Beer |OT|

A beer bar nearby was having a Sante Adairius tap takeover for SF Beer Week so I decided to brave the crowd. Wasn't too bad, got there around when they tapped the kegs and only had to wait like 10 minutes. Got a pour of West Ashley and then Fruit Punch #1 (Cask 200 with raspberries and cherries). Both were fantastic, probably the best American wild ales I've ever had (though Allagash Farm to Face might be at the same level as West Ashley, honestly). So much fruit flavor but dry and tart and perfectly balanced and delicious. Pours were pretty damn expensive but I doubt I'll ever land bottles so I'm glad I tried them.
 
So my thoughts after finally trying Pliny The Younger.

It was more complex than Elder. I'm not really sure what extra ingredients they add to Younger (I'm really bad at picking up that sort of thing), but I'm certain they're there. It has about 2% more ABV, and I'm certain more IBU, but it's not super obvious because of those extra flavors. At the end of the day, I have to say I like Elder more. It's more stripped down compared to Younger, but I taste the hops more (which is my favorite part) and it was a bit smoother.

You can't talk about this beer without mentioning the experience. We got there about 6 am, 5 hours before opening. Last time we went was around opening time, and the wait was 9 hours and we left. I enjoyed my time chillin and chatting with people, but we were there for the beer. I can chill with friends at multiple breweries where there's no wait for their flasgship beer. They claim that this beer is expensive to make which is why they only have it available for 2 weeks per year...but they would certainly sell all of it if they made it more available. Elder bottles are always sold out in my and neighboring cities. You have to call stores in advance to see when it'll be in, and then you have to go in the morning to secure your 2 bottle limit. If you wait til after work times, it's gone. So I don't believe that they couldn't justify making this beer readily available if they really wanted to. I feel like they want to keep this hyped exclusive status that this beer has which really sucks.

All in all it's a good beer, but not worth it if you have been around the block with IPAs and you have strong favorites. I hope Russian River makes this beer more available so that the people that really love it don't have to keep going through this.
 
Jarnet87 said:
I like that KBS has less of a coffee flavor then Breakfast Stout. Im not a big coffee guy and I think that in most of the stouts/porters that have coffee in them it is too overpowering. I dont know if that is because they are putting a shit ton of it in the beer, or if its because coffee just comes out really strong.
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yeah, I am the opposite. I like it when it tastes like I am drinking a fresh cup of coffee.
 
Bacon said:
There is too much good beer out there that you don't have to wait in any line for. It's not worth the time.
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i mean, i totally get that pliny younger is the whale of IPA whales, but man, it wouldnt work for me talking to people in line, just gimme that sweet, sweet beer already,

was this Monk's in Philly?
 
My PtY experience was still the best. Bought a ticket for $8 the week before. Showed up the day the bottle shop was tapping the keg and got my pour, along with PtE. There was even enough of the beer for anyone else who showed up.
 
Bacon said:
There is too much good beer out there that you don't have to wait in any line for. It's not worth the time.
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I agree. I mean nothing wrong with making an event out of it with friends. I will gladly wait in line for Dark Lord Day, but there it is all about the bottle share in line and the festival in general. I don't really care much about the bottles of Dark Lord. I can see lining up for PtY not so much for the beer, but for the experience.

If you are regularly lineup up for beers though, you might need to reevaluate your priorities.
 
Well, another local store got Hopslam, and five times the amount the first place did. They won't hold, so hopefully some is left when my shift ends in 4 hours.
 
PhoncipleBone said:
Well, another local store got Hopslam, and five times the amount the first place did. They won't hold, so hopefully some is left when my shift ends in 4 hours.
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Just don't be like this guy:

jJkt0id.jpg
 
MacGurcules said:
So this guy is clearing out a competing liquor store to resell at another one, right? That's the only thing I can think of that comes close to justifying dropping like nine grand on that much Hopslam.
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The article says it's an employee of a bottle shop, but the owner of the shop says the guy just bought the stuff for himself and friends. Who the hell knows...

80 cases. Even splitting with friends how can you drink all of that? WTF...
 
distantmantra said:
The article says it's an employee of a bottle shop, but the owner of the shop says the guy just bought the stuff for himself and friends. Who the hell knows...

80 cases. Even splitting with friends how can you drink all of that? WTF...
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he either
A) resold at his store and kept some, which sounds like he didnt from the article
B) muled a bunch for trade
C) drank as much of said overrated IPA as he could himself, before all signs of hop had faded

and under any of the three circumstances, he is a douche, and so is giant eagle and so is whatever place dude works for. unfortunately this phenom is not local to the midwest, but is instead, sadly, nationwide in many cases, no pun.
 
codhand said:
he either
A) resold at his store and kept some, which sounds like he didnt from the article
B) muled a bunch for trade
C) drank as much of said overrated IPA as he could himself, before all signs of hop had faded

and under any of the three circumstances, he is a douche, and so is giant eagle and so is whatever place dude works for. unfortunately this phenom is not local to the midwest, but is instead, sadly, nationwide in many cases, no pun.
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He's a gigantic douche.

Strangely enough this really doesn't happen up here.
 
distantmantra said:
He's a gigantic douche.

Strangely enough this really doesn't happen up here.
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haha gigantic eagle douche, isnt Giant Eagle a grocery store? they probably dont know what the fuck a hop slam is

im sure youre right when it comes to real breathing humans in seattle, but places like beership.com specialize in selling many PNW, and other region's beers to whoever is willing to pay often absurd markups

http://www.beership.com/deschutes-the-abyss-imperial-stout-2012-22oz.html

32 in stock
 
Well, I did manage to get some Hopslam after work. The first place only got two cases and sold out super fast as I complained earlier. The other place across town got 10 cases and had about 6 left a few hours later when I got off. Thankfully, everywhere that got it here was limiting it to two 6 packs a person.

About to finish my first bottle now. Really good, but nowhere near the hype. And damn, for $20 a 6 pack it is expensive. At least it was a sixer and not a four pack. I am glad I tried it, shall enjoy each bottle, but don't feel compelled to ever buy a pack of it again.
 
Phonicle, I'm glad you got some, yeah, gotta always leave some beer for everyone, hell i coulda bought a case of gandhi bot last week when everyone was screaming for it, i only grabbed a couple 4pks and called it day

tantamount to the buying every single one type bs, is the retail stores that gouge for certain beers, once they realize they're popular. the consumers and the breweries themselves hate it, because they know that their loyal fans are being screwed.

it can be nice to sidestep the whole thing when you realize how many shelf turds are actually fantastic beers, that simply lack the hype.
 
PhoncipleBone said:
I have not tried a gose yet, but many of the clerks at the stores around here seem to like them, and they haven't steered me wrong yet.

One of them is really into sours, but I haven't dipped my toe into that either.
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I don't really remember which beer was my first sour, but I'd suggest picking up something like a Lindemans Gueuze Cuvée René to see what you think.
 
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