Is that the one you sent me 3-4 years ago? I remember it was from Parish and had Ghost in the name...

Was a damn good beer.

I prefer drinking beer without food, because food can sometimes do weird things to my palate and change the taste of the beer... and most beer also can't stand up to rich foods, so even though chocolate might be a great pairing with a stout, the richness of the chocolate can kill the beer (with exceptions, like most Bottle Logic stouts).

So, in general, can't say I've gone out of the way to find great pairings with beer. The vast majority of the time I eat while enjoying a beer is at a restaurant or bar, but at home will just have the beer.

I have paired bourbon and food a few times and that really works well. Once had an espresso-rubbed steak and a coffee bourbon and it was an amazing combo.

It is a ramped up version of that bottle I sent you.

The bottle I sent you (pictured below on the left) was Ghost in the Machine. It was Parish Brewing's special release Double IPA for years. A fantastic representation of an all Citra hops DIPA, in my opinion. It used to be released once or twice a year, but is now a year round release, and is also distributed to stores.

A few years ago, on one of their Anniversary weekends, Parish released Double Dry-Hopped Ghost in the Machine (pictured below in the middle). It's all Citra hops, like Ghost in the Machine, but it's dry hopped at a rate of 8 lbs of citra hops per barrel. It's now Parish's most coveted Double IPA. It's released twice a year, brewery only.

Last year, for their 10 year Anniversary, one of the beers Parish released for the first time was Holy Ghost (pictured below on the right). It's a Triple IPA dry hopped with equal amounts of Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy, and Citra Cryo hops. This weekend's release was the second time they've released it, and it's brewery only as well.

Being 100 percent honest, for my taste. I prefer regular Ghost. The other two are far more flavorable beers, and I can understand why they're so coveted, but they are intense. I'm usually ready to move on by the time I'm about 3/4 of the way through a can of DDH Ghost or Holy Ghost. With regular Ghost, I can sip on a few bottles throughout the evening, and not tire of the hop intensity.

If I'm having one can, and calling it a night, I'll take DDH Ghost. But if I'm trying to have a relaxing evening and put away a 4-pack. Give me plain old Ghost every time. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...82386d817a.jpg

Saw the regular Ghost in the Machine here for the first time this year and it's really damn good... those others sound amazing.

Beer Santa came early this year (KCU may have had something to do with it), first time being able to try the full lineup. PBJ

https://i.imgur.com/5Ntzs6L.jpg

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Great looking pic

I'm just happy they made it in one piece by Christmas haha

I rarely have any really hard to find beer, as I just don't put a ton of effort into it.... and when I do get something, I can't let it just sit around (I've already drank one of the two Term Oils, most of the Smells Like Bean Spirits, etc.).

So, five from the same collection that I never would have seen out here and I'm stuck thinking... what the hell do I do with it? LMAO

I'm sure I could drink one of those 5 every year for the next half decade..... or maybe I'll do an 8 days of Christmas in a couple weeks. :D

Yeah, I saw it mentioned on FB a while back that their GITM distribution had made it to Arizona. That's pretty damn cool.

Did you happen to notice how old the bottles were once they arrived there?

Had to have been a heck of a packaging job to keep those boxes in such great shape. Nice work.

LMAO reused Ulta Beauty and Nuts.com boxes.

Seriously though, those Nuts.com boxes are tanks.

My stout mind didn't think about checking for the date. I know when we started getting TG Pompeii and a couple others in ~June/July, the cans were dated late April. Still pretty damn good though.

Yeah, I got one box Tuesday and the other yesterday, and was telling KCU that I originally thought the first box had like 2 bottles, when it had 4. It was impressive.

I think I've received an Ulta box from you. [emoji23]

Yeah, when I go to the bigger cities here, I'm noticing that we're starting to get much better distribution from out of state, but sometimes we're getting them a month or so after release. Which is fine if they're in refrigerated trucks, which I'm told most distributors use.

However, I live in rural Louisiana, and I can't buy Ghost from our local store during the summers here, because even though it's hitting the shelf here a week or two after release, it tastes off, like it's been sitting in a hot truck for a few days, with Louisiana heat beating on it.

I’d be shocked if it were just one, they’re pretty much my signature