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Empyreal
The Final Frontier

Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 6:58 pm
Posts: 35178
Location: Where the dead rule the night
PostPosted: Sat Dec 05, 2015 11:38 am 
 

iamntbatman wrote:
Yeah, everyone's huge on DFH's IPA hype and their gonzo massive beers, but some of their older staple beers are really tops stuff if you ask me. The Indian Brown, Raison d'Etre, and Chicory Stout are all damn fine beers.


It's true. I had never really given many of their older, more regular beers a chance - only the really hyped up crazy ones. I'll have to try the other ones you mentioned sometime.
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theposega
Mezla

Joined: Tue Mar 11, 2008 9:42 pm
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Location: Neo-Allegheny City
PostPosted: Sat Dec 05, 2015 11:59 am 
 

Never had any of those older styles, but Dogfish Head's Punkin Ale and Piercing Pils are both world-class.

The 90-minute is really good too, but pretty overrated.
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Grave_Wyrm
Metal Sloth

Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:55 pm
Posts: 3928
PostPosted: Sun Dec 06, 2015 2:04 pm 
 

Image

Two words came to mind when I tasted this wonderful beer: Japanese Belgian.

It's really good. This is a distinctly Japanese beer. It has a similar crisp, dry, almost sour flavor to most light Japanese wheat beers, but it reminded me more of those same adjectives that come through in Japanese whiskies -- an obvious but not overbearing paper-like, grassy dryness. Refreshing tartness folds in very nicely with a thicker, creamy weight reminiscent of a Belgian tripel. It's not one or the other really. It's either a bottom-heavy wheat or a tart, lighter Japanese take on a trappist ale. Above all it was delicious and clean, and very very cold. Highly recommended.
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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:55 am
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Location: Tyrn Gorthad
PostPosted: Sun Dec 06, 2015 9:21 pm 
 

That sounds good. I'm excited to try that and other interesting Japanese beers when I head over there in February!
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Grave_Wyrm
Metal Sloth

Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:55 pm
Posts: 3928
PostPosted: Mon Dec 07, 2015 1:25 am 
 

I hope you do a Japanese beer series.
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Acrobat
Eric Olthwaite

Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:53 am
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Location: Yorkshire
PostPosted: Tue Dec 15, 2015 11:19 am 
 

I've never had any Japanese beer that isn't drinkable, slightly bland lager.

Fuggin' hell, I found a good beer at a new (to me) pub today. Bradfield Brewery's 'Belgian Blue'. Despite its name it's not really belgian at all (maybe there's a slight lambic touch with some tart berry flavours, but it wasn't as fruity or sweet as most lambics I've tried - it was more of a 'proper beer'). The style was very much typical of most local beers here but with some really good winter berry touches (subtle, though, this isn't America). £2.50 a pint, too. I will go back for more... maybe later this evening, hah.

Image

If you can find it (you probably won't) try it.
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Erosion of Humanity
Destroyer of the Gods

Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 5:12 pm
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 02, 2016 10:48 pm 
 

Beer haul for tonight:

Two bottles of Backwoods Bastard
One bottle of Ballast Point Sea Monster
Deschutes Black Butte XXVII Birthday Reserve

$40 well spent.
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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:55 am
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Location: Tyrn Gorthad
PostPosted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 2:11 am 
 

The fancy grocery store in the basement of the fancy department store where I got the Be High IPA and St. Peter's Ruby Red Ale I posted about last page started to stock St. Peter's Cream Stout. That's easily the best of the St. Peter's beers I've had so I picked up two bottles of that which made my Saturday evening of playing Pillars of Eternity even more enjoyable.

Those Hoegaarden beers (the Grand Cru and Verboden Vruchts) are becoming more and more widespread, though the typical price point is more like $4/bottle than the brilliant $1.70 or so I was paying for them when I first saw them. However, one store did still have some at that price so I grabbed as many as I could carry of the Verboden Vruchts. I enjoyed those over my long holiday staycation, and used several bottles as part of this year's batch of wassail (along with some unfiltered apple juice, Chilean Cab Sav, a bit of brown sugar, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon). That beer works exceedingly well in that context.
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BrutalizerUtilizerOfTheShadows
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:59 am
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Location: In the Cold Winds of Nowhere
PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 4:51 pm 
 

