I've bought Hopslam in Pennsylvania before, and it's easy to find in Michigan (or, at least, it was...). Tasty beer without a doubt.

After a long day a work and you're going to sip your first beer? Go fucking swig.

More beer!



-Voll-Damm Doble Malta:
http://www.volldamm.es/el_sabor.html#premios





http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voll-Damm_Doble_Malta

Hopslam is hitting shelves where I live (northeast Ohio) next week, which is when I imagine most of their immediate distro will have it as well.

Scored some Troegs Nugget Nectar today, which is now being sold in 4-packs of 16 oz. cans alongside the usual 12 oz. bottle 6-packs, a 4-pack of Boulder's Mojo Risin, and 2 sixers of Ballast Point's Grapefruit Sculpin.

Nugget Nectar rules so hard. I think of it as the East Coast Pliny the Elder. Juicy, huge hops, but incredibly well-balanced stuff and woefully underappreciated if you ask me.

I'll have to be on the lookout for that. Don't think I see much Troegs in my hood but might be able to dig some up.

Just opened the Unibroue 17 Grande Reserve. It's quite good, though not as decadent as I was hoping for. Dark, malty goodness, if a little lighter than I expected. Nose and palate are suprisingly subdued here. Sweet, bready aromas, some baked apple, maybe some port, something subtle like...amaranth? Sort of biscuity/cookie-ish. Some gentle spices lurking. Finish rounds things out with a nice alcohol bite. I think I'll let this warm in the glass some and see how it changes. So far I'm definitely more fond of La Terrible, with its heavier winey profile, but this is great as well. A really lovely dark ale.

http://www.bocq.be/english/ownbrands/saison_1858.php

My 1th saison beer , my 1th whit sparkling wine cork
Beer was infiltrated
Great, 0.8 bottle, great head, as Belgium vit biers has , smell, everything, rich taste, but its dry somehow it goes to cider, sparkling wine category as well even its 100% beer, but you can have those 2 drinks character was well, and I think sparkling wine is overrated , don't get why ppl drink it cold, t has no taste, warm is better and brut sucks ehhh .. beer is much batter
Great beer, but if we talk about vit biers or hefe weizen I choose German wheat Belg is OK, but I prefer GEr

Just finished a Sixpoint Hi-Res. For a triple (?) IPA this is surprisingly smooth and I don't get nearly as much hop aroma as I would expect. It's a good and tasty beer, but there are plenty of other IPAs I'd choose over this. Flavors are kinda constrained, nose is lacking. Sixpoint's Resin is better than this, much clearer flavors and a more distinct profile.

With all I've heard I was expecting the Hopslam to be quite a bit hoppier than it ended up...though I've heard from a few long-time drinkers that this year's batch is less hoppy and more honey-flavored. Still quite good though.

Hopslam is definitely not as hoppy (and nowhere near as bitter) as most other IPA's of comparable strength. It's around 70 IBU I think? For comparison, Sierra Nevada Hoptimum has almost the same alcohol content but an IBU of around 100. Plenty of IPA's lower than 10% have between 90 and 100 IBU, some even higher.

Yeah, I guess the hop-bombiness of all the Liberator I just finished left the expectation in my mouth. Going to look for something else along those lines tonight; I've got some friends in town and wouldn't mind trying to hunt down some Zombie Dust for tonight's festivities.

Any home brewers here? I'm gonna go buy a couple of things to complete my brewing kit so I can finally be able to start my "career" in craft beer very soon.

Enjoying a nice Lagunitas Night Time Ale right now. This is really good stuff. Kinda like a black IPA. Dark porter-style ale but with a very significant blend of hops in the mix, and the definition of the palate is good so it gives it a nice contrasting effect. The typical coffee notes don't show up a whole lot until the finish, making a nice transition from hoppy to a nicely bodied roasty/java. Nice dark maltiness going on as well. Great beer!

I would argue that a lot of beers don't actually have that level of bitterness, especially talking about ones that claim bitterness levels of 150 and up. Most of the time breweries give the calculated bitterness, and there are so many factors that would bring bitterness below the calculated level- nuances of calculation tool (rager, tinseth etc), utilisation rates, hop age, method of processing, loss of acids due to sticking to yeast cell walls, and limits of acid solubility. Always take published IBU levels with a grain of salt, especially when it's used as a selling point.

