I didn't have a whole bottle, just a glass of it... but still tasty!

10/7/2010 12:24:07 PM

Going to the Great Divide Fresh Hop Pale Ale release tonight:

Quote :

"It’s finally here, that wonderful time of year when the very first crop of Pacific Northwest hops is harvested and shipped directly to our doorstep overnight so that we can brew our annual, fresh hopped ale. The fresh, whole cone hops we use to brew our Fresh Hop Pale Ale impart an intensely grassy hop aroma and citrus hop flavor that compliments washed-rind cheeses, grilled trout, bratwurst, and garlic/ginger sweet potatoes. Supplies are very limited, so drink this uniquely brewed pale ale while you can! 6.1% ABV. Available October through November."

I was going to go to the Fresh Hop Celebration next Sat.
http://www.freshhopcelebration.com/

But instead I'm visiting a friend down in ABQ and going to the Hopfest down there:
http://albuquerquehopfest.com/

Sounds like a lot of wet hops this year!

[Edited on October 8, 2010 at 2:39 PM. Reason : .]

10/8/2010 2:34:51 PM

I was, thankfully, able to pick up some Big Boss Harvest Time at Whole Foods (the one on Wade) last Friday. It may be long gone now though. Also picked up while there:

G. Schnedier & Sohn Aventinus, a wheat double bock--absolutely outstanding. Great deep, complex flavor and a different spin on the usual double bock.

Next on the "fall beers" list is to try the Dogfish Head Punkin, which I've not had yet. Also would pick up the Cottonwood Pumpkin if I saw it, it's probably my second favorite pumpkin beer after Harvest Time.

If you're looking for any of the more mainstream Oktoberfests Harris Teeter has a bunch of them on sale (mostly $7.99/6pk) this week. Spaten, Warsteiner, Beck's, Sam Adams, etc.

[Edited on October 8, 2010 at 2:54 PM. Reason : e]

10/8/2010 2:53:50 PM

Aventinus is a spectacular beer, I need to pick one up next time I'm at WF. I tried the Redhook Eisbock 28 recently, and I thought it was very tasty...keep an eye out for it at your local Teeter.

10/8/2010 3:05:39 PM

too complete the trifecta!

10/8/2010 6:07:22 PM

^nice I love Ayinger's oktoberfest and I quite enjoyed the DFH iteration of Saison du Buff

Picked up some Guinness foreign extra stout today:

10/8/2010 8:05:24 PM

^ really liked the Stone version, got the other two sitting in the fridge back home...tried the Victory yet?

making some rounds out west at the moment - despite the 4 percent limit, Squatter's brewpub in SLC puts out some okay stuff, and you can find some stronger bottles in the state liquor stores

Wyoming is decent mostly because they pull in some regional beers I can't find back home (Deschutes and such), but Snake River here in Jackson is doing good things

buying Russian River in CO is cool, too

[Edited on October 8, 2010 at 11:46 PM. Reason : l]

10/8/2010 11:46:00 PM

^^^^^ so delicious. i have to hold myself back from buying it too often. i don't ever want to get tired of it. anyone who like it should give Trois Pistoles from Unibroque a try.




not a huge IPA fan, but the 90 minute was definitely tasty. i would be interested to try the 120. two hours of constant hopping has got to be

10/9/2010 8:41:44 AM

^I think the 120-min is 20% ABV

I had the 90-min IPA a couple weeks ago, probably one of the best IPAs out there IMHO, strong but smooth.

cheezcurd are you traveling through CO? you can get pretty much any beer here.

10/9/2010 7:00:07 PM

90 minute is aiight, a little on the sweet side for my tastes and there are a ton of better DIPAs out there

Quote :

"you can get pretty much any beer here"

10/9/2010 7:21:20 PM

lol. have you even been to CO? i said 'pretty much'. of course we don't get the local brews that don't distribute more than 3-4 states, but aside from those, i've been able to find nearly every beer i've sought out to buy. roll your eyes, i don't care. i was just surprised he was surprised to see Russian River here.

i do have a tendency towards the sweet, so maybe that's why i like the 90min IPA

[Edited on October 9, 2010 at 8:06 PM. Reason : .]

10/9/2010 7:55:33 PM

Quote :

"i've been able to find nearly every beer i've sought out to buy"

That's a pretty silly statement to try to back up your claim with, for all I know the only beer you've sought out to buy is stuff that's available in like 48 or 50 states. I'm not disputing that Colorado has a great selection of microbrews, but even by the most lenient definition of "pretty much" CO still doesn't get pretty much every beer.

