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White Latern isn't bad it's more a cold weather wheat
It's kinda got a pepper spice taste to it
White Latern isn't bad it's more a cold weather wheat
It's kinda got a pepper spice taste to it
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Had this a while back, really one of the stranger beers i've had. A little bitter, not really worth seeking out imo
You had to drink this fresh. It was phenomenal fresh. I had it 2 months after trying it initially and it tasted really off
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PJUICE, ten fidy is usually pretty boozy for me too. But thats just initially. After a couple sips, it's smooth sailing. IPAs work in the same fashion. But that just might be my taste buds.
JJ Watt, I would drink allagash white every day if it was available to me. And Founders BFS yikes.. No offense to Sam Adams, but I would make each trip to TW a very easy one. I haven;'t had a bad Harpoon beer either. All very solid when I had some two summers back out of a mixed 12 pack.
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And in another change of plans for the weekend, we decided not to attend a brewfest ($25-$40 per person) and in turn made a decision to spend that money locally at a number of breweries/restaurants.
La Cumbre Brewery was the showcase attraction. As a mug club member, I generally know what's better than the rest. But was quite surprised by their selection of seasonals.
First up was a VMO Octoberfest.. Marked at 4.5% ABV, this one was 1-2% ABV lower than almost every Octoberfest style beer so I had an idea that this one would be quite different. Very light on the palette in almost every facette. A 20 oz mug went down like nothing.. As I thought about how easy it was to drink, I began to think how "session" friendly other Octoberfest beers call themselves. But soon after a 6 pack, you are passed out in someones car. So I do tend to appreciate what was presented here.
Secondly, I was drawn into a beer called Project Dank, who had a IBU rating of ALOT... With a ABV of 7.5%, I found this one very drinkable. There was a bit of sweetness that balanced out the entire drink. Tropical fruit flavors all over the place. I thought this one was a bit more drinkable than their marquee 100 IBU normal IPA. For me, the drinkability was much closer to a Stone Enjoy By or a Lagunitas Sucks, where the IBU isn't felt immediately.
Third beer was a Stout, which is billed as being brewed with 7 types of grain. A true meal in your mouth... 7% ABV just chalked full of chocolate malt and a velvety texture.. Quality stuff here. Founder's BFS is something else. But this is close.
Their most popular beer, elevated IPA, I was able to send out to a fellow NTer in can form just recently.. Check it out guys, I am open to help anyone out there..
That one I was able to catch a pint at a local bar a bit later into the night, along with another LC beer, a Slice of Hefen. Just a quality Hefeweizen similar in taste to Sierra Nevadas' Kellerweis... I ended up taking home 3 growlers for the weekend plus my 5 prior pint purchases, which had us still under the brewfest budget. Damn, we're good. We pretty much had a LC tap takeover of our own for the weekend... Our three growler take homes, a brand new brown ale ( think a half stout- half amber beer just barely full of any full flavor.. I prefer the full flavors 100% but my dad enjoys the subtle flavors of a half stout). 6.3% brown doesnt hurt...Along with the brown, I picked up what I almost always pick up, a half gallon of elevated IPA.... In better news for yeahitsRUST, I did a side by side with some freshly canned IPA and some fresh draft growler IPA, and found just a minimal difference between the two. The draft IPA had just a slight hint less of a pungent hop taste. It seems like many times a IPA in a can will create some flavors of its own... I also noticed that the canned version was a touch cloudier in appearance. I even went as far as tasting them both blindly without knowing what I was tasting. 100% of the time during the blight tasting, the draft version had a touch more bit of drinkability, due to the hop taste. Something about the 'swallow' led to more of a crisp finish on the draft version.. If i had to rate one verse the other, a 98/100 on the draft version, with a fresh canned version sitting very close to 97. I had a family member trick me by not even switching out the beer as I tasted "both", and soon realized if not for the apperance, they would be near identicals.
Our last growler was a pumpkin beer. I surprised myself here. With as good as their other beers have been (heck I tried over 5 Saturday in pint form at various places over a half day span), I found myself intrigued with a pumpkin beer. At 7.5%, this pumpkin beer had everything I had really wanted out of this style of beer. The bitterness was minimal to almost non existent. There was quite a bit of pumpkin spice aroma, followed with a warm winter spice finish. Maybe my beer taste is becoming a bit moody, but I was impressed...
