BEER

[SoulBiter]

I opened my 'Sucks' and had full plans to add some stout to it, just cause I was going to experiment... Damnit.. I just cant. The Sucks is really good. Z you should get another and try again because the tastes in this are really good. yes it has a bitter aftertaste that leaves a (now that you mention it) a rye malt aftertaste.

[Orlion]

Both of my experiences were pretty different with Sucks. The first was good, the second was even better! I was able to pick up all the fruit notes and everything! It's one of my favorites now, at least until they screw it up.

Sorry about your experience, Z. Hope you got a bad batch... cuz otherwise, your tastes suck

[SoulBiter]

So this week... I'm trying some other Lagunitas beers

Lagunitas Russian Imperial stout 22oz
(edit - I opened this last night and it was outstanding. A solid RIS)


Lagunitas Night Time (limited release) I bought a 6 pack so I hope I like them, they rate very highly
(edit - Very good. It pours dark but not dark as a stout. Its citris and hops on the nose with a nice head on it. Taste is very IPA like, but with some coffee notes and malt. Drinks easy, I went through a couple of these pretty fast.

I will let you guys know my thoughts on these as I drink them.

[Zarathustra]

Beer is fairly variable. My local favorite (West Sixth IPA) varies from aspirin-tasting bitter bomb to deliciously dank. A lot of it has to do with how old it is (as I've mentioned) and how it has been handled. I didn't see a date on my bottle of Sucks, which I usually take as a sign to skip. But you guys piqued my interest, so I went against my usual rule.

I'll try it again. I don't judge based on a single bottle.

And no, my tastes don't suck.

[Sorus]

The date is on the neck of the bottle in black ink - kinda blends in. The one I have says 047 5, which appears to mean it was bottled on the 47th day of 2015. It's a 12oz bottle, but I imagine the 32 uses the same system.

[Zarathustra]

D'oh! I saw the print, but couldn't crack the code, so I dismissed it as a PLU number or something.

[SoulBiter]

Stouts again... so these are my next to try out. The number next to it is the Rate beer avg rating

Evil Twin I LOVE YOU WITH MY STOUT 3.87
Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout - 3.86 avg
Weyerbacher - Old Heathen Imperial stout - 3.71
Founders Porter 3.99

I still have a number of IPA's in my fridge, so I didnt get any more of those.

[Orlion]

*grumble* Posting a Porter as a Stout! Get off my lawn!

Some advice regarding Founder's: it is considerable hoppier then other porters I've had. Mine was out of a bottle at a hipster bar, so I suggest drinking it out of a glass.

[Sorus]

I don't think my palate is sophisticated enough to fully appreciate Sucks, but I did shift from my first impression of 'Wow, that's bitter,' to being able to acknowledge that there are a lot of nuances beyond the bitterness. I think the level of hoppiness is a little out of my comfort zone, but I am trying to broaden my horizons a bit.

I have one last bottle from the six-pack I bought a while back, and will probably have that tonight.

[Zarathustra]

I did a blind taste tests with half a dozen or so porters. Founder's Porter was without question the best of the bunch.


I'm a little sad tonight--but also happy. I had no idea that one of my favorite beers is being retired. Stone's Ruination IPA has been remade as Ruination 2.0.

Some quick history: this is a big deal in the world of Double IPAs. Ruination was the first mass produced IIPA in the world. It set the standard. It developed over a 5 year tradition of Stone Brewing Co. topping itself each year with an ever more powerful hop bomb. The first anniversary release gave us Stone IPA (which was very extreme for 1997), then each year after that they tried to top the previous special release, always an IPA. This culminated in a beer that was thought to be so intense (bitter, hoppy), that it would ruin you to all other beers.

Fast forward over 10 years, and Ruination isn't considered all that extreme. It was only 7.2% for a long while, and they bumped that up over 8% recently, but ultimately it didn't compare to more modern IIPAs.

I still loved it. I just thought of it as an IPA, rather than the double version.

However, IIPAs have just gotten bigger and hoppier, new techniques have been developed to brew them (e.g. hop bursting). So the original has been kicked up another notch, and incorporates new hops and new techniques.

The new one more than holds its own among modern IIPAs. This is a super drinkable 8.5% ale. Very dry (which is harder to do the bigger you brew), very hoppy, but still tasting 'refined' and 'stately.' Yes, that's how I think about Stone beers, even the extreme ones. It has a sophisticated control on all the elements going on here. Nothing extreme just for the sake of being extreme. Everything in its place. But still very dank, citrusy, piney, and loaded with hop goodness. The hop bursting technique leads to more hop flavor without as much bitterness. It's the same technique used in their Enjoy By IPAs, as well as their session IPA, Stone Go To IPA. It gives an intense hop punch that taste more 'seamless,' to me. Smooth and aggressive at the same time. The aroma really lets loose as it warms, getting into that funky Simcoe territory (many describe it as 'cat piss,' but don't let that turn you off, it's the best damn cat piss you ever smell ).

