The Finer Things In Life

[FlaSoxxJim]

I cracked an Alchemist Heady Topper tonight as I have been sitting on a 4 pack since my trip to Vermont and needed to try this bad boy. This is a big DIPA sitting at 8% ABV and 120 IBUs. Pours cloudy with light white head. The aroma is overpowering with hoppy goodness. You all know that hops have grown on me over the last year and this thing is a pinnacle of hop awesomeness that I have encountered (although Troegs Nugget Nectar is still out there). A wall of pine, pineapple, and mango hits you with a stickiness that I've never experienced before. Like sniffing straight hop resin. No discernible malt aroma.

 

This is smooth as silk. I could have slammed it in a shot and gone back for more. Nice fruitiness that even my wife could appreciate. Highest IBU beer she has ever enjoyed.

 

Alchemist is a brewery that was greatly impacted by Hurricane Irene. If I recall, the brewpub was destroyed and won't be reopened. As I recall, the owner was standing in the pub as the vats were hitting the basement ceiling (the floor beneath his feet) as they bobbed in the flood waters. As took a last drink of Heady Topper and evacuated. Anyway, the pub hasn't reopened, but the cannery is in Waterbury, about a block from Ben and Jerry's (in case anyone cares). All the cannery has is 4 packs of Heady Topper and there is a constant flow of people grabbing it.

[LittleHurt05]

Anyone ever tried beer from Black Acre Brewing?

 

Do yourself a favor, click I am UNDER 21

Edited February 11, 2012 by LittleHurt05

[G&T]

So I finally went and made a second batch of ginger beer using a wine yeast designed for lower temps. It worked! Well close enough. The Morgenthaler recipe calls for 48 hour fermentation but that wasn't enough. It needed 72 hours to maintain carbonation. The swing top worked well. My ingredients were lacking. The lemon was a bit old and the ginger, while fresh from the store, had a lot of green which tends to lead to that weird white solid stuff that doesn't taste right.

 

Anyway, I used what I had, and my primary goal was getting carbonation. If it sucked but was carbonated I figured my recipe would still be one step closer to being right. My first batch tasted great but wasn't carbonated at all. This batch is decent enough (drinkable and carbonated). I added a squeeze of fresh lime (about .5oz) to get the balance on a nice Dark and Stormy.

 

I then found out that PF Changes uses something called Elixir G and soda for their ginger beer. I love their ginger beer and suspected they cheated to get the right taste consistently. Fresh ginger seems...finicky.

 

Anyway, here's a toast with a Dark and Stormy.

 

Also had a Founders Breakfast Stout today but that's a tale for later.

[illinilaw08]

Anyone ever tried beer from Black Acre Brewing?

 

Do yourself a favor, click I am UNDER 21

 

Black Acre is about 4 blocks from my house. They opened last Wednesday and have not started serving their own stuff yet (should be happening by the end of March). They had a tasting a few months back while cutting through the licensing red tape and it's pretty good. I can provide a better report when I start filling growlers there.

 

As an aside, Two Brothers had done a nice job entering the Indy market. I can find it at a couple different liquor stores and a surprising number of places have it on tap.

[Chi Town Sox]

Enjoyed a rare cask conditioned Zombie Dust at Owen and Engine a couple weeks back, both the beer and O&E is AMAZING

[G&T]

Black Acre is about 4 blocks from my house. They opened last Wednesday and have not started serving their own stuff yet (should be happening by the end of March). They had a tasting a few months back while cutting through the licensing red tape and it's pretty good. I can provide a better report when I start filling growlers there.

 

As an aside, Two Brothers had done a nice job entering the Indy market. I can find it at a couple different liquor stores and a surprising number of places have it on tap.

 

Two Brothers is actually available in NY now. We get a ton of it. It's pretty good but they definitely have some oxidation problems.

[StrangeSox]

These guys make some delicious beers, but I'm not sure if they're available around here. Both the DBA and the "805" were delicious.

