The Beer Thread

Space wrote:

walk,on,by wrote:
and here I remember when space hated hopslam, and would so gladly proclaim it you . . . ah, the good ole days.

When did I ever say I hated it? It's very good, not great. There are better DIPA's for cheaper six pack prices (I picked up one last night, Union Double Duckpin.). It's hateworthy in a sense that it gets more press than it deserves at this point, but it's like Kobe, you have to give him legacy props and he can still put up 30 on a good night. Then again, Hopslam never raped anyone, so it's not even as hateworthy as Kobe.

POTW. Did not see that topic shift coming. That's some quality shade being thrown around.

and here I though he was talking of the overpriced beef from Japan…until the rape comment

South Florida has come a long way with Beer
My Cuz took me on a little tour and man was there some good beer/breweries
Started off with a Jal-alai draft at the Wet Lab overlooking Biscayne bay for sun set

Then headed to wynwood  in Miami and that hood is just freakin' awesome
The Wynwood Arts District is home …one of the largest open-air street-art installations in the world.
This district is a must see if in Miami
So tons of cool eateries, cocktail bars, breweries, food trucks artisanal this and that and lots of thumping clubs too
and everything…I mean everything is covered in Art (mostly street art, but all of it was stellar IMO)
beaucoup beautiful people

First stop was J Wakefield
The La Nada Russian imperial was my favorite selection
The Detention Imperial IPA was not slouch either

they had some really interesting sours
They did a colab with Evil twin called East Bound & Down - An Imperial Berliner done with @relentlessroasters Coffee and Cocoa nibs
the Appleweisse Berliner Weisse colab with Captain Lawrence (great NY brewery too)…just had a sip, but thought it was very appealing


The star wars décor was the only drawback…some of it was cool, but feels kind kitschy when they have such good beer


the Frita (Cuban beef patty) from the food truck was also off the charts delicious

At this point, I probably should have dialed it down, but it was only 11PM and Miami just gets started at that time (well that's early for the clubs)

So we went over to Concrete Beach Brewery
Love their logo / tag line

the Walls South American Red Ale was a fine beer

Then we headed over to one of his friend's bar call the Barracuda Bar & Grill in Coconut Grove
looked very much like a typical S Florida bar…but the tap selection was amazing
Started off with A Hi-Res by Sixpoint…fantastic DIPA with 10% ABV
then the owner was saving him a bomber of Cappuccino Stout from Lagunitas 9.2%ABV
and we slurped that down with reckless abandon and a big smile on my face

needless to say my blood was about 9.2 ABV at that point and luckily he was cognizant enough to get us a uber home.
To add to the pain that I'd inflicted on myself, the bed room I was in, the smoke alarm battery was dying and kept giving a piercing beep every minute when I awoke much earlier than I should have


We didn't go, but there is a place they go to called Box Elder that is a bottle shop and taproom that has an impressive draft list and rare bottles
They both looked at me oddly when I said "awesome, love GBV" and they responded "what's a GBV?"

SideBernt wrote:
South Florida has come a long way with Beer
My Cuz took me on a little tour and man was there some good beer/breweries
Started off with a Jal-alai draft at the Wet Lab overlooking Biscayne bay for sun set

Then headed to wynwood  in Miami and that hood is just freakin' awesome
The Wynwood Arts District is home …one of the largest open-air street-art installations in the world.
This district is a must see if in Miami
So tons of cool eateries, cocktail bars, breweries, food trucks artisanal this and that and lots of thumping clubs too
and everything…I mean everything is covered in Art (mostly street art, but all of it was stellar IMO)
beaucoup beautiful people

First stop was J Wakefield
The La Nada Russian imperial was my favorite selection
The Detention Imperial IPA was not slouch either

they had some really interesting sours
They did a colab with Evil twin called East Bound & Down - An Imperial Berliner done with @relentlessroasters Coffee and Cocoa nibs
the Appleweisse Berliner Weisse colab with Captain Lawrence (great NY brewery too)…just had a sip, but thought it was very appealing


The star wars décor was the only drawback…some of it was cool, but feels kind kitschy when they have such good beer


the Frita (Cuban beef patty) from the food truck was also off the charts delicious

At this point, I probably should have dialed it down, but it was only 11PM and Miami just gets started at that time (well that's early for the clubs)

