The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 10:58 pm

Brontoburglar wrote:Founders Lizard of Koz is one of the better imperial stouts I've had. It's sweet (blueberries, chocolate and vanilla aged in bourbon barrels) but not overpoweringly so. It's one of the few imperials that doesn't feel boozy at all. I probably could have ordered 2 or 3 more.

I'm usually a sucker for the special releases and one-offs, but I had no desire to try. for some reason I thought it was a brown ale; a stout sounds much better, but still not interested. Damnit, now I'm curious... To go on my usual broken record rant, get a high quality bourbon barrel stout and sit on it for at least six months to a year. Booziness will be gone, and you'll really taste a lot of different flavors that aren't there fresh.

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Wed Dec 28, 2016 11:57 pm

The Sybian wrote:
Brontoburglar wrote:Founders Lizard of Koz is one of the better imperial stouts I've had. It's sweet (blueberries, chocolate and vanilla aged in bourbon barrels) but not overpoweringly so. It's one of the few imperials that doesn't feel boozy at all. I probably could have ordered 2 or 3 more.
I'm usually a sucker for the special releases and one-offs, but I had no desire to try. for some reason I thought it was a brown ale; a stout sounds much better, but still not interested. Damnit, now I'm curious... To go on my usual broken record rant, get a high quality bourbon barrel stout and sit on it for at least six months to a year. Booziness will be gone, and you'll really taste a lot of different flavors that aren't there fresh.

I sit on most of mine -- but this was on tap. And also $3! (half price beer night)

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 1:51 am

I can't wait 'til Founders is in CO full-time (we get some around GABF.) I've heard multiple times and from multiple sources they're coming, but nothing yet.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 1:21 pm

Up and coming breweries

3 in CO!

(Ratio and WeldWorks are fantastic, have to hit up Cerebral)

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 1:40 pm

Finback, huh?

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 1:52 pm

mister d wrote:Finback, huh?

Just checking them out on BA. They have/had a shitload of beers. Mostly 4's for a ratings, which for BA is impressive. If it's not brewed from rain water strained through a foot long beard and fermented with Brett from a 200-year-old wine barrel it's not getting a high rating on BA.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 2:39 pm

Rush2112 wrote:
mister d wrote:Finback, huh?
Just checking them out on BA. They have/had a shitload of beers. Mostly 4's for a ratings, which for BA is impressive. If it's not brewed from rain water strained through a foot long beard and fermented with Brett from a 200-year-old wine barrel it's not getting a high rating on BA.

I don't consider BA scores for new, hyper local breweries, or any beer with less than 200 or 300 ratings. There are a hell of a lot of beers on BA rated over 4, it isn't that high of a benchmark on BA.

Haven't had any Finback yet, but it sounded like a shot at the other new NYC breweries for not sending them free beer.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Dec 29, 2016 10:58 pm

I've had them, they're very good, just surprised they got picked out of here for the list. They're not all that new.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Fri Dec 30, 2016 6:33 pm

KICKING myself hard for not paying attention to Sub's earlier post about letting boozier beers age. Opened a Marshall Zhukov's Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout, and it's definitely boozier than I prefer.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Fri Dec 30, 2016 9:37 pm

govmentchedda wrote:KICKING myself hard for not paying attention to Sub's earlier post about letting boozier beers age. Opened a Marshall Zhukov's Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout, and it's definitely boozier than I prefer.

Looks like you finished the bottle anyways.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Fri Dec 30, 2016 10:18 pm

The Sybian wrote:
govmentchedda wrote:KICKING myself hard for not paying attention to Sub's earlier post about letting boozier beers age. Opened a Marshall Zhukov's Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout, and it's definitely boozier than I prefer.
Looks like you finished the bottle anyways.

Yes. Shared it with family. I preferred the Good Gourd Have Mercy Double Barrel Aged Pumpkin Ale though.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri Dec 30, 2016 10:21 pm

Made my gallon today. It seems to be fermenting appropriately.

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Sat Dec 31, 2016 12:59 pm

How does one ship beer? Are there rules? I may have the ability to grab some Marshall Zhukov's for you, Syb.

Brontoburglar · Post by **Brontoburglar** » Sat Dec 31, 2016 1:23 pm

A_B wrote:Made my gallon today. It seems to be fermenting appropriately.

The house beer at my buddy's wedding last night was a homebrew IPA. It was great -- though I'm paying the price this morning for not switching to pisswater as the night went on

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Sat Dec 31, 2016 4:12 pm

Happy New Year!

