King Sized Candy Bar Stout was released today at Fate in Scottsdale... one of the great deals in stouts at $9/pint, and for the past couple of years they've had it tapped well into December.

Apparently the murder hornets wanted out. Noticed the can wasn't looking great earlier and it was a challenging pour to say the least. LMAO

Tasty, a lot of blueberry.

https://i.imgur.com/wJ7yPiT.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qswnf6L.jpg

I brought at least a couple of 4 packs when I moved here, which would make this last one almost 5 years old. Didn't really mean to age it that long, just been sitting around a while.

It's not as good, much more spice and the pumpkin has faded, but still pretty tasty.

https://i.imgur.com/zZJlakf.jpg

Its an Oznr draw, proxies allowed.

I'll proxy for one can of my choosing + shipping label or IP @ SP on 11/27 ;)

Sounds like a BBT package is heading to Chicago?

Yeah I'm meeting my dad in STL to drive him up to Chicago for Thanksgiving so figured I'd try for a BBT package while there. Fortunately I remembered my shop password in time.

Are you heading over?

I'm not sure yet. I got the 2nd pickup weekend but a local buddy is picking that up. He'll likely grab my La Coterie bottles too. Unless my family wants to do StL for Thanksgiving (always a possibility), I probably won't be back there until around Christmas.

Not sure it fits here but I found a good "light beer". Dogfish Head Slightly Mighty Low Cal IPA. 95 Cals and 3.6 carbs. It's pretty good!

Someone asked if I wanted any beer in Portland.... St. Louis beer, of course. :D

https://i.imgur.com/GSsB6EA.jpg

Can is better than the beer taste. Oh well, worth a shot. Love the Firestone 805. Seems like a more refined Dos Equis Amber.

https://i.imgur.com/3LmWtIB.jpg

Yeah, think I googled that at the beer store and it didn't have great reviews, but I still kind of wanted to buy it for the can.

Drinking a KBS Espresso right now...good shit

Definitely not good, and I like sours. I'll give you the can though! Let's do some beer tasting at Ground Control (I'm serious). If we meet up, we can even tell CP you skipped out again!

Here's the tap variants at Rev for anyone stopping by the release during Prop weekend.

VERY SPECIAL VANILLA DETH JACKET (ABV to come)
A blend of Jim Beam Distiller's Masterpiece Bourbon French oak PX Sherry finish-aged Stout and Barleywine, and two Vanilla Deth "money barrels" – one dosed with three pounds of bourbon-soaked Papua New Guinea. vanilla beans, and another stuffed with toasted Forêt de Tronçais French oak. Lumber-derived vanilla soars above a torrent of sweet caramel, date, and softened roast. Pinkies up, kiddos.

VERY SPECIAL OLD FLAK JACKET - SINGLE BARREL (14.5%)
A single Heaven Hill barrel of sweet component Barleywine and dry component Ryewine aged three years, and a couple hosefuls of twice-barreled dry Barlewine, just as a treat. Cooked sugar, Shvanilla, and enough maple to warrant dual citizenship in Canada make an amicable rukus before a prompt finish compliments of three years resting in American oak.

Rum Barrel V.S.O.J. (15.8%)
Unblended sweet component Barleywine aged in a pair of sopping wet Great Lakes Distilling Rum barrels for three years. Familial expressions of malt sweetness and time resonate within a chasm beset by towering walls of barrel and spirit.

LMAO

I just checked out their draft list and it's actually.... bad. Surprised they don't have a few more stouts... or... good stouts, for mid-November.

I'm not just saying that to get out of of a CP meetup, even though it's something I'd totally say to get out of a CP meetup.

We can figure out a weekend though.

You know, in vague terms, sometime. :D

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...398db50979.jpg

This might appeal to some of our dessert/super sweet beer drinkers in this thread. 14.6abv is always going to pique my interest. It was decidedly not for me, so damn sweet and syrupy that I couldn't do more than three drinks and I pitched it in favor of that box wine behind in the shot. Seems to be getting decent reviews on untappd so this probably just isn't my cup of tea. Or beer for that matter.


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I just had one as well...I finished the bottle and will finish the 4 pk because of the price but it will take me a while. Would have been better as a stout I think, but I agree way too sweet.

Yeah, I hate to throw money away but I just was not in the mood for that stone sober. I will end up drinking the others at some point I'd guess, but I need a buzz from something else first.

Didn't realize that was a Brown Ale, hmm.... they've been granted the benefit of the doubt after Magic Drip, so waiting for it to hit shelves along with the holiday pack thing.

Pictorial of Chicago $tout $eason

Day 1

3Floyds Dark Lord package + new BA coffee stout they released

https://i.imgur.com/QNSAmCv.jpg?1

Will live vicariously through Chicago for new stouts because it's surprisingly disappointing around here right now... Xocoveza Tres Leches should be good.