Bottom line if you dont want to read all this... Shop and drink Local. You will find a place eventually that gets it all right and leaves you blown away.. Instead of $120 spent on a brewfest full of bottled beers I have already had, half that was spent for a night of fun and a weekend full of growlers for our enjoyment...
JJ Watt, I would drink allagash white every day if it was available to me. And Founders BFS yikes.. No offense to Sam Adams, but I would make each trip to TW a very easy one. I haven;'t had a bad Harpoon beer either. All very solid when I had some two summers back out of a mixed 12 pack.
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And in another change of plans for the weekend, we decided not to attend a brewfest ($25-$40 per person) and in turn made a decision to spend that money locally at a number of breweries/restaurants.
La Cumbre Brewery was the showcase attraction. As a mug club member, I generally know what's better than the rest. But was quite surprised by their selection of seasonals.
First up was a VMO Octoberfest.. Marked at 4.5% ABV, this one was 1-2% ABV lower than almost every Octoberfest style beer so I had an idea that this one would be quite different. Very light on the palette in almost every facette. A 20 oz mug went down like nothing.. As I thought about how easy it was to drink, I began to think how "session" friendly other Octoberfest beers call themselves. But soon after a 6 pack, you are passed out in someones car. So I do tend to appreciate what was presented here.
Secondly, I was drawn into a beer called Project Dank, who had a IBU rating of ALOT... With a ABV of 7.5%, I found this one very drinkable. There was a bit of sweetness that balanced out the entire drink. Tropical fruit flavors all over the place. I thought this one was a bit more drinkable than their marquee 100 IBU normal IPA. For me, the drinkability was much closer to a Stone Enjoy By or a Lagunitas Sucks, where the IBU isn't felt immediately.
Third beer was a Stout, which is billed as being brewed with 7 types of grain. A true meal in your mouth... 7% ABV just chalked full of chocolate malt and a velvety texture.. Quality stuff here. Founder's BFS is something else. But this is close.
Their most popular beer, elevated IPA, I was able to send out to a fellow NTer in can form just recently.. Check it out guys, I am open to help anyone out there..
That one I was able to catch a pint at a local bar a bit later into the night, along with another LC beer, a Slice of Hefen. Just a quality Hefeweizen similar in taste to Sierra Nevadas' Kellerweis... I ended up taking home 3 growlers for the weekend plus my 5 prior pint purchases, which had us still under the brewfest budget. Damn, we're good. We pretty much had a LC tap takeover of our own for the weekend... Our three growler take homes, a brand new brown ale ( think a half stout- half amber beer just barely full of any full flavor.. I prefer the full flavors 100% but my dad enjoys the subtle flavors of a half stout). 6.3% brown doesnt hurt...Along with the brown, I picked up what I almost always pick up, a half gallon of elevated IPA.... In better news for yeahitsRUST, I did a side by side with some freshly canned IPA and some fresh draft growler IPA, and found just a minimal difference between the two. The draft IPA had just a slight hint less of a pungent hop taste. It seems like many times a IPA in a can will create some flavors of its own... I also noticed that the canned version was a touch cloudier in appearance. I even went as far as tasting them both blindly without knowing what I was tasting. 100% of the time during the blight tasting, the draft version had a touch more bit of drinkability, due to the hop taste. Something about the 'swallow' led to more of a crisp finish on the draft version.. If i had to rate one verse the other, a 98/100 on the draft version, with a fresh canned version sitting very close to 97. I had a family member trick me by not even switching out the beer as I tasted "both", and soon realized if not for the apperance, they would be near identicals.
Our last growler was a pumpkin beer. I surprised myself here. With as good as their other beers have been (heck I tried over 5 Saturday in pint form at various places over a half day span), I found myself intrigued with a pumpkin beer. At 7.5%, this pumpkin beer had everything I had really wanted out of this style of beer. The bitterness was minimal to almost non existent. There was quite a bit of pumpkin spice aroma, followed with a warm winter spice finish. Maybe my beer taste is becoming a bit moody, but I was impressed...
