I've been out of the loop on this thread, but what's everyone's thoughts on Lagunitas Sucks?

It's great. Much better than Brown Shugga that I had recently.

I've had a bunch of good stuff recently that I'll have to report on....

By the way, that Oude To Mercy I had at Bloor's during the podcast made me think I wanna try to work up an imperial brown recipe. All complex and caramel, mid-tone colors and roasts, just a tiny hint of dark roast in the very background, light noble hops, and about 9% abv...

It's been awhile since I've had Brown Shugga, but I really like Sucks.

Have you had the Imperial Brown Ale from Nogne O yet? It only has a 7.5% ABV, but it is pretty stellar for a Brown Ale.

No I haven't. The 2 or 3 of theirs I've had have been 50% good, 50% "interesting." I just never wind up pulling the expensive trigger on them, somehow. Good to know, though, I'll look for it.

So this Brooklyn Brewery thing... A local friend does indeed know the founder very well (Steve Hindy). He would introduce us, but first he wants to make sure I'm not going to waste the guy's time, and it looks like I would, at this point. I have questions about startup strategies, marketing, funding, distribution models, that kinda stuff, because I'm just curious and not because I'm going to pull the trigger or anything. I just want to KNOW, you know? But he's written a book (he was a journalist first), and it's actually aimed at exactly that, so I will read the book first.

I responded accordingly, and then joked:
"I was thinking about this as I got my coffee and realized that my Real Answer to what I'd like to talk to him about was that I'd like to meet him personally and have 3 beers during one afternoon. It would begin as a structured Q&A session, and slowly devolve into just a good conversation, and ultimately wind up as a job interview. I chuckled."

Friend responded:
"Well.... One definite way I could get you in the door with him is if you want to shell out a few bucks and come down to a fundraiser Steve is hosting at the Brewery on April 29 for NYC mayoral candidate Christine Quinn."

So maybe we'll make a trip down there for a 3 day weekend or something. Seems like it'd be fun, unless this is a $500-a-plate deal. Loog, how does this ish work?

I can almost guarantee that, no matter what the minimum donation for the fundraiser is, you won't get the type of in depth conversation you're looking for when 50 other people are also vying for the dude's time.

Very good point.

Agreed on it being much better than Brown Shugga. I was disappointed when I saw Brown Shugga back in the fall because I thought it meant no more Lagunitas Sucks. Glad that they decided to continue making it.

Curious to hear about all the things you tried on your trip.



The founder of Dogfish Head wrote a similar book. You might want to look for that too.

Got this at the local beer shop down the street tonight. First I've had of this series but I like it:

capn, you should try and find this. probably the best beer they've made, other than Mo.

Saturday is our annual homebrew club bus trip. This year we will be spending roughly nine hours on a bus and touring three breweries in two states.
We start our day at Tallgrass in Manhattan,KS, then travel west to Hays, KS to visit Liquid Bread, and then finish our day at Thunderhead in Kearney, NE.
Liquid Bread is the highlight of the tour, and the only real reason we chose the route did this year. They have won several GABF medals for their stouts and Wheat beer.

I'll look for it too, but with minor trepidation. After the Times piece on him (or was it in the magazine?) I've been sorta over him. He came off a bit manic, egotistical, and unfocused in a way. Seems like he's just doing "more" and "wierder" for their own sake. Occasionally interesting to watch and drink, but not anything I want to emulate. Still, he figured out how to get paid to make beer for a living, so he gets my respect there.

Will absolutely look for it. I've really enjoyed their beers. Thanks homey.

These are the commercial beers I tried and consumed during the Lincoln Lagers Bus trip:
Tallgrass Ethos IPA
Tallgrass English Pub Ale
Liquid Bread Oatmeal Stout
Liquid Bread Fort Fletcher American IPA
Liquid Bread Flying Bison Rye
Liquid Bred Lemon Ale
Southern Tier Mokah
New Belgium Rampant Double IPA
Cantillon Broucsella 1900 Grand Cru
Thunderhead Brewing Devil Dog
Thunderhead Brewing Peach Wheat

Only Southern Tier and New Belgium make it anywhere near here from what I can tell.

Went to a Hair of the Dog tap takeover at Surly Goat last weekend. Not sure how well known they are outside of the west coast, but they are a small Portland brewery. Their most popular and easy to find beer is Blue Dot, a DIPA that I think is roughly on par with Pliny in quality. Their american pale ale, Ruth, is probably my favorite sessionable beer and it is one of their lowest rated beer on Rate Beer at 89. Doggie Claws, Adam, Fred and Matt all got 100 overall scores.

It was a good chance to try a few of their harder to find beers.

Greg - an American Pale Ale based on "Ruth" but with several varieties of squash substituted for the hops. Very light, not much flavor with low alcohol at 4.5% Interesting to try but not really my thing.