So we went over to Concrete Beach Brewery
Love their logo / tag line

the Walls South American Red Ale was a fine beer

Then we headed over to one of his friend's bar call the Barracuda Bar & Grill in Coconut Grove
looked very much like a typical S Florida bar…but the tap selection was amazing
Started off with A Hi-Res by Sixpoint…fantastic DIPA with 10% ABV
then the owner was saving him a bomber of Cappuccino Stout from Lagunitas 9.2%ABV
and we slurped that down with reckless abandon and a big smile on my face

needless to say my blood was about 9.2 ABV at that point and luckily he was cognizant enough to get us a uber home.
To add to the pain that I'd inflicted on myself, the bed room I was in, the smoke alarm battery was dying and kept giving a piercing beep every minute when I awoke much earlier than I should have


We didn't go, but there is a place they go to called Box Elder that is a bottle shop and taproom that has an impressive draft list and rare bottles
They both looked at me oddly when I said "awesome, love GBV" and they responded "what's a GBV?"

Maybe they were confused because it's a pavement song? Otherwise, nice write up, would love to get to J Wakefield.

Yada wrote:

Maybe they were confused because it's a pavement song? Otherwise, nice write up, would love to get to J Wakefield.

ack…my synapses are misfiring and connecting the wrong memories
same era at least

Space wrote:

Yada wrote:

Space wrote:

Yada wrote:
Savor Brewery List…

http://www.savorcraftbeer.com/beer-food/savor-breweries/

I saw that list previously and all i have to say is they need to drop the lottery system and get more selective.

I think it's exciting… I hadn't heard of half the breweries last year and ended up with a bunch of new favorites.

I'm not really a SAvor person, I'm just repeating what someone on Beer Advocate forums said. They were commenting that this year's crop isn't nearly up to par with previous years, and perhaps the reason is that they select breweries via some kind of lotter system rather than based on some other way.

So here's the beer list. For those who have previously attended, what's your thoughts on the breweries and beers this year compared to previous years?

I still say the events surrounding SAVOR are way better than SAVOR itself.

http://www.savorcraftbeer.com/beers/

Yada, you'd be so proud of me.

Met a friend at Aslin Saturday, my wife told me to bring back "a lot of beer".

I was going to get 32 ounces each of Bringing Sexy Back and Master of Karate. They said they couldn't fill my long neck growlers. So instead I brought home 64 ozs of BSB. $22 for a 6.3 abv ipa. Ouch!

But damn, it was so fucking tasty. Pretty certain I prefer that New England style to the West Coast style.

Space wrote:
Yada, you'd be so proud of me.

Met a friend at Aslin Saturday, my wife told me to bring back "a lot of beer".

I was going to get 32 ounces each of Bringing Sexy Back and Master of Karate. They said they couldn't fill my long neck growlers. So instead I brought home 64 ozs of BSB. $22 for a 6.3 abv ipa. Ouch!

But damn, it was so fucking tasty. Pretty certain I prefer that New England style to the West Coast style.

Nice work… drank a bunch of Master of Karate over the weekend and dare I say…. it was as good as heady, maybe better?

Yada wrote:

Space wrote:
Yada, you'd be so proud of me.

Met a friend at Aslin Saturday, my wife told me to bring back "a lot of beer".

I was going to get 32 ounces each of Bringing Sexy Back and Master of Karate. They said they couldn't fill my long neck growlers. So instead I brought home 64 ozs of BSB. $22 for a 6.3 abv ipa. Ouch!

But damn, it was so fucking tasty. Pretty certain I prefer that New England style to the West Coast style.

Nice work… drank a bunch of Master of Karate over the weekend and dare I say…. it was as good as heady, maybe better?

I sampled that too, I just liked BSB better. My friend preferred Masters. Both top notch.

Space wrote:

Space wrote:

Yada wrote:

Space wrote:

Yada wrote:
Savor Brewery List…

http://www.savorcraftbeer.com/beer-food/savor-breweries/

I saw that list previously and all i have to say is they need to drop the lottery system and get more selective.

I think it's exciting… I hadn't heard of half the breweries last year and ended up with a bunch of new favorites.

I'm not really a SAvor person, I'm just repeating what someone on Beer Advocate forums said. They were commenting that this year's crop isn't nearly up to par with previous years, and perhaps the reason is that they select breweries via some kind of lotter system rather than based on some other way.

