NT, What Beer Do You Drink?

[wallyhopp]

I never really know how productive these tastings are but I'm doing one now.

Mini impromptu stout bout

Round 1
Santa Fe Imperial Java Stout. 8% abv.. Medium to lighish body. It has a high carbonation/crispness factor which can be appealing since its 8%. Coffee notes are more of the roasted variety and not what you see out of many other prominent coffee beers. 4/5

Round 2
Bell's Expedition Stout. 10.5% abv. Medium to high body and sweetness factor. This one definitely feels quite hoppy/bitter. It reminds me of a Stone RIS, or ten fidy type of standard RIS but to a hopped up level. Not bad. Very very solid 4.5/5

Coming up shortly

Maybe this guy for good measure

Last call is looking like a La Cumbre 3 yr Anniversary Belgian Quad. I've been saving it a year. And now that itll be available at tomorrows Anniverary event, I feel I may need to get a small glance at it.

 

[salazaro44]

Pick ups for the day. 2012 Black Tuesday, another bottle of Mash&Grind and double actuator. The double actuator is a local double ipa that's really solid.

 

[Mark Antony]

Picked up a raison d'extra. Can't wait to see wat dat 18% do.

 

[kickhead23]

Guys I need some help. I'm in FL but my wife is in Portland on business. What should I tell her to grab me?

 

[salazaro44]

At brew ho ho. An Orange County beer festival. So much good beer. Sucaba, bcbs, barrel roll cobra, darkstar with cacao and vanilla , among other stuff

 

[wallyhopp]

La Cumbre Anniversary was a joke.. Nothing below 7.5% abv lol

- 4th Anniversary Rum Barrel Aged Barley Wine was among the best I have tried. Definitely a 90/100+ BA type BW. Some definite sweetness from the malts and a nice solid abv burn. Nothing too oakey or aged about it.. Very very good, just as the main brewmaster descriped

-3rd Anniversary Beligan Quad. This was saved for a year. Definite belgium like sweetness and yeast notes.. Up there with other 90+ ba quads, such as trappist ale and rochefort 10 imho

-2013 La negra 10.5% ABV RIS on cask.. A true improvement since my bomber experience in late September of this year. Creamier and a touch more overall chracater that seemed way more balanced. The bomber seemed bitter and lacking in body. This was no SLOUCH at all.

-2014 Smoked Porter aged in Wine Barrels... A touch lower in abv at 7% vs. the others. But still quite a treat. I like the Alaskan Smoked Porter for its true smoked character. This seemed more subtle. The wine influencfe was definitely there.. Way subtle

Moved on move to another local place. Il Vicino

Tequilla barrel aged IPA. I didnt catch teh tequial notes butat 9+%, and a tropical fruit hop influence, I was impressed

Dark in Lusty stout. A regular stout at 8+%. Traditional almost RIS flavors.. Very very very solid stuff.

Fun fun fun times

As for yesterday, I didnt get to FBS or that belgian quad.. I did however finish off some Fouders Imperial Stout and Oskar Blues Ten Fidy.... Ten Fidy was the show stopping GAME WINNER. The balance and lack of any off flavors or flavors that seemed to dominate the brew. I was very impressed with them.. Luckily the BA scores seemed to match up and the beer I liked most is actually available in my area... TEN FIDY FTW

 

[hophead85]

Guys I need some help. I'm in FL but my wife is in Portland on business. What should I tell her to grab me?

Beers from Deschutes, Cascade, and maybe even some DeGarde if there's time.

 

[Mark Antony]

Picked up a raison d'extra. Can't wait to see wat dat 18% do.

Can't do it, too sweet. BCBS like. I find those types make me sick. Switched to some Coronado stupid stout.

 

[wallyhopp]

Talk about incredibly bad timing.. I caught a flu bug the same morning I have a slight hangover.. The magnitude of this fever/body ache/headache/shivers is so extreme right now. 20+ hours straight.. Hangovers shouldnt last but the morning. I'm swearing off beer for awhile. I cant even glance at the bottles. If yall wonder where I'm at, im still around lol.. Straight juice cleanse I think.

 

[neosole89]

Pickups from The Bruery on my short trip to LA this weekend. They ran out of 2012 Black Tuesday by the time I got there but was able to grab two 2013's and a bottle of Mash.

Also came home to this box.

Mexican Cake
BBPt5 2013 x3
BBPt5 2012 x2
Westbrook IPA
Terrapin Wake n Bake

All in all a great weekend

 

[yeahitsrust]

What an impressive box to come to haha. Nice trade Neo!

 

[salazaro44]

Mexican cake. I'm super jelly. Nice pick ups.

