LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jan 12, 2016 10:49:52 GMT -5
Weighing all metrics - quality, potency, price and availability - the Green Flash Imperial IPA is one of the best IPAs on the market. Now, for clarity, because Green Flash makes several IPAs with imperial stats and labeling, I'm referring to the beer very plainly named "Imperial IPA." It is a stock, year-round release available in bombers, remarkably affordable, and just goddamned delicious.
It epitomizes the West Coast IPA style I love so well - very hoppy and piney, a little tropical, light in body, effervescent, refreshing with virtually no malt presence. Like all my favorite IPAs, it's not about balance, it's about hops.
All IPA enthusiasts should seek it out.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jan 12, 2016 10:55:43 GMT -5
And on an unrelated note, Hey Yuri Petrovitch , how is it you have time to start a craft beer magazine, but you don't have time to come talk to us? Follow up question, does the magazine have a website/blog/etc? Would you share the link?
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 12, 2016 11:09:21 GMT -5
And where is Wallet Inspector? Did he ever read how much I liked his beer? I've been trying to cut back a little on my imbibing this month (calories!) but I did have a delicious ginger-infused Belgian golden ale called Creepy Ginger, and I have a sixer of New Holland Cabin Fever which seems appropriate.
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Smacks
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Jan 12, 2016 13:49:08 GMT -5
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Post by Smacks on Jan 12, 2016 13:49:08 GMT -5
Weighing all metrics - quality, potency, price and availability - the Green Flash Imperial IPA is one of the best IPAs on the market. Now, for clarity, because Green Flash makes several IPAs with imperial stats and labeling, I'm referring to the beer very plainly named "Imperial IPA." It is a stock, year-round release available in bombers, remarkably affordable, and just goddamned delicious. It epitomizes the West Coast IPA style I love so well - very hoppy and piney, a little tropical, light in body, effervescent, refreshing with virtually no malt presence. Like all my favorite IPAs, it's not about balance, it's about hops. All IPA enthusiasts should seek it out. Green Flash's Palate Wrecker will always be one of my faves. Southern Tier's Right-O-Way really surprised me last week. Nice Session IPA, full flavor, not too bitter or piney, but the hops are robust and once I read the description and saw "tea flavors" I could tell that's the taste I was picking out, sort of herbal in a vegetal way....I was at a bar with tons more to choose from and sample but I had two of those instead.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 14:12:28 GMT -5
I'm alive! Awesome that you were able to try Quadjillo, and even more awesome that you enjoyed it. That was one of the first beers we brewed on our system, and the one you tried is batch 2, which I think is a lot more dialed in than last year's; we toned down the sweetness and brought out more of the stonefruit, herbal character of the gaujillo chiles. For our first anniversary last weekend, we released last year's Quadjillo aged about ten months in tequila barrels. Thanks also for bringing the Thrillist article to my attention - I actually hadn't come across that, so it was supercool to see!
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BEER
Jan 12, 2016 14:23:39 GMT -5
Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 12, 2016 14:23:39 GMT -5
I'm alive! Awesome that you were able to try Quadjillo, and even more awesome that you enjoyed it. That was one of the first beers we brewed on our system, and the one you tried is batch 2, which I think is a lot more dialed in than last year's; we toned down the sweetness and brought out more of the stonefruit, herbal character of the gaujillo chiles. For our first anniversary last weekend, we released last year's Quadjillo aged about ten months in tequila barrels. Thanks also for bringing the Thrillist article to my attention - I actually hadn't come across that, so it was supercool to see! Yeah, I'm clearly going to have to ask my BIL to keep bringing whatever he can find from you guys The barrel aged version sounds great too.