Bottom line if you dont want to read all this... Shop and drink Local. You will find a place eventually that gets it all right and leaves you blown away.. Instead of $120 spent on a brewfest full of bottled beers I have already had, half that was spent for a night of fun and a weekend full of growlers for our enjoyment...
DeadsetAce
Supporter
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thanks, man +1
DeadsetAce
Supporter
- 107,166
- 53,367
word. thanks, JJ 
+0
+0
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After finding out I got A's on my Fundamentals of Nursing and Health Assessment tests, I decided a celebration was in order. Randomly found this at the beer distributor today and figured I'd give it a go. I've had Bois once before, which is their 5th anniversary beer. Fruet is their 4th anniversary beer. It's an old ale aged in bourbon barrels. This series is special because they use the solera method to make this beer. This beer pours an extremely dark brown (virtually black) with a fizzy head that dissipates almost immediately. Huge scents of caramel, molasses, toffee, and bourbon are filling the room. The taste is similar, but with notes of vanilla, coconut, and dark fruits. For a beer that's 15.5% ABV, this is dangerously drinkable. When I drank Bois fresh back in June it was an extremely hot beer. However, after one year of aging Fruet is pretty mellow. Still boozy, but nowhere near what fresh Bois was. Overall, this beer is absolutely fantastic. The only thing holding this back from being one of my favorites is the price ($32 for the bottle!
). Either way, glad I held onto a bottle of Bois to age. Can't wait to see how it tastes with a few years under its belt. 9.9/10
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After finding out I got A's on my Fundamentals of Nursing and Health Assessment tests, I decided a celebration was in order. Randomly found this at the beer distributor today and figured I'd give it a go. I've had Bois once before, which is their 5th anniversary beer. Fruet is their 4th anniversary beer. It's an old ale aged in bourbon barrels. This series is special because they use the solera method to make this beer. This beer pours an extremely dark brown (virtually black) with a fizzy head that dissipates almost immediately. Huge scents of caramel, molasses, toffee, and bourbon are filling the room. The taste is similar, but with notes of vanilla, coconut, and dark fruits. For a beer that's 15.5% ABV, this is dangerously drinkable. When I drank Bois fresh back in June it was an extremely hot beer. However, after one year of aging Fruet is pretty mellow. Still boozy, but nowhere near what fresh Bois was. Overall, this beer is absolutely fantastic. The only thing holding this back from being one of my favorites is the price ($32 for the bottle! :x ). Either way, glad I held onto a bottle of Bois to age. Can't wait to see how it tastes with a few years under its belt. 9.9/10
Still have mine sitting in the closet. Can't wait to pop it.
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Two goodies showed up on my doorstep this afternoon:
Fridge is starting to look stacked:
Fridge is starting to look stacked:
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Ever since I made a trip to Boston last year, I get a Harpoon 6 pack whenever I spot one, and I found out these were in a store by my uncle's spot and he came through:
My cold cellar now consists of these, and I've barely had any since April because of this stupid diet lol
My cold cellar now consists of these, and I've barely had any since April because of this stupid diet lol
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Drinking this year's batch of FBS right now. I've come to the conclusion that drinking this beer cold is an absolute no-no. Took my first sip of it straight out of the fridge and was not pleased. However, it becomes significantly better once it's at or near room temperature.
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Had Velvet Merkin on Saturday. Smooooooooth and super drinkable with a hint bourboney-ness to it. Just had the the big brother parabola (2012) now, big difference upfront - much stronger bourbon flavor and much more a sipping beer. not something you want to kill a bomber by yourself.
Stouts in general you want to be closer to room temp. Recommendation: pull a bottle from the fridge, let it sit out for 5 minutes, pour, drink every few minutes and experience the spectrum of flavors at each temp. Personally, i prefer all my beers to be cooler than room temp. I've never had FBS (who want to trade?), but I can't imagine it being :x at any temp
Stouts in general you want to be closer to room temp. Recommendation: pull a bottle from the fridge, let it sit out for 5 minutes, pour, drink every few minutes and experience the spectrum of flavors at each temp. Personally, i prefer all my beers to be cooler than room temp. I've never had FBS (who want to trade?), but I can't imagine it being :x at any temp
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Just got word Ten Fidy is at a local beer store... Might have stop through and see how it compares to FBS
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This is me personally, but I always like my stouts a little cooler than room temp. Cold is a no no. Tastes like thick cough syrup. Chewing through a beer happens when a stout is chilled.
