The Beer Thread: 2009 – 2012

[Beerambassador]

Drinking a Bells Hopslam right now. I got a sixer from a friend as a gift, and wow! what a gift. I've had it before, but this is one tremendous beer. I've cooled on hops to a degree lately, but this is pulling me back. Major aromas of citrus and non-citrus fruits and pine. Very smooth bitterness with a fruity, dry finish. A very hearty recommendation on this one.

[sgtcluels]

That's one of my favorite Double IPAs .. hop slam. Its so smooth that it's dangerous, all of a sudden you go from zero to drunk because you drink them so fast.

[logan82]

Gumballhead. Awesome. I just ordered Amarillo hops to add to the basic Cascade ale recipe I recently brewed. I may use them for an American wheat instead.

[sgtcluels]

I had Surly - Abrasive Ale. Double IPA, and it is really good. I'd say it's very similar to Pliney the Elder with over the top hop notes with massive tangerines with a hint of pine. Very good..

[logan82]

I stopped at Vintage Brewing Company in Madison recently. They had a decent selection of in house brews. Several Belgian styles, a couple stout/porters, an IPA and a few others. I had the dubbel and thought it was really good. Probably headed back there again pretty soon to try a few more.

[Beerambassador]

I stopped at Vintage Brewing Company in Madison recently. They had a decent selection of in house brews. Several Belgian styles, a couple stout/porters, an IPA and a few others. I had the dubbel and thought it was really good. Probably headed back there again pretty soon to try a few more.

I bought the Groupon for there last week. Looking forward to checking it out. Have heard mixed things, but it seems mostly good things in the last few months. They must've had some difficulties when they first opened, because it was all bad at first.

 

I'm in Illinois for the next two days tagging along with my wife who's doing some training here. I'm looking to get a decent haul of beer that's not available or hard to find in Wisconsin. Definitely want to try some Half Acre...outside of that I'm not sure what I'll get.

[logan82]

I saw that Groupon a day to late or I would have bought one. I remember they had a bad review in Madison Beer Review last year in January. That was when they first opened up and before they had their own beer. There were only a couple things I didn't like. They didn't list that growlers were available or how much and they also didn't list availability of sampler glasses. No mention of them at all.

[logan82]

We went to the Vintage Brewing Company again on Sunday. We will not be going back. Only because they didn't have a good dark beer. Their Oatmeal stout was to thin for my wife's taste. It tasted good but was thin. We had Palindrome APA, Woodshed IPA, Trepidation(triple), Rochambeau(well hopped Belgiam pale ale), Scardey Cat(oatmeal stout) and Freestyle(a dark ale of some sort). The only one that didn't taste good was the Freestyle and that wasn't horrible. The rest were all very good. I actually like it better than the Great Dane. Of course I have to bow to the wife's choice.

[Invader3K]

Had some Leinenkugel's Limited on tap the other night. Pretty good. Nothing overly exciting, but a nice solid lager beer.

[Funketown]

I've gotta say, I think I'm tiring on IIPA's a bit. I drank a bomber (my better half doesn't like beer, save for DFH Festina Peche) of it last night, and it was good, but 100+IBU's without a ton of malt sweetness is just a bit much for me. The flavors and aroma were great, but at a certain point I feel like the bitterness just destroys my palate.

 

Drinking a Kalamazoo stout right now, and I'm really enjoying it.

 

I've gotta say, I'll nominate Boulevard for best value beers. I picked up their 12-pack sampler to split with my father during the Super Bowl, and for $11.99, I got 2 bottles each of Bully! Porter (very good), Irish Ale (excellent), Single Wide IPA (excellent), Pale Ale (standard), Wheat Ale (good for an American wheat), and Amber (stinker). That's an even better deal than a 12-pack of Capital WI Amber for $10.99 at Woodmans.

[chuckiehacks]

Ray's in Tosa had a beer tasting last night with Larry Bell, the founder of Bell's Brewing. We tasted 8 beers and he discussed each one. One interesting thing he pointed out when we were trying Hopslam (and oh dear God was it good) was that once you get over 70 or so IBUs, there isn't much discernable difference, as chemical reactions (mainly numbness) happen in your mouth.

 

He was super entertaining and the new Ray's tasting room is pretty sweet. Said he was going to close Wolski's after we left!

 

Hopslam was the star, I came home with some of that, plus old standbys Oarsman and Two Hearted.

 

Official release date for Oberon is March 28.

[Beerambassador]

I've gotta say, I'll nominate Boulevard for best value beers. I picked up their 12-pack sampler to split with my father during the Super Bowl, and for $11.99, I got 2 bottles each of Bully! Porter (very good), Irish Ale (excellent), Single Wide IPA (excellent), Pale Ale (standard), Wheat Ale (good for an American wheat), and Amber (stinker). That's an even better deal than a 12-pack of Capital WI Amber for $10.99 at Woodmans.

I just read they're pulling out of Wisconsin. Not cool.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

All I have to say today is god bless beer.