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LazBro
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Jan 12, 2016 15:11:42 GMT -5
Post by LazBro on Jan 12, 2016 15:11:42 GMT -5
Green Flash's Palate Wrecker will always be one of my faves. Southern Tier's Right-O-Way really surprised me last week. Nice Session IPA, full flavor, not too bitter or piney, but the hops are robust and once I read the description and saw "tea flavors" I could tell that's the taste I was picking out, sort of herbal in a vegetal way....I was at a bar with tons more to choose from and sample but I had two of those instead. Oh yeah, Palate Wrecker is terrific, too. Green Flash really seem to define what I like and want out of an IPA. I'm very much a West Coast guy when it comes to matters of taste and balance. I don't think I've ever had one of their non-IPAs though, so I wonder if they're just as good with other styles.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 15:18:47 GMT -5
I'm alive! Awesome that you were able to try Quadjillo, and even more awesome that you enjoyed it. That was one of the first beers we brewed on our system, and the one you tried is batch 2, which I think is a lot more dialed in than last year's; we toned down the sweetness and brought out more of the stonefruit, herbal character of the gaujillo chiles. For our first anniversary last weekend, we released last year's Quadjillo aged about ten months in tequila barrels. Thanks also for bringing the Thrillist article to my attention - I actually hadn't come across that, so it was supercool to see! Yeah, I'm clearly going to have to ask my BIL to keep bringing whatever he can find from you guys The barrel aged version sounds great too. It's possible (though not probable) that I may be up in Chicago next month for the Uppers & Downers festival of coffee beers; if so, I'm sure I can snag some bottles for you and Wilford Brimley Explosion!!!!! when I head up.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 12, 2016 15:35:11 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm clearly going to have to ask my BIL to keep bringing whatever he can find from you guys The barrel aged version sounds great too. It's possible (though not probable) that I may be up in Chicago next month for the Uppers & Downers festival of coffee beers; if so, I'm sure I can snag some bottles for you and Wilford Brimley Explosion!!!!! when I head up. If you do, PM me, we'll see what we can figure out.
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Gumbercules
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Jan 13, 2016 8:11:26 GMT -5
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Post by Gumbercules on Jan 13, 2016 8:11:26 GMT -5
Over the weekend my friend opened up a brewery here in Providence. He had a family/friends opening on Friday, which I attended, but the true opening was Saturday, 1-5pm. I went by around 2pm and there was a line around 100 people long. I heard the wait was between 1-2 hours. It's great that there's such demand for it. There are 6 or 7 other micro/nano breweries in RI now, but none of them are in Providence, so I hope he'll do well for himself. His beers are fantastic. He currently has 3, an IPA, a pale ale, and a milk stout, and he has 3 more lined up (6 total) to come out in the next 2 weeks. The Pale Ale is by far the best, and I stopped by yesterday to get a growler (for which he refused to charge me, which isn't how a business runs, but I'm not complaining).
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jan 13, 2016 9:09:52 GMT -5
And on an unrelated note, Hey Yuri Petrovitch , how is it you have time to start a craft beer magazine, but you don't have time to come talk to us? Follow up question, does the magazine have a website/blog/etc? Would you share the link? Those are very excellent questions, Snape, and I want to answer each of them expansively, so let me say this about that: 1) I work 12 hours, and drive a total of three every day. This leaves me absent for great wodges of my life, and also makes it difficult for me to remember my own name sometimes. 2) We have a facebook page, which is a person's page rather than a "like" page because God knows why. 3) Upon this, do not be surprised if it looks like someone went insane on a Facebook page and is weaving this complex mythology about a beer magazine edited by a mummy-fighting luchador named El Hijo De Una Cerveza and his backup, rapping Byzantine potentate Emperor Rhymeulus--that's not a bug it's a feature. Apparently, easter North Carolina really wanted a beer magazine with the sense of humour of someone for whom his formative comedic influences were Sam and Max. 4) Did you have a #4? Let me re-read this. 5) Oh yes, the link: Here it is. 6) Yes, I am, in a sense, being paid to do this. The world finds more ways to let sinners prosper, I don't know what to tell you. Thanks for all the responses. That page is a fun read. I might just add it to my bookmarks and check in occasionally. Most online communities take time to go mad, but apparently y'all started there. Love that it's about the homebrewing community as well, as that's a subject near and dear to my heart.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jan 13, 2016 9:12:07 GMT -5
Over the weekend my friend opened up a brewery here in Providence. He had a family/friends opening on Friday, which I attended, but the true opening was Saturday, 1-5pm. I went by around 2pm and there was a line around 100 people long. I heard the wait was between 1-2 hours. It's great that there's such demand for it. There are 6 or 7 other micro/nano breweries in RI now, but none of them are in Providence, so I hope he'll do well for himself. His beers are fantastic. He currently has 3, an IPA, a pale ale, and a milk stout, and he has 3 more lined up (6 total) to come out in the next 2 weeks. The Pale Ale is by far the best, and I stopped by yesterday to get a growler (for which he refused to charge me, which isn't how a business runs, but I'm not complaining). Ugh, you and Wallet Inspector and PowerThirteen. None of my friends have breweries/microbreweries/taphouses/brewpubs/restaurants/taco carts. My friends are lame.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jan 14, 2016 16:33:52 GMT -5
Grabbed up a bottle of the Dogfish Head Fort, a Belgian-style fruit ale brewed with over a literal ton of raspberries and landing at a clobbering 18% ABV. Something to share on my birthday this Sunday. Curious to see how it will stack up to the Founders Blushing Monk, another larger raspberry beer that I hold in very high esteem. Will report back.
