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Beer |OT|

I just remembered a beer I'd blissfully erased from my memory:

Hermitage Brewing 1 Door Flemish Style Sour Ale

Got it a BevMo years ago when I was just starting to explore sours and didn't realize the price (4 dollars or so for a bomber) was too good to be true. Ugh. Revoltingly sweet and vinegary, made Duchesse de Bourgogne seem balanced and palatable by comparison.
 

Jarnet87

Member
good-gourd-web.png


Was able to grab another bottle, will trade or give to a friend if I don't enjoy. Hope I like it, if not I'm done with trying all these Pumpkin beers and will stock up massive amounts of Fat Jack.
 
Had the Stone Xocoveza Mocha Stout tonight. DAMN.
You get a flood of the coffee, cocoa, cinnamon, and nutmeg as you taste it. Well, not a flood, but a subtle mix of it all while still tasting slightly bitter. But then the aftertaste has the subtle burn from the pepper.
Really, really damn good. Might have to snag another bottle before it disappears.
 
Had the Stone Xocoveza Mocha Stout tonight. DAMN.
You get a flood of the coffee, cocoa, cinnamon, and nutmeg as you taste it. Well, not a flood, but a subtle mix of it all while still tasting slightly bitter. But then the aftertaste has the subtle burn from the pepper.
Really, really damn good. Might have to snag another bottle before it disappears.

Awesome, I just picked one up so I'm waiting for it to warm up a bit. Looking forward to enjoying it with The Knick.
 
Had a Perennial Last Word down at my local spot this evening. Mighty tasty. The lime clearly runs the show, but there's a slight lift of mint at the end that makes you want another sip.

Also tried the bourbon barrel version of Pumpkinataur from Capital. That beer is not at all subtle. It beats you over the head with pumpkin and spice. Somehow, the bourbon is the most restrained part.
 

PG2G

Member
Word is Velvet Merkin is hitting town next week...crossing my fingers that I can score some.

Also looking forward to Xocoveza!

I'm excited for the Mocha version, supposed to come bundled in some kind of FW Holiday 4 pack (probably bundled with Double/Wookey Jack and something else)
 

HiResDes

Member
We have a beer fest downtown featuring 150 brews but unfortunately most of it is local stuff that I can always get my hands on and I can't justify dropping 40 bucks on it.
 

Seth C

Member
Went shopping for brew day tomorrow. Will be using those wild hops in a single malt pale ale. Just 10 lbs. of Maris Otter. Also picked up some Columbus to use for bittering since I want it as close to a single hop as possible, and Columbus should be derived from whatever those wild hops are/
 

pablito

Member
I think I'm over Pliny. It's still pretty good, but I had a pitcher of it last night and I couldn't help but think that I could have bought a growler of a couple local brews that are better instead.
 
I think I'm over Pliny. It's still pretty good, but I had a pitcher of it last night and I couldn't help but think that I could have bought a growler of a couple local brews that are better instead.

Been a while since I've seen a bar offer pitchers of Pliny, my usual spot had to stop a couple years ago and they still can't keep it on regularly.
 
Went shopping for brew day tomorrow. Will be using those wild hops in a single malt pale ale. Just 10 lbs. of Maris Otter. Also picked up some Columbus to use for bittering since I want it as close to a single hop as possible, and Columbus should be derived from whatever those wild hops are/
Nice. I look forward to hearing how this turns out. I'll do up a brew with them myself in a couple of weeks, probably.
 

pablito

Member
Been a while since I've seen a bar offer pitchers of Pliny, my usual spot had to stop a couple years ago and they still can't keep it on regularly.

There's a burger joint in Sacramento that I go to for Pliny, and I've only seen them run out once. I usually hit up local breweries around 5/6, and I'm noticing they get filled up a lot quicker than our go to Pliny spot. It's probably that our Pliny supply is healthy since local breweries are favored.
 

Minus_Me

Member
Haven't been drinking beer at all lately but I couldn't pass up this opportunity.

Got a sneak peak at the Dieu Du Ciel! brewery 16th anniversary lineup earlier today.

1. Special Aphrodisiaque aged in Jamaican Rum Casks - 10/10 one of the best beers I've ever had

2. l’Équinoxe du printemps aged in Bourbon Casks - 8/10 really great

3. Péché Mortel Extra coffee - 10/10 another amazing beer.
 
There's a burger joint in Sacramento that I go to for Pliny, and I've only seen them run out once. I usually hit up local breweries around 5/6, and I'm noticing they get filled up a lot quicker than our go to Pliny spot. It's probably that our Pliny supply is healthy since local breweries are favored.

