Good shit there.

Good shit, indeed!
Lots of good malt going on, with just enough hoppy bitterness to keep it from being over the top. Fairly high alcohol content (8.9%), but again, not over the top like some Belgian ales can be.
I'll go back for more, for sure.

True, and it makes me appreciate the ones who don't have any real clunkers a LOT more. I put Smuttynose in there, along with Bells, Dogfish Head, Voctory (so far), and now I'm adding Great Divide after the mixed 12er I just ingested.


Never had Red Seal, but man am I jealous about your access to Bells. I'm headed to Wisconsin tomorrow a.m. for like 10 days and I am gonna make a fucking DENT in the supply of 2 Hearted, Spotted Cow, and others while I'm there.


I'm not there yet. I still feel bored when I look at the offerings in even the big nice store near home now. "Had it... had it... had it..." It won't last forever but right now I keep wanting to taste different stuff.


Jesus, how many DIDN'T? Dead Guy or Shakespeare Stout.

In Charlotte this week and checked out the Harris Teeter down the street. It's weird to see Two Hearted and Sweetwater 420 in the same fridge. And awesome. God I'm gonna love getting to know the local brews when I finally get down here for good.

I always wanted to like Smuttynose a lot more than I ever did.

You're not alone - Neuro bags on them for all tasting the same. I donno, I taste a lot of difference and I like the quality. Maybe it's the paltry competition out here...? In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

Just 2 actually. Donno why I looked sloshed.

Recents

Schneider Weisse - Hopfen Weisse (Hop Wheat)

Another great compliment to saturday BBQ at Formaggio. Crisp, utterly german, with a nice hop kick - a lot for a german. Just great stuff when you're in the mood for it. A


Great Divide 12 Pack Sampler
I realized I've been walking past this sampler pack for over a year at the sto' for no good reason. Well, it was $23 instead of like $18, but still. Maybe they make good shit, right? Turns out they do. The expiration date stamp looked a HELL of a lot like 2005, but the beer wasn't skunked so i kept at it, and I think it was just a badly printed "9."
Samurai Rice Ale

I normally feel like rice has no place in a respectable beer but damn if this wasn't thick, solid, alcoholic, and refreshing. They earned my respect right out of the gate here... I had low expectations for this bottle and it surprised. (The scenery didn't hurt.) B+

Wild Raspberry Ale

As long as you're capable of liking any fruited beer, this is a good choice. It tastes like fresh berries, and not like berry-flavored-corn-syrup (I'm looking at YOU, Abita). It's refreshing, solid, complex, and not over-done. I dug it. Nowhere NEAR that Dogfish Black & Blue, of course, but still very good. B+

Denver Pale Ale

Dave you would fucking love this. It's crisp without being too hoppy, and it has a great malty back end on it. Textbook "Quality Pale Ale." I was sad to see the last one go. A

Titan IPA

...because no brewery can operate in the US without a strong IPA anymore I guess. This was probably a B+. Not up there in the 2 Hearted or 90 Minute camp, but better than Red Hook, Sierra Nevada, or Harpoon. Again, if you're into IPA's this is one you could knock down 4 or 5 of happily in one afternoon. B+

So I was very, very impressed with the depth of the bench on this 12 pack. Well played, Great Divide. Well played.

you need to get out to Marty's on Washington St in Newton. that place is amazing.



Their Belgica, Hoss, Hades & Colette are really good too.


I'm finishing up a Harpoon UFO Sampler b/c I was poor last week.

I'm going to a Brewer's party tomorrow for the Nebraska Brewing Company, where they are going to tap a gravity keg filled with a brown ale that has been dry hopped with Cascade and Chinook Hops.



Speaking of Great Divide and IPA's, this shit was fucking great.

From the label:
Based on our most award-winning beer, Denver Pale Ale, this copper-hued treat is a celebration of everything Great Divide does best. Plenty of malty sweetness provides a backdrop for earthy English and American hops, while French and American oak round off the edges and provide a touch of vanilla.”

