What BEER are you drinking? (Part 1)

Beer and Spirits
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There was a Hopslam event at Binny’s and at Whole Foods last week, and I missed them both. I follow someone on Instagram who calls himself a “Smooth Hoperator.” He snaps beers pics and posts TNs, and he is from Chicago. Commented on a few of his pics, and even pointed him to a place that still had BCBS stout once.

Anyway, he posted a pic of Hopslam, and I lamented that I missed both of the events. He replied and told me to go to Trader Joe’s. Next morning I was nearby, so I stopped in. Yes, Bell’s is a bit corporate, and that had several on the shelf. I saw a spot for Hopslam, and of course none was there. However, the beer man was stocking shelves, so I asked. He said he had one case left in the back, and if I wanted any, he would go get it. He came back a bit later with just three 6-packs. He said one guy took one as he was walking through the store. I took two of them. He held up the last pack and loudly announced it was the store’s last one and did anyone want it. Of course someone took it.

Even a blind pig occasionally finds an acorn. [snort.gif]

The price was $16.99 a 6-pack of 12-oz cans.

Drank one already, and I dropped one can in the garage on the cement floor, and it spewed everywhere. Crossed my mind to lick the floor, but decided against that idea. Last year my wife cooked with one bottle.

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Enjoying 2015 Deschutes Abyss on tap, locally. Good stuff.

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I’m kinda surprised how much distribution there is for hopslam in socal. Every single craft beer store has gotten multiple cases of it. Super surprised.

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Some Super Bowl beers. The first is Agrestic from Firestone Walker. Found one bottle of this on a shelf. Bought on a whim. Turned out to be a sour beer, and I am not a sour beer fan, so I’ll not make any comments.
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The others were all good for my palate. The Rye on Rye from Boulevard was excellent. Wish I had bought more of these when I had a chance. The Christmas beer from Anchor is as expected. The beer from Moody Tongue is becoming a favorite of mine. Moody Tongue is a local Chicago brewery. This was Caramelized Chocolate Churro Baltic Porter. Sounds nasty, but is very good. They tend to make beers for pairing with food. Make specialized beers for several restaurants here in Chicago.
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So, I’m a little new at the beer trading game. Thought this was worth a laugh… Will post pics of the contents in a few days :slight_smile:

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Other Half Hop Showers IPA. 7.4% ABV.

The Citra and Amarillo hops really shine in this east meets west coast IPA. The initial pop is all west coast, piney resiny hop bitterness. Mid palette turns east coast with a wash of ripe tropical fruits, sweet pineapple, mango juice and papaya are all very evident before this finishes back to the west coast with a dry crackery piney finish. Beautifully crafted and balanced throughout, so easy to drink as there is zero detection of the 7.4% abv.anywhere to be found.

Highly recommended, and thanks once again to Greg for keeping me freshly updated on these fantastic east coast ales.

Cheers,

Bud

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In a dark mood
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For quite a few years mtbr.com and roadbikereview.com (same people) have informally organized a Super Bowl morning ride up Mt. Hamilton in San Jose. There’s quite a party after as you can see in the pic. A lot of these guys are pretty beer savvy. One of them remembered me bringing some De Gardes to some rides last summer.

I was stoked to see the growlers of Sante Adairius but a bit dismayed to find out they were IPA rather than sours. Good, but not my thing. I brought an Almanac Gose, Bruery Terreux, crooked Stave Surette and Vielle Saison. Plus five Manresa baguettes and some nice cheeses…

Paella was great. There were two of them.
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I am not sure where I would start in that photo. Food or beer?

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Stood in line for 90 minutes Wednesday night outside of RRBC for their 2016 Pliny the Younger release (got in line at 8:45PM). I’ve come to the realization that I like my Younger to be “fresh” out of the tank (meaning poured when the tank is full, and not when the tank is getting closer to empty). Getting in as late as we did meant we were getting pours from later in the tank, where the hop oils become more pronounced and (IMO) overwhelm the floral aspects that I love so much about Younger. The finish is still long and lovely, but the nose was almost non-existent and the flavors were more “sharp” than “bright”.

Don’t get me wrong. It still was worth the drive and wait time (as well as refilling the stash of Pliny the Elder and filling a couple of growlers). But if I had waited 5.5 hours in line like I did last year, I would’ve been more disappointed unless I’d gotten pours from a newly tapped tank.

Already making plans to go back next week… [cheers.gif]

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Fresh Toppling Goliath PseudoSue is being poured at this weekends outdoor “social ice” festival. I hope the icebars and sculptures survive the warm temps

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Quite a bit of beer lately. Highlights:

  • Victory Agave IPA (with grapefruit) - doesn’t really taste like an IPA. Feels like a grapefruit sculpin knock-off, but with even more of a shandy spin? Don’t get me wrong; I could pound 5 of these on a warm day, but I wouldn’t confuse it for an IPA.
  • Fremont Coffee Cinnamon Bourbon Barrel Aged Abominable Winter Ale - this thing is still sitting on the shelf at a local shop, which is funny given it’s a Beer Advocate top 25 beer. It pours incredibly thick, almost like a thin gravy. Chocolate, coffee, cinnamon and oak… it’s all there. It’s an incredibly unique beer, but I like the KDS quite a bit more.
  • Knee-Deep Simtra Triple IPA - Holy hop show, I felt like I was blowing a pine tree. Didn’t feel like 11%
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headed to MN … looking forward to some Surly!

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Spent the holiday weekend skiing, eating, and drinking in Northern VT. Enjoyed Lawson’s Sip o’ Sunshine, Lawson’s Super Session #2, Fiddlehead IPA, Fiddlehead Cowboy Neal, Fiddlehead Hodad Porter, Fiddlehead Second Fiddle, Hill Farmstead Edward, Lord Hobo Boomsauce IPA, Probation Pig Winter IPA, and The Alchemist Focal Banger. All in all, a very good weekend.

Came home with a nice stash of various Vermont treasures.

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Sounds like you took the Peter Baird tour of Vermont :smiley:

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A bottle share with friends tonight.

Personal stars of the night W12, Cantillon, W-IPA, Barrel Aged Bomb! There were more beers to try, but tomorrow’s a work day. Fun to have 4 rare beers from Japan and 3 from Belgium.

Westvleteren 8 & 12 both 2015
Cantillon Gueuze 100% Lambic Bio 2015
Crooked Stave Motif
Prairie Artisan Wine Barrel Noir
Kagua Rouge
Kagua Blanc
Prairie Artisan Barrel Aged Bomb!
Minoh W-IPA
Choc Beer Gose
Funkwerks Raspberry Provincial
Odell Bromberre Blackberry Gose
Anchorage Whiteout Wit
Baird Rising Sun Pale

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You’ve been to their tap room, correct?

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That terrible moment when the bartender at “Hog Heaven Bar-B-Q” in Central Florida looks at you and you realize he has no IPA to offer. A pitcher of Fat Tire it is.

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Yup! Shortly after they opened, so it was a total zoo.

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Foley Brothers Prospect, Brandon VT

One of the best IPAs I’ve had from Vermont which is saying something. Intensely fruity nose with a shockingly rich palate, complex, apricots and hops without any real bitterness. Pretty malty but I find it balanced. Best of all, it seems readily available unlike some other great VT IPAs. Wow.
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