Having the Guava Lamp guava seltzer from Ursa Minor. Tasty. Using it to watch hockey and swear at the TV. ?
Restocked our Wall Of Stouts today, annnnnnnd at the end of my shift I may possibly have bought a couple things.
BA Old Rasputin XVI, XVII, XIX, and XX, and a 2017 BA Darkness.
My wallet thanks me that it's a 25 minute drive to get there.
Oh, we have more. It'll be interesting to see what he refills the wall with.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
I doubt it can be had in the TC, but if you can find it in recommend Engkanto especially their Double IPA.
We used my husbands PubPass tonight at Insight. He had Drift and Trollhouse. I had smalls of both sours; Snark Attack (tropical fruits) and Thin Ice (berries).
I enjoyed both of mine very much. It was trivia night and we helped the table of “youngins” next to us before we left. 
The first two questions they had absolutely no idea, we’re old, we knew cultural references from the 60s!
Note: Due to inflation dirty deeds will no longer be done dirt cheap.
We didn’t really plan any specific brewery trips while in San Diego but a few places stood out.
1. The Lost Abbey opened a location called The Church that used to be a Mexican Presbyterian Church. They turned it into a pretty neat space and their beer is excellent…definitely lived up to their reputation
2. We went to a couple beer bars that double as retail spots. Bottlecraft (we went to the one in Little Italy based on a recommendation) had 24 taps and about 600 beers you could buy retail. They usually have Pliny the Elder on tap which was a nice bonus and you can get a lot of different Russian River beers on the retail side. They also had a good local selection and a ton of Bottle Logic stout as well. And if you really wanted it they had a couple Drekker beers too 
3. We also went to a newer place called Ale Tales in the East Village. They have 40 taps and a smaller retail store. The big winner for me was the flight of AleSmith Speedway Stout variants but they also had an exclusive beer from Horus Aged Ales that was excellent. [mention]The Rube[/mention] will appreciate this because I was talking about that Maple Beer I tried at Shorewood and the guy pouring beer was gushing about it too.
4. Down in Seaport Village they have a location for Mike Hess brewing. The story here was the taco joint they partner with for tacos. The place was called Quiero Tacos and they were some of the best tacos I’ve ever had. We made two trips there and the second time was just for the tacos.
Alesmith is a forgotten great beer. The Speedway Stout (and its variants) are so dang good.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Alesmith is a forgotten great beer. The Speedway Stout (and its variants) are so dang good.
One of them I had was aged in apple brandy and maple syrup barrels with almonds, vanilla and coffee. It was better than nearly everything I’ve tried the last two years. I wanted to go back tonight for more of it but we have a really early flight.
Alesmith is a forgotten great beer. The Speedway Stout (and its variants) are so dang good.
One of them I had was aged in apple brandy and maple syrup barrels with almonds, vanilla and coffee. It was better than nearly everything I’ve tried the last two years. I wanted to go back tonight for more of it but we have a really early flight.
Jealous. I had one of their coffee versions, I think it was Vietnamese, which was quite tasty.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Sampled a few beers today, but there were some highlights. The first one was Exit Row by BlackStack, they continue to produce high quality hazy IPAs, real bangers. The other highlight was Tmave Pivo by Fair State, a dark lager. Coming in at 4.4%, it's this year's Schell's Cave Aged, the light version (the Cave Aged is 10.9%).
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Just cracked a Dragon’s Milk Reserve: Rye Barrel-Aged Stout With Cinnamon, Toasted Chilies And Vanilla Extract (2022-1) by New Holland Brewing, the first variant of this year....hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooboy. GodDAMN this is good!
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
2021 (2022) Surly BA Darkness comes in a pint can (about $14). The end of an era. 
If Darkness wasn't so good (and tradition), I'd write it off. Sigh.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
2021 (2022) Surly BA Darkness comes in a pint can (about $14). The end of an era.
If Darkness wasn't so good (and tradition), I'd write it off. Sigh.
The cost per oz is prolly about the same so:
Pro: opening wax bottles sux
16oz is doable for 1 person
Con: the big format looks cooler
cans aren’t really a cellarable package
That last one is a pro for me…it’s beer, drink it.
Pro: loved the artwork
Con: just regressed to another brewery, nothing special for a trademark beer that one is known for
Pro; Time it for one sitting. 4 pour a hockey game.
