The Beer Thread

StoneTheCrow wrote:
The RAR sounds great. Habanero beers are yucky.

I'm allergic to mango but have had beers with mango with no issue

Generally agree with you on the habanero. I only had a sample, but it seemed like it was light on the habanero, which was a good thing.

I've never been a fan of mangoes per se, but I'm finding i like it in my beer, popsicles, and orange juice.

Space wrote:
I've never been a fan of mangoes per se, but I'm finding i like it in my beer, popsicles, and orange juice.

I love them in my Salsa or Mango Chutney

the problem with 95% of hot pepper beers is that they are made as a novelty, as opposed to being a tasty beer.  habaneros are gross when eaten straight, but are delicious when used correctly as part of a recipe.  same can be said of habanero beers: make it overtly spicy and it's gross, but add just a little heat so that you're left wondering at the aftertaste "hey, is that pepper in the finish?!?" and it can be a real treat. 

it's a specific case of the general rule for adding weird stuff to beer:  it should taste like beer, first, with a little weird stuff; not weird stuff that tastes a little like beer.

a really spicy beer would do well at a hot sauce convention because people are there for the heat.  but most beer drinkers want to drink a beer.  the weird stuff shouldn't get in the way of mission #1.

Sïdehätch wrote:

Space wrote:
I've never been a fan of mangoes per se, but I'm finding i like it in my beer, popsicles, and orange juice.

I love them in my Salsa or Mango Chutney

Me too. I guess in reality the only time mango doesn't entirely work for me is the fruit alone itself. At least I'm not allergic to it.

Never expected to see a collaboration between Other Half and Genesee.

https://untappd.com/b/other-half-brewing-co-genny-dream-ale/3134569

sweetcell wrote:

Sïdehätch wrote:
after years of studies coming up with interesting angles on how drinking is actually good for you
now this  https://www.thisisinsider.com/theres-no-safe-amount-of-alcohol-stroke-risk-2019-4

of the studies i read (or read about), it's never the alcohol that is beneficial - it's the antioxidants in the wine, the hop compounds in the beer, etc.  it's the "other things" in the beverage, not the alcohol itself.

so we need new studies: are the other benefits in alcoholic drinks greater than the detrimental effects of the associated alcohol?

gawd i hope so, 'cause damn i'm screwed otherwise.

screw science…I have evidence!

102-Year-Old Woman Says Drinking Beer Is the Secret to Long Life




on a actual beer related note
I dusted off the bike and went to the Stillwater Preternatural Cuvée Meet & Greet W/ Brian Strumke at the Soverign  (neither met nor gret as I arrived at 4)

While I liked this
Preternatural Cuvée 1 - Blended, Barrel-Aged Farmhouse Ale with Sauvignon Blanc
Aged 3 years in French & Hungarian Oak / 2 years bottle conditioning - light carbonation | 9.2%

Kinda just tasted like a light cider and wouldn't probably get again

This was very good: Searching For… (Oak BA Stout w/ Sangiovese Grapes)

This also was very interesting…super light and hop smell off the charts, but not a pallet buster
FLOORED NELSON - Pen Druid Collab w/ The Veil Brewing.
Coolshipped hoppy farmhouse N/A IBU  (is that weird? definitely had zero bitterness)



I did get this for GOT watching

Murder of Crows - Reaver Beach Brewing Company
…little boozy, but loved the taste

VA beach is having a Renaissance with beer as of late!

snobby bartenders have always been my bane…now they are on notice

bar where you serve your self by Nats Park opened this weekend…not a horrible tap list

Sïdehätch wrote:
This also was very interesting…super light and hop smell off the charts, but not a pallet buster
FLOORED NELSON - Pen Druid Collab w/ The Veil Brewing.
Coolshipped hoppy farmhouse N/A IBU  (is that weird? definitely had zero bitterness)

nope, not weird.  zero IBUs, or single-digit IBUs, are very typical of coolship beers.  one of the reasons you normally want IBUs is that they prevent beer from going sour: lactobacillus, a souring bacteria, is inhibited by just a few IBUs. 

but in case case of a coolship beer, or any sour beer, you want lacto to provide sourness - so you cut down, or cut out, the bittering.  another approach is to use aged hops where the alpha acids (which get isomerized into bitterness) have faded.


edit: just noticed on the Wit The Funk page: IBU = 0. 

