Beer in the new era

I was in Tampa yesterday and stopped by Cigar City Brewing. I'd never heard of it -- I don't even know how far they distribute (not in Chicago, at least), but it gets a lot of love on BeerAdvocate and RateBeer. I had a pretty good, if not particularly noteworthy, IPA (Jai Alai) that's one of their year-round brews, as well as a few other samples. The Cucumber Lager seems like something that could've gone very wrong, but it was actually really well balanced. Ditto a guanabana-flavored ale (inspired by aguas frescas) and a cardamon-spiced wit. Best, however, was the Wood-Aged Rollin' Dirty, an Irish red ale aged on Spanish cedar that had some interesting tobacco notes. Worth checking out if you're in the area -- seems like they experiment fairly regularly.

cigar city rules so hard

like w/ movies i'd much prefer a beer that tries something totally insane (cucumber lager??) and fails than something mediocre + unmemorable

except for double bacon maple syrup nonsense that shit looks nasty

my buddy ended up with 3 saisons they did aged on different woods (cedar, lemon, and something else) that were super cool to drink side-by-side. and their imperial stouts are some of the best i've had.

Yeah, I loved drinking a beer aged on a wood other than oak. I haven't seen that too often.

On a less esoteric note, I ordered a Bootlegger "Black Phoenix" (chipotle coffe stout) at a restaurant and like it so much I ordered two more. WF carries it in bombers at $6.29, and I may check BevMo on the way home tonight. The chipotle is only really detectable as a mild smokiness with maybe a bit of bite, but the coffee is very present.

i love cigar city. weirdly the only place they seem to distribute outside of FL is the immediate NYC area as far as i know (you can usually find six-packs and bombers at decicco's in westchester county)

peg's cantina in gulfport fl, near st petersburg, also does great stuff - their head brewer used to be involved with cigar city in the early days, and they're right up there quality-wise. worth checking out if you're in the tampa area again

Only had a couple cigar city brews. One of the reasons I wanted to try letspour.com

that sierra nevada ipa glass is way too embarrassing to have in my house

My neighbor just brought me a variety of New Glarus: Moon Man No Coast Pale Ale, Black Top, Wisconsin Bock, Cabin Fever Honey Bock and a Coffee Stout. Psyched!

I had this Ommegang Three Philosophers Belgian Style Blend the other day. I didn't care for it very much. The cherry flavor made it a bit cough-syrupy to my palate:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/42/3457

― o. nate, Tuesday, November 18, 2008 11:50 AM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah, just opened this one, last of my ommegang set, and I think it's my least favorite of the three. Definitely get the cough syrup thing, although it's not completely overwhelming considering the near 10% alcohol content. Would buy the hennepin and probably chocolate stout again, but not the three philosophers.

tonight ive tofino brewing hoppin cretin and driftwood fat tug ipa.the latter the best ipa in b.c. imo.

looking forward to spring/ summer,four new breweries opening in east van,lots of new beer to try,lots of growler fills.

also bourbon barrels in beer is a-ok with me,and i don't even like bourbon.

Saw Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA for the first time last night, and as I'm generally a fan of the grain (bread, whiskey etc) I gave it a try. Pleasantly rye peppery and astringent, still very drinkable.

Would love to see some recommendations for other rye beers, the more rye the better (I was a fan of Old Potrero whiskey).

Boulevard Rye-on-Rye is my favorite.

For the Brits, the Kernel "table beer" is a really nice addition to their offerings, 3 per cent abv but has a lovely pale ale flavour. Lots of nice lighter beers being brewed this year it seems.

founders makes a nice rye pale ale. i don't know how far their distribution gets (i think not far) but mayflower made a 3.8% abv rye beer that was my favorite summer seasonal last year.

Founders KBS tickets go on sale today. $5 to have the opportunity to buy 12 bottles on release day. I've got a beer mule in Grand Rapids to pick mine up if I can get a ticket today.

And I didn't get a ticket. Got one in my cart but the page was getting hammered and it timed out. Dems the breaks.

Just opened up our first Bourbon County Coffee of the season. I'm really glad I have a few of these, because it's a lot more drinkable (imo) than the straight BCBS, which I find so intense it requires almost too much commitment and concentration from me.

Lost Abbey Deliverson tonight. Awesome beer.

Deliverance. God dammit.

guess it's working

found a no-limit source of bcbs coffee today. bought two, thinking about going back for more.

no-limit source of bcbs

http://i.imgur.com/ddcwwkf.jpg

ahahahahaha

lol

Ok am I just stupid, or is it really hard to figure out how to tag a beer I am drinking in untappd?

Just search for it and then click the Check In button and then the button that says Confirm Your Brew.

If you're using the app, click the 2 bottles clinking together in the upper right hand corne. Xp

Or that.

Ah thx, the app is uh unintuitive to say the least

more recs for rye beers:
bear republic - hop rod rye
schmalz brewing co. - bittersweet lenny's ripa (a double/imperial ipa)

both really tasty. still never tried the sierra ruthless as i've just been afraid it wouldn't be as tasty as the other two.

cheers to untapp'd ilxors u guys are all prolific drinkers of great booze even on tuesday nights

btw my local beer shop gifted me 21st amendment oyster stout today - which i didn't realize was oyster until i got home oy vey bc i def can't drink it but i'm going to feel so awkward returning it. maybe i should just pass it forward.

Untappd has changed the way I drink and made me drink a ton of beers I wouldn't have normally tried, like the 15 German beers I had to drink to unlock a badge.

maybe i should just pass it forward.

totally - keeping it would be very shellfish of you

(sorry, there was no excuse for that)

have drunk over 55 different beers already this year but just logging them in iphone notes, untappd is too much effort.

/chronically lazy

untappd is super lazy-mode compared to the spreadsheet i used to update

Has anyone here had an oyster stout? I love shellfish in all forms, even including Clamato, but this seems several notches below bacon in my list of desired beer flavorings. I can't even imagine...

they don't taste of oysters. some of them don't even contain any oyster.

Untappd has changed the way I drink and made me drink a ton of beers I wouldn't have normally tried, like the 15 German beers I had to drink to unlock a badge.

I'm all in favor of trying new stuff but not for the purpose of unlocking badges. Fuck gamification.

The oyster stout I've seen most often is by Porterhouse:
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2243/5686

But I've never tried it.

I love gameification! I have little motivation otherwise in all my hobbies.

xp Personally I don't mind oysters, I'm just rarely in the mood for an English/Irish-style stout.

some of them don't even contain any oyster.

Huh, wasn't aware of that. I haven't seen that many, I think 21st Amendment was the one I was checking out at my local, which does have 20 lb. of oysters per batch.

I had an oyster stout last night, by Flying Dog! It was pretty good, though the porterhouse stout I had before it (not their oyster one) was better. T