One of the best beers I've ever tried has to be Jester King's Black Metal Imperial Stout Ale:
Image
I've always loved the darker ales and beers but the fact that it's Black Metal themed is what sold it. It's also a really amazing ale: nice and stout with hints of chocolate and coffee, and at 10.8% alcohol it definitely gets the job done. Jester King is a microbrewery out of Austin, Texas, so unfortunately they don't distribute very much except to the surrounding area. It's gotten to the point now where you pretty much have to go there in order to get it. It's definitely worth it to stop by if you're in the area and a fan of different and somewhat unusual beers. They have bottles to go as well as a tasting room; it tastes great out of the bottle but definitely get a glass of it at the tasting room. Their beers are heavily fermented (and sometimes re-fermented) so the sooner you drink them after the brewing process is complete, the better they are.
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Smoking_Gnu
Chicago Favorite

Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:22 pm
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 4:56 pm 
 

That sounds interesting and bodes well given that a lot of metal-themed beers tend to fall flat (even Three Floyd's Cannibal Corpse brown ale was meh). Doubt I'll ever get down that way but that sure does sound good.

Although speaking of great beers in distant states, I picked up a few Florida brews during an Orlando trip with the fiance and future in-laws. Got a toasted coconut porter by Orange Blossom Brewing and the Jai Alai IPA by Cigar City. The former got somewhat mixed reviews but the concept seemed interesting enough that I figured I'd give it a crack. Cigar City, on the other hand seems to be very highly regarded, particularly for their Hunahpu imperial stout - one of the highest-rated beers in the country according to Untappd and BeerAdvocate. Couldn't find any of that but JA got some great reviews as well and should sate my hard-on for citrusy IPAs - now I just have wait for her parents to bring it back when they get home next week.
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PhilosophicalFrog
The Hypercube

Joined: Thu May 04, 2006 7:08 pm
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 5:04 pm 
 

that Japanese beer looks wonderful! even the label is superb.

going to a brewery takeover tomorrow at a local tap-room. should be exciting as it's currently my favorite brewery in the District (Hellbender). They have a staple three, a Kolsch, a Red American Ale, and a coffee Stout. They are all delicious and complex - I really look forward to the new stuff that's gonna be debuted!
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iamntbatman
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 10:54 pm 
 

Someone mail me some stouts and barleywines please :(

I think sometime this weekend I'm going to start researching beer locations in Osaka and Kyoto. Japaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!
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MacMoney
Man of the Cloth

Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2002 10:17 pm
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Location: Finland
PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 8:13 am 
 

BrutalizerUtilizerOfTheShadows wrote:
Jester King


While I can appreciate their ethos and sense of style with the different ways of using yeast, their products tend to be rather overpriced. Here at least. A bottle of Black Metal goes for over 20€ without postage from online shops. Can't imagine how much it would cost if you could get it at the local bars or monopoly stores. Probably around the same price at the store, but anyway... It's hard to justify buying something with such a price, even if it were better than other imperial stouts when a near equal product is half the price.

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Erosion of Humanity
Destroyer of the Gods

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PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 8:23 am 
 

I've been pretty heavy into stouts lately. I've also been drinking pretty heavily lately but that's another story for another time. Last night I had Ballast Point's Victory at Sea in the peppermint variety (not a stout but it's soooo good) it was fucking awesome. I've never had the original but but holy shit, if you see it buy it.

Also tried Ballast Point Sea Monster the day before, that one fell short, there wasn't really any flavor to it. Been drinking Backwoods Bastard a lot lately too and I'm really enjoying that as well. Some other beers I've had lately that I really enjoyed were Warlaner by One Trick Pony (a very solid triple IPA), and Revolution Brewing's Deth's Tar holy shit was that good.

My favorite beer since NYE by far was Barrel Aged Last Kiss by Pipeworks. Was out with Smoking_Gnu and some other friends and we found some bottles of this at a store by his house. Unfortunately I only picked up one bottle but next time I'm over by him I'll be looking for more.


I plan on going to Local Option here in Chicago on Saturday and getting sufficiently drunk too.
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BrutalizerUtilizerOfTheShadows
Metalhead

Joined: Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:59 am
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Location: In the Cold Winds of Nowhere
PostPosted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 10:38 am 
 

MacMoney wrote:

While I can appreciate their ethos and sense of style with the different ways of using yeast, their products tend to be rather overpriced. Here at least. A bottle of Black Metal goes for over 20€ without postage from online shops. Can't imagine how much it would cost if you could get it at the local bars or monopoly stores. Probably around the same price at the store, but anyway... It's hard to justify buying something with such a price, even if it were better than other imperial stouts when a near equal product is half the price.