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ayatollahcm
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Jan 14, 2016 18:31:22 GMT -5
Post by ayatollahcm on Jan 14, 2016 18:31:22 GMT -5
Hey kids, novice beer aficionado. Tend to dig things that aren't IPAs, sours, or things super hoppy.
Looking for some good breweries to hit up while I'm in Chicago, NYC, and Denver in March, if people have any good recs.
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Jan 14, 2016 19:15:23 GMT -5
Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 14, 2016 19:15:23 GMT -5
Hey kids, novice beer aficionado. Tend to dig things that aren't IPAs, sours, or things super hoppy. Looking for some good breweries to hit up while I'm in Chicago, NYC, and Denver in March, if people have any good recs. You gonna be in Chicago proper? What area? I'm not sure what of these have taprooms, but we have many many good beer bars. our favorite local breweries are 5 Rabbit, Off Color, Hailstorm, Flesk, Noon Whistle... Some of those are suburbs. Solemn Oath is a big suburban one that's easy to find in the city. Goose Island is owned by one of the big guys now but they still have some good taproom only stuff. btw my tastes run similar to yours. I don't go for hop bombs or sours.
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ayatollahcm
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Post by ayatollahcm on Jan 14, 2016 20:54:59 GMT -5
Hey kids, novice beer aficionado. Tend to dig things that aren't IPAs, sours, or things super hoppy. Looking for some good breweries to hit up while I'm in Chicago, NYC, and Denver in March, if people have any good recs. You gonna be in Chicago proper? What area? I'm not sure what of these have taprooms, but we have many many good beer bars. our favorite local breweries are 5 Rabbit, Off Color, Hailstorm, Flesk, Noon Whistle... Some of those are suburbs. Solemn Oath is a big suburban one that's easy to find in the city. Goose Island is owned by one of the big guys now but they still have some good taproom only stuff. btw my tastes run similar to yours. I don't go for hop bombs or sours. Not sure where yet...still finalizing that. But I'm pretty solid it will be in the city proper. I'll be there for the duration of the second weekend of March (weekend before St. Pattys's). And I'm happy to indulge in beer bars as much as breweries. Pretty much whatever I can get to in the three and a half days I'm there (and, well, everything else). And thank you for all these recs, regardless. I'm hoping there will be some sort of meet-up at some point over that weekend.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 15, 2016 14:26:42 GMT -5
ayatollahcm Once you figure out what neighborhood I can recommend a few bars, too. So for the past three years I've gotten a bottle of Firestone Walker's Sucaba and enjoyed it on or for my birthday. I knew it would be out fairly soon. Unfortunately our local big-box liquor store has stopped tweeting when harder-to-find beers come in. And I just looked it up, it will be released tomorrow, so should be in stores by next week. I am now going to have to call the store and see if they will tell me when it will be in and sort of generally be a stalker. Because I must have this beer, it wouldn't feel right without it.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jan 15, 2016 15:06:03 GMT -5
ayatollahcm Once you figure out what neighborhood I can recommend a few bars, too. So for the past three years I've gotten a bottle of Firestone Walker's Sucaba and enjoyed it on or for my birthday. I knew it would be out fairly soon. Unfortunately our local big-box liquor store has stopped tweeting when harder-to-find beers come in. And I just looked it up, it will be released tomorrow, so should be in stores by next week. I am now going to have to call the store and see if they will tell me when it will be in and sort of generally be a stalker. Because I must have this beer, it wouldn't feel right without it. I've thought about posting on the Irrational Anger thread about the communication from my beer store. It's called Total Wine and it's a mega-store, with more wine and liquor than beer, but still with the largest beer selection in the area, especially for rares and seasonals from out of state. I get an email newsletter from them every day. Every. Day. And not once have they ever mentioned their beer. Not in two years. You wouldn't even know they sold it, and their selection is both broad and deep.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 15, 2016 15:38:58 GMT -5
