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

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1497382698
I even went back and got another 15 pack, because this stuff is great.

https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...1&d=1497382698
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.

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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. :drool:


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Nice label for the 5.0:

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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? :giggle:

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 :bigtu:

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. :party:

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 :bigtu: 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.

:drool:

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 :party:

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:


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...7f63ec6fb6.png

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. :drool:

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

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


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...bb7e94bedd.jpg

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

well-acquired, joe.

One can say I support my local craft beer scene. A few NC goodies. Burial is probably my favorite Asheville brewery.

At some point, I have to stop buying it and start drinking it...

Attachment 237067

^^ Story of my life. At the end of the day, there is only so much sobriety to go around. :dunno:

There are rarely more than 12 beers in our fridge. There is also rarely less than 2. We run a tight ship.

Current stock:
1 w00tstout 4.0 (not in fridge)
2 magic hat I think (brought by dinner guests)
4 three notch'd tollan ryepa
1 einstock icelandic ipa (souvenir from friends)
maybe some 21st amendment hell or high watermelon? (my wife likes it..)
perhaps a random assortment of kirkland craft beer made by bricks and barley in the basement. you know, for guests who DGAF.

I'm going to have to find a way to find a space for a mini fridge in the bar area at my new house.

Did a bit of light trespassing yesterday.

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Finally found the portal I was looking for.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...86f5bafa26.png





Goodness lie within.


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(Yes, that really is a mountain of full cans stacked practically to the ceiling. I seriously have no idea how they get them on and off the pile.)







First glass was Deth's Tar. 14.8%.
Despite the hyperbole, it really was quite good. Reminded me of the oaked Oskar Blues Old Chub I had in Denver several years ago just after GABF.

Second was an experimental Leipzig-style Gose they'd come up with. I can't remember the name exactly, I think it was No Pun Required or something like that. I'm a big fan of sours beers, and to be honest, this one was a little bit of a let-down. I'd describe it as a session sour, if you can get that image in your head. Definitely the sort of thing you could drink all day (4.3%, if I recall correctly.) It didn't really deliver the massive pucker factor that I prefer, and finished very cleanly which, again, isn't what I'm looking for in a gose.

Still and all, a good morning.

OMG...that Deth's Tar.........sounds superbly amazing. Would love to get my hands on that.

I should take a pic of the beer collection that we seem to be inadvertently aging :rofl: We buy a fair bit of limited/hard to find stuff....say we'll have it for a special occasion, then just look at it and say shit like 'yeah, I don't want to drink the expensive one just sitting here on the couch'. Lately, I've been getting into bourbons, and on our cross-country drive/move, we started a bit of a collection...finding limited/rare stuff along the way, or stuff that isn't easily found in NC (like Buffalo Trace.....almost every other state has it from floor to ceiling, but the hell if one can find a bottle of it in NC). Given I love my barrel-aged dark beers, it seemed like a logical progression. I've had a fair share of Woodford, so that's my kinda starting point, but I have since found other good stuff....including what's now my [very] inexpensive go-to- Rebel Yell. It's a wheated bourbon, so it's a bit on the sweeter side and is nice and smooth...and at times I want something mixed, it takes to a splash of ginger ale very nicely, almost way too refreshing and easy to chug lol. I would never do such things to the nicer stuff.

Yeah, there is a bottle of beer in there (can see the Deschutes Abyss Cognac-barrel aged ...mmmm), and a bottle of Crater Lake Vodka, but the rest is bourbon- Blanton's, Weller's Special Reserve, Buffalo Trace (normal and single barrel), Eagle Rare, JTS Brown 100 pfoor (bonded.....super inexpensive but quite tasty stuff), some Woodford.

Attachment 237039


And from our recent trip to Austin for the WEC race....we added a few more to the collection....

Attachment 237040

Haven't tried many of those yet. The Rebel Yell Small Batch is pretty damn good as well. The Very Old Barton was cheap and is best mixed with a bit of ginger ale...at least I prefer it that way over neat. Looking forward to trying those Jim Beam bottles that have different/non-traditional flavoring grains- Six Row Barley, Brown Rice and, Soft Red Wheat. All of them are 11-year aged.

Have you tried Iron Smoke?

Yum. I'd very much like to try that Deth's Tar too (even though the board currently lists it at JUST 13.5%) :rolleyes:

I wouldn't mind having a go at the Working Mom either.

Have been DIYing

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Local brew pub has cold brewed coffee on nitro now.

Meanwhile, I'm becoming Juan Valdez. Need a big black moustache.

Not pictured, empty glass of Tropic Pressure golden ale brewed with hibiscus from Big Storm Brewing.

It's getting to be my favorite time of year. :beer:


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Just picked up a bottle of CBS today too. Shit still have 2016 BA Ten Fidy I need to drink haha. That Triple BBB sounds interesting.

Though I've always heard great things about it, this is the first time I have ever been able to pick up any CBS (actually scored 5 bottles :party:), although I still have yet to open one. The other three I have tried, and my favorite of those has to be the Nogne O. It's a magnificent blend of some significantly barrel aged stouts. Much yumm!

label:

https://bineandvine.com/wp-content/u...ernal-rest.jpg


I was also able to pick up a case of (regular) Bourbon County last week and have a solid lead on a couple different bottles of their rarer variants.

I have not.....yet. Have personal experience with it?



