Beer Thread
- Thread starter PhishPhan682
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I had this today. Outstanding.
National Beer Day Line-up...may carry into the weekend line-up to
Here is a cool article that just appeared in the Trib on Toppling Goliath. Josh Noel is their beer writer, and he knows his stuff. Damn this makes me want to visit. I've had 10 of their beers, and the IPAs have all been at least pretty good to phenomenal. Dorothy's Lager, Rover Truck (their basic stout) and Smoove Opferator (brown ale) were all merely good, but I'd love to try some of their imperial IPAs and stouts.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifes...26-toppling-goliath-iowa-20150722-column.html
http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifes...26-toppling-goliath-iowa-20150722-column.html
Looks like a fantasy football draft is in process. Except its April.I had this today. Outstanding.
I can't remember if I already posted this or not, but here's the Founders lineup for a KBS event here in the 'ville next week.
Founders' Keepers Tap Takeover
Wednesday, April 13th
starts at 4pm
21+ only
20 Founders Beers ON TAP! Join us for this epic event.
Specialty Founders glassware will be available for purchase with beer (while supplies last). Founders gifts will be raffled off starting at 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, and 9pm (must be present to win).
Special guests from the brewery will be joining us in the evening during a quick visit to Kentucky's bourbon country. We welcome Jeremy Kosmicki (Brewmaster), Jason Heystek (former Cellar Manager/VP of Production & Planning), Brad Stevenson (CPO), and Barrett Allen (Founders Regional Market Manager KY-TN).
ON TAP:
Founders 2016 KBS
Founders 2015 KBS
Founders 2015 Backwoods Bastard
Founders 2014 Backwoods Bastard
Founders PAM
Founders Mango Magnifico
Founders Imperial Stout
Founders Old Curmudgeon
Founders 2015 Blushing Monk
Founders Misty Mountain Hop Brown Ale
Founders Mosaic Promise Single Hop Ale
Founders Azacca IPA
Founders All Day IPA
Founders Centennial IPA
Founders Red’s Rye IPA
Founders Dirty Bastard
Founders Porter
Founders Rubaeus
Founders Nitro Pale Ale
Founders Nitro Oatmeal Stout
Founders' Keepers Tap Takeover
Wednesday, April 13th
starts at 4pm
21+ only
20 Founders Beers ON TAP! Join us for this epic event.
Specialty Founders glassware will be available for purchase with beer (while supplies last). Founders gifts will be raffled off starting at 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, and 9pm (must be present to win).
Special guests from the brewery will be joining us in the evening during a quick visit to Kentucky's bourbon country. We welcome Jeremy Kosmicki (Brewmaster), Jason Heystek (former Cellar Manager/VP of Production & Planning), Brad Stevenson (CPO), and Barrett Allen (Founders Regional Market Manager KY-TN).
ON TAP:
Founders 2016 KBS
Founders 2015 KBS
Founders 2015 Backwoods Bastard
Founders 2014 Backwoods Bastard
Founders PAM
Founders Mango Magnifico
Founders Imperial Stout
Founders Old Curmudgeon
Founders 2015 Blushing Monk
Founders Misty Mountain Hop Brown Ale
Founders Mosaic Promise Single Hop Ale
Founders Azacca IPA
Founders All Day IPA
Founders Centennial IPA
Founders Red’s Rye IPA
Founders Dirty Bastard
Founders Porter
Founders Rubaeus
Founders Nitro Pale Ale
Founders Nitro Oatmeal Stout
I've been there 3 times. Mrs. O and I would be honored to meet you and Mrs. P any weekend you want in Decorah for my 4th trip - or we can just make it a sausage fest and be dudes only. Maybe we can entice Phish and Hoops and make it an AOTF Beer Thread Bonanza.
Seriously, I'm up for any of those scenarios. Let's do it!!!!!
One of these days. Sounds like a hell of a plan. And I'm still planning on going to my cousin's wedding in December. I'm not sure it'll be in Mankato now though. I'll get details this summer.
Avoid the Mango.
For real. The rest of that list is spectacular, but the Mango missed the mark, IMHO. WAAAAAAAAAAY too sweet, and not enough habanero to balance it.
I'll bring some of this as a bonus .....
..... or we could go totally rogue and do a TG/Surly Friday/Saturday Decorah/Minneapolis combo pack.