ayatollahcm Once you figure out what neighborhood I can recommend a few bars, too. So for the past three years I've gotten a bottle of Firestone Walker's Sucaba and enjoyed it on or for my birthday. I knew it would be out fairly soon. Unfortunately our local big-box liquor store has stopped tweeting when harder-to-find beers come in. And I just looked it up, it will be released tomorrow, so should be in stores by next week. I am now going to have to call the store and see if they will tell me when it will be in and sort of generally be a stalker. Because I must have this beer, it wouldn't feel right without it. I've thought about posting on the Irrational Anger thread about the communication from my beer store. It's called Total Wine and it's a mega-store, with more wine and liquor than beer, but still with the largest beer selection in the area, especially for rares and seasonals from out of state. I get an email newsletter from them every day. Every. Day. And not once have they ever mentioned their beer. Not in two years. You wouldn't even know they sold it, and their selection is both broad and deep. So weird. Like craft beer drinkers don't want to know more about it? I will say that Binny's does a good job of promoting their beer in general. (They also sell a lot of liquor and wine, plus cigars and other stuff - the stores are huge.) They used to let their beer managers at each store tweet about what was coming in, but I think someone at corporate put the kibosh on it for some reason, because it stopped about 5 months ago. Which is highly disappointing.
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Smacks
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Jan 17, 2016 19:50:34 GMT -5
Post by Smacks on Jan 17, 2016 19:50:34 GMT -5
Desperately seeking the Opeth beer from Northern Monk Brewery in Leeds. Any of my friends in the UK able to help? I'd pay whatever it took for the bottle and shipping. It may be completely unavailable, but I'm trying all avenues I can think of!
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BEER
Jan 17, 2016 20:22:17 GMT -5
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Post by Powerthirteen on Jan 17, 2016 20:22:17 GMT -5
I'm currently enjoying my third bottle today of my favorite session beer right now, the Redhook Extra Special Bitter Ale. It's got a nice malt to it, but not so much that it just tastes sweet and yeasty, and a little bit of bitter to balance it out. Great cheap beer.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2016 1:40:48 GMT -5
ayatollahcm Once you figure out what neighborhood I can recommend a few bars, too. So for the past three years I've gotten a bottle of Firestone Walker's Sucaba and enjoyed it on or for my birthday. I knew it would be out fairly soon. Unfortunately our local big-box liquor store has stopped tweeting when harder-to-find beers come in. And I just looked it up, it will be released tomorrow, so should be in stores by next week. I am now going to have to call the store and see if they will tell me when it will be in and sort of generally be a stalker. Because I must have this beer, it wouldn't feel right without it. I've thought about posting on the Irrational Anger thread about the communication from my beer store. It's called Total Wine and it's a mega-store, with more wine and liquor than beer, but still with the largest beer selection in the area, especially for rares and seasonals from out of state. I get an email newsletter from them every day. Every. Day. And not once have they ever mentioned their beer. Not in two years. You wouldn't even know they sold it, and their selection is both broad and deep. I have a separate, super inside-baseball-y complaint about Total