The Booze and Waffle Thread, Long Live The Wild Wild West (Read 401 times)

Trent


Good Bad & The Monkey

    DS > KBS

     

    If you need any help, well that’s what imaginary internet friends are for. 

     

    In the meantime, right now I’m enjoying a delicious Dark Star Imperial Oatmeal Stout from Fremont Brewing, which is a wonderful brewery in Seattle.

      I poured a whole 4-pack (minus a few sips) of IPA down the drain tonight. Mast Landing Saccarappa. After the first horrible sip looked at the bottom of the can and it was packaged in June of 2018, ffs. Bought it from my local store today. Shit. Didn't think I needed to check dates at that store but some of the stuff on the warm shelf probably doesn't turn over, my bad. I have a couple of Night Shift Whirlpool's left but I needed something more substantial to get rid of the funky Saccarappa taste.

       

      So I decided it was porter season after all. It's 69 degrees right now (nice) so close enough. London Calling.

      Runners run

        Can I name drop some beer snobbery?

        Sort of locally, about half hour away if traffic cooperates, I can get Pliny The Elder on tap at Russian River, and have had the luck to be there when they made an unannounced release of Pliny The Younger (usually block long lines) It was ok, but I don't see what all the fuss is about.

         

        Closer, near the Mexican restaurant we like in Berkeley (Picante), is Fieldwork. I've liked everything of theirs I've had, but have yet to actually go into the brewery! Before Covid, it was crowded with man-bun types, not that I have anything in particular against THEM, but I do with crowds. Locally in my rough and ready town of Richmond, we have East Brother and Armistice, neither of which have anything worth writing home about, but East Brother has a great taproom location off the beaten track.

         

        Faction in Alameda is one of my favorites.  Just wish it were easier to get to Alameda from the coast.

         

        MTA: re Russian River, Blind Pig is the way to go.

        4/14/24 Napa Valley 50k, Calistoga, CA

        7/20/24 Tahoe Rim Trail 56 miler, NV

        9/21/24 Mountain Lakes 100, OR

        Trent


        Good Bad & The Monkey

          As a side note, I am glad we have so many beer threads on RA.

           

          As another side note, Barrique Brewing's Just Peachy is ephemeral.

          rlopez


            Well, the booze thread can be about spirits or wine too, but beer is always fun.

            Running Problem


            Problem Child

              Good to see it is just beer and not some status symbol or a symbol of supporting some ideology. Next I’ll have to hear about how I shouldn’t shop at Walmart or eat Jimmy John sandwiches. Can I watch basketball or is that racist or only for those with money too?

               

              Maybe I should only do races in my area of the world. UTMB, Chicago, Boston, Seattle, Hong Kong, London, etc. aren’t in my area so I should stay away. Local races and local beer. Now let us talk about local. Is it where the company starts or does Sierra Nevada brewed on the east coast count as local?

              Meh.

               

              Wicked Weed is not just bought out by a major beer company, but did so after railing for years about other breweries selling out. Plenty of other beers out there with less hypocrisy.

               

              Founders has major issues with racism plaguing their company and has done a terrible job addressing it.

               

              Prairie Noir is great...if it is not infected like so many of their beers are.

               

              BCBS is very good, but yea, it ain't worth the price unless you have money to spend and really like it.

               

              Yeti is good, but has not innovated at all and in this market is kinda boring.

               

              Dragon's Milk and its variants beat all those out...IMO, YMMV. CH17, where are you in the world? Recs should follow your location.

               

              Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.

              VDOT 53.37 

              5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22

              Running Problem


              Problem Child

                 

                Beer snob. 

                Actually agree with most of this except Dragons Milk. It’s good but doesn’t stand out IMO. File this under drink what you like. 

                My favorite BA Stout is from a brewery somewhat local to me. May be some home town bias, but I’ve had a lot of them and it stacks up.

                 

                Back in my prime I was. Mailing beer across the country and even internationally (westy 12....not worth the hype) on top of having my wife bring home about 25 bombers from a trip to Wisconsin (still a record at her company). Local beers usually got higher ranks to me mostly because of how easy they were to get. Seemed like every rare beer had more stigma than flavor, or maybe I just expected more due to its rarity. The Black Tuesday probably still tastes like molasses right now, and the white chocolate probably tastes like a Hershey’s bar.

                Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.