Con: Yes, you are committed once you crack it. Surly, even with their "special" beers has basically turned into a macro, with being a macro. Quality has faded, they have become run of the mill. I know I hated on them in the past, but always loved their Anniv/Darkness offerings. BUT, those have been fading, also.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Had some friends over on Saturday night and we cracked open a bunch of stouts to split 4 ways. The first one we had was the Double Barrel Soviet Slayer from Back Channel. It was the one released in late 2020 and aged in Heaven Hill barrels and then a Cognac barrel.
Back Channel makes a lot of great beer and nothing compares to what this tasted like. It was just so much better than anything I've had from them and it was one of those that now I'm kicking myself for not having bought more of it.
Had some friends over on Saturday night and we cracked open a bunch of stouts to split 4 ways. The first one we had was the Double Barrel Soviet Slayer from Back Channel. It was the one released in late 2020 and aged in Heaven Hill barrels and then a Cognac barrel.
Back Channel makes a lot of great beer and nothing compares to what this tasted like. It was just so much better than anything I've had from them and it was one of those that now I'm kicking myself for not having bought more of it.
That one is a doozie. They are tapping some heavy hitters this week, BA stuff. Just announced today.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Had some friends over on Saturday night and we cracked open a bunch of stouts to split 4 ways. The first one we had was the Double Barrel Soviet Slayer from Back Channel. It was the one released in late 2020 and aged in Heaven Hill barrels and then a Cognac barrel.
Back Channel makes a lot of great beer and nothing compares to what this tasted like. It was just so much better than anything I've had from them and it was one of those that now I'm kicking myself for not having bought more of it.
That one is a doozie. They are tapping some heavy hitters this week, BA stuff. Just announced today.
They had some of those on tap over the weekend. We are thinking about trying to go on Sunday when the Parlour Food Truck is there.
Had some friends over on Saturday night and we cracked open a bunch of stouts to split 4 ways. The first one we had was the Double Barrel Soviet Slayer from Back Channel. It was the one released in late 2020 and aged in Heaven Hill barrels and then a Cognac barrel.
Back Channel makes a lot of great beer and nothing compares to what this tasted like. It was just so much better than anything I've had from them and it was one of those that now I'm kicking myself for not having bought more of it.
That one is a doozie. They are tapping some heavy hitters this week, BA stuff. Just announced today.
They had some of those on tap over the weekend. We are thinking about trying to go on Sunday when the Parlour Food Truck is there.
I saw Sat's lineup, but I was working, so boo. At least I have them at home. 
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Does Back Channel do more fruity (non-IPA) stuff in the summer? Neat space and the seltzer was okay, but that was the only thing to fit my palate when we were there Saturday night.
Also did excelsior brewing; the grapefruit lime seltzer was good. Brought home a crowler of strawberry cream ale - tolerable for someone who doesn’t like beer.
Unmapped had the best things I tried. But couldn’t take the fruit sours home in growlers nor crowler them. Guess I’ll have to go back!
Does Back Channel do more fruity (non-IPA) stuff in the summer? Neat space and the seltzer was okay, but that was the only thing to fit my palate when we were there Saturday night.
Also did excelsior brewing; the grapefruit lime seltzer was good. Brought home a crowler of strawberry cream ale - tolerable for someone who doesn’t like beer.
Unmapped had the best things I tried. But couldn’t take the fruit sours home in growlers nor crowler them. Guess I’ll have to go back!
Back Channel's Empress series is one you would like, that is mostly summer.
Unmapped got Ineffable's old brewer, who used to be an LTD Brewer. From what I've heard, their beer has improved.
In general, breweries follow the "seasons." Summer is all fruit/lighter beer, and in winter it's the stouts/porters.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Does Back Channel do more fruity (non-IPA) stuff in the summer? Neat space and the seltzer was okay, but that was the only thing to fit my palate when we were there Saturday night.
Also did excelsior brewing; the grapefruit lime seltzer was good. Brought home a crowler of strawberry cream ale - tolerable for someone who doesn’t like beer.
Unmapped had the best things I tried. But couldn’t take the fruit sours home in growlers nor crowler them. Guess I’ll have to go back!
Back Channel's Empress series is one you would like, that is mostly summer.
Unmapped got Ineffable's old brewer, who used to be an LTD Brewer. From what I've heard, their beer has improved.
In general, breweries follow the "seasons." Summer is all fruit/lighter beer, and in winter it's the stouts/porters.
At least seltzers are a thing now everywhere so there’s almost always at least one thing I can find to try! I would definitely love to go back in the summer.
