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Beer |OT|
- Thread starter Snuggles
- Start date
truth
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Bless those monks. Doing god's work.
distantmantra
Member
Not even just the monks. Without the Belgians we wouldn't have lambic. Crazy just how few lambic makers are still around compared to even 60 years ago.
There is more to Belgian beer than a few monestaries.
distantmantra
Member
Something I need to tell myself less and less. So much in my garage cellar.
I have 2 bottles left in the fridge...
I need to find me some of that Dune Fruit next, sounds wonderful.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Grabbed four bottles of W00tstout today. Three to drink ASAP and one to age. That combined with the Enjoy After 7-4-16 in the closet upstairs, I am finally trying aging stuff at home.
It is my first time attempting this, so I have a question. The closet always seems a bit cool compared to the bedroom it is in, so putting the bottles in a box and tucked away, far from light would work fairly well for aging, right?
It is my first time attempting this, so I have a question. The closet always seems a bit cool compared to the bedroom it is in, so putting the bottles in a box and tucked away, far from light would work fairly well for aging, right?
PhoncipleBone
Banned
That is how I have been. Lucking into 4 packs of stouts that have been sitting on the shelf for a year or two. I have one can left from Ten Fidy that was canned in September 2013, and then one can from October 2014 that I came across the last few weeks. I am holding out for some 2015 cans to do all three in one night.
The main beer guy at Liquor Barn was saying they have a keg of Founders Imperial Stout that they have kept for about a year or more in the back that they will put on the growler bar soon. You know I am going to dive into that like there is no tomorrow.
As for aging now, I managed to get the last bottle of Enjoy After the other week and I decided to give aging a whirl finally. I figured if I can find enough space in a small closet to hold a wine box then I can fill it with some beer bottles for a year or so and test stuff next year. If it is out of sight I will forget it is there and not dip into it.
I don't think I have the patience to age something two years though. Hell, I don't know if I do to age for one year.
newdayrocks
Member
Enjoying a 2014 bottle of Uinta Brewing's Labyrinth tonight. So damn good.
distantmantra
Member
My garage is slightly below grade so it stays cool year round. I've got an old fridge that input hoppy stuff in and then boxes of saisons, lambics, barrel aged stouts, etc.
Dune Fruit was good, but don't go out of your way. I guess it was a brewery only release. The guy I traded with offers it, I had no clue about it prior. The prickly pear is pretty earthy vegetal to begin with so the Berlinerweisse base blends with it. Tasty but not super unique.
Dune Fruit was good, but don't go out of your way. I guess it was a brewery only release. The guy I traded with offers it, I had no clue about it prior. The prickly pear is pretty earthy vegetal to begin with so the Berlinerweisse base blends with it. Tasty but not super unique.
I've never gone super out of my way for beer tbh. I have yet to even see it in Columbus. But I'm keeping a look out for it.
distantmantra
Member
It's a New Jersey brewery only release.
Fuuuuck. Well I may need to start trading with people.
distantmantra
Member
It was just a random beer the guy I traded with offered up. It tasted like any other good berlinerweisse, the fruit didn't add much.
MacGurcules
Member
I'm putting my imperial stout and my watermelon sour into competition at the local fair tomorrow. Wish me luck, guys.
MacGurcules
Member
Well, I had to run a little of each through my bottle filler to prime the lines, so of course I tried the blend of the two. Can't really say they mesh very well.
I deliberately picked these two to enter because they're basically opposites. In a completely open competition, I figure that's the best way to cover my bases.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Dipping into the W00tstout 3.0 now. Either my tastes are different now (most likely), or this version is not as good as the older versions.
It is still damn yummy, but it doesn't seem as smooth as the older versions.
However, as this thing warms up the bourbon aging flavor is coming in stronger. I really like that.
It is still damn yummy, but it doesn't seem as smooth as the older versions.
However, as this thing warms up the bourbon aging flavor is coming in stronger. I really like that.
MacGurcules
Member
So, yeah, it worked out.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Congrats. And Peoria? Only a couple hours from where my in laws live. Perhaps next time my wife and I visit them we can meet for a beer in Chicago one night.
MacGurcules
Member
Thanks. Chicago is like a three hour trip for me, but might be I could work it out. I could stand to have an excuse to visit a couple more breweries up that way.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
It is seriously more a question of when my wife and I visit her parents. They are in Palatine, but that is still a trip we need to plan since we are in KY now.
MacGurcules
Member
Sure, I know where that is. My girlfriend's folks live up that way. Send me a message next time you're coming through the area.
