Booze The recommend-a-beer thread

  • Thread starter Thread starter Obediah
  • Start date Start date
Yeah, JO and Class V (my favorite of the two) are outstanding brews. I haven't had the chance to try Citra but word around the campfire is that it's actually better than Pliny. Was hoping a friend could hook me up with a growler of their pumpkin seasonal but that never happened. I need to stop by there next time I'm in Isabella.

the Pumpkin Ale was available in bottles at EJ Malloy's on Broadway in LBC for Halloween last year. it was pretty tasty, better than most pumpkin ales from other brewers. I think the Dogfish one is better but I was not fortunate enough to be able to grab a pack last year.
 
UnholyGoalie said:
I haven't had the chance to try Citra but word around the campfire is that it's actually better than Pliny.

Definitely better than Pliny. The plinys are nice, but I find them overrated. There are better IPAs out there!
 
Flying Dog Imperial Coffee Stout kicks the living **** out of all coffee stouts (and porters), but I still prefer that elusive Kona Pipeline Porter.
 
Definitely better than Pliny. The plinys are nice, but I find them overrated. There are better IPAs out there!

Ahem, Pliny is not overrated by any measure. It is one of the world's best Imperial IPAs, period. To say otherwise is just being silly Az. I agree there are other great IPA's out there, but Pliny is deserving of it's reputation as one of the definitive IPA's out there.

That being said, and in the IPA vein, I got to have a pint of the SN Hoptimum Imperial IPA last night on tap at Pour House. Wowza. Huge hop nose - citrus and pine and sweet malt. It sort of reminded me of the Bigfoot but not as malty, more hoppy. It was crazy good. It's thick and chewy and sort of hot as well. It's definitely not for the faint of heart at 10.4%. It took about 45 minutes to finish, not b/c I didn't like it - it's just a complete sipping beer. Not something to just drain the glass and move on but something to be savored and enjoyed to the fullest.

And you'd think that after that one pint I'd had enough but Pour House also has the Drake's Hopocalypse Imperial IPA on tap as well so I had a tulip glass of that. This one was just down the scale from the Hoptimum - resiny nose, some malty sweetness present there. And a nice, clean, grapefruit and malt taste. Very, very good Imperial IPA. I could drink a lot of this as well - only it clocks in at 9.25%.

Those 2 were plenty for the afternoon/early evening. I slept like a baby last night btw! I highly recommend both if you can find them
 
just stopped by the local beer market here today. got not only FW's Reserve and Lagunitas Cappucino Stout, but grabbed one of the last Delirum Noels.

someone must have overheard me say something the other day because all of KRBC's Just Outstanding IPAs are gone. bastard.

sadly, SN Hoptimum hasn't arrived here yet.
 
Drinking a SN Hoptimum right now. Good stuff. There were only 5 bottles left at BevMo when I picked it up. Love the taste of the whole hop cone.
 
Sipping on a krug of Ladyface Russian Lullaby. Much creamier mouthfeel than I would have assumed off the pour. Good stuff. Not picking up too much chocolate, mainly coffee/espresso and roasted malts on the front with some hoppiness at the finish to balance it out. Doesn't have the depth that some other imperial stouts have, but it's good stuff. Glad I picked up this growler.

Stopped off yesterday to the brewery and tried some of their stuff. Had a pint of their cabernet BA wiezenbock which was pretty tasty (definitely picked up the winey essence). My buddy got a pint of their 1st anni (Quad) which was quite nice. Reminded me of La Fin Du Monde with a darker color and more malt backbone. He also had his fav their which is their tripel, which reminds me even more of LFDM. Had a taster of their skunkwerks Picture City Porter with maple syrup and blueberries on cask. Interesting stuff. I'll try a pint of it next time (if they still have it) but I don't know how much more than a pint I could drink.
 
Had Firestone's Double Jack over the weekend. Very good, definitely boozy (9.5%) for a Double IPA. The booze somewhat overpowered the hop strength, but was still a nice beer. $7.99 ain't bad either for a 22 oz of it.

