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The Beer Thread

gellman
Joined: May 13, 2004 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 463
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 03:14 AM UTC #
Went on an epic spree this week. Was able to procure a bottle of Founders Doom, Stone IRS and Espresso IRS, and Enjoy By. Had the Espresso last night, basically had to drink the entire bottle myself since my wife only drank a four ounce pour. This morning was a little rough.

Planning on cracking open the Enjoy By this weekend.
sweetcell
Joined: July 18, 2006 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 22608
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 04:58 PM UTC #
BrettnotBritt wrote:
Had the Espresso last night, basically had to drink the entire bottle myself since my wife only drank a four ounce pour. This morning was a little rough.

" had to drink the entire bottle myself"?  was it a chore, or did you like the beer?

i'm curious because i have 2 bottles sitting in the cellar.  i'm not going to touch them for at least 6 months.  i've got an IRS from last year… might be time to break that one out soon.

stevewizzle wrote:stone enjoy by is a cant miss.  that shit is gooooood.

bottle or draft?  as i've mentioned before, i was unimpressed with the last version on draft.  other folks seem to be all about it, might have to give it another try.

stevewizzle wrote:
and a sweetcell ipa. that was very delicious.

thank my friends ms. simcoe and ms. amarillo ;D
stevewizzle
Joined: Unknown
Posts: 0
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 05:37 PM UTC #
James wrote:
Port City Maniacal: If it's Port City, it's got to be mediocre!
Weyerbacher Heresy: Like the poor man's KBS. Unspectacular, but good nonetheless


agree on all fronts with the weyerbacher.  very good, but leaves some to be desired.  damn you, kbs!

but on with port city… i have a feeling these dudes are on the cusp of some (at the very least) interesting beers.  it appears they are trying out some better crafty styles.  saw on a blog comment the head brewer was putting together a gratzer recipe.

the DIPA was not impressive? that's a shame. 
stevewizzle
Joined: Unknown
Posts: 0
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 05:38 PM UTC #
sweetcell wrote:
stevewizzle wrote:
and a sweetcell ipa. that was very delicious.

thank my friends ms. simcoe and ms. amarillo ;D


roommate was able to call out the simcoe immediately, so good job.
atomicfront
Joined: Unknown
Posts: 0
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 05:53 PM UTC #
Weyerbacher's Merry Monk's is pretty good.
sweetcell
Joined: July 18, 2006 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 22608
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 07:21 PM UTC #
a little beer pron for y'all.  i'm way late on this write-up but here goes anyways: a few weeks ago we have the second 930 board bottle share party at my place in the hinterlands (AKA rockville).  thanks to everyone for trekking out.

as usual, brennser shamed us with his selection and generosity: daisy cutter pale ale, russian river temptation, 3F zombie dust, Hair of the Dog Adam, 2012 FW Sucuba… wow.  just wow.  i'm probably forgetting some.

james ford regaled us with Unibroue trois pistoles, Dieu du Ciel solstice d'hiver, and a 2012 SN Bigfoot.

stewizzle dazzled us with a DFH Sixty-One, delighted us with an Epic Elder Brett, and confused us with that weird smoked wheat thing, Piwo Grodziskie.

my brewing buddy Tony joined us with a Blue Mountain Dark Hollow and a Hop Stoopid in tow.  i believe we tried his Vertical Epic 09.09.09, a batch we brewed together, but i'm not sure anymore.  he also had a growler of his Alaskan Amber clone but we didn't get around to trying it.

i had a Troubadour 2011 Cascade/Simcoe belgian but we didn't touch that, either.  we did have several of my homebrews: a kolsch, a brett'ed belgian dark strong (with disappointingly low brett character but still tasty), an imperial amber/brown (aforementioned simcoe/amarillo hop bomb), a dubbel, a bourbon coffee stout.  i think i'm forgetting one.

highlight of the evening was Cirka the wonder dog (as in, "i wonder what the hell ever possessed me to get this breed") stealing ford's daughter's stuffed animal, running out the back door, and then having 6 adults chase her around the garden.  took us a solid 2 or 3 minutes to catch that damn fleabag. 

gold star of the night went to the missus for her fresh baked bread.  you can see the two different kinds in the "family portrait" below (click to enlarge).