MacGurcules
Member
Just been at it for some years now. Started out with pre-packed ingredient kits from the liquor store and just got a taste for the hobby. From there just practice and plenty of reading.
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Echoes many things I have read and heard. Start with pre made kits, then start expanding from there.
I really need to start experimenting on brewing soon. It seems like fun.
Other than not ruining flavor, isn't the key to prevent unwanted bacteria from entering the system?
MacGurcules
Member
Yeah, more or less. Proper cleaning is the most important ingredient in making good beer. Wild microbes can sour or spoil good beer if they sneak their way in unintentionally.
After that, it's pretty much all about treating your yeast right. There's a saying, "Brewers make wort. Yeast make beer." Once you get the hang of managing fermentation well, the sky's the limit.
distantmantra
Member
InBev was looking to buy them. This is fine.
Another California brewery is still being targeted for acquisition by the big guys. Ugh.
If that was the alternative this is definitely the better scenario.
Hopefully not one I care about!
sharkmuncher
Member
This was my experience as well. If I were to do it again, I'd suggest finding a local homebrew club and hang out and watch some other brewers brew and get suggestions for what works. If you show up with a bomber or 6 pack of decent beers, I don't know a single homebrewer who would mind someone wanting to get into the hobby hanging out for a bit and asking questions.
One caveat to this is that some brewers have really bad habits based on myth. Just don't limit yourself to one process and don't be afraid to question things. Even if they make amazing beer.
MacGurcules
Member
Agreed. Duvel seems to be treating Ommegang and Boulevard pretty well. I don't see any reason Firestone Walker would be mishandled.
Rest
All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
I was reading some industry research that said that people from 18-24 in the early 90s tended to prefer beer to any other alcohol. That mini boom could probably be attributed to that group before they had children, and the bust to the time that they did. This resurgence could also be because those people now have kids that are out of the house, or at least old enough not to need constant supervision, so the parents can drink more. Plus, they have careers, so they can afford more varied and more expensive beer.
Maybe this means I'll finally be able to try Parabola.
... Found a place that has Sunday Morning on draft for growler fills...Not sure if 16 bucks is too much for 32 oz. But apparently this place utilizes some sort of technology to make the fills last up to three months unopened.
They also have Lagunitas CitruSinesis for 8.
And this new brew by Brew Kettle called El Lupolo Libre.
DTLIONS1013
Member
I'll be in Pittsburgh tomorrow, anything I need to pick up?
i feel so spoiled living in SD. Alesmith's BBA Speedway Stout is probably the first BBA stout I've ever had (sometime last year) and I've had so many others after it. I had some today on draft at their tasting room and I still consider it the best I've ever had, they've truly perfected this style.
interesting theory. i tend to think we had way too many places getting in over their head and riding the wave, i see that happening now. lots of places open a brewery and their beers hit the shelf, and sit, and sit, and sit....
alternatively you have breweries that open and their beers sell primarily because they are local, and not due to the fact that they are producing a quality product.
This is probably way too late but I did some research for you on local breweries and it's actually pretty disappointing, but these are the ones that looked decent:
The Brew Gentleman
Tired Hands
Barren Hill Brewery
Something Wicked
Beaver Brewing
Sly Fox Brewing
Voodoo Brewing
Yards Brewing
Helltown Brewing
Full Pint Brewing
Selin's Grove Brewing
Sprague Farm Brewing
Philadelphia Brewing Company
Neshaminy Creek Brewing
Dem Great Lakes exclusives!... Also heard some good things about Platform.
distantmantra
Member
Tired Hands makes fantastic beer. Definitely worth checking out.
cool, yeah will be on a steady diet of GLs most likely...
ill keep an eye out for Platform
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Whaaaaaaa?
yeah im getting cognac jeebus next weekish, Pappy jeebus further down the line....was pretty happy about the news
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Oh, I must get a hold of these. They sound amazing.
Grabbed two limited run bottles from Country Boy this afternoon. One is Warehouse Experiment 3, which is a bourbon barrel aged stout. The other is Hailes Bailes Gruit (Barrel Aged), which sounded really weird because of the lemon peel and juniper berries. Worth a shot.
And I am a sucker for the releases where it is just a stamp with the bottle date and a computer label with the name. Nothing fancy at all since they made so few of them.
EDIT: I had my last bomber of W00tstout 3.0 earlier (one in the closet to age a bit), but I still had a bottle of Yuengling Black and Tan in the fridge that my father in law brought when he visited. Ugh. I will hate drink the rest of this rather than waste it.