NT, What Beer Do You Drink?

[Comparison Ford]

I decided to stop by a beer distributor this afternoon to see if they had gotten anything good in stock.  I ended up being underwhelmed, but I decided to buy a sixer of this.  I bought a 12 pack last year and enjoyed it well enough, so I was curious to see how much this year's batch differs from last year's/how much my tastes have changed. Pours a translucent amber color with a soapy head that lingers.  Aroma on this is straight pine and malts.  Virtually no citrus/floral component to it, which is upsetting for an IPA.  Taste is the same: piney with a strong malt backbone.  For an IPA, this is a little too malty for my taste.  There's also a strange aftertaste that I can't really put my finger on (metallic maybe?).  All in all, this beer isn't awful...but this is gonna be the last sixer I buy of it.  Might give a few away to some friends.  8/10

 

[Comparison Ford]

ATTENTION CHICAGO NT'ERS:  If you can get your hands on a bottle of this, I will pay you double what you bought it for.

 

[wallyhopp]

Large update from the past few days


Went back to my roots a touch. I love this beer and don't drink it enough. Marble Red Ale is an incredibly hoppy caramel malt forward beer. It reminds me a touch of Celebration Ale, but this one is a bit more refined with its distinct flavors. Most call it a Red IPA. The malt characteristics are a bit too strong for it to fit into that category imho. So I just call it a hoppy red ale.

In preparation of what I had hoped would be a successful BCS purchase, I went ahead and found a local bourbon barrel aged Imperial Stout.. This one is a 2012 variety, and I had been avoiding it for awhile because of its price ($14). I also spotted a nice stash of Stone Espresso RIS and normal RIS (Family and I drank 2-3 Stone RIS bombers yesterday... It tasted more chocolately than ever before. I was in love).

Vitus is just an amazing "double" hefeweizen. It has all the flavors I love in a hefe, but a bit more booze to back it all up. Smooth, crisp, and just damn good.

In what could be a new Thanksgiving tradition, we had a nice 8 beer sampling

This one the hardest of the bunch to truly get a gauge on these beers.. Photos in spoilers

Spoiler

We ended up liking pretty much all of them except one..
-The Euphoria was a solid pale ale, to me comparing in many ways to Dale's Pale Ale. I'd say 86/100 as a guess
-Blue Moon just has that solid sweetness (not sure if its artificial in any way) 85ish/100
-The peach flavor in the Shiner Holiday Cheer threw us all off a touch.. I'd say 79/100
-Samuel Smith was one of the sweetest of the bunch with a nice light color profile. No true winter/holiday spices that made it sweet. Tough to explain. 88/100. Well rounded beer as always coming from SS
-These next three had the winter/holiday spice factor down perfectly. One didn't really step above any of the others here. I guess we should have mixed these styles around more... Anchor 84/100. Full Sail 84/100/ Redhook 83/100.
-A really nice IPA to finish things off. I'd say IBU is in the 60 range. Not too overwhelming. More of a APA at this point in time.. 85/100. I would not turn down any of these in the future. With competition so stiff, I am not sure I would buy any again. None took my breath away.

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In a nice Black Friday score of my own

2 of BCS, BCS coffee, and their barley wine.

Line had actually formed earlier than I expected.. Talk about a crazy bunch of folks (in a good way). I tend to think I drink some good stuff. But these guys were talking about beers I had only seen online or read about... A true 'geek' status culture. I say that in the nicest way though. At $5/bottle, this may go down as my most expensive 6 pack ever. On a per ounce basis , it's cheaper than a bomber.. Bombers suck lol. I think my state got 4 cases of each, or maybe it was already mixed. I could've taken some family and really piled up. I'm sure others came back an hour later or what not. They're crazy like that. I just couldn't justify that. If now I can just get some Abyss, my stout sampling could really be thrown into overdrive.

Cheers

 

[Comparison Ford]

Color me jelly.  I've been calling beer distributors around me all day trying to find out when they're getting some in.  All signs point to Monday when they get their next trucks.  Curious to see how the barley wine tastes.