Wine, now that you bring it up. So: with a few exceptions, every beer that's released is required (whether or not it's actually bottled) to obtain individual label approval. This is done at both the federal level by the Tax & Trade Bureau which issues a Certificate of Label Approval (COLA), as well as at the state level for any state where it will be distributed. Federal label approval typically takes 30-35 days (not too bad in the grand scheme of things), but at the state level, my brewery ships beer to both Missouri and Kansas. Missouri has a horribly outdated and painfully slow brand registration process - all submissions need to be submitted as paper copies by mail, are sent back as paper approval letters by mail, and the MO Alcohol & Tobacco Control also requires a sample of the product to be sent in for lab analysis of the alcohol content (surprisingly, Kansas is by comparison incredibly quick and easy - it's an online system of registration that links automatically with your approved COLA, and typically issues approval for distribution within a day). That means that even in the BEST of times, you're talking a turnaround time of 6 weeks for Missouri brand registration. It's often much longer than that however, and it swelled to waiting times of nearly three months for much of last year; eventually, came to light that the backlog was due in large part to Total Wine opening a superstore in St. Louis and having to register tens of thousands of wine brands (wine and spirits have to go through the same approval process through the same department [which is staffed by two people], and all applicants in the queue are processed in the order received, even if one has a thousand submitted brands and the one behind it has one). Needless to say, that's especially tough on new breweries, since the newer you are, the more of your products are new and thus the more brands you need to register. Also frustrating because on hop-forward beers where freshness is key, oftentimes the product is basically past its prime by the time you've actually received approval to sell it (and remember, since they require a sample to be submitted, you can't submit it until it's almost done). And of course, as with any small, cash-strapped business, anytime you have tons of product (much of it getting worse by the minute as it loses freshness) finished and ready to be converted to revenue but can't do so for X amount of weeks until you get your piece of paper from the state, it obviously doesn't make operations too easy. And of course, when a beer drinker in Missouri tastes an IPA that was delicious when it was actually fresh but is lackluster after having had to sit in our cooler until we had our state approval letter, we pay the price for it on untappd and other rating sites since consumers obviously aren't (nor should they be) factoring in logistics of label approval when they try a beer. Gah, I think this whole post was actually just me venting my frustrations. Sorry for the wall of whiny text!
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Gumbercules
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Post by Gumbercules on Jan 18, 2016 8:23:24 GMT -5
I've thought about posting on the Irrational Anger thread about the communication from my beer store. It's called Total Wine and it's a mega-store, with more wine and liquor than beer, but still with the largest beer selection in the area, especially for rares and seasonals from out of state. I get an email newsletter from them every day. Every. Day. And not once have they ever mentioned their beer. Not in two years. You wouldn't even know they sold it, and their selection is both broad and deep. "Sorry for the wall of whiny text!" Total whine. Have you guys seen the Ballast Point Homework series? Along with the beer, they provide the recipe, so you can try to brew it yourself. I got one of my homebrew friends a bottle of that this weekend for his birthday.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Jan 18, 2016 8:49:13 GMT -5
I called Binny's about Sucaba on Saturday. All the guy could tell me was "probably on a Thursday. So maybe call on Thursday."
Thanks.
