What Beer Are You Drinking? - Winter 2011/2012

[Clavius]

I'm a sucker. I bought a 12-pack of Stella Artois because the packaging said I could get a free custom-engraved chalice with the code on the inside of the packaging. Don't get me wrong, I like Stella alright. But honestly I just wanted the glass to add to my collection...

[Tico]

5 hour waits at Russian River Brew Co for Pliny the Younger. I love me some Pliny the Elder, so I'm going to brave the brewery...next week.

[stevegoz]

I got my hands on some Three Floyds Zombie Dust yesterday for the first time. Incredible beer! One of the best pale ales of any sort that I've ever tasted, and definitely the best session-able one. Sticky piney citrusy hops all over the place!

I hope they produce it during the summer as well, since I'm much more inclined toward malt bombs this time of year.

[smokinjoe]

Ended the week on a big high note, and working into the weekend with a Full Sail Session Dark Black Lager.

[Gillman]

Pilsner Urquell, less than eight weeks from canning. It smells and tastes like no other pils beer, sweet-oat-like-bitter, in a class of its own.

Gary

[smokinjoe]

Pilsner Urquell, less than eight weeks from canning. It smells and tastes like no other pils beer, sweet-oat-like-bitter, in a class of its own.

Gary

Hey, Gary. I bought a 12 pack of Urquell today. What is the formula to figure out date of brewing, again?

[clingman71]

*******hopslam!*******

[BradleyC]

Tonight is a Firestone Walker Sucaba (formerly known as Abacus). Top notch just like everything else that comes out of their barrel program.

I might finish the evening with a Sierra Bigfoot. I'm excited to see this one around again and will try to stock up more this year before it runs out.

My Dad picked me up a 6 pack of Hopslam yesterday and mailed it off to me today. I had to send him a 6 pk of Great Divide Nomad in exchange. I'm looking forward to jumping on the hype train when the hopslam arrives and see what all the noise is about.

[Special Reserve]

*******hopslam!*******

[clingman71]

I'll take Double Trouble any day. I'm not a big hops fan so I was very surprising when I reached for a 4 pack of Double Trouble the other day. I guess I felt for $2.50/bottle what the hell.

[Special Reserve]

I agree that both Bell's and Founder's are excellent breweries. I'm particularly fond of Bell's Sparkling Ale, but in recent years they are not bottling it.

[ebo]

Nothing special at the moment. I had a hankering for some Molson XXX, so I bought a sixer and I'm enjoying it rather well.:cool:

[T Comp]

The waited for release by Founders of what they call their session ale, All Day IPA. It's 4.7% abv with first impressions of balanced citrus and mighty tasty. Will be perfect for summer but works fine now too...and leaves more room in the blood for whiskey to follow :cool: .

[hectic1]

Tyranena Brewery Down & Dirty Chocolate Oatmeal Stout...yummy yummy but definitely one that needs to warm up a little bit if you're just taking it out of the fridge. I think the bottle says that 48F is optimal for serving temp!

[jcg9779]

Had some Mama's Little Yella Pils and Sweetwater Exodus Porter this weekend. Both were very enjoyable.

[clingman71]

We had a major tasting Saturday night with 8 people contributing. We took our time and did a lot of comparison tastes and surprisingly didn't wreck our taste buds too early. This isn't the complete list, but it is all of the key beers.

FFF-Struisse-Mikkeller-Surley collab Baller Stout

FFF Dark Lord '11

Goose Island Bourbon County '09 & '10

Dogfish Head World Wide Stout '10

Port Brewing Santa's Little Helper

Jackie O's Cellar Cuvee #4

Oerbier Reserva

Cincinnati Beerfest Collaboration Barleywine

FFF Behemoth '11

Oskar Blues Ten Fidy

Uinta Labyrinth

Avery Samael's

Founder's Imperial Stout

Founder's Devil Dancer

Anchor Old Foghorn '09

It was a great time with some good friends and incredible beers. And, about halfway through we stopped for a smallish palette cleansing pour of ORVW 10/107.

[Phischy]

I brewed a clone of New Belgium's Hoptober, that beer is so excellent and I'm a devoted hophead. It's the honey malt that submits just a touch of residual sweetness that's not under attenuation or excess malt. I can pound this stuff and will need to rebrew with a few minor tweaks in the next few weeks.

