The Beer Thread

walkie,talkie wrote:
I wonder in areas, meaning weird sections of the state where the brewery is located, can it just easily be found sitting on a shelf without any hoopla?

the brewery is in chicago and there is plenty of hoopla there on release day.  in fact there is a variant that is only available in chicago - guess how crazy beer geeks are for that beer?

is BCBS a great beer?  yes.  it is worth the time or expense?  i tend to think not.  it's only beer.  i got a few bottle of the barleywine variant because i stumbled across it.  last year i got none because i couldn't be bothered to chase it down.

i paid $15/bottle, with tax.  if that beer were available year round, i doubt i would buy it very often.

Unsanity wrote:
Last year they had some quality control issues with bacteria I do recall so be warned about that.

this year's batch was pasteurized, so no risk on infection. 

sweetcell wrote:

Unsanity wrote:
Last year they had some quality control issues with bacteria I do recall so be warned about that.

this year's batch was pasteurized, so no risk on infection. 

Walkie was saying his bottle is from last year. I'm sure its fine. I didn't notice anything wrong with the several bottles I bought and drank in Virginia last year but I still wanted to give a heads up. I still have not tried the new improved pasteurized 2016's I picked up yet, maybe this weekend…

Unsanity wrote:

sweetcell wrote:

Unsanity wrote:
Last year they had some quality control issues with bacteria I do recall so be warned about that.

this year's batch was pasteurized, so no risk on infection. 

Walkie was saying his bottle is from last year. I'm sure its fine. I didn't notice anything wrong with the several bottles I bought and drank in Virginia last year but I still wanted to give a heads up. I still have not tried the new improved pasteurized 2016's I picked up yet, maybe this weekend…

Ok homebrewers, geek me out with an answer. Does pasteurization=improved?

Also name me the best one or two beginners homebrewing books.

If your bourbon county from last year is one of these dates, pour it on your head.

Refunds are available for Bourbon County Brand Stout bottles dated: Oct. 9, Oct. 12, Oct. 21, Oct. 22, Oct. 23, Oct. 26, Oct. 30, Nov. 4 and Nov. 5. The lone bottling date of infected Proprietor's Bourbon County Stout is Sept. 18. All bottling dates are from 2015.

Singlecut Softly Spoken Magic Spells may be the best bottled DIPA I've ever had. Nearly as good as it is on draft.

Yada wrote:
If your bourbon county from last year is one of these dates, pour it on your head.

Refunds are available for Bourbon County Brand Stout bottles dated: Oct. 9, Oct. 12, Oct. 21, Oct. 22, Oct. 23, Oct. 26, Oct. 30, Nov. 4 and Nov. 5. The lone bottling date of infected Proprietor's Bourbon County Stout is Sept. 18. All bottling dates are from 2015.

just checked mine . . . dated 09/30/15.  so, I guess, mine is ok?

walkie,talkie wrote:

Yada wrote:
If your bourbon county from last year is one of these dates, pour it on your head.

Refunds are available for Bourbon County Brand Stout bottles dated: Oct. 9, Oct. 12, Oct. 21, Oct. 22, Oct. 23, Oct. 26, Oct. 30, Nov. 4 and Nov. 5. The lone bottling date of infected Proprietor's Bourbon County Stout is Sept. 18. All bottling dates are from 2015.

just checked mine . . . dated 09/30/15.  so, I guess, mine is ok?

So they say…. but since you're not drinking again, might as well pour it on your head.

it will be a gift to someone, who is a newcomer to the world of craft beer, so he will die when someone just gives him one of these.  I love introducing people to the world beyond what most people think as a "microbrewery."

yada, must get off, prince style, by hanging outside of aa meetings, and pointing / laughing.  with a beer, that only comes out once a year, in his hand . . . saying, you'll never know how much this matters.

Space wrote:

Unsanity wrote:

sweetcell wrote:

Unsanity wrote:
Last year they had some quality control issues with bacteria I do recall so be warned about that.

this year's batch was pasteurized, so no risk on infection. 

Walkie was saying his bottle is from last year. I'm sure its fine. I didn't notice anything wrong with the several bottles I bought and drank in Virginia last year but I still wanted to give a heads up. I still have not tried the new improved pasteurized 2016's I picked up yet, maybe this weekend…

Ok homebrewers, geek me out with an answer. Does pasteurization=improved?

Also name me the best one or two beginners homebrewing books.

Oh boy… I can only imagine a few years from now when Space's brewing is as excellent as his cooking and beer is no longer worth purchasing from a brewery, just brew it yourself at home!

Julian, please make note of this post.

walkie,talkie wrote:


yada, must get off, prince style, by hanging outside of aa meetings, and pointing / laughing.  with a beer, that only comes out once a year, in his hand . . . saying, you'll never know how much this matters.

i don't get this post.

it was a joke.  you seem, to like to remind me, that I don't drink anymore.  as if, to rub in my face.  again, it was a joke.  let talk about crazy how ratbastard is or james and islam . . . and forget I brought it up.

walkie,talkie wrote:

Yada wrote:
If your bourbon county from last year is one of these dates, pour it on your head.