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Big shouts out to Wally!!! Le Cumbre did not disappoint! The packaging was legit as well. No dents in the box whatsoever.
Huge hops smell from the can. He sent me two different 4 packs, I tried the freshest one first. Boy was I blown away. This stuff is golden. Has a dry and hoppy taste, which I love. I took Wallys advice and didn't let them sit long. I drank 4 in a row with a nice flank steak.
I brought the last four with me on my work trip and if I didn't have to be up at 5am tomorrow I would drink them all right now. If you have access to this consider youself lucky!
First Le Cumbre pour in the Marble Brewing glass he sent as well! Thanks Wally, will definitely want more of this!
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comparison ford, you need a drinking buddy on those bombers?
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Newbs24, I'd say you may be underwhelmed. Ten Fidy is a different beast... You get a deep fruit raisin smell right away with ten fidy, and the alcohol and initial thickness of the beer is just devastating.. FBS is delicate and smooth all the way through.. A Stone RIS comes a touch closer to FBS IMHO... For what each one is on their own, they are outstanding beers.
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yeahitsRUST, Nice tonic glass. I believe it's an imperial pint, so it's perfect for a LC 16 oz pour. I'm glad my own hype levels translated over. I ramble most of the time. That elevated IPA was my gateway IPA back 2 years ago (the breweries been around 3). Before that time, 90% of the IPAs I tasted were off. I really had a slogan, IPA- Stay Away. It all changed when I checked that place out and had it on draft. My taste buds were awakened. It hasn't been the same since.... Dangerously drinkable too. ps, just a page back I rambled on about how a draft LC tasted very close to the canned. Canned held in a bit more hop mustiness, if that makes sense. But it was CLOSE.
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For this week, I haven't quite gotten to the pumpkin growler, but I did find a Weihenstephaner Vitus bottle that I purchased a few weeks back
Light, yeasty, a bit of a hefeweizen banana taste, all mixed into a 7.7% ABV. High rated beer online. Worth it 100%
Their lighter offering, Hefeweissbier, is just stellar. I am unlucky that this comes in a 6 pack vs. the Vitus in a 17 oz. bottle because this hefe is just too nice to end a night. Sweet, bubbly, crisp are three words I can describe this beer with. If you like that banana taste, it goes down even better. I realize I am revisiting these beers many many times but it's for good reason... Darn good beers
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Newbs24, I'd say you may be underwhelmed. Ten Fidy is a different beast... You get a deep fruit raisin smell right away with ten fidy, and the alcohol and initial thickness of the beer is just devastating.. FBS is delicate and smooth all the way through.. A Stone RIS comes a touch closer to FBS IMHO... For what each one is on their own, they are outstanding beers.
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yeahitsRUST, Nice tonic glass. I believe it's an imperial pint, so it's perfect for a LC 16 oz pour. I'm glad my own hype levels translated over. I ramble most of the time. That elevated IPA was my gateway IPA back 2 years ago (the breweries been around 3). Before that time, 90% of the IPAs I tasted were off. I really had a slogan, IPA- Stay Away. It all changed when I checked that place out and had it on draft. My taste buds were awakened. It hasn't been the same since.... Dangerously drinkable too. ps, just a page back I rambled on about how a draft LC tasted very close to the canned. Canned held in a bit more hop mustiness, if that makes sense. But it was CLOSE.