[BradleyC]

Since it's Valentine's I opened Boulevard's Valentine's beer "Chocolate Ale." I guess this thing has quite the cult following. It sold out in KC quicker than the van Winkle nonsense did and every KC native in Denver has been hounding the local shops for it. I had it last year but didn't really pay much attention.

The first thing that hits you with the nose is the unmistakable Boulevard yeast. Behind that comes chocolate (big surprise there) and caramel. Once you get past the yeast it is a quite pleasant nose. I think the bottle said 9.1%. That is a surprise to me. I don't detect it in the nose or taste. The mouthfeel is medium in body and there is an average finish. There is some bittersweet chocolate in the taste. I get a slight citrusy orange backbone. There is bitterness, but I don't think its from the hops and is attributable to the chocolate instead. It's not syrupy which I really appreciate. Too many big beers become a syrupy bottle of oatmeal that makes your lips stick to your glass. Not this one.

Altogether it's nicely done. I'm not sure I would go out of my way to get it but will buy it again next year if I see it.

[yountvillewjs]

Went over Tuesday morning to Russian River Brew Co, to see what all the hype over Pliny the Younger was all about (had been shut out the last 2 years). Great color & aromatics -- super clean, great lift, almost bright. If you are familiar with Pliny the Elder, it gets dark and pine needly (I've also heard it described as having a pot like characteristic) -- none of that here. You can see the family resemblance, but they are not as alike as I thought they would be. A great beer for sure - but I wouldn't wait in line for 4+ hours to get some and at 10.7% alc -- it makes itself known quick.

[Beer&Bourbon]

Jackie O's Cellar Cuvee #4

Cincinnati Beerfest Collaboration Barleywine

What'd you guys think of the beerfest collab? It seems like it was an American style barleywine (which I generally don't care for) so I haven't picked any up yet, but haven't heard much feedback. How'd it stand up next to fresh Behemoth? We did a Behemoth vertical recently with it back to 07 or 08. IMHO it really just dies off after a couple of years; a fine American style, but doesn't really age into anything worth trying.

Also, do you go to Jackie O's for releases? I go to most of them as long as finances are in line. I like the beers out of the bottle, but find that they usually pale in comparison to on tap. Plus the events are a lot of fun with great food, great beer, great friends. Let me know if you're headed out next time and I'll buy you a beer.

As for actual drinking, I opened a 11 Darkness last night to share with the wife. Pretty good with lots of chocolate notes and plenty of dark ripe fruits, but not up to the 2010 version (I know they change the recipe a bit each year). I've got another 11 that I'll let sit for awhile as well as 6 or so 10s (that I'm itching to pop). :grin:

[bigtoys]

Had Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown at Champp's in Milwaukee and really liked the nutty taste. Got a 6 pk at Binny's as it's only available in the winter months. Very little head, a little thin on the palate, but definitely nutty, maybe a little chocolate on the nose. some guys who post video reviews on youtube are pretty funny to watch. One guy, while reading the label, said you could enjoy it by the fire. That's really thinking outside the box.

Looking forward to Goose Islands nut brown coming supposedly next month.

#2

Had Lost Coast Alley Cat Amber Ale tonight. Nice color, good head, sharp taste. Love all the LC beers I've tried.

[c2walker]

Had Leinenkugel's Fireside Nut Brown at Champp's in Milwaukee and really liked the nutty taste. Got a 6 pk at Binny's as it's only available in the winter months. Very little head, a little thin on the palate, but definitely nutty, maybe a little chocolate on the nose. some guys who post video reviews on youtube are pretty funny to watch. One guy, while reading the label, said you could enjoy it by the fire. That's really thinking outside the box.

That Fireside Nut Brown really caught me off guard when someone handed me a bottle to try and I sipped before looking at the label. I remember almost spitting out. I thought I was getting the Sunset Wheat which tastes like fruity pebbles. The Nut Brown does certainly live up to the nuttiness promised in it's name though. I'm interested to try the Goose Island to see how it stacks up.

[Bourbon Boiler]

I really emjoyed the Fireside Nut Brown. Reminded me a bit of the European market Amstels.

[miller542]

I really emjoyed the Fireside Nut Brown. Reminded me a bit of the European market Amstels.

[stevegoz]

I can't stand the Fireside Nut Brown. The "natural flavors" don't taste very natural to me.

That's my beef with that brewery. Like the commercial for its Summer Shandy and its "real lemonade flavor." Mmmmmm, flavor. Can I get some extract with that? :slappin: