The Beer Forum - It's really a thread but we're too drunk to notice. - Page 161

nataku · 01/21/11, 1:12 PM

Originally Posted by Deris

Bell's Hopslam is out and about.......if you like big IPA's go get this - this is one of the grand daddies of them all. Delicious, but limited to find....

If you are in the NE - Troeg's Nugget Nectar....also delicious big juicy red imperial IPA type thing.

I should be getting some Hopslam, Nugget Nectar, and some Surly Furious and Abrasive soon, through some online vendors and friends. These have been getting a lot of attention over on BA so I can't wait to try them, and compare them to the old stand by IPA's I have access to here in California, like Pliney the Elder and Sculpin.

Apate · 01/21/11, 1:46 PM

Sculpin is available on the East Coast, fwiw. I see it pop on on tap every so often in Northern VA (Fireworks Pizza/Galaxy Hut/Rustico, not to mention Curchkey/RFD). Hopslam is certainly up there with the best; I managed to score a king's ransom of it this year. Racer 5 is also fantastic if you get it fresh enough.

Tyrsis · 01/25/11, 11:58 PM

Heading to Austin for the weekend. Anyone know of beer I can grab there that ISN'T distributed to California?

shadowane · 01/26/11, 8:14 AM

You may find Jester King stuff there.

edit: Seems that they are just opening up and bottles of the Black Metal Imperial Stout until mid February maybe. Actually, you said you'd be there this weekend. How about this? Opening party at brewery? More info

edit2: I know I've read of some other local stuff in Texas as well but can't find it at the moment. I'll post again if I come across anything.

Zulrai · 01/26/11, 3:19 PM

The Austin area has two of my favorites, 512 Brewery and Real Ale (granted Real Ale isn't really in Austin but they distribute plenty there). 512's Pecan Porter is very popular and I'm a big fan of Real Ale's current seasonal, Coffee Porter. Independence is also down there but I've never had anything they produce.

(Shadowane's comment reminds me that I need to keep track of Jester King in the coming months. Hopefully JK can distribute something up to the DFW area within the year.)

You'll also find Saint Arnold (out of Houston; they've got plenty of distribution throughout Texas). You might be able to find Rahr & Sons (out of Fort Worth) but it could require a search. They've increased distribution in the Austin/San Antonio direction but they've been rebuilding a bit after a roof collapse last year; they've been coming back strong though.

If by luck you find a tap of Franconia somewhere down there (Ginger Man might be the best shot), grab a pint. It is a small brewery in DFW (McKinney). They don't have much presence down there but I've never been disappointed by their beer. Hell, if anything I just want them to get the business

.

I'm sure there's more you can find down in Austin, especially from brewpubs that can only sell their goods in house, but that's outside my immediately pool of knowledge.

Tyrsis · 01/30/11, 3:31 AM

I stayed at the W, so Ginger Man was right there. Nice little place, very chill on a Friday night.

Tyrsis · 02/02/11, 12:27 PM

For those of us on the West Coast (and I think in Phillly?) Pliny the Younger is almost upon us...
In other news, I finally found Firestone Walker Double Jack DIPA. I think I over-hyped it - it's sickly sweet, I couldn't finish the bomber. Bleh

shadowane · 02/02/11, 3:32 PM

Yep, Philly will get a couple sixtels of Younger the week of Feb. 14th. They'll pop up sporadically and mostly be a shitshow. I'm going to be at Russian River next Friday I think and I'm hoping it'll still be available that day.

On a separate note, I had a Dark Horse Too Cream Stout last night and thought it was delicious. Mild coffee flavors and an excellent body made it really good drinking. Almost reminded me of a mocha stout since there were hints of chocolate. I really like how Dark Horse handles their coffee beers. It's not so in your face compared to most others I've had.

Apate · 02/02/11, 3:35 PM

Interesting - I loved the Double Jack. Being on the East Coast, a fresh bottle of that was better than any of the Union Jack that I've been able to get my hands on - even for an IPA, that stuff must age horribly to win so many awards and taste the way it did when I had it. I'm on an insane DIPA kick, too. And, on that note, Swamp Ape is not very good. The hop flavor is nice, but everything else about it is pretty bad.

Enemo · 02/05/11, 6:30 AM

If you can find it, the best beer I've ever had is called The Abyss and it's brewed in the Deschutes Brewery in Oregon. The town I grew up in is big on micro-brewing, and when the local bar got in a shipment of this stuff it was gone in about an hour. Every time I see Beerfest and they talk about their secret recipe being the most delicious beer ever created, I can only imagine they accidentally made Abyss.

shadowane · 02/05/11, 9:29 AM

I have a bottle of that waiting for me in San Francisco that I'm picking up next week. I don't know when I'll open it, but I'm excited to have one. Heard great things about it. Hoping I'll stumble across it on draft somewhere but that would take a lot of luck.

Tyrsis · 02/05/11, 3:47 PM

Originally Posted by shadowane

I have a bottle of that waiting for me in San Francisco that I'm picking up next week. I don't know when I'll open it, but I'm excited to have one. Heard great things about it. Hoping I'll stumble across it on draft somewhere but that would take a lot of luck.

It's always such a pain to find in bottles, but I've had it on draft, it's great. Also, try Jubel. (jubelale? I forget.)

Docjowles · 02/05/11, 6:06 PM

Originally Posted by Tyrsis

It's always such a pain to find in bottles, but I've had it on draft, it's great. Also, try Jubel. (jubelale? I forget.)

Jubelale, yeah. It's alright, reminds me of their Mirror Pond on steroids. For some reason my local liquor store is practically giving it away (like $11 for a 12 pack, must need to clear shelf space) so yeah I am drinking a bit of it

shadowane · 02/06/11, 10:03 AM

If I can find it, I'll give it a try. I like Christmas Ales and have heard good things about Jubelale. I do have a bottle of Jubel 2010 (aka Super Jubel) on my shelf which I've had once and it also was really good.

As for Abyss, previous years it apparently wasn't nearly as hard to find bottles. I got lucky this year that a store I know about still had some left and was willing to hold them for me.

molinator11 · 02/06/11, 6:35 PM

Originally Posted by Apate

Interesting - I loved the Double Jack. Being on the East Coast, a fresh bottle of that was better than any of the Union Jack that I've been able to get my hands on - even for an IPA, that stuff must age horribly to win so many awards and taste the way it did when I had it. I'm on an insane DIPA kick, too. And, on that note, Swamp Ape is not very good. The hop flavor is nice, but everything else about it is pretty bad.

I don't know where you're located, but depending Sierra Nevada Torpdeo Extra IPA could be an amazing deal or a good one. I'm on the east coast so the prices are around 9$ per six pack. Though a little expensive, I still find them well worth the price.

If you're on the west coast (closer to Sierra Nevada's brewers of course) then it wouldn't hurt to give them a try if you haven't already. I never had a real IPA before I tasted Torpedo, but once I warmed up to the extra bitter taste I was hooked due to the powerful flavor. It's about 70 on the IBU scale if I recall, and a 7.2% ABV.

Though I don't have much experience with other IPAs, Torpedo is truly my favorite beer at the moment. I never had a favorite before it, so hopefully that's enough recommendation.

EDIT: Never mind, did a thread search. I guess you have checked it out.

Here's to recommending it to anyone else reading.