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

A server at Toppling Goliath (whatever it's worth/however outdated) said they require refrigeration throughout the process, so they're pretty picky who they work with and where their beer goes, so maybe one reason it's still pretty damn good a few months later.

As someone who does the opposite and compares stouts as they age, it would be interesting to do the opposite and see how much better an IPA is fresh, then give it some time. Can't say I drink enough IPAs to really notice (or at least not enough fresh).

I forgot to check dates on cans when grabbing a few in Florida for a buddy... they were a few months old and he wouldn't even take them. :( Serious business.

Their KC rep isn't that particular about refrigeration though he is pretty picky about dates, like any quality rep should be.

Disclaimer, I know this because I party with the dude all the time. Well, also because I see TG cans sitting warm on shelves all the time all over the city.

Yeah, just saw Pompeii on shelves here the other day, even though they typically have some in their fridge, too.

I took it with a grain of salt... she had worked there for years and I'm sure TG had great intentions when they were smaller, but even then, it's not like you can control 'the last mile', much less every stop along the way.

Yeah, most quality breweries have great intentions, but like you mentioned further down in this thread, they can't control the quality down the road.

Funny you mention comparing IPAs to compare fresh to not so fresh, because I did that this year. I saved one can from Parish's DDH Ghost release in May, knowing they'd likely release it again late November. I kept the can in the fridge the entire time. And popped it open with a fresh can from November's release, the night I got home from picking up the November cans.

The May can held up enough to still be drinkable, but the fall-off was definitely noticeable. There was a lot less carbonation and even my wife noticed a staleness to the hops. And that's with it being fridge stored.

I'm not a super asshole about dates, but I do try to drink IPAs as fresh as possible, and I will always prefer stores/breweries that keep the cans cold in storage.

Hmm, interesting... and my mind didn't even go to saving one and waiting for a new release. I just though about putting a few in the fridge and being a little more disappointed every few months. LMAO

Ironically, the IPAs I bought in Florida were literally called Fresh, from Civil Society.... after being asked about the dates when I got home and sadly noticing how old they were, I wanted to Sharpie "-ish" on the cans.

https://products2.imgix.drizly.com/c...2199afe7e.jpeg

Damn. Civil Society makes great beer, too. I had Fresh once, but it was a number of years ago. I remember it being good.

What's the date on your cans?

Should merge with Suicide Pod thread…

The Florida thing was back in early April and I want to say the cans were dated late January or maybe February. Had also picked up some J Wakfield's and stopped in there for a flight of stouts, ended up basically trading one of their collabs for a Mornin Delight from the same guy. It was a pretty good unintentional beer trip considering I didn't even make it to Tampa.... and since I don't do trades besides a few exchanges here, traveling is the main way I fill out the state/region beer map in my head.

Toppling Goliath sits unrefrigerated on shelves here for months. Not all stores have the fridge capacity so the pecking order goes Bud/Miller/Coors, then locals, then whatevers left.

That said, the DDH King Sue that landed here last week was fire.

Also, pre-canning TG wasn't super diligent about making dates clear on their bottles. I spent many a minute trying catch the bottle in the right light at the liquor store just trying to find the date.

Yeah, there were people complaining online down here about a specific store leaving all their craft on shelves while Bud/Miller/Coors filled the coolers. The manager of the store replied to the comments basically saying **** off because Bud/Miller/Coors is what pays the bills. It sucks, but I understand the logic.

Also, DDH King Sue is legit one of the best beers I've had. I have a MN trading partner that hooks me up, and it is ****ing wonderful.

That ain't too terrible on the dates. In the rural areas down here, I've got to be extra diligent, or it's possible to end up with a year+ old IPAs.

How were the Wakefield stouts?

I don't think I've ever had a bad Wakefield stout.

The flight was fantastic... heavy, meal-worthy stouts. A gingerbread stout that was excellent and a coffee stout that stood out.

We were there just before their Wakefield fest (whatever they call it), so unfortunately they didn't have much to take home, but grabbed a 4 pack of "No Aspirations to Quit the Game" and it's pretty solid.... still have a couple of those.

