Really? All Whole Foods? What's the selection like? That will be nice when I get back to the States for sure.

the three I go to in VA are doing it. I think they have about 6 taps running.. I dont know for sure, but I saw some Bells handles...

EDIT: fun sidenote: I used to play poker with WF's mid atlantic beer director.

2nd edit: http://wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/bowery/beer-room/ for example

Going to the Canal Street Pub in Reading, PA for lunch on Saturday.
This is their Draft list:

Bell's Double Cream Stout
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout
Cigar City Jai Alai IPA
Green Flash West Coast IPA
Heavy Seas Winter Storm Warning
Kasteel Rouge
Lancaster Baltic Porter
Left Hand Sawtooth Ale
Lost Coast Indica IPA
Southern Tier Gemini
Stoudt's Imperial Schwarzbier
Terrapin Wake-n-Bake
Troegs Dreamweaver Wheat
Troegs Hopback Amber
Troegs Nugget Nectar
Union Barrel Works Lager
Voodoo Cowbell
Yuengling Lord Chesterfield Ale

I have previously had the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout, Troegs Nugger Nectar, Dreamweaver Wheat, Hopback Amber, and Yuengling Lord Chesterfield Ale. I think the Cowbell is is an Imperial Oatmeal Stout. Any suggesstions of what I should try?

I didn't like Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. It was harsh and somewhat one dimensional.

I just got back from a three day business trip to the Bahamas where I made a nice discovery.

http://www.bahamianbrewery.com/images/images/stout.png

This stuff is very good. It is new to the market. It is not bitter or harsh but still has plenty of rich flavor. It has the little bit of chocolaty malty sweetness added to smooth it out nicely. It is lighter than Old Rasputin but not by a bunch. It is worth searching for. http://www.bahamianbrewery.com/beer-strong-back.htm

currenty ankle deep in a Unibroue Trois Pistoles.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3554/...d73200bec9.jpg

so far... fucking delicious. even the foam on the head is tasty.

Great shit, especially on tap. Love it. There is a place here in SA that keeps it on tap and that is the first thing I order when I get there.

and then you realize it's 9% and you are on your ass after two.

Yep!

The day of our big snow clusterfuck here, i left work 2 hours early and got home after 2 hours of driving (normally 20 mins)... wife and I walked out in the snowstorm and got pizza and beer and then saw that the beergarden was open in the snow and had fires blazing outside.

Well imagine my bad planning when I ended up having two 10% beers and getting a third "normal strength" beer on a school night without considering the ramifications.

oops.

I posted the pic two pages ago I guess.

Donde?

The Yardhouse at La Cantera. They are a bit on the pricey side compared to the Saucer but they have the biggest tap selection in town from what I have seen. It is a nice place too. Trios Pistoles is a regular beer there, and they also have St. Bernardus ABT 12 on tap, which is also excellent.

If you get there between 4 and 6 on weekdays for happy hour the beer is significantly cheaper.

Here is their tap list
http://www.yardhouse.com/files/beer_menu_45.pdf

I think i need to hit that place up. Anyways, what was that horse piss that craig was drinking so I know what not to buy.

I went to a local Irish pub today where they have a bunch of greatness on draught. I drank a Founders Breakfast Stout. I wasn't too impressed with it as it is a Double Chocolate Coffee Oatmeal Stout, and because of that, it was an overwealming mix of different flavors. It actually tasted like it belongs at IHOP to be served on top of pancakes.
Then I drank what I just made the #1 on my Stout List.
Youngs Double Chocolate Stout.
Holy Crap this stuff is good.
It was served on Nitrogen and had a similar head of Guinness (which is cause of the Nitrogen). It was exceptionally smooth and didn't have a Cocoa chocolate taste, but rather a smooth mild chocoloate milk like taste. This is by far the best Stout I have ever drank, and I strongly suggest anyone who enjoys dark beer to try one A.S.A.P.

Just got back from County Kerry Ireland. I'll never look at an "Irish Pub" the same again. God I love that place, wanna go back already. Oh well, next adventure - Afghanistan.

