That's pretty cool of 'em though. I think HC has simply outgrown that space. I don't think they expected to do as well as they have done. I don't know what kind of wine biz they do but I'm sure there are days when they get in a shipment of seasonals and they look at that side of the store and are just like........FUCK.

I used to get in a mood to brew and I'd brew 2-3 batches in a row (different styles) and would frequently end up with 6-8 cases bottled at a time. I think a few times, I had 10+ cases of home brew. I just can't imagine drinking that much Grolsch to have that many bottles around.

Caps are cheap and a good capper is a decent investment if you are going to brew much at all.

Doesn't Fischer La Belle use those swing top bottles too? I think I'd drink their beers over Grolsch.

also those fancy sodas that my wife drinks. I hate grolsch.

It would involve a potentially life altering trip outside the Perimeter for you, but you should go check out a Total Wine some day. Really well organized and really fucking well stocked.

Yeah mine too. I'm not fond of the clear glass, but I guess I can control the light that hits the bottles pretty well. As for Fisher you may be right, but I need to find it somewhere close to home to be able to buy a lot. My old capper kinda sucked, so maybe I'm remembering my hatred for it and being biased.

Recents

Altenmunster - Oktoberfestbier

Exactly what you're expecting, in an unbelievably huge swing-top bottle. Some friends brought me this for my daughter's 2 year birthday party. I really enjoy decent octoberfest beer. A-

Avery - Eighteen

Like a rye version of a double IPA, essentially. It's spicey and dry in the malt department due to the rye, but then has a big wet green hop hit. Good but not amazing. Didn't really merit being in this "special" series to me. B+

Boulevard - Sixth Glass Quadrupel

I continue to explore what these guys make, and continue to be impressed. I think the first of theirs I had was the saison back in NYC last year, and I was really surprised by it. This too was a top-shelf beer. I don't love it more than the originals, but it's a matter of taste. This was huge, sweet, highly carbonated, had a good strong punch and a distinct yeast flavor I liked. Wasn't perfect but it was very, very good. So far I'd rate these guys just under where Goose Island left off when they got bought. A-


Boulevard - Nommo Dubbel

A sweeter, denser version of the standard Dubbel. I like where they took this. I'd like to try another one to be sure - I didn't have enough attention to devote to this one at the time, so as soon as I started really noticing it I was done. A-


Cisco - Pumple Drumpkin

Shiv is right - the Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin is the best pumpkin beer going up here, but it's also a heavy beer. For something you can drink 3 or 4 of, this is tops. It's subtle enough to not wear out its welcome, and the underlying beer tastes like a denser Oktoberfest... bready and german in other words. Even Neuro liked it. B+


Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Beer Company - the only beer they make, as far as the bartender knew

This represents what NOT to do with barrel ageing. It was cartoonishly sweet, the vanilla flavoring having all the subtlety of a biker gang rape. People will try this and give up on barrel beers, and that's a shame. Not recommended. D+

Why not just buy the caps or buy bottles with the caps. Drinking a lot of Grolsch seems like punishment.

I may cave in and do this, but here's my reasoning so far:

1. I mildly like not having to buy caps, borderline don't care but it would be slightly nicer not to have to.
2. I like being able to clean fewer bottles (because all of these are larger than 12oz, some WAY larger), and I clearly remember the giant pain in the ass it is to clean bottles. Newbies may be all into cleaning bottles because it's "fun", but after 25+ batches I was seriously thinking about kegging. There's a finite amount of bottle cleaning any one man will do in his life and I've used up a lot of mine, so bigger bottles help.
3. I will be splitting each 5 gallon batch with Neuro and Shiv to some undetermined degree, so I'm not going to need "a buttload" of bottles unless I brew several times a month, which I won't. Not with a kid and a wife I won't. I picture it being a set deal, like "first sunday every month" or something. So I will need the equivalent of about 24 12oz bottles for myself if I keep half of each batch, all assuming I go for a 5 gallon setup. I'm close to that now with 8 grolsch bottles and 2 big ones.
4. I like being able to instantly seal up a larger bottle so I can drink it over a long day or even 2 days. Especially true if we make something high gravity.

Kyle, did you finish off those Baxter cans?

I did... where is that picture? Lemme dig.

Weak argument. As you admit yourself, you borderline don't care about this and you shouldn't.



I can't imagine anyone thinking cleaning bottles is "fun" but unless you completely eliminate the task of cleaning any bottles, cleaning 12 vs 24 is almost a meaningless difference. The only thing about cleaning them that was a pain at all was removing the label and that's not even really necessary and to the extent it is it's a one time task. They do make bottles that use caps that are larger too you know so not sure what your point is here.



Ok so if you are brewing once a month and splitting it 50/50 than you'd probably still need at least the equivalent of 48 12 oz bottles because the beer needs to brew for about a week before you bottle it and then it needs to age a bit in the bottle before you drink it. So you are going to be brewing at least a second batch before you probably drink any of the first batch, and it wouldn't surprise me if you don't finish all that much of the first batch before you end up starting a third batch.



Really? I've never thought they've tasted very good when you re-seal.

Also if you had a poor experience with bottling in the past, I'm guessing that you were using a cheap handheld capper. The bench cappers aren't that much more but they are so much better.

This is correct. I had the red plastic hand-held unit. It was a pain.

I need to really live somewhere, like buy a house, and just install a keg setup. But I don't and I won't for at least 2 more years.

