I know how you feel. Cans is usually my tiebreaker. I'm sure any bottle shop in RDU would have it if that's where you are heading.

I share your disappointment in your effort. I had 17 5 oz pours (with at least half of those above 10% ABV) at a similar event last year and still wanted to try more.

Hope you tried the bolded!

I am 99% sure I had the following...

- Blind Pig (which I've had before but fuck it's a good old friend)
- Perennial Sump (a 10.5% coffee stout)
- Panzer Wolf (DIPA)
- Struisse Dalphine (13% imperial stout)

And I sipped:

- RR Consecration (which again I've had, but Neuro hadn't had it, and again, it is fanfuckingtastic)
- Permanent Funeral (DIPA)
- Hill Edward (again, already had it several times, so subtle and good)
- something else.. fuck I forget.

The Thai Me Up/Melvin Brewing 2x4 is probably the best DIPA I've had to date. Head brewer came by way of Port so he knows what he's doing with them hops.

Damnit.

You would've left in a wheelbarrow.

Stumbled on some cans of Cigar City Jai alai in my store. First time I've seen them there but apparently they get them in semi-regularly. They also apparently get cans of Surly in but I've never noticed them either. The cans had a mid March canning date on them which seems pretty fresh for a beer from the other coast but they were just sitting on the shelf which I suppose isn't ideal for an IPA. I had one the other day and thought it was a very good six pack/four pack ipa but not a world class one. Is that fair or am I selling it short because it wasn't that fresh? If what I had is as good as it gets, I'd still prefer Ballast Point Sculpin over it which is also available in cans now. Was pretty happy to get to try it though. As had some good luck in scoring a Goose Island Burb County, a Beechwood Thrillseeker IPA, a Southern Tier Creme Brulee Stout, 2 Logsdon Peche n Bretts and a bunch of other things I'm forgetting this week.

I cleaned out my fridge this week and had to remove everything. Just for shits and giggles, here's all my beer (or at least what was in the refrig which is probably about 75% or so of it):

i'm glad to see you saying this. this was my first Prairie brew. i was excited to try - a lot based on your enthusiasm - and came away a bit underwhelmed. i have tried a Funky Galaxy since, and enjoyed that one much more.


i've got my eyes peeled for a Bomb or a Noir. really want to try these. i've seen Birra around but haven't gotten round to picking some up yet. soon.

good lord, so many WANTS from this list. you didn't get a taste of the Crooked Stave Batch 60? i'm smitten by everything they are putting out these days. i missed out on a Melvin/Crooked Stave dinner this past week, but i'm hearing rumblings that Melvin will be distributed down this way by Shelton Bro's soon.

I recently had that Perennial Sump along with their Abraxas. Both absolutely awesome. I haven't had anything else by them, but based on those two alone, i may be shelling out the $$$ for La Boheme soon.

Currently sipping on an Arctic Soirée by Grassroots Brewing. Probably the closest i'm going to get to Hill Farmstead until i make the pilgrimage to VT one day.

speaking of - i've never traded a beer in my life, and don't really care to get involved in all that - BUT if any of youse Northeasterners (shiv and Cap'n) ever find yourself with an extra of anything Alchemist, HF or Lawson's and feel like setting up something for some Colorado love -- let me know!

What are you waiting for?

I would've been down but I'm a Northwesterner now.

I dunno, I don't think Sculpin is anywhere near as good as Jai Alai, but that doesn't mean your tastes won't be completely opposite, right? (not unlike how we often like the same bands but different albums by that band...). The freshness date seems to be fine and being in a can it should be fine on light; I guess if there was a problem (aside from you maybe just not liking it), it could be heat.

Speaking of Cigar City, I've now had two different versions of their "Dry Hopped On The High Seas"; the first was hopped with something called "Experimental Hop #529" and was a really good, well balanced IPA. The most recent one is hopped with Calypso and is a little bitter and out of balance for me. Still good, just not great.

Also, I'll echo Jerkass here, what are you waiting for, Beeg? Drink that beer!

