The Beer Thread

#hopbowl

I have only had half of those.  Embarrassing. 

James wrote:
We had our first of the year tonight. Unfortunately, we both agree/ huge disappointment this year.

Great.  I said i wouldn't but I did break down and buy some.  Even after I'd heard that last year's batch (which I didn't buy) was worse than the previous one.

d-u-m-b, I am.

We split a 12 oz bottle of Firestone Walker Double Jack and a 12 oz bottle of Green Flash Palate Wrecker last night.

And the winner, by unanimous decision, was Double Jack.

Which is cool, because the four pack of that is cheaper as well as year round.

Next matchup is Double Jack vs. 2013 Hopslam. The Hopslam is a month younger, but I still have my $$ on Double Jack.

walkonby wrote:
damn . . . just bought a six pack of hopslam.  like james, i had to.  i've never had it, but now, how will i know if it is bad . . . i've never had it to compare it too.  how odd.  i did pick up some more sucks and brown shugga and 12/12/12 and banana bread beer and alcoholic ginger beer and the place i buy beer has tap lines now so i got a growler of firestone walker double jack.  niiiiiceee.

my partner and i just split the growler.  oh my . . . i'm getting some tonight!

Yada wrote:
#hopbowl

so who won?  i hope you made allowances for freshness ("flag on the play: sipping of a two-month old IIPA…")

i got a sixer of sucks, and i can't say that i'm blown away.  quite tasty but i wouldn't raise a fuss over the stuff.

sweetcell wrote:

Yada wrote:
#hopbowl

so who won?  i hope you made allowances for freshness ("flag on the play: sipping of a two-month old IIPA…")

i got a sixer of sucks, and i can't say that i'm blown away.  quite tasty but i wouldn't raise a fuss over the stuff.

A can of Heady Topper canned on 12/17/12 and one canned on 1/24/13 had almost the same flavor profile. The 12/17 batch was the oldest can/bottle at the tasting. Surly Abrasive (not sure of the canning date) was literally just a hair under topper. I wanted to do a blind taste test but we didn't have enough unfortunately.

Felt this beer deserved a mention. Actually, it was fantastic. Had it on draft and picked up a bottle. Tasted like a more oaky/buttery version of Backwoods Bastard. I know, "buttery" is not supposed to be a good thing for beer, but it was. Trust me. Find a bottle if you can.

Boulevard Rye-on Rye

registration for the 2013 national Homebrewers Conference is tomorrow (2/05) at 3:00 pm - http://www.ahaconference.org/. ; i've been invited to speak at a seminar so my ticket is comp'ed <insert happy brewer's dance>.

in other news, i was gifted a Sam Adams "Small Batch Collection" box set (http://www.samueladams.com/enjoy-our-beer/limited-release.aspx).   contains 4 bombers: Merry Mischief gingerbread stout, The Vixen chocolate chili bock, Norse Legend sahti and Griffins Bow oaked barleywine.  t'was a very sweet gesture by friends appealing to my beer geekiness.  gonna throw these in the cellar for 6-12 months, then see what SA's small batch series have to offer.

ah shit just e-mailed you about the conference.  i'll be there.

sahti! i love these old school ales that are starting to pop up more and more.  heathers, gruits, sahti's… i think they are all much more interesting than another 100+ ibu IPA.  but fuck those IPAs are tasty.

Got a sixer of Hopslam for $19.99 at my local.  It's sweet (literally and figuratively).

stevewizzle wrote:
ah shit just e-mailed you about the conference.&nbsp; i&#039;ll be there.

sahti! i love these old school ales that are starting to pop up more and more.&nbsp; heathers, gruits, sahti&#039;s… i think they are all much more interesting than another 100+ ibu IPA.&nbsp; but fuck those IPAs are tasty.

don't dilly-dally on registering.  i expect NHC to sell out.  see you there, should be an absolute blast!

i've never had sahti before, looking forward to it… in a few months.

Dogfish Sahtea is very good. I love how they describe a 9%abv beer as "highly quaffable".


COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
A modern update on a 9th century Finnish proto-beer. Brewed with rye, we caramelize the wort with white hot river rocks, then ferment it with a German Weizen yeast. In addition to juniper berries foraged directly from the Finnish country-side we added a sort of tea made with coriander, cardamom, lemon grass, Indian Black Tea, and ramps leaves. The spicing is subtle and balanced and Sahtea is a highly-quaffable, truly-unique brew with a full-mouth feel.

still awaiting registration to open up.

