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1/5/2012 1:32:28 AM

had a Clown Shoes Hoppy Feet last night...double black IPA dry hopped. pretty potent and I liked it to my surprise.

1/5/2012 3:33:02 PM

Quote :

"But I don't like Bud products so cool"

trust me, all of those breweries you listed below this line offer a number of delicious session beers. it's not always about going big in the craft industry.

1/5/2012 3:48:09 PM

Yea, most Ambers, Wit's, Hefe's, Blondes, APAs, and ESBs are under or around 5%

Stone's San Diego County Session Ale is quite delicious!!!!

1/5/2012 3:53:38 PM

been drinking my way around sunny san diego the last few days -- sculpin, pure hoppiness, nelson, coronado idiot, green flash imperial, maharaja, etc

also hit up the newish stone tasting room in south park but it was pretty underwhelming

heading north tonight and will be at russian river for lunch tomorrow

mmm hops

1/5/2012 11:45:13 PM

Pliny the Younger may be on tap at the brewery by now. If not you've missed it by about 3-5 weeks.

1/6/2012 7:57:15 AM

people here seem pretty high on Southern Tier. Anyone try the Big Bad Baptist yet?

1/6/2012 10:34:13 AM

^ They make great stouts/porters and IPAs/douple IPAs IMO.

1/6/2012 10:37:18 AM

i'm pretty sure it's too early for younger (sadly, though i can't even imagine how insane the brewpub is when it's available)

1/6/2012 10:41:53 AM

the elder is so good, i just had my first bottle last week...im sure id love the younger too.

Anybody get ahold of the Dogfish Bitches Brew commemorating Miles Davis' 40th anny of the album release????? INCREDIBLE, MUST TRY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

1/6/2012 11:13:29 AM

^^yes, PtY usually hits in February, not January, last year Colorado got 12 kegs spread around, typically 1 or at most 2 kegs per bar, I got 3 samples last year, pretty much by stalking them in Feburary as it's a big hush hush. only 70 tickets (aka 70 samples) given out per keg, one bar waited til March to tap their keg.

^yes, I had some of the first batch at GABF 2010 and bought a bottle of the second release in November '10, it is indeed good. you pay for the commemoration and uniqueness though.

Quote :

"been drinking my way around sunny san diego the last few days -- sculpin, pure hoppiness, nelson, coronado idiot, green flash imperial, maharaja, etc"

if you're referring to Avery Maharaja, that's Boulder, CO

[Edited on January 6, 2012 at 12:01 PM. Reason : ;]

1/6/2012 11:56:16 AM

yeah i know, but i had it at the pizza port in solana beach (and i can't get it in vienna where i currently live) so it was part of my 'delicious beer in san diego' trip

1/6/2012 12:43:26 PM

gotcha

1/6/2012 12:53:04 PM

We should be seeing this in NC sometime in February

1/6/2012 4:08:23 PM

younger will be at the brewpub for two weeks starting feb 3rd

got to briefly tour the rr production facility which was sweet, they were brewing blind pig today and the barrels of sours being aged were impressive -- had some consecration and supplication with lunch, yum

1/6/2012 7:50:46 PM

^ will book a ticket. now, where can i find four hundred dollars?

1/8/2012 11:09:11 AM

went to a wedding last night and drank off a keg of pliny, delicious

was seated at dinner with a brewer from russian river, we all shared some gems from my friend's beer cellar -- firestone 10th (amazing 5 or 6 years later) and 07/08/09 old guardians (plus bottles of supplication and temptation from mike the brewer)

pre- and post-party with celebration ale and racer 5 and i've got a few bottles of pliny in my suitcase, excellent beer trip to the west coast...

1/8/2012 4:18:08 PM

Stone vertical epic

Hopefully the aged bottle will be better next year

1/8/2012 6:54:40 PM

^had 11.11.11 on tap this week, have bottles of 10 & 11 in the cellar for next year. it's a strong ale, so it does need some aging.

^^we have Pliny on tap here too and it's indeed good, but having 1-week old bottles is pretty nice as well. got a bottle of Firestone XV aging for down the road as well as temptation. looks like it was a pretty great party! old guardian is a great barleywine, can't really go wrong with any of those beers, sounds like an awesome time! California is a great spot for beer lovers!

had New Belgium's Abbey Ale along with Boulevard's Sixth Glass Quad while watching the Bronco's game

[Edited on January 8, 2012 at 8:58 PM. Reason : .]

1/8/2012 8:54:22 PM

Since we don't get PLY here, Hopslam mania should be cranking up in a few weeks.

