The Craft Beer Thread....

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  • rearviewrossrearviewross Posts: 3,055
    81 wrote:
    81 wrote:
    and that bourbon ale blows. :lol:

    Never had the bourbon ale. It sounded gross.

    i didn't read the label close enough...just saw K and bourbon and made the conclusion to stout.... :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp: :fp:

    it's defianlty an acquired taste.

    New Holland Dragons Milk is a good bourbon Stout. I think you would like that one.
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  • Jnich2424Jnich2424 Posts: 608
    Made the trip down to Muenster and picked up a case of zombie dust and gumball head.... IMO the only drinkable craft beer produced near Chicago.
    Managed to pick up and bring a bunch of Three Floyds back with me when I was home in WI visiting family. Picked up a bunch of 3F stuff, but couldn't find any place in southern WI that had Zombie Dust. Was really looking forward to trying that.

    Did manage to get a bottle of KBS in the bar in LaCrosse which I drank there, and they allowed you to take one bottle to go. Also grabbed a Mikkelers Beer Geek Breakfast Stout. Definitely excited to try that one.
  • rearviewrossrearviewross Posts: 3,055
    Jnich2424 wrote:
    Made the trip down to Muenster and picked up a case of zombie dust and gumball head.... IMO the only drinkable craft beer produced near Chicago.
    Managed to pick up and bring a bunch of Three Floyds back with me when I was home in WI visiting family. Picked up a bunch of 3F stuff, but couldn't find any place in southern WI that had Zombie Dust. Was really looking forward to trying that.

    Did manage to get a bottle of KBS in the bar in LaCrosse which I drank there, and they allowed you to take one bottle to go. Also grabbed a Mikkelers Beer Geek Breakfast Stout. Definitely excited to try that one.

    Never tried any 3 Floyds. I dont think they distribute this far north as I have looked for but not seen it. Maybe I will pick some up the day after Wrigley. Do they have any good stouts or Ambers. Anything that isnt an IPA or Belgian style?
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  • Jnich2424Jnich2424 Posts: 608
    Jnich2424 wrote:
    Made the trip down to Muenster and picked up a case of zombie dust and gumball head.... IMO the only drinkable craft beer produced near Chicago.
    Managed to pick up and bring a bunch of Three Floyds back with me when I was home in WI visiting family. Picked up a bunch of 3F stuff, but couldn't find any place in southern WI that had Zombie Dust. Was really looking forward to trying that.

    Did manage to get a bottle of KBS in the bar in LaCrosse which I drank there, and they allowed you to take one bottle to go. Also grabbed a Mikkelers Beer Geek Breakfast Stout. Definitely excited to try that one.

    Never tried any 3 Floyds. I dont think they distribute this far north as I have looked for but not seen it. Maybe I will pick some up the day after Wrigley. Do they have any good stouts or Ambers. Anything that isnt an IPA or Belgian style?

    This is the first time I've gotten to try anything Three Floyds honestly. As for stouts, if you can ever get a ticket and be in Munster, IN for Dark Lord Day, do it. I don't see anything as far as Ambers on the list from 3F on BA. Zombie Dust is supposed to be an amazing APA though. Hope I can get my hands on some next time I head home for a visit. If I drive again, I may have to detour into Indiana to visit the brewery.

    As for distribution, they used to distribute up in the middle of WI, but stopped and some places get left overs up north more. They tend to have a lot in Milwaukee and Madison. I actually grabbed a decent amount of Three Floyds at this place in River Falls when I was on my way up to Minneapolis.
  • mfc2006mfc2006 Posts: 37,447
    Elysian Savant IPA.....so damn tasty! :D
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  • MaxGoldenrodMaxGoldenrod Posts: 1,341
    Last night was an old standby, DFH 90 minute IPA. I've never had one that wasn't good.