I always end up talking about the same brands, but these were the two beers I had the last week. Yup, European, as most of the North American beer that reaches Spain is quite expensive.



This one is from the probably most respected brewery in here. Their beers are amazingly good, so if anyone comes to Spain I'd recommend to look after some bottles of this brand.



A nice stational brew by a fantastic brewery, Schlenkerla from Bamberg.

Those of you in Wisconsin/Illinois need to try The Devil Made Me Do It by Tyranena Brewing. Amazingly delicious Imperial Coffee Oatmeal Porter - may have unseated Founders as my favorite porter.

Bought this tonight:


Also not beer related but it's cool and it has to do with alcohol so yeah. Won this in a Superbowl raffle:

This one is new around. Germânia 55, best Pilsner I've ever had.

I'm interested in this. Details, please!


Naparbier is expensive, yes, and I didn't know about Schlenkerla, thanks.

I've always found Nomada a tad above Naparbier and the new Edge Brewing have made some astounding brews though they're American guys living in Spain if I've gathered correctly. BIIR make some pretty tasty ones as well, but I'm not sure if they're actually brewed in Spain, but rather as client brews in Belgium. As for Schlenkerla, Eiche is pretty good, but I've always found Urbock and Märzen somewhat above it, in bottle. Straight from the tap at the brewery, the latter two are just the best smoked stuff you can ever have.

Dood... Ballast Point's Victory at Sea is a fucking excellent beer. That's all I've got for right now.

I like Nomada too, but fantastic brews from Naparbier as their Pils, their Avantgarde Series, ZZ Amber Ale, Undead Imperial IPA, Black Rock or their collaborations with Lervig and Alvinne makes me prefer this last brewery. Also Naparbier bottles are cheaper.

From Schlenkerla, the only one that doesn't seem so good to me is their Weizen. The rest are amazing.

I brew. Are you starting with extract, or going straight to all grain?

I'm going straight to all grain. One of my friend has been brewing for 2 years now and his beers are quite phenomenal and he'll help with with my first batch. The whole brewing process isn't alien to me anyway since I already helped friends brewing a couple of times.

I'm starting small, 5 gallons batches, since I live in an appartment building but I plan on expanding once I buy a house.

It's been awhile since I have last left a post, however, for those who have not tried the following beers, I highly recommend seeking them out and trying them for yourself:

1. Clown Shoe's (Massachusetts) Ohio Unidragon: I highly recommend seeking this particular beer out, as it's an enjoyable and slightly smooth Russian Imperial Stout. This beer presents subtle hints of vanilla, coffee, as well as a slight bourbon undertone, which leads to a smooth finish to a fantastic beer.

2. Bell's Brewery Inc. (Michigan) Hopslam Ale: I understand that this is a sought-after India Pale Ale (IPA), and while I was lucky enough to secure a six-pack earlier today, my initial impressions of this beer are fairly positive. There is a slight honey undertone to the overwhelming "hoppiness" to the beer. However, I would dare to say that this particular beer from Bell's Brewery Inc. is not one worth paying an arm and a leg for, as the price for a pack of six is approximately $17.99 (USD).

Otherwise, I hope that everyone is enjoying the North American Russian Imperial Stout sales that are going on, as Spring begins to roll afoot.

Well, always remember that the cold side determines whether the beer is any good or not- sanitation and temperature control is far more important than whether your strike temperature is spot on or whether you hit your target OG. That said, have fun! It's a rewarding hobby.

$17.99 is a good price for Hopslam. Places around me are selling it for closer to $25 for a six pack so I opted to skip it.

That's insane, it was only $19 when I bought it at the Elmwood Park Binny's last week.