                VDOT 53.37 

                5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22

                Running Problem


                Problem Child

                  Yes, it is sad. Their beers are standard bearers. Breakfast Stout. Dirty Bastard & Backwoods Bastard. KBS. They all come to mind.

                   

                  KBS now sits on shelves all over. In part because Founders makes a LOAD more, in part because folks are not buying Founders after the whole racism scandal, and in part because every little town makes coffee stouts that are as good or better than KBS and folks like to shop local. I have a load of old KBS that I am quietly drinking, but I'm not planning on buying more.

                   

                   

                  I think KBS started a trend, brewers tried to copy it for years, and eventually caught up. Founders was making so much of it to profit and the popularity spread so much that it wore itself out. Currently I see the whole ipa variant trend doing this. Hazy. Juicy. New England. West coast. Eventually it settles down and the ones trying to hop from trend to trend die out, while those who are good at their craft keep going. How long was KBS a top rated beer before hitting a “it’s just not worth the price” label? Plus that’s a lot of high abs beer to drink solo.

                  Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.

                  VDOT 53.37 

                  5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22

                  rlopez


                    I poured a whole 4-pack (minus a few sips) of IPA down the drain tonight. Mast Landing Saccarappa. After the first horrible sip looked at the bottom of the can and it was packaged in June of 2018, ffs. Bought it from my local store today. Shit. Didn't think I needed to check dates at that store but some of the stuff on the warm shelf probably doesn't turn over, my bad. I have a couple of Night Shift Whirlpool's left but I needed something more substantial to get rid of the funky Saccarappa taste.

                     

                    So I decided it was porter season after all. It's 69 degrees right now (nice) so close enough. London Calling.

                     

                    Always beware of the warm shelf. FWIW, good stores will rotate product, of course, but depending on the product... sometimes we have the ability to return old stock, and sometimes we do not. Depends on the distributor and the brewery. I have some really old stuff too, but I warn people. Also, a good store will make the really old stuff as cheap as possible. The trick is that margins on beer are very low (much lower than spirits and wine) and some stores can't see fit to lower a price below cost. And there it sits forever. 

                    I have a 'special orders room' where we keep stuff for people who have ordered on the phone or online, but are going to come in and get it later. This usually comes up with specialty items and fast movers, but not always. But sometimes people forget, or lose interest, or (twice now!) die before they come get it. I have a couple things in my room from 2018. Both are KBS. I call the two gentlemen every 3-6 months to tell them to come get their beer, they say they will, they never do.

                    stadjak


                    Interval Junkie --Nobby

                      Dragon's Milk is a standard go-to because it's good enough, ubiquitous, and surprisingly cheap for this variety of beer.  I always have a few on backup in the fridge -- but it's never a "first beer of the night".

                       

                      Never much liked KBS, but CBS is something I discovered late.  I say "late" because they're no longer producing it after 2019.  By the description I thought it would be  overly sweet and revolting, but I was wrong (as usual).

                       

                      I know Goose Island has gone from big-local to semi-large national beer recently, but their experimental division is still putting out interesting stuff.  A guy I ran with a few years ago got hired from being the Dragon's Milk brewer, to the exp div of GI.  He brought a few cases of "rejects" to a 10mi casual run one time.  Delicious, delicious, rejects.  Every Fall Goose Island does some "Black Friday" events, where they open one of their old Bourbon County Stout's from days gone by and drink it until it's empty.  Last year I hit them up during the 2017(?) "Midnight Stout" which was an orange flavored version.  It taste exactly like one of those Christmas chocolate oranges.  I camped out.  Drank until wobbly.  Took a $30 bottle home with me to share with the wife.  It was a stoopid expense, but we considered it on par with a well-recommended wine and enjoyed it much more.

                       

                      Being close to the source of Pliny The Elder is on my beer bucket list.  Only had it once.  When a friend offered to show me how to brew, I took on a knock-off PTE recipe.  Results were very tasty, though the beer was completely flat for some reason (error on my part, no doubt).

                       

                      Off-Color brewery (local to Chicago) plays with interesting recipes.  One year they resurrected the oldest known beer receipt (out of China).  It's one of the few beers I've given full marks to.  Complex.  Interesting.  Lots of interesting notes over the course of a sip.  Can't remember what it was called, but I wish they'd bring it back; I'd stock up.

                      2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do

                        "Midnight Stout" which was an orange flavored version.  It taste exactly like one of those Christmas chocolate oranges.  

