Author Topic: The Beer Thread  (Read 3952750 times)

brennser

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #90 on: November 23, 2009, 06:11:43 pm »


Tried this over the weekend in Chicago. I'm a big fan of stouts but found this to be borderline undrinkable. Judging by the ecstatic reviews on BA and ratebeer I am very much in the minority on this one but happy with my stance.

Just way too much going on with this beer and the whiskey taste was completely completely over the top. I didn't finish it, something I thought I'd never do with a $11 beer.

James Ford

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #91 on: November 23, 2009, 08:16:30 pm »
Thanks for the Bourbon County tip Brennser. I'm sitting in the Chicago burbs right now, heading to the Goose Island brewpub tomorrow. Was planning on one of those, but if they're $11 and undrinkable (I
m wary of the whiskey taste myself), may have to pass.

Did you try any of the other Goose Island or maybe anything by Three Floyds (from the Indiana burbs).

I'm actually excited to go to the Whole Foods in Lincoln Park. 16 beers on tap in the store, and you can drink while one while you shop.

sweetcell

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #92 on: November 23, 2009, 09:14:27 pm »
I'm actually excited to go to the Whole Foods in Lincoln Park. 16 beers on tap in the store, and you can drink while one while you shop.

*swoons*
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brennser

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #93 on: November 23, 2009, 09:26:40 pm »
I've never had a Three Floyds I didn't like

Try the Matilda if they have it at Goose Island

Thanks for the Bourbon County tip Brennser. I'm sitting in the Chicago burbs right now, heading to the Goose Island brewpub tomorrow. Was planning on one of those, but if they're $11 and undrinkable (I
m wary of the whiskey taste myself), may have to pass.

Did you try any of the other Goose Island or maybe anything by Three Floyds (from the Indiana burbs).

I'm actually excited to go to the Whole Foods in Lincoln Park. 16 beers on tap in the store, and you can drink while one while you shop.

James Ford

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #94 on: November 26, 2009, 09:36:18 am »
Just went on a two day Chicago beer blast.

Lunch at Whole Foods Tuesday. 16 drafts on tap with free samples aplenty, a lounge area and a food court. But the better option was a list of 10 or so regional bottles pured into a glass for $2 a pop. We tried, in order of preference, Founders Red Rye PA, Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter, Three Floyds Robert Bruce, and Bell's Best Brown. The store is the third biggest WF in the world, like Disneyland for foodies. Easy to manage with a toddler.

Dinner was at Goose Island Brewpub in Clybourn. Overpriced and a bit too corporate in atmosphere with not many good eats for vegetarians. But the beer was good. We split the Black Cat Stout and the Pere Jaques dubbel. Both very good. Then for "dessert" we split the Imperial Goose, an old brown ale with the same bourbon tones . at 9% abv, probably more manageable than te Bouron County Stout. Really loved that beer.

Wed night was date night, with toddler home with grandparents. And what more romantic thing to do than to drive from the Chicago southside exurbs to an industrial park in Munster, Indiana and go to the Three Floyds brewpub. Which turned out to be much more geographically accessible for us than northside Chicago. You walk in and Full Metal Jacket is playing on the wall, and Gogol Bordello, Black Sabbath, and the Stooges are playing loudly on the sound system, and you know this place has all of the coolness that the Goose Island pub is lacking. Pizza was good, funnel fries were good, chocolate cake was good, but the beer is the reason you're there. They have their own on tap, as well as an amazing collection of guest taps and bottles. We split five over the course of a couple of hours. My three favorites all turned out the be in the Beer Advocate top 80 . FFF's Dreadnaught IPA, Stone Ruinator IPA, and Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer, all from the tap. Unibroue Terrible' was also from the tap and tasty. The only "miss" for me was the Sinebrychoff Porter, which wasn't horrible. Took home an FFF Alpha Klaus Xmas Porter bomber for the holidays.

Got a 6 pack of Grimbergen Dubbel on sale at WF, so we'll have a couple of those with the Thanksgiving chili today...and maybe take a day off from beer on Friday. Though I may go get some Goose Island specialties to take home.

James Ford

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #95 on: December 09, 2009, 10:09:11 am »
Perhaps a collection of clueless hipster doofuses could pool together their trust funds...



MILWAUKEE Pabst Brewing Co., owner of Pabst Blue Ribbon, Schlitz and other old-line beer brands, is on the sale block again.

Pabst's owner, the Kalmanovitz Charitable Foundation, based in Mill Valley, Calif., has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch to find a buyer willing to pay around $300 million, according to the New York Post, which cited unnamed sources in a Monday article.

Executives at Pabst, based in suburban Chicago, and foundation officials didn't return phone calls seeking comment.

The sale effort is apparently the result of a deadline imposed by the Internal Revenue Service. Federal tax laws don't allow charitable foundations to own for-profit companies.

The IRS initially gave the foundation until 2005 to sell Pabst. That deadline was extended to 2010 when a buyer couldn't be found, according to a 2008 report by the Chicago Tribune.