[SoulBiter]

Stouts again... so these are my next to try out. The number next to it is the Rate beer avg rating

Evil Twin I LOVE YOU WITH MY STOUT 3.87
Samuel Smiths Imperial Stout - 3.86 avg
Weyerbacher - Old Heathen Imperial stout - 3.71
Founders Porter 3.99

I still have a number of IPA's in my fridge, so I didnt get any more of those.

Evil Twin I LOVE YOU WITH MY STOUT 3.87 - Holy cow. Dark, very very malty, so malty that as it warmed and I got closer to the bottom of my glass, it was incredibly sweet, chocolate more than coffee. 13% ABV I believe. Heavy, full body taste. Definitely recommend this!!

Weyerbacher - Old Heathen Imperial stout - 3.71 - it was good but not real good. I would not buy this one again.

Founders Porter 3.99 - :Loved it! I hated when I got the bottom of my glass and realized I didnt have another one of these.

*grumble* Posting a Porter as a Stout! Get off my lawn!

Some advice regarding Founder's: it is considerable hoppier then other porters I've had. Mine was out of a bottle at a hipster bar, so I suggest drinking it out of a glass.

Good call out Orlion! I knew when I posted that, that someone would pick up on that. So I educated myself more on the Porters vs Stouts... Apparently they are very similar and Stout is considered a type of Porter going back over a century(depending on who you talk to). But definitely two different tastes if its brewed as a Porter instead of a Stout.

The beer education continues.

I did a blind taste tests with half a dozen or so porters. Founder's Porter was without question the best of the bunch.

Well that makes me want to save this for a time when I can really sit and just enjoy this beer and not be rushed for any reason.

I'm a little sad tonight--but also happy. I had no idea that one of my favorite beers is being retired. Stone's Ruination IPA has been remade as Ruination 2.0.

When I was at the Growlers looking at beers, the guy there was telling me the same thing about the Ruination IPA. He said also said that people (what people I dont know) are saying that it was a good move.

[Zarathustra]

Stone's update of their Pale Ale is tasty! I'm so into to IPAs, I haven't had a pale ale in a long time. I've always liked Stone's, finding it much better than SNPA (the industry standard, for American pale ales), but just not intense or flavorful enough for me. For the same price, I almost always choose the IPA.

But this new pale ale 2.0 could change that, make me start buying PAs again. This is a modern interpretation of a pale ale, one that redefines the category, imo. It's got more bitterness and higher ABV (6%), while maintaining that malt-forward taste for which pale ale's are famous. One could say this is just a malty or 'balanced' IPA (an oxymoron), but I think that would be a mistake. This doesn't showcase the hops, but uses them for a little spice. The malt doesn't merely balance the hops, but forms the backbone of this brew ... without being sweet or thick.

Anyway, I recommend it, if you're looking for something not quite as strong or intense, and yet with tons of flavor. I think this is a more successful update than even Ruination 2.0.

[SoulBiter]

I picked up a Lagunitas Imperial Red Ale. I havent tried it yet.

Edit - It was outstanding. Similar hops to the 'Sucks' but not nearly as much. A really fine Ale! I will buy this again and I think it might be a limited release so I may need to get some soon.

[SoulBiter]

I picked up four bottles to try:

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale - Bad....really bad. There are few beers that I just pour out after a few swallows. This was one of them

Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Stout - Not as bad as the ale. It was drinkable but not enjoyable. I drank a half pint and poured the rest out.

Founders Black Rye - Pretty good. A bit thinner than a typical stout but a good flavor. Typical roast flavors but little of the malts you would expect from a stout.

Hercules Double IPA - Man... really good. Lots of hops. MAd hops yet Enough malt to offset all the hops. VEry drinkable.

BTW - I also found Lagunitas Sucks in a 6 pack!!!! I found when I poured it to have a larger head on it, the fragrance was intensified while drinking.

As with most, my tastes differ from others but that was my take on those beers. I loved the Hercules and will track down more of this. The Black Rye was good. Still this is a good way to find some good beer by buying in singles.

[Zarathustra]

I haven't been able to get Hercules in years, but it was one of my favorites 5-10 years ago.

Founders is in my top 5 breweries, and the Black Rye is no exception to their many fine ales.

The KY bourbon barrel ales are disappointing. But I'll drink them if there is no better craft ale available. Alltech was the first craft brewer in Lexington, but it's racing to catch up with the new breweries that have opened up here. It has a ton of barrel aged stuff. I think their Rye Barrel IPA is their best offering. The bourbon ale is the craziest barrel aged ale out there--crazy in the sense that it doesn't make sense, not that it's extreme. They basically took their standard beer and put it in bourbon barrels. This makes no sense because most barrel aged ales are imperial stouts or barleywines--really big beers to begin with--and the bourbon adds a note to compliment an already intense beer. But with the bourbon barrel ale, it's like taking Budweiser and aging it in barrels. The bourbon entirely takes over, leaving very little characteristics of the underlying brew. As such, it's definitely unique ... if watered down fizzy bourbon is unique. It was their first really popular ale, and they've been barrel aging everything else since.

