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NEVERENDING ♾️ The NEVERENDING Beer Thread

I was at Kroger a couple of nights ago and they had their "build-your-own 6-pack" on sale for $8.99 (usually it's $9.99). I never bother with building my own but decided to check it out and realized that the available selection had a bunch of beers that my Kroger usually charges $10.49 - $11.99 for a 6-pack of. Who knew that the build-your-own could be such a good deal?! :h:
 
Lately I've been trying some Free State brews. It's a Kansas brewer out of Lawrence. The Ad Astra isn't bad. I think Copperhead might be next.
 
When I was back in the Sunshine State last week I had several local breweries offerings.
Cigar City
Big Storm
Funky Buddha
Indy
3 Daughters
were my favorite of the bunch
 
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michaelskis said:
These guys have a great thing going and I have always been impressed with how well the original (Grand Rapids) location did.
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I've been to the Detroit one probably 2 dozen times since it opened in the spring and it's always busy, anytime of day. One of my nephews went back up to school at MSU a week early this year just so he could get to the HopCat there before all the other students arrive and avoid all the crowds there.
 
Earlier this year Jolly Pumpkin opened a brewpub in Detroit a couple blocks from my bowling alley so my buddy and I decided to finally make a stop over there before our league night yesterday. I always enjoy Jolly Pumpkin beers but rarely get to try them because I don't often see it on tap at bars/restaurants and when I see it in the store, it's always in those large 750ml bottles which I hate buying for myself.

I got to try their La Roja last night (along with a few others) and it was fantastic. For those who like sour beers, this is the most sour, in a good way, that I've had in a long time. It was awesome. I wouldn't hesitate to buy this for myself in the big 750ml bottle.
 
This might be interesting

SABMiller accepted a $106 billion takeover bid from Anheuser Busch InBev. SABMiller is the majority owner of MillerCoors.

I guess craft beer has been taking too much away from these guys.
 
I know many people rave about them (including on this board) but I just can't get into any of the pumpkin ales. I've tried several over the years and it's just not my thing. Anybody else feel like this or am I missing the boat?
 
MD Planner said:
I know many people rave about them (including on this board) but I just can't get into any of the pumpkin ales. I've tried several over the years and it's just not my thing. Anybody else feel like this or am I missing the boat?
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No, I get this. I've had pumpkin ales I've liked. And I've had pumpkin ales I didn't care for. The biggest problem I see with the style is consistency. I swear even the same breweries' product has a different balance each year.
 
MD Planner said:
I know many people rave about them (including on this board) but I just can't get into any of the pumpkin ales. I've tried several over the years and it's just not my thing. Anybody else feel like this or am I missing the boat?
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I'm not big on pumpkin beers either. I like pumpkin, I like beer, I just don't like the two combined. Also goes for pumpkin spice everything.
 
MD Planner said:
I know many people rave about them (including on this board) but I just can't get into any of the pumpkin ales. I've tried several over the years and it's just not my thing. Anybody else feel like this or am I missing the boat?
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Maister said:
No, I get this. I've had pumpkin ales I've liked. And I've had pumpkin ales I didn't care for. The biggest problem I see with the style is consistency. I swear even the same breweries' product has a different balance each year.
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Agreed. I've tried a couple - even one's that have a great reputation (PumpKing) and I don't care for them at all. But I also don't like any of the flavored ales with fruit.
 
Planit said:
Agreed. I've tried a couple - even one's that have a great reputation (PumpKing) and I don't care for them at all. But I also don't like any of the flavored ales with fruit.
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I don't get the pumpkin flavored drink craze and don't want it in my beer. A friend, who also doesn't generally like pumpkin was telling me how great PumpKing and I said impossible so he brought me one to try at the bowling alley one night. I was right. It was not good.

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Not so good news for me.

Over the weekend I learned that I am not going to be able to drink any alcohol for the next 4 to 6 weeks because it is causing a medication conflict.

So I expect everyone else to pick up my consumption slack.
 
I've got a conference this week so that will cover a lot of it.

I tried a Boulevard Pretzel Wheat last night. I might have to buy some of that.
 
dvdneal said:
I've got a conference this week so that will cover a lot of it.

I tried a Boulevard Pretzel Wheat last night. I might have to buy some of that.
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I haven't had that one but I've had a few others from Boulevard and they never disappoint. My wife's cousin used to be stationed in MO in the Air Force (she in CO now) and would always bring me something from there when she visited.
 
