The Beer Thread

[lt1fire]

My superbowl line up today..... hard to believe I bought all of these at the gas station down the street. I think i'll be getting gas there more often.

Now i'll have had all of the Rogue X hop variety, Pelican Brewing company makes some very solid stouts and porters, this is the first time i've got one of there IPAs so most likely that won't let me down.

Part of Stone's 20th Anniversary year is them bringing back a lot of their old brews in very limited quantities. This one I actually remember from way back when.... 15 years ago?? I think it was the 2nd stone beer I ever had.

While I love the 21st amendment watermelon beer i'm not quite sure if it is a good match with the heavy hop quantity of the Dorado IPA from Ballast point but we will see. All their beer is very solid so I imagine it worked somehow.

I don't think the pineapple is going to be as good as the grapefruit but we will see.

An a good go to with the the Torpedo (got a 6 pack of that)

 

[jfz80]

@weejub are you moonlighting for triad refined pallet or BrewReview dot com or what?

I want it already. Think I saw in Asheville ingles and passed in ignorance going ew coconut or something to that effect.

 

[jfz80]

Wow. Had the bitter chocolate ages ago and now I'll be on the hunt again. Thanks

Curious what you think of the watermelon; hadn't seen that one but I think you're spot on with the pineapple. Good but ....

Is there a 5 hop rogue? That's the only one I haven't seen Don't wanna ruin your expectations of number 4 but meh

Lineup for tonight ....

Devils backbone collaboration series.

Noda, wicked weed , Sierra, sun King, surly, and another brewery I can't recall

 

[lt1fire]

damn!!!! That's a solid box

 

[lt1fire]

No and I have no clue why they skipped 5.... guy at my beer cave doesn't know either.

 

[lt1fire]

forgot about this one in the back of the fridge

 

[weejub]

@weejub are you moonlighting for triad refined pallet or BrewReview dot com or what?

I want it already. Think I saw in Asheville ingles and passed in ignorance going ew coconut or something to that effect.

I gotta justify this 40 lbs since moving here somehow. . . .

 

[lt1fire]

So what do people in the PNW think of NC beer. Well not a lot actually… lots aren’t even aware there is good beer in NC and the ones that are have never tried it due to NC’s laws that make it virtually impossible for their breweries to become a national player, unless they want to climb in bed with INBEV or something similar.

So when I go to breweries and the craft beer hang outs I talk loud and proud about the great beer scene in NC. It was great to be there at its birth and watch it expand so it will always hold a place in my heart.


I did get a surprise last weekend when I bumped into a guy that worked a Microsoft and was in charlotte for 2 months working on a project team with them and then got a week off to tour the rest of the state.

He had been to every brewery in the charlotte region (even more than me sad to say, only because some weren’t open or had just opened before I left).


We talked a lot about beer culture in different regions. He grew up in Cali like me and had lived in Washington for about 15 years and a few places in between. Seemed to know his stuff and also knew quite a bit about beers from around the world that you can’t get here.


So after a long talk he gave me his favorite breweries from NC. He said his top 3 that he couldn’t decide on was Olde Hickory, Wicked Weed and Ass Clown. All very solid choices. He loved Olde Hickory and absolutely loved the Event Horizon (top 3 NC beer right there). He loved the diversity at both Ass Clown and Wicked Weed, said that Pernicious was just the 3rd best IPA he had from east of the Mississippi.


We talked about distributing and he said if the laws change to allow it Foothills, Big Boss and Wicked Weed would be the first to break out. Foothills would most likely go all the way because their price points are great for a nation wide market. Wicked Weed is just a tad bit too high for a unknown brewery from a State that most people don’t even know make beer outside of Carolina Blonde. I think that is coming from the cheaper beer that is on the west coast that would be hard to pull people away from.


His least liked brewery was Sugar Creek Brewing. Said it was bland and didn’t excite any taste buds. He talked to a few people there and they all pretty much said the same thing. They liked it because they didn’t like IPA’s or Stouts and that was what most breweries in NC pumped out in large quantities. That’s fair enough but he said that they were drinking it because they liked more “Belgium-euro” stuff but the majority had most likely never had a good one from the region that is full of flavor and taste. I’d agree with that from my own experiences there although I have heard they have gotten a tiny bit better since I went there.


Over all he said he was shocked and loved the beer culture in NC. Said it was a nice surprise from when he was last in NC in 2004.


Just sharing with you guys because it’s nice to see someone that loves beers appreciate the culture of it in NC

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

 

[RedHeadedStepChild]

I had one of those just now. Always a good choice.

The other half of my weekend line up: Hop Stoopid. I was a little leary that this would just be a bitter bomb with no subtlety, but I was pleasantly surprised.
At 104 IBU it certainly had a biter finish, but not in any way out of control. It still managed to have that really nice hoppy blend, characteristic of Lagunitas, that I am quite fond of. All in all, I would have to give it a solid thumbs-up.

 

[weejub]

Wife and I went to Olde Hickory Station in Hickory for Valentines dinner. We like to sit at the bar there - never been back to the restaurant portion - bartenders are excellent and the beer list is always good.

They had two on cask - The Alpine was served ready to drink out of the cask - I should have asked the temperature, but you didn't have to wait for it to warm up or open up - - wonderful - I could have drank it ALL NIGHT long I had never heard of Alpine Beer Co., but I guess this is one of the new "hotter" West Coast beers.

The OHB Stout was OK.

 

[elkaholic]

Now that I am in Ridgeway, tasty beer selections are a bit tougher to find locally - unless Bud Light is your idear of tasty. Found this at - of all places - WalMart in Camden and I was pleased with this selection ....

Visitors are welcome at the lake ... Price of admission is something better than recycled water (Bud Light)

 

[pawwright]

local grocery had a display of eight six packs.... so was able to try this evening.

 

[weejub]

Hopslam was probably my entry into the ultra high ABU beers a few years back - still love it! Remember having it for the first time at our brand new Flying Saucer in KC a few months after it opened.

 

[weejub]

I saw this:

but bought this:

I am liking Alpine.

 

[RedHeadedStepChild]

Tried some Baby Maker over Christmas.
I think it was good, but we were pretty deep into it at that point so hard to be certain.
Planning on picking up a tall-boy of it this Friday.

 

[pawwright]

Tried some Baby Maker over Christmas.
I think it was good, but we were pretty deep into it at that point so hard to be certain.
Planning on picking up a tall-boy of it this Friday.

Definitely a good one, used to really enjoy it, so I think you will still like it
......

 

[jfz80]

Enjoyed another enjoy by night before the Richland Rd ride

As well as a Sierra five hop experimental ale and Finally found a hopparilla still in stock, solid beer but wasn't as great as id hoped it to be.

This past weekend sampler ....
Ecliptic orbiter IPA out of Oregon. Yum

Troeg's nugget nectar annual release. Pretty good overall but didn't think it earned its price tag compared to others

Another great Stone though. Really enjoyed this one.

 

[weejub]

Mmmm that new Stone Red X is the kinda thing I typically love -will have to try to find that.

 

[jfz80]

So I picked these up on Sunday 2/21 as well and they have been in the garage. I pulled them out tonight and saw the bottled on date was last Tuesday 2/16. Might be the freshest beer I've ever purchased. And darn good! Had it on draft at one of the GSO gatherings but hadn't seen on shelves before this past weekend.