Beer!

I drank a bottle of Dragon's Milk last night. * commence Homer Simpson drooling noises *

Picking up more Black & Tan tonight...

tohostudios wrote:

I laugh at their carton blurb now. It's not that I can't handle it or I'm used to mass market beers; it' just that this particular beer tastes like an IPA to me and I HATE IPAs.

Well, there you go. I dig IPA's. Not on a regular basis, but once in a while as a "change up."

Went to Friar Tuck's Liquor again today. Came out with a 4 pack of Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout and a 6 of something called Bitch Creek Extra Special Brown. I just browsed around for about 30 minutes before buying anything; like a kid in a candy store.

Well, I really like the Rasputin Stout but the Bitch Creek was "a bitch" - too fruity/hoppy.

Just checked beer advocate to see their opinion of Old Rasputin. It's one of the highest ratings I've ever seen there:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/112/412

tohostudios wrote:

Just checked beer advocate to see their opinion of Old Rasputin. It's one of the highest ratings I've ever seen there:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/112/412

i hope you recycle!!

exact33 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

Just checked beer advocate to see their opinion of Old Rasputin. It's one of the highest ratings I've ever seen there:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/112/412

i hope you recycle!!

I do.

And this stuff is a lot cheaper per 4pk than my previous year round favorite "Dragon's Milk" (8.99 vs 14.99). My alltime favorite is still Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale but since that's only briefly available in the fall and Old Rasputin is available year round, this is my new favorite beer.

tohostudios wrote:

exact33 wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

Just checked beer advocate to see their opinion of Old Rasputin. It's one of the highest ratings I've ever seen there:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/112/412

i hope you recycle!!

I do.

And this stuff is a lot cheaper per 4pk than my previous year round favorite "Dragon's Milk" (8.99 vs 14.99). My alltime favorite is still Schlafly's Pumpkin Ale but since that's only briefly available in the fall and Old Rasputin is available year round, this is my new favorite beer.

I got a 12 pack of Yuengling for $9 so its good. I will see what i can find of the of the ones you mentioned.

I know it's not The King's intent but for anyone else, most of the beers I post about here are not "session beers"; i.e., they're not for getting drunk. These are beers to savor the way one savors a fine wine.

Most of these beers have a high ABV (usually 8% or higher) and are not meant to be drunk just to get drunk. They'll definitely get you drunk but I bet the hangover from it isn't worth it.

the nice part about the weather being so cold is the beer is frosty good!!

No kidding. A portion of my garage has now become my "beer cellar". I've still got 4 complete 12 packs of Samuel Adams Winter Classics out there. The rest of my stash is in my basement in a closet for "aging" purposes.

Who the heck is D.G. Yuengling and Sons and how did they get to be No. 1? I have never heard of these guys but it looks like they sold more beers in the US than anyone in 2011. What world am I living in?

http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-allentown-yuengling-sales-20120112,0,287571.story

I don't understand how this can be since Sam Adams is available all over the country and Yuengling isn't.

tohostudios wrote:

I don't understand how this can be since Sam Adams is available all over the country and Yuengling isn't.

Here's the thing, I don't think they want to be. I think some distributors like the niche they've carved out for themselves and have no aspirations to be the next Bud, Miller or Coors.

tohostudios wrote:

I don't understand how this can be since Sam Adams is available all over the country and Yuengling isn't.

I was thinking somewhere along these lines too. I never seen or heard of Yuengling beers, but I guess they don't sell any here in Los Angeles as far I can tell. Maybe I need to go check my local BevMo, but having been there countless times, I know they don't carry this brand. You learn something new everyday, and learning about this beer was a big surprise. Now I need to hunt this down.

GrandNational wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I don't understand how this can be since Sam Adams is available all over the country and Yuengling isn't.

I was thinking somewhere along these lines too. I never seen or heard of Yuengling beers, but I guess they don't sell any here in Los Angeles as far I can tell. Maybe I need to go check my local BevMo, but having been there countless times, I know they don't carry this brand. You learn something new everyday, and learning about this beer was a big surprise. Now I need to hunt this down.

They're not carried in a lot of states outside Pennsylvania. My brother and I used to have a buddy of his (who is from western PA.) bring back cases all the time.

metalinmyveins wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I don't understand how this can be since Sam Adams is available all over the country and Yuengling isn't.

Here's the thing, I don't think they want to be. I think some distributors like the niche they've carved out for themselves and have no aspirations to be the next Bud, Miller or Coors.

