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Picked up a few items tonight. Haven't tried anything from Hair of the Dog yet so said what the heck. The Duchesse De Bourgogne was recommended to me by a fellow NT'er. Excited to try all three 
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An excellent beer. If you aren't an IPA fan, I think it is very unoffensive. One of the first IPA's that made me realize that not all IPA's are hop-bombs.
Can't wait for it to make it's way up to L.A.
I had this last night.
Firestone Walker Opal.
Dry Hopped Saison. Very good but lacking a bit of the "funk" of a normal saison.
Firestone Walker just makes good beer. From their 805 blonde to their Solace to their barrel aged stuff, everything they put out is good.
-J-
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I CANNOT stand IPA's and I try. They are terrible. I've been on a Sour kick and these two are fantastic. The smaller bottle is like a Cherry Tart which is sooooo good. The Bruery makes some real good sours.
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Picked up a 6-Pack of Anchor IPA today for the game tonight. I can't remember seeing it around here (CT) before. Guy at the packy sold it to me like it was the greatest stuff on Earth...
We'll see about that.
We'll see about that.
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Bought a sixer of Crooked Tree IPA, never seen or heard of it. Anyone familiar? From a brewery in MI
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Just had dogish head midas touch, I enjoyed it, probably grab a 6 pack. I was looking for noble rot but its a tough find.
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It's brewed by Dark Horse. I've never had any of their stuff, but I hear the Double Crooked Tree and Bourbon Barrel-Aged Plead the 5th are great.
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Today's pours/reviews:
New release from Sixpoint. This one is a Radler with real fruit juice added post-fermentation. The appearance is a pretty good indicator of how it tastes. The base beer is a wheat beer, and this honestly tastes like someone made a Brass Monkey with a hefeweizen. You taste a lot of the juice, but you get those wheat beer characteristics and that banana flavor you get from German yeast strains. For a beer that's only 3.2%, the alcohol is still somewhat detectable. Seems like everything Sixpoint makes tastes either boozy or just plain "off" to me. Didn't expect much from this one to begin with, but I won't be buying again now that I've given it a shot. 7.2/10
Next up is one that I never really gave a fair shake to. I ordered one at a bar last St. Patrick's Day, but I was very drunk and far too focused on my fried pickles and reuben egg rolls to care about it
. It says it's a wheat beer, but it has the appearance and aroma of an IPA (okay..it's a little maltier, but the hops are definitely there). Taste is...unexpected. This is a wheat beer? This might sound strange, but the taste on this is REALLY close to Nugget Nectar. Maybe a tad more citrus notes, but the caramel malt backbone, the hop bitterness and the aroma definitely bring back those memories. I could see myself getting down with this beer. It seems to be a cluster**** of styles, but Lagunitas pulls it off pretty well. Definitely surprised by this one. 9.1/10
New release from Sixpoint. This one is a Radler with real fruit juice added post-fermentation. The appearance is a pretty good indicator of how it tastes. The base beer is a wheat beer, and this honestly tastes like someone made a Brass Monkey with a hefeweizen. You taste a lot of the juice, but you get those wheat beer characteristics and that banana flavor you get from German yeast strains. For a beer that's only 3.2%, the alcohol is still somewhat detectable. Seems like everything Sixpoint makes tastes either boozy or just plain "off" to me. Didn't expect much from this one to begin with, but I won't be buying again now that I've given it a shot. 7.2/10
Next up is one that I never really gave a fair shake to. I ordered one at a bar last St. Patrick's Day, but I was very drunk and far too focused on my fried pickles and reuben egg rolls to care about it
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Dogfish Head Wasabi Imperial Pale Ale
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^ That sounds groce.
Sippin Enjoy By 7-4-14. I remember the other iterations being better.
Sippin Enjoy By 7-4-14. I remember the other iterations being better.
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oberon, two hearted, and sculpin to round out the evening.
I think Im off the oberon bandwagon. I taste a bit of a pilsner malt backbone. But it has also has a near saison farmhouse tartness. Then the citrus comes in and confuses things. It's easy drinking for sure. I can see the appeal. Since its not available to me locally, no true issues on when or why I would drink it. But if I could have it everyday, im not sure I would. mid 80s BA score is probably appropriate.