Is that a Marshmallow Handjee on the far right?

Good eye.

There was a 1/3 shot this year with only 3 variants offered which is the majority reason I sprung for the package this year.

I always kinda hated Boysenberry as a pancake syrup. No way I'd want it as a beer flavor.

So, when you order the Dark Lord package, it's a random shot on which variant you receive?

That’s right. In the old days of the in person fest (2 years ago) there were like 10 different variants, random draw. Which is why you went as a crew and shared later with each other.

This year was drive thru with only 3 variants, 2 of which are historically the most sought after, Handjee and Chemtrail. The math made it worth it for me to drive to NW Indiana in a wintery mix.

Yeah, I've heard lots of stories about the craziness of Dark Lord Day (pre-covid).

I'm glad you scored, man!

Thanks man!

I probably wouldn't attend the fest (if it comes back) at this stage in life, so I appreciate the drive thru pickup option.

Day 2 - Chicago $tout $eason

Half Acre's Benthic

https://i.imgur.com/8CQq6gG.jpg?1

2021 ORIGINAL BENTHIC - Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Coconut and Coffee - 13.5% abv. Hand-toasted coconut,*@darkmattercoffee*Varios coffee.
Blend of Heaven Hill, Willet, Weller, and EH Taylor barrels.

2021 VANILLA BENTHIC - Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Coconut - 13.5% abv. 2X Hand-toasted coconut, Madagascar vanilla beans.
Blend of Heaven Hill, Willet, Weller, and EH Taylor barrels.

2021 XTRA DUBL BENTHIC - Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Coconut and Coffee - 13.5% abv. 3X Hand-toasted coconut, 2X*@darkmattercoffee*Varios coffee.
Blend of Heaven Hill, Willet, Weller, and EH Taylor barrels.

2021 RUM COCOUT BENTHIC - Rum and Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Coconut - 13.7% abv. Hand-toasted coconut.
Blend of Appleton and Cruzan barrels, Basil Hayden and Heaven Hill barrels.

2021 VAMPIRA BENTHIC - Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout with Coconut and Coffee Aged 10-22 months - 14.1% abv. Hand-toasted coconut,*@darkmattercoffee*Varios coffee.
Blend of EH Taylor, Buffalo Trace, 4 Roses, and Weller barrels.

Day 3 of Chicago $tout $eason

10:00am BA Stout release at Phase Three with one-off pours of blends being considered for future release.

The coconut peanut butter won the day...err morning for me.

https://i.imgur.com/Plwe8NM.jpg?1

Well, it's not Chicago... but, delicious. Blueberry and maple syrup.

And figured I'd slide the prized bourbon on the counter into the pic... as much as I want to save it for great occasions and what not, I'm not sure that's going to be possible.

https://i.imgur.com/X8cEnEa.jpg

I know its quite a ways from you but I've been trolling for beer spots around PHX and found The Sleepy Whale in Chandler. Looks fairly legit.

https://www.thesleepywhale.com/draftandcans

*adds to untappd*

Great bottle selection (noticed BL Electric Eden, which doesn't sound familiar, but looks amazing)... yeah, don't make it out that way very often, but great find. What's the timeline for moving out here?



And for the Phoenicians, OHSO Blanton's Barrel Aged BananArchy is out... it was $40/4 pack last year though and I saw one place that has it for $11/16oz can. :eek: It's pretty damn good though.

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Early Feb is when the housing market heats up here so likely early to late spring.

Honestly thinking about getting a couple weeks long airbnb here during stout season though. Logging release dates currently and it seems doable within a 2 week span.

Revolution release from yesterday

https://i.imgur.com/gqCM0Pp.jpg?2

Wish I would have picked up a couple Revolution bottles.

Yeah, my Arizona-acclimated ass would freeze to death, but it would be totally worth some time during stout season.

Trying Keystone Light right now

It's awesome!

Tell me that Blackberry Finn is one of the most delicious things you've ever tasted.

Admittedly Blackberry Finn was my last beer of the night last night but I ****ing loved it.

Its not as jammy with the fruit addition as other Revolution fruited barleywines. Plus I feel they kept this blend of barleywine intentionally dry to showcase the fruit component which is why I believe they didn't label it a "Jacket" like they do with their staple barleywines (Strawberry Jacket, Honey Jacket, etc).

So its nice balance of fruit and earthiness wrapped within the base of an English barleywine.

Either way, you got one with your name on it to determine for yourself.

**** yes. I might have just went six to midnight reading that post.

This is one of the better cans I've had of Blazed Orange.