 

[fade on you]

and

 

[based mod]

Picked up a 4 pack of Goose Island BCBS at the Bevmo by my parents'. There were still 4 more on the shelf. This wouldn't happen in San Diego where I'm living right now

 

[wallyhopp]

I've never had a barleywine, so my expectations are minimal. I've heard it has notes of that deep fruit/prune taste that I see in a lot of quad/strong ales. I'm not sure if I will try to age any of these. I don't have ideal conditions, so three may just sit in my house until April when it gets a little too hot to store inside. Three may go down the hatch tonight. Who knows.. Even if I love these guys, I am not sure if I can ever get them again.. That's why I try to stay away from the true rare beers. I'm a year round availability type of drinker. It's a nice treat once in awhile. But unless you build a crazy arsenal/cache of giants, finding balance has to be hard. Drinking and thinking that a 90/100 scored beer isn't enough is not where I want to be.


I cross checked the beer samples I scored vs. BA

Euphoria me 86 / BA 86
blue moon me 85 / BA 71
shiner me 79 / Ba 80
samuel smith me 88 / BA 83
Anchor me 84 / BA 84
Full Sail me 84 / BA 86
Redhook me 83 / BA 81
New Belgium me 85 / BA 83

It looks like I have quite a bit of trouble with the sweeter beers. I'll admit, I do like Blue Moon (normal version). This one may have had some artificial flavors that threw me off.. Samuel Smith was lower than I thought. But again, that had a touch of sweetness that reminds me of the tripels out there. Maybe my taste buds favor the sweet stuff



Another eventful Saturday on a local pub crawl. A rundown of what led to a slight drunkiness.....

Stopped at a place called Turtle Mountain Brewing in NM for lunch. They've been around about 10 yrs. I noticed they had some brewer's specials. I've been on a serious stout binge lately and saw they had a nice 7.75% abv/ 80 IBU imperial stout... Just all around like so many of the other great stouts around. Not too much of an alcohol bite. The chocolate malt and roasted malt was all there.. A touch on the lower side of a Stone RIS if I had to rate them.. But still huge kudos there...

Had one more, a 150 IBU Hoptimus Prime titled IPA. At 6.8%, it's at the medium to high level on a ABV front for the standard IPA.. Very floral and cirtusy. Just all around very above average here. I liked. They've had some state winning IPAs in the past. So a whole bunch of credit to them there.
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I won't name names here as this next place is rather new. I had a sample flight of 8 beers. None really blew me away. In fact, they mostly tasted like home brews.. or worse.. somewhat mediocre home brews... I ended up with a pint of a porter they had. The chocolate/coffee on the forefront of your initial taste was very warming. Other than that, nothing really captured your taste buds.. I am quickly reminded that mediocre craft beer does exist and its hard to avoid. As a homebrewer, my kindness sets in and I buy at least a pint and hope they prosper.
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Next up I had to fill some growlers... We ended up at Marble in NM.... I instantly gravitated to their yearly offering of Imperial Stout... At $7/ 13 oz in a nicely shaped goblet, I knew this 13oz. beast was meant to be... This poured extremely thick.. The best comparison in almost every aspect was a close representation of Oskar Blues Ten Fidy. I would say this one had a touch less of that deep fruit flavor, which makes me a happy camper... This had some extreme mouthfeel and a wonderfully thick head.

Knowing their three beer limit ( no matter the shape, size, abv, or size of the person) I went with their classic India Pale Ale.. I think BA score their bottled/canned version in the low 90s.. It has some incredibly nice hop aroma that translates well into their brew.. Third and last up was a pint of their Double White Ale... It's like nothing I've had before. It;s technically a 7% Witbier. It has tastes of citrus. lemon, wheat, and a touch of hefeweizen banana.. Alcohol is so well hidden.. I love this stuff.

Funny story I thought I'd share.. I met a guy at Marble from CO who travels all around the US for his job. He plopped down next to us at the bar stools and listened as the beer offerings were read.. He was also gravitated to the Imperial Stout.... Long story short, he ordered an imperial stout and was not as impressed as I was.. He mentioned a metallic finish/ aftertaste in the beer that very well could be there. I love hearing opinions on what people think of what I technically deem as 'amazing LOCAL stuff'. He also mentioned a brewery he visits back near his home in CO (CO is home to so many great breweries) and how they have a 17-19% abv IS. I guess I got caught up in the hype of hearing an out of towner sound like he knew what he was talking about... Later on in the night he mentioned he LOOOOOOOVES NB Fat Tire. FT isn't terrible. But it's a touch above par.... I guess the moral of the story is I need to hear what other beers these guys LOVE before hearing their critiques.

