The Beer Forum - It's really a thread but we're too drunk to notice. - Page 162

Kaubel · 02/07/11, 9:42 AM

If you find yourself becoming a hophead, give Victory beers a try. HopDevil and Prima Pils are among the best beers out there.

Tyrsis · 02/07/11, 12:23 PM

We used the Super Bowl as a good excuse to share some bottles (and get some Untappd - Untappd - A Fun, New, Mobile-Based Social Network for Beer Enthusiasts. Badges too.)

I tried:
Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme 2010 (thought it was okay.)
Nøgne Ø Red Horizon (17% ABV, brewed with a sake yeast. Good.)
Alesmith Barrel Aged Wee Heavy 2009 (Lordy, it's like drinking straight bourbon.)
Kiuchi Brewery Hitachino Nest Red Rice Ale (It was okay. Has something odd about it that I can't put my finger on.)
DFH Theobroma (This is supposed to have chocolate... but I have no idea where.)
Redhook Ale Brewery 8-4-1 Expedition (Pleasantly surprised by this. 9.5%, tastes like a barleywine without the heat)
Port Brewing Company Midnight Expression (a wonderful black lager, sessionable at 5% ABV)

A good Super Bowl Sunday.

Blotorch · 02/07/11, 7:30 PM

Long time reader, first time poster.

Tried this (Renaissance M.P.A) last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Not nearly as ball-kickingly hoppy as they suggested, in fact it was nicely balanced with good flavours and a nice smooth texture.

Coming from New Zealand I am working my way through the local brews first, but if you guys have any suggestions for some quality widespread craft beers I would be more than welcoming! (US/Euro exports etc...)

Apate · 02/07/11, 9:46 PM

Originally Posted by Kaubel

If you find yourself becoming a hophead, give Victory beers a try. HopDevil and Prima Pils are among the best beers out there.

Victory's Yakima Glory is great too; it's up there with Otter Creek Alpine Black for drinkable "American Black Ales." I'd love to get my hands on some of Victory's Wild Devil.

I've had quite a few interesting ones lately -
Mikkeller 1000 IBU - I know the 100 IBU is only on paper, but holy shit nonetheless. It's so far beyond Souther Tier Unearthly or Hopping Frog Mad Manalishi. This was a palate crushing beer that came as close to achieving balance as is probably possible.
Goose Island Pere Noir was good. I'm loving their Matilda like an American Orval. I need to buy more to age and sample every 6 months or so.The Bourbon County Brand Stout was great, but I also had some of Brooklyn's Black Ops which I liked better, probably due to less alcohol in its flavor.

Tyrsis · 02/10/11, 1:28 PM

Pliny the Younger hit San Diego. I'm on a quest to get some this week... I'll update later

Docjowles · 02/10/11, 1:36 PM

The bar in my area that used to get Younger went out of business, but the keg they'd get would kick in like half an hour. So uh, show up early to any tappings you hear about. I enjoyed the one pint I got a few years ago but the hype around that beer is a bit out of control.

Maybe I'm just not a Grand Master Beer Nerd but I kind of hate super limited beer releases in general. When I hear about people waiting in line all day to get one bottle of Dark Lord or whatever it just makes me

Do whatever makes you happy, but as much as I love beer, personally it just seems like a waste of time.

Tyrsis · 02/10/11, 5:56 PM

Originally Posted by Docjowles

The bar in my area that used to get Younger went out of business, but the keg they'd get would kick in like half an hour. So uh, show up early to any tappings you hear about. I enjoyed the one pint I got a few years ago but the hype around that beer is a bit out of control.

Maybe I'm just not a Grand Master Beer Nerd but I kind of hate super limited beer releases in general. When I hear about people waiting in line all day to get one bottle of Dark Lord or whatever it just makes me

Do whatever makes you happy, but as much as I love beer, personally it just seems like a waste of time.

Yeah, we're lucky here in that it's at ten different bars throughout the week, so I won't have to line up two hours in advance.

I'd also agree with the whole rare release thing. A part of me enjoys it - I used to be a big comic nerd back in the day. Getting that variant cover, or ashcan because I lined up at comic-con or whatever, that's fun.

Beer seems to be getting out of hand though. Reserve Society, bottles of Black Tuesday going on eBay for 300 bucks, price gouging in general (from breweries, no less.) I'm getting tired of paying $15 bucks for a 375ml corked bottle. Give me a damn 750ml at least.

Denogran · 02/10/11, 8:56 PM

Originally Posted by Tyrsis

Yeah, we're lucky here in that it's at ten different bars throughout the week, so I won't have to line up two hours in advance.

I'd also agree with the whole rare release thing. A part of me enjoys it - I used to be a big comic nerd back in the day. Getting that variant cover, or ashcan because I lined up at comic-con or whatever, that's fun.

Beer seems to be getting out of hand though. Reserve Society, bottles of Black Tuesday going on eBay for 300 bucks, price gouging in general (from breweries, no less.) I'm getting tired of paying $15 bucks for a 375ml corked bottle. Give me a damn 750ml at least.

Black Tuesday for $300? I should sell one my remaining bottles apparently.