On an embarrassing note, I've just now realized tonight that there is both a regular version and milkshake version of Blazed Orange. I thought they were all milkshakes, and Hop Butcher was just really inconsistent with the lactose. [emoji23]

That being said, I think I prefer the non-milkshake version. Sometimes Hop Butcher gets a little heavy handed with the lactose in the milkshake. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0c0f212705.jpg

PROP DAYS ROAD TRIP REPORT:

The wife and I left Topeka, KS at 3:30 PM on Friday to pick up our (2) Prop Days packages in Chicago!

First stop, West Des Moines. We arrived around 8:00 PM at our hotel and gave a local Untappd verified venue "Beerstyles" a try. Food was awful - but a hell of a beer line up. I had a horizontal of the Confluence "Ferryman" line up - Chocolate covered cherry, Coconut, Chocolate Orange, German Chocolate, Mexican-Style hot chocolate. Wife had Surley Darkness (2021 BA), Untitled Art BA Hazelnut, Hubbards Cave Rocky Road, and a 2019 Brrrfest BA Waffle Stout from Backpocket Brewing.

Day 2:
Joliet, IL - "MyGrain Brewing Co" - unique location (built in to the train station), and some decent beers. I'd recommend the "I Have Time" - BA Quad aged on cherries. The rest wasn't bad but nothing to write home about.

After that - 350 Brewing in Tinley Park. Wanted to keep to the outskirts and have a clear shot to Goose Island when our timeslot was about to come up (lesson learned, they didn't seem to care we were 20 minutes early and there was no line). 350 Brewing had a fun taproom with lots of music (rock/punk) themes throughout. Beer was solid, but again - nothing stood out.

Made it to the line and quickly got our packages. The lady who checked our ID's asked "Uh...are you from Kansas? ...yes "Holy shit!" Seemed like she was genuinely concerned for our mental well being.

Got our prizes and quickly input Bloomington, IL in to the GPS and we were off. After a couple hours, decided to stop at Destihl and was surprised that they were doing their Dosvidanya days. Got to try the Peanut Butter Chocolate (best of the batch), Banana Bread, Vanilla Coffee Rye, and Mexican Chocolate. Wife had the Duke of Normington (saison), BBA "Keg Boyz" and BBA Rocky Road.

Dragged our asses out of bed this morning and drove straight through to Liberty, MO to stop by 3 Halves (only brewery in the KC area my wife hasn't been to yet) to celebrate our victory and enjoy some BBQ only to find out they were closed (1 hour previous to our arrival) due to a positive COVID test.

Had a great weekend - most likely not something we will do again anytime soon. Will report on the beers once consumed!

Parish/Weldwerks ****ing killed this Candy Clouds collaboration. One of the best beers I've had in recent memory. The aroma is fantastic as well.

I added a screenshot of Parish's description of the beer. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0e6d7b794e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...220df09cfc.jpg

Nice, looks highly successful! :toast:

Have to hand it to Goose for a smooth release. I had the 8:30-9:00am slot. Showed up at 8:25am and was out in less than a minute.

I had a 4oz pour of Prop and holy strawberry...

https://i.imgur.com/ui869Fa.jpg?1

Didn't even realize there's a BCS Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel this year, heh..... KCU, what are the chances of seeing extras of that one around?

Fortunate timing

PM sent

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A few favorites for the long weekend. The two on the left will be Thanksgiving specials... Cherry Fandango will be the perfect Thanksgiving dinner beer.

The Eclipse is 2015 Elijah Craig Barrels.

And of course need a hat tip to Bourbon County season... just opened the Café de Olla and it's aged wonderfully. Not that there was much bite to it 2 years ago, but it's smoothed out even more with still plenty of coffee (and maybe more so now).

https://i.imgur.com/ldukFtx.jpg

Cherry wood, cola, and the regular BCS... at a place that has 2018 BCS out for $6. :eek:

Where you at?

What’s the cola one like? That sounds awesome.

A lot of people seem to be laughing at that one, but seems like it'll be good and probably easily available... it's in the fridge.

Thought about going to Phoenix for the EC Toasted Barrel variant, but didn't want to take the drive just to miss out on it.


Classic Cola Stout will likely be the most polarizing variant as a whisky cola inspired BCS is selected for bottles this year. Classic Cola Stout features Vanilla. Lime. Nutmeg. Brown Sugar. Coriander. Cassia Bark. Orange Juice (and zest).

I got the PPLD Black Friday email and figured you'd be there.

I've read the cola variant is surprisingly good, and that the cherry wood is a disappointment.

I haven't sampled yet, but was able to get three bottles of regular, a Cola, a Blanton's and a Fourteen so far.

I’m working today…..

So **** you guys!

Yeah, I'm there at 9am every year... and the same guy tells me every year that I'm a dying breed for wanting Bourbon County Stout. LMAO

Picked up Old Forester 1910 to taste side-by-side with EC Toasted Barrel... that same guy talked me into Isaac Bowman Port Finished over Basil Hayden Toast. Grabbed another Angel's Envy Rye since it was 20% off and only $80.

