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Beer |OT|

Just picked these up. Looking forward to them.
10614399583_d2a6479448_c.jpg

Really want to try these, but 20-25 is always tough for me to drop unless I'm feeling flush.

Tonight from Green Flash Brewing Company I'm having Green Bullet, which reports itself as a "Triple IPA".
That's a whole lot of green.
As expected, it's nearly undrinkable. I guess it's interesting to see just how far the style can be taken
Thought this beer was pretty solid, and nowhere near unpalatably hoppy. But I'm a big IPA guy, so my palate is pretty open to ridiculous bitterness and IBU.
 
I was at this beer tasting today and my girlfriend wanted me to pick up some banana bread beer while I was there. One of the guys from the tasting saw me buying it and told me he heard it's really good if you mix it with Young's Double Chocolate Stout so I grabbed a can on my way out without looking at the price. $10 for a single can of this ghetto looking shit, it better be good.

Ten bucks for a single can of Young's? That's not right. Somebody must have pulled the four pack apart and didn't reprice them.
 

fenners

Member
Yeah, that's what happened. I went back and got my money.

Glad it got sorted. Young's Chocolate Stout is kind of a gateway stout - it's widely available & not too "out there" for 'ordinary' beer drinkers while giving them a taste of something different.
 

Yaboosh

Super Sleuth
Glad it got sorted. Young's Chocolate Stout is kind of a gateway stout - it's widely available & not too "out there" for 'ordinary' beer drinkers while giving them a taste of something different.


It was one of my main gateway beers back in college.
 

Milchjon

Member
I don't know I firmly believe that a good Belgian Tripel or Quad > Most wines of equal price.

How much is a Chimay Bleue where you live?

I think we have a 0.75 liter bottle for about 6.99 Euros. I'm not a wine drinker, but I assume you couldn't expect a great wine for that kind of money.
 
Thought this beer was pretty solid, and nowhere near unpalatably hoppy. But I'm a big IPA guy, so my palate is pretty open to ridiculous bitterness and IBU.

I too considered myself a big IPA guy, but that was just gross.
It was more like a hop tincture than an ale.

Trying to decide if I want to drink tonight.
I'm still thinking about that Anderson Valley Wild Turkey ale, even though that one guy was kind of down on it.

A bomber of Chimay Blue sounds fucking steller right now though.
Sit out back on the balcony checking out the night sky, and then in bed by 9.
I think I'll do that.
 

HiResDes

Member
How much is a Chimay Bleue where you live?

I think we have a 0.75 liter bottle for about 6.99 Euros. I'm not a wine drinker, but I assume you couldn't expect a great wine for that kind of money.

Yeah that's my point. Expensive beer is still cheaper than mid-tier wine.
 

SUPREME1

Banned
How long can beer sit on the shelf before it expires?

Its canned btw. IPA from a local brewer called Golden Road.

Love their beer, but I picked up a case of their Point The Way IPA and just noticed it was canned on June 23rd.

I was planning on serving it up at my daughter's 1st birthday party next week.

Now I'm wondering if it'll taste off.

4.5 months seems long as their stuff is usually fresh. I even get growlers filled by them on occasion.
 
How long can beer sit on the shelf before it expires?

Its canned btw. IPA from a local brewer called Golden Road.

Love their beer, but I picked up a case of their Point The Way IPA and just noticed it was canned on June 23rd.

I was planning on serving it up at my daughter's 1st birthday party next week.

Now I'm wondering if it'll taste off.

4.5 months seems long as their stuff is usually fresh. I even get growlers filled by them on occasion.
Most breweries will consider 90 days the extent of what's considered fresh (depending on style though). IPAs can fade pretty fast especially if they're not kept cold.
 
Fade fast in what way?
Isn't the whole legacy of the IPA concerning its ability to hold up for a lengthy trip to India?

Hops as a preservative, yes. For fresh hop flavor time is the enemy. Take a bottle of an IPA you are very familiar with and put in a closet for 3+ months. Grab a fresh one and then drink them side by side. It should be pretty obvious.

Edit: Go here: http://www.stonebrewing.com/enjoyby/. Watch the video "Talking Hops with Mitch Steele". He explains it well.
 
Fade fast in what way?
Isn't the whole legacy of the IPA concerning its ability to hold up for a lengthy trip to India?

