The Beer Thread

after a long break from posting my favorite purchases of things i think you should try, here is another list of what i feel are highlights from the last few months of buying.

new holland    golden cap
blue mountain  local species
brooklyn  local 2
duclaw    mysterium
anderson valley  heelch o'hops
troegs  perpetual ipa
great divide  hibernation ale
goose island  christmas ale (sold in supermarket stores and not bad)
chatoe rogue  first growth  oregasmic ale
firestone  wooky jack
firestone  xvi  anniversary ale
founders  frangelic mountain
stone  vertical epic  twelve  (had one already and they are very nice)

plus the worst beer i've had in a long time . . . marooned on hog island  oyster stout

Had a Stone Enjoy By 2-15-13 IPA (bottled on 1-11-13) with my homemade Indian food for dinner tonight. Yum yum, yum.

GO RAVENS!!!!!!

i checked all three threads just to make sure, jeff. 

yeah . . . go ravens.

Why do the mouth breathing masses always gravitate toward the garbage?

I was in Total Wine yesterday, and out of all the good singles they had, a girl picked up a bottle of Shock Top End of the World Midnight Wheat, an ale brewed with Midnight Wheat, chocolate malt and spice.

"Oooh, Shock Top! Oooh chocolate and chili, you wouldn't think those would go together but thinking about it, that works for me. The more i drink beer, the less I dislike it."

Friend of girl: "Beer's an acquired taste you know."

"Yeah, well there's always white russians."

James wrote:
Had a Stone Enjoy By 2-15-13 IPA (bottled on 1-11-13) with my homemade Indian food for dinner tonight. Yum yum, yum.

had one last night, delicious brew. 

also had a rodenbach 2010 vintage oak aged ale, which, if i was rich, i would have a bottle of this in my fridge at all times.

James wrote:
Why do the mouth breathing masses always gravitate toward the garbage?

gotta start somewhere, i suppose.

James wrote:
Why do the mouth breathing masses always gravitate toward the garbage?

I was in Total Wine yesterday, and out of all the good singles they had, a girl picked up a bottle of Shock Top End of the World Midnight Wheat, an ale brewed with Midnight Wheat, chocolate malt and spice.

"Oooh, Shock Top! Oooh chocolate and chili, you wouldn't think those would go together but thinking about it, that works for me. The more i drink beer, the less I dislike it."

Friend of girl: "Beer's an acquired taste you know."

"Yeah, well there's always white russians."

White Russians are pretty tasty. 

I had my first beer I brewed myself last night. Pretty awesome tasting.  It was an Oktoberfest beer.  It was from Hopped Malt Extract so pretty easy not to mess it up. 

atomicfront wrote:
I had my first beer I brewed myself last night. Pretty awesome tasting.  It was an Oktoberfest beer.  It was from Hopped Malt Extract so pretty easy not to mess it up. 

congrats on your first batch! 

next up: steeping grains and adding your own hops.

James wrote:
"Oooh, Shock Top!"

I have a friend who is the same way with Sam Adams.  Thinks everything they do is golden.  The beers he left in my fridge will go untouched until he returns to drink them.

I can respect Sam Adams products though I don't typically buy them. Shock Top is Anheiser Busch swill.

StoneTheCrow wrote:

James wrote:
"Oooh, Shock Top!"

I have a friend who is the same way with Sam Adams.  Thinks everything they do is golden.  The beers he left in my fridge will go untouched until he returns to drink them.

Split a case of Nugget Nectar direct from the brewery this weekend, bottled a couple of days ago.

sweetcell wrote:

atomicfront wrote:
I had my first beer I brewed myself last night. Pretty awesome tasting.  It was an Oktoberfest beer.  It was from Hopped Malt Extract so pretty easy not to mess it up. 

congrats on your first batch! 

next up: steeping grains and adding your own hops.

thanks. I am taking stuff slow.  Next batch I am doing LME and hops. 

I'm on a mild brewing hiatus right now as I contemplate an upgraded brew pot and some other enhancements.

I got a crap ton of gift cards for Christmas and my birthday and am looking to step up to a 10 gal pot and do some BIAB for a while on my way to the full transition to all grain.. but there's just so many options for pots out there.

Any suggestions from the other brewers in the thread?



On an aside - my really small beer/wine store (on H, between 4th and 5th, NE) near my house that somehow gets some quality rarities on occasion informed me they'll be getting hopslam in either tomorrow or Wednesday.  I'm excited.

imbecile wrote:
I'm on a mild brewing hiatus right now as I contemplate an upgraded brew pot and some other enhancements.

