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Beer |OT|

Tawpgun

Member
Someone get me heady topper thanks in advance.

Big fan of beer from new england

Btw, is there any food that goes well with bcbs?
 

Socreges

Banned
Has anyone here devised/discovered a good way to remove labels from bottles?? I've got about 60 or so unique bottles collected and I think it's definitely time to get rid of them.
 

Tawpgun

Member
Not gonna lie, I'm regretting the purchase of The Bourbon County Brand Stout. I'm not feeling it it's way too boozey for me.

If anyone wants a bottle id be willing to trade
 

HiResDes

Member
Not gonna lie, I'm regretting the purchase of The Bourbon County Brand Stout. I'm not feeling it it's way too boozey for me.

If anyone wants a bottle id be willing to trade
It was a little too boozey for me too, but great to have once in a while IMO.
 
Last night had a bottle of this:
I9bgphZ.png

After finally getting the 4 pack of BCBS from the store, the guy there gave me a bottle of this to try since he knows my tastes.
WOW. Just awesome. Good whiskey taste, but goes down very smooth. A really great sipping beer. I want to try the higher aged ones next.

Then tonight I finally tried this:
jSQr8Hq.png

Yeah, as awesome as Rayge said. Good boozy flavor to it, but a somewhat sweet aftertaste mixed with it. Really nice, and a good thing to spoil myself with. Expensive as hell, but I feel it was worth it.
 

terrible

Banned
Last night had a bottle of this:
I9bgphZ.png

After finally getting the 4 pack of BCBS from the store, the guy there gave me a bottle of this to try since he knows my tastes.
WOW. Just awesome. Good whiskey taste, but goes down very smooth. A really great sipping beer. I want to try the higher aged ones next.

I've had the 12, 16, and 40 and in my opinion there's no point in getting anything other than the 12. The differences are incredibly subtle. They aren't aged any differently themselves as far as I know, they're just aged in barrels that were used to age older scotch. I actually regret getting the 40 if I'm honest. It was a waste of money. The 12 was good enough on it's own for like 1/4 the price.
 

fenners

Member
Has anyone here devised/discovered a good way to remove labels from bottles?? I've got about 60 or so unique bottles collected and I think it's definitely time to get rid of them.

Fill a plastic bucket with oxiclean + warm water, let the bottles soak in it for 24 hours or so, Most labels should come off easily after that unless they're special foil or something.
 

matt360

Member
qY2RrdB.jpg


So if you didnt see the onslaught last night on Untappd, I hosted a Hair of the Dog tasting with four of my best friends.

Adam 27 (1997)
Adam 86
Adam 90
Cherry Adam from the Wood 2012
Fred 86
Fred 90
Fred from the Wood 2013
Bourbon Fred from the Wood 2013
Otto from the Wood
Michael 2012
Doggie Claws 2011
Doggie Claws 2012
Doggie Claws 2013
Collage
Matt 2013

Wow. I would have loved to have been there for that. If you don't mind me asking, how much did those set you back? Here in Japan, a lot of those bottles are insanely expensive. I mean, Japan has ridiculous beer prices anyways, but the Hair of the Dog prices were particularly outrageous. Are they also expensive where you are?
 
I've had the 12, 16, and 40 and in my opinion there's no point in getting anything other than the 12. The differences are incredibly subtle. They aren't aged any differently themselves as far as I know, they're just aged in barrels that were used to age older scotch. I actually regret getting the 40 if I'm honest. It was a waste of money. The 12 was good enough on it's own for like 1/4 the price.

Thank you for the advice. Might be the reason the guy gave me a bottle of the 12 instead since he knew they werent all that much different.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
Time for my third. 5 more to go. Having one around every 6 months so it's really nice to see it develop over time. The biggest change so far is that the carbonation is mellowing out a lot, allowing for the flavors to come to the foreground.

It really is a damned good and well balanced beer. My tastes are changing a bit so I do find it a little sweet, but it's still a pretty stellar beer.