1/9/2012 12:08:25 PM

Just had some Bell's Special Double Cream Stout, not too shabby.

1/10/2012 12:37:46 AM

Hopslam is a damn good beer, but the hype machine around it is out of fucking control. There are plenty of equally good IPAs available that dont require traversing humanity to get a 4-pack

1/10/2012 9:51:17 AM

Shared a growler of Westbrook Vanilla Tree Dubbel last night:



Twas delicious.

Also bought a mini growler of the Southern Tier Choklat that I'm saving for later this week. I love it so much.

1/10/2012 10:30:04 AM

Had my best friend come visit me, so we opened up some good stuff last night:

Odelll Saboteur Brett Barrel Brown Ale
Avery Immitis Barrel-Aged Sour Ale
Pliny the Elder
Dry Dock Wee Heavy
Russian River Salvation



[Edited on January 10, 2012 at 11:50 AM. Reason : /]

1/10/2012 11:46:36 AM

pabst bud ribbon is the only good Anheuser busch beer

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

1/10/2012 11:47:41 AM

got a bottle of Big Bad Baptist waiting for me

I'm gonna pour a splash of lambic framboise on it

1/10/2012 6:00:12 PM

Quote :

"Hopslam is a damn good beer, but the hype machine around it is out of fucking control. There are plenty of equally good IPAs available that dont require traversing humanity to get a 4-pack"

i have yet to find a DIPA that enters the Hopslam stratosphere, but that's my personal opinion. i have already begun making connections in NC to get my hands on some. Last year I only had to follow the Tryon Distribution truck around greensboro to each Total Wine to collect 6 packs. I convinced one total wine to sell me a case, and a mini keg. It was...orgasmic.

I simply cannot wait.

there are plenty of excellent DIPAs out there. I just find the Hopslam superior in balance and carrying this blast of aroma that ive yet to find elsewhere.

1/10/2012 9:01:49 PM

LOST COAST TANGERINE FTMFW!! One of my favorite beers. Found it at Total Wine today

1/10/2012 10:09:33 PM

^^It wasn't that hard last year; I walked into City Beverage and the Brewers Kettle w/out a problem and got 3, 6-packs.

1/10/2012 10:29:07 PM

If i suggested that Lagunitas Hop Stoopid is the best beer i've ever had, would you Hopslam fanatics hold it against me?

1/10/2012 11:15:00 PM

people like what they like, personally while i loved hopslam, i'd still choose PtE and PtY

1/10/2012 11:52:02 PM

^ Where is Dry Dock out of? I love any Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale I can get my hands on, but don't think I've seen that.

1/11/2012 12:24:19 AM

Quote :

"would you Hopslam fanatics hold it against me?"

sounds like kevmcd86 would hold it against you.

i don't know what it is, perhaps DIPA over-saturation, but I rarely get excited about hoppy beers any more. Hopslam probably least of all. It's a good beer, no doubt about it, and Bells is still probably my favorite US brewery but I just don't get caught up in the craze.

1/11/2012 8:38:57 AM

i WOULD hold it against you lol

Quote :

"PtE and PtY"

...

i am still waiting to try it. i hear great things.

[Edited on January 11, 2012 at 9:06 AM. Reason : .]

1/11/2012 9:05:15 AM

I find myself not wanting to drink very hoppy beers in the winter.

1/11/2012 10:34:25 AM

Quote :

"^ Where is Dry Dock out of? I love any Wee Heavy/Scotch Ale I can get my hands on, but don't think I've seen that. "

Dry Dock is out of Colorado (Aurora a suburb of Denver), so far this is the only market they're in. They won "Small Brewing Company of the Year" from the Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in 2009. They're Wee Heavy won silver in the World Beer Cup in 2010.

Wee Heavy has to be up there as one of my top 5 styles along with Barrel-aged Barleywines, of which Dry Dock's Bligh's Barleywine is in the top 5 of best English Barleywines. It's a great brewery.

http://www.drydockbrewing.com/about-us/brewer-section/dry-dock-awards

I got a Wee Heavy from French Broad in NC over Christmas, you should be able to find that relatively easy. If you can find Founder's Backwords Bastard or Dirty Bastard, that's good too.

[Edited on January 11, 2012 at 12:22 PM. Reason : .]

