The Beer Thread

[James Ford]

I though maybe it was just me, but at least one Beer Advocate reviewer agrees:

I had this last year on tap, and thought it was a big dark brown ale that tasted like pumkin pie. This year, well it isn?t coming off even remotely the same.

Pours an amber color with a bit of activity, clear yet hard to see through. Head is merely and after thought.
Smells of nutmeg, cinnamon, pumpkin, and amber malt.
This honestly drinks a bit too much like a kolch or lager in the body this year. Lost is the creamy body and deep sweetness for the past. Spices dominate and the pumkin and malt fall to the back ground. Some hops in the mouth again seem to contribute to a funky poorly mixed beer. Where is the pie curstg goodness from last year when I had this on tap?

You can feel the weight of the alcohol while the beer comes off rather medium the beer clearly is a monster in hiding. The spices and bite from the hops distract. Certainly not a beer to drink a lot of and it at times almost comes off that way.

The pumpkin ales aren?t my go to beers by any stretch, but I recall this one being a nice sipper and a change for the norm. Instead I have to say Southern Tier?s pumking was far far better this year. I feel like the malt is just not there and the spices are a touch stronger than in the past and with these beers those two elements have to be just right or the whole things falls apart. I wonder if this is a result of this beer being a touch inconsistent and me just getting a batch that didn?t get it right. That said still a good example of the style. If you enjoy these flavors it is great. If however you want the beer to meld together, I feel that something went a touch wrong with this bottle and maybe this year?s batch is just a hair off. Stick with Pumking for your seasonal this year!

That said, either my tastes have changed or they changed their taste, because I didn't like it so much the other night when we split one. Maybe I'm just not a pumkin beer guy.

I find the pumpkin beers to be slightly inconsistent year over year.  Good one year, not so much the next.  And vice versa.

Not good news about Schalfly's.  Theirs is one of the best.

[redsock]

Sixpoint beers are being sold in growlers at D'Vines in Columbia Heights. Good way to try the new beer in town.

[nkotb]

Stopped by on my way home, and found most everything in stock from the newsletter.  Didn't see the Stone 15, but I was in a rush as I had my son with me...and he wasn't too into me taking my time walking the aisles.  Man, I love being that close to this store...and also this thread, since I'm woefully out of touch with this stuff.

Straight from Rick's newsletter:

We are expecting some major releases this week, including Stone's 15th Anniversary Escondidian Imperial Black IPA and Southern Tier's much-requested Pumking. Both are in ridiculously short supply (at least when compared to demand), so purchasing limits are in effect. You'll also find what is likely to be our last drop of Schlafly Pumpkin Ale not to mention more Founders Breakfast Stout, so stock up now. We also received one case of DuClaw's Colossus 21% ABV (you read that right) monster barleywine. Get it while it lasts.

I'm most excited about the Stone 15 beer. If it's as good (or dare I wish, better) as their Supremely Self-Righteous Black IPA, what a treat it will be.



They do a tasting every Saturday. Here are this weeks beers (two great ipas, and that barleywine sounds great!)

On the Beermudgeon's Table:
Saturday, September 17, 2011
12 noon - 5 p.m.
?   Bell's Two Hearted Ale: Once upon a time, this IPA from Bell's was a seasonal offering. These days, this 100% Centennial hopped brew is Bell's (and our) best-seller, not to mention the winner of our inaugural IPA taste-off in 2009. ABV: 7.0%; $10.49/6 pk.
?   Firestone Walker Union Jack IPA: This year's winner of our IPA taste-off, this beauty from Paso Robles, Calif., has two consecutive Great American Beer Festival Gold Medals under its belt. Hopped with Warrior, Simcoe, Cascade, Centennial, Amarillo and Chinook. ABV: 7.5%; $12.99/6 pk.
?   Weyerbacher Harvest Ale: Here they come -- the first of the year's wet-hop harvest ales. Weyerbacher brews Harvest Ale with Cascade hops just picked from their own hop farm in Easton, Pa. This is what fresh hops taste like! ABV: 6.2%, $8.99/4 pk.
?   Ommegang Aphrodite: A few years back, Ommegang brewed a Flanders-style red sour ale called Rouge. Unfortunately, they never bottled it -- it was only available in draft form and in very limited quantities at that. Thankfully, their experiments with sour beers haven't ended and we recently received their newest attempt, Aphrodite, a sour brewed with raspberries and pears fermented with the dreaded/loved Brettanomyces yeast. The Beermudgeon got his first taste while in Chicago this summer and thought you should give it a try, too. ABV: 8.9%; $13.99/750 ml.
?   Schlafly Reserve Barleywine, Vintage 2009: Ever on the lookout for the perfect barleywine, the 2007 vintage of this brew was the Beermudgeon's introduction to the wonders of The St. Louis Brewery, a.k.a. Schlafly, at the original SAVOR event in 2008. Striking a superb balance between maltiness and hops, the brew is aged for six months (three months on Missouri oak chips) before bottling, giving the finished product a smooth taste with a distinct vanilla finish. ABV: 10.2%, $12.99/750 ml.