1457692_10100696270531286_1293851753_n.jpg
 

Socreges

Banned
Fill a plastic bucket with oxiclean + warm water, let the bottles soak in it for 24 hours or so, Most labels should come off easily after that unless they're special foil or something.
Any special way to remove, handle and store the labels so they're not ruined after being so wet?
 

fijim

Banned
Any special way to remove, handle and store the labels so they're not ruined after being so wet?

Well you would need to let them dry out. Then you could put them in something like a photo album.

Another thing to look into are wine label removers. They lift the label off and laminate it at the same time. You stick it on and press it against the label, then let it sit for 8+ hours to bond. Then carefully pull it off and it will lift the label with it. I was doing this for a while and most worked pretty well, some of the more papery labels had a tendency to rip. Some bottles actually use stickers instead of glue, so you can just peel them off.

dd34Fo8.jpg


http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003Z9AUCQ/?tag=neogaf0e-20
 

Socreges

Banned
Extremely helpful. Thank you, fenners and fijim.

We found both solutions through Google, but for some reason I'm more confident hearing it from you guys.
 

fenners

Member
Would oxiclean and water not work if I did? Could just let them dry. My concern was if the colours would change or anything.

it's going to depend on how long you soak & how the thing is printed. I've seen labels come off intact, I've seen labels come off in pieces leaving hte fancy paper behind.
 

fijim

Banned
From a Founders tasting I went to today.

hUwaGVN.jpg


The verticals:

'10-'13 KBS
'10-'13 Devil Dancer
'09'-13 Backwoods Bastard
'10-'13 Imperial Stout
'11-'13 Breakfast Stout
'09-'10 Nemesis
'11-'12 Cerise
'12-'13 Old Curmudgeon
'12-'13 Harvest Ale

Also had 2011 KBS on tap.
 

Linius

Member
Time for my third. 5 more to go. Having one around every 6 months so it's really nice to see it develop over time. The biggest change so far is that the carbonation is mellowing out a lot, allowing for the flavors to come to the foreground.

It really is a damned good and well balanced beer. My tastes are changing a bit so I do find it a little sweet, but it's still a pretty stellar beer.

1457692_10100696270531286_1293851753_n.jpg

I looked it up but apparently you can only buy this beer at the abbey in Belgium and it's very rare to find it in shops. Guess I know where I need to go when I visit Belgium in the summer.


Drinking Duvel tonight, love it.
 
From a Founders tasting I went to today.

hUwaGVN.jpg


The verticals:

'10-'13 KBS
'10-'13 Devil Dancer
'09'-13 Backwoods Bastard
'10-'13 Imperial Stout
'11-'13 Breakfast Stout
'09-'10 Nemesis
'11-'12 Cerise
'12-'13 Old Curmudgeon
'12-'13 Harvest Ale

Also had 2011 KBS on tap.

DAMN
 
From a Founders tasting I went to today.

hUwaGVN.jpg


The verticals:

'10-'13 KBS
'10-'13 Devil Dancer
'09'-13 Backwoods Bastard
'10-'13 Imperial Stout
'11-'13 Breakfast Stout
'09-'10 Nemesis
'11-'12 Cerise
'12-'13 Old Curmudgeon
'12-'13 Harvest Ale

Also had 2011 KBS on tap.
Jesus. That sounds amazing.
 

Socreges

Banned
it's going to depend on how long you soak & how the thing is printed. I've seen labels come off intact, I've seen labels come off in pieces leaving hte fancy paper behind.
K, thanks

From a Founders tasting I went to today.

hUwaGVN.jpg


The verticals:

'10-'13 KBS
'10-'13 Devil Dancer
'09'-13 Backwoods Bastard
'10-'13 Imperial Stout
'11-'13 Breakfast Stout
'09-'10 Nemesis
'11-'12 Cerise
'12-'13 Old Curmudgeon
'12-'13 Harvest Ale

Also had 2011 KBS on tap.
Mother of God
 
Picked up a bottle of Unibroue Terrible and Shipyard Mint Chocolate Stout for New Years. Never had the Unibroue before and the Stout is for the wife. Looking forward to it though.