St. Arnold's PUMPKINATOR hit store shelves today.:pumpkin::b::l: This is the bestest stuff!!

Limit one per customer. No waiting list - first come first serve. No additional shipments coming to my local store.

Half of the Planning Dept. made a beer run at lunch today.:D
 
Planit said:
Boulevard Brewery has produced a limited release to celebrate the Royals World Series win

http://www.boulevard.com/crown-town-ale-2015/

I'm working on getting a six-pack, but may be difficult
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WSU MUP Student said:
It looks like they are distributing in dvdneal's neck of the woods. You may want to reach out to him.
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Planit said:
That's what I was hoping I did;)
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I called the liquor store, they should be getting some in as soon as it hits the warehouse. I will do my best to find some, but apparently it doesn't last long and last year it only went to KC. We're expecting some out here this year.
 
Wicked Weed, Asheville, NC

Wicked Weed is an award winning brewery which features many styles and types of beers/ales. It has become something like Dogfish Head in Delaware was in the early days - trying different combinations, featuring something unique and branching out in distribution. It hasn't been easy to find unless you're at the brewery/restaurant. The good beer store in town has the following offerings on tap & ready for your growlers. Just thought you'd like to see a sample of what's going on in Asheville...

Wicked Weed Calimost Gose with Grapefruit & Honey
Part of the "Most Gose" series, this German-style sour ale Calimost Gose incorporates traditional ingredients (wheat, salt, coriander) with the addition of honey and grapefruit for a fruity aroma and refreshingly salty finish. 3.7% abv

Wicked Weed Pearfigt IPA
Fruit flavors in this American IPA are understated, accented by cardamom. The hop angle bounces, adding to this wonderfully, juicy, slightly tropical and citrus mixing in. Cinnamon, cloves, hot allspice nutmeg rolling all over. 6.8% abv

Wicked Weed Gluten FREEk
Gluten FREEk is Asheville's first gluten reduced beer. Crafted to be the gluten-intolerant hophead's dream come true, this ale is designed to be big, hoppy and uniquely Wicked Weed. Gluten FREEk contains less than 10 ppm of gluten. 7.5% abv

Wicked Weed Glutenous Minimus
A gluten reduced IPA. Pours clear copper with a slight orange tinge, a half finger white head atop. Hoppy resin with a bit of leather in the nose. Nicely no non-beer flavors. Minimus is appropriately hoppy on the bitter side with a touch of biscuit sweetness in the finish. 6.4% abv

Wicked Weed Freak of Nature DIPA
The Freak of Nature is Wicked Weed's San Francisco inspired hoppy monster. Absurd amounts of big West Coast hops gives this beer its citrusy, weedy nose and big, dank flavor. In keeping with the classic style of the West Coast double, sugar plays a large part in creating this dry and minimally bitter double IPA. 8% abv

Wicked Weed Xibalba
This pumpkin ale, brewed with cacao nibs, ancho, serrano, and habenaro chiles with fall spices, is brewed once a year during the onset of autumn. Inspired by the mythos of the ancients, Xibalba (she-bahl-bah) is an otherworldly reminder that seasons are fleeting and to be celebrated. 8.2% abv

Wicked Weed
Tropic Most Passionfruit Gose
This traditional Gose, pronounced "GOH-zuh", was brewed as an homage to its kind. As the most recent addition to our 'Most Gose' series, this Passion Fruit version highlights the style's salt forward flavor with coriander notes. 3.6% abv
 
The only barleywine I had previously aged was Thomas Hardy's Ale. Well, this weekend I sampled a 2013 Third Coast Old Ale (Bell's Brewery). I was blown away with its complexity...carmel...chocolate...the deepest malt....something citrusy. Understand this is a beer I've had on many prior occasions, but each time it had always been during the same season it was brewed. It was an almost entirely different experience drinking a 2 1/2 year old specimen. My friend had several other bottles and promises I may sample the 2011 if I can make it to his place on New Years Eve. I may plan my whole evening around it.

Recommendation - if you can find it, be sure to buy at least four bottles. Keep 'em in the basement and crack the first one in 2018, then wait another year for the next bottle and an additional year for each of the remaining bottles. It is well worth it!

