The Beer Thread: 2009 – 2012

[Gobias Industries]

Love the Fat Tire. Have you ever had their Sunshine Wheat? I personally think that is even better.

No, but I'll make sure to. You and I seem to have the same taste in beer. (I'm not a fan of Dancing Man either.)

[TooLiveBrew]

Furthermore Beer website

 

Fatty Boombalatty beeradvocate page

[blatzlight]

Had two new beers and an old one last night:

 

Magic Hat #9 - Interesting beer that is very smooth. It could have used more hops IMO.

Boulder Brewing Mojo IPA - This was a very drinkable yet dry IPA. Not as citrusy as I like my hops but really freaking good

 

Also had a New Glarus Crack'd Wheat - love this wheat beer. Hoppy yet wheaty. It is good!

 

Lastly, if you live in the Downtown Milwaukee area, Blatz Liquor in the Blatz Condo's is going to begin carrying sixers of Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA which is one of my 5 favorite beers ever.

[Gobias Industries]

I finished off a 6 pack of New Glarus Black Wheat yesterday and really enjoyed it.

[logan82]

Oberon Ale is here. I just picked up a 6-pack today. It is going to be a long night at work waiting to try it.

 

Also talked to my beer guy(that's what I call the liquor store owner) and he said that April 24th is the unofficial "kick off date" for New Belgium Brewery in Wisconsin. He also said that might get pushed back, but we should be seeing Fat Tire by May 1st.

[datrain711]

Bell's Hopslam--Crazy Delicious (even more so than Mr. Pibb and Red Vines)

 

With a name like it has, you'd expect the Hops to me overpowering, but the actual complex taste really surprised me. I was going to pick up a 6 pack for opening day but I figured I'd wait for an occasion where I could better enjoy the taste.

 

anyone else have this yet? $16 for a 6 pack is pretty steep, I tried it first at Sugar Maple before I bought a sixer http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

Finally got my hands on Three Floyd's Gumballhead after some recommendations. Very, very good beer. It's a wheat, but not what you'd expect. The hops come through loud and clear, which gives it a great citrus finish. Dangerously drinkable summer beer.

 

Looks like I'll be heading down to Chicago more often to pick some of this up.

[logan82]

Just had a couple Boulevard Unfiltered Wheat beers. Not very good. I should have picked up the Oberon Ale again.

[SeriesFinale]

Lastly, if you live in the Downtown Milwaukee area, Blatz Liquor in the Blatz Condo's is going to begin carrying sixers of Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA which is one of my 5 favorite beers ever.

I don't know if it's Top 5 for me, but it's a favorite, and it tastes esp. great out of the keg if you ever get the chance.

 

Anyone know when New Glarus' new facility opens? I'm gonna be in Ole Sconnie in August and hope to check it out.

[datrain711]

Lastly, if you live in the Downtown Milwaukee area, Blatz Liquor in the Blatz Condo's is going to begin carrying sixers of Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA which is one of my 5 favorite beers ever.

I don't know if it's Top 5 for me, but it's a favorite, and it tastes esp. great out of the keg if you ever get the chance.

 

Anyone know when New Glarus' new facility opens? I'm gonna be in Ole Sconnie in August and hope to check it out.

 

It should be open by early to mid summer. They are already brewing a lot of their beer there. I'll let you know if I get a more exact date, as I try to keep in touch with people around there.

 

There will be a lot of good beers for you to grab when you get there. I got confirmation 2 weeks ago that they are making a series of beer called the R & D series that will only be available at the brewery. I hope they are ready for you when you get there!

[fstorm1]

Well, hopefully I'm not jinxing anything by saying that Spring is finally here, the cold(er) temps are behind us, and it's time to turn my tastes from heavy warming to cool refreshing. I have just about extinguished the last of my "late winter/early spring" supply, and am eager to head out and load up for the next few months. Aside from the delicious Oberon, which is something I very much am looking forward too, any new Spring brews floating around that require my attention?