10/9/2010 8:04:22 PM

you're right there are a lot of one offs, a lot of local breweries that only distribute in 3-4 states, and a lot of seasonals, so i won't say nearly all of them, but i'll put it this way... if it's a good beer, chances are they'll have it here, even if it's limited distribution. a lot of the top beers on BA i've been able to find, and a lot of the beers listed ITT. we have liquor stores here since grocery stores can't sell over 3.2 and nearly every corner store sells craft beer. huge selection. like i said it just doesn't surprise me to see RR in stores here.

on with the beer!

oh and Great Divides Fresh Hop was a-ok kinda average. something different. it's hoppy in taste and aroma (i guess more characteristic of wet hopped beers), but not the same bitterness as an IPA, nice light malts, interesting beer.

[Edited on October 9, 2010 at 8:20 PM. Reason : .]

10/9/2010 8:10:44 PM

yeah I wasn't a huge fan of the GD fresh hop ale the last couple times I had it, I really like the citrusy hops and that was more grassy/floral on the hops front. I really enjoyed Left Hand's Warrior fresh hop IPA the last time I had it (maybe 2 years ago) so that might be one for you to seek out.

I'm currently enjoying a:


Not my favorite Oatmeal Stout but pretty tasty for $6.99. I'm thinking about marinating a steak in it for tomorrow night.

10/9/2010 8:25:18 PM

this was a good porter, but not as good as i had expected.

a little too carbonated. possibly the tallest head i have seen out of a bottle, and i didn't even give it an aggressive poor. the carbonation was evident on the tongue as well, and somewhat took away from the flavor up front.

10/9/2010 8:36:39 PM

Paulaner Oktoberfest-Marzen: A nice Ocktoberfest lager light bodied smooth taste. Malty on the front lightly toasted caramel flavor, mild hop profile. Very drinkable, moderate carbonation on pour, light after settling. Great clear amber color.

10/9/2010 9:00:07 PM

Miller Lite Pints

10/9/2010 9:21:06 PM

yea, it's pretty shitty, but decent for an oktoberfest lager. i don't drink a lot of lagers unless they're doppelbocks. i brought a single home from work to try. not normally something i taste. i'm trying to clean out the fridge so that's what i had tonight.

[Edited on October 9, 2010 at 11:24 PM. Reason : .]

10/9/2010 11:23:26 PM

truly delivered...





i must say this IPA was very nice. it's pricey as all hell, but i can take a hit for such a limited release. sierra nevada actually loses money selling this beer.

[Edited on October 12, 2010 at 11:37 AM. Reason : ]

10/12/2010 11:36:33 AM

^ AHHHH OLD RASPUTIN! One of my favs. Could go for one about now.

10/12/2010 11:38:33 AM

Has anyone had the Skull Coast Maelstrom IPA?

I know Cherry Bomb Grill has it and I might venture out there to try it this weekend.

10/12/2010 11:38:37 AM

Skull Coast is based in South Carolina just outside of Charlotte and found in very few places at the moment. It's a powerful DIPA with a lot of hop character. They have started branching out a little more but are still somewhat unknown. Good find though because they only make about 45 kegs per barrel so enjoy it while you can.



Great Divide Oak Barrel Aged Chocolate Yeti....anyone had it? Have one sitting in my fridge

10/12/2010 11:54:16 AM

Awesome, I'll try it and report back

I know they have their $3 pint nights on Tuesdays but I haven't managed to make it yet.

10/12/2010 7:25:50 PM

Quote :

"Great Divide Oak Barrel Aged Chocolate Yeti....anyone had it? Have one sitting in my fridge"

hell yeah, it's good. kinda middle of the road for me in terms of all their yeti's available. the Espresso Yeti is my fav.

10/13/2010 3:11:45 PM

I liked the Chocolate Yeti better than the Espresso Yeti, I thought the chilli power was a nice touch.

I picked up a bottle of Stone Vertical Epic 10.10.10 today, gonna give it a go in celebration of my birthday tonight.

Has anyone tried the Sam Adams Latitude 48 IPA yet? It's been calling my name the last couple of trips to the beer store but I kind of expect it to be mediocre

10/13/2010 3:38:00 PM

^awesome you found it. I actually just got a message from my local store that 10.10.10 arrived today as well so i'll be heading there this evening to grab a bottle.

10/13/2010 5:31:05 PM

picked up a 4 pack of these on monday. i'm so psyched. it was sitting on the shelf all lonely. definitely feel like i lucked out on these gems. it will probably be a will before i open one.

10/13/2010 6:37:57 PM

^I almost got the Prior 8 last night.... i saw some Abt 12 on the shelf, maybe i should go back?

10/14/2010 11:21:05 AM

^ Abt 12 is consistently rated one of the top 10 beers in the world. if you've heard of Trappist Westvleteren 12, which is known as the best beer in the world, Abt 12 is supposedly a very close clone of it.

so yeah, go back and get some. really anything from St. Bernardus is going to be great. I also picked up a 750ml Wit.

10/14/2010 1:39:41 PM

Yea, speaking of top beers, I have some Pliny the Elder I'm going to tap into this weekend. Funny I've had Trappist Westvleteren 12 but didn't know the Abt 12 was a clone of it. Makes perfect sense though, thanks for pointing that out.

