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What beer are you drinking? (winter 2016/2017)


PaulO
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BRL 72 is a brand contract brewed for a local liquor store chain.  The address on the cans read GJS Sales LaCrosse WI.  I think this may be the old Old Style brewery.  They have about half a dozen different types of beer.  The lager and the light beer seem to be lower priced than the others.

I tried the IPA, and the Cream Ale.

The IPA looks about the same color as a standard lager beer.  Average head too.  What stands out is a big blast of grapefruit peel cirtus flavor, and not a lot of hop bitterness.  The can says 55 IBU.  

The Cream Ale is a good representative of that style.  There is a little cereal sweetness, low hops.  If you like Gennessee or Little Kings...

Edited by PaulO
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33 minutes ago, PaulO said:

BRL 72 is a brand contract brewed for a local liquor store chain.  The address on the cans read GLS Sales LaCrosse WI.  I think this may be the old Old Style brewery.  They have about half a dozen different types of beer.  The lager and the light beer seem to be lower priced than the others.

I tried the IPA, and the Cream Ale.

The IPA looks about the same color as a standard lager beer.  Average head too.  What stands out is a big blast of grapefruit peel cirtus flavor, and not a lot of hop bitterness.  The can says 55 IBU.  

The Cream Ale is a good representative of that style.  There is a little cereal sweetness, low hops.  If you like Gennessee or Little Kings...

Are they the same ones that brew some of the Trader Joe's beers? I haven't tried any of the BRL beers, but the price is right.

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As I recall, many of the Trader Joe's beers were brewed in CA.  On the other hand, I know TJ has other sources too.  If the label has LaCrosse WI, good chance it's the same brewery.

I thought the BRL IPA and Cream Ale were both pretty decent.  It's a nice niche in between lawn mower beer and craft beers that take themselves too seriously.

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I had a glass of Alpine Pure Hoppiness on draught with dinner. I'm by no means an IPA connoisseur but I thought it was pretty good.

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Just popped the top on a Grolsch.  Those tops are just cool, and the primary reason I bought it...;)

Nice biscuitiness to the beer, which makes it enjoyable as a change up from beers I've been drinking lately.

image.jpg

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On 12/28/2016 at 11:40 AM, Kpiz said:

I had a glass of Alpine Pure Hoppiness on draught with dinner. I'm by no means an IPA connoisseur but I thought it was pretty good.

I've had good results with their beers. We get a few of them up here and I'm hoping more is on the way.

 

Over the holidays I've been working on a number of seasonal beers. Deschutes Jubleale is a perennial favorite. I've also gotten reacquainted with Full Sail Wassail and I looked for but didn't find their Wreck The Halls. Also enjoying 10 Barrel Brewing Pray For Snow and I have one Ninkasi Sleigh'r on deck. 

I just love the malty ales this time of year.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/1/2017 at 3:30 PM, flahute said:

I've had good results with their beers. We get a few of them up here and I'm hoping more is on the way.

Yes they're making good beer and it seems to have a strong following among beer aficionados. I looked it up on BeerAdvocate and was surprised to see that their brewery has been operating for 13+ years. It's surprising because I haven't heard much about them until the past year, and they're located in CA. I don't purport to know every brewery in the state, but generally breweries producing such popular and/or highly rated beers tend to expand production/distribution to the point that I become aware of them (either by seeing them, drinking them, or hearing about them from friends) earlier on in their lives.

 

I had a couple interesting beers over the long weekend. The first was the Paradox Skully #44 Mangozacca, a dry-hopped sour golden ale with mangoes aged in wine barrels. This smelled nicely hoppy and mango-y but was a little too hoppy for the flavor of the base beer. I've had one other hopped sour from Paradox (Skully #17 I think) which was much better. This is one of my least favorites of the dozen or so Paradox beers I've tried.

 

The other beer I tried this weekend was the Kriek des Jacobins. I thought this was excellent, similar at first sniff to their Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge, the Flanders Red Ale from the same brewery, and with the same balsamic vinegar quality. The cherry flavor built throughout the sip and was very noticeable on the finish.

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31 minutes ago, Kpiz said:

Yes they're making good beer and it seems to have a strong following among beer aficionados. I looked it up on BeerAdvocate and was surprised to see that their brewery has been operating for 13+ years. It's surprising because I haven't heard much about them until the past year, and they're located in CA. I don't purport to know every brewery in the state, but generally breweries producing such popular and/or highly rated beers tend to expand production/distribution to the point that I become aware of them (either by seeing them, drinking them, or hearing about them from friends) earlier on in their lives.

 

New to me as well. A year ago a friend in CA sent me an Alpine Nelson which was fantastic. Of course Nelson hops are now all the rage and New Zealand can't grow enough to meet demand. And prices have gone up. I'll never see one of those again but we get a few of their IPAs and a pale ale up here.

 

To be on topic, Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale and Ballast Point Sculpin IPA have been my gotos this past week.

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This one . . .

 

Image result for north coast brewing no 38 stout

Score 3.9
look: 3.75 | aroma: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Dark cola color with some reddish brown highlights.

Aroma is roasted malt with something like figs in the background.

Taste is roasty malt backed with the same fig note with a hint of sweetness. I don't know if there really is anything in there that really is sweet but it tastes that way to me. Hop level is higher than what I've found in other stouts and is apparent from the start lasting all the way through. Rounded dry finish.

Texture is medium-full with a creamy sorta thickness.

I like to keep some stouts around for those who like the style and this one serves as well as any.