 

http://www.firestonebeer.com/home.php

[G&T]

These guys make some delicious beers, but I'm not sure if they're available around here. Both the DBA and the "805" were delicious.

 

http://www.firestonebeer.com/home.php

 

Firestone is available in IL. I've only had the Double Jack and it was good. Malty for an IPA, but really interesting.

[G&T]

Drinking a Sixpoint Resin out of Brooklyn. Like a richer, maltier Heady Topper (outlined in a previous post). Really good stuff.

 

Interesting thing I learned while at the bottle shop yesterday. I was debating picking up an Arrogant Bastard but the best by date was about to be in up in a coup weeks. I was kinda surprised a beer with that notoriety wouldn't move a bit faster. I opted for a Lagunitas Hop Stoopid instead. When I got home I looked up the expiration system for Stone and found that their dates are only 3 months from bottling. That's pretty impressive, and I have to give them credit.

 

Also, note, I am drinking a lot of IPAs lately.

 

Edit: Jim, what are your thoughts on IPA freshness? When would the quality start to fall off do you think?

Edited March 3, 2012 by G&T

[FlaSoxxJim]

Drinking a Sixpoint Resin out of Brooklyn. Like a richer, maltier Heady Topper (outlined in a previous post). Really good stuff.

 

Interesting thing I learned while at the bottle shop yesterday. I was debating picking up an Arrogant Bastard but the best by date was about to be in up in a coup weeks. I was kinda surprised a beer with that notoriety wouldn't move a bit faster. I opted for a Lagunitas Hop Stoopid instead. When I got home I looked up the expiration system for Stone and found that their dates are only 3 months from bottling. That's pretty impressive, and I have to give them credit.

 

Also, note, I am drinking a lot of IPAs lately.

 

Edit: Jim, what are your thoughts on IPA freshness? When would the quality start to fall off do you think?

 

I would say six months for a normal beer at a standard alcohol and hopping rate, so easily double that for IPA's with high hopping and a bit more alcohol. At 6 months you may start to perceive a bit of hoop attenuation where the hop bitterness is laying down a bit and the malt is coming out more, but that is still going to be a very drinkable beer.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Third Annual Belgian Beer Fest coming up this weekend at one of my favorite local beer bars. Scroll down this page to see a list of the 52 different beers being tapped during the weekend. A much larger number of sours this year compared to last year so I am very excited.

[G&T]

I would say six months for a normal beer at a standard alcohol and hopping rate, so easily double that for IPA's with high hopping and a bit more alcohol. At 6 months you may start to perceive a bit of hoop attenuation where the hop bitterness is laying down a bit and the malt is coming out more, but that is still going to be a very drinkable beer.

 

So I can trust that the crazies on the beer websites are nuts to think an IPA has to be drunk within a month?

[FlaSoxxJim]

So I can trust that the crazies on the beer websites are nuts to think an IPA has to be drunk within a month?

 

Yes. Or just have them send all of that "bad" beer to me!

 

I might accept that some of the brightest and most volatile hop aromas would start to be lost in as little as a month, but I would hardly call that beer bad.

[G&T]

Third Annual Belgian Beer Fest coming up this weekend at one of my favorite local beer bars. Scroll down this page to see a list of the 52 different beers being tapped during the weekend. A much larger number of sours this year compared to last year so I am very excited.

 

 

Those Cigar Cities look damn good.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Those Cigar Cities look damn good.

 

The Coastal Honey Tripel was brewed exclusively for this event in a pilot brewing system that used to be operated out of this beer bar several years back. The new owners sold the system to Cigar City and now they use it to do their test batches and exclusive releases.

 

I am usually not a huge fan of honey beers but I will make a point of trying this one.

Edited March 6, 2012 by FlaSoxxJim

[G&T]

The Coastal Honey Tripel was brewed exclusively for this event in a pilot brewing system that used to be operated out of this beer bar several years back. The new owners sold the system to Cigar City and now they use it to do their test batches and exclusive releases.

