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lazerwolf posted:I did something tonight I opened a bottle of that a ways back at a point in the night that I really should not have opened a bomber. I ended up not being able to finish the bottle and really regret it. It was an excellent beer, and isn't one I can get around here.  Is there any Ballast Point stuff in Chicago?
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Jun 7, 2012 04:28
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I'm drinking a "local" brews beer from a brewery named Cricket Hill, it's a bourbon barrel aged porter and it's pretty good. The aroma has some oak, vanilla and bourbon, but it smells mostly like coconut. The flavor is well balanced with nothing overpowering the next, but the original beer is hidden behind the oak, vanilla, and coconut. The finish hints at bourbon, roasted malts, and dark chocolate, but it's a bit faint. Still, I'm impressed a brewery from New Jersey did this.
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Jun 7, 2012 04:58
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New batch of Salvation floating around  I am a happy, happy man. I just hope this batch is as awesome as the last one was. Also, the fact that this one is stamped with a "Bottled On" date instead of "Batch #" (and like $2 cheaper than last batch) makes me optimistic that Russian River will be brewing this more often. I really hope they do, it's been over a year since the last batch and it's been so miserably tempting to break in to my aged bottles. I know it'll never be as available as say, Pliny, but hey I can dream.Also, got another bottle of Simtra. Knee Deep brewing has yet to disappoint. Love this stuff. And the Victory at Sea float looks amazing, I was only able to pick up 1 bottle this year and I think I should totally devote some of it to making myself a float, because that just looks like a loving great idea dammit.
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Jun 7, 2012 08:48
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Sirotan posted:Is there any Ballast Point stuff in Chicago? Nope. Some in Southern IL (think Champaign), but nothing in Chicago.
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Jun 7, 2012 11:15
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Good day beer thread. I just made a trip up to New Glarus and then a trip to FFF the next day and suffice to say that I'm now increadibly poor money wise but a very rich man in beer. I love Spotted Cow but the rest of the New Glarus stuff really doesn't make my socks go up and down. They did have a IIPA and a very limited only-at-the-brewery Belgian Golden Ale that I scored and I've already torn through the IIPA. Decent stuff, nothing wrong with it, but a lot of the New Glarus stuff just seems middle of the road and safe. Kind of fits with the overall theme of the brewery though. Floyd's on the other hand is amazing for being a tiny little place in an industrial strip mall. Sufficently weird food menu and they were blasting Sabbath in the tasting room. I was really just there to raid their stocks of Alpha King, Pride and Joy, Zombie Dust and Arctic Panzer Wolf but they had an oyster stout called Mutany and the Mollusk that was brewed in conjunction with Half Acre that was actually worth trying. It was brewed with oyster liquor and oyster shells but manages not to taste like fishy rear end. I love that this place is just an hour from my house, FFF can be a bitch to find otherwise. The current craft beer boom makes living in Illinois pretty damned awesome for once. Oh, and a new brewery just opened out in Naperville, called Solemn Oath. My mom lives out in Naperville so the next time I'm by I'm going to give it the once over. Anyone heard anything about them?
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Jun 7, 2012 14:49
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lazerwolf posted:I did something tonight Stouts make amazing floats. They also do well as the foundation for a cocktail. One of the bartenders who used to work at my favorite local bar made a thing with Victory at Sea, XO Patron (coffee flavored), and vanilla Stolichnaya. It tasted like candy, and one was enough to ensure I'd be there drinking water for a good three hours since her ratio was like two parts beer, one part each liquor. The mix never got a name, but we called them Sinking Ships or Bad Ideas depending on the night. I got to try a New Glarus Cran-bic last night. Yet again, I want to be somewhere that lets me buy their beer. It was great, tart, well-controlled astringency and a fantastic fruit/funk balance. We opened two Hitachino to try side by side: their Real Ginger Ale and the 3 Days beer that was made accidentally when the earthquake shut down their production line. 3 Days is really excellent, like drinking candied ginger. Real Ginger Ale didn't stand up to that level of gingeriness. Pick up 3 Days while it's around, it's very much worth a try. Bruery's Mother Funker is doing very well for itself too. It's so drat lemony someone said it tasted like limoncello but more sour. It has a lot of pucker power, is totally refreshing and I wish I had some bottles hanging around still.