    Today is a visit to a nano brewery about 5 mins from the house for their 1 year anniversary open house. Special kegs that they say will only last for about 15 mins once tapped... 8-)
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  • Indifference71Indifference71 Posts: 14,844
    81 wrote:
    Chicago beer is over rated. Goose island isn't even craft in my book anymore. (owned by in bev)

    i have not tried revolution, so i will reserve judgement, but in general, Chicago makes average beer at best.

    laquantis is opening a plant here, so that may change...but in fairness, they are still west coast


    Definitely check out Revolution...I went on a tour there a couple weeks ago and sampled some really good beers. Anit-Hero IPA is a good one...they have it on tap at a lot of places in the area.
  • shepshep Posts: 5,797
    81 wrote:
    and that bourbon ale blows. :lol:

    let me send you some $ for it. The purchase was entirely my fault! :fp:
    Houston, Texas... Believe it or not, there are 7 million people here... must be a couple of fans who'd love to see you play.
  • rearviewrossrearviewross Posts: 3,055
    I had my Goose Island Big John. Really good. Delicious chocolate imperial stout and at 11.5% ABV a bomber packs a punch. :D I liked this much more than the NIghtstalker. Will buy again.
    bigjohnbox.jpg
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  • shepshep Posts: 5,797

    Never tried any 3 Floyds. I dont think they distribute this far north as I have looked for but not seen it. Maybe I will pick some up the day after Wrigley. Do they have any good stouts or Ambers. Anything that isnt an IPA or Belgian style?

    I recommend Dreadnaught and Alpha King... they were my favorites on my tasting tour of chicago last summer... never got to try gumball head or zombie dust which are supposed to be amazing...

    had a dogfish head/sierra nevada collaboration beer - rhizing bines - last ni)ght... was very underwhelmed... i was expecting something a lot better from those 2 combining powers...

    also had am Alaskan Freeride APA... good bevvy..., will probably grab a few more of the next time I'm having a day long bender.... :D
    Houston, Texas... Believe it or not, there are 7 million people here... must be a couple of fans who'd love to see you play.
  • rearviewrossrearviewross Posts: 3,055
    shep wrote:

    Never tried any 3 Floyds. I dont think they distribute this far north as I have looked for but not seen it. Maybe I will pick some up the day after Wrigley. Do they have any good stouts or Ambers. Anything that isnt an IPA or Belgian style?

    I recommend Dreadnaught and Alpha King... they were my favorites on my tasting tour of chicago last summer... never got to try gumball head or zombie dust which are supposed to be amazing...

    had a dogfish head/sierra nevada collaboration beer - rhizing bines - last ni)ght... was very underwhelmed... i was expecting something a lot better from those 2 combining powers...

    also had am Alaskan Freeride APA... good bevvy..., will probably grab a few more of the next time I'm having a day long bender.... :D

    Thanks for the recommendation. I like Alaskan Amber. Not a bad everyday drinker. Not that I drink every day or that theres anything wrong with that if done in moderation.
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  • elvistheking44elvistheking44 Posts: 4,409
    I had my Goose Island Big John. Really good. Delicious chocolate imperial stout and at 11.5% ABV a bomber packs a punch. :D I liked this much more than the NIghtstalker. Will buy again.
    bigjohnbox.jpg
    Chocolate and Beer, never understood this combo.
  • rearviewrossrearviewross Posts: 3,055
    I had my Goose Island Big John. Really good. Delicious chocolate imperial stout and at 11.5% ABV a bomber packs a punch. :D I liked this much more than the NIghtstalker. Will buy again.
    bigjohnbox.jpg
    Chocolate and Beer, never understood this combo.

    Have you tried it? chocolate is surprisingly good in strong stouts. Also makes for a great secret ingredient in chili.
    Forced to endure, what I cannot forgive.
  • elvistheking44elvistheking44 Posts: 4,409
    I had my Goose Island Big John. Really good. Delicious chocolate imperial stout and at 11.5% ABV a bomber packs a punch. :D I liked this much more than the NIghtstalker. Will buy again.
    bigjohnbox.jpg
    Chocolate and Beer, never understood this combo.