Last time I visited the brewery I think I paid $12 for 750 ml bottle of it, which isn't bad. Where do you live?
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Crystal_Logic
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Mar 03, 2009 10:10 am
Posts: 289
Location: Ireland
PostPosted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 6:10 pm 
 

Erosion of Humanity wrote:
Beer haul for tonight:

Two bottles of Backwoods Bastard
One bottle of Ballast Point Sea Monster
Deschutes Black Butte XXVII Birthday Reserve

$40 well spent.


Since moving back in with my folks, I miss taking a quiet Friday night and buying 4 or 5 new crafts, rolling a joint and listening to metal :(

Haven't had anything new lately, been stuck in a bit of a loop buying red ales whenever I see them. Any good, non-Irish red ales to look out for?

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TripeOverload
Metal newbie

Joined: Tue Dec 03, 2013 11:46 am
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Location: Romania (The Land of Jokes)
PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 11:57 am 
 

I tasted a Gonzo Imperial Porter by the Flying Dog brewery.
Pros: really awesome combination of bitterness and sweetness, not too sweet but a sturdy bitter aftertaste. Plus, the beer was downright chewy. I simply let it slowly wash my buccae and then my palate, and then swallowed. It felt excellent, almost like a pudding.
Cons: boozy. The booziness gets more and more grating as you race toward the end of the glass.
Plus, I had a nervous breakdown. Alcohol gets the best of me when I feel lonely.
Still, I am thinking of putting this on my future purchase list.
Any of you more experienced folks here able to suggest some other good, thick, chewy beers?
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Smoking_Gnu
Chicago Favorite

Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:22 pm
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 25, 2016 12:04 pm 
 

Some of my favorites on the thick and chewy side:

- Founders Imperial Stout
- North Coast Old Rasputin
- New Holland Dragon's Milk (Barrel-aged)
- Oskar Blues Ten Fiddy

- Bourbon County if you're lucky enough to find any; I only say this because I cracked into one of mine yesterday and that stuff is like molasses.
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Motorpriest
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Aug 11, 2010 8:38 am
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 9:27 pm 
 

Not so much on the chewy side, but Half Pints released Batch #2 of Le Temps Noir (last batch was 2.5 - 3 years ago), which is their bourbon barrel-aged RIS. I grabbed four and am planning on sealing at least two of them for different amounts of time but I'll have at least one to crack open over the next day or two; I'll add some detail when I actually decide to open it. If you see this in your area, do yourself a favour and grab it.

They also released their seasonal Saison de la Ceinture Fléchée which is a pretty solid, well-rounded Saison for Le Festival du Voyageur. Hazy golden, almost peach colour. Thick head with good retention. Nose is heavy on the yeast, with some spice (pepper and clove, specifically) and citrus zest. Taste is pretty much the same, starting with that yeasty, almost metallic flavour (it's better than it sounds, I swear) but moves to pepper and citrus, and ends on a surprisingly hoppy note. As it warms up, the spice gives way to a primarily citrusy taste. It's my go-to Saison when it's in circulation and I'd recommend it at well.

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Waltz_of_Ghouls
Metalhead

Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2006 12:24 am
Posts: 858
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 9:36 pm 
 

Sipping on a Red Sashes 2015 by Brasserie Dunham. It's an intense rye wine, 11% abv with 125 IBU.

Dark red/brown with a thick head. Nose is dried dates, molasses, candied sugar, dark cherries and red wine. Mouth follows the nose, with maybe the cherries and red wine a bit upfront. Strong bitterness, but not that overwhelming at all, since it is perfectly balanced by the sugary base. Finale is bit dry with some oak. Very comforting beer.


Last edited by Waltz_of_Ghouls on Sun Jan 31, 2016 7:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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AlienZombie
Metal newbie

Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2014 10:04 am
Posts: 129
Location: United States
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 1:20 am 
 

Wow, substitute Bell's expedition stout for Dragon's milk and my list would exactly match Smoking_Gnu's. But I don't personally touch BCBS, as I have no interest in supporting AB-Inbev, don't care if it makes me look like a beer snob or whatever. I did have it way before GI was bought out and remember liking it but not loving it. Back then you didn't have to "seek it out" it was just on the shelf with the other beer.
Anyhow...had a Firestone 19 tonight...it's a blended beer, and very tasty, but probably not worth the price.