                         

                        I don’t normally like fruity beers, but I would love to try this.

                        Dave

                        stadjak


                        Interval Junkie --Nobby

                           I don’t normally like fruity beers, but I would love to try this.

                           

                          Okay.  It's a hot day here in Chicago.  All these high-gravity winter recommendations are making be a bit depressed for the cold.  Anyone have any good lawnmower beers to recommend?

                           

                          Mama's Little Yella Pils (Oskar) is best in draft, but will do in a can too.

                          Daisy Cutter (Half Acre) is a bright pale ale that fits the bill too.

                          Then of course, there's Sol with lime -- the king of sweaty hot beers.

                          2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do

                          Running Problem


                          Problem Child

                            YOUVE ONLY HAD PLINY ONCE?!?!?!?!??! Dude roll down there and buy yourself a $65 12 pack. Just not on a weekend. It was another beer I ‘had to have’ and bought growlers because they’re so snobby they refused to fill non-Russian River growlers even though state law allows it. Younger is supposedly a massive line. Like 14 hours waiting for three beers line. Buddy went and got a hotel room. Said Vinnie has considered hosting at private property because Santa Rosa is getting more and more restrictive on his events due to the amount of money they bring in....I mean people in attendance.

                             

                             

                            edit: 2017 Goose Island was owned by Budweiser. It’s when their BCBS went out much farther...and was infected so much they had recalls.

                             

                            Dragon's Milk is a standard go-to because it's good enough, ubiquitous, and surprisingly cheap for this variety of beer.  I always have a few on backup in the fridge -- but it's never a "first beer of the night".

                             

                            Never much liked KBS, but CBS is something I discovered late.  I say "late" because they're no longer producing it after 2019.  By the description I thought it would be  overly sweet and revolting, but I was wrong (as usual).

                             

                            I know Goose Island has gone from big-local to semi-large national beer recently, but their experimental division is still putting out interesting stuff.  A guy I ran with a few years ago got hired from being the Dragon's Milk brewer, to the exp div of GI.  He brought a few cases of "rejects" to a 10mi casual run one time.  Delicious, delicious, rejects.  Every Fall Goose Island does some "Black Friday" events, where they open one of their old Bourbon County Stout's from days gone by and drink it until it's empty.  Last year I hit them up during the 2017(?) "Midnight Stout" which was an orange flavored version.  It taste exactly like one of those Christmas chocolate oranges.  I camped out.  Drank until wobbly.  Took a $30 bottle home with me to share with the wife.  It was a stoopid expense, but we considered it on par with a well-recommended wine and enjoyed it much more.

                             

                            Being close to the source of Pliny The Elder is on my beer bucket list.  Only had it once.  When a friend offered to show me how to brew, I took on a knock-off PTE recipe.  Results were very tasty, though the beer was completely flat for some reason (error on my part, no doubt).

                             

                            Off-Color brewery (local to Chicago) plays with interesting recipes.  One year they resurrected the oldest known beer receipt (out of China).  It's one of the few beers I've given full marks to.  Complex.  Interesting.  Lots of interesting notes over the course of a sip.  Can't remember what it was called, but I wish they'd bring it back; I'd stock up.

                            Many of us aren't sure what the hell point you are trying to make and no matter how we guess, it always seems to be something else. Which usually means a person is doing it on purpose.

                            VDOT 53.37 

                            5k18:xx | Marathon 2:55:22

                              I celebrate the whole Half Acre collection with special love for Bodem.

                               

                               

                              Daisy Cutter (Half Acre) is a bright pale ale that fits the bill 

                              ch17


                              It's Tuesday every day

                                Greetings! Well, by now I'm a few pages behind but catching up:

                                 

                                1. Thanks for the Red Solo Cups tutorial. Strangely, I just tonight witnessed a few people (obviously one party) strolling right down the sidewalk in DC's Shaw neighborhood with them. I thought fondly of y'all.

                                 

                                2. I live in metro DC (Arlington VA), which is why I referred to the "swamp (DC)."  I went here again tonight and but one of the beers I drank isn't listed on the menu. Last week I had the Baron Corvo and Haxan.

                                 

                                3. DavePNW, I'm with you in that it's always Porter/Stout season. And I love me a cold brain-shrinking high-ABV IPA as well.

                                 

                                Actually, I love almost all beer. I mean, it's beer! What's not to like? Though I will say that drinking a lot of cheap beer the night before a LR is not to like.