I've only tried the KY bourbon aged stout once. I remember it being thin, which you don't want in that style. Again, it's a strange beer. Most breweries will work hard to produce a great imperial stout recipe, and then once it's established they'll barrel age it for a special release. But Alltech didn't brew an imperial stout. No stout at all. So this beer was designed from ground up to be another barrel aged gimmick. There's no hint of a great beer beneath all the bourbon.

[dlbpharmd]

This was excerpted from this morning's column by George Will. Thought the beer aficionados would find it interesting.

Budweiser's problem is not just that the number of barrels it sells has declined for 25 years, from almost 50 million in 1988 to 16 million in 2013. (Budweiser has been partly cannibalized by Bud Light, which in 2001 displaced Budweiser as the United States' top-selling beer.) The ominous fact is that 44 percent of 21- to 27-year-old drinkers have never tasted Budweiser. They prefer craft beers from microbreweries. A craft brewer is one that ships 6 million or fewer barrels a year. In 2013, craft brewers shipped more than Bud did. Budweiser's response has included this truculent ad:

"Proudly a macro beer. It's not brewed to be fussed over. . . . It's brewed for drinking. Not dissecting. . . . Let them sip their pumpkin peach ale."

This is an interesting approach to potential customers, calling craft beer drinkers ("them") pretentious twits. If this is unavailing, Budweiser could try becoming a modern, progressive beer company with social purposes to deepen relationships with various communities, maybe even including people who just want a beer.

[Zarathustra]

Thought the beer aficionados would find it interesting.

We did!

"Proudly a macro beer. It's not brewed to be fussed over. . . . It's brewed for drinking. Not dissecting. . . . Let them sip their pumpkin peach ale."

Pumpkin Peach sounds awesome, actually. Especially if it's a porter. But that quote is pretty funny coming from a corporation that also produces the following:

Budweiser/Bud Light Chelada

Bud Light Lime Rita
Bud Light Straw-Ber-Rita
Bud Light Mang-o-Rita
Bud Light Raz-Ber-Rita
Bud Light Cran-Brrr-Rita

Michelob: ULTRA Lime Cactus
Michelob: ULTRA Pomegranate Raspberry
Michelob: ULTRA Tuscan Orange Grapefruit

Michelob Pumpkin Spice Ale

And it has been gobbling up smaller craft breweries like crazy: Goose Island, Elysian, 10 Barrel, etc.

And it's not even an American company anymore. Anheuser-Busch was purchased by InBev, a Belgian company. So a Belgian beer company--from a country with one hell of a brewing history, making some of the best/oldest ales on the planet (brewed by monks!)--is making fun of people who enjoy something besides yellow fizzy piss water? That's hilarious.

Budweiser tried its hand at 'craft ale' with Budweiser American Ale. It was crappy and discontinued.

American Ale has a distinctive hoppier flavor than other Anheuser-Busch beers, in an attempt to capture some of the American craft beer market, although most American craft beers are hoppier.

link

[SoulBiter]

They need to rethink 'beer'. There are so many beers out there that are just so much better than you can get from a Bud that it doesnt surprise me that they are losing market share.

When you are practically the only game in town you can marginalize the competition. But when the smaller competition starts cutting you out, you need to learn what they are doing right and emulate that.

By the way this last week I tried

Goose Island IPA - Nothing special there
Londer Porter - Again nothing special
Hop Devil - that was pretty good

I tried a couple of others that were so good I cant even remember the names LOL.

Hey I read in the news this week that the Hops in IPA's give you man boobs. Anyone choose to affirm or deny this charge?

[Zarathustra]

I don't know if hops give man boobs or not. I don't let myself get fat enough to find out.

Goose Island IPA is indeed mediocre. It's also one of the lowest % ABV IPAs out there. When fresh, it's a decent 'light beer.' I used to drink it frequently when I wanted something less potent, or just couldn't get anything better. Now there are "session IPAs" being brewed by lots of breweries, so many more choices (if you want a watered-down IPA).

I disagree on London Porter. It's a classic of that style. Not everything has to be extreme to be delicious.

Hop Devil is an 'old school' IPA to me. It's got that generic mid-2000s taste that much of the IPA market has left behind for newer hop varieties. It's a fine IPA, but not my taste anymore.

[SoulBiter]

I disagree on London Porter. It's a classic of that style. Not everything has to be extreme to be delicious.

I will give it another try. I will say that my pallet was not clean. I had been drinking another beer type prior. But it seemed thin and weak. I will try it again because it could have been old, or it could have been my pallet.

Hop Devil is an 'old school' IPA to me. It's got that generic mid-2000s taste that much of the IPA market has left behind for newer hop varieties. It's a fine IPA, but not my taste anymore.

Since I just started IPA's this not an old variety to me LOL. I did notice the difference in the hops. They didnt have that flowery, fruity, more complex notes that I have been smelling/tasting in IPA's lately.