I think LTD's new seltzer is a Mango/Pineapple. They also brought back Night Falls Double Choc Stout...on nitro. Hooboy is that good.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Last night we used the PubPass at the Unofficial. We both had shrimp poorboys, good, not great. But I had a delicious draft hard kombucha from Indeed. It’s their Boon series, I had Blueberry Basil. Not overly sweet, very tart, good flavor balance. Liked it so much I bought a 4-pk today. Also picked up WildeSour Counterclockwise. I’m all about the sour/tart profile.
Note: Due to inflation dirty deeds will no longer be done dirt cheap.
Few weeks ago I went down to Shorewood liquor to look around. tRube showed me the infamous Wall of Stout which included a bunch of cellared beers. One I bought was a 2009 Avery Mephistopheles Stout that I opened tonight.
There is no way you'd put this in a glass and someone would tell you it was bottled 12+ years ago (bottled Dec 2009). Pour still had a good amount of head, especially for a beer pushing 17% abv, and still a complex set of flavors. I haven't had this beer for a really long time and it was 'fresh' then but I don't think it's lost much at all.
Few weeks ago I went down to Shorewood liquor to look around. tRube showed me the infamous Wall of Stout which included a bunch of cellared beers. One I bought was a 2009 Avery Mephistopheles Stout that I opened tonight.
There is no way you'd put this in a glass and someone would tell you it was bottled 12+ years ago (bottled Dec 2009). Pour still had a good amount of head, especially for a beer pushing 17% abv, and still a complex set of flavors. I haven't had this beer for a really long time and it was 'fresh' then but I don't think it's lost much at all.
FTR, IIRC, Avery stopped producing this beer in 2016, due to the fact that some states will not sell a beer that strong (see also: Sam Adams' Utopias). So, Avery said screw it, and stopped making their heavy hitters.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Few weeks ago I went down to Shorewood liquor to look around. tRube showed me the infamous Wall of Stout which included a bunch of cellared beers. One I bought was a 2009 Avery Mephistopheles Stout that I opened tonight.
There is no way you'd put this in a glass and someone would tell you it was bottled 12+ years ago (bottled Dec 2009). Pour still had a good amount of head, especially for a beer pushing 17% abv, and still a complex set of flavors. I haven't had this beer for a really long time and it was 'fresh' then but I don't think it's lost much at all.
FTR, IIRC, Avery stopped producing this beer in 2016, due to the fact that some states will not sell a beer that strong (see also: Sam Adams' Utopias). So, Avery said screw it, and stopped making their heavy hitters.
I knew they stopped producing a lot of their big beers but didn't know why. They made some great high ABV beers and I still occasionally see them around.
Few weeks ago I went down to Shorewood liquor to look around. tRube showed me the infamous Wall of Stout which included a bunch of cellared beers. One I bought was a 2009 Avery Mephistopheles Stout that I opened tonight.
There is no way you'd put this in a glass and someone would tell you it was bottled 12+ years ago (bottled Dec 2009). Pour still had a good amount of head, especially for a beer pushing 17% abv, and still a complex set of flavors. I haven't had this beer for a really long time and it was 'fresh' then but I don't think it's lost much at all.
FTR, IIRC, Avery stopped producing this beer in 2016, due to the fact that some states will not sell a beer that strong (see also: Sam Adams' Utopias). So, Avery said screw it, and stopped making their heavy hitters.
I knew they stopped producing a lot of their big beers but didn't know why. They made some great high ABV beers and I still occasionally see them around.
I think they were dubbed the Demons And Dictators series.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Few weeks ago I went down to Shorewood liquor to look around. tRube showed me the infamous Wall of Stout which included a bunch of cellared beers. One I bought was a 2009 Avery Mephistopheles Stout that I opened tonight.
There is no way you'd put this in a glass and someone would tell you it was bottled 12+ years ago (bottled Dec 2009). Pour still had a good amount of head, especially for a beer pushing 17% abv, and still a complex set of flavors. I haven't had this beer for a really long time and it was 'fresh' then but I don't think it's lost much at all.
FTR, IIRC, Avery stopped producing this beer in 2016, due to the fact that some states will not sell a beer that strong (see also: Sam Adams' Utopias). So, Avery said screw it, and stopped making their heavy hitters.
I knew they stopped producing a lot of their big beers but didn't know why. They made some great high ABV beers and I still occasionally see them around.
I think they were dubbed the Demons And Dictators series.
I don’t think the high ABV was the reason they stopped making this series as they quit making a few other 10%ish beers like Imperial Stout and Imperial Octoberfest at the same time and shuffled their lineup. They just wanted to move on and focus on their newer barrel aged series. I’m sure their brewers were happy about it, making 17+% beers is kind of a PITA.