We got some growlers of their 2013 Imperial Stout and some Red ale. That IS will be an absolute beast to finish.. The markup was crazy but not as much as their retail bombers. If I can wrangle up a few people, a 2012 bomber vs. 2013 draft is easily possible in the next few days...

Dinner, we ended up at a burger joint that had some Sierra Nevada Kellerweis on tap... Man..... That is some lovely hefeweizen.. A touch better on draft with the crispness than in the bottle. That stuff is even better on draft..
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Based Mod, there is a crazy demographic out there seeking some true "internet" only generated whales.. I've seen the very worst of professional craft brewery beers, and I've seen some stuff that has only 10-14 reviews online that is simply amazing.. Trying new stuff or going off the beaten path is good sometimes.

 

[Mark Antony]

Anyone tried the trader joes ales?

 

[tee eye ehm]

For Tonight:

Midnight Hoppyness (Knee Deep)
Sculpin (Ballast Point)
Chocolate Stout (Bison)

 

[jjs07]

Bmore's finest

Not a "beer," but later on tonight

 

[fade on you]

 

[wallyhopp]

It has begun

Omg. First smell. Very nice blend of coffee beans. This may be too complex for my simple mind.

Not sure how this is supposed to pour. It fizzed like a soda and no head present within seconds. From room temperature since Friday, I placed in the freezer for a quick 20 minute chill. Then I took back out for 20 minutes. It probably started at a solid 50 degrees.

It tastes so smooth and refined. Alcohol bite barely present. Very delicate if that makes sense. Picking up on any other notes will be a challenge. Coffee is forefront and lovely. No true creaminess or syrupy like texture seen with other large stouts. No lacing left on glass as this one is somewhat thin.

As it warms up that bourbon flavor comes out. Just so frickin smooth it just really has that appeal of going right down the hatch.... Halfway done now... More in a bit

EDIT: Took my time on the last bit. I don't think I'll place a number on this one until I try the regular BCS tomorrow. But if you love top notch coffee, as well as bourbon, you will absolutely love this. It tasted like a carbonated coffee infused bourbon on the rocks, which is a true compliment.. Glad to have tried. Don't think I would seek this out crazy like, or even hoard them.

 

[based mod]

It has begun
Omg. First smell. Very nice blend of coffee beans. This may be too complex for my simple mind.

Not sure how this is supposed to pour. It fizzed like a soda and no head present within seconds. From room temperature since Friday, I placed in the freezer for a quick 20 minute chill. Then I took back out for 20 minutes. It probably started at a solid 50 degrees.

It tastes so smooth and refined. Alcohol bite barely present. Very delicate if that makes sense. Picking up on any other notes will be a challenge. Coffee is forefront and lovely. No true creaminess or syrupy like texture seen with other large stouts. No lacing left on glass as this one is somewhat thin.

As it warms up that bourbon flavor comes out. Just so frickin smooth it just really has that appeal of going right down the hatch.... Halfway done now... More in a bit

EDIT: Took my time on the last bit. I don't think I'll place a number on this one until I try the regular BCS tomorrow. But if you love top notch coffee, as well as bourbon, you will absolutely love this. It tasted like a carbonated coffee infused bourbon on the rocks, which is a true compliment.. Glad to have tried. Don't think I would seek this out crazy like, or even hoard them.

I NEED THAT COFFEE BCBS.

For the regular BCBS at least, I can't say I'm a HUGE fan, but then again I don't think my palate is well-suited for the boozier BBA stuff.

Agree with you that people should try the lesser-known stuff, but then again I'd rather encourage people (especially the inexperienced beer folk) to try out the beers that us beer folk generally like more. There's a lot of crap beers by microbreweries that I'd rather not have representing microbreweries as a whole

 

[jbug88]

Mission accomplished. This stuff finally made it down to SoCal today.
1 bottle from my local Total Wine and 2 bottles from the local Bevmo.
1 will be opened this weekend at a friends wedding and 1 will be opened in about a year (maybe next Thanksgiving or Christmas).
The last bottle? Who knows? I'm thinking I'm going to let this sit for about 5 years.