So here's the beer list. For those who have previously attended, what's your thoughts on the breweries and beers this year compared to previous years?

I still say the events surrounding SAVOR are way better than SAVOR itself.

http://www.savorcraftbeer.com/beers/

I've only went one year and have the same feelings towards this list. I'll go and enjoy probably 40 samples of beer I've never tried in my life and most likely enjoy 80% of them. 

I think sometimes people forget there are more breweries in the world than the same 20 we blabber about on a daily basis. Would it be nice to have a couple of heavy hitters there, maybe? But those lines would be ridiculous and I've most likely tried most of those beers.

Yada wrote:

Space wrote:

Space wrote:

Yada wrote:

Space wrote:

Yada wrote:
Savor Brewery List…

http://www.savorcraftbeer.com/beer-food/savor-breweries/

I saw that list previously and all i have to say is they need to drop the lottery system and get more selective.

I think it's exciting… I hadn't heard of half the breweries last year and ended up with a bunch of new favorites.

I'm not really a SAvor person, I'm just repeating what someone on Beer Advocate forums said. They were commenting that this year's crop isn't nearly up to par with previous years, and perhaps the reason is that they select breweries via some kind of lotter system rather than based on some other way.

So here's the beer list. For those who have previously attended, what's your thoughts on the breweries and beers this year compared to previous years?

I still say the events surrounding SAVOR are way better than SAVOR itself.

http://www.savorcraftbeer.com/beers/

I've only went one year and have the same feelings towards this list. I'll go and enjoy probably 40 samples of beer I've never tried in my life and most likely enjoy 80% of them. 

I think sometimes people forget there are more breweries in the world than the same 20 we blabber about on a daily basis. Would it be nice to have a couple of heavy hitters there, maybe? But those lines would be ridiculous and I've most likely tried most of those beers.

Don't sleep on the Melvin 2x4. I pretty much already know that's going to be the best beer I drink on my Wyoming vacation this summer.

Saturday, April 2 at 6 PM - 10:30 PM

The Last Rewind returns to Ocelot Brewing Company for a night of sweet Phish grooves and jam-inspired brews. Let's keep it simple: 2 Sets of Phish. Phantastic beer. Phinger-licking BBQ. Starts at 6. OK? Ok. Let's do this.

ocelot was playing some sweet 90s/00s indie rock when i was there last

godsshoeshine wrote:
ocelot was playing some sweet 90s/00s indie rock when i was there last

Same for me first couple of times there. Last couple of times, silence.

Space wrote:

Don't sleep on the Melvin 2x4. I pretty much already know that's going to be the best beer I drink on my Wyoming vacation this summer.

I had the Melvin 4x8 last month and that was really tasty.  I can thank Chad Yakobson again for bringing Melvin to Colorado.

Has anybody been to Pen Druid? Very interesting beer list, and the owners are on Thrill Jockey.
We were thinking of going today following a hike, but the forecast looked too iffy last night so we bagged it for today.

https://www.facebook.com/pendruidbrewing/photos/a.1629129004022210.1073741829.1517347478533697/1710847842516992/?type=3&theater

http://www.pendruid.com/about/



Pen Druid Brewing focuses on mixed and wild fermentation, barrel fermenting and aging, and spontaneous fermentation. The brewery is owned and operated by the three brothers Lain, Van and Jennings Carney who are in the psych-rock band Pontiak.

The brothers have spent nearly a decade traveling North America and Europe, playing music and experiencing the local beer traditions. They've released 10 albums on the legendary Chicago independent record label Thrill Jockey Records. In between tours they would brew beer at home.

The name, Pen Druid, comes from their old family farm which sits on the Thornton River in Rappahannock County, Virginia, just a few miles downstream from the brewery.

In the winter 2015/2016 the brothers isolated their own cocktail of wild yeasts and bacteria from the Virginia Piedmont reflecting the terroir of Rappahannock. And in that spirit of capturing the terroir of the Rappahannock Piedmont, the brothers also began their spontaneous fermentation program which employ two copper-lined coolships.

That same winter the brothers expanded their production and are now brewing on a 5bbl system, using an oak mash tun and open oak barrel fermenters.

They opened Pen Druid Brewing in August 2015 partnering with Jonathan Staples from Black Hops farm.

