Beer in the new era

Oskar Blue Gordon is a good. Loving the whole can thing these guys have going on.

Hitachino Nest make a great white ale that I seek out in the summer.

love most of the Oskar Blues beers
http://onsight-media.com/blog1/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/oskar-blues.jpg
this is about a mile from where I live ... and the brewery itself is even closer. I got insanely wasted during/after a brewery tour there last year. Some strong beers.

Got tickets for a beer dinner at the Hopleaf at the beginning of April. Description:

A rare opportunity to enjoy some of the rarest, most sought after beers from both Avery Brewing AND The Lost Abbey, thoughtfully prepared with a menu designed by Hopleaf Chef Ben Sheagren. Adam Avery and Tomme Arthur will be hosting the evening as we present their most extraordinary fermented offerings. All six courses will be paired with a beer from each brewery, including such rarities as...

Lost Abbey Bourbon Aged Angel's Share: The bourbon barrel aged version of the Belgian-inspired Strong Ale
Avery Black Tot: Imperial Oatmeal Stout Aged in Rum Barrels
Lost Abbey Veritas 007: Sour Ale aged in red wine barrels with Cab Franc grapes added
Avery Brabant: A Wild Fermented Ale aged in Zinfandel barrels
Lost Abbey Red Poppy 2010: Belgian-inspired Bruin aged for 6 months in oak barrels with sour cherries added
Avery Sui Generis: A Sour Ale blend of 10 different beers from 4 different kinds of wood
Lost Abbey Duck Duck Gooze: Tomme Arthur's version of a Belgian Gueuze, with a blend of 1, 2, and 3 year old wild fermented beer
and more...

I'm probably going to go into a coma after this.

yeah you're gonna die

die of happiness

or, alcohol poisoning

Avery Sui Generis: A Sour Ale blend of 10 different beers from 4 different kinds of wood wau! like making a suicide out of all the sodas at 7/11

hahaha

jeff i support you and i hope you have a blast but those descriptions are basically why i'm "not into" beer these days

because you hate belgians?

no not that, though when i went there they were only sort of friendly

the owner of the brewery took us on a private tour of Oskar Blues....was fuckin fab.

picked up a sixer of this 2nite:

http://www.ratebeer.com/beerimages/3173.jpg

I've never had it, but I am in the mood for a porter & wanted to try something new & Founder's is pretty solid all-around imo.

Next on the roster: Bell's Hopslam

having "Fine Festival" from the hotel desk, Danish, can't much get a solid read on it cept to say that it's a tasty, subtle 7.5er.
wld buy again.

have always wanted to try hitachino but i always balk at the $4/bottle pricing

i think i spent like $8 for a 750ml bottle?

yeah i'm talking about the little 330ml guys

yeah well thats your fuckin problem bro

jerk

I'm really into chocolate stouts lately. anybody got any to recommend? I love the Ft. Collins brewery version

i also really like pale ales but seem to have gotten tired of those ftm, but if anyone has one of those to suggest....

u_u

So ever since Half Acre opened up their brewery mere blocks from where I live, I've wanted to support them. Unfortunately, I've never been especially keen on their beers. Their Daisy Cutter IPA and Magnus Schwarz both pack a lot of flavor up front but there's not much body to them. The Over Ale, by contrast, is well-balanced and drinkable but not particularly exciting flavor-wise. So I was really pleased to discover Ginger Twin -- only available in 22 oz. bottles (and only in Chicago), but man, it's good.

ooh, I'll have to check that out. Almost got it at the bar at Whole Foods yesterday, but I've been a Scottish Ale kick.

Have you seen that Half Acre is going to switch from six packs of bottles to 4 packs of tallboy cans?

question for you beer people -- are there craft-beer specialty shops where you live? Like, places that sell *only* craft-beer? Seems like there should be some, but there aren't any in my neck of the woods.

I did see that, AJ. Seems like a good move, from what I've heard.