Hop flavor and bitterness can diminish very quickly, so there's been a pretty strong movement among many brewers (Stone in particular, as demonstrated by their Enjoy By series) to encourage consumers to drink as quickly as possible. It is largely dependent on the particular beer, of course, but especially with imperial IPAs and beyond, malt flavors begin to overwhelm after a couple months and the hop/malt balance the brewer intended starts to disappear.
 

Milchjon

Member
If you have a whole case, why not crack open one to test it?

A four month old IPA can barely be "expired" in the usual sense of the word, it just might not taste as hoppy anymore. German brewers have to put on anexpiration date on their beers for legal reasons, and it's usually about one year.

So while it may not taste quite as good as it did early on, you can still drink it, without a doubt. Especially if it's from a can, they're pretty good at preserving beer.
 

SUPREME1

Banned
Just did... Not fresh.

I doubt most of the people there would know the difference. But I do and so would a couple guys who will be there.

I guess I'll have to decide whether or not to go through the trouble of returning it.

Costco is usually good about keeping stock up to date.

Looking at 135 days since it was canned.
 

PG2G

Member
Some of my friends have been harassing me about giving them some of my Westy so when we get together tomorrow I'm planning on doing a blind quad tasting (hoping to prove Westy isn't THAT much better, lol).

Picked up a couple Rochefort 10, Le Trappe Quad, and a Straffe Hendrick, to go along with two West 12 My liquor store guy pushed me away from the St Bernardus.

Enjoying this one on tonight on my own.

 
Some of my friends have been harassing me about giving them some of my Westy so when we get together tomorrow I'm planning on doing a blind quad tasting (hoping to prove Westy isn't THAT much better, lol).

Picked up a couple Rochefort 10, Le Trappe Quad, and a Straffe Hendrick, to go along with two West 12 My liquor store guy pushed me away from the St Bernardus.

St. Bernadus Abt 12 is actually really similar to Westy 12.
 

terrible

Banned
Out of the trappist quads I've had this is how I'd rank them personally right now.

Achel Extra > St Bernardus 12 > Westvleteren 12 > Rochefort 10 > La Trappe Quad

They're all amazing though. I want to do a blind tasting with all of them eventually but I can only get Achel Extra at bars so I can't bring any home. I have the others aging right now.
 

Milchjon

Member
How's Kona? Their bottles are so attractive, but I fear that that's the only thing they've got going for them.

Also, given the choice between Anchor, Flying Dog and Sierra Nevada for my first barleywine, which should I choose?
 
How's Kona? Their bottles are so attractive, but I fear that that's the only thing they've got going for them.

Kona is fine, but nothing amazing. All the stuff sold outside Hawaii is brewed in Portland, OR, by the way.

Also, given the choice between Anchor, Flying Dog and Sierra Nevada for my first barleywine, which should I choose?

I really like Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot.
 

codhand

Member
Alchemist aka Heady Topper brewery - from FB

A Difficult Decision

From the very first canning run of Heady Topper we have experienced a level of support and growth that none of us could have predicted. We had hoped our location at 35 Crossroad would be capable of handling the traffic, however with growth comes growing pains. In an effort to stay ahead of the curve we have made the difficult decision to close our retail shop and self-guided tour area. Effective November 15 the cannery will no longer be open to the public.

The good news is this will not affect our production levels. We will continue to distribute to all our current accounts but we are not adding any new accounts at this time. Alchemist and Heady Topper merchandise is available at our online store that we will be enhanced in time for the holidays.

Dan Kennedy - Best of luck. Will the growlers people just bought be refillable somehow?

The Alchemist - hang on to your growlers...
.
 

Jamesways

Member
Bought some Celeration last week, just cracking into it now. Delicious stuff.

And I'm lucky, one of my local places, Dangerous Man Brewing, still has growlers left of their Single Hop Series- Citra IPA. So damn good. They've done Columbus and Saaz, going to run through most of the major West Coast and a few other strains.

I think it's a great idea, showcasing just one hop each batch.
 

t-ramp

Member
Heady Topper does have quite the following, so it's no surprise that people are reacting strongly to the news from The Alchemist. I haven't had it, but have seen quite a few posts on BA of people with cases of the stuff picked up from the brewery. Not any more, I guess.

Regular place I go is $9.99 a 4 pack. Some other places around are $10.99-11.99 a 4 pack.
I'm not sure what the deal is with the FBS pricing here. I saw some at Hy-Vee earlier marked $9.99. It seems like beer is usually a bit more expensive there than at the liquor store a couple hundred feet away, which is where I got a 4-pack for $11.99. Who knows.

Anyway, didn't get any since I still have a couple bottles in the fridge.
 
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