Sïdehätch wrote:
snobby bartenders have always been my bane…now they are on notice

bar where you serve your self by Nats Park opened this weekend…not a horrible tap list

i got a 4-pack of Wit the Funk and i gotta say, it's a daaaaamn fine funky sour.  recommended.  i need to get back to that Total Wine and grab some more.

nice beer spot, excellent selection for a ballpark.  i'd be there every other inning, to the exclusion of any other beer vendor.

not actually in Nats park

Adjacent to Nationals Park at the intersection of South Capitol and N st SE

well dammit.  i should have known it was too good to be true…


so what's the consensus on best beer inside the park these days? 

Sïdehätch wrote:
Merdian Pint coming out to Arlington!
https://www.arlnow.com/2018/10/18/meridian-pint-aims-to-open-first-arlington-location-in-dominion-hills-by-spring-2019/
in the Dominion Hills Centre shopping plaza.

wait…didn't realize they were closing the DC location to open this one
Just went there for the first time last month…least the new one is close to Hutch and I
https://dcist.com/story/19/04/15/like-a-friend-who-just-had-a-kid-meridian-pint-is-moving-to-arlington/
“final Easter Brunch on Sunday, April 21st, 2019 then permanently close at 4pm.”

in better news…they are rebuilding the Powhattan springs skate park across the street
The Powhatan Springs Skate Park …hopefully opening in spring 2019

I've not actually put urethane to cement yet…but it's done
looks pretty rad to me

sweetcell wrote:

sweetcell wrote:

Yada wrote:
Also, took a gamble on Sapwood today… I think you may have mentioned a long time ago that was your buddy, I split the sour club with a few folks.

NICE!  please please report back on their offerings.  i'd sign up for their club in a heartbeat if i could.

i know both guys behind the project - Mike, who literally wrote the book on american sours, and Scott, AKA Mr. Hop Science.  those two have forgotten more about making good beer than most folks will ever learn.  if their commercial output is anything like their homebrews, y'all in for a treat.

Sapwood is now open: Thur & Fri 4-10 PM, Sat Noon-10 PM. 

looking forward to reading a review (Space, you need to actually visit the place first). 

for the anoraks: blog post about brewing their APA

Finally made it to Sapwood on Saturday. We had to tack on 40 minutes of driving to accommodate a stop there….and damn, it was well work it. Their beers are fire. We also hit Monocacy in Frederick…quite respectable but not in the same league as Sapwood.

Gonna be some damn fine guest taps at the Veil on Sunday.

https://www.facebook.com/theveilbrewing/photos/pcb.2166145286802974/2166140733470096/?type=3&theater

Space wrote:

sweetcell wrote:
looking forward to reading a review (Space, you need to actually visit the place first). 

Finally made it to Sapwood on Saturday. We had to tack on 40 minutes of driving to accommodate a stop there….and damn, it was well work it. Their beers are fire.

nice!  and: jealous!  Sapwwod is rockin' a 4.28 on BA, so looks like they're doing something right :)  what did you have?

Space wrote:We also hit Monocacy in Frederick…quite respectable but not in the same league as Sapwood.

i had Monocacy once on tap, an IPA - it was fine.

if you're ever in Fredneck again, check out Idiom Brewing Co.  they just released a pineapple and mango sour which is getting rave reviews, and are about to package a barrel-aged old ale that i'd love to try.

(Responding to Sweetcell from previous page)

I did notice Idiom and made a note of it. I think we've been to at least three other breweries in Frederick in the past, but only Monocacy merited a return visit.

I think we will be back out that way for some hiking next month, so we'll see…we could also detour to Waredeca and Brookville Beer Farm. Neither have beers worth writing home about, but they're nice if the weather is nice.



I think we had half pours of everything but the stout at Sapwood. They were all good to great, most of them closer to great.

Conference Room 11 – 4.6% ABV: A lightly-hoppy wine-influenced wheat beer. Wine and beer aren’t enemies. Vintners have been selecting cultures that enhance the naturally fruity flavors of grapes. Luckily hops contain many of the same aromatic compounds. So We tried boost the already fruity aroma of German Huell Melon hops with the small addition of wine yeast. The result is all strawberry and cantaloupe with a smooth low-bitterness base.

Lord of Light – 5.6% ABV: Our brand-new pale ale is in the mold of Rings of Light and Danger of Light, but with a more complex blend of hop aromatics from the combination of 50% Australian Galaxy, with 25% each Mosaic and Citra. The result has tropical fruit (passionfruit, papaya) with citrus and some dank herbaceous notes.

