The Beer Thread

[Josey Wales]

I thought about not sharing this as my chances of scoring some increases the less people know but wth, for the beer lovers at muscoop why not.

March 13 is the release date of Founders KBS this year. I have a friend that lives near Founders and is picking up 2 cases tomorrow. It won't hit the shelves here until Monday or later but get it quick cuz it won't last long if last year is any example.

Is that the one brewed in maple barrels? I love the breakfast stout and this one sounds amazing.

[MU B2002]

bourbon barrels.  I havent had it yet either only the BS but am quite anxious.

[Chili]

Is that the one brewed in maple barrels? I love the breakfast stout and this one sounds amazing.

Maple barrels is the Canadian Breakfast Stout which I believe is only available on draft at the brewery.

[MU B2002]

and sounds amazing.

[Spotcheck Billy]

from a friend that went to Founders Brewery on Saturday to pick up 2 cases of KBS:

Got to Founders at 9:30 am and was 79th in line. People started lining up at 6 am. By the time the doors opened at 11 am, there were about 100-150 people behind me. They doubled the amount of cases from last year so there were about 280 cases. Got mine just before noon and sat down for lunch and a beer or four. Had people from all over the midwest that drove up to the brewery. Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and more I'm sure. They were serving 2009 and 2010 KBS on regular draft and nitro. Since I had 2 cases of KBS, I opted for the Canadian Breakfast Stout (maple and bourbon aged), The Chronic (a double dry hopped pale ale), Hand of Doom (DIPA aged in bourbon barrels) and finished off with a Spite Pepper Ale (very hot and spicy!). The line was still out the door when they sold out. A 40 foot wide, 6 foot high wall of KBS annihilated in under 2 hours. Over $30,000. WOW! When I left around 2, there were still hoardes of people still there eating and drinking with there stacks of KBS cases. Place was a mad house. But what fun it was.

[Spotcheck Billy]

picked up 12 bottles of Founders KBS and 2 bottles of Founders Nemesis yesterday at Discount

the Nemesis was OK but I wouldn't buy it again ($6/bottle)

[Chili]

picked up 12 bottles of Founders KBS and 2 bottles of Founders Nemesis yesterday at Discount

the Nemesis was OK but I wouldn't buy it again ($6/bottle)

I still don't get why they ruin all that great Breakfast Stout by sticking it in Bourbon barrels. And the weird thing is, I am a HUGE whiskey fan (including bourbon) and love it neat - but not with my beer

[SaintPaulWarrior]

Anybody who is in St. Paul this weekend should check out the cask conditioned Firkin Fest.

http://thehappygnome.com/2010/01/catherines-birthday/

Breweries currently preparing firkins for the event:

Avery Maharaja Imperial IPA
Avery Überschwein Barley Wine
Bell's Expedition Stout
Bell's Hop Slam Imperial IPA
Big Sky Stone Thrower Scotch Ale
Boulder Beer Flashback India Brown Ale
Boulder Beer Mojo Risin' Double IPA
Brau Brothers Double Dry Hopped Sheephead Ale
Brau Brothers Elisha's Old Ale
Breckenridge Lucky U IPA
Crispin Clyde: the Original
Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA
Dark Horse Plead the 5th Russian Imperial Stout
Flat Earth Big Money: Oak Aged Cygnus Porter
Flat Earth Double Dry Hopped Angry Planet
Flat Earth Northwest Passage IPA
Flying Dog Doggy Style Pale Ale
Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter
Founder's Double Dry Hopped Red's Rye P.A.
Fox Barrel Cidery Bonnie: Spicy Ginger & Black Currant.
Fulton Sweet Child of Vine IPA
Fulton War and Peace Russian Imperial Stout with Peace Coffee
Fulton Worthy Adversary Imperial Stout
Furthermore Knot Stock Black Pepper Pale Ale
Goose Island Citra Hop IPA
Goose Island Nightstalker Imperial Stout
Grand Tetons Lost Continent Double IPA
Great Divide Hercules Double IPA
Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti Stout Infused with Espresso
Harviestoun Ola Dubh 18 yr
Harviestoun Ola Dubh 30 yr
Lagunitas New Dogtown Pale Ale
Lake Superior Minnesota Special
Lake Superior Sir Duluth Cocoa Oatmeal Stout
Lake Superior Strong, Dark, and Handsome
Left Hand 400 Pound Monkey IPA
Lift Bridge Chestnut Hill: "A La Nutsack"
Lift Bridge Crosscut Pale Ale: "Ol' Pine Box"
Lift Bridge Farm Girl Saison: "Honey Ginger Girl"
New Belgium "Shadow of the Foerder" blend of 1554 and La Folie
New Holland Pilgrim's Dole
Rogue Amarillo Dry Hopped American Amber Ale
Rogue Chocolate Stout
Rogue Shakespeare Stout
Rush River Bubblejack IPA
Rush River Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
Rush River Winter Warmer
Schell's Hopfenmalz Kellerbier
Schell's Oak Aged Stout
Southern Tier Unearthly IPA
Sprecher Abbey Tripel Witbier with coriander and orange peel
Summit EPA dry hopped with Chinook
Summit Oatmeal Stout with East Kent Goldings
Summit Winter dry hopped with Ahtanum
Surly Cynic: Oak Aged, Dry Hopped
Surly 2010 Darkness: Oak Aged, Dry Hopped
Surly Mild
Surly Tea-bagged Furious
Two Brothers Bare Tree Weiss Wine
Two Brothers Cane and Ebel
Tyranena Benji's Smoked Imperial Chipotle Porter
Victory Hop Wallop
Victory Storm King Imperial Stout