Also brought home a New Image Unreasonable Ninja strawberry stout that was good. The only downer was a Funky Buddha Maple porter, that was just okay despite being rated like a 99 (to the style, of course, as it's not supposed to be a diabetes stout).

If I only accomplish one thing here, its to prop up Revolution's barrel program to where it belongs.

X.O. Lynott's - Single Barrel - 14.3%
This final Heaven Hill Bourbon barrel of OG Jamo-nilla base has spent five years in our stacks. Rich, silky chocolate notes erupt through a lattice of caramel and American oak.

Sanctuary #12 - Double Barrel X.O.D. - Single Barrel - 17.1%
A pair of leaky Four Roses Bourbon Deth's Tar barrels were combined to fill a single Heaven Hill Bourbon barrel before aging an additional four years. After roughly five years of aging it's emerged with equally heady measures of rich chocolate, American oak, and alcohol.

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

Just had a can last night! V.S.O.R 2019. It was outstanding.

Heading to beer heads in Chicago and they apparently have a giant tap takeover of revolution beers. I've only ever had supermassive death and regular straight jacket. Any suggestions for one of the seemingly endless amount of straight jacket variants or death?

Definitely one of their best and is getting released next month ;)

Without seeing the tap list, I'll just give my random thoughts starting with the 2021 releases.

Barleywines:
SJ is fire this year, one of the best that I can remember
Blackberry Finn is great, especially if you like fruited barleys
Ryeway to Heaven is fantastic as always
Maple Jacket is VERY sweet. Good but ideal in the 4-6 ouce range

Deths:
Regular Deth is very good this year, directly compares to regular BCBS
Cafe Deth is one of the best years I can remember (its the base for Supermassive, so not as much in your face coffee)
Deth by Raspberries, honestly did not love this. Any and all barrel presence is overwhelmed by the tart of the raspberry.
Vanilla Deth, solid vanilla BA stout but don't expect it pastry style. Its much more traditional and balanced than a beetus stout. I personally don't love it but appreciate the traditional approach.
Dark Mode, technically not a Deth, but a solid BA milk stout. Nothing special and nothing to complain about.

Past releases:
If you see anything with VS, just order it (VSOJ, VSOR, VSOD). These are (very)special blends of SJ, Ryeway, and Deth. There are also some double barrel variants of these out there and all are great (DBVSOD).
Thundertaker would be another must order if available.

Finally tried Utopias World Wide Stout.... and at $10/12oz, it's pretty good, but the price point is terrible. :(

Reminds me of a thinner BCS. I haven't had the regular stuff in a while, but wish I had bought both because I have better memories of the regular.

I'd rather pay $200 for Utopias than $10 for this beer.

Trying Cherries Jubilale for first time….really good.

I know your post is 4years old but I recently found this beer and I agree that it is spectacular, so I searched in this thread to see if someone has posted about it. If you haven’t had it, you should seek it out. Wouldn’t want to drink on after mowing the lawn or a long hike or spending a sunny day kayaking, but I find them particularly wonderful on cold, dark winter nights, like tonight. Give them a few minutes to open up and they are spectacular.

So, I stopped chasing BCS a couple years ago, just because of the price point, and I'm not huge on BA Stouts like some of yall. However, I stumbled across a few of this year's bottles in Whole Foods on Saturday. I grabbed a couple bottles of the Cola variant, because it's usually the more gimmicky variants that catch my attention.

Interested to try it. Maybe this weekend. Or maybe when the Chiefs beat the absolute dogshit out of the Chargers tomorrow night.

Cola was really good... not sure I'd rank it terribly high on past variants, but then again my top 10 would probably mostly consist of different coffee years/variants)... I didn't really pick up on the whiskey cola vibe that some did, but would drink it again.

I'm thinking about a few side-by-sides for the holiday weekends to hopefully help justify the high prices of rarer bottles. LMAO

Only have one regular, but maybe something like Blanton's vs. Original, Cherry Wood vs. Double Barrel Toasted Barrel... and Proprietor’s would probably stand alone for the strawberry.


Be on the lookout for Bearcat's 50 Beers to Try Before You Die Holiday Shit Post Extravaganza!