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LazBro
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Jan 18, 2016 9:34:42 GMT -5
Post by LazBro on Jan 18, 2016 9:34:42 GMT -5
Actually, no, thank you for sharing. That was fascinating. As someone who thinks, maybe, one day, he'll have a hand in this business, it's always cool to learn stuff like this. Even if, when it comes to the business side of things, it's almost always stories of unfair disadvantages due to either inept and/or corrupt bureaucratic nonsense. Distribution laws in particular sound like the absolute worst. Craft breweries in Texas have been fighting for their rights for years, in a state where damn near every law favors the distributors over the breweries.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Jan 18, 2016 10:00:11 GMT -5
So before I review the Dogfish Head Fort, an ultra-high gravity raspberry beer, let me tell a quick story. Back in our more, shall we say, enthusiastic drinking days, we would sometimes kick off a night with a shot known as the Rainbow Dash*: a double-shot of equal parts gin, vodka and triple sec bombed into a mix of blue curacao and NOS fruit punch. Essentially homemade Four Loco, in its original form. Given the objective of the evening, you could convince yourself that this was a tasty enough means to an end, and the combination of excessive alcohol and vasodilating caffeine definitely put you on the path right away. These days, I feel a slight gag sensation even thinking about the taste of a Rainbow Dash. Which brings us to our review: The Dogfish Head Fort is a massive 18% ABV fruit beer brewed with over a ton of raspberries, added bit by bit throughout the boil in the same method that Dogfish make their signature IPAs. I don't like it at all. The raspberry flavor is there, with plenty of malt sweetness, but both are overshadowed by the enormous booze character. This beer tastes like drinking liquor. Diluted liquor, a cocktail maybe, but liquor. It tastes like a Rainbow Dash. Which is a shame, because beers even this size can be smooth and remarkably complex. Dogfish Head's own 120-Minute IPA, which clocks about the same ABV some years, is intense with sweetness and hop flavors, but none of that boozy fire. The Brewdog Tokio, one of my favorite beers of all time, clocks in at the same 18%, and yet reveals little alcoholic heat. I guess those beers had bigger flavors to come along with, while the Fort has nothing to hide behind. Considering the price that comes with an 18% beer, I say skip it, and when in season, grab either the Founders Rubeaus or Founders Blushing Monk instead. Both are incredible raspberry beers that get everything right that the Dogfish Head Fort gets wrong. *List of pony shots here
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2016 19:02:38 GMT -5
Distribution laws in particular sound like the absolute worst. Craft breweries in Texas have been fighting for their rights for years, in a state where damn near every law favors the distributors over the breweries. Our state, like the vast majority of them, is a "franchise law' beer distribution state, which as you noted means breweries have very fews rights/recourse against their distributor if any disputes arise. If as a supplier you have any issues with your wholesaler, there's virtually no way for you to terminate your contract with them - once you sign a distribution agreement, you're essentially locked into it forever, unless they decide to drop you. So you better choose wisely at the start!
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Post by Ron Howard Voice on Jan 20, 2016 18:54:20 GMT -5
When you see a really, really attractive young lady browsing the craft beer aisle and after much careful deliberation, she grabs...Miller Lite.
Sigh.
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Smacks
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Post by Smacks on Jan 21, 2016 12:14:59 GMT -5
When you see a really, really attractive young lady browsing the craft beer aisle and after much careful deliberation, she grabs...Miller Lite. Sigh. Awwwwww. At least she was looking! On my first "date" type thing with Totally Awesome New Guy he bought a 6 of Yeungling Light. That's ok though. We'll work on it.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Feb 5, 2016 10:48:53 GMT -5
Last time we went out drinking - so, Tuesday - Mrs. Snape had the idea that for our last round we should each order the beer for the other, just for fun.
She got me the Samuel Smith English IPA. Samuel Smith is her favorite brewery, and she is a particular fan of their Organic Chocolate Stout and Organic Apple Cider. I like them a lot, too, but had never got around to trying the IPA. At first taste it lacked punch. A west-coast style IPA this is not, nor does it claim to be. In time, however, the signature smoothness and roundness that defines all Samuel Smith beers started to engage me. I wouldn't go to it if I was looking for a bold IPA, but if I wanted something cold and refreshing on a hot day or after a stressful day at work (and aren't they all), I could see merit in having a 4-pack of this on hand.
I got her the No-Li Rise and Grind. I never purchase No-Li beers in the store, because I don't like their bottle art, and in fact it wasn't until this bottle arrived at the table that I realized what I'd done. As usual, my prejudices have prevented me from trying some really good beer. This coffee milk stout wears the coffee loud and proud, with a surprising amount of body given the low ABV. Not too sweet, pleasantly smooth, and really in all aspects like a morning cup of cold-brewed joe, with alcohol! It's a winner, folks.
We were at the WOB (yes, same place we're going tomorrow), and we lucked into our favorite waiter. This is the kind of guy who comes by the table to say hi and shake our hands even when he's not our server for the night. We confirmed he's working tomorrow and we got the manager to ensure that he could have our big birthday group. Excited.
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