Orange Sorbet – 5.6% ABV: One of our favorite variants from 2018 was Orange Sorbet Rings, so we wanted to super-size it with a 200 gallon batch based on Lord of Light! For this one Scott zested more than 100 Cara Cara oranges and heaped in 24 Vanilla Beans from Madagascar. The combination is rich and fruity, but without being sugary sweet.

Atomic Apricot – 5.7% ABV: We took a stainless-steel-fermented pale sour beer and loaded it with apricots at a rate of 2 lbs per gallon. That’s most of what you’ll taste, but we layered in fruity complexity with a moderate dry hopping with Amarillo and Citra, plus fermentation with 12 strains of Brettanomyces. We didn’t back-sweeten or add lactose, so don’t expect it to taste like fruit juice! I also wouldn’t call it a sour IPA as the hops are a complexity rather than the star.

Hop Swirl – 6.8% ABV: : Our extra-New England-y IPA! Hopped with a swirl of Sabro and Citra. Sabro brings a unique range of vanilla, fresh coconut, and tropical aromatics. We wanted to make an almost dessert-like IPA so we boosted the sweetness, and cut the bitterness. Fermented with our house English yeast.

Western Shore – 7.1% ABV: Our East Coast take on a West Coast IPA. Cleaner, drier, and bitterer than our standard IPAs. We dry hopped this one with Simcoe and Strata for a more dank aroma without the juicy frutiness our hazy IPAs usually have. It’s a bit clearer than our usual hoppy beers, but with 3+ lbs/bbl of dry hopping it isn’t crystal.

Grapefruit Cryovolcano – 7.9% ABV: Citra and Mosaic are two of our favorite hops. Together they provide an intense aroma of green pineapple, melon, and grapefruit. 25% of our 4.4 lbs per barrel triple-dry-hopping was with Citra and Mosaic Cryo. The hops already provide grapefruit aromatics, but we wanted to reinforce that with actual grapefruit zest for this 180 gallon mega-variant of Cryovolcano! It took 58 peels to get a citrusy aroma-boost, and slightly elevated bitterness.

Boom, Roasted! – 9.2% ABV: Our second stout, this time an English-inspired Imperial Oatmeal! That means it’s rich, strong, and malty. Flavors include: chocolate, toffee, and faintly woodsy.

I'm not trying to call you a plagiarizer …but I'd like to hear your review of the beers
It's nice to copy from the site for spelling, ABV and style of beer, but weak sauce to put their description too

Sïdehätch wrote:
I'm not trying to call you a plagiarizer …but I'd like to hear your review of the beers
It's nice to copy from the site for spelling, ABV and style of beer, but weak sauce to put their description too

Haha.

What stood out for me was that I really liked the mouthfeel of the hoppy beers. And the one sour was just right…sour, not sweet.

That's all I got.

Space wrote:

sweetcell wrote:

sweetcell wrote:

Yada wrote:
Also, took a gamble on Sapwood today… I think you may have mentioned a long time ago that was your buddy, I split the sour club with a few folks.

NICE!  please please report back on their offerings.  i'd sign up for their club in a heartbeat if i could.

i know both guys behind the project - Mike, who literally wrote the book on american sours, and Scott, AKA Mr. Hop Science.  those two have forgotten more about making good beer than most folks will ever learn.  if their commercial output is anything like their homebrews, y'all in for a treat.

Sapwood is now open: Thur & Fri 4-10 PM, Sat Noon-10 PM. 

looking forward to reading a review (Space, you need to actually visit the place first). 

for the anoraks: blog post about brewing their APA

Finally made it to Sapwood on Saturday. We had to tack on 40 minutes of driving to accommodate a stop there….and damn, it was well work it. Their beers are fire. We also hit Monocacy in Frederick…quite respectable but not in the same league as Sapwood.

Good to know! In my hood!

from the book of faces:

"3 Stars Brewing Company
Dropping our newest collab we did with Ocelot Brewing Company tomorrow at 4pm. The Power of Love is a 7.5% DDH Hazy IPA with a ton of Mosaic and Simcoe hops. Big notes of melon and candied peach rings lead into a nice dry finish. We love the spirit of collaboration in this industry and always optimize the opportunity to work with some of our best buds. Super limited with only about 100 cases. Don’t miss it. #madeindc #ddh #craftbeer #acreativedc"