1/11/2012 12:08:24 PM

http://beerstreetjournal.com/sam-calagione-gives-beer-geeks-an-earful-and-its-awesome/

1/11/2012 2:29:33 PM

I've been picking up 6 packs of mixed singles lately to try more beer. Nothing too fancy, but excited about last night's haul nonetheless. Got a mix of Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter, Sweet Water Happy Ending, Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye and Brooklyn Chocolate Stout (love this stuff, almost as good as Choklat, but in a normal sized bottle)

1/11/2012 2:56:56 PM

at the airport heading back to vienna, managed to fit a sculpin, ruination, sublimely self righteous, and 2 plinys in my second bag and still keep it at 50lbs - will be nice to have some hops for the next week or two...

that sculpin cost me $10 at brusin ales in asheville, is that a normal price on the east coast? seemed really high to me

left one pliny for my budlight-drinking bro to take care of/share - hope it's enjoyed!

1/11/2012 3:08:17 PM

Quote :

"that sculpin cost me $10 at brusin ales in asheville, is that a normal price on the east coast? seemed really high to me"

I think it's been $8.99 every place I've seen it.

1/11/2012 3:16:16 PM

anyone have access to Pliny that i could buy from you or something?

1/11/2012 3:56:18 PM

Quote :

"http://beerstreetjournal.com/sam-calagione-gives-beer-geeks-an-earful-and-its-awesome/"

i saw this yesterday and pretty much sums up the internet forums, people talking shit and always trying to 'one up' another, you see this with music as well. people posting crap about how much they hate "doctor p & flux pavilion" because they're "mainstream" now.... i mean what the heck? electronica music is gaining in popularity, but in no way is that genre even close to be considered "mainstream".... same thing for beer. you know HOW things become mainstream? it's by becoming popular, so what individuals are really saying is they "hate anything that is good that draws the attention of the general public (aka become popular)"... these are the same douches that think that all quality beer must be unknown and made by small local breweries. that's complete crap.

it's a shame that instead of encouraging people to try everything, including the little guys, that it's come down to stupid threads like who's the most "overrated"? what makes a beer overrated? high demand for not so high quality beer? isn't that up to each individual to decide? isn't that why beeradvocate and ratebeer are based on user reviews and not expert reviews? granted they should be better than general public reviews as those users are educated in beer for the most part... but still... isn't that the problem with American beer to begin with? if you want overrated, it should be the bud light, coors light, bud beers as those are the top 3 beers by demand! craft beer is ~5% of the overall beer market.

my thoughts:
1)beer is a culinary art, it's meant to push the boundaries of what has been "told" over the last 50 years of what beer is and what it's "supposed" to taste like.
2)everyone's tastes are different, there are 75 styles of beer to choose from, what you might like someone else may not, it doesn't make it overrated if someone else likes something you don't.
3)ratings are subjective, gives you an idea of what the masses think, this will get better with time & educating the public on beer.
4)awards are objective, gives you an idea of how experts see it as it compares to a style, how close it is to what it's supposed to taste like.
5) craft beer is about making and drinking better beer, it's not so much about 'fighting' mainstream as much as it's about 'becoming' mainstream. we shouldn't have to call good beer 'craft' beer.

1/11/2012 4:12:17 PM

i agree...

you can't clamor for a world with better beer, and then the moment a beer or brewery begins to grow in popularity, discredit it.

1/11/2012 4:15:55 PM

had a Brooklyn Companion for the first time the other night

one of, if not the, smoothest 10%ers I've ever had

good stuff

1/11/2012 4:19:17 PM

Busy Bee Cafe had Brooklyn Black Ops behind the bar 2 years ago....I bought it. It remains one of my favs and I have a special place in my heart for Brooklyn Brewery.

(it did cost me a cool $48)

1/11/2012 6:51:09 PM

that new Tylers Taproom in Seaboard Station is pretty fantastic

only wish it was in the heart of the downtown

1/11/2012 6:56:12 PM

^^$48 is steep!!! Black Ops is good, I was fortunate to get a sample at GABF, as Brooklyn doesn't distribute to CO. FiftyFifty Imperial Stouts are back in stock here and run about $30/bottle, that's about my limit but even I have a hard time with that price. I think the highest priced bottles I bought this year were in the $20-$25 range.

[Edited on January 11, 2012 at 7:11 PM. Reason : .]

1/11/2012 7:10:35 PM

^take into account that this was at a bar (inflation)

1/12/2012 11:28:27 AM

right, actually that reminds me of a funny story that happened here in Denver, apparantly a bar was selling New Glarus bottles at their bar and they weren't legally allowed to do so, they were about $22/bottle.

http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2012/01/new_glarus_facebookcontrabandl.php

1/12/2012 11:41:35 AM

Most pricey bottle I have gotten lately is a bottle of DeuS bier de champagne. It was around $32

1/12/2012 12:52:19 PM