Pabst, and its predecessor company, Best Brewing Co., was a Milwaukee mainstay for more than a century when it was acquired in 1985 by Paul Kalmanovitz. He bought other declining breweries, including Pearl and Falstaff, that were losing market share to growing giants Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing. Kalmanovitz died in 1987.

Pabst closed its Milwaukee brewery in 1996 and shuttered its last remaining brewery in 2001 after hiring Miller, now known as MillerCoors LLC, to brew its brands. Pabst in 2006 moved its offices from San Antonio, Texas, to Woodridge, Ill., where it has around 30 employees.

Because Pabst doesn't own breweries, it mainly operates as a marketing company, crafting strategies for selling dozens of brands, which also include Old Milwaukee, Stroh's and Heileman's Old Style.

In recent years, Pabst Blue Ribbon has seen revived sales when it was embraced by drinkers in their 20s, who see it as welcome contrast to heavily marketed beers.

Pabst Brewing also successfully relaunched Schlitz with its original formula from the '60s and announced it was bringing back "kraeusening," a process that uses additional fermentation, for Old Style.

Despite those efforts, Pabst Brewing's sales volume in 2008 dropped by 3.3 percent, to 5.9 million barrels from 6.1 million barrels, according to data compiled by Beer Marketer's Insights.

But that was a smaller drop than Pabst Brewing had seen in previous years. And it came as the company saw a big boost during the fourth quarter of 2008, with a 9 percent increase. That was fueled by a big jump in Pabst Blue Ribbon sales and higher Schlitz sales.

brennser

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #96 on: December 09, 2009, 10:42:03 am »
I enjoyed a great Chouffe Houblon at The Big Hunt last night - top beer!

James Ford

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #97 on: December 09, 2009, 11:06:46 am »
We hit the half price draft happy hour at Birreria in Georgetown last night...

We each had one of these (too good to merely split one):



It's in the Beer Advocate top 100, and now in my top 5. Amazing!



We split one of these:



Not the best Belgian I've ever had, but still very good.



We split one of these:



Very interesting collaboration between Brewdog and Stone. I'd buy it elsewhere if it weren't so outrageously priced.



And finished the night off here (is there a better gelato shop anywhere in DC? I doubt it.)




Bagley

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #98 on: December 09, 2009, 02:51:27 pm »
Sierra Nevada Torpedo-an "extra" IPA

Darth Ed

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #99 on: December 09, 2009, 02:57:38 pm »
I'm not a huge fan of IPAs, but I've lately been enjoying Dogfish Head's Burton Baton, an oak-aged imperial IPA. Nice balance of hops and flavor.

Bagley

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #100 on: December 09, 2009, 03:09:25 pm »
Burton Baton is delicious, especially on tap

James Ford

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #101 on: January 04, 2010, 09:02:02 am »
Burton Baton is delicious, especially on tap


The artist who designed to label is Jon Langford, of Waco Brothers/Mekons fame.


James Ford

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #102 on: January 04, 2010, 09:17:59 am »
Had this (from Ommegang) at Christmas, went great with chocolate covered cherries:






Had these two (from Dogfish and Founder's, respectively) for New Years Eve:








And these two Saturday night at Churchkey (from Ommegang and Smuttynose, respectively):








I think my favorites were Three Philosophers, Backwoods Bastard, and the Big A IPA. The weakest was the Obamagang Inauguration Ale, though it was pretty decent.



Drank the New Year's Eve beers while watching this movie. Movie was decent, but not terribly insightful.




sweetcell

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #103 on: January 04, 2010, 06:41:48 pm »
for "something different", my friend served me this before we headed out to the 930 on NYE:



 
"Fraoch Heather Ale
Brewed in Scotland since 2000 B.C. heather ale is probably the oldest style of ale still produced in the world. From an ancient Gaelic recipe for "leann fraoich" (heather ale) it has been revived and reintroduced to the Scottish culture. Into the boiling bree of malted barley, sweet gale and flowering heather are added, then after cooling slightly the hot ale is poured into a vat of fresh heather flowers where it infuses for an hour before being fermented." (source: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/80/245)

t'was awrite, but as most of the reviewers on BA note, it's not something you'd want to drink more than one of.  its floral flavor is more interesting & unique than it is good & satisfying.
« Last Edit: January 13, 2010, 10:49:13 am by sweetcell »
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brennser

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Re: The Beer Thread
« Reply #104 on: January 13, 2010, 09:46:41 am »


I've heard alot of hype about this beer over the years but had never gotten around to tasting it, mainly due to the limited supply and "blink and you'll miss it" sales window.

The hype is definitely worth it. I like hoppy beers incl the various Dogfish offerings but this one is head and shoulders above the rest, mainly because the honey they use in brewing cuts through a little of the bitterness that excessive hopping can cause. Think of it as a more approachable and flavorful 90 minute IPA.

I had two pints of this at The Big Hunt yesterday. Its probably gone by now as any bar that could get it was restricted to 1 keg.

Picked up a few 6 packs at Rodmans also.