[logan82]

I have not run across anything interesting myself. I would try the 3 "new to us" beers from New Belgium if you haven't yet. 1554, Fat Tire and Mothership Wit are the 3 rumored to be available now.

[TooLiveBrew]

Aside from the delicious Oberon, which is something I very much am looking forward too, any new Spring brews floating around that require my attention?

 

It's funny... I contemplated editing the thread title today to include some kind of question about any summer brews coming out. What a difference a climate makes (Pac. NW for me). http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

I think we're going to have a lot of great beers to talk about in the coming months.

[fstorm1]

Well, thanks to my nice lady friend being in California the past 3 days, I was able to check out three different locations for brews. She doesn't mind my "hobby", but there's no way I could get her to travel to three different spots with me...much like there's no way I'll travel to three different clothing stores with her (my personal record is 2). Anyhoo, ended up with several very good brews, including Pyramid's Curve Ball Blonde Ale, Flying Dog's Garde Dog, and , yes , the much ballyhooed Mothership Wit from New Belgium. I was very happy that all three were winners, with the Garde Dog being the best of the lot. The Curve Ball is by far the best Kolsch I've had to date, granted a small sample size (all of 4), but my previous experiences with the style were so poor that I shied away from them. I'll have to go back to them when I see them now. The Mothership was very good, I was astonished by it's smoothness, despite the higher carbonation. I had a difficult time digging past the citrus/tartness...would like to see that mellowed a bit. But it is by far the best "organic", and one of the best wit's, I've ever had. But the real prize was the Garde Dog. To my knowledge and memory (both of which can be described as "hit and miss"), I've never had any of this style, but I'm very impressed with it. Reminded me of how I felt when I had my first Tripel...excited to find more.

 

Also from the sixer are Sam Adams' Blackberry Witbier (uh oh, none too confident in this one), Pyramid's Rollick Amber Lager, and Point's Burly Brown. Also stocked up with a 12er of Honey Moon, which, in my opinion, is a very good, yet economical warm weather brew.

 

FYI-I will admit that although I was looking to stock on beer period, I was specifically looking for the New Belgium stuff. Sunday, not to be found at one Festival location in Appleton. Today, I found it at Flanagan's Stop & Shop in Appleton for $3.29 (22oz), then found it at Festival (a different one) for $3.49, on sale from $4.49. The three style I found were the Mothership, Fat Tire and the 1554 Enlightened Black. I'm a bit surprised that, given the popularity of pale ale's, that those are the three available here. Am I right in that thinking? Opinions? I've seen the comments about the Fat Tire, but what about the 1554? Yes, no, maybe so?

 

Thank you warm weather. I should be thanking a god of some sort here...Ra, or Apollo or something. Maybe Mother Nature. Better yet, how about Ceres, the goddess of the harvest, for making such lovely, uh, stuff. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[fstorm1]

Update of sorts, for whatever it's worth: the Blackberry Wit from Sam Adams wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be, given their horrendous failures in previous fruit offerings, like their Cherry Wheat and Cranberry Lambic. Seems to be just the right amount of berry, but the choice of blackberry as the fruit is odd, given that, to me at least, blackberries aren't especially sweet, just, well, berry-like. Combine that with wit's inherent sourness, and it makes for a decent if uninspiring choice.

 

Pyramid's Rollick Amber was a good albeit confusing surprise. Now, before trying, I did not go to the BA page for this brew, and, reading the label, figured it to be (as written on bottle) a "spring seasonal", and, obviously, an amber lager. It struck me as a bit familiar, but not from a "spring" nor "amber" that I've had, with the sweetness a tad stronger than expected, and the hops/lager bite toned down. Checking the BA page now, I see that it's listed as a Marzen/Oktoberfest, and is only available in the Winter. The Pyramid website lists it as being available Feb-Apr...which, technically, is still Winter in Wisconsin. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

 

Dunno, but every other Oktober I've had that wasn't year round was available only in the Fall and into Winter. It does have the malty caramel I'd expect from an Oktober, but it's not quite enough there to really make it an Oktober in my book. Not sure what they were aiming for with this, as other than a nice warm weather crispness, I think it would work much better in the Fall. May have to try another, see what shakes out.