Doggie Claws - Big West Coast style Barley Wine, 11.5% ABV, copper red/brown in color, aggressively hopped with simcoe and amarillo hops, wild honey added. Complex flavors of pine, caramel, honey, molasses and some citrus. I've had it in bottle before and didn't love it but liked it much more on draft. Will have to buy more in the bottle and age it for longer.

Adam - Their recreation of a german "Old World Ale" Very dark, rich, malty and smokey and strong at 10%. They recommend it as a dessert beer. I've had it before in bottle but never had it on tap. I liked it more a lot more this time around. Not sure if it was better on draft or perhaps I should have aged my bottle longer.

Michael (in bottle) -- one of their harder to find beers, this is a flanders style red ale aged for 30 months in sherry barrels. A really good sour. I liked it a lot but not sure I'd buy it again (if I could even find it) as I can find ones I like as much for less. This was $30 for a 12 oz bottle.

Would have liked to try more -- they had several different vintages of Doggie Claws in bottles, Fred, and Matt (a limited release based on Adam) -- but they are all high ABV beers and there was no way I could drink more and still be safe to drive home.

A couple of other first recent firsts for me:

Allagash Black -- I'm sure most of you have had it. Was pretty much as good as advertised.

Golden Road - Get up offa that Brown. Local LA brewery's Brown ale in can. I've been too lazy to make it to their brewery to try all of their beers on tap and they only recently made this one available in can. Decent but nothing that special.

I am applying for brewery jobs in portland. Wish me luck.

Good Luck
Do you know any of the brewers personally?
It is clearly one of those industries where knowing people or being recommended by someone with any semblance of clout helps out a lot.
It also doesn't hurt to be one of those people who are willing to start at the bottom and clean out kegs, etc.

I don't, but I did dig out my potential boss's name from the internet ether, guess the email protocol for his company, email him personally (2 years ago, the first time I took a swing at this) and chat a little elctronically. That time they'd already pretty much filled it, but this time hopefully not. I replied to the old email, hopefully he remembers.

As for cleaning kegs, I'm hoping my skillset in the area they need filled carries me. I'm good at some things.

So, I had a quick jaunt out to LA a few weeks ago for a work conference and have been meaning to comment on some beers I had while out there. I tried several places but alas, no Pliny the Elder. I did get sip of some Pliny The Younger from our own billyg, so tip of the cap to him and for all his recommendations on where to get a drink.

I'm sure I missed a few but here goes (all these are not my pics, openly forgot our camera):



Ballast Point Sculpin IPA - my first beer of the trip at Naja's in Redondo Beach right on the pier. Excellent IPA. Characteristic West Coast citrusy hop explosion but drinkable as fuck. My only reference point to many of the IPA's out there like Pliny or this, is Hopslam. They are all pretty on par with each other. Only very subtle differences. Biggest difference is that this is available year round and Hopslam is fake beer supply and demand at it's worst.



Laurel IPA - Beachwood Brewing - This is the only pic I could find. These guys are a brewery and BBQ place but this was available at the same beer bar I was at for the Ballast Point. The guy at the bar recommended it in place of the Pliny (that they were out of). While it may have been one of the best smelling beers of the weekend, the taste didn't quiiiiite match up to the smell. Still, it was a solid beer from what I recall.



Russian River - Bling Pig

Had this at the Blue Palms Brewhouse in West Hollywood with FemDerris and Mr. billyg. As billy put it, "it's their regular IPA". A 6% IPA that has all the classic characteristics of west coast ipa's. All that piney hop goodness but a much more manageable ABV level. Great beer that if available here, I'm sure I would keep on hand as my "house beer".


More to come......

Firestone Walker - Walker's Reserve Porter - sadly, the only Firestone Walker I found while there but this was delicious. Roasty, creamy, goodness. Makes me wonder how good their highly rated beers are even more. Drank at Blue Palms as well.

I should also give a shout out to billy's rec of Blue Palms Brewhouse. Pretty cool spot right no Hollywood Blvd. Walk out the door and you're looking at Capitol Records almost (I think?). Great beer list. Really crowded that day but they had a tapping for PLiny the Younger but at $20 a 10oz glass (with proceeds going to something I can't remember. Policemen's fund?)

If ever in Louisville, KY, go to Sergio's World of Beers. Do not hesitate. Just go.

Now, I feel bad that I didn't insist (although I did offer) that you stop by my place for a pliny the elder or just to pick up a care package to take back to your hotel. Surly Goat, the place I recommended to you for after Night + Market, did have Pliny on tap. We are so spoiled here that when I was there last weekend, there was a big group of people drinking the pliny not because they wanted it but because the bartender told them that when the keg kicked they'd put whatever they wanted on tap.

What did you think of the Logsdon Seizon Bretta?