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Jun 7, 2012 15:14
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Founders has come to Maine! Last night I got a Dry Hopped pale ale and a Centennial IPA. They also had Cerise - is is any good? The Dry Hopped character had faded into mild, resiny hops, but the beer was still good. The grain flavors reminded me of Victory Headwaters. I hope I can get this fresher in the future. I'll probably have the Centnnial tonight, which I've only had once before. James Bont posted:New batch of Salvation floating around Has anyone here done a back to back to back tasting with the two Salvations and Collab/Lit? I'd love to see straight up which brewery's is better (my money's on RR).
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Jun 7, 2012 15:32
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danbanana posted:Now there's two bottles. Thanks for the heads up, frankie. No problem. Now that I have mine I don't want to drink it until I find more
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Jun 7, 2012 15:35
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CalvinDooglas posted:Founders has come to Maine! Last night I got a Dry Hopped pale ale and a Centennial IPA. They also had Cerise - is is any good? my girlfriend loves Cerise- bottled, it's got a serious cherry pie thing going on, but not too sweet. it seems to be a little less flavorful on draft, though. if you see any Harvest in the fall, jump all over that.
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Jun 7, 2012 16:15
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I really like Cerise for what it is, it reminds me of a wine cooler a little bit, but I really enjoyed it and my girlfriend drank two in a night and she doesn't drink.
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Jun 7, 2012 16:22
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Continuing on the Chicago Parabolachat, Tabbs on Chicago and Rockwell had a case as of this morning, and it appears I got the first bottle from it. No idea if they'll have any left by the time most people get out of work.
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Jun 7, 2012 16:23
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Someone mentioned Funky Buddha's berliner and the apple beer earlier. The Cigar City/Funky Buddha/Bluejacket event is tonight at Churchkey, so any input on the other FB taps? Is that Maple Bacon thing anything like Rogue's monstrosity? quote:FUNKY BUDDHA BEER LIST
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Jun 7, 2012 16:38
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air- posted:Someone mentioned Funky Buddha's berliner and the apple beer earlier. The Cigar City/Funky Buddha/Bluejacket event is tonight at Churchkey, so any input on the other FB taps? Nothing Funky Buddha makes could be that horrible. I think the Maple Bacon Porter was at EBF (they called it Good Morning or something breakfast-related, I don't remember what) and it was excellent. No Crusts was Crustless at EBF and damned amazing. Their berliner was passionfruit (or guava, I forget now) when I had it, and the best one at the festival. I don't recall trying anything else on that list, but my policy for Funky Buddha has become Shove It All In My Face ASAP. Do that.
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Jun 7, 2012 16:53
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mysterious frankie posted:No problem. Now that I have mine I don't want to drink it until I find more I actually gave mine to a work buddy this morning. I kind of owed him (he got me a bottle of Dark Lord, amongst other things over the last couple of years). So yeah, I definitely will be hunting for more. RE: Cerise... Like people have been saying, I like it for what it is. It's more on the tart side than sweet for me. I think it's the only version of the style I've ever tried. It's not as good as New Glarus' fruit beer series, though. Wisconsin-Belgian Red is a thing of beauty for a fruit beer.
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Jun 7, 2012 17:09
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Thanks bartolimu. Have they actually started distributing? From what I'd heard, they've done a ton of events lately, but otherwise you have to go to the brewpub to get their beer.
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Jun 7, 2012 17:23
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air- posted:Someone mentioned Funky Buddha's berliner and the apple beer earlier. The Cigar City/Funky Buddha/Bluejacket event is tonight at Churchkey, so any input on the other FB taps? No, the Maple Bacon Coffee Porter is like breakfast in a glass and is absolutely delicious. Make sure you try their Last Snow porter, No Crusts, and the Berliner as well. bartolimu posted:I think the Maple Bacon Porter was at EBF (they called it Good Morning or something breakfast-related, I don't remember what) and it was excellent. Wide Awake It's Morning is their maple bacon imperial stout, I like the porter better personally.
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Jun 7, 2012 17:23
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deadwing posted:Wide Awake It's Morning is their maple bacon imperial stout, I like the porter better personally. 
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Jun 7, 2012 17:50
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Sirotan posted:I opened a bottle of that a ways back at a point in the night that I really should not have opened a bomber. I ended up not being able to finish the bottle and really regret it. It was an excellent beer, and isn't one I can get around here. I've got a case of it left  I wish it was packaged in sixes rather than bombers, though. Bombers are simply too much for me when its a 10% beer.