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For this week, I haven't quite gotten to the pumpkin growler, but I did find a Weihenstephaner Vitus bottle that I purchased a few weeks back
Light, yeasty, a bit of a hefeweizen banana taste, all mixed into a 7.7% ABV. High rated beer online. Worth it 100%
Their lighter offering, Hefeweissbier, is just stellar. I am unlucky that this comes in a 6 pack vs. the Vitus in a 17 oz. bottle because this hefe is just too nice to end a night. Sweet, bubbly, crisp are three words I can describe this beer with. If you like that banana taste, it goes down even better. I realize I am revisiting these beers many many times but it's for good reason... Darn good beers
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Cracked these open for my brother's birthday (missed out on the velvet merkin). Had the sour from the bruery and the vanilla shake. The bruery one had nice sour wheat flavors, but overall hottenroth is a similar beer for a much better price. The vanilla shake was great, by far the best beer i've had from mikkeller, huge notes of vanilla with decent espresso flavors, would be interesting to see what it would taste like if it were lighter than 13%.
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I usually don't like new beers. I tried two different types of sam adams last week and they were gross to me, october fest and something else.
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Local bottle shop finally got six packs of night owl in, copped last night. Straight pumpkin pie. Probably my favorite pumpkin next to DFH Punkin Ale
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Went a bit experimental this evening..
Double IPA blind tasting half a year in the making...
I had some older bottles of Lagunitas Sucks circa March 2013, Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA circa March 2013, Founder's Double Trouble circa unknown, and some VIctory Hop Wallop circa March 2013. I didnt really want to buy anything truly fresh to skew my results too much
Ramblings in the spoiler
Rankings
1 and 2. Lagunitas Sucks and Hop Wallop. Fresh, both of these had really high hop counts. So to see that diminish sucked. but it left enough hops to still give it a quality bite.
3 DFH- Even as a fresh beer, its never been a hop bomb. It became a malt forward ale with small hints of hops
4 DT- Hard to explain what we experienced here... I hate odd aftertastes in my beer. This one had one, badly.
Double IPA blind tasting half a year in the making...
I had some older bottles of Lagunitas Sucks circa March 2013, Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA circa March 2013, Founder's Double Trouble circa unknown, and some VIctory Hop Wallop circa March 2013. I didnt really want to buy anything truly fresh to skew my results too much
Ramblings in the spoiler
Right off the bat, Lagunitas Sucks sat so long that it apparently created its own trub bed of hop particles.. Floaties galore. I knew right away which beer was LS since I saw the particles as I carried the bottles to the table.. The others weren't so easy... One of them had this truly off putting tartness in the aftertaste. That one ended up being the double trouble beer, which saddened me.. Each one of these is low to high 90s review score wise, so no true slouches...
Two of them aged rather well.. The LS, DFH, and HW all lost a bit of hop bitterness and flavor, so I was looking more at a malt forward challenge... Knowing this, the two that aged the best were Lagunitas Sucks, and Hop Wallop. DFH fresh was always a touch lighter, so this one become an instant malt forward beer. While LS and HW still somewhat held onto the hop charm. Both top notch even 7 months later. The biggest win for LS was the drinkability. It still carried a nice carbonation bite, that sweetness, and just a smooth easy drink with no crazy off flavors.. The floaties may have enhanced this one lol. As high of ABV as they all were, none of them felt overly boozy or even boozy. The easy drinking factor was quite apparent here.
The one I had never tried before and had the most trouble with was the Founder's Double Trouble.. It tasted a bit like a tart dandelion flower in the aftertaste.. Think of a semi hopped pilsner style beer mixed in with a lingering aftertaste of something. I had three others try it and we couldn't pinpoint what was going on.. Bad batch? Old batch? It didn't seem to have a true hop bite like fresh IPAs, so it may have been one that sat a bit longer. which actually made it a good candidate to try along with these.
The three main ones that I knew the age of pretty much became a lighter imperial pale ale . The overpowering hop aroma was all but gone. But I knew this coming in... Great little tasting here. 3 of the 4 are not available in my state, so this was a once in a decade type event.
Two of them aged rather well.. The LS, DFH, and HW all lost a bit of hop bitterness and flavor, so I was looking more at a malt forward challenge... Knowing this, the two that aged the best were Lagunitas Sucks, and Hop Wallop. DFH fresh was always a touch lighter, so this one become an instant malt forward beer. While LS and HW still somewhat held onto the hop charm. Both top notch even 7 months later. The biggest win for LS was the drinkability. It still carried a nice carbonation bite, that sweetness, and just a smooth easy drink with no crazy off flavors.. The floaties may have enhanced this one lol. As high of ABV as they all were, none of them felt overly boozy or even boozy. The easy drinking factor was quite apparent here.
