Best New Beer You've Tried Recently?

[pat_ernzen]

Wow. That's pretty sweet to find something like that that you can trade up, though. Just picked up a recent trade from my apartment office this morning, so...

New to the fridge. Good stuff. One German, two Canadian, one Japanese, one from Delaware, a couple from California and one from Colorado. Not a bad spread.



The three beers on the left are part of that big list I'm working through and I've been meaning to have a Chicory Stout this year for a while now.

The Regal and Espresso Stout are part of a gift for a friend (along with a Fade to Black). I've had the Espresso Stout (pretty awesome and this bottle has some age on it, so I'm curious how it'll hold up) and Fade to Black (obviously), but haven't tried the Regal. Might have to grab another bottle and give it a try, as I do like a good strong Pilsner.

Drinking this now. Don't know why, but I expected it to be darker with more dark fruit flavors, like Trois Pistoles or something. I had it in my head that it was a quad, I guess. It's good, but Belgian styles just aren't my favorite. However, this stuff is SERIOUSLY easy to drink considering the ABV. Drinking it far too fast, haha.

[pat_ernzen]

Stone makes some nice beers.

I had Boulevard Tank 7 recently. I drank three 8% beers. They tasted really good, but were a little funky. Then I ate a sandwich which floated in my gut full of funky beer for a couple of hours. Nothing would digest, so I hurled in my kitchen sink and went to bed with a headache and the shakes. Good times!

Yikes. I've heard great things about their Smokestack Series. Shame about the rest of the night, though, haha.

[pat_ernzen]

Tomorrow afternoon I'm going to be meeting my brother and some friends for an Epic event at a local bar. They're calling it "Epic Takeover" and this is why...

...

ALL on tap. And apparently one beer that was brewed specifically for the event. Even better, they're all $4 a pint all weekend and one of the co-founders and the head brewer will be there. Should be fun.

To follow up on this, went there yesterday for a while and it was a good time.



Pretty cool, man. Two banks of 11 taps up front and two behind the bar. I've never seen even close to this many beers from one brewery on tap anywhere else. All those tap handles looked impressive, too. Had pints of 825 State Stout, Imperial IPA, Copper Cone Pale Ale and a ton of samples. Ended up trying just about everything, actually, and came home with a few bottle openers. And all of that cost me $10 (my brother bought me one of my beers). GOOOOD stuff.

Was going to go with the Chicory Stout, but decided to drink something a bit more special. Well, special to me, seeing as how Three Floyds doesn't distribute anywhere remotely near Arizona.



It's good, but not great to me. Just another beer that's not really my style (Scottish Ale).

[CruZnVduBvr6]

bud light platinum

[Laser04]

bud light platinum

AHHAHA damn it! Came to post this

[hugoaswho]

[JeffIsLax]

Tried these two Stones over the weekend. I liked them both, but the More Brown than Back better than the Vertical Epic.

[pat_ernzen]

Tried these two Stones over the weekend. I liked them both, but the More Brown than Back better than the Vertical Epic.

I definitely prefer More Brown Than Black to Vertical Epic. Completely different beers, obviously, but I think VE11 is just alright. Had another taste of it on Thursday and while I do feel like it's gotten a bit better, I think there's still a lot of room to improve. Oddly, I think fresh it is actually better out of a bottle than on tap, and quite a bit different, too.

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Had Hopslam on tap and then rolled down to Total Wine & More (after a call to make sure they had some) to get a 6 pack!

[pat_ernzen]

Had Hopslam on tap and then rolled down to Total Wine & More (after a call to make sure they had some) to get a 6 pack!

Think I might have to do a side-by-side with Hopslam and Heady Topper. Down to my last bottle of Hopslam, but I could always get more.

Drank a Sierra Nevada Porter earlier and drinking this now.



Definitely a very solid IPA, but nothing overly special about it, IMO.

[pat_ernzen]

Just drank this:


Then this:


My second bottle of the Mission St Anniversary, though, so not really new to me.

[thebestever]

Stone makes some nice beers.