I got a crap ton of gift cards for Christmas and my birthday and am looking to step up to a 10 gal pot and do some BIAB for a while on my way to the full transition to all grain.. but there's just so many options for pots out there.

Any suggestions from the other brewers in the thread?

i doubt you have an overstock.com gift card, but i brew with this guy: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Bayou-Classic-44-quart-Stainless-Steel-Stockpot-with-Lid/6165694/product.html

very happy with it. usually do 7-gal batches with it with no fear of boil over.

edit: you know, i think i have the 36-quart one (9 gallons), not the 44-quart.  $12 less, and had a groupon deal or something with overstock, so got it for real cheap.  either way, quality brew pot.

James wrote:
I can respect Sam Adams products though I don't typically buy them. Shock Top is Anheiser Busch swill.

That's fair comment.

imbecile wrote:
I got a crap ton of gift cards for Christmas and my birthday and am looking to step up to a 10 gal pot and do some BIAB for a while on my way to the full transition to all grain.. but there's just so many options for pots out there.

Any suggestions from the other brewers in the thread?

get whatever stainless steel pot is the cheapest.  the only noticeable difference that i've come across is thickness of the bottom.  some a "tri-clad", which indicates that they are thicker.  this helps disperse heat evenly and reduces the risk of scorching (not sure how over-stated that risk is, tho).  if you are handy with tools you can install your own valves, thermometers, sight glass, etc so you can save money by going DIY on those (order parts from http://www.brewhardware.com/ or http://www.bargainfittings.com/).  or if you want it done for you, professionally, get a pot with valves or at least ports (holes) already installed.  these might not be things you're thinking of now but chances are you'll want them at some point.

i do BIAB, only.  i'm really happy with the results and the advantages a dedicated mash-tun don't seem worth it to me at this point.  it does mean i have to keep an eye on my pot and occasionally adjust the flame on my stove-top, but i've got the process down and can keep the temp to within a degree or two.  one advantage of this approach is that i can mix the pot's contents while mashing, which really helps with efficiency.  i hit 80% or higher.  mash-tuns are cool because it's a set-it-and-forget-it situation… but i like twiddling knobs and interacting with my beer-to-be. 

met up with mr. james ford last night at pizza paradiso and enjoyed:
- Lost Rhino's Woody Stout (cask): i was suitably impressed.  woodiest tasting beer i've ever had.  bourbon flavor and aroma could have been more pronounced for my taste, then again my expectations of bourbon might be overly influenced by KBS.
- Scaldis Noel: satisfying as a belgian amber, a bit of a disappointment as a christmas beer.  didn't have any of the spices and heat (despite its 10% abv) that i expect from a winter warmer.  tasty but a little indistinct.  the St. Bernardus Christmas, despite being rather sweet, was closer to my idea of an ideal winter seasonal.  i loved its over-the-top belgian esters.

i stopped in to the big hunt on my way home and tried the 12-12-12 on draft.  that is a thoroughly enjoyable big belgian.  i also tried Stone's "Enjoy By 2-15".  i wasn't that impressed.  "enjoy by" beers are consistently rated highly but i thought it was a somewhat generic IIPA.  maybe i just had palette fatigue by then.

sweetcell wrote:
maybe i just had palette fatigue by then.

officer, I swear it's just palate fatigue.

That Stone 12-12-12 beer may have been my favorite US produced dark Belgian beer ever. That's one style of beer most American breweries usually manage to get wrong.

stevewizzle wrote:

imbecile wrote:
I'm on a mild brewing hiatus right now as I contemplate an upgraded brew pot and some other enhancements.

I got a crap ton of gift cards for Christmas and my birthday and am looking to step up to a 10 gal pot and do some BIAB for a while on my way to the full transition to all grain.. but there's just so many options for pots out there.

Any suggestions from the other brewers in the thread?

i doubt you have an overstock.com gift card, but i brew with this guy: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Bayou-Classic-44-quart-Stainless-Steel-Stockpot-with-Lid/6165694/product.html

very happy with it. usually do 7-gal batches with it with no fear of boil over.

edit: you know, i think i have the 36-quart one (9 gallons), not the 44-quart.  $12 less, and had a groupon deal or something with overstock, so got it for real cheap.  either way, quality brew pot.

Did you install a ball-valve on this bad boy?

That was going to be my follow-up question, whether or not you guys felt them necessary and/or how difficult is it to transfer 5-gallons without one.

I do believe i have the know-how to install one myself, but may just go for one with a valve already installed just to not have to deal with it.