Two hearted. Killer piney smell (still) initially. So many beers I got in trades or what have you had suffered in this department. This 4/17 batch is still kicking HARD. Fresher, I'm guessing a touch more near a hop bomb. But what sets this apart is that sweetness that comes through when you swallow the beer. I have two more of the six left and this may be a stretch. But this is near the top of my IPA list. La Cumbre's have a soft spot. But I want to like this more than Pliny and HT. There is definitely a clean smoothness about this "IPA". I've had APAs taste hoppier, so its unfair to categorize everything by hoppiness etc... It;s just a darn easy to drink TASTY ipa. The filet mignon "melt in your mouth" mouthfeel is apparent here for sure. Scary drinkable.. Not sure how accessible Bell's is around the USA. but this one tops DFH 60 minute IPA for that intro VERY VERY solid world class IPA style to get people into the style.
Sculpin. Typical bright hop smell. Taste is bone dry compared to two hearted. Way less sweetness in the taste and mouthfeel. A true contrast of styles.. This one compares favorably to elevated IPA. There's a nice hop bitterness burst on occassion with this beer. Easy drinker.
Glad I got sixers of the last two. Wish I had gotten a case of each instead of experimenting with so many others....
YETI tasting tomorrow along with Avery beers. Cheers
I think Im off the oberon bandwagon. I taste a bit of a pilsner malt backbone. But it has also has a near saison farmhouse tartness. Then the citrus comes in and confuses things. It's easy drinking for sure. I can see the appeal. Since its not available to me locally, no true issues on when or why I would drink it. But if I could have it everyday, im not sure I would. mid 80s BA score is probably appropriate.
Two hearted. Killer piney smell (still) initially. So many beers I got in trades or what have you had suffered in this department. This 4/17 batch is still kicking HARD. Fresher, I'm guessing a touch more near a hop bomb. But what sets this apart is that sweetness that comes through when you swallow the beer. I have two more of the six left and this may be a stretch. But this is near the top of my IPA list. La Cumbre's have a soft spot. But I want to like this more than Pliny and HT. There is definitely a clean smoothness about this "IPA". I've had APAs taste hoppier, so its unfair to categorize everything by hoppiness etc... It;s just a darn easy to drink TASTY ipa. The filet mignon "melt in your mouth" mouthfeel is apparent here for sure. Scary drinkable.. Not sure how accessible Bell's is around the USA. but this one tops DFH 60 minute IPA for that intro VERY VERY solid world class IPA style to get people into the style.
Sculpin. Typical bright hop smell. Taste is bone dry compared to two hearted. Way less sweetness in the taste and mouthfeel. A true contrast of styles.. This one compares favorably to elevated IPA. There's a nice hop bitterness burst on occassion with this beer. Easy drinker.
Glad I got sixers of the last two. Wish I had gotten a case of each instead of experimenting with so many others....
YETI tasting tomorrow along with Avery beers. Cheers
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you are abhout the 10th person I've seen say that something ain't right with this batch.
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I enjoyed it but it tasted a little grassy. Like hoptologist. My gf was the one that pointed out how it tasted bad this time around.
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Still no Santa Fe seasonal pilsner in stores. Something is fishy for sure. It's out for three months and half the time it's "out" it's not even available locally. I saw some some 500 miles from Santa Fe.
For the big triple crown event tomorrow.
Bitburger is a solid pilsner alternative to what I wanted. I had to get another project dank. I'm really really liking this batch
Surprise pick up was some Marble reserve ale. I won't name the grocery store but they had it priced very very low. 6 buck range. I've seen it at total wine for $12 and most places at least $15. I've let one sit in my house since I bought it. We'll see what type of night this becomes. Essentially a buy one get one free bomber deal? I'm sold.
White grape sweetness and dryness with a touch of dill. That's what I'm catching initially.
I sent a marble reserve to a fellow nt member awhile back. I've had it once I believe. These are 12/13 bottled bombers. So somewhat new. I'm gonna age one inside my closet, one in the fridge, and drink two ASAP.
Ps. I've had stone enjoy by twice and loved it. And seem to complain when I can't get it, but I had to go dank this weekend. These bombers won't last long
Marble 2013 reserve ale
Big bourbon notes in smell and taste. Drinking this at at least 75 degrees on 95 degree day. Kind of a light mouthfeel for 9%. Not entirely too sweet. Bourbon and oak wood flavor makes this beer. Can't say it's worth normal value. But for $6/ bomber, damn tasty.
To be fair, I have spent $15 on a bba stout by marble and felt it was worth it on occasion. Reserve ale is a tough category for sure.
For the big triple crown event tomorrow.
Bitburger is a solid pilsner alternative to what I wanted. I had to get another project dank. I'm really really liking this batch
Surprise pick up was some Marble reserve ale. I won't name the grocery store but they had it priced very very low. 6 buck range. I've seen it at total wine for $12 and most places at least $15. I've let one sit in my house since I bought it. We'll see what type of night this becomes. Essentially a buy one get one free bomber deal? I'm sold.