JF - that rye-on-rye is fantastic, isn't it?  had it for the super bowl… tons of rye aroma, was expecting a bit more rye flavor. buttery is an interesting way to describe it.  i also ventured out to total wine after so many mentions of it… good place, cheap beer.  got a case of sucks  for $36.

when i see rye, i run,  why . . . i don't know.  somehow i have always thought rye tastes bad.  rye?  it sounds like bread beer.  do i want it.  who knows.

For me:

Rye bread=yuck
Rye beer=yum
banana bread=yum
banana bread beer=yuck

walkonby wrote:
when i see rye, i run,&nbsp; why . . . i don&#039;t know.&nbsp; somehow i have always thought rye tastes bad.&nbsp; rye?&nbsp; it sounds like bread beer.&nbsp; do i want it.&nbsp; who knows.

rye is an awesome malt to brew with.  it lends a slick mouthfeel along with a mild spicy flavor.

james, when you mentioned that you got buttery from the Rye on Rye i was wondering if it was actual butter taste (diacetyl) or just the impression of butter b/c of the rye.  i read reviews on BA and a few others noted a buttery taste although not since a year ago… do you know if the bottle you had was old?

James wrote:
Dogfish Sahtea is very good. I love how they describe a 9%abv beer as &quot;highly quaffable&quot;.


COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
A modern update on a 9th century Finnish proto-beer. Brewed with rye, we caramelize the wort with white hot river rocks, then ferment it with a German Weizen yeast. In addition to juniper berries foraged directly from the Finnish country-side we added a sort of tea made with coriander, cardamom, lemon grass, Indian Black Tea, and ramps leaves. The spicing is subtle and balanced and Sahtea is a highly-quaffable, truly-unique brew with a full-mouth feel.

Being the obsessed teatotaler that I am, think that I'll have to take a little trek up the street to try some of this. Need to go up and make a wine run anyway. Would make for a nice little diversion with a meal to boot.

James wrote:
Felt this beer deserved a mention. Actually, it was fantastic. Had it on draft and picked up a bottle. Tasted like a more oaky/buttery version of Backwoods Bastard. I know, &quot;buttery&quot; is not supposed to be a good thing for beer, but it was. Trust me. Find a bottle if you can.

Boulevard Rye-on Rye

Not sure if I would like this or not but it has me interesed. I love rye bread. I love Guiness which tastes like a good dark bread. I tend to love buttery tasting wines and foods. Do not like rye whiskey so that might be the tricky part. What's the hops saturation like? James, you know exactly what I'm asking. I just can't stomach hops so that could be the real deciding factor for me.

I had it on draft in January. I *think* this was the first year Boulevard distributed that beer to NoVA, so the keg would have been brand new. Unless Pizza Paradiso had gotten a keg last year, held onto it for a year, and tapped it at the same exact time the 2013 was released. highly unlikely. So almost 100% it was fresh, on draft. Still have a new bottle that my wife wants to drink with a grilled gouda sandwich.

The "buttery" term was used by my wife, though I agree with her. I think maybe creamy/slick are more neutral beer terms which probably work as well. So probably just the impression of butter.

sweetcell wrote:
rye is an awesome malt to brew with.&nbsp; it lends a slick mouthfeel along with a mild spicy flavor.

james, when you mentioned that you got buttery from the Rye on Rye i was wondering if it was actual butter taste (diacetyl) or just the impression of butter b/c of the rye.&nbsp; i read reviews on BA and a few others noted a buttery taste although not since a year ago… do you know if the bottle you had was old?

Minimal hops presence. You can taste the whiskey, but it's not overpowering, at least not to my warped palate. I detest whiskey myself, but still loved this beer.

Edit: IBU is a decent predictor of hoppiness. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale IBU is 37, this beer's IBU is 47.

Jaguar wrote:

James wrote:
Felt this beer deserved a mention. Actually, it was fantastic. Had it on draft and picked up a bottle. Tasted like a more oaky/buttery version of Backwoods Bastard. I know, &quot;buttery&quot; is not supposed to be a good thing for beer, but it was. Trust me. Find a bottle if you can.

Boulevard Rye-on Rye

Not sure if I would like this or not but it has me interesed. I love rye bread. I love Guiness which tastes like a good dark bread. I tend to love buttery tasting wines and foods. Do not like rye whiskey so that might be the tricky part. What&#039;s the hops saturation like? James, you know exactly what I&#039;m asking. I just can&#039;t stomach hops so that could be the real deciding factor for me.