Beer in the new era

Out of nowhere I got two bottles of Black Note on the way home this afternoon, enjoying one now and saving the other for a special occasion. I've been drinking Bell's products for 20 years and this is the first time I've had it. It's basically the most balanced BBA stout I've tasted, not as balls out as BCBS but definitely a more barrel/bourbon flavor present than say Dragon's Milk. Great body too. I wish there were more than two bottles left at my local! Gonna have to lurk and see if they put out any more…

Love Black Note.

Black Note's been a tough one to find.

I have a ton of stuff I've collectedhoardedaccumulated, and now I don't know what to do with it. That's the downside of these huge beers. I just can't seem to make a dent.

I've loved everything I've had from 18th Street and Noon Whistle these days. I keep drinking that stuff.

I have a ton of stuff I've collectedhoardedaccumulated, and now I don't know what to do with it. That's the downside of these huge beers. I just can't seem to make a dent.

― Josh in Chicago, Friday, November 10, 2017 8:19 PM (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

i am really limiting my purchase of ageable beers these days b/c i never really find the occasion to drink them.

I've made a huge dent in my beer, didn't buy anything unless I was going to drink it within a few days. Pulling vintages every week for no reason at all. Probably down to 30 to 40 bottles? BCBS will up that a little bit, but that is always worth it.

Peak Evergreen anyone?

This thread should probably be segregated into east coast / Midwest / west coast
Not that Ilx has that many posters thoうgh

I've made a dent in my little beer collection. Moving helped, I basically drank/shared all the large format bottles before packing. I do have 4 year verticals of KBS and Backwoods Bastard, and I've got 2 year verticals going of Central Waters' BBA stout, barleywine, quad, and scotch ale. I might drink the Founders during Tgiving and/or Xmastime, but I'm tempted to keep them going for one more year. I'll probably keep the CW going for a while.

Peak Evergreen IPA

Dan that sounds like a plan
Favorite pastime while drinking?

I did FOBAB all wrong last night, drank way too much. Most everything was awesome, but it all blends together once you’ve sampled 40 different beers.

That was my feeling a year or two ago, especially with those beers.

xp Did you get to try Upper Hand? Their BA stuff is draft only and I've never been able to find it.

My favorite drinking pastime is thinking about drinking more.

my craft beer consumption has gone up lately and i've been noticing how shit most of them are

so now i mix it up with non-NA macrobrewed beers that i've never had. quite pleased by german and belgian beers

Had my second Death By Coconut (Oskar Blues) this weekend, having been blown away by it two years ago. First sip, couldn’t tell if it was cartoonishly intense, and then it won me over.

Had another coconut stout in Milwaukee a few weeks ago (Good City), and I think I just really dig this style.

I like it a lot, too. It and Stone's Xocoveza are my two go-to easy drinking seasonal dessert-y porters/stouts.

(And by easy drinking, I mean easier than some barrel aged monsters with significantly higher ABV).

had some beers from Great Divide. they were ok.

For holiday beers, Puyallup River's Mexican Milkshake is delicious. Has a nice body, and the ghost pepper heat pleasantly balances with the Mexican chocolate spices. Unfortunately, no brewery/pub presence to visit. Tried some at multi-tap Beer Star.

bell's winter white ale is really good. nice to have a holiday/winter ale that isn't gross syrupy nutmeg/cinnamon/vanilla dreck

going to go out on a limb and feel free to judge me for crowdsourcing my beer request, but of the beers on tap here, is there anything in particular that's not missable? this place rotates taps often:
http://elbaitshop.com/beer-menu/

damn 212 taps? overwhelming

there's another restaurant with 118 beers on tap that is _only_ Iowa beers, it's ridiculous

Quick 2 minute list:
Anchorage Nelson Sauvin Saison
Bell's Expedition Stout
Bell's Two Hearted Ale
Boon Oude Kriek
Firestone Walker Pivo Hoppy Pils
Founders Breakfast Stout
Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro (never had this variant of it either but would be tempted: Left Hand Bittersweet Imperial Coffee Milk Stout Nitro)
Libertine Summer Breeze
Mikkeller Hallo Ich Bin Berliner Weisse Raspberry
North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout
Oud Beersel Oude Geuze
Pulpit Rock/Single Speed Coconut Migration
Sierra Nevada Celebration IPA
Stillwater Gose Gone Hopped
Surly Abrasive
Surly Todd The Axe Man
Toppling Goliath Pseudo Sue

much obliged

I've had about half of those, will consider the others

Of the stuff I’ve had, I would get the Avery Amicitia, CW BB Scotch ale, Breakfast stout. Of the stuff I haven’t had, I’d probably start with the Crooked Stave stuff, I’ve liked a lot by them and can’t get them frequently. Other than that, I’d just pick random locals.