Becks in the afternoon with a nice roastbeef, turkey, and salami sandwich,

Did you make it to Dublin? I posted some recommendations in your thread. Where specifically in Kerry? Did you make it out to Dingle to meet Fungi? Did people in sweet JDM cars cruise through Killarney at night? Did you meet any hot women from Tralee?

Nope. Stayed in Dingle went pretty much everywhere else in Kerry at some point or another. Didn't waste the time to see a fuckin fish with my tight schedule, maybe next time. Wasn't in Killarney at night but I did see a few nice cars over the weekend. Didn't spend too much time in Tralee but from what I saw I wasn't any more impressed with the women there than anywhere else on the Peninsula.

Not far from the house at all... gracias...

Yuengling Bock Beer. It's out right now, and I said it once and I'll say it again. Yuengling Brewery is located in Pottsville, PA and they claim to be the oldest brewery in America. Most of their products are OK, but Yuengling Bock Beer is superb. Best case of beer for less than $20 I ever bought. It's a seasonal brew, so get it while it lasts!!

Yuengling is a great cheap "drinking beer". It isn't incredible or anything, but it's easy to drink and very affordable. I'll have to check out their Bock.

I'm kind of a Sierra Nevada fan-boy mostly because it's one of the best beers that's easily acquired (cant wait til I turn 21 this fall, bullshit american laws...) The piney citrusy cascade hops in their pale ale really got me hooked and their Glissade "Golden Bock" that's out right now is pretty good as is their Tumbler.

I've really been trying to get a hold of some of their new beer, Hoptimum. It's relatively pricey, but it's a high ABV (10.4%) with 100 IBU using whole-cone hops. Apparently, it's a "new-school" style beer so it's very resinous and aromatic which kind of reminds their pale ale that I really like.

Lately I've been drinking SN Glissade and the Sam Adams "Noble Pils" (which is a czech-style pilsner) and it's not bad at all, but I ordered a few 6 packs of Victory Brewing's Prima Pils and I feel like that is how beer should taste. I was very happy with it.

I'll have a few of these later this afternoon.

Attachment 190623

gtfo!

Ewww, cider.
I'm goin the the Canal Street Pub in Reading in a few minutes. Hopefully gonna try something I never drank before. Here's their current Draught list:

21st Amendment Brew Free or Die
Dark Horse Special Reserve Black
Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter
Great Lakes Burning River
Heavy Seas Loose Cannon IPA
Hill Farmstead Edward
Ithaca Flower Power
Lagunitas Pils
Lancaster Double Chocolate Stout
Oskar Blues Ten Fidy
Sly Fox Helles Lager
Southern Tier 2x IPA
Stone Smoked Porter
Stoudt's Karnival Kolsch
Tetley's English Ale
Troegs Nugget Nectar
Yuengling Bock
Yuengling Lord Chesterfield Ale

try the stone smoked... but dont buy a whole glass.

Just got back from the Canal Street Pub, semi tuned up.
First beer...
9.0% Duck Rabbit Baltic Porter. It had a berry like taste, but was smooth for the amount of alcohol in it.
#2, the Stone Smoked Porter. I had it before...it's "ok".
#3 6.8% Lancaster Double Chocolate Stout. Very smooth, and had a strong chocolate flavor.
#4 9.5% Peche Mortel coffee stout. This shit is the cats meow, but at $9 a bottle, it should be. It tasted like if Juan Valdez had a private stash of coffee grounds and brewed it into beer. Very smooth...all around taste is A+.
#5 4% Tetley's English Ale. This stuff was boring and tasted like I was drinking green tea.
#6 Another Lancaster double chocolate stout.
#7 10.5% Oskar Blues Ten Fidy Imperial Stout. This was a great stout, had a mild "bite" to it. This was my last beer of my dinner, and by now my palette was pretty bitched up, so judgement isn't tip top.

I Left there, went to Hooter's for a Sam Adam's Noble Pil's. Blah.
Now I'm at my best friend's apartment drinking his 5% American Pale Ale homebrew.