North Coast's Old Stock Cellar Reserve 2009 was another one I recently had, and is undoubtedly a contender for one of my favorite barrel aged brews. It's an "old ale", just shy of 14% abv but sipped like a nice caramely-like barleywine. Everything was nice, except for the price tag - $23.99/just over a pint. Ouch.
 
Had Firestone's Double Jack over the weekend. Very good, definitely boozy (9.5%) for a Double IPA. The booze somewhat overpowered the hop strength, but was still a nice beer. $7.99 ain't bad either for a 22 oz of it.

North Coast's Old Stock Cellar Reserve 2009 was another one I recently had, and is undoubtedly a contender for one of my favorite barrel aged brews. It's an "old ale", just shy of 14% abv but sipped like a nice caramely-like barleywine. Everything was nice, except for the price tag - $23.99/just over a pint. Ouch.

ouch is right. damn breweries charging a bit too much for some quality beers. (think Bruery and especially Firestone's 14th)

how is the Double Jack compared to the Union Jack?

btw, I had some Kona Pipeline Porter but came away disappointed with it. as compared to the past releases (a couple of years back), this year's has been way overpowering on coffee alone.
 
ouch is right. damn breweries charging a bit too much for some quality beers. (think Bruery and especially Firestone's 14th)

how is the Double Jack compared to the Union Jack?

btw, I had some Kona Pipeline Porter but came away disappointed with it. as compared to the past releases (a couple of years back), this year's has been way overpowering on coffee alone.

I hear ya on the Firestone 14. Nice beer and all, but looking back I shouldn't have paid close to $100 for 4 bottles, just not worth it for that one. You can expect anything barrel aged these days to be a bargain at $20, and lots of Bruery beers that are barrel aged or some type of special release are usually close to that. If I really like it, I don't mind spending that much, considering their bottles are 750ml compared to the $23.99 Old Stock for 16oz.

I prefer the Union Jack, because the hop flavor and bitterness is a slight notch above being balanced with the malt, leaving that crispness which makes you want another sip, or pint, hehe. The Double Jack is great, but the booze overpowers the hop bitterness/flavors. I'd take a 6 pack of Union Jack for 10 bucks which I can make a night out of, as opposed to 8 bucks for a 22 oz of Double Jack, and already being a 9.5% 22 oz bottle into the night (roughly 3 1/2 5%ABV 12 oz beers) in about 20 minutes. You have to put down the Double Jack quick anyways, since it gets warm from the booze very quick. It doesn't improve as it gets closer to room temperature, like a stout would.

I still say give it a shot. The price isn't bad for a double IPA.
 
I have been down on all the Sam Adams stuff lately.

Particularly

Irish Red
Blackberry Witbier

and my fav

Chocolate Bock


also if you want some good Belgian Ale get a bottle of Kwak from bevmo. Good ****.
 
Speaking of Sam Adams and their consistent trend of releasing a nice beer one year, followed by a horrendous version the year after:

Noble Pils

I loved last year's, but this year's SUCKED.

anyways, the blackberry wit is a nice one. I will always have a soft spot for the traditional Boston Lager. Can put those down all day long.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Pardon me if I am retreading old news...has anyone tried

twang.jpg


???


And I got to taste BARE KNUCKLE STOUT at Sea World when they still had their, what I have been told is now defunct, beer tasting bar...I was wondering, does anyone know if Anheuser Busch still makes this tremendous beer? And if so...is there anyway to buy it anywhere????
 
Ralph's is having a sale on Firestone beers. $6.99 for 6-packs. I found a case of Velvet Merlin which is surprising because you could only find it at specialty liquor stores.
 
I have been down on all the Sam Adams stuff lately.

Particularly

Irish Red
Blackberry Witbier

and my fav

Chocolate Bock


also if you want some good Belgian Ale get a bottle of Kwak from bevmo. Good ****.

I had a chance to try some of SA's releases. Irish Red, Scotch Ale, (something) Rye Ale. I prefer the latter two over the Red.
 
Back
Top