The flavor was subtle, but I think that's because of the specific chili recipe I used. The night before I tried the same recipe, but with Stone's Smoked Porter. (Check out the recipe here: Stone Smoked Porter Chili*|*TAP HUNTER)

The porter was a bit too overwhelming for my tastes, and I thought the AB worked much better.

Just had a 750ml bottle of Unibroue's Quatre-Centième. I really enjoyed the stuff. It had nice fruits, especially bananas and typical Unibroue yeasts. Was kind of sweet but not too much and had perfect carbonation.

I was under the impression that you didn't want to put beer bottles on thier sides like you would wine, as there usually isn't a cork that needs to stay moist. Also, I have been told that you do not want to have metal caps in constant contact with the beer inside for prolonged periods of time. Please correct me if I am wrong.

A friend of mine is going to take me here next weekend, and I already have a short list of beers I'm going to try.

- Lagunitas A Little Sumpin Extra Ale
- Avery Hog Heaven
- Avery Dugana IPA
- Dogfish Head Midas Touch

Is there anything else I absolutely shouldn't miss tasting before stumbling out?

I'd feel obligated to try the Stone Old Guardian, but that is a good bit of alcohol (esp. combined with the Midas Touch).

The New Belgium 2 Below sounds interesting also - I've enjoyed iced porters but never tried an iced ale, and New Belgium is a good brewery.

2 Below is pretty much "Fat Tire, except better". It's a good bit hoppier which balances out the overwhelming grainy flavor of Fat Tire. I like it a lot. Their Fall Wild Ale is on the list too, which is a love or hate beer. It's a brown ale "infected" with brettanomyces bacteria typically found in sour Belgian beers. My fiance loved the stuff, I was unimpressed.

Also from that list, Avery's The Czar is a really fucking good imperial stout.

I was using "lay down" to simply mean "put away for a while". There is some debate about this but I tend to agree with Beer Advocate's How To Store Beer FAQ (and you). In my mind, the point that gives the advantage to aging standing up is smaller surface area in contact with any residual oxygen in the bottle (although, really the amount of oxgen left in the head space in a bottle should be relatively little).

My bottles are all stored upright in cardboard boxes that are currently in a dark cupboard in my garage in Northern California (where the temperatures tend to hover around the ideal 55 F in the winter). I just started cellaring beers this winter, so come summertime I will need to figure something out to keep them chilled. I am also considering wax sealing all of the bottles that I am aging that aren't currently waxed to take out some leakage insurance.

I strongly recommend the Moose Drool Brown Ale if you enjoy browns. It's fantastic. If I went there I would probably go for the Chimay White as well. However that is simply because it isn't widely available where I am, if you can get it more easily than I then stick to the others.

Maudite is quite good, it's a Belgian Dark Strong from Unibroue in Quebec. It's 8%, so as Apate mentioned, too many like this and you may be having too much fun. I've had a couple from Lagunitas before, though not that one. I liked what I had, and they definitely have a good reputation.

I really liked the Little Sumpin Extra, had it a week ago bottled. I had the Midas Touch at DFH's brewpub, and wasn't blown away--it's one of those fun DFH experimental beers that isn't that polished, but is fun if you're in the mood for something odd.

With that said, GET THE DOUBLE BASTARD. This is coming from a Missourian (we don't have any Stone distributorships yet, so I'm a little overeager to get my hands on some of their stuff), but it is a phenomenal (albeit ass-kicking) beer.

Old Rasputin is heaven on tap. If North Coast Brewery paid me to market Old Rasputin, I couldn't say anything more then I already have. I wish they would pay me.

Double Bastard is excellent as well, if a bit of an acquired taste.