^ looks interesting
isn't this close to you Walky?

look they even named one after you

SPACE - Barrel-fermented and aged Imperial Farmhouse Biere de Miel. Fermented with 60lbs Rappahannock Goldenrod Flower Honey from Windsong Apiary, two Saccharomyces strains, and Brettanomyces Lambicus and Brettanomyces Claussenii.

It is roughly close to me, about an hour. I will have to go check it out. There's a Distillery near there as well and some excellent wineries. Also a beautiful part of Virginia.

that place looks awesome. I am going, next opportunity I get.

South Florida Beer trail 2.0

Went to the Barrel of Monks 'you only turn one once' party with a VIP pass and was privy to some extremely flavorful and dynamic brews

It was a hot day for this time of year, so starting off with Hunahpu's Imperial Stout by  Cigar City Brewing (11%) was a little harsh in the heat, but it was very tasty.  I then had the BoMB 1801 Mocha Koffie Saison…wow was that delicious and quite the pallet cleanser after Hunahpu.  But I threw caution to the wind and got a 1/2 pour of the Hunapu and it went down so much better the second time around…that keg kicked and many were sad.  The White Wizard from BoMB was a great beer for the heat, but what was even better is I went outside and they had a Passion Fruit White Wizard and that was extremely drinkable and a great contrast to the regular.  The PF gave it a tart flavor that wasn't overly sweet and the carb was a little different (in a good way)

It really was a shame it was so hot out as I just couldn't have the Triples and the Quad's as BoMB had about 10 or so variations on tap.  Luckily they had quite a selection of other stuff.

One of my favorites of the day had to be the Odd Breed Wild Ales Dry Hopped Wild Farmhouse Ale.  Was soo good I went back for another…and got the last one of the day.  This really has to be my favorite find.  Crisp and sour with a great body and color.  They were pouring it right out of a mini wooden keg.  Was a little sad I missed their American Flanders and Plums (dark wild ale with plums), but it was excellent to chat with the brewmasters.  They currently couldn't even charge for their beer due to regulations, so they are just at a lot of Craft Beer fests and they can only make money selling merch, so I picked up a sweet workshirt with their logo

But they are working on getting a tap room open in the next year…keep an eye on these guys

Next I went on to the BoMB Nuance Noir, it is a special release ?black saison?
this was one of my favorites, with the light crisp Sasion feel, but a malty/toasty finish.  Could have drank many of these on a hot day

Had a S'tart Mango another BoMB brew that was a really drinkable Lambic.  this was a solid beer, but really got overshadowed with some of the others
Same with the BoMB DB Quad (aged in Rum Barrels), really a delicious beer, but lost in mix of so many good options.

Had a chat with some of the BoBM guys and they were just beaming on how great everything had been going
They used to only have 3 20BBL fermenters going and doing exclusively Beligian styles was making it really hard to keep up with demand as some of them stay in the tank for 2 months.  He said that Cigar City can pump out the Jai Alai in under 10 days in comparison.
In the last few months they added 80 BBL capacity, so they are really pumping out the beers as fast as the Floridians can drink them.

The coup de grâce of the day, taped at the end for the VIP was the J. Wakefield Brewing DFPF

This Dragon Fruit Passion Fruit Berliner really was worth the hype IMO (this beer had Yada's name all over it)
with it's dark pink foam and fuchsia color this was clearly something different than I'd ever had before
it was fruity, but not over the top, sweet and tart
the body was crisp and refreshing with a perfect carb for me and just a little funk that made this beer work perfectly.  Was really glad I got this one and wish I lived closer to JWB.

I also got to hang out with the brewers from Wynwood brewery and meet Pop's who gave the name to Pop's Porter (which I had a loved earlier in the week) They had a Imperial Pop's Porter that was really good, but it was a little thick for the heat.  I can't say I liked it as much as the regular Pop's, but a soild beer nontheless

Finished off the day with another fine SouthFL brewery MIA
they had the Oud Couple on tap.  A Flanders Oud Bruin.  It was tart with a little sour, not too heavy (compared to all the others).  Was fine beer to leave on.
Another brewery that was only 1 years old

The Floridian craft scene is really top notch
I really had no idea how broad and wide it was
Very happy that my parents are down there as that means at least 1 to 2 times a year I'll get to dive deep in these scrumptious malted beverages