[Spotcheck Billy]

I tried a 3 Floyds Behemoth last night. I really liked it except for the $14/bottle price.

[paddyquakes]

I'm new to this beer taste testing thing.  Don't you simply enter a pub, start on the left and work your way across the tappers?  Just asking  hic !   

[Josey Wales]

I tried a 3 Floyds Behemoth last night. I really liked it except for the $14/bottle price.

Have you had the Central Waters Y2K barleywine? If so, how would you say they compare?

[Spotcheck Billy]

Have you had the Central Waters Y2K barleywine? If so, how would you say they compare?

I haven't tried that one

[reinko]

I am going to this event this weekend.  Jealous?  You should be.

http://nerax.org/nerax/

   
NERAX is organized by CASC, the Cask-Conditioned Ale Support Campaign. CASC is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to boosting awareness of and demand for Real Ale in New England.

The New England Real Ale Exhibition, benefiting the VFW, is held each spring at the George Dilboy Post, Davis Square, Somerville, MA.

NERAX 2010 is our 14th Festival. As in 2009, we plan on offering over 80 firkins of Real Ale. Half U.K. beers from England, Scotland, and Wales; and half American beers from New England. All the beers are cask-conditioned, served by gravity or hand-pump.

Link to all the American Casks:  http://nerax.org/nerax/cgi-bin/american.asp

And the UK ones: http://nerax.org/nerax/cgi-bin/british.asp

And the German Ones: http://nerax.org/nerax/cgi-bin/german.asp

[Josey Wales]

I am very jealous.

[damuts222]

 Went to a place called the Beer Bistro in Chicago this weekend, tried many beers but I had a Goose Island Country Bourbon Stout that is aged in bourbon barrels. It was 13% alcohol and was a sipping beer, good and actually reasonable. Reasonable meaning you get fairly drunk off of it for the price. I think it was $9, I recommend the Beer Bistro to anyone in the Chicago area they have a rotating list of approximatly 100-120 beers.

World Beer Cup Recognition:
Judging Category: Barrel Aged Beer
2006: Gold Medal

[MUfan12]

Had a couple bottles of the KBS... I think it was more bourbony than I remembered last year, but still damn tasty. Love how the aging brings out the vanilla notes along with chocolate and coffee. Delicious.

Had a few first-timers this weekend:

Tyranena Smoked Imperial Porter w/Chipotle Pepper- Went the single bottle route since the chipotle was a bit unsettling. But I had to try it. And I am so glad I did. Really delicious porter. Smokiness was subtle, sweet chocolate notes, incredibly smooth texture, and just a hint of spice at the finish. Incredibly balanced for the complexity. One of those beers that is a work of art.

Furthermore Makeweight- Described as "a mashup of English, American, and Beligian Pale Ales" and that was about right. Didn't particularly care for it, the styles didn't particularly play well, IMO. Not very drinkable, and had a funky finish. Love their creativity, but this one was a swing and a miss I think.

New Glarus Cherry Stout- Had high hopes for this beer, and was a bit disappointed. The cherry was there, pretty sweet with some oaky tones to it. But it really lacked in the stout characteristics, almost nothing there. You could put down a few of these, but ultimately it was too sweet for me.

[Josey Wales]

New Glarus Cherry Stout- Had high hopes for this beer, and was a bit disappointed. The cherry was there, pretty sweet with some oaky tones to it. But it really lacked in the stout characteristics, almost nothing there. You could put down a few of these, but ultimately it was too sweet for me.

I agree, this was all cherry - no stout. Way too sweet for my tastes. I have very high hopes for the Alt. and Apple Ale that they are releasing later this year though. Also, the road slush porter was a very good oatmeal stout imo.

[Spotcheck Billy]

I also have tried a NG Cherry stout and thought it was too sweet. I make my own cherry stout every winter using 5 lbs. of Door County unsweetened cherries and am used to a much more subtle cherry flavor.

Stopped in the Sugar Maple last night and they currently have KBS and Dog Fish Head Burton Baton on tap. The DFH is an oak aged IIPA.