I've done that once (with IUJIM) and it was SPECTACULAR!
Don't worry about the 2016 Backwoods. The 2015 is drinking so good that i just put back everything i had to age a year.
I had Rubaeus on Nitro yesterday that is damn delicious. I agree with O on the Mango. It is a malty syrup that isn't good.
That was at Shoeless Joe's in Rosemont. I gave a glass of that to my non-beer nerd buddy. He spontaneously combusted.
I scraped him off the ground, finished his portion, killed the bottle, banged the bartender, then dragged him to the car.
Cause I'm an American (beer nerd) Badass.
It always is. Central Waters Bourbon barrel aged Scotch Ale isn't quite as good but it's a nice alternative.
You would be shocked at what I've paid for beer, and I think that's outrageous.
No, and like O, I've paid for beer.
But, and I'm an LOE at 18th (the group that kickstarted them) and I think it's nuts. So, no, no one is buying. They phacked it up good, and they are getting trashed on BA real good.
That is such awful business. I know brewers aren't ever the MBA types, but common sense should be enough to know they were way out of touch with their customers on that.
I'm seeing more and more of this though...brewers making average at best beers and pricing them at premium beer level. I no longer spend $13 on a unknown bomber unless someone I trust has said it's worth a shot.
Well, 18th makes really good beer, and there isn't an MBA within a mile of 18th. I suspect that they might be a little too close to the trees to see the forest.
But, you're correct - they are out of touch with their customers; that's evident.
The first thing I thought when I read your initial post in this subthread was, "Someone's got 3F's Weenis Envy." Or something along those lines.
Most perceptive from afar, you are, my beer jedi. That very well could be, and I think is, the truth.
There's a Dark Lord Day thread on BA with a mile of posts, and a constant topic is how many tickets they sell for DLD. Which, no one knows. But, just speculating based on experience, say that there are 8,000 tickets (read: conservative) at $200 per. That equates this year to $1,600,000 in revenue, for a single day event.
I've said forever that I'd love to see the P&L for DLD; it'll never happen, but I'm guessing they gross well over $3.0 million that day. Just that day.
Mull on that - all because they brewed a beer in a warehouse in Hammond that people thought was good.
And that's where things go off the rails for me. My first trip to Toppling Goliath, I spent $200 on beer - 2 cases of Pseudo Sue (bombers), a case of Golden Nugget, and a bunch of random stuff. I sent Pseudo and Nugget from that haul to you, Ptown, Phish, and a couple of others, gave a bunch to Little O, and had a TON leftover for me.
That same $200 would get me into DLD - and wouldn't fill a box.
I'll spend on beer - lots. But not like that. That veers away from what "craft" should be, IMHO. But what do I know?
I love the new DLD rate for what it includes. 4 bottles plus a variant and 40? In beer? It's more fair than ever.
The 18th St ish is dumb as rocks and I prefer every beer of theirs to Three Floyds.
$32/bomber doesn't scare me. Shoot, I spent $35 for an 11.2 oz bottle of Westie XII - twice. I've spent $22 for bombers of Darkness. Didn't flinch. Actually, I bought so much Darkness that year (2013), I sent bunches of it out, including to my fellow beer nerds here. Beer It Forward is my credo (if I have a credo).
But $32/bomber for that experience is ..... interesting.
It was SOOOOOOO cool that you sent me a bomber of it. I loved trying it. Rated it 4.42 on BA (which is like a 97), which puts it around #90 on my list (out of approximately 1,800 beers I've rated). But spending 2 hundie to stand in MASSIVE lines for a beer that challenging (you've gotta slow play that big boy) is not something I'd do. And I do stupid stuff at times for beer (like driving 5 hours to acquire the TG stuff I described above).
To each his own, but that experience (and Surly's Darkness Day is in the same league, though not in the $200 range) seem counter-intuitive to what beer nerdery should be about, IMHO. The trading that we do here - THAT is what beer nerdery should be. I know I try to give "extra value" to you guys when we trade, and I know you guys do the same in return. Every single time.
I will jump off my soap box. If you're going to DLD, I hope you enjoy the bat shiznit out of it, Coach. I'll raise a glass in your honor. Maybe Tweak - speaking of doing stupid stuff for beer, spendy bottle. When the girl at the beer store rang those 2 bottles up for me, she thought she'd screwed up: "Is that supposed to be a 6-pack?"
