I haven't had a Dogfish beer in over 10 years. Always too hoppy for me but maybe my tastebuds have grown.

These cans all say IPA, so given my dislike for hoppiness and regular IPAs, I'd have never chosen them.

They are definitely not IPA tasting and really ****ing good. Look at that haze! Now I am even more confused on what I should be looking for.

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

That's a gripe of mine as well

That particular brewery only brews hazy IPAs (they might do 1 or 2 traditional IPAs every now and again) so consumers in their market kind of already know but yeah once they get distributed out of market there's no way for people to know

Just say what it is and put a readable date in a visible location on the can :cuss:

Date's on the bottom. Hop Butcher does hazys. Live with it, hippie. :)

Plus Hop Butcher is better 4 weeks out since they release green to free up their tanks haha

Welcome to NEIPAs. They are awesome IMO. For my buck the Hazy Double IPAs are the best. The best IMO around KC is Toppling Goliath's King Sue.

The 120 can be hard to find. I haven't had one in about 4-5 years.

I still seem to go back to one of my 4 favorites when I want an IPA.

Lagunitas IPA
Church Music Hazy IPA
Tower Road IPA
Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

Any must haves in the Des Moines area?

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Lua
Barntown
Or go to the Iowa taproom and try a bunch of the local stuff

Damn, they have a TG Lemon Meringue Fandango on tap, that's probably amazing.

Thanks. I saw that the taproom and figured I'd make a couple trips there.

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2022 Assassin is on at El Bait Shop in Des Moines

Picked up a six pack of both Fat Tire Ale amd Firestone 805 this morning while grocery shopping.

I like the lighter stuff during a summer afternoon.

*moves to Iowa*



I'm sure I'll get used to the smells after a while.

Had a Confluence IPA at dinner last night that was pretty good.

At 515 Brewing this afternoon. Their Quad is pretty good, and have a black IPA that has rye in it that is right up my alley.

Iowa taproom for dinner tonight

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Got to stop by American Solera last week and have some good beers. Picked up a bottle of Dads Making Breakfast. A 13% stout barrel aged with coffee maple syrup and vanilla. Its tasty Ive had it before. Going to try to save it for KC's first victory week 1.

They also had a Dino variation on tap that was really good.

It did not suck.

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That and Barn Town Brewing Hawaiiowan Punch have been highlights of a good beer day.

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EBS is a fantastic beer bar, I hit it up whenever I visit my family in DSM. I think they're over 250 beers on tap at this point - it's ridiculous. It's also attached to the High Life Lounge, which is like stepping back in time - definitely worth a visit. At minimum, order the bacon wrapped tots while sipping beers at EBS.

A banana barleywine from OHSO.... definitely some barleywine in there, a good amount of bananas, and getting better as it warms a bit. Another fantastic heavy hitter.

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

Its been a minute since I've gone full smoothie sour as I've mostly fatigued on them. Being 1000 degrees out and seeing we got a drop from smoothie sour hype kings 450 North, one sounded kind of good

This one is peach and marshmallow

Feel I'm good on these for maybe forever

https://i.imgur.com/4LRFq9c.jpg

Not often that you pop into beer shop in London and see a load of decent US craft beer. Got a few cans of Trillium which I'm going to enjoy tonight.

https://i.postimg.cc/sXd0CZwc/Screen...805-212548.png

I almost stopped in on the North Scottsdale location this afternoon but decided I wanted Sicilian pizza more so I went to NYPD pizza instead just a short drive away.

Their beer list didn't look so adventurous since they are focusing on sub 6% ABV beverages in this heat. I did see Lost Viking Nitro, which I like.

I had two ice cold Sam Adams Summer Ale drafts and it may be the best summertime beer I ever had. So light and crisp with just a very small subtle lemon / tart bite.