[MUFC9295]

Beer Fest in the Chicago burbs... great chance to taste a number of varieties from brewers near and some far.

http://www.durtynellies.com/beerfest.asp

[Henry Sugar]

Dark Horse Brewery

Their Scotty Karate scotch ale is better than Robert The Bruce (and I really like Robert the Bruce)

Their Crooked Tree IPA has a bunch of flavor

Every winter they release five different stouts.  I don't know all of them, but there is at least a Cream, and Imperial, a Smoked, and a Blueberry Stout.  The Blueberry Stout is not a fruity beer at all, and the Cream Stout is really smooth.

I'll keep checking out their beers based on this.  Also, they don't like Nickelback.

http://www.fermentationnation.com/2010/03/dark-horse-brewing-courted-by-canadian.html

[MU B2002]

had my first KBS, was fantastic.  Was a little irritated that the store i purchased from only allowed 2 bottles per person.

[Josey Wales]

I visited the New Glarus brewery this morning. It is an amazing facility and a really cool location up in the hills of New Glarus. You drive up a long dirt road, and the brewery has a pretty good view of the city. They have a free "self guided" tour, which basically allows you to walk around the brewery and look at everything. Also, for $3.50 you get three fills of beer, and you get to keep the glass. All of the employees were very nice and quick to answer questions. I recommend stopping by if you're in the area. Its amazing how you can detect the unique smells of  different NG beers as you move throughout the brewery.

On-tap they had Belgian Red, Road Slush, Golden Ale, Moon Man, Spotted Cow, and Two Women.

Two Women is a Bohemian Lager, and it is only available at the brewery. Basically, Dan said that he brewed it for him to drink because it is his favorite style, it just became available last week. I had it on tap and it was amazing, very creamy and smooth, easily the best lager I've ever had. He said that he used "a small run of a straight up Czech Style Pilsner made with Bohemian Floor Malt + 100% Hallertau Mittlefrueh Hops". This doesn't mean very much to me, but it might to someone who knows more about brewing.  I bought a couple bottles to take home as well ($5 per 16 ounce bottle). "Two Women Lager will be sold in the 500 ml German Euro Bottle same as the R&D simply because that's the traditional way in German". The bottles have cool hand-written labels.

Btw those quotes are all straight from Dan

Edit: forgot to mention that they have a beer cellar type of thing with just about every NG beer you could want, including 4-5 of the unplugged series.

[Spotcheck Billy]

had my first KBS, was fantastic.  Was a little irritated that the store i purchased from only allowed 2 bottles per person.

that does suck but when there are probably less than a dozen cases available for the entire state of WI what can you expect?

when it first went on sale, Discount allowed a 4 pack/person limit - it's now down to a single bottle limit but they still had some last week

also, it helps to develope a relationship with the 'beer guy/girl' at a good liquor store and you might be able to score 3 or 4 four packs, don't ask me how I know if this really happens 

[MUfan12]

Enjoying a few New Glarus Moon Man's while I watch The Masters. Damn good beer from them. Pours a hazy gold color, due to the bottle fermentation. Heavy hop aroma, but an easy drinking pale ale. Hop bitterness comes through a bit at the finish, but the main characteristics are citrus and malty notes. Lighter than an IPA, but really tasty.

This will be a perfect summer session beer. Clean, refreshing, and very drinkable. NG did good work with this one.

[Josey Wales]

I visited the New Glarus brewery this morning. It is an amazing facility and a really cool location up in the hills of New Glarus. You drive up a long dirt road, and the brewery has a pretty good view of the city. They have a free "self guided" tour, which basically allows you to walk around the brewery and look at everything. Also, for $3.50 you get three fills of beer, and you get to keep the glass. All of the employees were very nice and quick to answer questions. I recommend stopping by if you're in the area. Its amazing how you can detect the unique smells of  different NG beers as you move throughout the brewery.

On-tap they had Belgian Red, Road Slush, Golden Ale, Moon Man, Spotted Cow, and Two Women.

Two Women is a Bohemian Lager, and it is only available at the brewery. Basically, Dan said that he brewed it for him to drink because it is his favorite style, it just became available last week. I had it on tap and it was amazing, very creamy and smooth, easily the best lager I've ever had. He said that he used "a small run of a straight up Czech Style Pilsner made with Bohemian Floor Malt + 100% Hallertau Mittlefrueh Hops". This doesn't mean very much to me, but it might to someone who knows more about brewing.  I bought a couple bottles to take home as well ($5 per 16 ounce bottle). "Two Women Lager will be sold in the 500 ml German Euro Bottle same as the R&D simply because that's the traditional way in German". The bottles have cool hand-written labels.

Btw those quotes are all straight from Dan

Edit: forgot to mention that they have a beer cellar type of thing with just about every NG beer you could want, including 4-5 of the unplugged series.

I have to give a disclaimer. Two women is not nearly as good out of the bottle as it was on tap. With that said... DAMN moon man is good!