(apologies if i forgot anything, or wrongly attributed a beer to someone)
James Ford
Joined: July 22, 2009 at 09:02 PM UTC
Posts: 5620
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 07:26 PM UTC #
ah, good time. yes, we did have the vertical 09.09.09, and it was delicious.
James Ford
Joined: July 22, 2009 at 09:02 PM UTC
Posts: 5620
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 07:36 PM UTC #
Those who like barrel aged need to get to Pizza Paradiso this weekend.

Celebrate Arbor Day with Wood & Barrel Aged Beers at All Locations

April 26-28

Dupont:
Allagash FV-13, Alvinne Zymatore Cuvee Freddy, Anchor OBA,
BFM Abbaye de St. Bon Chien, The Bruery White Oak,
Captain Lawrence Golden Delicious, Elysian The Dread,
Evolution Fall Migration, Glazen Toren Jan de Lichte Zymatore,
Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza, Harviestoun Ola Dubh 21 yr,
Local Option Morning Wood,, 3 Stars Sea Change w/ Oak (Cask)
Georgetown:
Allagash Curieux, Baladin Super (Wooden Clad Cask), Boulevard Rye on Rye,
Devils Backbone Wood Aged Kilt Flasher, DDVK Peated Oak Aged Embrasse,
Flying Dog Doggie Style w/ Cedar (Cask), Founders The Doom
JW Lees Harvest (Lagavulin), Loverbeer Duvabeer,
Mother Earth Window Pane Raisin & Fig, New Belgium Oscar,
Oxbow Freestyle #30, Struise Rio Reserva
Three Floyds Barrel Aged Black Sun
Old Town:
Allagash Odyssey, Bavik Petrus Aged Pale Ale, BFM √225,
Blue Mountain Local Species, The Bruery Sour in the Rye,
Dogfish Head Burton Baton, Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron,
Firestone Walker 2011 Parabola, Harviestoun Ola Dubh 12 yr,
Heavy Seas Big DIPA (Cask),  New Belgium La Folie, Terrapin Oak Aged Big Hoppy Monster,
Schlafly Oak Aged Imperial Stout, Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard,
Verhaeghe Duchesse de Bourgogne
StoneTheCrow
Joined: January 05, 2006 at 06:01 AM UTC
Posts: 2297
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 07:47 PM UTC #
James wrote:
ah, good time. yes, we did have the vertical 09.09.09, and it was delicious.



Nice.  I drank my '10 two weeks ago - last night I said goodbye to my '11.  I miss them already.
James Ford
Joined: July 22, 2009 at 09:02 PM UTC
Posts: 5620
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 08:13 PM UTC #
Just to clarify, what we drank was a homebrewered  (I think)clone of the Stone 09.09.09 that sweetcell and his friend Tony homebrewed. Every bit as delicious as the real thing. Or quite close anyway.


StoneTheCrow wrote:
James wrote:
ah, good time. yes, we did have the vertical 09.09.09, and it was delicious.



Nice.  I drank my '10 two weeks ago - last night I said goodbye to my '11.  I miss them already.
sweetcell
Joined: July 18, 2006 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 22608
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 08:24 PM UTC #
James wrote:
Those who like barrel aged need to get to Pizza Paradiso this weekend.

Celebrate Arbor Day with Wood & Barrel Aged Beers at All Locations

thanks for the heads-up.  gonna try hitting Dupont on the way home.  i've heard good things about Harviestoun Ola Dubh.

