Beer!

I'm drinking the Sam Adams "Hopflake White IPA" from the Winter Pack.

Anthrax is getting on board the band/beer wagon...



Wardance (5.5% abv) is brewed using a blend of both New York State and North American two-row malt barley and a blend of special malts to add color and depth of flavor. The hops are sourced through New York State and West Coast growers. A percent of the hops is added in the boil kettle and a percent post fermentation to create a unique flavor profile that balances the rich flavor and aroma of the specialty malts with the delicate aroma of the select hops. The result is a recognizable beer with a unique character that sets Wardance apart from other beers out in the market today.

Am I the only one that is disappointed they aren't calling it "Reebikcufcin"?

Call the PR ad man quickly and get it changed. That's gold right there. I actually wouldn't mind trying that.

Tried something different from New Belgium:


https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/262267/

It's like a better quality Bud Light Lime (and not a light beer from what I can tell).

Speaking of New Belgium, when looking for a picture of this beer I saw this:



I have never seen it before and since it's one time brewed, I'm likely to never see it.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Am I the only one that is disappointed they aren't calling it "Reebikcufcin"?

DallasBlack wrote:

Tried something different from New Belgium:


https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/262267/

It's like a better quality Bud Light Lime (and not a light beer from what I can tell).

Speaking of New Belgium, when looking for a picture of this beer I saw this:



I have never seen it before and since it's one time brewed, I'm likely to never see it.

I've been looking for that Cookie Dough one for a while now and I've never seen it either.

Last night I had a limited edition from local brewer Perennial called "Sump".  It's a heavy coffee stout.   It's really good but BA likes it a little more than I do.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25888/87679/

A local brewery here, Iron Horse, makes a seasonal milk stout I found at closeout prices so i'm enjoying one tonight.

I like me some milk stout.  As long as it's not the "nitrogenated" version.  I don't get that concept; "here's a process that takes all the bubbles out of your beer...".  Yeah great, everyone loves flat beer.

I love Nitro beers on tap, not in a can.

Another local, Bale Breaker, makes a great DIPA i'm enjoying with dinner.

I've totally changed my opinion on IPAs.  Well at least on ones that aren't just regular IPAs.

I'm down with doubles. triples, black IPA, imperial IPA, black rye...pretty much anything that's not just a run of the mill IPA.  But even then I no longer consider "regular" IPAs a drainpour like I used to.  I can drink pretty much any form of IPA these days.

There are some bad ones but breweries like Dogfish Head and Deschutes make some great ones.

I can't get Dogfish Head here but Deschutes is readily available. 

I think Stone has become my favorite brewer followed closely by Avery and Founders.  It was last year when I was with some friends from work at the local beer-snob bar for our annual March Madness watch party that I first tried Avery's Maharaja on tap.  It's an Imperial IPA.  I loved it.  Then one of the guys gave me a quick lesson on IPAs.  Stupid me always thought if a regular IPA was too hoppy for me than certainly a double IPA would be doubly as repulsive.  And heaven forbid I ever drink a triple IPA.  He enlightened me to the fact that doubles, triples, blacks, imperials all contain more malts to counter the hops.  So actually the "higher up the scale" of IPAs I go, the more I like them.  One of my favorite beers is Founders "Devil Dancer", a triple IPA which they are sadly discontinuing.  Fortunately I found another triple IPA from Shmaltz that I like just as much. 

So now I alternate between stouts and IPAs.  I tend to drink the heavier stouts during the fall and winter and more IPAs during the summer.

Both Avery and Founders are high quality but also high priced, at least here. I do love me a regular IPA at times, the more bitter the better.
Have you tried Fresh Squeezed by Deschutes? Very citrusy and not overwhelming on the bitter.

Went to the beer store today and I picked up a weird one.

It's Founder's "Frootwood".  The label says "Cherry ale aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels".
What???

A)What the hell is "cherry ale"? and...
B) What the hell is a "maple syrup bourbon barrel"?

I'm tasting it for the first time and it's actually not bad.  I definitely taste 1)the cherries, 2)the bourbon and 3)the maple syrup.

I probably wouldn't buy this again because it's just too weird but I'm a beer daredevil so I decided to give it a shot and I'm glad I did; at least it wasn't a drainpour.

Been hearing about that one from some friends who get their stuff more readily then I do. Some love it and some thought is was ok, worth trying once. I'm curious.

Having a local tonight. No Li Big and Juicy IPA.

North Coast "Old Stock", 2015 vintage.

I always have a bunch of this stuff aging in the "beer cellar" (which is actually a storm closet built into the base of the staircase to my basement). I finished off the last of the 2014 a few week ago so I decided to break into the 2015 vintage. It's great but I think it could use a couple more months of aging to adequately merge the flavors.

This is an "old ale" which really mellows and becomes stupendous if you let it sit for several years. I've recently seen North Coast bottling up the 2014 vintage that they've aged themselves and selling a 16oz bottle for around $20 so even they know how much better this stuff is with a few years on it.

No thanks, I'll pay 14.99 for a four pack and age them myself.

Another one I hear about but can't get. Sounds great.

Man, that's a shame because it's great if you have the self-control to let it sit. Just like Dragon's Milk except Old Stock has to age even longer. Last fall I found a bottle of 2013 that I'd forgotten about and OMG was it "nectar of the gods".

Right now I've got about a case of 2015 and a case of 2016 Old Stock both aging. I also have two cases of Founder's 2016 Backwoods Bastard aging. Those don't have to age nearly as long as the Old Stock; they'll be ready by October.

It's amazing because before I became an "uber beer snob" I never even heard of much less thought about aging beer like wine. But it really does make a difference depending on the type of beer. I've also had aging backfire on me (like with Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale). It seems like the more spices and extra stuff that is added to a beer, the better it is to drink it fresh. But if it's a "pure" style of beer then aging can make a world of difference.

Usually the beers you age are out of my price range though I have aged The Abyss bye Deschutes for a little. I get impatient. =)

Dark Horseman wrote:

Usually the beers you age are out of my price range though I have aged The Abyss bye Deschutes for a little. I get impatient. =)

That's the real challenge.  That's the biggest reason I stash stuff I want to age in that closet in the basement.  I never go in there; the only one who goes in there is one of my cats because she loves the leather furniture in that room.  I originally had planned for that to be my living room but I discovered it was too claustrophobic.  So now I have all this nice furniture down there and the only one who uses it is a cat.

But if I ever have to take cover from a storm and get trapped in my basement I won't die of thirst.

Abita's "Purle Haze" beer is pretty good.

I've tried several Abita beers but nothing has really impressed me. Certainly better than the mass-marketed swill but nothing I bought a second time. I don't think I've tried Purple Haze though but I've seen it.

Purple Haze is supposed to have raspberry puree added, but I didn't really taste it. Still a good beer though...