White grape sweetness and dryness with a touch of dill. That's what I'm catching initially.
I sent a marble reserve to a fellow nt member awhile back. I've had it once I believe. These are 12/13 bottled bombers. So somewhat new. I'm gonna age one inside my closet, one in the fridge, and drink two ASAP.
Ps. I've had stone enjoy by twice and loved it. And seem to complain when I can't get it, but I had to go dank this weekend. These bombers won't last long
Marble 2013 reserve ale
Big bourbon notes in smell and taste. Drinking this at at least 75 degrees on 95 degree day. Kind of a light mouthfeel for 9%. Not entirely too sweet. Bourbon and oak wood flavor makes this beer. Can't say it's worth normal value. But for $6/ bomber, damn tasty.
To be fair, I have spent $15 on a bba stout by marble and felt it was worth it on occasion. Reserve ale is a tough category for sure.
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I picked up a six pack of it last night here in Denver to take to Red Rocks for the Frank Turner/John Butler Trio show. Damn, that Freestyle Pilsner is really good.
Also grabbed a 4-pack of Backcountry Brewery's Berliner Weisse too. It was great stuff.
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^Nice.. Glad to see that freestyle pilsner love. It's some solid 5+% beer. I gotta give it that.
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A project dank and reserve ale combo is quite crazy. I fell asleep midway through my evening the other night with just the two bombers finished.. It's makes for a cheap night.... thats for sure. I wasn't necessarily wasted or drunk but sometimes that booze factor just makes you super tired.
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The latest la cumbre ipa is just 4 days old in cans. I had to get some the other day. I attended a birthday party last night.. I went with one of my last allagash white ales, and a fresh can of elevated ipa. Prior to that I had a few more elevated IPAs, and a first try of sorts.. Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA. The smell was top notch. I will give them their due. Taste wise, this tastes quite a bit sweet in the mouthfeel. It pours a near amber color as well. I believe the bottle said best by 9/3/14. BA score is 93. That seems high for me. The ABV of 6.4% truly doesnt match the sweetness that is presented in the beer. It's stuff that I gifted to a family member who apparently LOVED it. So thats a plus. But would I spend a premium price on a six pack again? No way.
Today a return duo trip to La Cumbre and Marble (same as last sunday)..WOW... These guys are doing some top notch simple styles... You hear of places doing this crazy stuff with fruits and wood barrels. But the simplicity aspect is hard to overcome if you combine these two places.
LC early lunch time... Elevated IPA on draft... Not much can come close to what you experience here... Their seasonal Kolsch is light and crisp with a unique flavor profile.. I love it, given the temps. outside.. Walked with another growler of their 2011 GABF gold 'BEER' pilsner. With cans of elevated at home, I still had to go to the source for the draft variety.. KILLER!
Marble dinner time... Triple play at work here.. Started with an experimental single hopped IPA.. Its called Jarrylo. I guess its a new hop variety out of Yakima, Washington.. Quite sweet and fruity. Not very bitter or HOPPY.. Solid beer imho if they had combined a few hops together to find a better balance imho. As a stand alone product, its a touch below their normal IPA and DIPA imho. Next up was their summer seasonal Double White. It is quite deadly.. 7% ABV. Its a belgium wit beer. It reminds me instantly of the Allagash White I had yesterday.. Same sort of fruit tart flavors. Tart, fruity, easy drinking. potent abv imho. I finished with a lighter 4.7% pilsner. I think they refined their recipe. No longer do I taste any sort of floral hop notes in their pilsner. It used to be a hoppy pilsner. Now its right up there with the best.
I feel like a drunk if I post in here more than 3 times a page.. I've increased my gym time to compensate for what seems like a lot of beers. So i'm good... What are ya'll drinking?
ps, at La Cumbre, I ran into a guy who had had some hefeweizen in cans at a party the weekend prior and wanted to stop by the brewery.. It looked like he was a deer in the headlights but he handled it well. They asked him if he'd like to try some pilsner. His response " I have no idea what a pilsner is. But lets try it". I love this bridging and birth of new craft beer fans.. He ended up with two brand new bought growlers, each filled with a different beer. I also saw a guy traveling from Texas who ended up with a LC hat, pint glass, growler, and I think t-shirt. I missed many chances at t-shirts of places I had visited.. The beer consumed at the time seemed like enough of a burden lol. For the most part, ABQ seems like a city open to all types of drinkers. I was reading in here about places that are just way too snobby. So i've been paying attention to my local places since that time
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A project dank and reserve ale combo is quite crazy. I fell asleep midway through my evening the other night with just the two bombers finished.. It's makes for a cheap night.... thats for sure. I wasn't necessarily wasted or drunk but sometimes that booze factor just makes you super tired.
