I'm walking distance to a DFH Ale House here and last night tried what they are calling Five Thanksgivings, half of their Pumpkin and Half of their Indian Brown (Sahtea I believe). Pretty crazy but not bad. Also can get half and half 60 Minute and 90 Minute IPA for a 75 Minute IPA. That shit's a winner.

I'm getting behind again.

Sam Adams - Octoberfest

This is a nice restaurant, but the beer list is too short. If you're not in the mood for hops, then it's sorta kinda this or Weihenstephaner. And I had 2 of those here the night before - we just sorta wound up at this place again the next evening. At any rate, I try not to take the Sam Adams hate too far and try them again once in awhile, and this wasn't all that bad. They do this well, the bready sweet stuff with a dry aftertaste, so it's in their wheelhouse. But it still... tasted... like sam adams. B


St Landelin - La Divine

Fliptop bottle, so even though I'm pretty sure I'd had it before, I couldn't remember what it tasted like so I figured I'd refresh. It's surprisingly meh. Not bad at all, but thinner and more boring than I would've expected for a french wheaty like this. yawn. B


Fischer - Alsace Amber

Fliptop bottle, and something I hadn't tried before. Hopes were high. And then they came crashing down... this was not good at all. Brown Budweiser. Seriously. Avoid. C-



Pretty Things - Hedgerow Bitter

A convincing british bitter with higher alcohol than would be normal. These guys have chops. It's light in body and creamy / bready, with a very tightly controlled bright and dry finish. It tastes nothing like their other beers. Take note, sam adams. I'd buy others of theirs before this one, but I applaud the effort and the results. A-


Cambridge Brewing Company - The Great Pumpkin Ale

I always, always forget about these guys. They're in my own damned town, but they didn't bottle much until recently I think, so unless I went to them I never saw their stuff. Also I've had 4 or 5 kinds over the years and all were ok but nothing slapped me in the face. This was a lot better than I expected - good body, subtle pumpkin, and just fucking made to go with the fire I made in the wood burning stove that night. I will probably get more - another perk is that it's cheap, less than $7 for the 22oz. Come November the pumpkin beers will have worn out their welcome but I'm trying to embrace the seasonal change. Good on ya, guys. B+


Boulevard Brewing Company - Tank 7

A belgian farmhouse. Continuing my dating / heavy petting phase with Boulevard, I've now left my toothbrush over at their place and I have some boxers in their panty drawer. This could be love. This was spicey and tart - grapefruit in particular, maybe the sharpest and most identifiable grapefruit flavor I can recall in a beer, in a good way. The head lasted forever (no wonder I'm in love), everything was balanced, and they put on yet another great show in a bottle. So far this brewery is knocking it out of the park. Big flavors, no duds. A-


Etienne Dupont - Cidre Triple

Got this for the gluten intolerant wife, and snuck a sip. First, take a moment to notice the clumps -nay, railroad ties- of yeast. Yowza. This was on the dry side and a little too wine-like for me. Interesting once, but the local cider folks out here and in Michigan (I'm thinking of West County here and J.K. Scrumpy in MI) slay this... and not by being too sweet - that's a cop out. They are better because they taste fresher, more refined, more unique, more like you're standing under the trees getting pleasantly drunk. B


Shipyard - Smashed Pumkin

Like I said, it's that season and I'm trying to get into it. So regular Shipyard is pretty boring, but this Pugsley guy they have doing specials is amazing. His porter killed me. This was no different, just HUGE in all the right ways, but with the pumpkin knob set to 4 instead of 11. Really, really dug this. Pugsley knows his shit. A-


Bornem - Abbey Double

Never had it, decided to try it. It disappointed. Just ok, and for something authentic, it needs to be better than ok. No surprises, no pizzaz, just brownish beer with that candy yeast flavor. There's much better. B-

I got a bottle of DFH 120 Minute last night. I'll probably hang onto it for a little while so I can let it sink in that I paid $15 for a 12oz.

Ooooooouch.

Ha ha ha I just remembered something - We visited some friends 6 or 7 years ago in Madison, back when the Mrs didn't know gluten messed her up and she liked beer, and they were like "grab a beer out of the fridge!" So not knowing any better, the Mrs grabbed a dogfish 120 minute, popped the top, and started drinking it. "This is really good! Wow, it's so strong." And then his face just like slooooowly melted when he saw what bottle she had opened.

haha. yeah I made sure I hid that shit good.