Used to drink a lot of Sam Adams in the late 80's and not sure why I moved off of it.

https://whiskeyraiders.com/wp-conten...023-scaled.jpg

Goose Island Unveils 2023 Lineup of Renowned Bourbon County Stouts, Featuring 1st Cask Finish, Rice, Bananas and More

I drank a decent amount of Sam Adams when I first got into craft beer. For some reason, never really liked the original, but liked the Cherry Wheat (and would mix it chocolate beers), they had a solid Cream Ale, and a really good imperial stout years ago. One called Black and Brew, IIRC. Also had a pumpkin ale that as okay and an IPA, IIRC.

They also did a homebrew contest at one point and some of those were excellent. I remember one that wasn't though, that I described as having just a hint of vomit. LMAO

And on top of that, bought one of their expensive Utopias years ago as a "check the box" kind of thing.... and while it's probably not worth $200, it was like drinking a beer port, and was really good.

I thought of you when I saw the Bananas Foster variant this morning

PBJ

Hopefully that one is easier to find (reads like it will be). The Angel's Envy stout is interesting as well, since it's actually finished in port barrels.

Yeah I'm definitely in on Reg, Reserve and the Cask finish

$200?????

Damn you really like craft beer.

Another beer I used to drink and love and it gets no mention anymore is Anchor Steam. Can't remember last time I had one.

I LOVE banana flavored beers. Damn may have to take out a loan and buy a bunch. LOL

https://www.samueladams.com/utopias

It's 28% (didn't realize it was that high), so it's really more of a port. I split it with a buddy and we drank maybe 2-3 oz each over several weekends, to make it feel like a good deal, haha.

It was a unicorn and we found it in Omaha, Nebraska of all places.... and at a Hy-Vee, much less.


Anchor is dead (RIP)
https://www.brewbound.com/news/ancho...date-business/

I think the overall decline in San Fran didn't help.

Damn shame.

Tried Lost Abbey the other day - fantastic taste

Banana beer fans, especially in AZ, be on the lookout for Dark Sky (Flagstaff) - Sacred Hawk collab with Horus

Its not Prop '17 good but its still a banger

Its on at Beer Barn in Gilbert during a AZ beers feature weekend

Providing all the links

https://i.imgur.com/BjOSSU7.jpg

Woven Water is in AZ now. :drool:

They have some thhiiiiiccccc sours and really good stouts. Took home a creme de menthe sour in Tampa and it poured thicker than BBQ sauce, even after a good roll. Hopefully AZ gets the good stuff.

https://i.imgur.com/9lfH3YG.png

The one oddity of NE is the almost complete lack of stouts. SoCal and AZ have their share, even when it's 115° out. Tree House had a few on tap (and one was really good), and obviously everyone up here loves their NEIPAs.... I'd just figured when it tops 80° in August, there would be more than Guinness available.

It blows me away that stout season is still a literal thing in some markets

Yeah, it's not like you have to sit in the upper row of a Diamondbacks game with a double pastry or anything.... enjoy some non-peak A/C time at 11pm by cuddling up with your favorite 600 calorie beer.

Granted, I was pretty much all Drekker last weekend, besides the one banana barleywine.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn out here but a year ago I couldn't find any big stouts and now I walk in and they're like you want the one > 10% stout we have on tap, and it feels nice and sad at the same time

Be the change you want

I'm going to check this place out. Thanks for posting.

Had a bunch of Scottsdale Blonde Kolsh from Huss Brewing. Nice summertime beer.

A group of employees were trying to buy. It's been awhile haven't read anymore about it.

Found a nice beer store nearby with Drekker, Tripping Animals, a little TG, some Southern Tier Backwater stouts and Pumpking (now featuring caramel Pumpking), 120 Minute IPA... picked up a few local 'Drekker but not Drekker' sours and other stouts that should do it for a weekend, at least. :D


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

So, this is a fluffernutter sour.

The front just says 'blackberry', and it pours like a Drekker smoothie sour (thicker, if anything).

It smells like a fluffernutter stout.

And the taste is somewhere in between.