So if Yuengling is available in far fewer states than Sam Adams products, how is it that they sold more beer? Is it as simple as "the states Yuengling IS sold in drink more than the rest of the country"?

I don't think that's true. I grew up in PA and Yuengling was a staple (along with crap like Shaefer, and Genny Cream) so I don't understand how they sold more beer than a company that actually advertises nationally like Boston Beer Company.

tohostudios wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I don't understand how this can be since Sam Adams is available all over the country and Yuengling isn't.

Here's the thing, I don't think they want to be. I think some distributors like the niche they've carved out for themselves and have no aspirations to be the next Bud, Miller or Coors.

So if Yuengling is available in far fewer states than Sam Adams products, how is it that they sold more beer? Is it as simple as "the states Yuengling IS sold in drink more than the rest of the country"?

I don't think that's true. I grew up in PA and Yuengling was a staple (along with crap like Shaefer, and Genny Cream) so I don't understand how they sold more beer than a company that actually advertises nationally like Boston Beer Company.

Here's my thing regarding Sam Adams. I think they are becoming quite the giant these days, which is a turnoff to me. I liked when they were kind of flying under the radar years ago. I rarely if ever drink the stuff anymore, because of what I just stated. For me to delve into a Sam Adams, then that means there's a really sh!tty beer selection on tap. I've noticed that Goose Island seems to in more places on tap these days, but I will only go for that when the beer selection is kind of lame. Do other beer drinkers think like I do? I have no idea, but that's my two cents. I suppose I try to keep my beer drinking like that of my red wine drinking, which is variety, variety, and more variety. Of course, it sounds like I'm a beer snob. To a point I am, but I don't drink more than maybe twice a week and sometimes only once a week, so that keeps the cost down as well. I don't know where people consider their drinking experience over on a given night, but I like to go no further than the classic "buzz" stage, and rarely even gets to that level. I'm one of those social drinkers!

metalinmyveins wrote:

GrandNational wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I don't understand how this can be since Sam Adams is available all over the country and Yuengling isn't.

I was thinking somewhere along these lines too. I never seen or heard of Yuengling beers, but I guess they don't sell any here in Los Angeles as far I can tell. Maybe I need to go check my local BevMo, but having been there countless times, I know they don't carry this brand. You learn something new everyday, and learning about this beer was a big surprise. Now I need to hunt this down.

They're not carried in a lot of states outside Pennsylvania. My brother and I used to have a buddy of his (who is from western PA.) bring back cases all the time.

well its available in Maryland - my local store carries it and it is really priced right.

metalinmyveins wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I don't understand how this can be since Sam Adams is available all over the country and Yuengling isn't.

Here's the thing, I don't think they want to be. I think some distributors like the niche they've carved out for themselves and have no aspirations to be the next Bud, Miller or Coors.

So if Yuengling is available in far fewer states than Sam Adams products, how is it that they sold more beer? Is it as simple as "the states Yuengling IS sold in drink more than the rest of the country"?

I don't think that's true. I grew up in PA and Yuengling was a staple (along with crap like Shaefer, and Genny Cream) so I don't understand how they sold more beer than a company that actually advertises nationally like Boston Beer Company.

Here's my thing regarding Sam Adams. I think they are becoming quite the giant these days, which is a turnoff to me. I liked when they were kind of flying under the radar years ago. I rarely if ever drink the stuff anymore, because of what I just stated. For me to delve into a Sam Adams, then that means there's a really sh!tty beer selection on tap. I've noticed that Goose Island seems to in more places on tap these days, but I will only go for that when the beer selection is kind of lame. Do other beer drinkers think like I do? I have no idea, but that's my two cents. I suppose I try to keep my beer drinking like that of my red wine drinking, which is variety, variety, and more variety. Of course, it sounds like I'm a beer snob. To a point I am, but I don't drink more than maybe twice a week and sometimes only once a week, so that keeps the cost down as well. I don't know where people consider their drinking experience over on a given night, but I like to go no further than the classic "buzz" stage, and rarely even gets to that level. I'm one of those social drinkers!

If you scroll back a few pages in this thread you'll find I'm a self-proclaimed beer snob. I'm not really into "session beers" (beersnob-speak for beer you drink to get drunk), I'm into beers with TASTE. That said, I still cannot understand how a brewer with limited national availability is able to outsell a brewer that's available nationwide. It just doesn't make sense. Setting aside which company produces a better product, it seems like should simply be a matter of availability to me.

