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BoredByThis posted:Is anyone in Chicago picking up Pipeworks' first release of Ninja vs. Unicorn today? It goes on sale at WLV and Binny's Marcey St at 10am. I can't get there today, but I'll be looking for it elsewhere, mostly because the three dudes that comprise Pipeworks are all good dudes. I am heading over to the Lincoln Park Binnys after work to A) pick up my 'friends' bottle for donating money to them and B) see if I can grab some. I'll try and post back about what I think  I'm pretty excited that they are up and distributing though.
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Mar 6, 2012 23:16
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Haven't read this thread in a while...here is my update: Day of the Living Ales (like two weeks ago?) was awesome. Some really cool beers there to try (and some crazy ones, curry IPA?!). I loved the Baume, chocolate rye stout, by Half Acre that ended up winning. Great to see some of my favorite places like Piece represented there too! Downside, got far far far too drunk. Awesome time. I ended up being a runner up in the Cipher contest by Half Acre too! Here was the haul that I got today:  In addition to a few tastings with the people working, and a nice tour of the facility! Such cool people. Came home with a growler of their Chocolate Camaro (Chocolate Milk Stout) as well. Just tried it, and while stouts aren't quite my thing yet...pretty decent. Not quite as sweet as I was expecting(I think I expect too sweet when I hear milk stout), but I think that is the chocolate cutting that a bit. Don't regret the growler at all! E: Just read back to the BCS Bramble Rye report...I kind of agree. I seem to have liked it more than you guys, but the bottle was split 4 ways so it probably just didn't wear as much on us. ChiTownEddie fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Mar 15, 2012 |
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Mar 15, 2012 03:35
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Paul Proteus posted:Anything special with that Small Animal Big Machine? That label is not the regular one. I only vaguely remember what they said about it: A limited run beer in collaboration with some others. Belgian style (two different types of yeast was mentioned), made with cherries and currants. I think it is a sour? I also think he mentioned that this is a cask aged version of it.
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Mar 15, 2012 15:57
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Paul Proteus posted:Ah ok. Gotcha. Well I shall go in with very tempered expectations then. Hopefully the aging helped it a bunch.
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Mar 15, 2012 20:08
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What is different about the 75Minute? Is it...actually supposed to be exactly between the 60 and 90? Or is it special?
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Mar 16, 2012 04:18
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Wow okay, yeah, I want to try that. On a unrelated (but two beers blended together related...) note, at Day of the Living ales the Madame Rose and Juliet blend and aged and whatever else Goose Island did to it, I loved it.
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Mar 16, 2012 04:42
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Are there any cool breweries worth visiting on the way from Chicago to Detroit (as well as in Detroit) besides Bells? I'm going to a wedding this weekend and the gf is in the wedding party which leaves me with a bit of spare time...
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May 2, 2012 17:37
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mysterious frankie posted:Half Acre too, if they're doing tours again. They're super awesome people, they get you tanked while talking about their brewery and methods and you can even get your picture taken next to a "weed wolf" sticker! I went on their tour a few weeks ago for my birthday. Totally didn't expect FULL PINTS on the tour. And of course because my friends are weak (and probably smart) I ended up taking some of their tokens as well. Awesome time, awesome tour. Thanks for the tips for a long the way, I may check out Dark Horse or Jolly Pumpkin. Are there any in the city of Detroit?
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May 2, 2012 18:04
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That sounds like their old method (which was free too?), they changed to a 'who ever shows up first gets in' with no reservations dealio. It was basically sold out at 12:03 for the 1pm tour when I went. And yeah 10$, pint glass, 3 pints of beer, tour. It is quite legit.
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May 2, 2012 21:36
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I need to make it to Andersonville more often. I've actually only been to Hopleaf once! And isn't Hamburger Mary's there too? Its hard to motivate oneself to go far for a good beer when The Map Room is 1 block away haha. Speaking of Chicago bars, did you guys hear Small Bar Fullerton was sold to the Beer Bistro? Do you know anything about the Beer Bistro? I know nothing about it.