I've got tix for the Decatur Beer Fest this Saturday. 4000 tickets sold out in about a half hour.

Around 70 brewers showcasing their wares.

Here's the map and beer list (all American stuff):

http://decaturbeerfestival.org/2011-bee ... erlist.pdf


Helllllooooooooo Sunday hangover.

new haul...

I came home from work one day and my wife was at the computer with a DFH Burton Baton...not as crushing a loss as a 120 but I did a nice internal "Noooooooo" and an external "What's that you're drinkin' there?"

Some thoughts on the Northeast section, just my 2 cents:

I've generally liked all of the Clipper City/Heavy Seas beers I've had - Loose Cannon IPA, Small Craft Warning Pils, Black Cannon Black IPA, Winter Storm Winter Ale, Big DIPA (Double IPA).

Can not even a beer fest spell "Yuengling" properly?

Victory = Headwaters Pale Ale is pretty good too.

Schmaltz = They make He'Brew and those Coney Island themed beers. Cool labels but beer is pretty average at best though I've only had a few of them.

Clipper City = I always see their beers at liquor stores but am never tempted to try them.

Smuttynose = Try the IPA, then move on.

Magic Hat = Skip.

Peak Organic = I tried their IPA at a tasting last weekend and it was not bad. Not sure about their others.

Stoudt's = I haven't had many of theirs but their Smooth Hoperator has the best label ever.



Weyerbacher = Merry Monks is like a Golden Monkey gone wrong. Their Verboten is good though.

Yeah I like that too. I also like Prima Pils for that matter.

Not all that much from the west coast

I'm a big fan of North Coast but know that Derris is too.

Lagunitas is well-known.

I assume Stone is too but I'd say it's good not great.

Session Lager is the only thing I've liked by Full Sail.

Lost Abbey is supposed to be pretty good but I haven't tried anything by them.

Yeah, to be honest most the brewers from other parts of the country are well established in the craft beer world. Really curious to see what Uinta brings. I've been impressed with them as of late.

The most interesting stuff should be from the South. A) because it's only recently (read: in the last few years) started to catch fire due to the laws changing, at least in Georgia and B) Geography. It's just easier for new, small brewers to get here (there are about 6 or 7 from the Southeast I've never even heard of).

Doesn't mean it'll all be good but it's good to see so many upstarts from this part of the country getting out there.

This is actually my first beer fest. I'll definitely be picking and choosing. No way I'd be able to try them all without things ending up pantsless.

Case in point:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=47701

Oh, indeed. I have seen the Monkey sneak up on many an unwary sober person. So surprisingly drinkable.

Truth.

A coworker brought me a hard-to-find can of double IPA, from Alchemist in Waterbury. I'd never even heard of them. Cannot wait.

Had one of those 21st Amendment Back in Black IPA's last night.

Easily the best beer I've had from them to date.

Was back in that part of town so I grabbed one of the aforementioned 4 packs of 2010 vintage Ten Fidy. Also on deck, Founders Backwoods Bastard and Sierra's Estate Homegrown Ale which I know the Cap will appreciate the details of:

That is dreamy.

The only chink in the otherwise glorious picture is it traveling 3000+ miles to get to my fridge.

Yeah. But in the scheme of things, really good beer isn't a lot of freight volume. And other rationalizations.

I picked this up yesterday. Couldn't resist.



Haven't tried it yet but had that White Birch Eorna Ceol. It was alright but probably nothing I'd reach for again.

I need to find this.

I almost bought a bottle of the Sierra Nevada Estate Homegrown as well tonight, but decided to go with Mikkeller Black Hole Imperial Stout Barrel Aged Red Wine edition instead. I still need to try the Sierra Nevada soon, but the Black Hole was fucking phenomenal.
I also consumed the Great River Oktoberfest and Upstream Nirvana Farmhouse IPA tonight.

Mix and Match Six pack for consumption tonight:
Anchor Humming Ale
Great Divide Hibernation Ale
Weyerbacher Verboten
Thomas Creek Octoberfest
Point Whole Hog Imperial Russian Stout
Point Whole Hog Six Hop IPA

I'm drinking this right now and it's quite good--especially if you like a really, really fresh tasting IPA (I do). I thought the bitterness was going to be off the hook, but its smooth enough to be inhalable. Me rikey. Pretty expensive treat though, and the fucking wax is a pain in the ass.