity that was actually very good, and quite the bang for the buck comparatively.

I've been looking down my nose at the Tropical IPA trend so far but while sitting in the sun at a rooftop bar with a gentle breeze, Tropicannon from Heavy Seas (fka Clipper City) hit the spot. Anything heavier would have been gross, anything lighter would have been boring.

I lied. There was a Gose on the menu.

For a domestic saison, the Stateside Saison by Stillwater is not bad. I like that it's available in pint cans - my favorite beer format. Maybe slightly less refined than a Belgian rendition, but plenty spicy and quaffable.