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Somebody gave me a 6-pack of beer recently and one of the beers in it was a Labatt's Maple Ale. It was sooo sweet, and not in a good way.

I felt like I was in Supertroopers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPHXfJZpSms
 
2 annual limited releases

Foothills has a very limited release of their Sexual Chocolate Stout. It's 11% and very smooth with a very slight hint of chocolate. No 22oz. bottles were shipped to this county and from what I've been able to discern is only 12 five-gallon kegs to the area. One bar had their release Wednesday night, another bar was last night and a couple others were waiting for the weekend.

Bell's HopSlam arrived this week too. The Good Beer Store we go to only received 8 cases, kept it in the back so you had to ask for it and could only buy 1 six-pack. I heard about it on Tuesday and got a six-pack (in cans this year) from the last case available. One bar is tapping their HopSlam keg this coming Wednesday. I will be there, its one of my favorites.








Yes, I am a beer snob.
 
I try HopSlam every year just because of the hype but I don't actually think it's any good. Waaaayy too hoppy (though I think they have evened it out a little bit the past couple of years). I picked up a 6-pack a couple days ago to split with a friend of mine. I'll give him four and keep two, but he'll pay for my ticket and candy when we go see Deadpool next week.

How much was the HopSlam down in your neck of the woods Planit? A buddy of mine paid $28 for a 6-pack in D.C. :-c I think it was about $15 here, IIRC.
 
WSU MUP Student said:
I try HopSlam every year just because of the hype but I don't actually think it's any good. Waaaayy too hoppy (though I think they have evened it out a little bit the past couple of years). I picked up a 6-pack a couple days ago to split with a friend of mine. I'll give him four and keep two, but he'll pay for my ticket and candy when we go see Deadpool next week.

How much was the HopSlam down in your neck of the woods Planit? A buddy of mine paid $28 for a 6-pack in D.C. :-c I think it was about $15 here, IIRC.
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$20 at my store.


And I always keep one bottle in my "cellar" from the previous year. When the new batch comes out, I drink the one from the previous year and then one from this year that evening. It holds its flavor pretty well (does not turn "skunky") and nice very subtle differences.
 
michaelskis said:
I found love to find Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout. But I am not getting my hopes up on that one.
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Theres another one that comes in very limited quantities around here. The favored pub usually holds a release party and has both KBS & CBS on tap.

You might want to call the Village Draft House in Cameron Village (state capitol town) and see. They keep a very large selection and rotate frequently. Good food there too.
 
The annual beer festival was this weekend. Ended up with 58 breweries represented.

Anyone in or driving through the Raleigh, NC area should check out Trophy and/or Crank Arm. Very good offerings but are small local based places with no distribution.
 
I tried these and was not impressed. Probably just isn't what my palate desires...


Prairie TRVE Sour Red Ale

A collaboration between Oklahoma's Prairie Artisan and Denver's heavy metal TRVE breweries, this Sour is tart and raspberry, earthy horseblanket and Bretty funk. Surprisingly mild flavor for a sour, no puckering and only lightly gripping mouthfeel, low carbonation. Leather and tobacco, some oaky barrel and vinous flavors. Bitter tannins like a red wine. 7% abv



Ballast Point Peppermint Victory at Sea Imperial Porter

Victory at Sea Imperial Porter is a bold, smooth brew with just the right amount of sweetness. A robust porter infused with whole vanilla beans, San Diego's own Caffe Calabria coffee beans and a dose of refreshing peppermint. The trio of flavors plays perfectly on your palate - the brew's sweet roastiness balances nicely with a cool, minty finish. You might even call it a breath of fresh beer. 10% abv
 
Our local star brand Terrapin has been bought by mega-corporates, but. like Hillary, claim the money does not affect their thinking...waiting to see...
 
fringe said:
Our local star brand Terrapin has been bought by mega-corporates, but. like Hillary, claim the money does not affect their thinking...waiting to see...
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Hopefully I'll finally be able to get some Terrapin up here in Detroit soon! They were always a sponsor at Bonnaroo when I went in 2004-2008 and I always enjoyed what I had from them.
 
fringe said:
Our local star brand Terrapin has been bought by mega-corporates, but. like Hillary, claim the money does not affect their thinking...waiting to see...
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That's disappointing, but expected nowadays.

Well just head over to Creature Comforts instead.
Tropicalia :thumbsup::beers:
 
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