The Beer Thread

[Swirls]

Hey Jim,

Yesterday I bought a 4-pack of Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout. It was like $15, and so totally worth it.

[jim]

Hershey's and beer. Yum.

[33anda3rd]

What kind of bull [expletive] is a 22 oz beer?

They self-distribute, getting around the normal three-tier required-by-law distribution system of brewer/importer to wholesaler to retailer. On Thursdays and Fridays Bobby gets in the van and drives it to everywhere from a Binny's in the burbs to a hipster restaurant in Logan Square. Because they self-distribute they MUST be small. They can only send out so much beer, by law, or they lose the exemption that allows them to self-distribute.

Because they can only send out so much beer, to remain viable they can't make low-gravity, low-ABV beers in six packs of 12 oz bottles. Most of their stuff is imperial stouts, IPAs, porters--stuff in the 8-10.5% ABV range that they can charge more for in the 22oz format.

They go anywhere from $7-13 retail for a 22oz bomber (and they have a few 25.4oz-ers that can be more.) It's a luxury product, like a Mercedes or a pair of Air Jordans. Every batch is small, and every bottle is hand-labelled with the batch number. Every week they release 4-6 beers. They never brew the same beer twice. If you have the Ninja vs. Unicorn that was on shelves a week ago (and sold out in a day), it's not the same as the past releases, because BeeJay and Garrett tweak them each time. This is a brewery that made a 25oz Poivre Vert Saison, full of green peppercorns, celery and cucumber because it's the kind of weird and delicious stuff their customers want. Those customers don't want to pound five of them, they want to drink one, think about it, and move on to something else.

When some of them--like the Citra Ninja and the other really culty ones--hit the shelves at Binnys they're typically gone in 12 hours. This isn't beer for people who want cold water. It's beer for people who are nuts about beer and want to figure out what the brewer was thinking when he made it.

You knew I would not read any of this, right?

Of course.

[Swirls]

I also paid $12 for a six of Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro (I can't link to BA at work - Big Brother had it blocked for some reason as "inappropriate content") which I had for the first time last week when I was in Chicago (had it on tap at the Paris Club I think?). It's fantastic.

Also bought a bomber of Rogue GOY Pumpkin Patch Ale, which is equally terrific.

[Freed Roger]

Big fan of the 22oz. growler. Almost always is a brewer's better beer and a higher ABV. For me, an ideal quantity of beer for barbecueing or evening drinking at home. Rogue, Stone, Bear Republic, etc. Great [expletive].

[cardinalkarp]

I also paid $12 for a six of Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro (I can't link to BA at work - Big Brother had it blocked for some reason as "inappropriate content") which I had for the first time last week when I was in Chicago (had it on tap at the Paris Club I think?). It's fantastic.

Also bought a bomber of Rogue GOY Pumpkin Patch Ale, which is equally terrific.

I wanted to try that Rogue PP Ale & my local Friar Tucks was sold out

[33anda3rd]

blue moon finally put out their winter abbey ale--i know what im sippin on tonight

A friend passed along his Goose Island Matilda last night, that wasn't to his liking. I took a sip and agreed -and passed it off to my wife who liked it Ok.

One thing I've learned in beer drinking is - I really can't stand* Belgian style beers - Saisons, Abbey, dubbel, tripel, farmhaus etc. The experience of drinking a Belgian is akin to when I see a good looking Waldorf fruit salad and take a bite and instant recoil. Belgian style is the Miracle Whip of beer.

I'm fine with other people liking them -and usually they don't dominate a beer menu - but far too many times I've purchased one just to try something different, and yack...I don't think beer should taste like flowers.


*With rare exception I'll like something Belgian - but they are so rare that I scarcely can remember their names. I did like Aslyum Ale's Bedlam - but it was hopped up in good way and probably genre-bending.

You should try some of the Belgians from Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY. Rare Vos, Abbey Ale, Three Philosophers, Hennepin, Witte, etc. Their beers are terrific. Plus they have special Game of Thrones beers that they are releasing too. Ommegang is probably my favorite craft brewery right now - #2 is Wolaver's in Vermont, and #3 is Schlafly. If Schlafly distributed to New York it may rank higher, but alas, I can only drink it when I go home for the holidays. I can drink Ommegang and Wolaver's year round.

Yeah, these are good recs, Swirls.

The thing about the Belgians is that about half their beers don't fall into any category, and the half that do....well, their tradition doesn't really hold them to rules the way the Germans do. If you want to call yourself a Trappist, you can only if you're in a certain region, but that's where it ends. There are 7 breweries allowed to call their beer "Trappiste" but they are wildly different. It's an appellation only, whereas in Germany a Kolsch needs to not just be from Cologne, but to follow a set of rules and flavor profiles.

In the States, there are plenty of brewers doing Belgian styles on fairly big, consistent scales. Prob the biggest I can think of is New Belgium Fat Tire, a pretty ubiquitous Belgian Pale Ale. Brooklyn Brewery 1 is a great Belgian Strong Golden Ale. Dogfish Head has Raison d'Extra, a good Belgian Strong Dark Ale. Ommegang's Abbey Ale is a good dubbel. They're all pretty indicative of the style in general and are, IMO, appealing to drink pretty regularly.

[Swirls]

Fat Tire is more of an amber than a pale ale. And I can't stand Raison d'Extra from Dogfish Head.

If you want an amazing Belgian amber, I can't recommend Ommegang's Rare Vos enough.

[jim]

I have beaucoup Raisons for not buying Raison d'Extra. Allez vous faire foutre Dogfish Head.

[Freed Roger]

Tagging along with Mrs. Freed on a short work trip to Wisco. Plan to hit up New Glarus and a new brewery in Verona
http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/artic ... icle=41270

If the gullet has room, will try to hit the Great Dane or Ale Asylum too.