 


 

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14 hours ago, squire said:

I like to keep some stouts around for those who like the style and this one serves as well as any.

 

I like stouts, squire, but you never invite me over!

 

Thanks for the notes. I enjoy Old. No 38 as well and put it in (roughly) the same league as Deschutes Black Butte Porter, though the Deschutes always strikes me as being a bit thin.

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Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout and Highland Oatmeal Porter on tap last night with dinner. The stout was good even though I am not usually much of one for coffee notes but the porter seem a bit thin and lacking in flavor. A bit of a disappointment.

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10 minutes ago, tanstaafl2 said:

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout and Highland Oatmeal Porter on tap last night with dinner. The stout was good even though I am not usually much of one for coffee notes but the porter seem a bit thin and lacking in flavor. A bit of a disappointment.

Old Rasputin is a very tasty RIS. Probably why you were disappointed is because Old Rasputin killed your taste buds.:)

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13 minutes ago, MTNBourbon said:

Old Rasputin is a very tasty RIS. Probably why you were disappointed is because Old Rasputin killed your taste buds.:)

 

Could well be! But that porter really was a disappointment so not sure I even want to give it a second chance.

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Poured a Goodwood Bourbon Barrel aged stout. Tastes like a well made stout, but, I am not really getting any bourbon notes that I have found in other bourbon barrel aged beers.  Below average at best.

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Had  a Lagunitas High-Westified Imperial Coffee  Stout. An incredible beer. Unbelievable how easy this drinks for a 12.2% ABV. 

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8 hours ago, JoeTerp said:

Had  a Lagunitas High-Westified Imperial Coffee  Stout. An incredible beer. Unbelievable how easy this drinks for a 12.2% ABV. 

Lagunitas makes some very tasty brews. Still have not see this around in GJ.

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Shiner Cheer (holiday brew). Apparently this has quite the following and sells out as quickly as some bourbon LEs. Co-worker of mine forgot to load up in December and hunts this thing all over town for remnants and leftover scraps, buying a 40 here or singleton there. He called around last week and was told it'd be a miracle if he found any at this point. Low and behold at my local tom thumb I hit the jackpot while just doing my weekly grocery shopping. I bought a sixer to see what all the fuss is about, then texted him to tell him about the 300 bottles I left there in the cooler for him.

 

Trying it now while enjoying a 70 degree day on the patio (ah, the irony). It's okish, but not something i'd need to stock up on. Peaches and pecans brewed in it.

Edited by dcbt
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Had  a Lagunitas High-Westified Imperial Coffee  Stout. An incredible beer. Unbelievable how easy this drinks for a 12.2% ABV. 


Yes, very good beer. I haven't tried the 2016 version but I had a couple of the 2015. Think I still have one tucked away somewhere... Glad they put it in 12oz bottles this year though, a much easier format than the bomber for such a high alcohol beer.

I decided to go with a cider tonight. This "Barred Rock" cider from Tilted Shed Ciderworks is 9% ABV and was aged 4 months in an ex-bourbon barrel from a local store. It is very dry but has a hint of barrel sweetness that helps balance out the tartness that usually comes with a dry cider. Decent stuff, but probably won't buy another. I prefer the French style ciders despite their much lower ABV.
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Chilling with the dogs after the lackluster football games. Sore after lots of yardwork so my reward is a Schlafly IBEX BA Imperial Stout. Gong down way, way too fast for a 10%. I bought a case when it came out and down to 10 bottles. Oh schnikey - need to get some more as it's already tough to find.
2c4d6da6c185bf0b38f45c03f7533e7d.jpg

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

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12 hours ago, Ravensfire said:

Chilling with the dogs after the lackluster football games. Sore after lots of yardwork so my reward is a Schlafly IBEX BA Imperial Stout. Gong down way, way too fast for a 10%. I bought a case when it came out and down to 10 bottles. Oh schnikey - need to get some more as it's already tough to find.
2c4d6da6c185bf0b38f45c03f7533e7d.jpg

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk
 

Schlafly makes some pretty tasty brews.

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Found a 6 pack of a semi-local Oktoberfest on clearance for $4.99.  I had been craving an Oktoberfest for the past couple of weeks to boot.

Image result for buckledown oktoberfest

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Spending day 2 with this SweetWater Pulled Porter bacon smoke flavored porter from their Dank Tank series.  I must have been hungry when I bought it, because upon thinking about it, these whack beers typically fall short for me.  Bacon smoke flavor constitutes whacked.  However , I'm pleasantly surprised, as the bacon note is very well held back on the nose and initial palate.  It only fully asserts itself on the back end and finish, and then, not overdone for my tastes.  The 4 big cans in the 4 pack will be the extent of my purchases of it, but not because it wasn't enjoyable.  Rather, I can only do so much of a beer like this.

image.jpg

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4 hours ago, smokinjoe said:

Spending day 2 with this SweetWater Pulled Porter bacon smoke flavored porter from their Dank Tank series.  I must have been hungry when I bought it, because upon thinking about it, these whack beers typically fall short for me.  Bacon smoke flavor constitutes whacked.  However , I'm pleasantly surprised, as the bacon note is very well held back on the nose and initial palate.  It only fully asserts itself on the back end and finish, and then, not overdone for my tastes.  The 4 big cans in the 4 pack will be the extent of my purchases of it, but not because it wasn't enjoyable.  Rather, I can only do so much of a beer like this.

image.jpg

I've had a few Sweet Water brews, very tasty.

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