-J-

 

[Comparison Ford]

Chiraq's finest:

 

[wallyhopp]

Jbug88, Nice. Was the price too crazy or that standard $13-$16 bomber price? I heard from my local beer store that they should be getting it sometime this week (two weeks out from initial release). They said they'd be doing a vertical tasting of 5-6 years worth of releases, including 2009 which had some very bad batches. I'm guessing they have some "good" 2009.


Based Mod, there is far too much mediocre 'craft' beer out there and not enough "amazing". You would think these places would tweak their recipes to make something spectacular. Finding a balance of easily accessible GREAT beer and not only wanting the AMAZING (price pending of course. If you can afford the very best year round, do it). I love finding steals though.... The biggest issue I'm finding right now is expired beers. Three or four month old hoppy beer is a bit of a sin.

Comparison Ford, nice haul. I never tend to age much and I've never tried before. So I think I'll just drink them all eventually within the next month. I'm kind of at that level of REALLY wanting to try that 2nd and last coffee stout of mine. The wait vs. instant reward kills me everytime I think of aging something.

On my end, no BCS comparison tonight. I just realized it was almost 15% abv.. The 13.4% coffee stout went down too smooth. I don't want to be making a habit of thinking 13% isnt boozy enough

 

[Comparison Ford]

Comparison Ford, nice haul. I never tend to age much and I've never tried before. So I think I'll just drink them all eventually within the next month. I'm kind of at that level of REALLY wanting to try that 2nd and last coffee stout of mine. The wait vs. instant reward kills me everytime I think of aging something.
 

I have to say: I just had 2012 Bourbon County on tap a week or two ago and compared to how it was fresh there's a marked change.  So much more mellow and blended together.  For a second I started to think that aging beer was for the birds, but seeing how much it developed (for the better) after only a year made me a believer.  Might be worth holding onto.

Drinking the barleywine as I type this.  Expect a full write-up tomorrow.

 

[wallyhopp]

^ Aging beer interests me, but I dont know if I want to jump in all the way with the readings and the science etc...

I have some pretty substandard local brewery imperial stout that I plan to age a 4 pack of in my fridge. Can mediocre become better?? lol

From what I'm reading, it will still age, but much slower than perfect cellaring conditions of say 50-60 degrees. The colder temps will have it age much slower... That has me wondering.. I bought some BBA stout from another local brewery (marble) at one establishment who seems to refrigerate every bomber they receive vs. other places I know who specifically let it rot on the shelves in 70 degree conditions with light shining through etc... The comparison type that I am has me wondering if I could tell the difference between the two (these two places also have some Stone RIS, both in varying conditions). I guess I would need some true money to burn for that to happen. I also have some FBS which has a bottled date of last December sitting around. (just one left yeahitsrust. Im afraid to drink that last one). I think I'll let some SN norwhal sit for awhile in the fridge. Other than that, from what I'm reading about BCS, barleywines and the normal BCS are okay to age. The coffee flavors may degrade a touch if that one is aged. So I will likely drink all of the coffee, and age one of the barleywine, and one of the BCS.... I think I'll avoid this thread until Thursday as I will also be having a BCS barleywine tomorrow.. Looking forward to comparing our notes.

 

[jbug88]

Wally - price was $17 at Total Wine, $20 at Bevmo.

 

[fade on you]

 

[sadist]

Just drank my bottle of Goose Island Lolita. Soooo good if you like sours. I need like 2-3 more.

 

[lil black jean jacket]

 

[Comparison Ford]

Okay...here's my reviews:

Having already had regular and coffee Bourbon County, this one was particularly appealing to me. I'm a big fan of English barleywines (particularly bourbon barrel aged ones), and knowing about Goose Island's barrel program and King Henry I came into this beer with high hopes.  Pours an extremely deep brown color that turns to black once it settles in the glass with an effervescent head that dissipates quickly.  Aroma is mostly bourbon, with hints of toffee, caramel and roasted malts.  Taste on this is very similar to the aroma.  A bourbon bomb with hints of toffee, molasses, vanilla, oak and burnt sugar. Particularly sweet. Not really picking up any dark fruit flavor, though.  Mouthfeel is surprisingly thin. For 12%, this is as boozy as you would expect it to be.  The closest beer I can think of to this one is Sucaba, though Sucaba is thicker, not as sweet, and arguably less boozy.  Given the choice between this and Sucaba, I'd choose Sucaba.  All in all, this is still a damn good beer that I'm gonna hold onto and see how the rest develop over time.  9.6/10