Baxter - Stowaway IPA

Nice brewery from Maine I'd never heard of, courtesy of Shiv (same birthday party). This was sharp, complex, and a lot citrus-ey. Almost tasted like orange peels were in there, but I couldn't tell if it was just the power of suggestion from the can colors. I'm really curious to see what else they can do. And of course, 3 cheers for cans. B+

so you had something like this I am assuming:



that's not exactly what I started with but similar enough but yeah it was terrible

then I spent about $30 to upgrade to something like this:



and it was like night and day in terms of ease of use.

that is EXACTLY the one I had. -involuntary shudder-

I'm not much of a brown ale man, but I do like the Bell's Best Brown Ale that's out now. It and their Octoberfest have been our weekend session beers lately. Other recents (some dating back several weeks):

Dogfish Burton Baton: DANGER WILL ROBINSON. A very drinkable IPA/DIPA should not be 10%--it's a recipe for disaster. I like this beer a lot and ended up going back for a second four pack but the great majority of them are in my "cellar"

Ommegang BPA: Giant head with lots of carbonation. Once it calms down it's an altogether enjoyable drink with some nice flavors and aromatics. Solid but needs a tall glass.

Dogfish Head Punkin': This is where I should mention that I buy a lot of beer for my wife. I like to try different stuff and all, but my wife doesn't really like aggressively hopped beers so I spend more time and energy buying things that I think she might like. Neither of us really thought much of Punkin'--I'm not even sure I tasted pumpkin until near the bottom of beer #2. It's well made and doesn't taste bad per se, just not something I'd try again.

North Coast Acme IPA: I'm a big fan of North Coast (Pranqster is probably one of my five favorite beers) so I decided to give this a shot: It's not as hoppy as most IPA's and if I was going to compare it something I'd probably go with Sierra Pale--maybe a little drier. It goes down great though and you could probably do worse than draining a few on a nice afternoon.

Bell's Third Coast Old Ale: I think I'm a fan of these strong/old ales. I don't really have a lot of leisure time, and dont generally drink during the week, so it's nice to have something that's complex and strong. I've got four of them cellared and am looking forward to checking them out as they age because there is some alcohol burn there for sure.

Ommegang Three Philosophers: Another strong one with a nice cherry cough syrup finish. This is one that was highly recommended by you guys earlier in this thread. I was not disappointed even if it's not something I could see myself going to often.

Ommegang: Been a while for this one but my memory is that it was totally unremarkable: I much prefer Allagash.

Lagunitas Censored: Thought this might be good for the wife. I think it's kind of too sweet and not really my thing. She said it was "ok". Expect to be served the other four if you come by our house soon.

Victory Mixed 12 Pack: It wouldn't be fair to review the Brooklyn mixed 12'er but I will review this one. I hate to disappoint Kyle because I know he is a big fan, but I think it's kind of meh: I'm not really much of a Pilsner guy to start with and all of their beers sort of have the same flavor profile as the Prima Pils so that's a mark against from the start. I will say that the Golden Monkey has got to be the most efficient and drinkable way to lay a buzz on yourself that I've had the pleasure of trying. Hop Devil is fine but again, something about the flavor profile is just a touch off.

I knew there would be detractors. Glad the Monkey treated you well. Probably the sneakiest alcohol content in the business.

Last time we visited NYC, Haq came over to visit for a tiny little party. You want a beer? "Sure" he says, and I hand him a golden monkey. (Eyes open wider.) "You got Golden Monkey? Well all RIGHT then."

the only time I've been directly involved in bottling homebrew we used the above capper. It sucked and the caps didn't go on tight enough and therefore, in bottle carbonation failed.

I would gladly drink those Lagunitas Censored's.

Oh, they'll get drunk (though more likely by my wife than me). I was just being flip.

Trying another Lagunitas tonight (the Little Sumpin Sumpin) and I think we might split that Sierra/Ovila Dubbel

Yail - I don't like most of those Victorys, but I'm a big homer for pretty much anything else Victory makes.

Just opened a Punkin Ale. An annual ritual now.

Big fan of Little Sumpin Sumpin. Super citrusy and green. Somebody may need to explain to me the difference between this being billed as an American Pale Wheat Ale and a West Coast style IPA. Both taste kind of similar to me. Maybe it's just semantics.


Had some good stuff in Athens this weekend:

Dogfish Head Festina Peche
Southern Tier Harvest Ale
Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale
Dogfish Head Punkin Ale


All of which were good to great. As to the conversation the other day, the Weyerbacher outshined the Punkin Ale for sure.

Had a couple others as well but things started all running together.

Also, Terrapin Brewing couldn't have picked a better town to set up shop in. Every single bar we went to had a minimum of 4 of their beers on tap and more than that in bottles.

Just got back from Grand Rapids and the Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout release. That beer continues to be amazing but the release was run fairly poorly. They had nothing good on tap to go along with the CBS. Still, beer releases are fun and I sampled many incredible beers in line... including a batch 18 (first bottled version) Ithaca Brute, 2003 Lou Pepe and 2008 Cuvee Des Championes.

I thought it was pretty great as well though I'm looking forward to trying one on its own--we had a mf'in craft beer smorgasbord up in this piece yesterday and things tend to run together. Something about that Acme IPA keeps calling me back as well--drinkability? Very possible.

One of the people I was hanging out with yesterday was extolling the sessionability virtues of Terrapin's Golden Ale.