They are an untappd verified venue, so I would take the app, look at their whole menu and sort by rating. Just go down and get what I haven’t had.

Twin Cities beer scene seems to be blowing up for Fair State Spirit Foul and Insight Terror Bear tonight. Only had the former, it's good, but prices are kinda out of whack with reality.

When in Georgia, it's worth picking up a sixer of Terrapin's Golden Ale. That stuff was good.

Watching BCBS madness unfold on beer forums everywhere

When I was in Atlanta last week I was in a Total Wine and grabbed three of their four Sierra Nevada Beer Camps, two given as gifts. The Raspberry Sundae from The Bruery sounded kind of gimmicky so I drank it early to get it out of the way, but it is a terrific beer.

sierra nevada's celebration ipa is p good

my favorite insane beer story of the moment is about these guys: https://www.instagram.com/vitaminseabrewing/

check out their instagram! looks pretty legit, lots of glassware and cans and merch....except they're a homebrewing operation, straight up. they just did one collaboration with a real brewery that was sold. other than that, if you send them a message, they will supposedly give you some free beer if you can get to hull, which is literally the most isolated town in metro boston:

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Hull%2C_Massachusetts_aerial_photograph.jpg/300px-Hull%2C_Massachusetts_aerial_photograph.jpg

they claim to be "in planning" but there's no evidence that they've taken steps to secure a location or do anything that would resemble starting a real business. their main project seems to be generating hype via repetitive posting and untappd checkins. so the local scene is divided into people saying "hey, this is kind of horseshit" and avid fans whose main argument seems to be that they met these guys in line at other breweries and thought they were cool.

What is good from Ohio?

Jackie O's

otm

Though its initial charm has worn off, I could still drink a case of lagunitas sour

Especially if this cute barmaid with bad skin keeps serving it

From Ohio: Madtree (wide range) and Urban Artifact (mostly fruit beers - kumquat and such) are both really good.

I’m a big fan of Braxton, right across the river from Cincinnati in Kentucky.

best beers of November: all the great Oktoberfest beers I buy on clearance for often near half price

hey Jeff is bcbs rare? They have a couple cases left at the grocery here and are just asking ppl if they want any

Not that rare, but a nice buy and keeps well.

Tried all the variants at a tasting tonight and the proprietors is awesome. Who knew that a beer inspired by bananas foster could be so good.

What is good from Ohio?

― El Tomboto, Friday, November 24, 2017 2:24 PM (three days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yea jackie o's otm

great lakes is very reliable

anything from columbus brewing is pretty good generally

platform is extremely hit or miss, they just brew too much beer, they have a new beer like every month and most of them are terrible ill-advised experiments with fruits and spices

rhinegeist from cinci has some good beers

CBS day

bevmo has dozens of bourbon county stouts

might pick one up

Had a Goose Island flight (w/BCS) last night, followed by an 8 oz pour. I think I like Founders Backwoods Bastard more.

my sis came to visit recently for 10 days and we managed to hit 16 breweries, San Diego and AZ. Favorite of the San Diego ones was prob AleSmith. Liked the feel of the place (warehouse-y is always better than "shhh we're actually a restaurant that brews beers, so ha good luck finding a table or spot at the bar if you just came to drink" places), the beers I tried ranged from good to all-time top 5...and it was taco tuesday so there was a taco truck parked by the outdoor patio serving some of the best tacos I've ever had.

AleSmith is good. I've never been to the brewery, though.

xp I will attempt to overpay for CBS today, but I fear that I'll run into the same problem of "this is great, but backwoods is cheaper and better."