James wrote:
Just to clarify, what we drank was a homebrewered  (I think)clone of the Stone 09.09.09 that sweetcell and his friend Tony homebrewed. Every bit as delicious as the real thing. Or quite close anyway.

we brewed a 11 gallon batch together and each fermented 5.5 gallon.  in his half he got the oak right, while i got more belgian yeast character in mine.  we tried them side by side a few weeks ago and came to the conclusion that they tasted best (and closest to the original) when blended together.
gellman
Joined: May 13, 2004 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 463
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 09:50 PM UTC #
sweetcell wrote:
BrettnotBritt wrote:
Had the Espresso last night, basically had to drink the entire bottle myself since my wife only drank a four ounce pour. This morning was a little rough.

" had to drink the entire bottle myself"?  was it a chore, or did you like the beer?


Oh I definitely liked the beer, but at 10.6% percent, it was a little bit of a challenge to finish by myself. But I would not let it go to waste! And yes, my tolerance for alcohol has taken quite the nosedive after our son was born.
sweetcell
Joined: July 18, 2006 at 05:01 AM UTC
Posts: 22608
Re: The Beer Thread April 26, 2013 at 10:40 PM UTC #
Some absolutely amazing beers on offer at the Paradiso. I tried:

- Ola dubh: mind blowing. Thick malt, heavy caramel, strong oak, borderline burning alcohol.
- Captain Lawrence's Golden Delicious: a dry-hopped tripel aged in brandy barrels. not distributed in this area, so Pizza Paradiso trucks it down themselves from upstate New York. Really nice Belgian and apple flavors with a touch of tartness. This was my "hydrating" beer… At 10%.
- Elysian the Dread: A  respectable oak aged imperial stout. Very creamy. Least fav of the 4 i had but I'd still have it again.
- BFM Abbaye de St bon chien 2011: defies description. An 11% sour biere de garde, and a very sour one at that. With wood flavor. Wow. Just wow.  I'm not the biggest sour fan but this was damn impressive. End your evening with this one. You won't be tasting anything afterwards. In a good way ;D

sweetcell wrote:i've heard good things about Harviestoun Ola Dubh

Stevewizzle, you need to try this one.
James Ford
Joined: July 22, 2009 at 09:02 PM UTC
Posts: 5620
Re: The Beer Thread April 29, 2013 at 12:16 PM UTC #
Jim Koch of Boston Beer Company, sounding a bit like someone most famous for brewing a mediocre lager, and never making a good IPA. (and sounding like atomicfront)


http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/blogs/99bottles/2013/04/mystic_brewing_finds_a_niche_j.html

They were also forthcoming. Koch in particular has a problem with hob-bombs, the big, boozy, 100-plus IBU beers that have been en vogue in recent years. I asked Koch what he thought of the Alchemist's Heady Topper and other massive IPAs. In a part of the interview that didn't make the paper, Koch said, "They're big IPAs. There's 100 of them. Are they new or interesting? Not really. I mean they're good, but there's nothing I'm going to learn from tasting that. There's not a huge set of skills to make an 80-IBU beer."

"There's probably 100 really good 80-IBU IPAs, and there's probably 500 or 1,000 that are out there. It's not that they're bad. It's like drinking Bud or Miller or Coors. You know what you're going to get, you're not going to be surprised. If you're surprised it's generally a bad surprise."

Koch expanded on what he meant.

"I think you go through stages as a beer drinker. And there is an early stage where you want the hoppiest stage that you can get. And then you go past it. It's like scotch drinkers, there's a stage where you want the peatiest, smokiest scotch and think that's quality. But you get through that stage, and then you're looking at the real fundamentals of quality, which to me is not just a lot of flavor but is balance, and complexity and harmony. That's kind of where I am. Let me see what flavors they put in there and how they came together. Because that I'll learn from. There's a real purpose of the brewer's art, which is not to make strange, exotic, extreme. At the end of the day the purpose of the brewer's art is to make beers that give people pleasure."