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May 3, 2012 01:11
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Sirotan posted:Theres not much in the way of breweries in Detroit, but there are some good brewpubs and some excellent restaurants with good tap lists. I've never been but Foran's Grand Trunk is right downtown and I always hear good things about it. Slow's is a BBQ place with very good beer. I highly recommend them but if you are in a time crunch don't bother, any time of day you are looking at a 45min+ wait, though sometimes if its just me and a friend we get lucky with scoring a seat at the bar. Either way, it's worth it. Thanks! I have some time, so I'll have to see whats in the cards (mostly based on where the hotel ends up being...) Jolly Pumpkin, Check. Seems close enough to 94 that it shouldn't be a problem! Yay, now I'm much more excited to drive by myself to Detroit hehe
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May 3, 2012 16:49
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Wow, I am at Jolly Pumpkin right now. This place is amazing, how did I not know of a brewery that specializes in sours? Thank you so much for the recommendation! Drinking Oro de Calabaza right now, I think the wheatgrass IPA might be next. Downside...im going to buy too many bottles :-)
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May 4, 2012 21:42
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Thanks again for the Jolly Pumpkin recommendation guys. I tried to motorboat the pint I got, it didn't go so well :-) Great stuff. Now I'm at Bells on the return trip. Man this may be my favorite brewpub. The fact I only go 1-2x a year isn't enough. Got their Raspberry Wild One their sour brown as it says. Very good. Crisp with an awesome raspberry flavor. If only I wasn't driving I'd be swimming in hopslam :P
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May 6, 2012 20:33
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Sah'Tea, Dogfish Head's Sahti with black chai, I was very mixed about... at first I was all "Okay, I can do this, its a fine beer." But it quickly degraded to "Oh god, I have to drink more of this?!" I think the juniper berries wore on me too quickly, plus I found it too sweet. My buddy was NOT a fan from the get go. All that said, I haven't had Sam Adams' sahti, but after that experience I'd probably be hesitant to spend money on one :/ Just had a bottle of Jolly Pumpkin's La Roja (a take home ) with two buddies, we really liked it. It seemed like a great 'intro' to sour type beer. I mean that by it started sour/tart, but finished nice and crisp making it more generally drinkable than I am used to from sours. I kind of wished we hadn't been sharing the bottle haha.Finally have you chicago based goons had Piece's Captain Kickass? I think its an IPA and I LOVE it. We...may have finished a growler of it. And by 'we' I mean me and one friend. Very solid, great aroma, might be my new fav from Piece.
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May 7, 2012 05:09
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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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Awesome, thanks. Since I know my buddies wanted to hit Burger Bar for sure...I guess I won't worry about it
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Jun 8, 2012 16:46
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bartolimu posted:Here is the unequivocally best beer bar in Vegas: http://acesandales.com/ Noted! Thanks for the tip on that one. I kind of figured most places on the strip would be ridiculously priced for decent beers.
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Jun 8, 2012 17:51
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Thanks for the Burger Bar recommendations guys. They have a ridiculous amount of dogfish head options there. The bartender was super excited I knew something about beer and basically gave me 10 tastes of different beers haha. My friends were like "What the hell man??" Ended up having Aprihop and Red & White. I do like Aprihop, and Red & White was okay, but I was pretty drunk so it was tough to quite remember at that point.
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Jun 11, 2012 18:24
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I feel like all I have in my fridge is Bramble Rye, a bunch of Pipeworks, and a rye'd da lightning by 3F. Any of those interest peoples? I'm excited to meet ya guys tho hehe.
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Jun 16, 2012 01:08
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Sirotan posted:Well, I've never had any of those beers before, so there you go. Perfect. Since I don't know any of you, or this place...I'm a 6' skinny white kid who will, lets see, be wearing a Half Acre shirt (might as well nerd it out!) hehe.
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Jun 16, 2012 02:48
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escape artist posted:Really? I think Pumking is the only good pumpkin beer I've ever had. It's like liquid pumpkin pie. I think that sums up why I don't like Pumking. Pumpkin pie, yes. Pumking, no. So this week was my first time having Union Jack IPA. Really good, although I'm sure that is old news for you guys. And finally. Playing a few hours of ultimate, then...shower beer. Its almost always the best beer of your life.
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Jul 3, 2012 03:53
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Do any of you chi goons know where you can get Daisy Cutter (besides the brewery) now a days? I want a 4 pack or two for this weekend, but for the love of god I haven't seen it in stores in ages.