---------
The latest la cumbre ipa is just 4 days old in cans. I had to get some the other day. I attended a birthday party last night.. I went with one of my last allagash white ales, and a fresh can of elevated ipa. Prior to that I had a few more elevated IPAs, and a first try of sorts.. Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA. The smell was top notch. I will give them their due. Taste wise, this tastes quite a bit sweet in the mouthfeel. It pours a near amber color as well. I believe the bottle said best by 9/3/14. BA score is 93. That seems high for me. The ABV of 6.4% truly doesnt match the sweetness that is presented in the beer. It's stuff that I gifted to a family member who apparently LOVED it. So thats a plus. But would I spend a premium price on a six pack again? No way.
Today a return duo trip to La Cumbre and Marble (same as last sunday)..WOW... These guys are doing some top notch simple styles... You hear of places doing this crazy stuff with fruits and wood barrels. But the simplicity aspect is hard to overcome if you combine these two places.
LC early lunch time... Elevated IPA on draft... Not much can come close to what you experience here... Their seasonal Kolsch is light and crisp with a unique flavor profile.. I love it, given the temps. outside.. Walked with another growler of their 2011 GABF gold 'BEER' pilsner. With cans of elevated at home, I still had to go to the source for the draft variety.. KILLER!
Marble dinner time... Triple play at work here.. Started with an experimental single hopped IPA.. Its called Jarrylo. I guess its a new hop variety out of Yakima, Washington.. Quite sweet and fruity. Not very bitter or HOPPY.. Solid beer imho if they had combined a few hops together to find a better balance imho. As a stand alone product, its a touch below their normal IPA and DIPA imho. Next up was their summer seasonal Double White. It is quite deadly.. 7% ABV. Its a belgium wit beer. It reminds me instantly of the Allagash White I had yesterday.. Same sort of fruit tart flavors. Tart, fruity, easy drinking. potent abv imho. I finished with a lighter 4.7% pilsner. I think they refined their recipe. No longer do I taste any sort of floral hop notes in their pilsner. It used to be a hoppy pilsner. Now its right up there with the best.
I feel like a drunk if I post in here more than 3 times a page.. I've increased my gym time to compensate for what seems like a lot of beers. So i'm good... What are ya'll drinking?
ps, at La Cumbre, I ran into a guy who had had some hefeweizen in cans at a party the weekend prior and wanted to stop by the brewery.. It looked like he was a deer in the headlights but he handled it well. They asked him if he'd like to try some pilsner. His response " I have no idea what a pilsner is. But lets try it". I love this bridging and birth of new craft beer fans.. He ended up with two brand new bought growlers, each filled with a different beer. I also saw a guy traveling from Texas who ended up with a LC hat, pint glass, growler, and I think t-shirt. I missed many chances at t-shirts of places I had visited.. The beer consumed at the time seemed like enough of a burden lol. For the most part, ABQ seems like a city open to all types of drinkers. I was reading in here about places that are just way too snobby. So i've been paying attention to my local places since that time
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Sippin on a Founders Porter. Was out earlier with a FWB and had a few Two Hearted's and some Bud Lights
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Anyone on NT drink Lagunitas? I'm sure the local Nor Cal folks can relate, but I wonder how national their marketing is. Brewed in my hometown
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Anyone on NT drink Lagunitas? I'm sure the local Nor Cal folks can relate, but I wonder how national their marketing is. Brewed in my hometown
Drank a Lil Sumpin Sumpin last night. Probably gonna go out and buy a bottle of Nighttime today. I also love Sucks and Hop Stoopid.
They make great stuff and their prices can't be beat.
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Comparison Ford, glad THA is growing on your even more. I read last night that it topped ratebeers best IPA in the world list.
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'preciate it, guys.
Finally got around to grabbing it, along with some Brooklyn Blast!.
Should be enough for the game tonight.
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Jai Alai was a pretty damn good ipa, will add to the rotation.
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I'm just two states away but it seems like at least three of their beers are regulars on the shelves at literally every grocery store in my city. They have quite the stronghold.. Unfortunately I think I have only ever purchased their Lagunitas Sucks. Hop stoopid seems to sit for months around my way. From what I've seen their normal IPA seems to be rather fresh. They've done good for themselves it seems. If I'm ever in a squeeze for some IPA, I know every place in town would have some.Anyone on NT drink Lagunitas? I'm sure the local Nor Cal folks can relate, but I wonder how national their marketing is. Brewed in my hometown
Tonight, Avery gets its due. Brown, Mahijara, and one other..