stevewizzle
Joined: Unknown
Posts: 0
Re: The Beer Thread April 29, 2013 at 01:21 PM UTC #
sweetcell wrote:
- Ola dubh: mind blowing. Thick malt, heavy caramel, strong oak, borderline burning alcohol.
sweetcell wrote:i've heard good things about Harviestoun Ola Dubh

Stevewizzle, you need to try this one.


oh, i kind of hate you.  i looked at the list on friday, debating whether i should head down, and this one was really sticking out to me.  then my roommate proceeded to talk me out of it, with quotes like "they are all $10+" and "tastiers are way too expensive there".

i'm broke these days, so it's probably for the best right now.  i'll keep it on the radar….
James Ford
Joined: July 22, 2009 at 09:02 PM UTC
Posts: 5620
Re: The Beer Thread April 29, 2013 at 01:31 PM UTC #


"they are all $10+"


My biggest reason for not going. Hopefully they have some good leftovers of these beers during their half price happy hours this week (Mon-Thurs at Georgetown and Tues-Wed at Dupont), as I have plans to be there on Tuesday.


stevewizzle wrote:
sweetcell wrote:
- Ola dubh: mind blowing. Thick malt, heavy caramel, strong oak, borderline burning alcohol.
sweetcell wrote:i've heard good things about Harviestoun Ola Dubh

Stevewizzle, you need to try this one.


oh, i kind of hate you.  i looked at the list on friday, debating whether i should head down, and this one was really sticking out to me.  then my roommate proceeded to talk me out of it, with quotes like "they are all $10+" and "tastiers are way too expensive there".

i'm broke these days, so it's probably for the best right now.  i'll keep it on the radar….
stevewizzle
Joined: Unknown
Posts: 0
Re: The Beer Thread April 29, 2013 at 01:31 PM UTC #
James wrote:
Jim Koch of Boston Beer Company, sounding a bit like someone most famous for brewing a mediocre lager, and never making a good IPA. (and sounding like atomicfront)


i don't think your dig on Koch is fair.  he's done wonderful things for the craft beer scene, and his assessment on IPAs is pretty spot-on if you ask me.  what's the best double IPA? if you ask me, it's usually whatever is the freshest ingredients.  that, in fact, takes very little talent by any brewer.
atomicfront
Joined: Unknown
Posts: 0
Re: The Beer Thread April 29, 2013 at 01:48 PM UTC #
James wrote:
Jim Koch of Boston Beer Company, sounding a bit like someone most famous for brewing a mediocre lager, and never making a good IPA. (and sounding like atomicfront)


http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/blogs/99bottles/2013/04/mystic_brewing_finds_a_niche_j.html

They were also forthcoming. Koch in particular has a problem with hob-bombs, the big, boozy, 100-plus IBU beers that have been en vogue in recent years. I asked Koch what he thought of the Alchemist's Heady Topper and other massive IPAs. In a part of the interview that didn't make the paper, Koch said, "They're big IPAs. There's 100 of them. Are they new or interesting? Not really. I mean they're good, but there's nothing I'm going to learn from tasting that. There's not a huge set of skills to make an 80-IBU beer."

"There's probably 100 really good 80-IBU IPAs, and there's probably 500 or 1,000 that are out there. It's not that they're bad. It's like drinking Bud or Miller or Coors. You know what you're going to get, you're not going to be surprised. If you're surprised it's generally a bad surprise."

Koch expanded on what he meant.

"I think you go through stages as a beer drinker. And there is an early stage where you want the hoppiest stage that you can get. And then you go past it. It's like scotch drinkers, there's a stage where you want the peatiest, smokiest scotch and think that's quality. But you get through that stage, and then you're looking at the real fundamentals of quality, which to me is not just a lot of flavor but is balance, and complexity and harmony. That's kind of where I am. Let me see what flavors they put in there and how they came together. Because that I'll learn from. There's a real purpose of the brewer's art, which is not to make strange, exotic, extreme. At the end of the day the purpose of the brewer's art is to make beers that give people pleasure."




He is stating the obvious. 
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