I was surprised at how many Sacramento area breweries have taken off recently. I have relatives near Fairfield so it's been interesting watching the selection grow. Some fantastic beers being brewed there and I haven't even scratched the surface for the most part!
 
Mother of god. Just went into Kroger Wine and they had a four pack of Founders Breakfast Stout. It was expensive at $13.50, but it was bottled on 9/17/12. This sucker is aged two years. Worth the expense for that alone.
 
Drinking a Smog City Coffee Porter for the first time. It's a good coffee beer, one of the better ones I've had but they can fuck right off with the $9 price tag for a 500ml bottle. Thankfully Costco was selling it for $6 but their normal pricing is ridiculous with the number of options out there.
 

Seth C

Member
Mother of god. Just went into Kroger Wine and they had a four pack of Founders Breakfast Stout. It was expensive at $13.50, but it was bottled on 9/17/12. This sucker is aged two years. Worth the expense for that alone.

Welcome to Kentucky! We get quite good distribution for all of Founders stuff.

Brew day completed. We hung out and made the wild hop pale ale. 10 lbs. of Maris Otter with an ounce of Columbus for bittering, then about half of the wild hops in the last 5 minutes of the boil, dumped right in the kettle. The other, dryer, half were reserved to dry hop for the last three days of fermentation. I just pitched the yeast, so now we wait.

At some point during the sparge.
ckLVvZkl.jpg


During the boil, with the bittering hops in the bag.
vnI1mgfl.jpg


Hops on the left were at the end of the boil, on the right are reserved for dry hopping. They might not look like much but it's what's on the inside that counts and if you pull them open they are nice and sticky and smell great.
JblPiHSl.jpg


And the end of the boil with those wild hops in the kettle.
npzP8nRl.jpg
 
Feeling like distantmantra today, couple of friends brought me some great stuff from their trip to the East Coast. A new go-to glass, a 750ml growler of Hill Farmstead Abner, and this:

JK1sjt8.jpg


It's a couple months old so I'm guessing it was even hoppier before but damn this is delicious. Wish I could try more from them.

Now I just need to decide when to drink the Abner! Beyond excited to try it!
 
Welcome to Kentucky! We get quite good distribution for all of Founders stuff.

I have noticed that Founders is a bit pricier here than in CT, but it appears that their Imperial Stout is all the time here and not seasonal. Or at least is more common. That makes me very happy.

Enjoying the second of those 2012 Breakfast Stouts now. Mmmm. Always love this one.
 
Brew day completed. We hung out and made the wild hop pale ale. 10 lbs. of Maris Otter with an ounce of Columbus for bittering, then about half of the wild hops in the last 5 minutes of the boil, dumped right in the kettle. The other, dryer, half were reserved to dry hop for the last three days of fermentation. I just pitched the yeast, so now we wait.

At some point during the sparge.
http://i.imgur.com/ckLVvZkl.jpg

During the boil, with the bittering hops in the bag.
http://i.imgur.com/vnI1mgfl.jpg

Hops on the left were at the end of the boil, on the right are reserved for dry hopping. They might not look like much but it's what's on the inside that counts and if you pull them open they are nice and sticky and smell great.
http://i.imgur.com/JblPiHSl.jpg?1

And the end of the boil with those wild hops in the kettle.
[url]http://i.imgur.com/npzP8nRl.jpg?[/url][/QUOTE]Looks like those hops browned up a bit since picking them on Tuesday. Glad to see they were still viable despite.
 
Oh man, guys. This watermelon sour I made is tremendous. It's almost too sour on the first couple of sips. But once you ease into it, the watermelon creeps up around the edges so nice. It's also cleaner, by far, than any berliner I've had, which suits the somewhat subtle melon flavor.

Gravity didn't get quite as low as I expected, but I understand BB3 isn't a spectacular attenuator in primary. I probably could have left it another couple of weeks to dry out, but it was stable enough and the gravity samples were tasting too good for me not to just keg it.

If you didn't get started on this already, sefskillz, I now officially recommend it.
 
Stopped by Bottleworks tonight on the way to the hardware store.

APsjROt.jpg


Unabridged is a saison that Black Raven brewed with Stone. Released through BR so really small distribution.
 

Rei_Toei

Fclvat sbe Pnanqn, ru?
Over the last couple of months I had the chance to try three Belgian table beers - the regular stuff (Trappist) monks drink during lunch/dinner (lucky them). Apparently all the Trappists have them, although I don't know if the table beers from Orval/Achel/Rochefort are easily available. I've seen the Westvleteren table beer (#2) around a couple of times. The table beers I've tried:

  • Chimay Dorée
  • Westmalle Extra
  • St. Bernardus Extra 4
The Extra 4, being from St Bernardus, is based on a table beer recipe but has a different background, since the St Bernardus brewery isn't a monastery. It's also the least interesting of the three: it tastes like a (watery) Belgian white. Chimay's Doréé I really like: it has the typical rich Chimay flavor (I guess the yeast is the element that gives it that flavour?) all in all a really nice combination of low ABV and lots of flavour. The Westmalle Extra is fantastic. Just (well, almost) as great as the Westmalle Triple but half the ABV. Great stuff and I'm contemplating visiting the monastery if I end up close to Antwerp on a friday someday to get a case.
 