Oh yeah!! I forgot! At Canal Street, this black guy walked in with his "woman". He drank (1) Oskar Blues Ten Fidy, and she drank (1) Woodchuck Cider. After he drank his 10.5% indulgence, he was all loud talking like, "that shit is fucked up...you playin me like that...you trick ass ho that's what you are..." My friend goes to me..."like a G6" I'm like what? He's like "Sober girls around me they be ackin like they drunk". I'm like, "Check Please".

Thanks for the reccomendation. I picked some up at HEB, and I am enjoying the hell out of it.

I'm sitting on my sofa waiting for my beautiful wife to get home from work. I'm drinking my 4th bottle of my friends APA 5% home brew. I always thought of home brew's as a cheap excuse to save money as a cheap knockoff to good beer. This, however, is great. I found out that a classmate of my buddy's home brews all kinds of stuff, and him and my friend are very knowledgeable about it. I'm actually contemplating buying a local run down bar, and transforming it into a Brew Pub.

home brew is where it's at, assuming of course you have a good recipe/ingredients, the biggest difference between a "cheap knockoff to good beer" and a good home/micro-brew is forced carbonation, which really isnt that expensive to do. natural carbonation done with dextrose can work alright, but you have to leave yeast in the beer and it can taste bread-y and it has to sit and ferment for weeks and it leaves sediment in the bottle...

I dragged braineack to the beer tasting across the street:

sam adams noble pils
sam adams blackberry wit
sam adams boston lager!
sam adams latitude 48 IPA
sam adams double bock
sam adams imperial stout

sorry, no utopias.

they did have one of their beer glasses there which was neat almost.

the pils was good and the IPA was ok. gentle for a hoppy beer. the stout was pretty hefty but tasty.

Had on draught yesterday-

Sierra Nevada Gran Cru: a blend of bourbon-barrel-aged Bigfoot + Celebration Ale + Pale Ale. Yes, it was incredibly awesome. Not the big barleywine bastard which comprises its foundation, but chock full of personality and complexity. Highly recommended.

Firestone Walker Double Jack: yet another attempt at a supremely trendy style, this double IPA was OK. Would have rated better if it was a tad less sweet.

Ballast Point Sculpin IPA: dry as shit with a floral hop note on the initial nose. Good for the first beer of the evening.

Pliney the Elder: possibly a bit over-rated but seriously fucking delicious, especially on draught.

You didn't drag me. Out of them I liked the Noble Pils, not much else.

Needed more Belgium White!

The Noble Pils and the Latitude 48 IPA are both pretty good efforts.

For same to produce an IPA that is passable in this over hyped IPA market is a strong showing for their efforts. For a commercial IPA I know I will get in many places for a reasonable price, they have done well.

Stone, while I love them has lost me as a frequent customer for most everything, I used to love ruination, but it hasn't been the same since they bought DFH's old brewhouse, and at 18 a sixxer, I refuse to pay that when I can make it myself (or close to it). However their new Old Guardian Belgo is frickin fantastic and at 12% its a sledgehammer in hiding.

A visit to the Yardhouse last night for dinner w/ friends.

Mighty tasty beverage indeed...

Thanks for the recommendation and directions.

- L

What the hell is Youngs Double Chocolate doing over there :vash: I hardly ever see it in Youngs Pubs over here.
Even better was their Oatmeal stout :beer: or the Winter Warmer, jeez that stuff gets you wobbling.

I'm now lucky enough the have a brewery not far from me, Hogs Back Brewery, and pay them a visit for a 17 pint mini-pin of sedimented beer of whatever's in season. Stays drinkable for 2-3 weeks and keeps fermenting a little. Beware though, the odd brew might explode !!!!
Real ales always taste better straight from the barrel :drool: forget cans completely :beer::barf:

This thread sucks dick.

Y'all need to buck up:

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._3189395_n.jpg

No problem. I was there tonight, and the first thing I ordered when I sat down... Trois Pistoles.

But those bastards took ABT 12 off of the tap list damn it. I was not pleased.

