The Beer Thread

The Blind Tiger in the West Village is cool, but maybe out of the way from the Lower East Side.

There's a Whole Foods in the LES area that has a great selection of bottles.

stevewizzle wrote:
late request… but heading to NYC for the weekend, and will have some freetime.  any good reccomendations for beer bars? will be around LES most of the time, but will be venturing to BK for brooklyn brewery sometime Saturday.

i know mostly of places on the upper east side, but nothing mind-blowing.  for a city of the size of NYC, i haven't had much luck finding really great beer bars.  around LES, http://thespringlounge.com/ has decent tap selection.  they have more than what's listed on their website (seasonals, one-offs, etc).  or they used to.

completely jealous that you're hitting the brooklyn brewery.  if you can, be sure to taste their chocolate stout, ale monster and blast!  looks like their brewmaster's reserve at the moment is a black IPA… not a style i'm crazy about, but i'd still give it a try.

Brooklyn Lager is brewed in Utica.
Sixpoint is brewed in PA.


http://brewyorknewyork.com/post/1058444257/when-the-beer-you-drink-isnt-brewed-where-you-think

thanks for the recommendations, you guys.

Yada wrote:
Drank these all weekend in Florida. Two thumbs up.

good stuff

sweetcell wrote:
if you can, be sure to taste their chocolate stout, ale monster and blast!  looks like their brewmaster's reserve at the moment is a black IPA… not a style i'm crazy about, but i'd still give it a try.

well, the blast was terrific, sorachi ace terrific as always, and the black IPA was solid as well.  they had 'dial m for mild' on draft for there brewmaster's reserve, which was probably their most interesting selection on draft.  not too many beers these days get me confused at what i'm drinking, but i enjoyed trying to figure out what on earth flavor i was tasting at any given moment.  one of the best lightly-hopped sessions i've ever had.

the brewery itself was a great time.  their indoor biergarten-style pub is great.  cheap drafts ($4) and ample space, it made me forget for a second i was in NYC.

didn't check any other beer spots, instead went the whiskey route. meant to swing by spring lounge for a liquid lunch on sunday, but ran out of time.

steve, glad to hear your trip to the Blyn brewery was a success.  session beers are the new cool thing it seems, but i've never come across one that has really impressed me.  i'd rather slowly sip a thick syrup that down gallons of lighter stuff… then again, ask me that in august and i might change my mind ;D

definitely need to make my way there next time i'm in NYC.

sweetcell wrote:
steve, glad to hear your trip to the Blyn brewery was a success.  session beers are the new cool thing it seems, but i've never come across one that has really impressed me.  i'd rather slowly sip a thick syrup that down gallons of lighter stuff… then again, ask me that in august and i might change my mind ;D

definitely need to make my way there next time i'm in NYC.

highly recommend it. middle of williamsburg, lots of space, can order pizza and bring cards/games/etc. 

and yeah, session beers. the new hop bomb.

http://beerpulse.com/2012/11/westvleteren-xii-hits-stores-in-mid-december-exclusive-through-twm-in-some-states/


Westvleteren XII hits stores in mid-December, exclusive through TW&M in some states
Posted on November 19, 2012 at 7:26 pm by Adam Nason   

——————————————————————————–



(Belchertown, MA) ? Months of rumors and speculation have finally come to a head with the first report on the Westvleteren XII nationwide release coming out on Monday afternoon.

According to Jacksonville.com:

Total Wine & More at St. Johns Town Center is getting some, and will put it on sale ? first-come, first-served ? on Dec. 12 for $84.99 a six-pack, including two glasses. There?s a limit of one six-pack per customer. Reservations won?t be taken, you have to show up to purchase the beer. The store opens at 9 a.m. Dec. 12.

BeerPulse has also learned that December 12th is the launch date for all Total Wine & More locations nationwide. Total Wine & More will be the exclusive carrier in states in which that chain has locations established.

Total Wine & More operates in the following states: New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, California and Washington. BeerPulse has not yet confirmed availability in all of these states.

As for other states, details are still murky.

Whole Foods Louisiana tweeted on Monday that it expects to release the beer in mid-December. Meanwhile, it appears that Craft Beer Cellar in Massachusetts will also be selling it via lottery.

In May June, Shelton Brothers held The Festival in Worcester, Massachusetts, and conducted an exclusive limited release through a nearby shop, Julio?s Liquors. It also sold for the suggested retail price of $84.99 there.

A lot has change since news about the U.S. originally broke last year. The original target for a nationwide release was this past April. Manneken Brussels Imports was also supposed to be handling importing duties along with Shelton Brothers but is no longer part of the arrangement.