Milchjon

Member
Just don't talk shit about radlers and we're good. :)

The radler trend is funny to me. Around here, radler has always been the bastardisation of beer for people who don't drink beer. The Smirnoff Ice of beers. Kinda the opposite of what the whole craft/microbrew thing is about...
 
You guys should be posting this stuff in the (ghost town of a) homebrew thread!

We can geek out about stuff like gravity, argue about yeast strains and make up discussing decoction mashing.
You said it yourself, that place is a ghost town these days. Like two thirds of the posts on the last page of that thread are from me. I tried, but there's practically nobody in there besides you and me.
 
The radler trend is funny to me. Around here, radler has always been the bastardisation of beer for people who don't drink beer. The Smirnoff Ice of beers. Kinda the opposite of what the whole craft/microbrew thing is about...

Stiegl Radler caught on here a couple summers ago, so now craft breweries such as Hopworks and Sixpoint have jumped on the bandwagon with their own.

I've also had a couple Mexican radlers that a friend brought back from his trip to Cabo. Dos Equis does a lime radler which wasn't bad.

Over the last couple of months I had the chance to try three Belgian table beers - the regular stuff (Trappist) monks drink during lunch/dinner (lucky them). Apparently all the Trappists have them, although I don't know if the table beers from Orval/Achel/Rochefort are easily available. I've seen the Westvleteren table beer (#2) around a couple of times. The table beers I've tried:

  • Chimay Dorée
  • Westmalle Extra
  • St. Bernardus Extra 4
The Extra 4, being from St Bernardus, is based on a table beer recipe but has a different background, since the St Bernardus brewery isn't a monastery. It's also the least interesting of the three: it tastes like a (watery) Belgian white. Chimay's Doréé I really like: it has the typical rich Chimay flavor (I guess the yeast is the element that gives it that flavour?) all in all a really nice combination of low ABV and lots of flavour. The Westmalle Extra is fantastic. Just (well, almost) as great as the Westmalle Triple but half the ABV. Great stuff and I'm contemplating visiting the monastery if I end up close to Antwerp on a friday someday to get a case.

I've had the Westvleteren table beer before. Nothing super special, but very nice.
 
Stiegl Radler caught on here a couple summers ago, so now craft breweries such as Hopworks and Sixpoint have jumped on the bandwagon with their own.

I don't normally love radlers but the Sixpoint one sounded incredible. I'd be all over something that tart and refreshing in cans.

The worst kind I encountered was in France. The most common beer-related drink you'd see (guys and girls alike) was called a "monaco," which was a mixture of Kronenbourg 1664 (already vile) with sparkling lemonade and a splash of grenadine. Blegh.
 

Rei_Toei

Fclvat sbe Pnanqn, ru?
I don't normally love radlers but the Sixpoint one sounded incredible. I'd be all over something that tart and refreshing in cans.

The worst kind I encountered was in France. The most common beer-related drink you'd see (guys and girls alike) was called a "monaco," which was a mixture of Kronenbourg 1664 (already vile) with sparkling lemonade and a splash of grenadine. Blegh.

God, I tried it once out of curiosity. Never again. I'd rather drink bleach.
 
Anyone going to a Zwanze Day event on Saturday? It's in Australia for the first time and I'll be there (assuming the guy comes through with the tickets as promised)!

You said it yourself, that place is a ghost town these days. Like two thirds of the posts on the last page of that thread are from me. I tried, but there's practically nobody in there besides you and me.
Yeah, a bit of a shame really. This thread moves too fast for me to keep on top of much, so it's mostly drive-by stuff from me.

I don't normally love radlers but the Sixpoint one sounded incredible. I'd be all over something that tart and refreshing in cans.
I've had pretty good and pretty bad radlers. Never seen a decent craft brewery doing them though, so I'll keep an eye out for the Sixpoint one (we occasionally get their stuff in Australia). Last time I was in Paris I had a beer (can't remember which, likely Kronenbourg) with Picon in it. That made it somewhat more drinkable. I've also made radlers from my homebrew on hot nights, made for a fun evening. The Hofbrau ones in Munich aren't awful either, especially on a nice day in the Englischergarten.
 
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