Made a field trip over to Transient in Michigan this afternoon. Picked up a couple "Light" (only 10%) version of their coffee, vanilla, maple breakfast stout. A rotating porter, a couple barrel aged saisons, and a brett DIPA. Sucks I was driving and couldn't have anything on tap.

http://i1290.photobucket.com/albums/...psiq4mubtf.jpg

EDIT: Awkward factoid about Transient Artisan Ales. The founder and head brewer has the exact same name, spelled identical and everything, of some chick I used to defile after I got out of high school. I'm talking total ditch pig that I practiced porn moves on so I'd be ready for the real action. I think about her every time I see him or have one of his beers.

You know what, I'm glad this convo got started. I've been meaning to ask all of you guys about St. Louis breweries.

If I were spending a week in KC, would the beer in St Louis be worth making the 4 hour drive there and back in one day in order to visit a couple of the breweries?

lol @ that last part.

I was on my way to buying a couple bottles of Transient and another four pack of Todd the Axe Man last night from Beer Temple. I thought they had my info stored in their system. They had all except my credit card info, and I was too lazy to get out of bed to go get it. Maybe I'll finish that purchase today.

Also, I had a trade lined up on Reddit for all five bottles of that Pumpkinator and was getting Trillium in return. The guy wanted to do a $ for $ trade, and I accidentally misquoted what I paid for my bottles. I think he thought I was intentionally lying, and it scared him off.

Damn it.

I thought the trade was such a sure thing, that I went out and bought four more bottles. Now I'm sitting here with nine bottles of Pumpkinator.

I haven't had the unfiltered, and I am not a fan of black IPAs. That tangerine, though....damn it's good.

Damn it, man. I keep forgetting you don't like IPAs. I was gonna try and get you to head into north Houston and see what you thought about that Pussy Wagon from Brash Brewing.

They do have a stout that everyone loves called Hammer Smash Face, and I'm pretty sure it's still on tap right now. Just in case you're looking for something new to try. That brewery is about to make a big come up.

Doh. I've been really wanting to try some Trillium, but no dice yet. Had some Treehouse Julius recently, which was awesome. This East vs West coast IPA thing that's going on right now is pretty fantastic.

I think that Todd is pretty fresh, but **** me, $20 a 4pk hurts. It's totally worth it, but I always have a hard time pulling the trigger on it (and opt for some $12 bomber instead, lol).

I don't keep up with Stone's distro, but I know the last unfiltered was only available on tap in IL. Not sure if that was a one off distributor moment (thanks corruption) or if the unfiltered version is more limited. And I typically don't like black IPAs or hopped up stouts, or whatever they call them either, but I enjoy Stone's version which surprised me a bit.

Julius was the other beer he and I were discussing. I really want to try that, or anything from Treehouse really.

...and I agree about the east vs west deal. But just like the hip hop coast wars of the '90's, there are Midwest players k8nda being overlooked because of it (pipeworks, Mikerphone).

Speaking of Mikerphone, I saw someone on Reddit trying to trade a Special Sauce batch #8. He was looking for hops, but I sent him a note about Pumpkinator on a long shot. I'm headed over to reddit now to see if he responded by laughing at me.

I looked at the date last night, and I believe it's less than a month old. I can't remember, though.

You're right, that shit is expensive, but very worth it. I hadn't realized I paid that much for it the first time around. I forget to look at prices sometimes (that's partly why I misquoted my price in my reddit trade earlier today), but I noticed the price on the Todd last night when I went to buy more. I wanted to get two more 4 packs....but after seeing the price tag, I switched to one.

I don't think I would say it's a can't miss. Side Project and Perennial are probably the best St. Louis has to offer. Unfortunately, the Side Project Cellar opened up not long before I moved and I never got the chance to visit. There are several other good places, 4 Hands, Urban Chestnut, Civil Life, and Schlafly to name a few. Second Shift is good too, but is well outside the city and not a convenient stop. Side Project and Perennial both produce world class beers, but I don't think I could justify traveling 4 hours there and back in one day. That may just be me and my nearly 40 year old self though.

Julius was amazing. Definitely worth the effort to get. Would love to get my hands on more Treehouse, or some Trillium.

For sure. Hell, I live in the Midwest, and don't have access to either of those mentioned. There are a few good IPAs made here in the Cities, but most don't compare to the coastal options. Would be interested in trying some of those before I move out to CA in a month - may have to see what I can hook up.

FYI, Mikerphone SS8 wasn't as good as 7, simply because galaxy > simcoe for that style, imo. Still a really good beer that would be a steal for something pumpkin ;)

Yeah yeah, I know pumpkin ain't for a lot of folks, but for those that like it, Pumpkinator is great.

I'm not one of those guys that can identify single hops a lot of the time, but I do tend to notice shock hops are in the beers that I always like. For me, when I see that Galaxy and Nelson Sauvin, or Citra on a bottle, then I usually like what's inside. I do wish I was better about identifying hops, though.

I may be getting some Trillium, yet. That dude just got back to me on reddit. Looks like he's willing to send me a four pack of their high end or 5 cans of their regular beers for two Pumpkinators.