The high octane ones are a PITA. Lots of care goes into those, because it is necessary. That is the reason I heard, though.
The official statement, and honestly, the "Botanicals And Barrels" series is no less complex....
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
The high octane ones are a PITA. Lots of care goes into those, because it is necessary. That is the reason I heard, though.
The official statement, and honestly, the "Botanicals And Barrels" series is no less complex....
I don’t doubt that was a secondary factor but they revamped their whole lineup at that time. I’m just going off the presentation their rep did when I worked for their Wisco distributor. The problem with very high ABV batches is they are very expensive and if you don’t baby the yeast and fermentation you can have to dump the whole expensive batch. There’s an episode of the Dogfish Head show where they have to dump a batch of 120 Minute and they are heartbroken. I don’t remember if they said how much that cost them but I’m sure it was a lot.
Headed to Hawaii and obviously.know about Kona brewing. Any others on the big island to check out?
Just cracked a Dragon’s Milk Reserve: Rye Barrel-Aged Stout With Cinnamon, Toasted Chilies And Vanilla Extract (2022-1) by New Holland Brewing, the first variant of this year....hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooboy. GodDAMN this is good!
I found a 4 pack of this at Princetons tonight and grabbed one. That's the 3rd time I've been there this winter and found one of the variants (double barrel and salted caramel were the other two). It's usually impossible to find the variants and stuff like that there if it's been out awhile so it's been a good surprise.
The store I work at still has a bunch of it. I've found that this happens with these types of beers (we have soooooo much Drekker) b/c it's outside of the 494-694 loop, so people think it's way out there. It's 15 min west of downtown Hopkins. The main issue I've found w/the Dragon's Milk variant is getting it in the first place. I didn't see one of the variants last year in the metro, but found it in MI.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
The store I work at still has a bunch of it. I've found that this happens with these types of beers (we have soooooo much Drekker) b/c it's outside of the 494-694 loop, so people think it's way out there. It's 15 min west of downtown Hopkins. The main issue I've found w/the Dragon's Milk variant is getting it in the first place. I didn't see one of the variants last year in the metro, but found it in MI.
I live in the West Metro and it's a drive me for me to get there. Unless you live in Minnetonka or Hopkins it's a drive for most others.
The store I work at still has a bunch of it. I've found that this happens with these types of beers (we have soooooo much Drekker) b/c it's outside of the 494-694 loop, so people think it's way out there. It's 15 min west of downtown Hopkins. The main issue I've found w/the Dragon's Milk variant is getting it in the first place. I didn't see one of the variants last year in the metro, but found it in MI.
I live in the West Metro and it's a drive me for me to get there. Unless you live in Minnetonka or Hopkins it's a drive for most others.
I know from Grizzly's in Plymouth to there it's 15-20 minutes. I know this b/c I eat there for lunch before work.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
We came to Omaha for a short Spring Break trip and ate at a place in the Old Market. They had a Pineapple Cinnamon cider from a brewery in the middle of nowhere Nebraska.
Pineapple isn’t a flavor I gravitate towards in beer and this sounds like a strange combo but it was an excellent cider. I’d have never guessed it would actually work
We came to Omaha for a short Spring Break trip and ate at a place in the Old Market. They had a Pineapple Cinnamon cider from a brewery in the middle of nowhere Nebraska.
Pineapple isn’t a flavor I gravitate towards in beer and this sounds like a strange combo but it was an excellent cider. I’d have never guessed it would actually work
That sounds really interesting. I've had a couple pineapple/jalapeno blondes that worked out very well. Sweet/hot combo was nice.
Did try the new Central Waters' 7 Layer Stout: BA, with cacao, lactose, toasted coconut, and graham crackers. 4pk 12oz = $17 or so. 12%.
This is a one and done. THICCCC. Rich. VERY rich. I 3 poured one for the Gophers game last night.
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Went to Brickway Brewing and Distillery which is a block from our hotel in the Old Market of Omaha. They just recently released their Epic Blackout Stout and a bunch of variants that included Raspberry Vanilla, Vanilla TootsieRoll, Red Hot, sour Patch and a bunch of aged stuff. Some really tasty stuff but all were 17% abv so I’m glad it was a block away from the hotel.