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Jul 6, 2012 22:15
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Watching the all star game with a growler of brewery-fresh Daisy Cutter. Life is good. Also I asked if other chicago-goons had seen it anywhere besides the brewery. Since then I have found it twice at random grocery stores, but still never at any liquor stores. I guess ya gotta go where the nerds arent!
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Jul 11, 2012 01:38
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Sirotan posted:Looks like we're gonna have 11 people for this thing. Might have to re-arrange furniture or something. So pumped. Just gotta pick what to bring + your 2 4-packs of Daisy Cutter! I know you haven't Sirotan, but has anyone else going had BCS Bramble Rye Stout? I wouldn't mind bringing that...
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Jul 12, 2012 04:03
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Haha Sirotan, that sounds like the BEST tasting hahaha. I am so bummed it didn't work out for me, in the end, to make it to yours, sounds like it was a blast. In tasting news, I continue to really like the nanobrewery Pipeworks in Chicago. The only one I haven't liked was their smoked porter (but I really just don't like smoked beers) and while some of there stuff isn't The Greatest Beer (tm) its all so solid that I can't stop buying them. The latest I had was their saison with peppercorns. Honestly I didn't taste anything super out of the ordinary for a saison so I am not sure if the peppercorns just helped that base flavor out or what. No Tank7 but I'd get it again. Also on the last leg of the vacation my Dad and I went to Greenbush brewery somewhere in Michigan. I thought it was pretty good. Nothing jumped out at us except maybe the Wit with Blood Oranges, but for a 1 year old place it was quite solid.
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Jul 18, 2012 15:15
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lazerwolf posted:I think Fleur has kombucha tea in it or something strange like that. Its my favorite of the bunch and I'm sad they aren't making it anymore Fleur was also my favorite. It was just so good. I thought the light hibiscus was very good. Revolution has a slightly tart beer (Rosa maybe?) with an ASSLOAD of hibiscus and while cool, it wasn't quite the great balance like Fleur. I think I'm going to buy a few Matilda's and try and do verticals for the next 3 years. Just because I can.
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Jul 19, 2012 04:01
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Cherry wheat is horrific, I agree. Tasted like bad cough medicine to me. Does anyone have a black IPA they can recommend? (Something available in Chicago) I adore IPAs but have not had a bipa I've liked.
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Jul 22, 2012 05:30
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hahaha. I wrote that question as I was drinking a Black Top actually, I'll probably try the Stone one that Paul recommends...but this is actually how I consider the style. I guess I just don't like writing off a whole style :/ (despite how not good it is)
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Jul 22, 2012 16:11
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Woo. I finally get to try Dark Lord this weekend. My buddies and I are going to do a mini-tasting with that and probably some lighter, less insane beers. Weirdly I am excited to try it, but I fully expect to not really like it. I feel like the excitement comes from the hype and the novelty rather than the actual BEER part of it. Shrug, gotta try and keep an open mind.
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Jul 27, 2012 16:47
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danbanana posted:This year's? It's the only "vintage" I've had and while I thought it was very good, I don't believe any beer can live up to it's hype and it came off very sweet to me. I generally hear 2012 is sweeter than most, though. Yes, it is this years, and I agree I don't think it could live up to the hype either. The sweetness that I hear about is partly why I don't think that I'll like it because...honestly I can't handle a lot of sweet in my beers. I hope that all the other flavors in it can make up for being too sweet for me haha.
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Jul 27, 2012 17:25
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Sirotan posted:The first Dark Lord I had was 2009, and it was a year old at that point. It was really really good. I had 2012 DL three weeks ago and thought it was disgustingly sweet. If you're anything like me, you'll probably hate it too. Gotcha. Yeah, my buddy who went to DLD hasn't tried any of them yet and really wants to. It was very much a "Oh, suuuuuure I guess I could 'help' you out with that." type of thing hahaha. He does expect to hold on to at least two of them for a year+.