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5092/5456955420_16ee8b796b.jpg

[Funketown]

I can't decide if this is worth $2.99 as a gag gift.

 

http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/mobile_rss/hash/48/ab/48ab3ba0f1cabaa30a1052af288d3eb5.jpg

[Baldkin]

Leinie's Russian Imperial Stout.... is... well... pricey... but Amazing.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Ugh... Pliny the Younger has hit town....Never get why that stuff is considered the gold standard. . ..prolly why I loathe Cali beer so. ..

 

http://seattletimes.nwsou...835_happycultbeer02.html

 

There are DOZENS of local beer better than that stuff.

 

Which isn't to say it's bad .. . . .

[Funketown]

There was a story going around that some tool filled a growler with his 10 oz. of PTY, and then tried to sell it on ebay.

 

I guess I never see the allure of these huge hype beers. I can get Expo Stout for $3. I can get fresh Hopslam for $3 (a couple months ago), Dreadnaught a bomber for $10, etc. How much "better" can Pliny really be? To be worth the cost of acquiring, it better literally taste like a unicorn riding a rainbow to a pot of puppies.

[hurricanecrush]

I'm not normally a stout guy but I'll usually try something if it sounds good. I had an Oscar's Chocolate Oatmeal Stout (Sand Creek Brewery, River Falls WI) the other night and enjoyed it enough that I had two more. Since I don't normally drink stouts, I'm not sure if their's is a good one... but I thought it was really good. Any feedback would be appreciated. And I'll have to try stouts more often.

[Funketown]

I've not had Oscar's C.O.S., but I may have to grab a bottle some time. I always binge on big beers and stouts/porters during winter. Here are a few I've really liked recently:

 

Bell's Java Stout: Pretty big coffee stout, not something you could drink more than one of, but a nice sweet dessert stout.

Lost Coast 8 Ball Stout: Oatmeal stout, quite sweet and chocolaty, with a sizable bitter hop kick for a stout.

New Glarus Coffee Stout: Somewhat one-dimensional coffee stout, but pretty darn enjoyable.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout: A bit on the pricey side, but a very good, creamy chocolate stout.

Tyranena Doubly Down and Even Dirtier: Not sure if this is available anymore. Imperial (8%) porter aged with cacao and vanilla. Very sweet and very chocolaty, but I did find it a bit too sweet to drink alone.

 

I'd suggest Lost Coast 8 Ball and Young's Double Chocolate.

[hurricanecrush]

Thanks! I'll give some of those a try.

[sgtcluels]

I actually drank the Big Flats. It wasn't nearly as horrible as I thought it was going to be.. then it got a little less ice ice cold and then the terrible came through.

[Funketown]

Thanks! I'll give some of those a try.

Also, I sampled Tyranena's Down n' Dirty Oatmeal Chocolate Stout at Steve's Liquor the other day, and I think you might like that one as well. It's pretty darn good.

[gypcasino]

I'm not normally a stout guy but I'll usually try something if it sounds good. I had an Oscar's Chocolate Oatmeal Stout (Sand Creek Brewery, River Falls WI) the other night and enjoyed it enough that I had two more. Since I don't normally drink stouts, I'm not sure if their's is a good one... but I thought it was really good. Any feedback would be appreciated. And I'll have to try stouts more often.

Just to clarify, Sand Creek is in Black River Falls. Rush River is the one in River Falls.

[Beerambassador]

Forgot to ever update on my beer finds from the Chicago area. I decided to concentrate on local and picked up some Half Acre and Two Brothers. Half Acre, as best as I can tell, is only available in the Chicago area and Two Brothers supposedly distributes in Wisconsin, but I live in the Madison area and I never see it anywhere.

 

Half Acre Daisy Cutter Pale Ale - Very nice APA. Light golden body, finishes very crisp with a big citrusy hop aroma and flavor. Had a can last night with some indian food and it was a great pairing.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/18006/54770

Half Acre Gossamer Golden Ale - This beer was a big surprise for me. I equate Golden Ale with bland, but this was anything but. Very light and drinkable but with a prominent Noble hop (I think) aroma and flavor. I thought it was pretty similar to a light lager in terms of drinkability and overall profile, but with more character. I could drink buckets of this. Well done beer.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/689/30502

Two Brothers Cane & Ebel - I thought this was the best of the beer I picked up. It's a Rye IPA, so it's got a dry spicy flavor from the rye, but also a big citrus hop flavor. My wife really liked it. Very nice beer and highly recommended.

 

I thought Half Acre makes some pretty solid beer that's worth checking out if you're in the area. I know there's a lot of hype around it and it's sort of "hip" but they make some solid beer. Cane & Ebel was just fantastic. I've had one other Two Brothers beer, and thought it was OK. This was much better. I also ate at the Lucky Monk brewpub. Beer was nothing to write home about, but the hamburgers were amazing.

[adamb100]

So is there any beer that isnt bitter? I've tried Budweiser, Miller Lite, Bud Lite, Guinness and they all have an unappealing bitter taste to them.