If you’re in town it is worth a stop there. We were last there 6 years ago and enjoyed it again this time as well
Went to Brickway Brewing and Distillery which is a block from our hotel in the Old Market of Omaha. They just recently released their Epic Blackout Stout and a bunch of variants that included Raspberry Vanilla, Vanilla TootsieRoll, Red Hot, sour Patch and a bunch of aged stuff. Some really tasty stuff but all were 17% abv so I’m glad it was a block away from the hotel.
If you’re in town it is worth a stop there. We were last there 6 years ago and enjoyed it again this time as well
My brother and his family live in Omaha. Brickway is one of their favorite spots. When we visit it’s always on the agenda, they’ve had some great sours that I’ve enjoyed.
Note: Due to inflation dirty deeds will no longer be done dirt cheap.
Tried Glory Daze from Bad Weather. It's a west coast IPA and the best way I can describe it is meh. Nothing bad about it and nothing particularly good about it.
Went to Brickway Brewing and Distillery which is a block from our hotel in the Old Market of Omaha. They just recently released their Epic Blackout Stout and a bunch of variants that included Raspberry Vanilla, Vanilla TootsieRoll, Red Hot, sour Patch and a bunch of aged stuff. Some really tasty stuff but all were 17% abv so I’m glad it was a block away from the hotel.
If you’re in town it is worth a stop there. We were last there 6 years ago and enjoyed it again this time as well
My brother and his family live in Omaha. Brickway is one of their favorite spots. When we visit it’s always on the agenda, they’ve had some great sours that I’ve enjoyed.
I had a taster of their Jalapeño Pilsner last night too before all the big ABV stuff. It was really cold there yesterday so a sour was not something I was looking for
I graduated from High School in Bellevue and lived there off and on for about 9 years. Since my parents moved back here I don’t have a lot of reasons to go but our kids wanted to go to the Zoo, so it was nice to go for a few days
Bear Cave (Hopkins, eta opening April 1, after a delay of about a year and a half):
"Wow, Bear Cave is literally copy/pasting the most boring bits from Wikipedia to explain IPAs."
Self serve pours, but they have food service, event area, hiring a ton of people, etc? I have no idea what to expect.
This just seems like disaster written all over it.
Edit:
"Their post is literally the first sentence from wiki"
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
Bear Cave (Hopkins, eta opening April 1, after a delay of about a year and a half):
"Wow, Bear Cave is literally copy/pasting the most boring bits from Wikipedia to explain IPAs."
Self serve pours, but they have food service, event area, hiring a ton of people, etc? I have no idea what to expect.
This just seems like disaster written all over it.
Edit:
"Their post is literally the first sentence from wiki"
Self service on their own produced beer? That will be new here although it doesn’t interest me much
After being in Nebraska the last few days I got another good reminder of just how much our alcohol laws suck. I went to an arcade that had an above average tap list and they could sell any beer there they wanted in a 12 or 16oz Crowler. There was even a place where on our way back to the hotel we bought cocktails (sealed) to go through a drive thru lane
Bear Cave (Hopkins, eta opening April 1, after a delay of about a year and a half):
"Wow, Bear Cave is literally copy/pasting the most boring bits from Wikipedia to explain IPAs."
Self serve pours, but they have food service, event area, hiring a ton of people, etc? I have no idea what to expect.
This just seems like disaster written all over it.
Edit:
"Their post is literally the first sentence from wiki"
Self service on their own produced beer? That will be new here although it doesn’t interest me much
After being in Nebraska the last few days I got another good reminder of just how much our alcohol laws suck. I went to an arcade that had an above average tap list and they could sell any beer there they wanted in a 12 or 16oz Crowler. There was even a place where on our way back to the hotel we bought cocktails (sealed) to go through a drive thru lane
There is/were a couple places that tried this. One shut down, I think, and the other is still going. My thing is, if you are hiring THAT many people for staffing/food/etc...why self serve?
Got to sample Drekker's Pinky Promise tonight. Holy crap is that one boozy. Delicious, though. Cracked a Lupulin Whiskey Demigod, and that packs a punch, although a bit smoother than the Drekker, despite being higher ABV (13.6 compared to Drekkers 12).
When you tell somebody somethin', it depends on what part of the United States you're standin' in... as to just how dumb you are.
What should I have to celebrate 10K?
I made it before the switch. :dance:
Anything from Blackstack
What should I have to celebrate 10K?
I made it before the switch. :dance:
Congrats :dup:
What should I have to celebrate 10K?
I made it before the switch. :dance:
Congrats
B1G refs... corrupt, or just incompetent?
Anything from Blackstack
I’ve got a better idea
Anything from Blackstack
I’ve got a better idea
We're listening