It's ****ing weird. And really good.

https://i.imgur.com/mYsq46T.jpg

Surly Furious tonight

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My homebrew club chartered a bus from PHX to Flagstaff yesterday for a day trip to hit their breweries

Flag is cool but the bus ride beers were amazing

https://i.imgur.com/NkJ73Zb.jpg

Dark Sky Brewing

https://i.imgur.com/4OxyyRC.jpg

You and Bearcat take craft beer to a whole different level. :thumb:

<a href="https://imgflip.com/i/7x5g3g"><img src="https://i.imgflip.com/7x5g3g.jpg" title="made at imgflip.com"/></a>

Drank more beer today than I have in a very long time.

Really liked this and it is so much better poured in a glass. Nice summertime beer.

https://www.totalwine.com/dynamic/x1...6499535902.png

LMAO

What was truly great is that everyone was trying to flex a little. It was my first time meeting a lot of these guys so I brought some heavyweights and some dude brought a 5 gallon keg of 12% mead (he's a national mead award winner within that space) so the 2.5 hour ride home was pure hilarity

I know most chartered bus drivers have seen their fair share of shit, but Carlos saw some shit yesterday

No photos from inside the bus? :hmmm:

You sure you want pics from inside the bus???

https://uspto.report/TM/77065701/mark.png

LMAO

Was it all homebrewed stuff on the bus?

People get competitive about bottle shares..... and I tend to do the opposite unless I really know someone loves a certain style. I've shared enough heavy stouts with people who immediately say ugh, it's like drinking motor oil or even Drekker style sours that are 'too much'... I'll sit at home and enjoy the shit out of one before flexing some hard to find beer and someone says, meh.

I swear that beer popped up out of no where one day and then it was everywhere... and it's pretty solid, but seemed like it went from a complete unknown to nationally distributed in like a day.

Walmart did it

Its was a good mix of both homebrew and commercial beers and I feel similar on beer shares. Most homebrewers that I know are older guys. Homebrewing reflects the same headwinds as the beer industry in general in a lack of interest from younger generations.

A good chuck of homebrew guys that I've met both here and in Chicago are more into lagers and traditional styles and not so much hype IPAs and big stouts so I definitely read the room when choosing what to bring along to share.

There were a couple really good homebrewed Oktoberfests onboard which I'm always down for.

Because AB bought the brewery last September

Easier to make, too (or maybe I just sucked at it)... I once made a pretty decent IPA, buy stouts were all over the place and never in a good way.

Sounds like a blast.

Met a couple from Chicago at Barreled Souls and they were just doing a beer weekend... huge stout fans and do all the lottery things in Chicago, made the pilgrimage to TG, had quite the itinerary for the weekend (I only went to Lone Pine, Bissell, and then Barreled Souls twice.. don't think Allagash and others would have done it for me).

RIP beer I never heard of

September of 2015, but yeah

I only really remember because one of the co-owners did a reality TV show on Vice called Beerland around 2016 where she went across country showcasing homebrewers, so I looked her up

It was kind of cringe and didn't last long

oh interesting....I asked a bartender at Johnnies the same thing around Christmas and he told be the had just been bought by AB and thats why it was so prevalent. I googled it and didn't notice the date. :)

Checking in late. This is truly epic!

I love Flagstaff too. Great little downtown area with restaurants, shops and breweries. Great college campus. I'd live there if it didn't snow.

What fun. I need a group like that!

Move here to AZ. Happy people.

Today at home for lunch I drank early and often to celebrate Labor Day ahead of time.

Started with (2) Hell or High Road Mango from 21st Amendment. Super for summer, not overly sweet, low carbonation and only 4.7% ABV. This blows away Mango Cart from High Road.

The second one is a sneaky bomb. Left Hand Nitro's Galactic Cowboy Imperial Stout at 9.0%. It's so creamy and smooth you drink it fast.
I'm a little buzzed at lunch. Hahaha

Total virgin to this shit but damn this was so ****ing good. I've never had a beer taste anything like this.

https://i.imgur.com/8qbbkfN.jpg

Oh man, I ssssooooo want to try that one, but haven't found it anywhere yet.