I had Boulevard Tank 7 recently. I drank three 8% beers. They tasted really good, but were a little funky. Then I ate a sandwich which floated in my gut full of funky beer for a couple of hours. Nothing would digest, so I hurled in my kitchen sink and went to bed with a headache and the shakes. Good times!

yikes! i had a big bottle of tank 7 over the holidays... it was a solid saison, no funk... i think something was wrong with your bottles. tank 7 is good stuff.

[MotownSVT]

Had many of them in the past and I've got about 3 pints left in the growler at home in the fridge:

[leitmotif]

There are 2 bottle shops owned by the same guy out here. The newer one which is more convenient for me since I can stop easily on my way home from work, just closed down. I am sad. I now have to drive an extra 10 miles out of the way to access the good selection at the original store.

[pat_ernzen]

That sucks, man. :/

And "Dragonmead" is probably the nerdiest brewery name out there, haha.

[MotownSVT]

And "Dragonmead" is probably the nerdiest brewery name out there, haha.

Totally nerdy... but those dorks brew some great stuff.

[pat_ernzen]

Went to a tasting yesterday and had:

Epic Utah Sage (draft, TONS of sage)
Epic Bag Bad Baptist (draft, TONS of coffee)
Epic Pfeifferhorn Lager (draft, pretty much your standard lager)
Dogfish Head Ta Henket (not awful, but very bland and nowhere near worth the money)
Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre (very solid)
Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA (really enjoy this beer, but not a regular beer due to cost)
Odell Woodcut No. 03 Oak Aged Crimson Ale (great and at almost $30 a bottle and two years old, was real happy to try it again)
Dogfish Head Pearl Jam Twenty Faithfull Ale (same as Ta Henket)

Was a pretty fun, paid event where I got ~3-4oz samples of all of the above for $10 total. The Pfeifferhorn was probably more than that, as it was served as a palate cleanser between beers. After all those beers, a friend there bought a bottle of 120 and shared that, too, so I probably had another 5 or 6 ozs of it. All in all, it was good. Ta Henket and Faithfull Ale were very mediocre, but I expected that. Tasted a bit like a weak pilsner with a little fruit at the end.

[pat_ernzen]

Drinking this now. It is a 2010 bottle, though, so probably like 14 months old? Surprised by how much it's changed, actually. Just had it on tap a couple weeks ago and I'm actually tasting a lot of dark fruit and the coffee flavors have faded SLIGHTLY. Definitely oxidized a bit and virtually no head. A little when poured, but zero head now that it's about half gone. Still, I'm definitely enjoying it, it's just very different now. Surprised by how much it's changed in a relatively short amount of time.



EDIT: Just went digging through my closet and realized I actually have another (2010) bottle of this. What can I say? I'm kind of ridiculous...

[pat_ernzen]

One man thread going on here, I know, but I picked this up a while back and never mentioned it.

I like a good cider, Crispin makes good cider, it's a cool looking bottle and, most importantly...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ0ohmx4kiM



Just thought it was kind of cool. And I know Nick Cave is far from the only person to record "Stagger Lee", but it's how I really know the song and I'm a big fan of his music in general. I also realize it's more than a song and that the story has been talked about for 100+ years.

[Karmanniac]

Just followed Leitmotif over here...



It's like drinking rich Corinthian leather.

[pat_ernzen]

I like Samuel Smith's, but that one has never really appealed to me.

Drinking this right now. Don't really know how old it is, but I believe it's from late 2009. It's not BAD, but I can't say I'm impressed, either. Never had it fresh, but have a feeling age hasn't really helped it, if not hurt it just a bit. Has a lot of flavors that kind of remind me of Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout, but without some of the better aspects of the Samuel Smith's. Get quite a lot of dark fruits and not much roastiness from it. As I drink it a bit more, I do actually like it more, though.



The real odd thing about this one, to me, is that under that gold foil is a twist-off cap.

[GTicontrol]

still going to stick to PBR to save money for my jetta

[kweetech]

Had the 2012 SN Hoptimum last night...massive hop bomb. Almost over the top. COuld stand to chill out just a bit.
Also had the 2012 Central Waters Illumination...another great DIPA. Also picked up the Central Waters Bourbon Cherry Stout, and the NG Cherry stout for a little side by side.