The one I had never tried before and had the most trouble with was the Founder's Double Trouble.. It tasted a bit like a tart dandelion flower in the aftertaste.. Think of a semi hopped pilsner style beer mixed in with a lingering aftertaste of something. I had three others try it and we couldn't pinpoint what was going on.. Bad batch? Old batch? It didn't seem to have a true hop bite like fresh IPAs, so it may have been one that sat a bit longer. which actually made it a good candidate to try along with these.
The three main ones that I knew the age of pretty much became a lighter imperial pale ale . The overpowering hop aroma was all but gone. But I knew this coming in... Great little tasting here. 3 of the 4 are not available in my state, so this was a once in a decade type event.
Rankings
1 and 2. Lagunitas Sucks and Hop Wallop. Fresh, both of these had really high hop counts. So to see that diminish sucked. but it left enough hops to still give it a quality bite.
3 DFH- Even as a fresh beer, its never been a hop bomb. It became a malt forward ale with small hints of hops
4 DT- Hard to explain what we experienced here... I hate odd aftertastes in my beer. This one had one, badly.
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Continuing with the experimental theme, I went by a local brewery for a few cold ones. Ended up with two pints of some odd ball choices.
Before the odd choices happened, they had a seasonal pale ale available. With 1-2% less ABV than their typical IPA, I knew this would be a lighter version. And it appeared to be just that. If an IPA is a 10 in bitterness and overall flavor, this one sat closer to a 7.5. Very very nice alternative if you arent in the hop spirit.
The other two I went all in with pints.
A 6.2% pumpkin ale. This one was on the sweeter end with almost zero bitterness. Far too many of the pumpkin beers I have tried try to mix in the hops, and it adds just a really bad tart aftertaste that I am not fond of. Pumpkin spice and hoppiness generally doesnt blend well for my taste. The sweetness came more from the malt than from the pumpkin spice. It was not overdone at all.. Better than most other pumpkin beers I've tried. But that may not be saying much. Other cans and bottles I've had were crazy mediocre. Still not terribly fond of the style. I need to learn my lesson by now.. but I don't.
Following the pumpkin theme, there was a 8.1% goblet serving of a pumpkin noire beer.. It was pitch black in color. The description of the beer states a burnt pumpkin pie type flavor profile. It did have a bit of that char/smoked flavor, with just some really deep complex flavors lingering around. This one was more to my liking. It got way better as it warmed up. I couldnt recall any chocolate flavor, or the deep raisin fruit taste. So it wasnt quite at the level of a stout. Just a really deep pumpkin spice flavor in the backbone.
Sampled a peach sour.. I swear this stuff tastes like what we brewed on accident a while back. People do appear to spend $7 for a goblet of this stuff. Luckily my small sample was free.
Took home some growlers for the week ahead.
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It also appears the 2013 GABF had their results reveled.
I'm proud to say I made this comment last week before this beer won bronze in the american IPA category:
http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/the-competition/winners/
Beer awards vs. review scores online is a funny thing. At one of my local joints, I dont even drink their beer that has now won 2 medals in the past 3 years. Not because it isnt available or because it is bad.. It's sold in cans and available on tap. But because I like their other offerings just a little bit more. Those beers have won nothing. But they may be in a category that is more competitive than others. So it never gets its 'due'.
I guess the bottom line is, we should all look at these awards and medals (world beer cup thrown into here as well) with a slight bit of hesitancy. From there maybe try to compare the review scores online and make a somewhat educated guess... I know a few breweries who dont even brew beers that have won medals in the past. It may be more of a marketing thing for people to see MEDALS WON than what the actual product is. Or maybe medal winners don't sell. Generally speaking in some shoe terms, most beer drinkers aren't hypebeasts. So I may need to reevaluate the true differences between GABF/WBC winners and why their review scores vary so much
Before the odd choices happened, they had a seasonal pale ale available. With 1-2% less ABV than their typical IPA, I knew this would be a lighter version. And it appeared to be just that. If an IPA is a 10 in bitterness and overall flavor, this one sat closer to a 7.5. Very very nice alternative if you arent in the hop spirit.