Well as I said, the Jai Lai was still very good. Could be the Jai alai and/or Sculpin is suffering some degredation in its travel or just that we have different preferences. That's impossible to know at this point and unfair to ask. I was more interested in whether you think Jai alai is a world class IPA or whether you and others just really love it because it's really good for its price point, being available in cans, and being a six/four pack beer. Personally, I can get as excited about finding a really good six pack beer as I might about finding a world class, cult beer.

They had that "Dry Hopped on the High Seas" but I didn't buy it. I did buy one can each of their Helles Lager and Witbier (don't remember what they call those) but I haven't had either yet.

My problem is not that I don't drink my beer but that I've been buying too much. So many cult beers have hit the market but keep selling out before I get to the store. I end up hitting 3 stores searching for them and don't find the one I'm looking for but buy a few other things at each store anyway. I think I had 3 beers this weekend at home including a bomber of Wookey Jack, but I bought 4 more and picked up 2 that I'd previously ordered and just arrived in stock. I keep falling behind that way and was relatively restrained in not hitting a couple of more stores looking for Bible Belt which I do really want.

I think Jai Alai is world class IPA. To me (I've had, what, 2 cans?) it managed to get the hops incredibly "right," but it also had something spicey and interesting going on with the malt that set it aside as something different. I fucking LOVE sculpin, too, not sure which I would prefer. It's hard to filter out the bias inherent in my not being able to GET Jai Alai, whereas Sculpin crowds local grocery store shelves.

And Eric, I do sometimes find myself in possession of a flat of Heady, and I've been known to ship cold beers over state lines. Shiv was usually my source, though, so... -sad face-

Jai Lai is my favorite six pack IPA right now, surpassing Two Hearted...FWIW, I had a bomber of Sculpin that was better than the sixer I bought so I'm definitely going to keep trying there (And as I"ve mentioned before, I REALLY like the Big Eye IPA so I've no doubt that BP does great work).

I liked Jai Alai more than Sculpin as well. I had one Sculpin on tap that was great but all the ones I've had in cans or bottles have been kind of lacking.

You'll just have to get up to VT more often Cap'n. I'm down for trading some NW beers though I'm still trying to find the really good ones around here. I got a growler of Gigantic's Ginormous the other day and it was close to Heady as I've found out here. Fort George makes some good beers as does The Commons.

well shit, shiv...i had no idea - congrats! when you get out to Astoria, make sure you visit Fort George. the taproom around the corner from the main pub/restaurant had some amazing one-offs. along with an incredibly friendly staff...an easy choice for my favorite brewery visit on my most recent Oregon trip.

to weigh in on the Jai Alai vs. Sculpin debate -- i've had both, but it's been a while for either. i couldn't tell you which i preferred, and i'd be happy to have either of them available to me year round (along with two-hearted), but i do know that i didn't think either were World Class. i am heading off to miami tomorrow for work for a couple days, so my opinion could change after some freshy Jai Alai.

BUT, speaking of World Class IPA's...i'm fortunate to have had the CBC and WBC in my backyard this year and reap the benefits of "leftovers". yesterday a local pizza joint tapped some Melvin beers, so i was finally able to have a taste. 2X4 (just won Gold for DIPA at the WBC) is absolutely phenomenal, but i may have actually liked the Asterisk DIPA even better. both easily the best new beers i've tried in a looooong time.

2x4 and Melvin IPA are absolutely incredible. I was in Jackson back in October and drank 2 growlers and at least 6 pints of 2x4 and got to sample Melvin straight from the fermenter. Jealous you got to try Asterisk as that's a collaboration with Alpine and only the second time they've made it.

Speaking of IPA's and the World Beer Cup, the Hop, Drop 'N Roll IPA from NoDa Brewing in my neighborhood won Gold in the American IPA category beating out 223 other competitors. Pretty big stuff for them.

http://www.charlottemagazine.com/Blogs/ ... -Beer-Cup/

Shit, I should really have gotten on that 2x4, then. I had no idea.

Went to a beer tasting at my friend Terry's outdoor bar/cabana on Saturday night. He did flights with two commercial beers and then one of his beers. Really impressive stuff and some damn good beers. His Dirty Shame Brown made it through regional and will be judged at the AHA National Homebrewer's Conference in Michigan.

Nice! Guess my invite got lost in the mail.

Haha, I think this was a test run. I'll make sure you get a shout next time.

shiv and i drink real good on the reg now