The brewers at the Sint-Sixtus Abbey in Westvleteren have taken on extra shifts in order to produce more of the beer for this one-time offering. The additional production and first-time exportation are being used as a way to raise money for restoration of the abbey.

Shelton Brothers and Total Wine & More did not reply to a request for comment by Monday night when this story was published.

sweetcell wrote:
Monday 11/19 at 6PM
Ales from the Dark Side: Volume Two - 20 Strong Dark Rarities on Tap

tried making it out to this last night, but got stuck with workmates at the big hunt.  on the upside, the BH had on tap one of the beers i was most excited to try at the churchkey event: goose island's bourbon street stout.  woa.  that stuff was intense, not something you can have 2 of.  the taste of alcohol is quite pronounced (to be expected at 15% abv).  DC Brau "Ghoul?s Night Out" is to be avoided - too sweet, not sure how they can call that a quad.  deal of the day: a pint of Brown Shugga for $7.  really enjoyed that.

James wrote:
$84.99 a six-pack

great… now i gotta find someone to go in on a 6 pack with me?!? ::)

that price is insulting.  first, the monks said they would never sell overseas because that would require ramping up production "to an unsustainable level", that quality would be compromised during transportation, and that they "brew to live, not live to brew".  now they need cash, so it's OK to fleece the american public?  westie isn't $14/bottle in belgium.

for $85 you can get a lot of other mind-blowing quads.  gawd i'm starting to sound like james ford.

I paid 7.75 Euro for a single bottle at a bottle store in Bruges. That's about $10, right? I avoided any kind of shipping or import fees by stuffing it in my suitcase, but I don't think the US retailers/distributors have that option.

And beyond Rochefort 10 and St Bernardus 12, what other quads are in the same league, or "mind blowing"?

sweetcell wrote:

James wrote:
$84.99 a six-pack

great… now i gotta find someone to go in on a 6 pack with me?!? ::)

that price is insulting.  first, the monks said they would never sell overseas because that would require ramping up production "to an unsustainable level", that quality would be compromised during transportation, and that they "brew to live, not live to brew".  now they need cash, so it's OK to fleece the american public?  westie isn't $14/bottle in belgium.

for $85 you can get a lot of other mind-blowing quads.  gawd i'm starting to sound like james ford.

$24 for one 26 oz bottle of Founders Bolt Cutter which you'd have to drink at one sitting.

vs.

$85 for six twelve ounce bottles ozs of Westy 12 plus two glasses, so six sittings.


I won't be buying either of them, but i'd choose the Westy option if i had to!

James wrote:
I paid 7.75 Euro for a single bottle at a bottle store in Bruges. That's about $10, right? I avoided any kind of shipping or import fees by stuffing it in my suitcase, but I don't think the US retailers/distributors have that option.

And beyond Rochefort 10 and St Bernardus 12, what other quads are in the same league, or "mind blowing"?

i might be wrong here, but i thought westies weren't allowed to be re-sold… so if i'm right, that store in bruges is charging a lot because it's selling something that it shouldn't be.  but i might have outdated information.

pannepot and val-dieu grand cru can add to that list, IMO.

James wrote:
$24 for one 26 oz bottle of Founders Bolt Cutter which you'd have to drink at one sitting.

vs.

$85 for six twelve ounce bottles ozs of Westy 12 plus two glasses, so six sittings.


I won't be buying either of them, but i'd choose the Westy option if i had to!

well that's a silly example, since $26 for bolt cutter is a ridiculous price too.  dom perignon is $300 a bottle, making the upcoming westvleteren release a bargain!

in the end i'd pay $14 for one bottle because i'd really like to try it once, but i'm not going to lock up $85 in a 6-pack.

I feel like drinking 100 beers.

Yada wrote:
I feel like drinking 100 beers.

"If one of those bottles should happen to fall;
99 bottles of beer on the wall."

Whole Foods in Fairfax is holding a "raffle" for the privilege of paying $190 for their one bottle on Sam Adams 10 Anniversary Utopia. Take that, Westy 12.

that backwoods bastard is tasty, but really nothing special right now.  james ford, have you cracked into your aged bb?

I drank the last of my 2010 earlier this year, haven't cracked the 2011 yet.

I agree with your assessment of BB. Still a good enough value and tasty enough to grab a four pack of each year.

stevewizzle wrote:
that backwoods bastard is tasty, but really nothing special right now.  james ford, have you cracked into your aged bb?

you want nothing special?  

some of this years founders harvest was not up to snuff, imo.

last year was better.