Been saving these babies just for tonight.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 2:57 am

Unibroue is great. I love that they still brew the 17. My favorite of their annuals was the 2004. Found one in Boston in 2010 or so in a small little bottle shop. My lord that was nectar.

Brewed half the 18% stout tonight (I'm going to have to pitch two types of yeast and it's probably gonna blow a shit load off) brewed with the grains in a big ass bag so sparging the grain was a piece of cake. OG for this part works out to about 11%. Got 8 lbs of grain and about 3lb of DME to add to bring it up 7 or so percent. Now just waiting for it go down a wee bit in temp to pitch.

HNY Swamp.

Pruitt · Post by **Pruitt** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 2:40 pm

I'll take a 6 pack!

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:27 pm

Friend brought me two zombie dusts. Pumped.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 7:13 pm

Please live blog this.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 7:17 pm

Found a Sierra Nevada Coffee Stout in the office fridge. Good enough for me.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 7:31 pm

mister d wrote:Please live blog this.

You could tell it's been on a shelf. It was still good but not a smooth as fresh.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 9:55 pm

P.D.X. wrote:Found a Sierra Nevada Coffee Stout in the office fridge. Good enough for me.

Funny coincidence. Works for me tonight, too!

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Jan 12, 2017 1:43 pm

NJ has had a major uptick in the number of breweries the past couple of years. Part of it is due to some legislation removing barriers to new breweries or something. I can't remember the specifics, but it was up for renewal and passed again. Anyways, I was curious to see how many breweries NJ has now, and according to the New Jersey Craft Beer website, there are now 66 craft breweries (the Budweiser brewery isn't listed), 13 Brewpubs, 21 breweries/brewpubs currently in the licensing process (that they are aware of), and 17 they are aware of in the "startup" phase. That is fucking crazy. I want to know how many there were 5 or 10 years ago.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Thu Jan 12, 2017 1:48 pm

On the flipside, I found out the reason a place like SingleCut ships to Boston and Philadelphia but not over the river is because NJ forces out of state breweries to declare ahead of time, like a month or more, what they'll be shipping. For smaller places that run one-off bottlings/cannings versus having a set product line and consistent schedule, its not worth the hassle given that its going to sell out regardless of locale.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Thu Jan 12, 2017 2:33 pm

mister d wrote:On the flipside, I found out the reason a place like SingleCut ships to Boston and Philadelphia but not over the river is because NJ forces out of state breweries to declare ahead of time, like a month or more, what they'll be shipping. For smaller places that run one-off bottlings/cannings versus having a set product line and consistent schedule, its not worth the hassle given that its going to sell out regardless of locale.

And for the bigger breweries, NJ is supposed to be a royal pain in the ass to get distribution licenses. I know Bell's and some others skipped over NJ when expanding their distribution.

sancarlos · Post by **sancarlos** » Thu Jan 12, 2017 6:10 pm

The Sybian wrote:
mister d wrote:On the flipside, I found out the reason a place like SingleCut ships to Boston and Philadelphia but not over the river is because NJ forces out of state breweries to declare ahead of time, like a month or more, what they'll be shipping. For smaller places that run one-off bottlings/cannings versus having a set product line and consistent schedule, its not worth the hassle given that its going to sell out regardless of locale.
And for the bigger breweries, NJ is supposed to be a royal pain in the ass to get distribution licenses. I know Bell's and some others skipped over NJ when expanding their distribution.

And they don't even trust you to pump your own gas. WTF, Jersey?

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Fri Jan 13, 2017 11:22 am

sancarlos wrote:
The Sybian wrote:
mister d wrote:On the flipside, I found out the reason a place like SingleCut ships to Boston and Philadelphia but not over the river is because NJ forces out of state breweries to declare ahead of time, like a month or more, what they'll be shipping. For smaller places that run one-off bottlings/cannings versus having a set product line and consistent schedule, its not worth the hassle given that its going to sell out regardless of locale.
And for the bigger breweries, NJ is supposed to be a royal pain in the ass to get distribution licenses. I know Bell's and some others skipped over NJ when expanding their distribution.
And they don't even trust you to pump your own gas. WTF, Jersey?

Nanny State!!! The gas pumping is clearly a make-work program for Middle Easterners and Indians.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Fri Jan 13, 2017 6:27 pm

This afternoon's selection.

Rush2112 · Post by **Rush2112** » Fri Jan 13, 2017 6:38 pm

How is it? I'm sort of sad with their decision to retire the Ruffian and Rumble to bring out these new things.