Picked up some Founders Breakfast Stout last night at Rick's in Alexandria.  Think they're doing a tasting on Saturday at noon if anyone's interested.

[i am gay and i like cats]

new beer from founders

NOW ON TAP: the Galaxy Oat IPA, a brand new IPA, brewed with 15% oats dry-hopped and bittered ENTIRELY with Galaxy hop(s), a new hop varietal from Australia!

[James Ford]

Picked up two bottle of the Stone 15 at Whole Foods. They had it hidden in the back and still it was almost gone.

Went to my local Giant, and it was like the Berlin Wall had come down. Or like first time hearing Smells Like Teen Spirit on a top 40 station. Seven years living near Giant in suburbia and no craft beers. And tonight i saw a couple of new belgium beers on the ensdcap so thought i'd see if htey had any more NB. And lo and behold, they had a shitload of craft beer...Racer 5, Oberon, Dales, Little Sumpin Sumpin, Ragin Bitch, Smuttynose IPA, Terrapin Hopsecutioner, and a much of others my tiny brain can't remember. It's almost as if the deilivery truck missed the turnoff for Whole Foods and went to Giant by accident.

[radley17]

This Sunday(the 18th) at Red Palace the members of Clutch doing a release party of the New Belgian beer they helped develop...Clutch the dark sour ale...apparently they may be playing an acoustic set

http://redpalacedc.com/calendar/new-belgium-brewing-clutch-dark-soul-ale-release-party/

[James Ford]

We survived a Sunday afternoon in the National Zoo with a four year old that also included some sort of Latino festival in the zoo (I think I saw Hutch walking around with a bowl of fruit on her head!!!), so decided we needed to reward ourselves with a stop at ChurchKey on the way home.

Where we both had this amazing beer. 10.8% abv with some excellent hoppy and roasty action going on. Highly recommended, get it while you can.

[K8teebug]

FYI, Fat Tire on tap at Frisco Grille in Columbia.

I had the Guinness Black Lager over the weekend.  Not a terrible beer, but I think I'd rather stick with regular Guinness.  Somewhere between a lager and a porter, but without the porter bite.

[Unsanity]

After enjoying box seats at the Redskins game I braved s shit-ton of traffic to hit up that Clutch beer release party. They had a capacity of 106, my friend and I were # 104 and 105. Clutch played an hour set for free. It started acoustic but by time they played "Big News" it was full on electric. Everyone in the place was getting rowdy off 9% Clutch beer! That beer is easily the best New Belgium has to offer. The brewers were hanging out in there too. Word is Clutch beer is a one time thing, never to be brewed again. It was being sold at the bar, $20 a pint. It did come with a commemorative beer glass and they let you keep the empty bottle.  

[James Ford]

Wow, $20 a pint. I can't imagine it was worth it (?)

[i am gay and i like cats]

i must the only person on here . . . that hates clutch.

[sweetcell]

i must the only person on here . . . that hates clutch.

you were the only person here who hates clutch (i used the past tense because as soon as a moderator reads that, you membership will be in the past )

[i am gay and i like cats]

actually . . . i was waiting for yada to make his on cue responce.

but you'll do.

i don't think i'm straight enough to like them.

[sweetcell]

i don't think i'm straight enough to like them.

good point, could be...  however, i heard that they are working on "Beard: The Musical".  maybe that'll change your mind?

[i am gay and i like cats]

i don't think i'm straight enough to like them.

good point, could be...  however, i heard that they are working on "Beard: The Musical".  maybe that'll change your mind?