The Swamp

I bought some IPAs ffor national IPA day. Rheingeist Slow Jam and Stone Fear Movie Lions DIPA. Haven't had either yet but looking forward to opening in a bit.

A_B wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 1:16 pm I bought some IPAs ffor national IPA day. Rheingeist Slow Jam and Stone Fear Movie Lions DIPA. Haven't had either yet but looking forward to opening in a bit.

I think 75 percent of Rhinegeist’s beers are IPAs, so they should have a good idea on how to make a good one.

Really liked the Rhinegeists I had in the spring.

There are few I don’t care for.

I'm not a big fan of Cougar or Hans, but their rye IPA is outstanding.

Both are good but I’ll give the edge to the stone

IPA day is also chocolate chip cookie day?

mister d wrote: ↑Sat Aug 04, 2018 10:37 am Not enough supply to meet demand and, more importantly, it’s a good that’s objectively better the quicker you get it. But also a lot of them suck and there’s going to be a massive cliff at some point, both locals that never had the quality to exist and majors who leveraged themselves filling markets that have sense filled themselves. Like 7 years ago I bet my most drank state was CA, now it’s NJ by a mile. If I still lived in MA with nearby access to Trillium and Lamplighter I might not set foot in a distributor for a month or two at a time.

This. Trillium blew my pants off. Actually just finished the last of the only Trillium that fell short of phenomenal (Pot & Kettle porter with chocolate). Also just had my first Tree House (Julius). It's great, sure, but not my favorite. Too much like orange juice.

Which NJ breweries are you drinking? Carton and Kane for sure, curious what else you are liking. Bolero Snort is still hit or miss. I'll only buy single cans or 750 bottles of stouts or porters. Their IPAs can be really good and often uniquely interesting, but not worth buying a 4-pack. I like going to Twin Elephant. Always some interesting beers and the owners are really cool. Still a bit hit or miss, but it's a fun adventure to see how they are doing. I feel like they are continuing to improve. Czig Meister is pretty good, too.

1. Twin Elephant
2. Kane
3. Icarus
4. Brix City

The rest are on singular recs only. Brotherton has fallen off and I’ve had enough meh Bolero that they’re mostly a pass. Did have a very nice NEIPA from Czig Meister yesterday at Stirling Hotel.

mister d wrote: ↑Sun Aug 05, 2018 9:18 am 1. Twin Elephant
2. Kane
3. Icarus
4. Brix City

The rest are on singular recs only. Brotherton has fallen off and I’ve had enough meh Bolero that they’re mostly a pass. Did have a very nice NEIPA from Czig Meister yesterday at Stirling Hotel.

Forgot about Brix. I need to seek them out more. Had 2 or 3 from them, and always impressed.

And blown away by Bolero Snort's Free Bully! NEIPA with sea salt. Amazing. Grapefruity, and slightly reminiscent of a Gose in the finish. Creamy mouthfeel from the oats was nice.

Anyone had any Hudson Valley Brewing beers as of yet?

Supposedly the next thang.

I've had Pillow Hat, which is a 4% IPA. About as good as you can get at that low of an ABV.

Rush2112 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 13, 2018 4:24 pm Anyone had any Hudson Valley Brewing beers as of yet?

Supposedly the next thang.

Not yet, but there are a bunch of breweries in the area that are supposed to be great. Newburgh Brewing is right across the river, had 3 or 4 from them, all good, but nothing great. Saurez Family is supposed to be great, and Equilibrium is supposed to be a near clone of Trillium.

Boy do I have some bad news about equilibrium.

(They’re good, but I’d heard the same “next Trillium” stuff (and may be why you heard that?) but they definitely aren’t. Twin Elephant is better. Twin Elephant is under-hyped around here.)

So Boston and Hudson Valley both go top-tier (or near) in beer after I leave. Fuck. Guess I'll have to make due with the CO beers.

(Though most of the top tier aren't in distro, or good distro, and too far away to go with two small kids)

Really enjoying this tonight:

Rush2112 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 13, 2018 9:24 pm So Boston and Hudson Valley both go top-tier (or near) in beer after I leave. Fuck. Guess I'll have to make due with the CO beers.

(Though most of the top tier aren't in distro, or good distro, and too far away to go with two small kids)

It only takes one, really. There's only one near me and >50% of my buys would be fucked if they closed.

The closest brewery to us is really good, but not nothing the kids go wild for. The two hot places in CO are about 45/60 minutes away. One is really good from the beers I've had (Outer Range) the other Weldwerks has brewed like 100 different beers and they certainly aren't hitting on everything, (I've had 5 or 6...meh to pretty good) but the mustached ones still go gaga.

I'm in Bend on holiday, and we did the 'Bike Pub Crawl' tonight. We didn't go too crazy...only 3 different breweries (last time we were here we hit 7), mostly because I have my daughters with me.

