The Beer Thread

warning: the following announcement is unlikely to interest more than one or two people here ;D

the National Homebrewers Conference (HomebrewCon) will take place in Baltimore from thursday june 9 to saturday june 11.  i cannot recommend strongly enough that homebrewers attend this.  hell, non-homebrewers might want to attend as a cheap beer-cation.  homebrewed and commerical beer is flowing all day and most of the night, great seminars, vendor exhibits with tons of samples/giveaways, evening events, amazing after-parties (for the really hardy), blah blah… this will be my third time attending.  last year i flew out to san diego for it so it's a treat to be local this year.  unlikely that it will be this close again for another decade.

http://www.homebrewcon.org/
registration opens on march 8: http://www.homebrewcon.org/registration/details/

Sidehatch wrote:
what were the beer bars/breweries to hit in Richmond?
Friend was asking and I know a few places were namedropped here
Stone isn't on line yet?

Best place to drink beer (and eat Vietnamese, imo) is Mekong. And it's sister establishment, the Answer Brewpub. Mekong has a draft list that's as good as, or better than Churchkey. At like half the cost. The Answer also has a fantastic draft list, inclusing their own beers, andis making IPA's as good as or better than Ocelot and Aslin. They're next door to each other in a nondescript strip mall, so you can hit them both.

If friend is willing to drive out of the way a bit, Lickinghole Creek, in Goochland is great. Farmhouse style brewery, really nice to hang out outside on a good weather day. Solid beers all around.

Triple Crossing, downtown, makes some really good IPA's.

I've always found their beers underwhelming, but others swear by Hardywood. A boisterous scene on a Saturday afternoon, with live music and a plethora of fat chicks.

There are others, but those are the ones I picked after doing my homework.

The Stone taproom opens March 3. Just had their soft opening.

Exactly what Rhett said but add strangeways to your list. Licking hole Creek in strange ways are the serious beer drinkers breweries in town and hearty what is basically place you go see bands play.

sweetcell wrote:
warning: the following announcement is unlikely to interest more than one or two people here ;D

I've been thinking of starting a homebrew thread…but now we lost the Wizzing Fart …it'd probably just be me an you….

are their any other homebrewers on the list



Thanks for the RVA beer recos too!
I knew I'd get a quick, but detailed answer

I tried the Bell's Expedition Stout at my local pub last night. It was quite good. 1 turned into 3. 3 turned into a massive headache this morning.

Julian, wrote:
I tried the Bell's Expedition Stout at my local pub last night. It was quite good. 1 turned into 3. 3 turned into a massive headache this morning.

10.5 ABV…how many oz pours
I love Russian imperial stouts…will have to search this one out

12oz pours

Julian, wrote:
I tried the Bell's Expedition Stout at my local pub last night. It was quite good. 1 turned into 3. 3 turned into a massive headache this morning.

Any idea when Bell's Black Note comes out?

I've had one bottle (I think there was a one 12 oz bottle limit when i go it) sitting for a couple of years now, haven't seen it released again.

Julian, wrote:
12oz pours

Three of those is like six cans of Bud in terms of intoxication. Obviously not in terms of taste.

Space wrote:
Any idea when Bell's Black Note comes out?

I do not, but that same pub is having a Bell's dinner tomorrow night with a Bell's rep and I can find out for you.

Julian, wrote:

Space wrote:
Any idea when Bell's Black Note comes out?

I do not, but that same pub is having a Bell's dinner tomorrow night with a Bell's rep and I can find out for you.

Merci and gracias.

speaking of bells, i had my first hopslam of the year at a party last night.  t'was a honey-bomb.  i don't think i had any last year (it's not my fav so i don't seek it out).  i didn't remember it being so sweet.  clearly my hop tolerance is high because while the beer was clearly hoppy, it didn't strike me as exceptionally hoppy.  thank you, lupulin threshold shift.

i also tasted an IPA from RAR brewing.  very good.  i'll be dropping by this brewery next time i made it to the eastern shore.  they're posting some very respectable rating numbers on BA.

weyerbacher's sunday morning stout, aka the poor man's KBS, is out.  at $18/four pack, not sure it still gets that moniker… i was planning on picking up more than one pack, but at that price i got a founders imperial stout foursome instead of another SMS.  i'll try one tonight and cellar the rest unless it tastes amazing fresh.

sweetcell wrote:
speaking of bells, i had my first hopslam of the year at a party last night.  t'was a honey-bomb.  i don't think i had any last year (it's not my fav so i don't seek it out).  i didn't remember it being so sweet.  clearly my hop tolerance is high because while the beer was clearly hoppy, it didn't strike me as exceptionally hoppy.  thank you, lupulin threshold shift.

i also tasted an IPA from RAR brewing.  very good.  i'll be dropping by this brewery next time i made it to the eastern shore.  they're posting some very respectable rating numbers on BA.

weyerbacher's sunday morning stout, aka the poor man's KBS, is out.  at $18/four pack, not sure it still gets that moniker… i was planning on picking up more than one pack, but at that price i got a founders imperial stout foursome instead of another SMS.  i'll try one tonight and cellar the rest unless it tastes amazing fresh.

SMS=$14.99/ four pack in VA. Had my first one of 2016 batch last night. Was good. Wanted to compare it with a 2015 SMS which i still have, or some other bourbon stout, but i just can't handle more than one, and my wife was making drink that one by myself.

Space wrote:
SMS=$14.99/ four pack in VA.

the infamous $3 DC tax…

Space wrote:
my wife was making drink that one by myself.

i can see it now, your wife sitting you down at the table and sternly watching you drink it - sorta like when you catch a teenager smoking cigarettes and you make them smoke a bunch until they get sick, to ensure that they don't smoke again ;D

I forgot how solid DFH 60 minute is.

Drank my first Right Proper beer last night that I would actively seek out again.

Terrible name, awesome beer.

Diamonds, Fur Coat, Champagne - extremely crushable berliner weisse

Hey, for those of  you who are more connoisseur-level on your IPAs, how long are IPAs generally considered "good" if stored in cans. Also, is this time-frame effected by whether or not they're left refrigerated?

Julian, wrote:
Hey, for those of  you who are more connoisseur-level on your IPAs, how long are IPAs generally considered "good" if stored in cans. Also, is this time-frame effected by whether or not they're left refrigerated?

I wouldn't buy an IPA in a can or bottle that's over a month old. And I'd make sure I drank it all before the two month mark. Even sooner than both of those targets is preferred.

I keep mine in the darkest, coldest place in my house before refrigerating and that seems to work fine for me.

I do have a can of Heady Topper that's 2.5 years old. That's going to be interesting to drink when we finally crack it.

so the four cans of Hopslam my cousin procured for me to drink when I get there in 3 weeks…should be ok then

Space wrote: I keep mine in the darkest, coldest place in my house

so how many beers can you fit in your heart?