-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Beer |OT|
- Thread starter Snuggles
- Start date
It was a little too boozey for me too, but great to have once in a while IMO.
distantmantra
Member
Cheese, chocolate, etc.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Last night had a bottle of this:
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:
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.
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:
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.
Last night had a bottle of this:
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.
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
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?
distantmantra
Member
The standard Adams, Freds and Doggie Claws were $5 each. Everything else was $10-$15 a bottle and brewery only releases.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
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.
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.
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.
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.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003Z9AUCQ/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Would oxiclean and water not work if I did? Could just let them dry. My concern was if the colours would change or anything.Ah I didn't realise you wanted to keep/preserve the labels
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.
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.
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.
iamalegionnaire
Member
From a Founders tasting I went to today.
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
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Jesus. That sounds amazing.From a Founders tasting I went to today.
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.
Link
The Autumn Wind
My thoughts exactly.
K, thanks
Mother of GodFrom a Founders tasting I went to today.
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.
Jest Chillin
Member
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.
ramoisdead
Member
Upset that I missed Space Dandy so I'm drinking this tonight. Good stuff.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
There is a beer called Boris the Spider? LOL. That is awesome. I need to find it and try it just because of the name.
And on a different note, a coworker sent me a message that Krust in Middletown, CT as BCBS on tap.
Valkyr Junkie
Member
Beermania in Brussels always has it available.
distantmantra
Member
They charge more than it would cost at the source, but yeah, they've always got TONS. Really wish we would've bought a wooden crate there...
Thanks for the heads up. Will keep that in mind.
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.
JLateralus
Member
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?
Does this make me a beer wuss?
JLateralus
Member
True.
I've had a couple of Belgians and like them. Anything specific recommendations for those or sours?
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
JLateralus
Member
Thanks much!
matt360
Member
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?
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.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
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!
POWERSPHERE
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.
Jealous! We had to bypass the Abbey when we were in Europe and my soul cries still to this day...
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:
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.
distantmantra
Member
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
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.
DieNgamers
Member
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)
Also bought one bottle of O'Hara's Leann Follain Stout which still tasted awesome 3 days after opening it. 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.
(not my photo but it was that same pub)
Also bought one bottle of O'Hara's Leann Follain Stout which still tasted awesome 3 days after opening it.
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.