I went to "the trappist" in oakland, 150 different bottles, 50 different taps, 30 different lambic's. I only got to try a couple but the last one i had was my favorite of the night. Russian river brewery "damnation". Pretty good, interesting boquet with a light coffee like finish.

So there was another excellent beer I tried last weekend thanks to the generosity of a beer fanatic at the race track.
Unibroue Terrible in a bottle.
http://ny.worldclassbeverages.com/wp...ibleBottle.jpg

Wow... This one has the same basic flavors as Trois Pistoles (same brewery) but with a lot of additional complexity and headiness. It is a most excellent beer. If you like dark, complex Belgians, especially if you like Trois Pistoles and/or Aventinus, this one is a MUST try. I am going to get some more even if I have to order it.

Can you define "headiness" for me?

Just finished a Hale's Ales Irish Style Nut Brown Ale and it was yum yum.

Attachment 190322

just had one of these at the beer garden:
(it was super smooth and delicious)

http://thefullpint.com/wp-content/up.../Aarsh-tap.jpg

Talk to Dave the Beer Guy at the Gabriel's on 1604 & Blanco. If he can't get it, it can't be gotten. (At least in the Alamo City...)

- L

damn fine choice.

Was that where all the loud music was coming from?

I like Guiness and Shock Top.

I was snowboarding in Brian Head, UT for spring break. Picked up a 6 pack of shock top in Cedar City. That was a mistake. I forgot the mormons limit beer to 3.2% by weight, so it just didnt taste right. What do you Utah guys do?

Turns out that Spects at 35 and 1604 keeps Terrible on the shelf. I need to go over there and clean them out.

I called a local HEB and talked to a guy about ordering it. He never called me back.

I hear good things about Spects. Problem is they're on the wrong side of town...

Which HEB? Larry, the Beer Guy at the HEB on 1604 & Bandera, has been responsive to requests and chocked full of good info and recommendations.

- L

3D Beer Commercial...

lol wut^. Had this Sunday night. Excellent. VAttachment 190021

Yeah that is a long haul for me too. But next time I go to H2R I will drive right by there.

I think I called the one at 471 and 1604 which is closer to home. The Bandera/1604 store definitely has a much better beer section. Last time I was there they had Aventinus on the shelf (chilled) which is impressive.

EDIT: So I just talked to Larry at Bandera/1604 and he is on the case (no pun intended).

Groovy. Glad to have helped.

- L

Update. So I had not heard back from Larry at HEB for several days so over the weekend I made the trip to Spects and bought a case of Terrible (12 bottles). I cleaned them out :D

This morning Larry called me to say he now has a case of Terrible at the Bandera/1604 store so if you want some it can be had there. He said it will be about $10.50 for a 750 ml bottle.

On another note I unexpectedly visited the Blue Star Brewery last night with a friend of mine to listen to some most excellent live Big Band music. 17 piece orchestra and a singer, fantastic. The Blue Star Brewery is south of Downtown SA off of South Alamo, right next to the King William district. Anyway we tried a sampler of their microbrew and for the most part I was not impressed. The only thing we liked was the Irish style stout and the pale ale, both of which were good, especially the stout.

The rest were not that good at all really and a couple were downright unpalatable. Stick to the stout and the pale ale and it is definitely worth the trip.

Anybody interested who's in the PA, NJ, MD, DE area...
April 23rd Hop Fest at Union Jacks. Last year it was pretty big.
http://unionjacksmanatawny.com/index.php?link=4

ZX-Tex, name of said band?

It's the Second Weekend of the Month...
 

"So what?" sez you? Well, the Ex has possession of the offspring the second weekend of the month. Thus, I have time to fill. What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than to have your kid brother and a few other friends over for a beer tasting?

This month's theme: Stouts. (for those of you paying attention the the line up, yes, one Porter was snuck into the mix. However, it would have been bad form not to consume it...)

The line up:

For those of you paying attention...
 

... you might note something about the bottle on the far left. It was packaged thusly:

What $80 beer comes in a paper bag, with a Sharpie (tm) inscribed bird and a thirty-two percent sign?