I'm drinking this one now...and, man oh man.  This one pours pitch black with an effervescent head that dissipates rapidly.  I was about 18 inches away from the glass when pouring this one, but I got smacked in the face by a wave of coffee.  I'm already excited.  Smell is very similar.  Pretty much straight coffee, with very little bourbon in the background.  For how bourbon-forward regular BCBS and the barleywine are, the bourbon in this one takes a back seat and is pretty much negligible.  This is straight up chocolatey coffee with (what tastes like) a drop of bourbon in it.  Booziness is virtually nonexistent.  Surprisingly, this beer is extremely similar to Founders Breakfast Stout, but the coffee taste and aroma is much stronger.  Both FBS and Bourbon County Coffee have thin mouthfeels, but I feel it works really well.  Something about viscous coffee is off-putting to me.  This might be blasphemy to some people, but I think this is better than FBS by a very wide margin.  I would name my daughter Sharkeisha for a case of this.  Between this and Backwoods Bastard, it might just be my favorite beer of all time.  It's that serious.  10+/10

 

[based mod]

Okay...here's my reviews:

I'm drinking this one now...and, man oh man.  This one pours pitch black with an effervescent head that dissipates rapidly.  I was about 18 inches away from the glass when pouring this one, but I got smacked in the face by a wave of coffee.  I'm already excited.  Smell is very similar.  Pretty much straight coffee, with very little bourbon in the background.  For how bourbon-forward regular BCBS and the barleywine are, the bourbon in this one takes a back seat and is pretty much negligible.  This is straight up chocolatey coffee with (what tastes like) a drop of bourbon in it.  Booziness is virtually nonexistent.  Surprisingly, this beer is extremely similar to Founders Breakfast Stout, but the coffee taste and aroma is much stronger.  Both FBS and Bourbon County Coffee have thin mouthfeels, but I feel it works really well.  Something about viscous coffee is off-putting to me.  This might be blasphemy to some people, but I think this is better than FBS by a very wide margin.  I would name my daughter Sharkeisha for a case of this.  Between this and Backwoods Bastard, it might just be my favorite beer of all time.  It's that serious.  10+/10

I will see that you get a case.


I need that coffee. From what I've read, it might be tough for me to get my hands on it here in SD. ISO

 

[Comparison Ford]

 

Okay...here's my reviews:

I'm drinking this one now...and, man oh man.  This one pours pitch black with an effervescent head that dissipates rapidly.  I was about 18 inches away from the glass when pouring this one, but I got smacked in the face by a wave of coffee.  I'm already excited.  Smell is very similar.  Pretty much straight coffee, with very little bourbon in the background.  For how bourbon-forward regular BCBS and the barleywine are, the bourbon in this one takes a back seat and is pretty much negligible.  This is straight up chocolatey coffee with (what tastes like) a drop of bourbon in it.  Booziness is virtually nonexistent.  Surprisingly, this beer is extremely similar to Founders Breakfast Stout, but the coffee taste and aroma is much stronger.  Both FBS and Bourbon County Coffee have thin mouthfeels, but I feel it works really well.  Something about viscous coffee is off-putting to me.  This might be blasphemy to some people, but I think this is better than FBS by a very wide margin.  I would name my daughter Sharkeisha for a case of this.  Between this and Backwoods Bastard, it might just be my favorite beer of all time.  It's that serious.  10+/10

I will see that you get a case.


I need that coffee. From what I've read, it might be tough for me to get my hands on it here in SD. ISO

Get on BeerAdvocate or MyBeerCellar.  It's worth spending a little extra money on.  Da god at the beer distributor by me had these hidden under the register so that he can save them for select customers.  He told me to come back in a week to see if he still had more.  Best believe I'm gonna be there first thing Tuesday morning.

Oh...he also gave me a free raffle ticket for a bottle of Sam Adams Utopias.  Cross your fingers for me, NT.