Mikerphone/Bottle Logic collab

Straight beetus homie

https://i.imgur.com/arrrk27.jpg?1

Look at you out in the burbs visiting Mikerphone. [emoji23]

That looks fantastic! Cost per bottle? How hard to get?

Saturday at 11am when they open is the way to go. Only 40 minutes each way.

Off to power nap as a result though.

It was around $30 a bottle.

Within the context of hyper local, sought after beers it was fairly easy to grab. Want to say it was up for online purchase for close to 24 hours before selling out. That said, its aged in rum barrels that previously held maple syrup. So a barrel that aged rum, then was dumped and filled with maple syrup, then dumped and filled with this beer. Rum barrel aged beers aren't as in demand as bourbon barrels so that likely contributed to a lower demand.

The beer on the left was aged 17 months in Elijah Craig barrels.

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Next time you visit I'm going to call ahead and have them put Bearcat Rules! on the marquee like its your birthday.

Will they sing to me?

I hope they sing to me.

NOT IF THEY WANT A GOOD TIP FROM ME!

*shakes fist in air

Out of office has been set

Maplewood Cuppa Neat

https://i.imgur.com/ChuN4xZ.jpg?1

https://i.imgur.com/7ePnoS4.jpg?1

Think I'll do some BCS tastings this weekend. :hmmm:

Well, I came down with Covid but fortunately I can still taste beers. Currently enjoying an Alma Mader black czech lager. Total chef's kiss beer.

Damn bro sorry to hear it. Hope it doesn't tank your holiday (sounds like it isn't thus far).

Cheers.

Man. Hope it passes quickly.

Update on your ability to taste beer? I knew I had COVID last year when I made a margarita and licked the lime after squeezing it. I could not taste a thing! After that I went straight to wasabi paste and not a damn thing either. That's how I knew I had it. ROFL

Random Bottle Logic drop here in Chicago. Bunch of different bottles hit around town.

I grabbed a Darkstar for nostalgia sake and passed on the rest but cool to see nonetheless.

https://i.imgur.com/TTFH2KJ.jpg?1

Smell and taste are all still completely intact.

Tonight's treats are a bottle of 2016 Halia and some 16 year old L'Encantada armagnac. Both are hitting all the notes they're supposed to.

The Rona will never interfere with my ability to pack a box with cans!

Nice, what else did you see? Actually scored a Red Eye November (2018, IIRC) and 2019 Reaction State a few weekends ago.

It seems to be a somewhat random distro in the fact that stores received different bottles. My regular store got Darkstar and More Time To Explain.

From what I've been able to track via social media and friends. These are the others floating around the city:

Red Eye
Technical Challenge
Dark Rituals
Electric Eden
Applied Science

Not sure how these limited disto deals work but would've preferred these drop literally any other time than right after the most expensive beer month of the year here haha.

Yeah, does seem random. More Time to Explain is a favorite... where Reaction State is all maple syrup, More Time to Explain is like blueberry pancakes with syrup.

Tried Applied Science last weekend and it's really good... thought I had posted that one here, but must have gotten distracted by your Mikerphone/BL collab, lol.

Picked up Electric Eden specifically for Christmas dinner/dessert.... looking forward to that one.

Yesterday was probably the best Thursday of the year to pour this, given the holiday today.... and I didn't end up opening it.

It's pretty damn good, get both the maple and coffee.

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

I wanted to pair the whiskey cola variant with something to bring out the flavors a bit more, as I didn't get much the first time (it was good, but not far off the normal BCS).

And I wanted to pair a few of the hard-to-find variants (well, impossible to find here) with the not-so-hard-to-find, for science (and to perhaps justify the price tag LMAO).

So, I'm thinking cherry wood with toasted barrel would be an interesting pairing, and then Blanton's with regular. Proprietor's and 14 seem to stand alone.... leaving these two.

Happy to say it's going very well! Definitely getting more of the whiskey cola vibe this time around.

The 150 is outstanding... bigger/bolder/thicker, hard to pin down exactly what it is, but definitely not the typical BCS. Vanilla maybe? It really jumps out, it's one to savor.

https://i.imgur.com/Bo6KCDE.jpg

Christmas Eve beer #1:

Parish Holy Ghost - a real hop bomb, not as fusel as most TIPAs. a winner! and I can taste it!