Hugh, I need to get my hands on some of that Founders CBS.....

Tree House
 

My next door neighbor makes it. No, not in his basement, that have a real distillery. I have actually bottled two batches (a lot of work!) and it's become one of my favorites, although I usually don't drink whiskey.

Self-service:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...408648353f.png

We just got one of these in Charlotte, shit has been off the wall busy since it opened. I live in a city full of alcoholics.

Requirement for house purchase: Beer fridge.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4606/...57c5d960_b.jpg
2018-01-29_08-43-41 by concealer404, on Flickr

If you haven't tried the Rheingeist Hugh Hefeweizen you need to try it. And let me know where you find it because our Kroger stopped carrying it :hatecat:

I think the liquor store half a mile down the street has it. I'll report back tomorrow night, i'll grab two sixers if they have it and then you can come and hang out. :)

Sounds great. I've been on a Rheingeist kick lately. Didn't realize they had two other ciders besides Bubbles as well.

Tonight, a theme:

Ballast Point Victory at Sea, Epic Brewing Big Bad Baptist, Boulder Beer Shake Chocolate Porter and Fall River Irish Cream Stout.

Holy shit, that last one was soooo sweet...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/AvuM-pfCAAAtybc.jpg

Any of you bitches on Untappd? :beer:

Ninkasi Hop Cooler Citrus IPA: https://www.ratebeer.com/beer/ninkas...us-ipa/386577/

I like this beer a lot. A lot. Lioving in Portland OR I get exposed to a lot of IPA's. The past 10 years have really seen an escalation of ABV and IBU as defining characteristics of "PacNW style" IPA's.

I like actual flavor in my beer. That is, I like a certain malt to IBU ratio. I like a certain balance. Anybody can throw a ton of hops into a boil and create a 100 IBU beer. Literally anybody.

What's much more challenging is to create the proper (in my mind, ymmv) balance of malt to IBU ratio in your beer. Certainly there's a scale here, a range of what's acceptable in this ratio. I like beers that vary widely in this ratio. But, a 100 IBU beer, with little malt to balance, with no finish hops? That's not in my wheelhouse.

And that is not this beer.

This is a lovely beer. 7.2%, lots of citrus finish hop finish. Good malt to balance the 74 IBU.

This is a new favorite for me. I am picky in declaring favorites. This is right up there with the original Bridgeport IPA (at 5%, now to be considered a session IPA), Boneyard RPM IPA, and now this guy.

Very tasty. Very drinkable. Recommended.

Been on a treehouse kick lately. They're only about 20-30 mins away so I end up there every now and again.

Not a bad kick to have to take. :drool:

Are these okay you snobby fucks? I can't figure how to rotate the pic. It's straight on my computer.
http://i64.tinypic.com/2rz42a0.jpg

Let me tell you my tale of woe.
Mash and boil my rye hefe. Used a 14 pound grain bill. It's basically a bigger version of a weihenstephaner clone with light rye malt added. It tastes amazing.
Did a two hour mash to make sure I extracted EVERY FUCKING MOLECULE of fermentable sugar.
Four hours later it's done.
Take a gravity reading, it's 1.068, cruising towards what is basically a hefeweizen with nearly 8% alcohol. I've made this before. It's light and refreshing and after enjoying a tall glass of it, you will have quite a buzz.
Celebration imminent, but let me clean up my brew stuff first.
Walk past my wife with the brew kettle, she says "hey, that smells kinda burnt."
Me "fuuuuuuuuck"
Sure enough, empty out dregs and whole bottom of kettle is covered in burnt wort. Perfect outline of the stove burner.
Maybe it's not ruined, sterilize a ladle, ladle some wort out of the fermenter.... and it's burnt.

Fuck fuck fuckity fuck.

Getting a tri ply brew pot, should arrive in a few days.
.8mm thick bottom to be replaced with a 5mm thick bottom.

Fin du Monde is great stuff, polish lager beer is lager beer. I've had some amazing home brewed lagers, but never an interesting commercial one.

Buddies' bachelor party is next week in Denver. I don't have the heart to tell him the only reason I'm going is because we're hitting up Crooked Stave. All about dat Hop Savant.

Upped my game.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4649/...2334b273_b.jpg
2018-03-05_09-52-45 by concealer404, on Flickr

Made a hefeweisen and an english brown ale with the new kettle. No more charring.

Brown ale came out amazing. Super complex with bread and caramel notes galore. Over 9% ABV (made two pounds of dark candy sugar for it), but it tastes like a really good 5% ale. Drank two three tonight, feel kinda wrecked.
Hefe is still fermenting, shouldn't be long. Aiming for 4.5 percent with that one.

Old brew kettle was a what? I use converted 1/2 barrel kegs, haven't experienced this.

Bayou classic replaced with a tri ply bayou classic. The old pot was old (a few years of use) and the bottom wasn't flat (the metal was so thin it would flex and bend while it was heating up) and probably was eroded a bit from previous scrubbings/sandblastings/wirewheelings.

Anyway the new one works awesome, is super flat, heats up super fast, doesn't char, etc.

One of my very favorites.


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Amazingly, Mariano's has it in their "build your own six pack" collection. Cheapest I've ever found this one.

Local beer, Resident Culture - Fire walk with me. Love hazy IPAs

Beer being used as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory.

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Tonight, I got to enjoy a 2013 bottle of this:
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It was exquisite.