The other two I went all in with pints.
A 6.2% pumpkin ale. This one was on the sweeter end with almost zero bitterness. Far too many of the pumpkin beers I have tried try to mix in the hops, and it adds just a really bad tart aftertaste that I am not fond of. Pumpkin spice and hoppiness generally doesnt blend well for my taste. The sweetness came more from the malt than from the pumpkin spice. It was not overdone at all.. Better than most other pumpkin beers I've tried. But that may not be saying much. Other cans and bottles I've had were crazy mediocre. Still not terribly fond of the style. I need to learn my lesson by now.. but I don't.
Following the pumpkin theme, there was a 8.1% goblet serving of a pumpkin noire beer.. It was pitch black in color. The description of the beer states a burnt pumpkin pie type flavor profile. It did have a bit of that char/smoked flavor, with just some really deep complex flavors lingering around. This one was more to my liking. It got way better as it warmed up. I couldnt recall any chocolate flavor, or the deep raisin fruit taste. So it wasnt quite at the level of a stout. Just a really deep pumpkin spice flavor in the backbone.
Sampled a peach sour.. I swear this stuff tastes like what we brewed on accident a while back. People do appear to spend $7 for a goblet of this stuff. Luckily my small sample was free.
Took home some growlers for the week ahead.
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It also appears the 2013 GABF had their results reveled.
I'm proud to say I made this comment last week before this beer won bronze in the american IPA category:
http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/the-competition/winners/
Beer awards vs. review scores online is a funny thing. At one of my local joints, I dont even drink their beer that has now won 2 medals in the past 3 years. Not because it isnt available or because it is bad.. It's sold in cans and available on tap. But because I like their other offerings just a little bit more. Those beers have won nothing. But they may be in a category that is more competitive than others. So it never gets its 'due'.
I guess the bottom line is, we should all look at these awards and medals (world beer cup thrown into here as well) with a slight bit of hesitancy. From there maybe try to compare the review scores online and make a somewhat educated guess... I know a few breweries who dont even brew beers that have won medals in the past. It may be more of a marketing thing for people to see MEDALS WON than what the actual product is. Or maybe medal winners don't sell. Generally speaking in some shoe terms, most beer drinkers aren't hypebeasts. So I may need to reevaluate the true differences between GABF/WBC winners and why their review scores vary so much
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I finally got my mits on my first 4-pack of FBS down here in S. Fla!! Now I just have to decide what temp to drink it at.
Also, got a six of the limited release Cigar City Dry-hopped on the High Seas Carribean IPA and it is great. I love the story that goes along with it as well.
Also, got a six of the limited release Cigar City Dry-hopped on the High Seas Carribean IPA and it is great. I love the story that goes along with it as well.
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Start by drinking it cool (~45-50 degrees), then see how the taste develops as it warms.
Speaking of FBS, I'm currently doing a comparison on it with Oskar Blues TEN FIDY. Since I've already reviewed FBS, I'm gonna make this a review of TEN FIDY and note how the two compare throughout. Appearance-wise, they both pour a deep black (as you'd expect), but the head on TEN FIDY is a deep mocha brown color (pics make it look lighter than it actually is), while FBS has a fairly tan head to it. There's much more sweetness on the aroma of TEN FIDY than there is on FBS, which has a roasted coffee smell to it. Taste is similar. TEN FIDY has a roasted quality to it, but not as much as FBS does. TEN FIDY is also a lot sweeter and has some dark fruit notes. In terms of viscosity and mouthfeel, TEN FIDY is much more syrupy than FBS, which is actually somewhat thin and much more drinkable. At the end of the day, these beers are both exceptional, but for me FBS gets the easy win. 9.3/10
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FBS handles all competition as far as I'm concerned. Glad you got to get hands on some!!! v
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If anyone is in the Ohio area, try getting your hands on this: Maumee Bay Total Eclipse Breakfast Stout
Seeing how FBS is all the rage, I thought I'd recommend it, seeing how it's pretty comparable (to me, at least). I'll have to do a side-by-side with FBS, but from what I vaguely remember, I prefer it to FBS. It's actually stronger than FBS, as well.