    Have you tried it? chocolate is surprisingly good in strong stouts. Also makes for a great secret ingredient in chili.
    One of my biggest gripes with craft beer is what people consider a beer. Beers flavor should be beer. Not apples, not berries, not fruit, not ciders, not coffee..... Call me old fashion but my beer needs to taste like beer.
  • rearviewrossrearviewross Posts: 3,055
    One of my biggest gripes with craft beer is what people consider a beer. Beers flavor should be beer. Not apples, not berries, not fruit, not ciders, not coffee..... Call me old fashion but my beer needs to taste like beer.

    Ok, so because you don't like, then it shouldn't be called beer? I don't like fruit flavored beer either but to each his/her own. Having different ingredients and flavors is one of the major points of craft beers. You get products that Miller and Anheiser Busch don't give you.

    To say beer should taste like beer doesnt really make sense. There are a lot of different types of beer that all taste different. Ambers, IPA, Stouts, Wheat beer, Porter, etc... Thats kind of like saying I like Cola and soda should taste like soda.

    In the end we all like our types of beer and that is all that matters. As long as we are drinking beer. :D
    Forced to endure, what I cannot forgive.
  • Kel VarnsenKel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    81 wrote:
    Chicago beer is over rated. Goose island isn't even craft in my book anymore. (owned by in bev)

    I really hate the whole debate over what is and what isn't craft beer. I mean if the official definition puts more emphasis on the size of the brewery and who owns it and little or no emphasis on the quality of the product or the actual craftsmanship that went into it then to me it is kind of a useless definition. I mean if a company can make a quality and good tasting beer who cares who owns them. And if a company is making really terrible beer, does it matter that it is made in small batches?
  • Jearlpam0925Jearlpam0925 Posts: 17,038
    81 wrote:
    Chicago beer is over rated. Goose island isn't even craft in my book anymore. (owned by in bev)

    I really hate the whole debate over what is and what isn't craft beer. I mean if the official definition puts more emphasis on the size of the brewery and who owns it and little or no emphasis on the quality of the product or the actual craftsmanship that went into it then to me it is kind of a useless definition. I mean if a company can make a quality and good tasting beer who cares who owns them. And if a company is making really terrible beer, does it matter that it is made in small batches?

    I love how people are turning on Goose Island since they got bought up by InBev. Hilarious stuff - same thing with Magic Hat.

    And they're still both quality beers - especially Goose's IPA.
  • shepshep Posts: 5,797
    81 wrote:
    Chicago beer is over rated. Goose island isn't even craft in my book anymore. (owned by in bev)

    I really hate the whole debate over what is and what isn't craft beer. I mean if the official definition puts more emphasis on the size of the brewery and who owns it and little or no emphasis on the quality of the product or the actual craftsmanship that went into it then to me it is kind of a useless definition. I mean if a company can make a quality and good tasting beer who cares who owns them. And if a company is making really terrible beer, does it matter that it is made in small batches?

    I love how people are turning on Goose Island since they got bought up by InBev. Hilarious stuff - same thing with Magic Hat.

    And they're still both quality beers - especially Goose's IPA.

    There was a great article in BeerAdvocate a month or two ago about this unique situation...

    they made two great points in the article:

    (1) Running a brewery is a business, and you're in it to make money. While this isn't usually the craft brewers end goal, beer drinkers need to realize owners and brewers need to do whats best for their personal finances.

    (2) Selling out is inevitably a good thing for the craft beer market as a whole. When a brewery sells out, their beer production and distribution is usually significantly increased and mass distributed. This increases people's awareness of the craft industry and gets them interested enough to try. Also in many situations, recipes and jobs stay the same - while providing more alternatives in tasty, non-light lager beers on the shelves.