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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:55 am
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Location: Tyrn Gorthad
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 5:07 am 
 

Goddamn Waltz_of_Ghouls, that sounds really great. I really dig rye beers and the two or three rye wines I've had were great, so one with that typical rye sourness balanced with fruity flavors sounds fantastic.

7brau, the first craft brewery in Korea and by far the most widely available (though still only ever seen in supermarkets - never seen seen any on draft or even in bottles at bars) has just dramatically expanded their lineup. For the longest time the only beer of theirs I could see was their flagship IPA, but later on they introduced in bottles the "M" pale ale and "W" IPA in which was a bit stronger than the canned stuff. Those have both apparently been scrapped, and the brewery has launched a new lineup featuring the same original IPA, a pilsener, a stout (I guess English style?), a kristallweizen, a Korean Pale Ale (which I think is the stuff that used to be the "M" Pale Ale) and a DIPA which I'm pretty sure is previous "W" IPA.

Anyway, I've had the regular IPA a bunch of times as well as the M and W beers, and I'm not all that interested in a weizen as there's just fucking millions of mediocre ones around here, but I'm perfectly happy to give the pils and the stout a shot, so I grabbed one of each. I'm really, really hoping that stout is decent as a reasonably-priced session stout would be an extremely welcome addition to the tiny stable of beers I'm able to find with any regularity. Will report back later tonight with evaluations of these.
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~Guest 21181
The Great Fearmonger

Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:44 am
Posts: 3987
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 9:48 am 
 

TripeOverload wrote:
Any of you more experienced folks here able to suggest some other good, thick, chewy beers?


JW Lees Harvest Ale, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Evil Twin Lil' B, Avery Rumkin, Avery Uncle Jacob's Stout, Avery PumpKYn, Firestone Walker Stickee Monkee, Samichlaus Classic, Samichlaus Helles. Those last two shouldn't be touched until they are at least 4 years old, and JW Lees shouldn't be touched until it's a decade old.


Also thick but terrible: Dogfish Head 120 Minute and Samuel Adams Triple Bock.

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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:55 am
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Location: Tyrn Gorthad
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 10:17 am 
 

120 Minute is good, get outta here! I mean, sure it's too nuts to really qualify as an IPA anymore, but I really like it.

Update: this 7brau pils is...alright? I'm kind of having a hard time believing this beer's credentials though - it's really dark for a pils, malty in the wrong ways and the hops seem off. Basically this seems like a decent pils blended with an APA or something. Don't get me wrong, it's a tasty beverage, but not quite what I think when I think "pilsener." That said, it's still leagues better than most other Korean brewed beers. Let's see how that stout is in a bit...
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Erosion of Humanity
Destroyer of the Gods

Joined: Thu Sep 13, 2012 5:12 pm
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Location: over yon hill
PostPosted: Sun Jan 31, 2016 10:29 am 
 

Went to a beer tasting with Gnu yesterday and had one of the best beers I've had in a long freaking time. Cherry Generator Dopplebock. Holy fuck, just damn it was perfect. So fucking smooth with the perfect amount of cherry flavor and not that nasty syrupy flavor either. God I want more.

Also had some 2015 Burboun County Barleywine when we got back to his house. Mmmmmm.
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iamntbatman
Chaos Breed

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 8:54 am 
 

Alright, let me live blog these four Japanese beers I got.

First up is an IPA by Morita Kinshachi out of Nagoya. This is a really dark beer for a relatively small IPA. Super interesting beer though. The nose is really subtle and crisp, just ever so slightly floral. The hops in this are super dry and crisp, very grassy with very little pine resin or even citrus. The malt, though, is just wow. I mean I can't say with any certainty that I'd grab this over a big American hop demon but hell if this light, somewhat saison-like body doesn't work really well with what the hops are going for.

Edit 1: Now trying Ruby Nile by Kizakura. There's a whole series of these Nile beers, which this brewery has apparently made in collaboration with Kyoto and Waseda Universities. They're farmhouse ales brewed with additions of wheat that are supposedly very close to what was used in beer-like beverages made in ancient Egypt. Basically a Japanese take on those DFH ancient beers. Anyway this is really tasty. You get kind of the typical wheat flavors way off in the background, but up front is a little tart, a bit sweet yet peppery, and there's a nice malty richness to it that kind of reminds me of a wee heavy or something. Buuuut despite all of that going on in the flavor department, it's really fizzy and crisp and generally light feeling, which is definitely appearing to be one of the defining characteristics of Japanese beer. I chose wisely with this one!