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Jun 7, 2012 19:17
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You know, you can grab a wine stopper and finish the bottle the next evening, right?
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Jun 7, 2012 19:35
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Already had it in the glass.....
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Jun 7, 2012 19:54
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FreelanceSocialist posted:Finally made it to Left Hand's Good Juju in my seasonal rounds this week. Once the foam drains down you get a little hint of ginger in the nose. And then you drink it and it's like ginger-ale minus sugar. I'm on the fence. I think it's OK, though I really wish it was more gingery. But I really love ginger, not sure everyone would feel that way.
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Jun 7, 2012 20:46
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Pleasantly surprised by a new batch of Maharaja today. Also almost bought the Rivertown 2011 Lambic that was just released a week or two back. It was labeled "malt beverage" on the label. I wonder what that is about, getting around Ohio's ABV limit for things that are labeled as beer? (it didn't list an ABV, and I have no idea what lambics usually run on ABV) Their 2010 lambic was very good, but I have nothing to judge it against because its the only lambic I've ever drank. It tasted like champagne, is that typical?
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Jun 7, 2012 22:00
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I had that Centennial earlier tonight, and it was really good. Bottled on 5/21, so still pretty fresh. I assume they used Centennial hops, so I guess that's what they taste like. A good balance of resin and floral qualities, medium orange body.
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Jun 8, 2012 02:02
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Had my rehearsal dinner a couple weeks ago for which I bought 2 cases each of Summer Love and Sam Adams. The good news is the beer was a wild success for a bunch of non-beer drinkers, the bad news is I now have over a case of Sam Adams and less than 6 Summer Loves left over. Sam Adams is a great beer, so it's not much to complain about, but the Summer Love was a smashing success. I also forced my wedding venue to have Troegs Dreamweaver and Sam Adams Noble Pils in addition to the usual macro lagers, and the Dreamweaver in particular was really well received. I had people coming up to me all night talking about the beer.
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Jun 8, 2012 02:41
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you should get married more often, dude; the only beer at the last wedding i attended was Blue Moon and Killian's.
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Jun 8, 2012 03:14
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funkybottoms posted:you should get married more often, dude; the only beer at the last wedding i attended was Blue Moon and Killian's. The last wedding I went to had at least two mid-shelf options for any kind of liquor and 5 kinds of wine, but your beer options were Bud Light or gently caress off. The upside was that it was an open bar, so it was Scotch all the way.
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Jun 8, 2012 03:23
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Our wedding was full open bar with what I think were pretty nice liquor options (I have no idea what accounts for good liquor) but the only beer options were Miller and Coors Light. I had no say in anything wedding related (because I didn't give a poo poo) so I put my foot down when it came to beer selection.
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Jun 8, 2012 03:36
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I may have to attend a wedding or two around Boston this summer. I look forward to drinking there.
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Jun 8, 2012 03:45
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So I recently tried some Session Lager, and for $1.25 a bottle I fell in love. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available anywhere nearby. Are there any similarly priced alternatives out there I should look for?
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Jun 8, 2012 04:02
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I went back to the store where I saw GI Matilda a few weeks ago, and now they have the Honker's Ale and the GI IPA both in stock. Are either one of those special or worth picking up, or are they kind of standard, not missing much fare?
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Jun 8, 2012 04:20
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Arnold of Soissons posted:The last wedding I went to had at least two mid-shelf options for any kind of liquor and 5 kinds of wine, but your beer options were Bud Light or gently caress off. This guy knows whats up. Bell's Tap Takeover for Philly Beer Week. Black note is legit. Very smooth and a good amount of bourbon, sort of like KBS minus the coffee notes. Oarsman was my first ever Berliner Weiss and it was fantastic. I could drink that all night. Bell's also had a Rye Stout on tap and it was by far the more Rye flavored beer I've ever had regardless of style. Finished the night up with a classic, Two Hearted.
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Jun 8, 2012 04:23
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funkybottoms posted:you should get married more often, dude; the only beer at the last wedding i attended was Blue Moon and Killian's. I've been to weddings that didn't have anything and/or kegs of Miller Lite. Blue Moon isn't even that bad.
