The Beer Thread

[brennser]

Holy smokes - mine costs $5 a bottle at the source last week!

checked it out yesterday - $19.99 a bottle

no thanks.  i'll wait.

[sweetcell]

Stopped at the Alchemist Brewery (0.3 miles from Ben and Jerry's factory!) and Prohibition Pig in Waterbury, VT yesterday. Game, set, and match to Heady Topper. Holy crap. The US Open is now closed. Also had some fine Vermont beers from Hill Farmstead, Lawson's, and Zero Gravity. And picked up a bottle of Maine Beer Co. Zoe.

Add that to two days in Montreal drinking Dieu de Ciel on draft at ther brewpub, as well as stops at the Ommegang Cafe and Troegs tasting room...and it's been quite a road trip!

sweet road trip, bro!

[James Ford]

And if anybody is ever in Saratoga Springs, NY and wants FREE craft draft beer, PM me and I'll fill you in. Not on the level of the other places on my trip, but still pretty decent. And all you want, for FREE.

[i am gay and i like cats]

i want to go to sharon springs, ny.  it is gay wealthy central.

[James Ford]

Really? That's surprising, given the figures on housing value, education, and percent of population who wre gay/lesbian couples.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Sharon-Springs-New-York.html

i want to go to sharon springs, ny.  it is gay wealthy central.

[i am gay and i like cats]

http://beekman1802.com/

one of many gay owned companies there.  wealthy people love them.

[Bagley]

thought the Great lakes Edmund Fitzgerald was the best of its kind until I tried the Founders Porter last night at the Big Hunt.  Wow what a roasty gem!

Anybody know how it holds up in a bottle?

[James Ford]

I've always preferred Founders Porter to Edmund Fitzgerald, both bottle and draft versions. Though they're both obviously good.

I recently had the Hill Farmstead Everett on draft up in Vermont, which may be the first porter I've had that beat the Founders. Though I'd have to try them side by side to truly compare.

thought the Great lakes Edmund Fitzgerald was the best of its kind until I tried the Founders Porter last night at the Big Hunt.  Wow what a roasty gem!

Anybody know how it holds up in a bottle?

[fatskippy]

I had the Deschutes regular Black Butte and Black Butte XXIV porters over the weekend, 2 of the best beers I've tried

[James Ford]

Have you tried their Obsidian Stout? It's the base beer for the Abyss, and better than the regular Black Butte, imo.

I had the Deschutes regular Black Butte and Black Butte XXIV porters over the weekend, 2 of the best beers I've tried

[fatskippy]

I didn't get to try that one but I did also have their Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Inversion IPA, Chainbreaker White IPA, and Twilight Summer. All of them were outstanding and tasted exactly like you'd imagine the style should taste without anything fancy going on. The pale ale actually tasted like a pale ale and not a mislabeled IPA. I wish I could get Deschutes around here.

[sweetcell]

i tried one of my Trader Joe 2011 Vintage ales on wednesday...  t'was decent, respectable, but i can think of othe Unibroue offerings that probably age better.  this wasn't particularly intense, per my hopes.

finally hit up perfect pour in columbia... woa.  brought back:
- pumpking: i must have had a bad bottle, 'cause this one had the distinct "corn" taste of DMS.  other than this fault, tasted like liquid pumpkin pie
- allagash reserve dubbel (had their reserve tripel previously, very nice!)
- long trail coffee stout
- the bruerie saison de lente

haven't tried the last 3.  i'm brewing today, once i've finished off my last 2 belgian blonds i might sip the coffee stout.

also checked out MD Homebrew in columbia.  nice staff, good selection - except for the fact that they don't sell wyest.  since i wanted their 3711 French Saison yeast, i left empty-handed.  it was the point of my drive out there, i should have called ahead.  i ended up driving to both myLHBS and the flying barrel to get all my supplies (myLHBS had the yeast, but couldn't mill the grains... *sigh*).  i was going to call this batch "Saison & On & On", but i'm now tempted to re-name it "160-mile Farmhouse Ale".

[James Ford]

That's funny...i tried the first of the two TJ's 2011 Vintage Ale bottles that I had bought earlier this week as well. With basically the same thoughts. Sold but unspectacular. Less impressive than other Unibroue darks. Not sure how well it aged because it was the first I've tried.

[sweetcell]

- the bruery saison de lente

saison de lente is an excellent classic saison.  has just a hint of brett and a nice subtle sourness.

the bruery is climbing in my esteem.  only had 3 of their beers so far, but all 3 have been excellent.  helps that they do mostly belgians.

that is all.

[Bagley]

the Founder's Breakfast Stout is out!