Edit 2: Next up is Kyoto Craft Hanamachi Alt. I was excited for this just because you don't really see all that many alts and the bottle looked nice, but this one is pretty disappointing to be frank. Really mellow, but also just tastes tired, like the malt couldn't be bothered. It could be that I'm not really being fair to this beer, since my favorite ever alt is the sorely missed New Glarus Alt with its characteristic hint of apple, but this one is not only really bland but also just sorta tastes stale, but not in the same way I usually associate with skunked beers. Oh well, they couldn't all be winners!

Last one: Suntory IPA. This one's weird just because I'm not used to macro breweries in America or Korea or anywhere else doing beers like this under their main brand name. I nearly said I expected this to sick because of the macro-ness of it, but you know Suntory makes a really respectable pils so I was kind of hoping this would be good. Fortunately, it is. Nothing mind-boggling but this basically looks, smells and tastes like the kind of basic IPA brewed by famous American craft breweries who are maybe a little more famous for their more adventurous and limited brews but who nonetheless brew a god budget six-pack IPA. Hops-forward, piney and bitter but well-balanced by potent biscuity malts...yeah, I'm confident with saying that Suntory is one of those rare big breweries that really cares about the quality of their products. Good stuff.

I'll post a photo of the bottles later. Looking forward to trying some more!

Edit: Here's a photo of these beers:
Spoiler: show
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iamntbatman
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:29 am 
 

Wow posting in here again without any replies makes me feel like a huge alcoholic. Anyway I've continued my Japanese beer odyssey.

Yebisu - Joël Rubuchon - Yebisu is one of the Japanese macros I'd never tried and this one looked interesting. Super light and clean lager but really pleasant. If I were ever to pair a beer with sushi this would be a really good choice.

Kyoto - Brown Ale - Had this with a zany 7-11 lunch and it was quite good. Reminded me a lot of the kind of brown ale you usually see coming out of a lot of famous micros in their standard six pack beer lineups. Good beer.

Suntory - Master's Dream - Some kind of brewmaster version of The Premium Malt's. The nose was a little skunky on this one but the taste was mostly alright. Surprisingly tame compared to the standard version, less aggressively hopped. Wish it tasted fresher because I get the feeling there's a good pils in here.

Kirin - Grand Malt - Continuing the trend, this was alright but nothing too special. Mainly impressive how they snuck 6% into such an effervescent lager. Better than regular Kirin by a lot but not worth the price tag when I could just buy craft or imports.

Kirin - Grand Wheat - Okay, now this one is good. Reminds me a lot of that Hoegaarden Grand Cru actually, big wheat with lots of complexity. I drank this one in a gutter next to a train station for extra class.

This stuff was all drunk yesterday or during the day today. I got a final haul of craft stuff from Liquor Mountain which I will write up as I drink just now.

Here's a photo of my lunch which included the Kyoto Brown Ale:
Spoiler: show
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iamntbatman
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 11:39 am 
 

Ok here's more craft stuff!

Yo-Ha - Yona Yona Ale - Another great example of the Japanese brewing style. On a basic level this is a pretty straightforward (and well executed) American pale ale, but the pleasant metallic flavor (gotta be the water, but this is a plus rather than a minus) and more floral-oriented hops give this beer just enough to distinguish it from the Sierra Nevadas of the world. Super easy drinking - I could really put a lot of these away.

Echido - Stout - This one occupies that 7% abv zone where it's maybe too big to just be an American stout but perhaps not quite to imperial stout levels. Super dark brown, like rich cola in color. Brown head that faded fast. Interesting blend of a lighter, crisp body with huge toasty malt flavors. Increases a bit in complexity as it warns but this is very much a roasted malt showcase rather than striving for stone fruits or chocolate or espresso. Those last two are present but not major players. Well dine stout. Get your shit together Korea.

Yo-Ha - Aoona IPA - Alright, here's an IPA that breaks the mold for Japanese beers. This one's a deep amber with a huge head. Tons of sticky lacing. This one has strong resinous pine hops going on in the nose and the taste. I can smell the hops on this thing a meter away. Closet whiffs are more citrusy, with the taste definitely reflecting this. Not the best IPA I've ever had but definitely one of, if not the best, Asian one. Yum.