Refunds are available for Bourbon County Brand Stout bottles dated: Oct. 9, Oct. 12, Oct. 21, Oct. 22, Oct. 23, Oct. 26, Oct. 30, Nov. 4 and Nov. 5. The lone bottling date of infected Proprietor's Bourbon County Stout is Sept. 18. All bottling dates are from 2015.

just checked mine . . . dated 09/30/15.  so, I guess, mine is ok?

I bought one bottle of regular last year to try what it because of all the hype.  Put it away and didn't really think about it until this year when the hype for 2016 picked up.  Haven't opened it, but sure enough mine is on the bad dates.

And refund date is cut off.  Rather annoyed.

Space wrote:
Singlecut Softly Spoken Magic Spells may be the best bottled DIPA I've ever had. Nearly as good as it is on draft.

thanks for this heads-up!  i had never heard of this brewery.  looking at the map, it's easy to get to via subway and it's open until midnight wed-sat.  i'll be hitting this place up next time i'm in the NYC office.

sweetcell wrote:

Space wrote:
Singlecut Softly Spoken Magic Spells may be the best bottled DIPA I've ever had. Nearly as good as it is on draft.

thanks for this heads-up!  i had never heard of this brewery.  looking at the map, it's easy to get to via subway and it's open until midnight wed-sat.  i'll be hitting this place up next time i'm in the NYC office.

I had heard the name, so was intrigued when I saw that a local beer store was having Singlecut tap takeover when I was visiting my brother in upstate NY over the summer. We stopped in and were totally blown away.

They just started shipping small quantities of single (pricey) bottles and select kegs to DC. I've had that bottle as well as a couple of others on draft at Smoke and Barrel. All excellent. The beer director for Smoke and Barrel/NP/BP made similar flattering comments regarding the hoppy beers from SingleCut in the BA forum.

We're hoping to hit the brewery when we go to NYC in January (also considering LIC Beer Project in Queens, as well as Other Half and Threes in Brooklyn). I'll post a review here if we do so. If you're there anytime soon, let us know how it is!

Velvet Merkin dropping around MD and morsels of BCBS still to be found.

Space wrote:
Also name me the best one or two beginners homebrewing books.

The Complete Joy of Homebrewing: this book is the equivalent of your goofy uncle teaching you to brew.  the science/techiness is kept in check (not to say that there isn't any science, just not as much as other books).  the emphasis is on getting you brewing, vs. making you a theoretical expert.  this book is the origin of the expression "relax, don't worry, have a homebrew" - the author's advice to brewers who get hung up on small details.

How to Brew: aka "The Bible."  the tagline says it all: Everything You Need To Know To Brew Beer Right The First Time.  it starts off slow, but does eventually get into the scientific details.  the author does a great job explaining to you why you should care about those details.  current edition is the 3rd, the author has been working on the 4th for some time now but no publication date yet.  the first edition is online, but it's dated.  i would invest in the newest edition.

my suggestion: start with the joy of homebrewing.  that will keep you happy for many months, then you can get how to brew to answer the questions you will inevitably build up.  i started off with the joy, but i haven't touched that book since my 3rd or 4th months of brewing.  how to brew, however, is a reference book you go back to no matter how long you've been brewing.

and if you're more visual/less literate: consider these DVDs (or online video rentals).  get the "with extract" version first.

and looks like there are some simple videos in YT like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgPdttvbhU4. ; they seem to only cover the mechanics ("add X to Y, stir, then pour") and provide little explanation as to why you're doing something. 

i'll answer pasteurization=improved? later…

^excellent… was asked for some reasonably priced items for the xmas list!
I personally think 1 gallon is a good way to start (although I've yet to graduate)

$15-20 worth of ingredients and you get almost two six packs
the variety you can make is off the charts
there are limitations and your refined pallet would have little patience
but it's far better than $50 worth of materials on a batch that sucks


Not beer….but, I did go with the Apfelwein in a five gallon carboy for xmas gifts this year.
been in there since before halloween

Natty-bo.. tell me its not owned by a nazi

I'm also drinking the Port City IPa from Alexandria.. I'm not impressed..

sidehatch wrote:
I personally think 1 gallon is a good way to start (although I've yet to graduate)

$15-20 worth of ingredients and you get almost two six packs
the variety you can make is off the charts
there are limitations and your refined pallet would have little patience
but it's far better than $50 worth of materials on a batch that sucks


Not beer….but, I did go with the Apfelwein in a five gallon carboy for xmas gifts this year.
been in there since before halloween

tough debate.  making 5 gallons isn't much harder, or longer, than making 1… so many are tempted to go for the larger batch.  a definite benefit of 1 gal batches is that you need little to no additional equipment.  for 5 gals, you need a carboy or bucket, ideally a larger pot (to do a full-volume boil), a bottling bucket etc.

there is even more variety in 5-gal kits than in 1 gallon.

sidehatch, have you made a batch that was undrinkable?  i've made some lackluster beers, but in all my brewing (100 batches?  more?), only 2 have been dumpers… and neither were in my first year of brewing.

sweetcell wrote: have you made a batch that was undrinkable?  

sadly my standards are low…I would say I've had maybe 2-3 that were bad to meh
Most I've thought were pretty damn crushable

but it's like your kids art, it always has some sentimental value as you injest it
10 beers is doable even if it's meh
I remember 2 decades ago making 2 cases that I held my nose and powered through against my better judgment