Ok.. so I had the Unibroue on New Years Eve and I enjoyed it. It actually tasted similarly to Red Wine to me which was interesting. I've conditioned myself to dislike the taste of Red Wines because all of my previous experiences were very dry and I can't stand that. So there was a bit of a confusion in my head because I wanted not to like it but it wasn't sapping my mouth of all moisture. Given the time to adjust, I liked it a lot.

Now my Wife didn't end up drinking the the Stout at all. She ended up having some Whisky and was satisfied with that. So I had the Stout tonight and holy overbearing alcohol Batman! First taste is the strong flavor of alcohol with a bit of the Mint Chocolate on the finish and unfortunately the alcohol taste lingers moreso than the Mint Chocolate does. Won't be buying that one ever again.
 

mcfrank

Member
Not gonna lie, I'm regretting the purchase of The Bourbon County Brand Stout. I'm not feeling it it's way too boozey for me.

If anyone wants a bottle id be willing to trade

Stick em in a closet for a year or two and they should mellow out. Plus if you still don't like them you can trade them for people who want to do verticals.
 
I've found I really like wheat beers a lot. I do also like the occasional IPA, but really don't care much for any lagers or anything really dark (porters, stouts) that I've tried.

Does this make me a beer wuss?
 

HiResDes

Member
True. :)

I've had a couple of Belgians and like them. Anything specific recommendations for those or sours?

Start with the basics, seek out anything Trappist, anything Unibroue, North Coast Brewing Co. - Brother Thelonius, Gulden Draak (Dark Triple), Delirium Nocturnum, Goose Island's Matilda, Anything Allagash, Russian River's Damnation, North Coast's Grand Cru

And for sours - Duchesse De Bourgogne, Rodenbach Grand Cru, Rodenbach Caractère Rouge , anything by The Lost Abbey
 
Start with the basics, seek out anything Trappist, anything Unibroue, North Coast Brewing Co. - Brother Thelonius, Gulden Draak (Dark Triple), Delirium Nocturnum, Goose Island's Matilda, Anything Allagash, Russian River's Damnation, North Coast's Grand Cru

And for sours - Duchesse De Bourgogne, Rodenbach Grand Cru, Rodenbach Caractère Rouge , anything by The Lost Abbey

Thanks much!
 

matt360

Member
I looked it up but apparently you can only buy this beer at the abbey in Belgium and it's very rare to find it in shops. Guess I know where I need to go when I visit Belgium in the summer.

I think that is only "technically" true. But I've been able to buy it at my local bottle shop in Hiroshima for well over a year now, and a couple of the local bars also have bottles in stock. And I know of other people who have been able to find it in the US.

I asked the owner of the bottle shop how he got it and he told me that the abbey in Belgium had a problem with their shelves last year (or maybe 2012) and so for the first time ever, they decided they would export to willing buyers. I have absolutely no idea if that is actually true, or if my bottle shop acquired the Westy by other means. They were charging 8,000yen (about $80) for the 4-bottle set with the two glasses. That's really not too bad considering the usual mark-up prices in Japan.
 

matt360

Member
True. :)

I've had a couple of Belgians and like them. Anything specific recommendations for those or sours?

Start with the basics, seek out anything Trappist, anything Unibroue, North Coast Brewing Co. - Brother Thelonius, Gulden Draak (Dark Triple), Delirium Nocturnum, Goose Island's Matilda, Anything Allagash, Russian River's Damnation, North Coast's Grand Cru

And for sours - Duchesse De Bourgogne, Rodenbach Grand Cru, Rodenbach Caractère Rouge , anything by The Lost Abbey

I would add that the Chimays are also a good place to start. Start with the Red and work your way up to the Blue.

And for a great Belgian Strong Golden Ale, Delirium Tremens is fantastic.
 

Tawpgun

Member
I know Carlsberg is like the bud light of Europe, but I just had some last night and today and I gotta say, I really like it. It's super light and goes down so easy and is just so damn drinkable. Doesn't have much of a taste, but... idk. It does its job well.
 
I know Carlsberg is like the bud light of Europe, but I just had some last night and today and I gotta say, I really like it. It's super light and goes down so easy and is just so damn drinkable. Doesn't have much of a taste, but... idk. It does its job well.