I gotta say, I love the rare beers, they're sorta like achievements for me. Get to check them off the list. I've had PtY before, and it is damn good. I don't think it's worth waiting in line for at this point though. Toronado SD blew through their two kegs today, and I'm sure O'Briens is going to be a mess again this year( last year they killed their one keg in 45 min ).

Honestly, I also think beer prices are a huge steal still, even at $15/375ml. Compare to wine, and often for stuff that's not particularly more expensive. Plus, if you don't want to pay that much, there's still tons of really good beers that are really cheap. I mean, even my bottles of Black Tuesday cost me in the range of $30 each, for a beer that's stronger than wine and one of the more rare beers in the country. Try getting any other coveted alcohol at that price, ya know?

futured · 02/10/11, 10:33 PM

My local dive bar managed to get a keg of the Dogfish Head World Wide Stout on tap last weekend, complete with Randall for dry hopping goodness. Compared to other versions of the dogfish head beers I've had dry hopped (the 75 minute, 90 minute) I didn't find the taste of the beer changed as much compared to the normal version. The dry hopping did cut back on the sweetness of the beer little bit which for my preference was an improvement. In any case, this version was just as fantastic as the regular version.

nataku · 02/11/11, 1:32 PM

Originally Posted by Tyrsis

Yeah, we're lucky here in that it's at ten different bars throughout the week, so I won't have to line up two hours in advance.

I'd also agree with the whole rare release thing. A part of me enjoys it - I used to be a big comic nerd back in the day. Getting that variant cover, or ashcan because I lined up at comic-con or whatever, that's fun.

Beer seems to be getting out of hand though. Reserve Society, bottles of Black Tuesday going on eBay for 300 bucks, price gouging in general (from breweries, no less.) I'm getting tired of paying $15 bucks for a 375ml corked bottle. Give me a damn 750ml at least.

Since I live an hour's drive away from Santa Rosa, I went up to Russian River Brewing's pub last Saturday to have my fill of Younger. My friend and I got in line around 10:15 am and was able to get seated shortly after 11:00, but people were still in line when the pub filled up. Younger is definitely delicious, one of the smoothest, balanced and drinkable 10.5% beers that I've had.

Took the opportunity to buy a few bottles of Sanctification while I was there as well, though I haven't had a chance to open one yet.

bbies1973 · 02/12/11, 5:21 PM

One of the best beers I've had on this side of the ocean, is called Miner's Gold.

It's a Hefeweizen made in Helena, MT by Lewis & Clark brewery (formerly Sleeping Giant). I am not a fan of over-hopped beer, and IMO most micros tend to lean on excessive hops as the way to a good beer (or they know that they have to cover up a poor malt with something?).

Tyrsis · 02/14/11, 12:46 PM

PTY was good this year. It seemed more balanced to me... last year felt sweet and boozy. I got to the bar 2 hours early, lined up and had one 10oz glass. The keg blew in 22 minutes.

If anyone has access to Alpine beers, I highly recommend Exponential Hoppiness. It's a Triple IPA that's aged on oak. I'd actually liken it to PTY in a way, the oak is extremely subtle, and dulls the 11% ABV. Very good.

shadowane · 02/14/11, 3:44 PM

I've heard good things about that actually.

I just got back from San Francisco and had a great time. Visited Moylan's, Russian River, and Lagunitas plus Social Kitchen & Brewery in town. Got two glasses of Younger at Russian River (although I could have had way more) and thought it was delicious. Nice balance of hops and sweetness without either being overwhelming. Compunction, a sour made with plumcots (or pluots) was delicious as were the others. Russian River was the best but Lagunitas was really cool to hang out at. Their growler is just a ball jar though which sucked.

I also came home with Deschutes The Abyss, Midnight Sun Berserker, FiftyFifty Eclipse Evan Williams, North Coast Old Rasputin XII, Russian River Sanctification, and Alaskan Barleywine 2009. Looking forward to trying them at some point.

nataku · 02/15/11, 12:07 PM

I wish more Alpine beers made it out of the SD county area and up to Northern California. I hear good things about all of their IPA's, like Exponential/Pure Hoppiness, Nelson, and Duet.

Luckily, I was able to try Kern River's Citra DIPA this weekend during SF Beer Week. Very delicious grapefruit bomb, balanced sweetness and bitterness initially, but very long and lingering hop bitter finish. There are a lot of good DIPA's out there, folks. Don't worry if you can't try Younger.

Tyrsis · 02/15/11, 12:26 PM

Originally Posted by nataku

I wish more Alpine beers made it out of the SD county area and up to Northern California. I hear good things about all of their IPA's, like Exponential/Pure Hoppiness, Nelson, and Duet.

Luckily, I was able to try Kern River's Citra DIPA this weekend during SF Beer Week. Very delicious grapefruit bomb, balanced sweetness and bitterness initially, but very long and lingering hop bitter finish. There are a lot of good DIPA's out there, folks. Don't worry if you can't try Younger.

Yeah, Alpine is like my secret weapon when traveling. They are great beers to trade, because they're such a pain in the ass to get. When I was in Amsterdam, I was chatting with the bartender at In De Wildeman. He showed me all the American bottles he keeps after drinking; he puts them up in his window. Lo and behold, a couple Alpine bottles.

Oh and ditto on the Citra... I wish they bottled it