    Personally I'm excited that now I get to try many more of Goose Island's portfolio and that it's inevitably less Budweiser on the shelf.
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  • 8181 Posts: 58,276
    I love how people are turning on Goose Island since they got bought up by InBev.

    they sucked before they were bought.
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  • 8181 Posts: 58,276
    all fair points on teh craft vs. mass arguement when a brewer is purchased. i generally agree with them, but at the same time, i think does take a little luster off the brand. one of the great things about craft beer, is that is a little more limited, makeing them a little more special.

    lagunatis is opening a brew house in the city here. going to be roughly twice as big as the orginal place. not sure the point...just blabbing.

    carry on
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  • Kel VarnsenKel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    shep wrote:
    (2) Selling out is inevitably a good thing for the craft beer market as a whole. When a brewery sells out, their beer production and distribution is usually significantly increased and mass distributed. This increases people's awareness of the craft industry and gets them interested enough to try. Also in many situations, recipes and jobs stay the same - while providing more alternatives in tasty, non-light lager beers on the shelves.

    The other thing to point out is that this kind of thing (what happened with Goose Island) is probably going to happen more and more. I mean we are essentially in the first generation of craft brewing. And a lot of the really big companies are still owned by the people that founded them. What is going to happen when these people are ready to retire and want to see a payoff for their years of hard work? A bunch of them have built up multi-million dollar companies that not just anyone off the street will have the funds to take over. Sure there are ones like Sierra Nevada where family will take over, and I am sure some will become employee owned. But what about for the rest? The options for selling out and paying for your retirement (and getting top dollar) will either be to sell to a big brewing company or sell to some investment equity group.
  • Kel VarnsenKel Varnsen Posts: 1,952
    81 wrote:
    all fair points on teh craft vs. mass arguement when a brewer is purchased. i generally agree with them, but at the same time, i think does take a little luster off the brand. one of the great things about craft beer, is that is a little more limited, makeing them a little more special.

    There has to be at least a little bit of irony in the fact that you are posting this on the private fan message board for a band that was once legitimately one of the biggest bands in the world, as opposed to a message board for some small little band that no one has ever heard of.
  • 8181 Posts: 58,276
    81 wrote:
    all fair points on teh craft vs. mass arguement when a brewer is purchased. i generally agree with them, but at the same time, i think does take a little luster off the brand. one of the great things about craft beer, is that is a little more limited, makeing them a little more special.

    There has to be at least a little bit of irony in the fact that you are posting this on the private fan message board for a band that was once legitimately one of the biggest bands in the world, as opposed to a message board for some small little band that no one has ever heard of.

    in fairness, PJ was never bought out, though some would argue they sold out. :P :lol:

    i hear ya though on the benifits of being bought out by a big brewer...can't really aruge them. though i do think, over time, things will become a little more corporate, inovation will slow and we will end up with a bunch of watered down beers.
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  • rearviewrossrearviewross Posts: 3,055
    81 wrote:
    81 wrote:
    all fair points on teh craft vs. mass arguement when a brewer is purchased. i generally agree with them, but at the same time, i think does take a little luster off the brand. one of the great things about craft beer, is that is a little more limited, makeing them a little more special.

    There has to be at least a little bit of irony in the fact that you are posting this on the private fan message board for a band that was once legitimately one of the biggest bands in the world, as opposed to a message board for some small little band that no one has ever heard of.

    in fairness, PJ was never bought out, though some would argue they sold out. :P :lol:

    i hear ya though on the benifits of being bought out by a big brewer...can't really aruge them. though i do think, over time, things will become a little more corporate, inovation will slow and we will end up with a bunch of watered down beers.

    Maybe. I like the idea of greater distribution. Some may get watered down so to speak but there will always be local brewers of some kind, Brew pubs and smaller bottlers. Demand is growing every year.