 

[dreamer23]

tried some "shocktop chocolate wheat" ...decent...

 

[Comparison Ford]

Nice box, Neo.  Did you ever get around to drinking that first bottle of Mexican Cake?

 

[crumps brother]

hit up some breweries yesterday with my wife as my Xmas gift

Pizza Boy, Spring House, and Tired Hands

anyone in the Philly area (StillIn729) should hit up Tired Hands if they haven't before...and make sure you order the bread and butter there

 

[neosole89]

What an impressive box to come to haha. Nice trade Neo!

Mexican cake. I'm super jelly. Nice pick ups.

Thanks fellas! salazaro44 Appreciate the heads up on the BT!

Nice box, Neo.  Did you ever get around to drinking that first bottle of Mexican Cake?

Not yet. Cracking it open tonight actually .

 

[based mod]

How much did that BT set you back? Just wondering if they're charging more than the $30 they charged for it on release day last year.

 

[salazaro44]

How much did that BT set you back? Just wondering if they're charging more than the $30 they charged for it on release day last year.

The 2012 Black Tuesday was 39.99. The 2013 was 34.99.
@NeoSole89 Glad you at least got some 2013. What time did you get there?

I told myself I wasn't getting the Grey Monday today since it was $45 a bottle. Living 10 min away from The Bruery is dangerous.

 

[Comparison Ford]

Finally found a Long Island brewery I can get behind.  Picked up a growler of Money IPA from Barrier Brewing and immediately fell in love.  The spot that has it only has 64 oz growlers, but I'm ready to go back tomorrow for another.  Seriously awesome stuff.

 

[neosole89]

The 2012 Black Tuesday was 39.99. The 2013 was 34.99.
@NeoSole89 Glad you at least got some 2013. What time did you get there?

Got there Saturday afternoon around 3pm. Had about two hours in between the wedding ceremony and reception so I decided to make a run. Literally went there with my suit on .

Sipping on some Mexican Cake tonight. Getting some bitter chocolate, vanilla, cinnamon and spicy kick from the habanero in the taste. I'm not much for spicy drinks but it works really well here. Definitely recommended if you have a chance to get some.

 

[wallyhopp]

Xocoveza a poor man's mexican cake or no comparison at all? Sometimes I drink the lower level stuff and just envision how good the really rare stuff is lol

 

[suberzat1]

What are some of the Cali people favorite beer or top 5 beers. Trying to get a feel for the different taste from different coast?

 

[salazaro44]

What are some of the Cali people favorite beer or top 5 beers. Trying to get a feel for the different taste from different coast?

Top 5 for me. I'll try to pick from different styles.

1. Black Tuesday. Bcbs is a close second but a prefer the thick viscosity and maple syrupiness of Black Tuesday.

2.Blazing World by Modern Times. It's a hoppy amber ale. It's my go to if I don't want to drink high abv stuff or just relax and enjoy something else and not think about what I'm drinking.

3. I don't have a favorite IPA but I love any IPAs coming from beachwood. Melrose, hop jitsu, thrillseeker are all amazing stuff. Rip currents In The Curl IIPA is amazing as well. I've had pliny and heady but I'd take any of these any day.

4.Supplication by russian river for sours. The bruery's sour in the rye and alamancs dark pumpkin sour come close.
5. Parabola. It's so different from Black Tuesday and I'm on a huge bourbon barrel aged kick right now.

This list can completely change tomorrow. I've had so much good beer it's hard to really narrow it down to top 5. Also don't believe the hype. A lot of times I'll hype myself up for a certain beer and when I finally have it it's not life changing or mind-blowing.

 

[troublebound666]

hit up some breweries yesterday with my wife as my Xmas gift

Pizza Boy, Spring House, and Tired Hands

anyone in the Philly area (StillIn729) should hit up Tired Hands if they haven't before...and make sure you order the bread and butter there

I will definitely second that Tired Hands reco.

That was the one spot my wife and I absolutely had to go to when we were in Philly the weekend after Thanksgiving. It was AMAZING.

Had the SaisonHands, FandHarm (wine barrel-aged saison) and Shirling (Double IPA). All three were nothing short of phenomenal, and that Shirling was maybe the smoothest, most easy-drinking Double IPA I've ever had.

To eat, we had the bread and butter, spicy pickles and the house-made kimchi. All so good.

 

[tee eye ehm]

In no particular order, my top 5 are:

Pliny
Speedway Stout
Rochefort 10
90 Minute
Ten Fidy

_____________

Thats based on my "go-to" list because they are readily available to me. If Elevated, Maine Beer Co.'s Lunch, BCBCS, among others were easily attainable or year round, my top 5 would be different.