 

And your useless info (as if all of this isn't already useless): every time I tried to type "berry" my fingers would involuntarily type "beery".

[Marc Newfield of Dreams]

The new ones I've had recently are the New Belgium brews. Love the Fat Tire, but I think that's to them what Spotted Cow is to New Glarus. It's what they're known for, but not their best beer. I really liked the Mothership Wit, that could be a summer staple for me. Light, very carbonated, but a great, balanced flavor. It avoids stepping into the "orange juice and beer" trap that some other Belgian Wheats fall into. My favorite was the 1554 by a long shot. Great Belgian dark ale, very full-flavored yet smooth. I hope to see them roll out a couple "new" ones in WI soon.

 

Oh, and I'm currently enjoying my first Dancing Man Wheat of the season. Oh so delicious. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[datrain711]

NG dancing man is out as is their new imperial saison. I can't wait to try this as Hennepin is one of my favorites (as i've said before in this thread http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[TooLiveBrew]

The new ones I've had recently are the New Belgium brews. Love the Fat Tire, but I think that's to them what Spotted Cow is to New Glarus. It's what they're known for, but not their best beer.

 

That's about as right-on as it could be stated, MNoD. This is exactly how I feel about New Belgium & their Fat Tire. It's one you can rely on as a fall-back option if you hit the beer aisle & your mind goes blank, but never one of my absolute favorites.

[logan82]

Wife came home without Dancing Man Wheat yet again. Here I am with half a month gone in the 3 month window without my beer. Very disappointed.

[TooLiveBrew]

DFA Mrs. Logan

[fstorm1]

DFA Mrs. Logan

Classic. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif

 

I traveled over to one of the Festival's in the area today, and there was nary a sign of DaMan to be found. I will add that the stuff I still have left over from last year (about 5 bottles to go) is actually very nearly as good as the "fresh" stuff (at least that I remember). The only diff thus far is a slight raise in carbonation. When the time comes that it's available, and we get close to the end of it's 3 month run, I say stock up. May seem weird drinking a beer that's past say 4-5 months, but really, even if my taste buds are off from not having "fresh" for 9 months, it's still better than any other wheat around.

 

I was (again) a bit disheartened by the poor selection in the build area at Festival. I'd hate for my "new beer tasting" to be relegated to $14 six packs at Flanagan's Liquor. I did however snag single bottles of the 1554 and Fat Tire.

 

Well I had to grab something.

[TooLiveBrew]

Picked up the Kona Brewery Wailua Wheat (passionfruit wheat beer). It's still really good.

 

And I still don't really like wheat beers. And I still really hate fruit-wheats. Honestly.

[logan82]

DFA Mrs. Logan

That wouldn't get me to far. She is like a player/owner and I am the GM. Think of it like I am Brian Cashman and she is the Stienbrenners if they played on the team. When things are going well I am allowed to think I am in charge and can do a lot of whatever I want. When things are not going well, we find out who really is in charge.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Picked up the Kona Brewery Wailua Wheat (passionfruit wheat beer). It's still really good.

 

And I still don't really like wheat beers. And I still really hate fruit-wheats. Honestly.

You should just really get a job as a Kona spokesperson and delivery dude. You could tour Fred Meyer's all over the west coast.

[HonoluluBrew]

Anyone ever tried beer from Central Waters Brewery in Amherst, WI? The stuff is fantastic...everything I've tried has been really complex and interesting. Notables include the Bourbon Barrel Cherry Stout, Mudpuppy Porter, and the Ouishconsing Red. I HIGHLY recommend getting some if you are in the Waupaca/Iola/Amherst area.