Unless Yuengling drinkers consume a lot more than Sam Adams drinkers.

metalinmyveins wrote:

Here's my thing regarding Sam Adams. I think they are becoming quite the giant these days, which is a turnoff to me. I liked when they were kind of flying under the radar years ago. I rarely if ever drink the stuff anymore, because of what I just stated. For me to delve into a Sam Adams, then that means there's a really sh!tty beer selection on tap. I've noticed that Goose Island seems to in more places on tap these days, but I will only go for that when the beer selection is kind of lame. Do other beer drinkers think like I do? I have no idea, but that's my two cents. I suppose I try to keep my beer drinking like that of my red wine drinking, which is variety, variety, and more variety. Of course, it sounds like I'm a beer snob. To a point I am, but I don't drink more than maybe twice a week and sometimes only once a week, so that keeps the cost down as well. I don't know where people consider their drinking experience over on a given night, but I like to go no further than the classic "buzz" stage, and rarely even gets to that level. I'm one of those social drinkers!

I like sam adams. I dont really care if th distro is big or small as long as it tastes good.

tohostudios wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

metalinmyveins wrote:

tohostudios wrote:

I don't understand how this can be since Sam Adams is available all over the country and Yuengling isn't.

Here's the thing, I don't think they want to be. I think some distributors like the niche they've carved out for themselves and have no aspirations to be the next Bud, Miller or Coors.

So if Yuengling is available in far fewer states than Sam Adams products, how is it that they sold more beer? Is it as simple as "the states Yuengling IS sold in drink more than the rest of the country"?

I don't think that's true. I grew up in PA and Yuengling was a staple (along with crap like Shaefer, and Genny Cream) so I don't understand how they sold more beer than a company that actually advertises nationally like Boston Beer Company.

Here's my thing regarding Sam Adams. I think they are becoming quite the giant these days, which is a turnoff to me. I liked when they were kind of flying under the radar years ago. I rarely if ever drink the stuff anymore, because of what I just stated. For me to delve into a Sam Adams, then that means there's a really sh!tty beer selection on tap. I've noticed that Goose Island seems to in more places on tap these days, but I will only go for that when the beer selection is kind of lame. Do other beer drinkers think like I do? I have no idea, but that's my two cents. I suppose I try to keep my beer drinking like that of my red wine drinking, which is variety, variety, and more variety. Of course, it sounds like I'm a beer snob. To a point I am, but I don't drink more than maybe twice a week and sometimes only once a week, so that keeps the cost down as well. I don't know where people consider their drinking experience over on a given night, but I like to go no further than the classic "buzz" stage, and rarely even gets to that level. I'm one of those social drinkers!

If you scroll back a few pages in this thread you'll find I'm a self-proclaimed beer snob. I'm not really into "session beers" (beersnob-speak for beer you drink to get drunk), I'm into beers with TASTE. That said, I still cannot understand how a brewer with limited national availability is able to outsell a brewer that's available nationwide. It just doesn't make sense. Setting aside which company produces a better product, it seems like should simply be a matter of availability to me.

Unless Yuengling drinkers consume a lot more than Sam Adams drinkers.

Yeah, who knows. It seems like statistically speaking Sam Adams should be way ahead of sales compared to Yuengling, but maybe it's kind of like the situation involving the Jack Daniels distillery. First off, I hate Jack Daniels. I hate all that type of whisky, but then again, it hates me. With that being said, I had a delivery one time going down into that neck of the woods. My boss asked me very nicely, if I would go down to the distillery (which has a tour for those of you unfamiliar with the place) and buy upwards of $1,200 dollars worth of limited edition Jack. I did this again a second time, within a year. Can you imagine all the other nut jobs that do the same thing in a given year? Holy cow, those people at the Jack Daniels distillery are rolling in the cash! Now, I'm guessing there are many people who kind of do the same thing when passing through PA and buying Yuengling.

The thing is Yuengling is very reasonable - $9 for a 12 pack of the lager. I think it is commonplace corporate events which would explain some of the volume

exact33 wrote:

The thing is Yuengling is very reasonable - $9 for a 12 pack of the lager. I think it is commonplace corporate events which would explain some of the volume

There you go. Sam Adams' beers are still priced at "craft brewer" levels. If I could pick up a 12 pack of Yuengling for $9 and I was into getting drunk on beer, I'd definitely pick that up because it tastes "decent" (at least it did the last time I had some which was ages ago). But it's just not up to my current snobby standards.