I don't think I know of any places that sell just craft beer...there are places that focus heavily on it, but why would they want to lose sales by not stocking miller lite or whatever?

xp

Tylerw, there's a wine and spirits store that I frequent that also sells beer, and the beer they sell is exclusively craft: Dogfish Head, Rogue, Bell's, etc. But that's about all I can think of.

yeah, i figured most places would stock miller lite, etc. just so they can get those sales. but i was wondering if it would be a good business model in the right area ... I'd go to a place that had a small, but well-chosen selection of craft beer.

there's a craft beer place that me and buds ride to most saturdays, ten minutes

f0urf3rkins

it's awesome

what do you guys think of hitachino nest? i had their red rice ale last week and really liked it--nice and mellow, subtle without being boring. and terrific label design.

― max, Wednesday, March 24, 2010 5:54 AM (5 days ago)

yeah the white ale is the one to get, although yeah it's pricy. red rice one i wasn't too fond of and they had this sake-barrel aged one that outright sucked ass, highly not recommended. but yeah, the white ale (powder blue label) is my fave, but I honestly just bypass it for Allagash White which I think is cheaper and just as/if not more tasty imo.

xxp Me too. I just did a quick Google, and it looks like such places exist in the Twin Cities and Atlanta -- so maybe Chicago's just slow to get on board.

f0urf3rkins - do they have a website or anything?
was looking at this place in atlanta: http://www.hopcitybeer.com/
looks like they sell wine as well.

oh xpost

Whole Foods carries some common imports, but not domestic lites and stuff.

That Four Ferkins place makes me want to quit my job and open my own craft beer store. That looks great.

There's a wine store in LA that has good selection of beer without going for the Budmilloors of the world. It's called 55 Degrees, in the Atwater area. They may even hold beer tatings.

I get most of my beers either at the food co-op (which only carries regional and craft beers plus tallboys of PBR and Rainier) or at the wine and beer shop that carries a bigger range of stuff but only sells craft beers and wines, no big name beers. This is a small town too, but in the NW so most of the regional brewery beers (Rogue, Deschutes, Full Sail, etc) are available even at gas stations.

I may just have to ride out there tonight tbh.

they've been doing really well I think, and are planning to open a new/different, larger location closer to the city proper

jaymc, I got a growler of the Ginger Twin about a month ago and I really enjoyed it.

Also, Chicago people. I will be out at a ton of these Stone events, so let me know if you will be out and I will look for you. Going to Twisted Spoke tomorrow (Thurs), small bar(s) on Friday, Bavarian Lodge and Finnegan's on Saturday, Whole Foods/Map Room on Sunday, and Publican on Wednesday. Maybe somewhere on Monday too.

Todd, I was thinking about Long Room on Monday, since it's only a few blocks from me. Would've gone to Whole Foods on Sunday but, y'know, Easter.

Unfortunately I'm gonna have to miss most of the Stone events because my Mom is visiting this weekend. Though I'll still most likely be at the Long Room on Monday.

I'm just going to pick up a few 6 packs to see what the big deal is.

I can get behind a visit to Long Room on Monday.

ok so normally i hate anything that summit does that isnt the boring standby pale ale, but to my shock i had the new rye IPA and it was kind of fantastic.

fuuuuuuuuck this beer is delicious

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3554/3301982659_8a45cfb228_o.jpg

I haven't been so impressed with a beer in a loooong time

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3375/3245727597_08e7701970_m.jpg

normally blue bottles are kinda tacky but the silver and blue combo is really nice imo (its kind of a deep sapphire-ish blue in normal light)

just a nicely done hefeweizen that's really drinkable and balanced and I can't wait for summer to get here

Enjoyed some things on tap at the new German-style beer garden in Jersey City this past weekend. Noteworthy to me was the Leffe Brown (I usually have the Blonde), which I thought was pretty good with spicy notes and not as sweet as I feared.

Coors in the new era
http://assets.bizjournals.com/story_image/850471-0-0-1.jpg

RIP Goose Island Nut Brown and Oatmeal Stout. Sad.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/goose-island-beer-co/hex-nut-brown-ale-and-oatmeal-stout/109674202396880