P.D.X. · Post by **P.D.X.** » Fri Jan 13, 2017 6:43 pm

Not disagreeable. Pretty standard hoppy IPA.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 5:39 pm

Anyone know anything about Elysium space dust? Looking like it has citra hops

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:24 pm

Solid.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 6:44 pm

mister d wrote:Solid.

Sweet. I went ahead and snagged a sizer hoping the citra wouldn't let me down.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Mon Jan 16, 2017 8:15 pm

A_B wrote:Anyone know anything about Elysium space dust? Looking like it has citra hops

Very good. I know one of the brewmasters at Elysium, and they do great stuff. Check out the BiFrost sometime if you get a chance.

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 9:27 am

mister d wrote:Solid.

But they are owned by AB-InBev!?!?!

The Sybian · Post by **The Sybian** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 9:44 am

In case you missed it, Mr. D, Nugget Nectar is supposed to hit the shelves in Jersey this week. And Bolero Snort dropped 3 new beers this week. I picked up a can of each; a Winter Warmer, Rotatabull #6 (with Azacca, Mandarina and Bavaria hops), and a single hop (Mosaic) IPA with oats and lactose. The last one is the type of thing that sounds like there is no way it could be good, but it is getting some positive reviews in a NJ Craft Beer group I joined on FB. Curious to try that. Also picked up a Dark City bourbon barrel aged imperial brown ale. I'm getting bored with the bourbon barrel stouts, but I'll try a brown ale. I'm jumping on the NJ beer bandwagon. Fresh, small batch, local... It might just be in head, or trying a bunch of Other Half, Trillium and Alchemist, but the smaller breweries' IPAs have lowered my opinion of the bigger out of state breweries' IPAs. That said, I saw Alpine Pure Hoppiness for the first time, and I'm excited to try it. Alpine Duet is easily my favorite non-local or New England IPA. Perfect balance of pine with a touch of citrus.

For the non-Jersey people, I recommend trying Firestone Walker's Luponic Distortion series. They are putting out experimental IPAs featuring new strains of hops, primarily from Australia and New Zealand, which seems to be the next trend. They put out 4 so far. They aren't the best beers, but all have been very good and interesting. They are very light on malt, super crisp and clean like a pilsner or Maine Beer IPA, so they really showcase the hops.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 12:46 pm

The Sybian wrote:
mister d wrote:Solid.
But they are owned by AB-InBev!?!?!

That and Sculpin were the two toughest to walk away from.

mister d · Post by **mister d** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 12:50 pm

The Sybian wrote:In case you missed it, Mr. D, Nugget Nectar is supposed to hit the shelves in Jersey this week.

I saw. Its both too early and I'm excited. Might be my longest standing beer I still really like.

The Sybian wrote:And Bolero Snort dropped 3 new beers this week. I picked up a can of each; a Winter Warmer, Rotatabull #6 (with Azacca, Mandarina and Bavaria hops), and a single hop (Mosaic) IPA with oats and lactose. The last one is the type of thing that sounds like there is no way it could be good, but it is getting some positive reviews in a NJ Craft Beer group I joined on FB.

Its fine, nothing amazing. I'm back to thinking the one I really liked from them was the exception. And thanks for the invite.

The Sybian wrote:I'm jumping on the NJ beer bandwagon. Fresh, small batch, local... It might just be in head, or trying a bunch of Other Half, Trillium and Alchemist, but the smaller breweries' IPAs have lowered my opinion of the bigger out of state breweries' IPAs.

Absolutely. In a well-stocked store around here, the best IPA you're going to find is Just Another.

The Sybian wrote:That said, I saw Alpine Pure Hoppiness for the first time, and I'm excited to try it. Alpine Duet is easily my favorite non-local or New England IPA. Perfect balance of pine with a touch of citrus.

I'm now totally blanking on the order we ranked the three Alpines a year or so ago, but I *think* Duet was 1.

A_B · Post by **A_B** » Tue Jan 17, 2017 6:26 pm

I ended up getting 7 grolsch sized bottles from my gallon kit. Pretty decent I think. I'll let you know how hey taste in a couple of weeks.

bapo! · Post by **bapo!** » Thu Jan 26, 2017 7:43 pm

Drinking a Ballast Point Habanero Sculpin. I don't know why I expected this to be more subtle, but it's certainly not subtle. My lips hurt. That's probably not good, right?