(PS - There's no local bias on my behalf either. I've had some of Maumee Bay's other stuff and it's average at best.)
I completely agree. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this until I only had 1/3 of a glass left on my final bottle of the 4-pack. Until next time, I guess. :\
Not sure how comparable they are style-wise, but I think FBS is much better. More complex and flavor-able to me. Ten Fidy is just a bit too boozy for me and it's difficult to distinguish any notable flavors in it. I have 2 left in the fridge I plan on revisiting soon, so hopefully I've become acclimated to the alcohol content and can go from there. The texture/thickness of it is amazing, though.
Not sure if you've ever had it, but I'd compare Ten Fidy to Founders Imperial Stout.
Seeing how FBS is all the rage, I thought I'd recommend it, seeing how it's pretty comparable (to me, at least). I'll have to do a side-by-side with FBS, but from what I vaguely remember, I prefer it to FBS. It's actually stronger than FBS, as well.
(PS - There's no local bias on my behalf either. I've had some of Maumee Bay's other stuff and it's average at best.)
I completely agree. Unfortunately, I didn't realize this until I only had 1/3 of a glass left on my final bottle of the 4-pack. Until next time, I guess. :\
Not sure how comparable they are style-wise, but I think FBS is much better. More complex and flavor-able to me. Ten Fidy is just a bit too boozy for me and it's difficult to distinguish any notable flavors in it. I have 2 left in the fridge I plan on revisiting soon, so hopefully I've become acclimated to the alcohol content and can go from there. The texture/thickness of it is amazing, though.
Not sure if you've ever had it, but I'd compare Ten Fidy to Founders Imperial Stout.
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Got a nice little surprise a couple days ago. I knew this place doesnt sell very many of its bombers and was able to get some Stone RIS months ago... Returned a couple days ago to the same ol. 95% of other places I go to have been sold out since June with no return in sight. You might be saying Stone isn't too special but my city/surrounding distribution area doesn't get the quality other regions get, so this is GOLD.
I know imperial stouts age well, but what about other Stone bombers? Double bastard, ruination, a few 3 brewery collabs. Most old beer can taste repulsive and not worth the cost.
That same place had some Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse on sale. Couldn't resist a 16.9 oz mini bomber for $2.19... I keep reviewing the same beers to hopefully catch me slipping. But this ones still solid. More sweetness and banana taste than say a Weihenstephaner Hefe. It also has a touch less carbonation.. This one tastes almost identical to SN Kellerweis, a beer that was on sale at a grocery store I frequent... These sales are killing me lol
With the Stone RIS purchase, I am all in for a three beer side by side by side tasting this weekend.. Stone RIS, FBS, and Ten Fidy... Ten fidy is the odd main out here in some ways. The syrupy, deep fruit, boozy concoction is on a different level than FBS.. FBS is smooth, with two less abv, I kind of wish ten fidy was eight fidy. Stone RIS has a ABV similiar to ten fidy, but has similar mouthfeel to the FBS. This will yield some very interesting results.. I am contemplating a blind tasting..
I know imperial stouts age well, but what about other Stone bombers? Double bastard, ruination, a few 3 brewery collabs. Most old beer can taste repulsive and not worth the cost.
That same place had some Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse on sale. Couldn't resist a 16.9 oz mini bomber for $2.19... I keep reviewing the same beers to hopefully catch me slipping. But this ones still solid. More sweetness and banana taste than say a Weihenstephaner Hefe. It also has a touch less carbonation.. This one tastes almost identical to SN Kellerweis, a beer that was on sale at a grocery store I frequent... These sales are killing me lol
With the Stone RIS purchase, I am all in for a three beer side by side by side tasting this weekend.. Stone RIS, FBS, and Ten Fidy... Ten fidy is the odd main out here in some ways. The syrupy, deep fruit, boozy concoction is on a different level than FBS.. FBS is smooth, with two less abv, I kind of wish ten fidy was eight fidy. Stone RIS has a ABV similiar to ten fidy, but has similar mouthfeel to the FBS. This will yield some very interesting results.. I am contemplating a blind tasting..