Anyways, we went to Crux, 10 Barrel, and Immersion. All were excellent.

Also...last night we went to the Bend Brewfest https://bendbrewfest.com/.

An overwhelming amount of beers to try. After a while, it became like wine-tasting, where your taste buds are blown out, and you just say 'Hmm...pretty good'. I did have a really good saison, and some good mexican lagers (which seems to be a thing this year). I also learned that I really don't like barrel-aged beers.

Hey mis terd and Syb*, Tiffs has Head High 1000th Batch, if you want to try it.

*and cerrano, if you’re back

Oooo, any idea when it tapped? I'd love to try it but also know I can't get there tonight or probably tomorrow. And also as I'm typing this remembered I'm going to Asbury on Thursday and may be able to find some.

Don’t know, though the manager said she just printed out the new beer list (and needs to fix it because they left the description and ABV of it off the menu).

The East Hanover Wegmans (which I journeyed to last month to get Head High) has Industial Arts Wrench.

rass wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 6:33 pm The East Hanover Wegmans (which I journeyed to last month to get Head High) has Industial Arts Wrench.

Finally got around to trying Wrench a few weeks ago. Very solid NE IPA.

The Sybian wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 10:19 pm

rass wrote: ↑Fri Aug 24, 2018 6:33 pm The East Hanover Wegmans (which I journeyed to last month to get Head High) has Industial Arts Wrench.

Finally got around to trying Wrench a few weeks ago. Very solid NE IPA.

I had it last weekend. Pretty good.

Had some beers with Giff and Mrs. Giff today. (He had a Blind Pig and a Comrade Thunder Donkey DIPA, I had the Comrade, a Melvin and a Two-hearted (just got to CO full-time!) and the Mrs. had a local apricot cider.

Excellent people! (they didn't invite me back to the hotel)

Great meeting you!

If you ever find yourself in Western North Carolina check out Balsam Falls Brewing Conpany. Very, very good beer and literally three doors down from the “police station” in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Had a Spaghetti Gose at WeldWerks Brewing the other day. WW is the hot kid in Colorado. They do some really good NEIPAs and their stouts can be amazing, They've been on a 100 new beers in 2018 kick and I believe they'll hit the mark before GABF next week.

The Spaghetti Gose was made with tomatoes, pasta, and dry "hopped" with oregano and basil. I had 5 oz or so of it, which is all I needed. It was interesting and well crafted, but not something I want in liquid form again. Nose of marinara, first taste was of V8, then the salt of the gose, the herbs and a finish of roasted tomatoes.

Cigar City and Oskar Blues now distributing to Norway, Sweden, and Finland.

Rush2112 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 14, 2018 2:21 pm The brewery list for GABF2018 is released, anything that I need to try?

Caboose brewing is right off the bike path near my house. Have never stopped but have heard great things.
Great American Restaurants, Sweetwater Tavern Centreville is overrated and you can skip.
Lots of people around here like Lost Rhino Brewing Co, but I also think you can do better
Mad Fox Brewing Co is partially owned by an old co-worker of mine (Rick Garvin, but more likely Bill Madden will be there as he usually is a judge). They have won medals for their beers in the past. The Orange Whip is fantastic but think they have won for Kellerbier Kolsch (yup Gold in 2011)
Port City Brewing Co is another local. Good beer but would not go out of my way to try.
Union Craft is VERY Good beer from Baltimore. The owner and his wife are high school friends of mine (If he is there his name is Adam Benesch, a tall guy with a red beard and big Phish fan). Not sure what they will have available but love their Blackwing. It is my favorite. I am not a big sour guy, but if you like that Old Pro is very good for the style of beer. Duck pin, Double Duck Pin, and Steady Eddy are very solid.
Heard good thing about Atlas Brew Works from DC but have not had there beer yet.

Right on.

Have two free hours (one each night) on Thursday and Friday so will try to check them out,

Rush2112 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 14, 2018 2:21 pm The brewery list for GABF2018 is released, anything that I need to try?

Disappointing showing from NJ and NY. Kane is really good, and the few I've tried from Dark City were good, but nothing special. I've heard The Referend Bier Blendery is doing some cool stuff, but haven't had anything yet. There are so many great breweries in NY now, but they aren't going. Gun Hill's stout that I tried was great.

Icarus (NJ) is legit. Lamplighter of course.

I didn’t shAre my Boston beer story. Will Monday if I remember.

Enjoying the fuck out of Carton's Dunning Kruger. The first couple were good, but I think it took a few weeks to meld together. Another creative bizarre beer from Carton. Very light colored and crisp Pale Ale with lactose and oats and vanilla. The experiment was to create the taste of lemons through late hopping. It's lemony, but just slightly at the end. It's somehow 7%, but really delicate. I could see slamming these on a hot day and paying for it later. Super refreshing.

Focal Banger on tap in town. I love GABF week.