Available in 22 oz. bottles. 10% ABV.
Suggested Food Pairings: Bacon and blue cheese hamburger, barbecue ribs, Point Reyes blue cheese, sticky toffee pudding, caramel cheesecake

I think the camera is being held from below, so you're looking down, therefore look half-lidded?

I like those Great Divides, but have not had the DPA. I think I had about 7 Hades' one night before I realized their @ 8%.

We have a store here that stocks them, so I will seek that out. Sounds imminently drinkable.

And don't get me wrong, I'm never going to stop trying different beers, but sort of like music, most days I know what I want, and a brown ale ain't it.

I have a feeling I could drink my way across Belgium, for instance.

I can send you an itinerary, hoss. You'd return and find a wast vasteland here.

No kidding. Annoys the shit out of me.

I like the design of Great Divide's labels. I'd never heard of the brewery until now.

Being that their located in Denver, it would be near impossible for me not to know about about any of their products while consuming microbrews, but they are a fairly notable brewery.
The various forms of their Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Russian Stout consistantly rate as some of the best beers in America, and their Old Ruffian Barleywine is a monster that ABV hits you fast.
I'm quite fond of the Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti that has a bit of cayenne pepper in it. It's supposedly the Seasonal Yeti for the Summer, but I have a hard time buying the fact most folks want to drink such a decadent beer with a 9.5%ABV when it is 90+ degrees outside.

This was tapped tonight after the Cantillion Rosee de Gambrinius ran out at the bar I was at for a tapping:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/718/2184

Petrus Aged Pale from Belgium, a Flanders Oud Bruin at 7.3%ABV
It is actually a very sour beer.

I had a solid 6er of these on tap last night. IT DRANK PRETTY GOOD!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZoTJzh13n8

Never really tried Great Divide too much, but I will now. Thanks, thread (but mostly Cap'n).

unfortunately, he chose the worst of goose island's beers.

And I am a fan of his again. Warm beer is not fit for human consumption.

Yeah, he should have offered up that delicious Espresso Bourbon County Stout.
I don't think all beer needs to be cold, but yes nearly any truly great beer should be moderately chilled to its advised temperature.

I made a run to Brix in Omaha yesterday, the place is literally an averaged size grocery store completely devoted to selling booze, cheese and various bar related products.

I ended up dropping $90 on fourteen different beers.

The first bottle I opened last night was a 750ml bottle of De Graal Gember

http://www.sheltonbrothers.com/beers/be ... BeerID=262



From brewery notes and beer advocate ratings:

De Graal Gember is a blond beer spiced with ginger. It has notes of honey, pepper, lime and of course ginger
Pours a very intriguing gold with a nice big white head that leaves some nice lacing as it quickly dissipates, it is clear with yeast floaties. The flavor is very nice, wheat, straw like flavors along with an oaty taste and a peppery yeast spice. The general spice is quite strong with the specific ginger notes a touch more muted. It is really balanced, refreshing and extremely drinkable.
A great spiced beer.

Cousin is coming in from out of town this week and we're gonna go beer shopping together.
Hittin' Binny's. (Chicago folk, you know what I'm talking about.) Awwwwwww yeah!

poptodd, how much do you think it would cost to fedex me a case of Three Floyd's Alpha King ??? I so wish we had that beer out here.

I have no idea.
Never looked into shipping that stuff before. Have you contacted the brewery at all? Would they be willing to do it?

They legally cannot do such a thing. It violates the three tier system regarding alcohol distribution.
A brewery must sell it to a distributor before it can be sold to a bar or customer.
They go through it in detail, if you ever watch "Beer Wars".
It's a completely fucked up and antiquated system too, even Budweiser has been trying to do away with it. The only people who profit from it are the distributors and to some extent the macrobreweries who can't afford to distribute their own beers, but who can continue to keep craft beers out of their smaller markets.