Nope.
This. The massive bottle share is included in the cost as well, I feel. So many beers I don't normally have a chance to try that I feel it is included in that cost. CF**, did you say you were going this year?
What is this share of which you speak? Is Ziz running this gig and turning it into some Commie event? I DON'T SHARE BEER!!!!!
How many in your group? Meaning how many you coming with? Not how many in group e. Lol. I'm group C
The bottle share is the best part of DLD - it's why no one minds the lines. In fact, I want some line time.What is this share of which you speak? Is Ziz running this gig and turning it into some Commie event? I DON'T SHARE BEER!!!!!
The best bottle share used to happen before dawn, when the true beer ninjas line up at 4:00 or 5:00 am (this was more prevalent before they started making it a ticketed event) and cracking beers. The streets surrounding the brewery are literally lined with empty bottles of every and any whale you can name.
Last year we got in line around noonish, and it was pouring rain and nasty. We got in the cattle chutes, and everyone was huddled under rain ponchos and umbrellas, and no one was having a good time. So, Hoops Cat reached into the magic backpack, and pulled out a bottle of 18th St something or other, didn't matter what it was (but I think it was a barleywine), and started offering pours to whoever was in front, behind, or to our sides. If they were noobs, and didn't have a glass, we brought a sleeve of plastic Solo cups, and hooked them up. Pretty soon, we had met folks in for the first time from Boston, the north side of Chitown, and I forget where else. Good times.
Then, as we wound through the chutes, people would see that I had 18th in hand, not that's is a whale or anything, but it's a beer that they had heard about and wanted to try. Ended up giving a half bottle of a Hunter stout of some variety to a guy who gave me half a bottle of Mexican Cake in return. Talk about a win-win.
And then, it doesn't stop once you get inside the gates - there are tables / tents / groups everywhere, and shares happening all over. There's a certain etiquette to it; you don't just walk up and start pouring, but you start talking with the folks, offer them some of yours, and they'll offer you some of theirs, and then you'll meet even more folks.
I agree with CF - for $200, this year's DLD is priced right. I know that folks have a negative perception of 3 Floyds, and DLD, but I'm here to tell you that DLD is something you should experience. At least once, and yes, Phish, you too.
It's really something awesome -
Rain be damned. We were there by 7am last year. As you already know since my state of affairs was bad by the time we met up.
I purposely didn't bring your condition up; trying to do you a solid.
I've never seen a hamburger being assaulted like that.
I have no problem at all with Floyd's, but DLD ...... I'm not so sure.
This is coming from the guy who spent around $300 all in when Mrs. O and I visited the brewpub in September 2013.
You're a true beer ninja. I'll do a DLD, but we need to tag-team it. I'll bring a 2015 BA Surly Darkness.
See, you could bring in any local brew like Dangerous Man, Indeed, whatever, it wouldn't matter. Folks would want to sip and share.
C'mon down.
Interesting piece on CBS Sunday Morning today about Jim Koch and Sam Adams. This thread might not even exist were it not for his efforts in the mid 80s. I didn't realize that they loan money to craft brewer startups and give them assistance in all aspects of their business ( payroll, accounting, etc). Pretty cool. Said there were over 4,000 microbreweries nationwide now.
Let me know if you want to bottle share in line with our group. Typically have a lot to offer. These guys have been doing it for years. I'm still the noob
Just picked up a 4 pack of Chillwave from Great Lakes. DIPA with mosaic hops -- one of my favorite beers. Also a Curmudgeon from Founders...one of the few offerings from them I've yet to try.
The store also had a couple of beers from Flying Dog that looked interesting: A beer from their single hopped series -- Single Hopped HBC-291. Supposed to be some new hop...anyone tried it yet? Also had a Mango/Habanero beer I thought about, but after trying this year's Mango Magnifico, I'm not sure I want to go there.
The store also had a couple of beers from Flying Dog that looked interesting: A beer from their single hopped series -- Single Hopped HBC-291. Supposed to be some new hop...anyone tried it yet? Also had a Mango/Habanero beer I thought about, but after trying this year's Mango Magnifico, I'm not sure I want to go there.