Still haven't tried Early Times, partly because it's so readily available at $20.

Damn figures cherry wood is one of the only variants I can get this year.

Nice! There's a place in Phoenix that regularly has 2-4 year old BCS for around $18-20, so I've been less diligent in the past few years (plus PPLD).... figured the cola variant could be one that stays on shelves for a while. Not sure I'll see the Blanton's here though.

Someone on reddit said BCS EC Toasted Barrel was $55 in Schaumburg/Chicago area. :eek:

Yeah, that's the MSRP. I had the chance to pick one up and passed.

For $55, I'm picking up a bottle of Old Forester 1920 and enjoying it for a while.

Had the full lineup earlier today.

My favs:

DBTB
Blantons
150
Fourteen
Cherry Wood
Regular
Cola
Prop

Cola was the surprise. Has a good amount of spiciness to go along with a legit cola presence.

Cherry Wood was another surprise. Felt it carried a more aromatic, sweet presence than the other variants.

DBTB is liquid barrel.

Fourteen is more rye forward, more cinnamon, less coconut version than Prop 14. People would be still tripping over their dicks for this 5 years ago. Really solid.

Prop, in your face strawberry with very little barrel. Weakest of the bunch, imo.

Vintages pouring all over the city today.

https://i.imgur.com/hRtMntN.jpg?1

Yeah, much past $30 per 22oz beer is really pushing it for me, but will do $30-35 for Bottle Logic or something really proven.... almost twice that much? Yeah, maybe not.

I've sent an arbitrary $100 for bourbon, and beyond that it would need to be something I've tried at a bar before.

Purely from a comparative/bang-for-the-buck perspective, I guess that means I should either be spending far less for beer or be willing to spend far more for bourbon.

I've seen that about the Cola a few times now, that it's surprisingly good.

Expected that of the toasted barrel, that one will be savored.

I had the '17 coffee a couple months ago at Hopsmith and it was so freakin' good.

STILL WORKING

****!!!!

I think the Cola reaction is based on incredibly low expectations. Its certainly one I'd share now and not age. Also, feel its more in line with the 33 or however many spices of Dr. Pepper type "cola" than say a Coke or Pepsi if that even makes any sense when describing a BA stout.

I enjoyed it for what it is though.

Had my BIL pick up 150 and DBTB for me today (Topeka doesn't get variants). If I can somehow find a Blantons and a Cola, i'll have the full line up for the first time ever.

Opened the one I had and it's good... pretty barrel-forward for me, a good sweet bourbon flavor. Agree that it's more of a 'spice' cola than straight up Coke.

Doubt I'll buy another one and would generally rank it low on the list of variants, but still a good quality BCS.

How would I know if Total Wine here would still have some once I’m off work?

Had to run another errand, and added another Fourteen and a four pack of Toppling Goliath's S'mores Pastry Stout.

Call them? :shrug:

Website might work, but no idea how real-time that is.

The S'mores is so ****ing good.

Picked up the Boulevard Baklava... pretty solid. Not the body of Magic Drip or the Stuffed, but pretty damn sweet with a good flavor to it.

They stopped doing the Barleywine a few years ago, in favor of the Wheatwine, right?

Have they stopped the Wheatwine as well?

For this year yeah.

The death rattle for the Barleywine was the 2015 infection year. Barleywine was always aged in barrels that previously held regular BCBS, which made it so good. Barleywine aged in a bourbon barrel which also aged a stout.

After the 2015 disaster, Goose won’t take on the higher risk of a 3rd use barrel, thus the end of Barleywine. Then the lackluster reception of wheatwine and a sad coffee version of Barleywine and here we are.

Thanks for explaining all that. And it's entirely possible you've already done that for me, and I just forgot.

I understand discontinuing the wheatwine. It just didn't compare to their barleywine. That barleywine hit me in a special place, man.

After King Henry, all downhill from there.

I hope they bring it back it back someday even if they're not using the same barreling technique.

I can almost see a Double Barrel or Rare barrel barelywine release in their future because trust me, they hear about it from fans, and people would go crazy over it.

Looks like Total Wine near me has some but it escalates from 13.99, 18.99 to 24.99 for the cola.

Woof, I’m out.

Grabbed a pour of MJK this afternoon at SP.

Everything else is downhill from there.

That's what I've heard. I'll drink mine one day....

Picked up Holy Ghost from Parish Brewing this evening. I don't usually do triple IPAs because they always taste super boozy to me. I mostly grab this one to share with others, but I do set aside a few cans for myself.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...8f4da7b341.jpg

When you guys indulge in all these craft beers, especially any above 7.5-8.0% ABV, are you pairing it with food?

Do you have certain things to eat with certain beers or just enjoy the beers by themselves?