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Jul 27, 2012 18:02
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haha 15yo beer doesn't sound too appetizing to me. I forgot to report on what I thought of the 2012 Dark Lord (and the BCS: Bramble Rye). We tried DL first and I have to say that while I disliked it, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I think my problem ultimately was that I couldn't get past the nearly oil mouth feel with the overwhelming cherry/currant sweetness. I hate that flavor and I hate overly sweet things. That said a lot of the other flavors I got could lend it to being very good with time, but I think I'll chalk it up to "Not for me." On the flip side I liked Bramble Rye more than I remember from the first time I had it in January or whenever. It really kinda tastes like dark chocolate + raspberry/blackberry (which works very well, I think). While its not much more than a novelty still for me...I would definitely have it again. Did any of the Chicago people pick up the saison that Half Acre put out (growler only) a week or two ago? There is another saison tapped today that I'll probably grab since its basically on the way home from work (plus 2$ off growlers on Tuesday!) And on Friday they have a lager made with popcorn?! Huh.
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Jul 31, 2012 19:20
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Happy IPA day everyone! I got a nice Revolution Anti-Hero, its great that Rev is distributing around the city. I'm close to the pub but getting to walk across the street to a bar and get their stuff on tap is glorious. Also I tried the Piece anniversary beer It Goes To Eleven, didn't mind it. Seemed to attempt to blend citrus-y hops with a lot of spicy/floral/earthy hops to mild success. Probably would have wished for something a bit more unique for an anniversary beer, but whatevs.
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Aug 3, 2012 00:41
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Jahoodie posted:Blue Moon is the Coors subsidary to try and grab the craft brew market share from people who don't actually like craft brew. It's not that hard of a concept unless you get all Don't they keep expanding the 'definition' of craft beer for the Boston Beer Company anyway? I just tried a Solemn Oath Brewery beer, Snaggletooth Bandana IPA. I have to admit. I loved it. Awesome balanced but upfront citrus and other fruit flavor is basically my ideal. I followed it with a Double Jack IPA. Amazing aroma, quite good, but I'm not as much of a double IPA guy so it was a bit sweet for me. Overall one of the best dIPAs I've had though. PS. I love having the Map Room as a stop on my way home from the train. It makes Fridays amazing. ChiTownEddie fucked around with this message at 01:38 on Aug 4, 2012 |
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Aug 4, 2012 01:36
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danbanana posted:Going to FFFs for lunch tomorrow just 'cause. I've actually never been... My first time was recently, good food, crap service, good beer. Mmmmmm. Coffee Eugene sounds great. I'll have to see when I can make it this week I am on a saison kick recently. What should I be keeping an eye out for besides Tank 7 (oh god its so delicious)?
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Aug 5, 2012 19:51
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danbanana posted:Revolution is bottling their's now! Jackpot. I'll keep an eye out for it
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Aug 5, 2012 20:58
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I'm heading to Purdue this weekend, are the Lafayette Brewing Company or the Peoples Brewery worth a quick stop?
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Aug 30, 2012 18:52
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Ubik posted:The LBC definitely is. The atmosphere feels like a slightly dingy family restaurant/bar, but the food is pretty tasty and the beer has always been solid. It'll make a good lunch stop. Just as a caveat, I have a soft spot for them because they helped me get into craft beer while I went to college there. Cool. I have most of the day tomorrow before my friends arrive to do stuff, might as well drink some beers People's is new (I learned about it from another former student who stuck around in West Laf) and I believe it was started by the old brewer at LBC. Man, I wish I had been into craft beer when I was actually at Purdue hehe the scene seems pretty decent.
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Aug 30, 2012 19:54
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Woo picked up Founders Breakfast Stout, this will be my first time trying it! Also got a 4 pack of the latest BCS. Almost more interestingly though, my dad and I realized that he still has 1 bottle of the '09 (I think) that we'll be able to compare it to! I bought it for his birthday all those years ago and he totally forgot about the last bottle in the back of the basement fridge! Should be fun to compare them.
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Sep 14, 2012 02:47
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| # ¿ Apr 23, 2024 15:35 |
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danbanana posted:Word was that their expansion included distro to the Chicago area starting in September. I was excited for that given their rep, but haven't heard anything in months... So do you think they are good enough to warrant excitement? When I had their stuff (canned from GR) I was meh. Of course, Belgians are incredibly hit or miss for me. But over 3 types I didn't have much interest.
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Sep 14, 2012 05:38
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