That is funny, I almost tried that for the first time tonight. A local restaurant and bar had it on tap. I looked it up on Beer Advocate and saw the rating, then decided to go for a Guinness instead.
 

Tawpgun

Member
That is funny, I almost tried that for the first time tonight. A local restaurant and bar had it on tap. I looked it up on Beer Advocate and saw the rating, then decided to go for a Guinness instead.

Beer advocate will shit on it for sure because they favor more filling, tasty beers. Not sure if their bro section is any different. But beer advocate can be wrong. They gave BCBS a huge rating but I really didnt like it. It's hardly beer anymore imo.

Carslberg isn't something you're gonna drink for the taste. It's a cheapish beer that goes down super easy and is refreshing. I think its the perfect party beer. I'm betting its cheaper in europe because here its more expensive than it should be.

Gonna probably buy some other stuff. I wish more liquor stores did a Pick Six. I want to experiment!
 
Time for my third. 5 more to go. Having one around every 6 months so it's really nice to see it develop over time. The biggest change so far is that the carbonation is mellowing out a lot, allowing for the flavors to come to the foreground.

It really is a damned good and well balanced beer. My tastes are changing a bit so I do find it a little sweet, but it's still a pretty stellar beer.

1457692_10100696270531286_1293851753_n.jpg

Jealous! We had to bypass the Abbey when we were in Europe and my soul cries still to this day...
 

fijim

Banned
I think that is only "technically" true. But I've been able to buy it at my local bottle shop in Hiroshima for well over a year now, and a couple of the local bars also have bottles in stock. And I know of other people who have been able to find it in the US.

I asked the owner of the bottle shop how he got it and he told me that the abbey in Belgium had a problem with their shelves last year (or maybe 2012) and so for the first time ever, they decided they would export to willing buyers. I have absolutely no idea if that is actually true, or if my bottle shop acquired the Westy by other means. They were charging 8,000yen (about $80) for the 4-bottle set with the two glasses. That's really not too bad considering the usual mark-up prices in Japan.

The beer was sold legally in the US in late 2012 as a one time way to raise money for a new roof for part of the abbey. They were sold in 6-packs that came with two chalice glasses.

If you see bottles with the label printed on it, those were bottles sold in the US legally.


All bottles direct from the abbey have no label on them:

OGoiwHz.jpg


There are many places across Europe that sell it in bars, some are illicit second hand sales, but some are legal. I think some places are legally allowed to sell it.

It is certainly possible other places besides the US have had legal distribution.
 
Some bottle shop owners in British Columbia arranged a deal with the Abbey in 2011 and legally sold Westy 8 and 12. Happened to be up there and bought an extra 8 and 12 at Viti in downtown Vancouver. There was a small plain white sticker placed on the bottles, no ugly gold logo.
 

matt360

Member
The beer was sold legally in the US in late 2012 as a one time way to raise money for a new roof for part of the abbey. They were sold in 6-packs that came with two chalice glasses.

If you see bottles with the label printed on it, those were bottles sold in the US

There are many places across Europe that sell it in bars, some are illicit second hand sales, but some are legal. I think some places are legally allowed to sell it.

It is certainly possible other places besides the US have had legal distribution.

Yes, the first pic is what we had here in Japan. I said it was a 4-pack but that was my mistake. It was in fact a 6-pack.
 

Rei_Toei

Fclvat sbe Pnanqn, ru?
A friend gave me a bottle of Westvleteren XII from a crate he picked up at the abbey last year. Never had the beer yet but I'm thinking of opening it somewhere this winter/spring. Really curious to see how different it is from the St. Bernardus counterpart.
 
Went to Dublin for a few days and tried the Oyster Stout in the Porterhouse! Delicious, creamy and refreshing! :)

(not my photo but it was that same pub)
8578117480_bd740c8262.jpg


Also bought one bottle of O'Hara's Leann Follain Stout which still tasted awesome 3 days after opening it. :D Very roasty and smooth at the same time!

A shame I didn't have enough money to try more beers. The craft-beer-scene seems to be quite alive over there. More than makes up for the boring stuff you get at the "Spar"-markets and grocery stores. :D
 
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