My Covid symptoms are quickly fading. A little gunk in my chest is just about all that remains. I did a 4 mile run today and my heartrate never went over 160. I'll update the beer list as needed!

:D

I'm figuring out I don't do this often enough.... sometimes I'll have a couple back to back and will notice something I hadn't noticed before, but don't often do side-by-sides or even drink a particular beer often enough to notice any changes over time/palates. And even when I have, I've never turned it into a habit that I'm sure would improve my palate.

This pairing definitely brings out the qualities of the whiskey cola. I feel like it's done the same for the 150, as it's really grown on me after the first sip or two.

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Ha! Not really. I keep really close track of my biometrics. I can tell by my resting heartrate if I'm sick or not. On the day of my worst symptoms, I couldn't get my resting heartrate below 88 while my normal resting heartrate is around 53-55.

Plus your flaccid penis. :D

Christmas Day beer #1:

BKS Counterculture DDH Citra

Straight fire. Tastes great.

Christmas Day beer #2:

BKS Double Double green label

Dank as hell. Way more Pacific northwest hop character here than the typical citra/mosaic orange julius vibe. Very tasty.

Wow,that sounds very good actually,i need to try it.

As for me,i had a Sam Adams winter seasonal in bottles.Decent,but i wouldnt highly recommend it or anything.

All of BKS' beers are worthy of consideration. Seriously all of them. KCUnited can vouch, so can TimBone.

Yep. KCUnited and Phisherman both know a shit ton more about BKS than me, but I can confirm BKS is ****ing legit.

I think the only complaint I've ever had about them is that one of their small batch Holstein milk stout variants was too sweet. Even then, it was still good. I don't recall a bad beer I've had from them.

Blanton's Barrel vs. Original

I think the original is a tad lower ABV than normal (14.4%), Blanton's is 15.4%.

I expected this one to be a less exciting comparison, but that's coming from someone who had a Bottle Logic Electric Eden for dessert last night, which is basically caramel apple pie in a bottle. :D

Original is pretty damn good this year. I remember years ago throwing a couple in the basement to forget about them for several months, but can't imagine you get the same significance in aging them these days, as they're already pretty damn smooth.

Much like 150, Blanton's is a bigger/thicker/bolder version of the regular stuff. It's not exactly opening up like 150 did, but more of a WYSIWYG... a high quality BCS. And you get a Crown Royal style bag and a Blanton's stopper, which are probably worth a little towards the apparent $40 MSRP.

That leaves Proprietor's, Fourteen, Cherry Wood, and the coveted Double Barrel Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel.


https://i.imgur.com/1RL7Kf2.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3L6tJjR.jpg

I was grabbing for a Coors Light traveler and mistakenly grabbed a Steel Reserve. Just awful.

A group of coworkers did a white elephant beer exchange several years ago... I missed the actual exchange the first year, so I contributed a Schlafly Imperial Stout and was going to get whatever was left.

And I got a ****in' Steele Reserve High Gravity. Took one sip and it was promptly poured out. Just for the LOLs, searched for it on beeradvocate.com and found comments such as "tastes like aluminum" and "the FDA should look into this". LMAO

After that bullshit, they added a rule of "no crap beer".

Only one BCS tonight (plus a TG Smores) and it's delicious. At least 2nd to 150 at this point, but 150 would get the edge on body. It's a pretty perfect level of cinnamon without being overpowering.

https://i.imgur.com/N0CwmxX.jpg

Peanut butter, chocolate...and coffee

Slightly humorous tidbit, the non-coffee version of this beer is called Fat Bear. In a few Facebook beer groups I lurk people would talk about the beer in innocent beer dork kind of ways like posting "yum this Fat Bear is a thiccc boy" and it triggered Facebook's algorithm into thinking it was some clandestine gay reference and they started censoring the posts. Not because of beer but fat gay bear references.

Anywho, this is delish

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

https://i.imgflip.com/60fy90.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/bVLv6j4.jpg?1
https://i.imgur.com/uOKh4dS.jpg?1