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Jun 8, 2012 04:25
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I got to the Churchkey event late tonight (gently caress YOU DELTA), but I had: Funky Buddha Rasperry Berlinerweiss Blue Jacket/CCB/FB collab Snack attack *awesome* Cubano-Espresso Maduro Brown Ale CCB Peach IPA FB Bonita Applebum CCB Chocolate Raspberry Lager CCB florida cracker wheat CCB Tocabago Firestone Wookey Jack (awesome!) All in all glad I went, but drat im tipsy. Highlights were the cubano-espresso, snack attack, and the wookey jack. edit: also, after I complimented Engert on a job well done on Snack Attack, he came over to my side of the bar and let me try his growler of Cambride Cerise Casse: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/cambridge-cerise-cassee/43640/ It was really good. Munkaboo fucked around with this message at 05:10 on Jun 8, 2012 |
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Jun 8, 2012 04:33
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Arnold of Soissons posted:I went back to the store where I saw GI Matilda a few weeks ago, and now they have the Honker's Ale and the GI IPA both in stock. Are either one of those special or worth picking up, or are they kind of standard, not missing much fare? They're both solid, though if the Goose Island IPA is from March or earlier I would avoid it until fresher bottles come around. It didn't have near the hop potency as from the tap in-comparison. I finally found a Victory Saison du Buff and I really hope the Stone one comes around soon so I can settle my OCD down and never have to drink this beer again. My Victory version is just as spiced as the DFH one, but with no carbonation. I did have a Sixpoint Spice of Life beer tonight, it was a Nugget hopped version. It wasn't bad but it tasted like a watered down Nugget Nectar. Lots of floral notes with a sharp pine bitterness, but it was too one-dimensional. I guess that's a potential problem with single hopped IPAs? I don't know it was the second I've ever had. Edit: Apparently it was brewed in February from what I'm understanding of the charts, so this is probably a bit past it's prime as well.
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Jun 8, 2012 04:58
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Angry Grimace posted:I've been to weddings that didn't have anything and/or kegs of Miller Lite. Blue Moon isn't even that bad. My buddy is getting married AT Stoudt's brewery next year.  http://www.stoudtsbeer.com/ He and his fiance are my usual drinking partners, and they went all out to make sure that good beer was an integral part of their wedding. (They just met with a potential wedding photographer yesterday, and when the photographer picked Victory as the spot to meet up and discuss details, it was an instant point in their favor)
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Jun 8, 2012 15:34
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I really didn't like Wookey Jack when I had it the first time. Something about it just went against me, I couldn't really place it. I tried it again a couple of days ago and loved it. It's still not my favorite Firestone Walker product, but it's very good beer made to high standard. Maybe I got a rare bum bottle or something. I didn't buy a Stone Sourfest ticket because I was planning on being out of the country that week, but those plans have fallen through. Now they're sold out. If any of you SoCal beer nerds have an extra ticket, I'd happily take it off your hands. I'll pay cash or, if you'd prefer, several pounds of home-cured Berkshire pork bacon and/or salt pork.
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Jun 8, 2012 15:44
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Wookie Jack still hasn't made it to New Jersey and with Parabola not here yet I'm wondering what's going on. We do have a tendency to get things after people though which I'm hoping is the case. Also I've read their DBA will be released in 22 ounce bottles soon.
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Jun 8, 2012 16:02
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I've been on a rye kick lately so I picked up Bear Republic's Hop Rod Rye last night and thought it was pretty good, but I have to give the nod to Sierra Nevada's Righteous Rye. I thought that the hop presence in Hop Rod was a bit too subdued. Although what was there did meld well with the malt and rye, I just wanted a bit more oomph. Then again, Bear Republic doesn't print bottled on dates and I'm in NY, so who the hell knows how old this stuff is. 
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Jun 8, 2012 16:31
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Are there any decent beer bars/places in Vegas? I am extremely unfamiliar with the city and while I do plan on getting drinks at the casinos while gambling I feel like at some point or another I'll want something that isn't light beer and g&t's.
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Jun 8, 2012 16:33
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ChiTownEddie posted:Are there any decent beer bars/places in Vegas? Burger Bar in Mandalay Bay is the best I've found. Todd English is okay, but super-crowded (at least the time I was there). http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/city/35 I've had Sin City stuff and wasn't really impressed. Do NOT go to Hofbrauhaus, which is a tourist hole and served seriously the worst german food I've ever had.
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Jun 8, 2012 16:37
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