Finally saw SN Torpedo in cans too...gonna be a good boat beer this summer.

[pat_ernzen]

I've been wanting to try Hoptimum. I've seen it on tap a few places around town, but haven't seen any bottles. Also saw Long Stem on tap, which I'd never even heard of.

Just finished this on friend's suggestion. Picked it up a while ago and wonder if age has effected it more than I expected (bottle is about 19 months old). It's good, but I really get virtually no pumpkin or spruce. Almost all I get is the typical roasty flavors of an imperial stout. Don't know that I'd buy it again, but it isn't bad. If I see it on tap some time I'll try it again to compare.

[Karmanniac]

Has Evolution made it outside of Delaware & Maryland yet? (AKA Evo) I highly recommend the Primal Pale Ale and the Exile ESB...just tried their Lot #3 IPA tonight and it's hoptacular.

[pat_ernzen]

Has Evolution made it outside of Delaware & Maryland yet? (AKA Evo) I highly recommend the Primal Pale Ale and the Exile ESB...just tried their Lot #3 IPA tonight and it's hoptacular.

I've never heard of them, but I imagine that even if they leave the immediate area, Arizona will be one of the later places to ever get it.

Just finishing off this, my second can. Feel a bit selfish, as I didn't share either of them, but I kept wanting to get together with friends and it just didn't happen. Still, don't feel too bad about it and, honestly, it's in the top ten beers I've ever had. I think it's very possibly my favorite IIPA, and that's saying something. If I could get this regularly I would drink a LOT of it. The only IIPA that I feel like I've enjoyed as much is Port's Mongo on cask, which has stuck in my head more than any other beer I've had. We talking just about bottles/cans, I think I like it better than Hopslam, Pliny, Ruination, Gubna, Myrcenary, all the Port hopbombs, etc... it's just so, so good and I could drink a four pack of them in one sitting and be very happy to do so.

[Karmanniac]

Just got back from my local...totally panning their Abbey Hoffman. You'd think that with a name like that it would show some complexity.

[n0rdicalex.]

had this last weekend:



i don't know why i keep buying and trying these types of beers when i KNOW i don't like them. it was very tasty and aromatic, but i cringed every time i sipped it. and the only reason i finished it was because i paid $17.00 for it. just not my style considering i don't like bourbon at all. i am retard.

[kweetech]

had this last weekend:



i don't know why i keep buying and trying these types of beers when i KNOW i don't like them. it was very tasty and aromatic, but i cringed every time i sipped it. and the only reason i finished it was because i paid $17.00 for it. just not my style considering i don't like bourbon at all. i am retard.

ack
I keep missing those maple bourbon Founders beers....next time you get one..send it my way..it will be appreciated

[MotownSVT]

ack
I keep missing those maple bourbon Founders beers....next time you get one..send it my way..it will be appreciated

Wanted to get ahold of some of that stuff... I tried both of the local spots around me with no luck. One of the places had it sold before it ever showed up (waiting list) and the other one did some email contest for the 4 4-packs that they got.

[rawbdee]

Hoptimus Prime, Brooklyn Local 2, Hopslam, and then the local WOB had Delirium Nocturnum on tap so I tried that as well. I like Delirium stuff better on tap.

[n0rdicalex.]

ack
I keep missing those maple bourbon Founders beers....next time you get one..send it my way..it will be appreciated

i'll see what i can do. i'll check out the local, which actually has a fantastic selection, after work friday, and report back with their stock. then, we can go from there.

[Heathcliff Huxtable]

went to a local dive bar for wing night, special was $2 miller light pints . i looked at their taps and to my surprise, they had delerium tremens . $5 delerium pints and cheap wings and i am hurting this morning

[Karmanniac]

Pretty good, but a slightly metallic aftertaste:

[FBMphil]

had this last weekend:

i don't know why i keep buying and trying these types of beers when i KNOW i don't like them. it was very tasty and aromatic, but i cringed every time i sipped it. and the only reason i finished it was because i paid $17.00 for it. just not my style considering i don't like bourbon at all. i am retard.

That cringing? It's the oak putting hair on your chest