 

I am usually not a huge fan of honey beers but I will make a point of trying this one.

 

Totally agree on the honey beers, but a few days ago I cracked a Hill Farmstead Anna honey saison and it was quite good. The honey isn't really a sweetener because so much of the sugar is fermented, so it becomes a bittering agent. It can go really poorly, and usually does, but this was an interesting take and well done.

 

I should also add that Hill Farmstead and Cigar City do somewhat frequent visits to each other's breweries so I wouldn't be surprised if there is some shared wisdom there.

[G&T]

If you didn't like SA Cherry Wheat before...this year's is intense.

[Balta1701]

If you didn't like SA Cherry Wheat before...this year's is intense.

Glad I'm not the only one who thought that was newish. I enjoyed.

[SoxFan1]

I believe yesterday was Oberon Day in Michigan. Good beer, but man is it overrated.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Just got back from a week-long Caribbean family cruise vacation and I brought back a very nice rum haul. The best finds were bottles of Cuban Havana Club Añejo Blanco, Añejo Reserva, and Añejo 7 Años. I had the 7 year last year in Ecuador and Galapagos, but the other two are new to me. Can't wait to shake up some classic daiquiris and muddle a few mojitos with these new rums!

[G&T]

Finally scored some allspice dram. I waiting months for the St. Elizabeth's but to no avail. Went into the liquor store to check for it and found Bitter Truth Pimento Dram. Grabbed it for just under $30. Pricey but it will last a long while. I was actually amazed that the store clerk knew what it was and had actually used it.

 

Mixed up a Jasper's Jamaican with Barcardi 8, lime, pimento dram and a touch of sugar. The dram has a christmas spice aroma going on. A touch of orange, nutmeg, and obviously allspice (which itself smells of christmas). The flavor is absolutely addictive. It's strange at first but this cocktail really uses the dram well. The rum is front and center on the tongue but gives way to the all spice on the back end. Two completely different flavor profiles in one drink.

 

I don't know how this compares to St. Elizabeth's but I can say I'm happy with the purchase.

 

[FlaSoxxJim]

Finally scored some allspice dram. I waiting months for the St. Elizabeth's but to no avail. Went into the liquor store to check for it and found Bitter Truth Pimento Dram. Grabbed it for just under $30. Pricey but it will last a long while. I was actually amazed that the store clerk knew what it was and had actually used it.

 

Mixed up a Jasper's Jamaican with Barcardi 8, lime, pimento dram and a touch of sugar. The dram has a christmas spice aroma going on. A touch of orange, nutmeg, and obviously allspice (which itself smells of christmas). The flavor is absolutely addictive. It's strange at first but this cocktail really uses the dram well. The rum is front and center on the tongue but gives way to the all spice on the back end. Two completely different flavor profiles in one drink.

 

I don't know how this compares to St. Elizabeth's but I can say I'm happy with the purchase.

 

I have read good things about Bitter Truth's liqueurs, and I am dying to try their sloeberry gin. As delicious as the St. Elizabeth's is, I always end up cutting the recipe amounts in half because it is such a strong flavoring.

[knightni]

Hey guess what today is!

 

http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/list/20120...onal-beer-day#1

[G&T]

I have read good things about Bitter Truth's liqueurs, and I am dying to try their sloeberry gin. As delicious as the St. Elizabeth's is, I always end up cutting the recipe amounts in half because it is such a strong flavoring.

 

I'll have to keep that in mind. So far though, pretty good stuff.

[FlaSoxxJim]

It looks like I might finally get a chance to attend Hukilau this year. Beachbum is doing a Zombie seminar on Saturday and Tiki Historian Sven Kirstin has been added to the Friday speaker schedule. My wife has said she is up for it and the grandparents have said they will take the kids, so as long as I can get the time off from work I think we are Hukilau bound!