Nagahama Roman - Winter Black Porter - Good lord, this one is good. Not very often I have a low-abv porter (this one is 4%) that really speaks to me but shit this is good. Up front is very dry and smokey. Like hardwood smoked espresso beans maybe. But then the lingering part is grainy, sweet and rich, so it kind of plays out the opposite of what you'd expect with a good porter. This brewery knows what's what. If this beer was American there'd be HYPE.

Photo of these beers:
Spoiler: show
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Smoking_Gnu
Chicago Favorite

Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:22 pm
Posts: 4797
PostPosted: Mon Feb 08, 2016 1:00 pm 
 

Been on a great run for beer over the last few weeks:

-On Saturday I split an Expedition Stout 2012 with a friend while at my favorite Chicago bar, Sheffield's. Amazingly smooth, sweet (but not cloying), caramel and molasses. Makes me really wish I had started aging things when I first got into craft beer in 2012, haha, or that I had the patience to do more of it these days. Right now there's just a bomber of BA Narwhal '15 that I'm holding out on until November.

-Got a 4pack of Central Waters Bourbon Barrel Stout 15 from the same friend. Way smoother, sweeter and less boozy than the 2014, which I honestly found watery and unremarkable. Don't think I've ever seen such a striking positive difference between releases of the same BA stout immediately after release.

-A 4pack of CW BB Barleywine (man, I love having friends and family in central WI.) Also nice and smooth. Definitely boozier than the CW BBS but I may even like this more than the Bourbon County's Barleywine, which can be a bit overpowering on the sweet/sour side of things.

Snagged some Hopslam too. Cans instead of bottles for the same price is kind of dumb, but w/e.
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iamntbatman
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PostPosted: Sun Feb 14, 2016 6:20 am 
 

Alright, updated my previous posts with pictures of the more interesting beers. I also had an alt by Nara's only brewery that wasn't particularly noteworthy other than being well-executed. Really hit the spot at a nice relaxing cafe in Nara Park. I'll post a photo of this one soon.
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Empyreal
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 17, 2016 8:42 pm 
 

Spoiler: show
Image


Nitro Milk Stout "Wake Up Dead"...it tastes exactly the same as their other beers pretty much. It's the Motorhead of beers. But good enough anyway, and this is higher in alcohol content at any rate.
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Smoking_Gnu
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 17, 2016 9:08 pm 
 

That's interesting, I would have thought an RIS would be notably boozier and richer than a regular milk stout (Left Hand's is one of my all-time faves anyway.)
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Empyreal
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PostPosted: Wed Feb 17, 2016 9:13 pm 
 

It's probably a bit richer and more flavorful, yeah, but I dunno, the difference from the regular milk stout and the other ones they've done in that area I've tried are pretty minuscule I think. :p It's all good though; love the taste.
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Erosion of Humanity
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PostPosted: Fri Feb 19, 2016 9:03 pm 
 

Image

Went a little crazy at Binnys tonight, shit happens. Really looking forward to this weeks drinking, all heavy beers too, only one of these is under %10. Will do some reporting back once I've cracked a few.

Should also mention I've never tried any of these before either.
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MacMoney
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 5:22 am 
 

So jealous. Looks great, the ones in the background as well, though I'm not sure if the cranberry almond crunch cereal is sugary sweet or not.

I took home only a couple of bottles of beer last night. The monopoly has some new stuff, but I have enough storage as it is and trying to cut down on calories and money spent so:

Suomenlinnan Old Greig: An old ale made by Suomenlinna (a brewpub in the fortress island of Suomenlinna (Sveaborg near Helsinki though these bottle batches are brewed and bottled at their larger plant in Vantaa) for Christmas. It didn't get good reviews, but now it's on sale so I figured I could use the rest as a base for a Karelian stew or something if it's something I'd rather not drink. Hopefully it's a good one though:

Image

Beer Hunters Saison Gaelach: A newcomer from probably the best microbrewery in Finland, a brewpub in Pori with a separate, larger plant nearby. This one was made in collaboration with Jameson, the Irish whisky producer for those not in the know (doubtful there are any?). A red saison brewed to 7%, but soaked so much alcohol from the Jameson barrels it was aged in that now it stands at 10%. Kinda funny to see such a big distillery working with a Finnish microbrewery, but I guess that's how it goes. The starting beer was available on draft at some locations, but I didn't personally get to try it. Supposedly not that good and well, we'll see how this one is as I'm personally not a big fan of Irish or Scotch whisk(e)y aging in beers, preferring the oak and vanilla of American bourbons or the grape and dried fruit of cognac or armagnac.