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If you can get Hop Stoopid fresh, do yourself a favor and give it a shot. I think it's really similar to Pliny, and for $5/bomber it's one of the better deals in town.I'm just two states away but it seems like at least three of their beers are regulars on the shelves at literally every grocery store in my city. They have quite the stronghold.. Unfortunately I think I have only ever purchased their Lagunitas Sucks. Hop stoopid seems to sit for months around my way. From what I've seen their normal IPA seems to be rather fresh. They've done good for themselves it seems. If I'm ever in a squeeze for some IPA, I know every place in town would have some.Anyone on NT drink Lagunitas? I'm sure the local Nor Cal folks can relate, but I wonder how national their marketing is. Brewed in my hometown
Tonight, Avery gets its due. Brown, Mahijara, and one other..
I actually went out and purchased Nighttime today after watching this review over the weekend. Haven't seen him this stoked on a beer in awhile:
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^yeah I remember you talking about hop stoopid a month or two back and have been on the lookout recently.. I saw some dated 93rd date 2014, and some 301st day of 2013.. Not ideally fresh. The pricepoint is awesome though. I need to catch a break when the new bottles come out and pick some up.. I actually need to just do a complete Lagunitas tasting with thier pils, brown shugga, ipa, maximus ipa, and any other bomber to give their line a fair shot.
I had the strangest experience with Victory dirtwolf last night. It seemed to have almost no bitterness or piney notes like I had remembered from two prior bottles (among a dirtwolf/sculpin/THA session). Instead I was getting an amazing tropical fruit sweetness (better than elevated). It's drinking sweet but not overly sweet.... I definitely feel to get the most out of tastings, you may need to buy more than a single bottle (if you hate the beer... give it another chance).. Maybe what I was drinking before hindered or elevated the flavors the last time around. That drink was one of the best DIPAs I had ever had. My taste buds are playing tricks on me it seems. Anyone else experience this? The bottle I had last week seemed nothing like this weeks try.
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Homebrew news... All ingredients bought for our two 10 gallon batches. Brewing begins this weekend.
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5% centennial blonde ale
Mainly two row malt, some cara pils, vienna, and crystal 10L. Cascade hops will be added at various times of the boil as well as centennial hops. 1272 American Ale II yeast.. IBUs hopefully in the 20-30 range. Color may be a touch darker than blonde, but the flavors should be right up there with the style
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~7% IPA
90% two row, and a touch of vienna malt for some color... Columbus and Cascade dominate the bitterness portion. The last 5 minutes of the boil we will add in Nelson Sauvin, Chinook, Simcoe, and Sorachi Ace.. The last 4 will also be used in a 4 day dry hopping, 7 days after initial fermentation begins.. 1332 NorthWest Ale yeast being used here.. IBUs hopefully around 60-70.
Wish us luck
I had the strangest experience with Victory dirtwolf last night. It seemed to have almost no bitterness or piney notes like I had remembered from two prior bottles (among a dirtwolf/sculpin/THA session). Instead I was getting an amazing tropical fruit sweetness (better than elevated). It's drinking sweet but not overly sweet.... I definitely feel to get the most out of tastings, you may need to buy more than a single bottle (if you hate the beer... give it another chance).. Maybe what I was drinking before hindered or elevated the flavors the last time around. That drink was one of the best DIPAs I had ever had. My taste buds are playing tricks on me it seems. Anyone else experience this? The bottle I had last week seemed nothing like this weeks try.
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Homebrew news... All ingredients bought for our two 10 gallon batches. Brewing begins this weekend.
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5% centennial blonde ale
Mainly two row malt, some cara pils, vienna, and crystal 10L. Cascade hops will be added at various times of the boil as well as centennial hops. 1272 American Ale II yeast.. IBUs hopefully in the 20-30 range. Color may be a touch darker than blonde, but the flavors should be right up there with the style
------------------
~7% IPA
90% two row, and a touch of vienna malt for some color... Columbus and Cascade dominate the bitterness portion. The last 5 minutes of the boil we will add in Nelson Sauvin, Chinook, Simcoe, and Sorachi Ace.. The last 4 will also be used in a 4 day dry hopping, 7 days after initial fermentation begins.. 1332 NorthWest Ale yeast being used here.. IBUs hopefully around 60-70.
Wish us luck
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