FINALLY! After a decade of suck, my Costco finally has something awesome:


I even went back and got another 15 pack, because this stuff is great.


And cheap! Bud Heavy and Coors were both $0.611/can. Bleh. Why would you do that to yourself?

 

What do you like and/or lack from the left coast?

 

Sure thing. Let me see what's over there. A buddy of mine keeps telling me Monkish in LA. Another friend mentioned wicked weed brewing I think outta Ashville. Shoot me a pm, I'm headed out to tree house this week. Gonna see what releases are worth it.

 

A gift from a friend down in Fl. Cigar City's Florida Man Loses a Bet.



The result of Cigar City losing a bet with Three Floyds brewery over the outcome of the 2015 Stanley Cup, this one is interesting. Robust and malty, with some noticeable bitterness and a very slight licorice undertone, courtesy of star anise. I'd definitely buy this one again if I could, but it was a one-batch brew and there will never be any more.

 

The Woots is back.




Nice label for the 5.0:

 

Had it on draft about two years, ago, took two sips and sent it back. Mediocre pale ale, absolutely not an IPA. Finishes like a Budweiser IMO. Tried it again 3 weeks ago from a can, same thing. Blech.

 

I must have W00t 4.0.

 

This is because you regularly drink things that are >130 IBU, not my fault you can't get your fix without freebasing the hard stuff.

When was the last time you had a Budweiser? Would you have rather had a Budweiser?

Its not the best IPA I've ever had, nor is it the best pale. On followup I'm not even sure I'd call it awesome at this point. What it happens to have been was something my Costco was carrying that was beer and was not Bud/Bud Light/Coors/Coors Light/Modelo/Corona/Kirkland Light. I've literally never seen anything other than those 7 beers in the decade that I've been a member. I'll take what I can get.

Also, should't you be regaling us with tales of foreign delights? I understand you've been traveling. Welcome back and congrats

 

Had one of these on the banks of the loch Ness in the hotel/restaurant there. Loch Ness LochNESS | Shelton Brothers
Way better than a Guinness (which is my go to beer), and I wish I could have found it in other places, as only one other pub we found had it. Best damn beer I had in all of Scotland, and I drank a bunch of them.

Just last spring the place went under, but has been revived by a local partnership of the hotel and some regional craft brewers. Good thing, as they make some amazing beer.

 

Life starts at 80IBU.

I truthfully don't think I've ever had an entire Budweiser. Maybe during a beerpong game in college. With the amount of exceptionally good, obtainable, and reasonably priced craft beer available, I've become a lot pickier about what I sip on. A Tavour subscription and friends in the Pacific Northwest typically make those decisions a lot easier as well.

Thank you sir Three weeks of my new wife and I doing our best to cause a wine shortage in Italy. I wanted to relax, disconnect from the work world a bit, and acquire a taste for wine, and I successfully executed all three.

 

You bitterness snobs stop ruining my beer. I'm going to buy medical grade isohumulone direct from china and mix it to saturation into natty ice and sell it for $50/12 pack as the highest IBU beer ever.

 

Am I the only person here who prefers late hop additions? I just put a Bell's Two-Hearted Clone (heaps of centennial with extra citra dry hop) in the fermenter but it's going to be south of 60 IBU despite having nearly half a pound of hops in it.

I just don't get the preference people have for bitterness over flavor and aroma.

Drinking some of my rye barrel imperial stout before bedtime.

 

OK, I'm jelly

 

You aren't alone. One of my favorite session IPAs is Champion's Melee. 4.5% ABV only 35ibu, ultra drinkable, but still tastes like a nice, bright, hoppy IPA. I would buy it by the case if they had distribution anywhere near CA.

OTOH, if I'm in the mood for something like a Simtra or a Hop-De-Ranged from Knee Deep, a 35ibu Melee isn't going to cut it

 

Finished my IPA. My experiment with dry hopping before fermentation was not really a success. I'm not sure what caused it, but I got super intense grassy aftertaste.

The grass seems to have dissipated somewhat after spending a night carbonating in the fridge, so it's not a complete failure.

Not quite as bright as I was hoping for, but bitterness is mild and it's not hard to drink at all. About 7 percent ABV. Hopefully after carbonation it will continue to improve.

 

purchased at my 'round the corner pizza and beer store:

 

W00t !!

Dang, that Black Xantus next to it is a real keeper too. I see the Costco near me is now stocking the W00ts at $6.99. If the Xantas there is $17, I'm guessing the W00t wasn't cheap either. Very nice choices for a pizza joint nonetheless.

(Is that a barrel aged Old Rasputin down below?)

 

 

Also, finally found it at a sleazy-looking little shop near the brown line station on Irving Park:

 

You never know what you might find off the beaten path.