A couple that I actually had last night, first off Mathildedal's Pirske. The brewery is a fairly new one started out in the Swedish-speaking area in the southernmost tip of Finland. Very expensive Belgian ale, but a well executed one as well. Good flavors of peach, Belgian yeast, pale malts, some slight citrus and sour. Could see drinking plenty if the price wasn't so high at six euros a bottle:

Image

The second one was Sorte Per by Ordrup; a dark, christmassy beer flavored with some lingering christmas spices, perhaps cinnamon. Nothing too spectacular. Perhaps even forgettable.

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Erosion of Humanity
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 9:04 am 
 

Thanks Mac, and yeah the stuff in the background ranges from unremarkable at best to flat out amazing. I just like keeping empty bottles for the decoration. It's mostly only beer I really enjoyed but I do keep all the different Clown Shoes and Pipeworks bombers I drink because the art work is usually pretty awesome.

On to the beer; I only had two last night but I'm sure I'll be having more tonight:

Barrel Aged Brian's Remorse by Saugatuck:
Well the flavor from the aging didn't come through very strong which sucked because I really like how smooth it usually makes the stouts plus the bonus flavouring. Still the beer, or what was left of it because for no apparent reason it blew up When I opened it even though it had been sitting in the fridge for hours...., was decently smooth but entirely forgettable. And at like $5 for one 12oz bottle I won't be buying that again.

Benji's Chipotle Smoked Imperial Porter:
Recommended to me by the guy at Binnys when I asked for something great and new that I probably wouldn't think to try. It was a solid porter, rich and delightful as it should be (why some breweries can't make a porter properly is beyond me). My only complaint is that the chipotle flavouring wasn't strong enough. I was expecting a nice kick with every sip like Habenero Sculpin but with this is was barley detectable until I finished the whole thing and then it left a creeping after burn. Nothing strong at all, just there for a few moments after the beer, very pleasant.

Cranberry Almond Crunch:
Delicious cereal that's high in fiber and other good stuff. Bran flakes with cranberries and almond slices throughout make for an enjoyable eating experience. Not sugary at all.
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iamntbatman
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 10:30 am 
 

Paid $12 for a bottle of Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour last night. Not the best sour I've ever had but still pretty damn good and fairly well representative as a oud bruin and a really welcome change from the stagnant, small selection of beer I'm accustomed to.
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Smoking_Gnu
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Joined: Sat Mar 15, 2008 11:22 pm
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 10:49 am 
 

Got nice and slammed last night myself. The contributors:

Hammerheart Black Cascade: This is from the brewery run by Austin Lunn of Panopticon - All their beers are strongly smoked, and that flavor made this hoppy dark ale absolutely incredible.

Brian's Remorse: What Erosion said, booze was just too on-the nose. All that Central Waters and Goose Island BB Stouts have spoiled me.

Cimmerian Sabertooth Bezerker: Typically strong IPA from Three Floyds.
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BasqueStorm
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 4:10 pm 
 

Smoking_Gnu wrote:
Got nice and slammed last night myself. The contributors:
Hammerheart Black Cascade: This is from the brewery run by Austin Lunn of Panopticon - All their beers are strongly smoked, and that flavor made this hoppy dark ale absolutely incredible.
...

Same here. Afligem Dubbel and Chimay blue.
Yeah? Are their beers worth?

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Smoking_Gnu
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PostPosted: Sat Feb 20, 2016 5:15 pm 
 

BasqueStorm wrote:
Smoking_Gnu wrote:
Got nice and slammed last night myself. The contributors:
Hammerheart Black Cascade: This is from the brewery run by Austin Lunn of Panopticon - All their beers are strongly smoked, and that flavor made this hoppy dark ale absolutely incredible.
...

Same here. Afligem Dubbel and Chimay blue.
Yeah? Are their beers worth?


Totally. Of course it depends on how much you like smoked beers since everything they make is smoked, but it's a well-balanced smoke level and the base beer is always high-quality. Their smoked barrel-aged scotch ale in particular is absolutely divine. Only thing is they don't bottle their beers so you either have to find it on tap somewhere or grab a growler from the brewery.

http://www.hammerheartbrewing.com/
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