I'm planning on starting all grain too:
http://viviendoapesardelacrisis.blogspot.com.es/2013/05/el-do-it-yourself-de-la-cerveza-mejor.html

I took this one today to give another chance to IPAs:



http://dougalls.es/producto/942-ipa/

I never saw it my Binny's. It was little mom and pop places that all seem to be asking $22-$25 for a six pack. I think that after I paid $20 for a bottle of Behemoth that I'm just out for paying so much for beer right now. It's hurting my wallet. There are some places near me that have Hopslam on tap and I'm just gonna hit one of them up.

Yeah, I passed on Behemoth in favor of Hopslam, though I later got to try a bourbon-barrel barleywine by Cahoots courtesy of my friend's gf. Very unusual flavor, almost kind of tangy and sour. Can't say I was expecting that as the Goose Island BB Barleywine I tried was very sweet and figgy.

I've been brewing on and off for four years, it's damn great fun. Only done extract though, everyone I've talked to said all grain is definitely more rewarding and customizable, but when you're a beginner it's only going to make the process more difficult and expensive.

Some things I've learned: Always use a gas stove if you can, avoid glass carboys, a fast cooldown is extremely important, and there's no reason to not use a blowoff tube. And one surprise I came across is in most cases your yeast choice is the #1 dictator of flavor, unless you're going for something with a ton of hops.

My 0.02:
I do all grain brewing on occasion. Best heat source is a propane burner; get out of the kitchen if you can. Plus brewing outside you can make a mess and no one cares.
Nothing wrong with glass carboys; never used anything else and never broken one or had other issues.
Blowoff tube is only necessary if your carboy is too small; get the 6.5 gallon ones and you'll have plenty of space for the krausen in all but the most vigorous fermentations. If you're paranoid about the headspace affecting the beer (I'm not) then just use a smaller ~5 gallon one for secondary. I put vodka in my airlock instead of water for sanitary reasons, but it maybe overkill.
Yes, a fast cooldown is important. In my experience a counter-flow chiller works WAY better than an immersion chiller. Near-boiling wort goes in, room temp wort comes out.
Yeast does have a substantial affect on flavor, but it largely depends on style. In Belgian beers or hefeweizens the yeast notes will be way more prominent than in say an IPA or stout. For example I don't notice a prominent yeast profile in most of my beers, though most are either of the very dark (porter/stout) or experimental variety. You need to control temp to get the best results out of your yeast, and of course, use a starter for all but the weaker brews.

I guess I should have mentioned my thoughts are from someone who brews in a small apartment without access to a driveway and very little space. I've never broken a carboy either, but just the possibility scares me enough to avoid glass completely.

Stuff I got yesterday;



Anchor Brewing Co. Liberty ale, Bridgeport Brewing Kingpin double red ale, The Little Brewing Company breaking the cardinal rule tripel IPA, Bridge Road Brewers galaxy IPA and not pictured (cause I drank it), a Deschutes Brewing freshly squeezed IPA.

I've only had the tripel IPA before, and it's a good one.

Jesus hell, all the hype about Hope Stoopid is true. This stuff is almost as good as Zombie Dust and it's only $4 a bomber.

You talking about the Lagunitas? I just got me a bomber of the coffee stout to go with dessert tonight. It was the same price, I like that Lagunitas bombers are cheap. I was looking at the Hop Stoopid but decided against it based on what I'm serving for dinner tonight.

Haha, I had the cappuccino stout and the HS last night...my girlfriend and I decided we'd just stay in and drink all weekend for our version of a valentine's day outing. Cracking into a Three Floyd's Space Station later today.

On that note, the bistro/beer seller down the road from us has a $30 beer of the month club, which nets you a six pack, 4 pack and bomber the first weekend of every month. The beers are randomized based on what they have in stock, but apparently nine times out of ten it'll be Zombie Dust, Yum Yum and other super-rare TF stuff before they put the rest up for sale to the general public. All things considered, that's actually a pretty good price for the amount of good stuff you get.

I found the Cappuccino Stout rather underwhelming. Too much ethanol, not enough roast. As for the month club, I'd sign up in a heartbeat though of course, beer is much more expensive here than there. Is that a six- and a four-pack of the same beer? Still a great price if it is super rare or even rare stuff.

The packs are a variety of stuff; in the one I saw there was at least a Yum Yum and Zombie Dust. Definitely signing up for that once I've got some more spending money this summer.