    I thought you drank bourbon? :)
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  • rearviewrossrearviewross Posts: 3,055
    Bought a 4 pack of Mission Brewery Russian Imperial Stout out of San Diego, which I believe is Spanish for a whales vagina, anyway. My first Mission Brewery beer and it is gooooood. Wow, unfortunately the wife likes it a lot too and she drank two tonight. :cry:
    Forced to endure, what I cannot forgive.
  • shepshep Posts: 5,797
    81 wrote:
    81 wrote:
    all fair points on teh craft vs. mass arguement when a brewer is purchased. i generally agree with them, but at the same time, i think does take a little luster off the brand. one of the great things about craft beer, is that is a little more limited, makeing them a little more special.

    There has to be at least a little bit of irony in the fact that you are posting this on the private fan message board for a band that was once legitimately one of the biggest bands in the world, as opposed to a message board for some small little band that no one has ever heard of.

    in fairness, PJ was never bought out, though some would argue they sold out. :P :lol:

    i hear ya though on the benifits of being bought out by a big brewer...can't really aruge them. though i do think, over time, things will become a little more corporate, inovation will slow and we will end up with a bunch of watered down beers.

    I sort of agree with your point about being bought out and losing some of the luster at the same time. I mean I was excited to get to try a lot of the goose island beers (i've only ever had 312 and honkers before), but I won't argue with anyone about it not being as "special".

    Anyway....

    drinking an Alaskan Troppelbock right now... it's alright... i won't buy another though... i get a lot of buttery notes and oak tannins in my tasting, and the combination is not doing it for me...

    Quite boozy though... i'm feeling it after consuming the bomber by myself. ;)
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  • know1know1 Posts: 6,794
    I've been disapointed with the mass influx of IPAs from all these craft breweries. I get that it's basically the hardest brew to mess-up, but it's also just about the worst tasting.

    You go to restaurants and pubs these days, and there are usually a fairly high number of IPAs on tap.

    I prefer beers that take just a bit more skill to create.
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  • adam42381adam42381 Posts: 2,505
    know1 wrote:
    I've been disapointed with the mass influx of IPAs from all these craft breweries. I get that it's basically the hardest brew to mess-up, but it's also just about the worst tasting.

    You go to restaurants and pubs these days, and there are usually a fairly high number of IPAs on tap.

    I prefer beers that take just a bit more skill to create.
    You really have no idea what you're talking about here. India Pale Ale is one of if not the most popular styles of craft beer on the market. There are tons of flavor variations depending on the type of malt and hops that are used. Just because you may not like it does not mean it's one of the worst tasting. I personally love IPAs and so does almost every craft beer drinker I know. If you include Imperial/Double IPAs in this group, I'd guess no style outside of Imperial Stouts would be as highly regarded.
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  • shepshep Posts: 5,797
    adam42381 wrote:
    know1 wrote:
    I've been disapointed with the mass influx of IPAs from all these craft breweries. I get that it's basically the hardest brew to mess-up, but it's also just about the worst tasting.

    You go to restaurants and pubs these days, and there are usually a fairly high number of IPAs on tap.

    I prefer beers that take just a bit more skill to create.
    You really have no idea what you're talking about here. India Pale Ale is one of if not the most popular styles of craft beer on the market. There are tons of flavor variations depending on the type of malt and hops that are used. Just because you may not like it does not mean it's one of the worst tasting. I personally love IPAs and so does almost every craft beer drinker I know. If you include Imperial/Double IPAs in this group, I'd guess no style outside of Imperial Stouts would be as highly regarded.

    I'm a big hophead as well, and love the fact that the popularity of the beer ensures that their is always a handle or two available at any given back...

    however, as I homebrewer, I gotta back up know1... IPA's are definitely the most forgiving style of beer when brewing. You can easily hide mistakes in your brewing process and mask off flavors behind a heavy dose of hops... while IPA's might be at their highest ever popularity, the effort and process control involved with making this kind of beer isn't as high compared to say a Kolsch, Barleywine, or a well balanced stout....
    Houston, Texas... Believe it or not, there are 7 million people here... must be a couple of fans who'd love to see you play.
  • 8181 Posts: 58,276
    you want a good porter....go get yourself some edmund fitzgerald from great lakes

    you're welcome
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