I went to Lakewood, NY to hit up the original Southern Tier brewery and distillery (didn't know the latter existed until recently.

I was curious when they were brought up for the first time in this thread and it was 2010. Not sure they get enough credit for pioneering the bold/over the top stouts back then and freakin' nailing it with Creme Brulee, Choklat, Choklat Orange, later on with Cinnamon Roll, etc.

The distillery is pretty damn good... their bourbon was pretty meh, but they make flavored bourbon and stuff that's inspired by their beers (a peanut butter cup bourbon, creme brulee bourbon creme, etc.), and those are great. Brought home an apple cinnamon whiskey that's more apple than anything (far better than a cinnamon bomb like Fireball).

Both had a great vibe and the brewery had live music... and the brewery food was really good as an added bonus. They had Warlock on tap, plus Pumking and Caramel Pumpking, and Hazelnut Deluxe. :drool:

You seem to really favor the overly sweet beers. What led you down that path?

Those beers were fun back in the day because they were just so different than anything else getting put out.

Nowadays, everyone is making thicc boi stouts that have every adjunct ingredient you could think of added in.

People love novelty but those styles aren't so novel when there are a ton of them on the shelf at Lukas or Total Wine.

Sour beers went through this same phase. When there were maybe 5-10 total SKUs in the entire product category (and they were all solid sours technically), they sold fairly well, if not slow and consistent. Now there are a ton of sour beers on store shelves and most of them are not great technically. As a result, the whole category suffers.

It's been fun to watch beer's "phases" for the past 15 or so years.

Personally, I always thought that Creme Brulee and Pumpking were gross after more than one or two drinks. But, to each his own, I suppose. Southern Tier is around and still appears to be doing fine so what do I know? :)

Not sure who all needs to hear this

https://i.imgur.com/NIoV3xL.jpg

Yeah, the market is oversaturated with mediocre beer. I rely heavily on Beer Advocate for ratings, but it's tough when a brewery doesn't have much of a presence there. Untappd is mostly terrible for rating great beer, as everything seems to be a 4.2, but it's a pretty good indicator of terrible beer when you can actually score like a 3.6.

I've seen beer advertised as something like "Caramel Current Pastry Stout" that is neither caramel, a current of caramel, or pastry. And of course plenty of sours list a variety of flavors, but it's just another sour (and same for plenty of IPAs).

I'm pickiest on stouts and really try to minimize bad purchases by doing flights or a single bottle purchase... and I'll drain pour even a mediocre stout. The best out there though will never get old (well, until my foot falls off).

Sort of to scho's question though, I don't even really have a sweet tooth food-wise... don't keep sweets around and usually don't order dessert. All about the big boy thick stouts though.

Who doesn't like a Hawaiian pineapple pizza with some pumpkin beer and bacon cheesecake.

IMHO a single flavored beer is the best. It lets that single leading ingredient shine.

Sam Adams Summer Ale - lemon
Hell or High Mango - Mango
Founders Breakfast Stout - Coffee
Lindeman's Kriek - Cherry
New Belgium Citradelic - Tangerine
Yuengling Hershey’s Porter - Chocolate

I think when you try to do too much, you wind up doing nothing.

I hate to break this to you but Founder's Breakfast Stout contains both coffee and chocolate. The rest of those beers are OK.

That being said, I've had well balanced and tasty beers that had multiple adjuncts. It's all about balance. Lots of beers have too much of one ingredient and are just as unbalanced as any beer with multiple adjuncts.

Speaking of beer pilgrimages, my trip to Decorah for TG and Pulpit Rock was two years ago today, and had met the legendary KCU that weekend as well.


https://i.imgur.com/ovXth2m.jpg

What did I tell you!
I believe we have it in local Hy-Vee wine and spirits right now.