I'll def. have to pick up some Abt 12 too. I checked their website (my local liquor store) and they have some RR Supplication as well.... mmmm..... too bad I just spent $50 on beer yesterday.

[Edited on October 14, 2010 at 4:59 PM. Reason : .]

10/14/2010 4:54:01 PM

Quote :

"I have some Pliny the Elder"

i must say i'm extremely jealous.

i can't get anything from RR. you want to UPS me some?

10/14/2010 7:05:10 PM

I've had both Plinys (Younger and Elder) and RR Blind Pig IPA and they were all really good, but with the hype surrounding them I doubt the actual beers could ever live up to your expectations. Honestly you'd probably be just as happy with a bottle of Terrapin Hopzilla or Founders Double Trouble, but with alot more cash in your pocket.

10/14/2010 7:10:08 PM

how was 10.10.10? i should have picked up a couple bottles but i only got one. Though I don't know if i could ever be patient enough to let it cellar like they recommend

10/14/2010 7:49:43 PM

I got too fucked up at the bar (stupid friends buying me Swedish fish shots and Irish Car Bombs for my birthday) so I didn't get around to it last night. I did try one of these though:

which was really tasty.

10/14/2010 7:54:22 PM

well shit, my store got those in too and i sat there wondering if i should pick up a few and i didnt.

oh well, it's not like it's far away

10/14/2010 7:56:32 PM

these are the two stores i go to the most:
http://www.argonautliquor.com/r/category/Beer
http://www.applejack.com/beer/catalog/?dd=1

if you find a beer there that you can't get at home let me know and i can pick up and ship via UPS for ya, their search sucks, so you have to know the exact name or browse for it, it's updated pretty well with what's in stock so if you don't see it, check back 1-2/week or so. i can get Pliny the Elder (somewhat easily)... thinking about picking up RR Supplication while they have it in stock.

here are the 4 i picked up yesterday:
Saison Du Buff


Deschutes Hop in the Dark


Boulevard Seeyoulater Dopplebock


Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale


[Edited on October 14, 2010 at 9:13 PM. Reason : .]

10/14/2010 8:55:15 PM

I'm going to the Decatur Beer Festival this weekend (near Atlanta). I'll do my usual job of not remembering a thing.

10/14/2010 9:02:04 PM

^I live in Decatur, just a block from where the beer fest is and would be there also but...the day the tickets went on sale I got home around 6:45, logged on and they had sold out in less than 7 hours. I knew I shouldn't have worked late that day .

10/14/2010 9:23:23 PM

Quote :

"i was just surprised he was surprised to see Russian River here."

Wasn't surprised - I'd seen it there before, just glad to find it since PA is the closest distribution we get and they've pretty much go the best domestic wilds around. Planning to get to Denver/Boulder to see some friends eventually, but this was just a quick trip in for some biking.

Flying Dog Raging Bitch on cask tonight was fantastic

10/14/2010 11:22:09 PM

you should get the supplication while you can, that's my favorite russian river sour

10/15/2010 12:06:04 AM

^ it's so pricey though. 13-18 bucks for a 12oz bottle.

10/15/2010 7:21:51 AM

digging on this Highland Kolsch

Highland might not be flashy and tends to avoid brewing trends, but god I love 'em

10/15/2010 11:32:16 PM

Just had the Hoptober by New Belgium.

I like it, alot like fat tire but I like it.

10/15/2010 11:35:42 PM

Got one of these coming up next

10/15/2010 11:48:40 PM

Tried my first Fullsteam beer tonight, the Carolina Common on tap at Milltown in Carrboro. Description was an NC take on a typical California steam ale (which I hadn't had before despite the ubiquity of Anchor Steam bottles). I found it quite tasty--a bit hoppy and a bit of malty sweetness at the same time in a dark golden medium-bodied ale. Also had Spaten Oktoberfest on draft--my favorite bottled Oktoberfest is, predictably, even better in draft form. Also on special for $4 half liter/$7 liters all month.

10/16/2010 1:50:49 AM

i want to have babies with this beer...




great stout. very close to old rasputin, but not quite as heavy. the thing is, this is a limited release where as old rasputin is available all the time.

10/17/2010 9:35:00 AM

heading out to a beer fest -- LA's not much of a beer town but they've been working on it so we'll see what's there

i'm hoping ballast point brings up some dorado

10/17/2010 1:36:26 PM

Had this last night at Mellow Mushroom, delicious.

10/17/2010 4:38:40 PM

^that stuff is great!

10/17/2010 4:46:28 PM

Should have picked up the Bell's Hell hath no...but skipped it because it was $14.95 at Total Wine My local place has the Bell's cream stout, will pick up a single.

10/17/2010 7:15:33 PM