Fuck'n A, that tasting sounds exactly like something Terry would do. Shiiiit that's awesome. That fucking guy... starts new hobby, then masters it.

By the way, South Carolina peeps do you guys know about this stuff? One Claw from Westbrook?

DSCF1537

I fucking drank a trillion of these last week. Cack-A-Lacky was good, but this was magical shit. Slightly spicey, strong sweet grapefruit smell, just dry enough, 5.5%, dangerously clean and good. I tried plenty of other stuff - shit, Busty arrived at the rental boat with a cooler full of goodies including Hop Slam - but this was my pick. Very quietly an amazingly good beer in its own way.

I've tried a few Westbrook beers but not that one. Have to seek it out.

One revelation from that tasting was the IPA from Jekyll Brewing (they are out of Alpharetta): Damn good, actually reminded me of Jai Alai a bit with its tropical hop flavoring. I'm gonna have to grab some and investigate further.

I had Westbrook's White Thai, which was fine. Not stellar, but totally crushable while staying interesting. Something about the One Claw just smacked me the right way, though, and I wasn't alone. -shrug- Now that I've overhyped it, you'll find it to be warm piss I'm sure.

Haha, not likely. I think the White Thai is just ok as well. The regular IPA (whatever its called, green can, hell they even sell it at Kroger) is pretty good, nothing to jump up and down about.

I think I've mentioned their Gose before: It's really brine-y and sour and actually something quite special I think even if its not necessarily something I'd reach for every day.

I've had a few of the Westbrook beers before but can't recall there being anything great about them other than the cans looking nice.

CBC brought some Westbrook goodies to Colorado recently. i was unfortunately not able to score any Gose, but i did snag One Claw, IPA and the White Thai. they were all B+ beers IMO that i'd be happy to have available to me year round. i do remember thinking that White Thai would be just crushable all summer long. and i remember the One Claw smelling pretty amazing.

currently sipping:

fuck this is GOOD. i can't even imagine how good the BA variant is.

other recents - really digging everything Anchorage Brewing is putting out that i've tried

this one surprisingly beat out their Hill Farmstead collab

and i just gotta share this label, even if the beer was a little underwhelming (a first for anything Crooked Stave in my experience);

please forgive the heavy handed post-processing, it was very bright out and hard to see what was happening on the screen

I had a glass of that Gosling beer in Charleston. I recall it being decent.

Regular Biscotti Break is better than the BA variety IMO. Plus, they really gouge you. The BA was $22/bomber last time I saw it.

I helped judge the Wort transformation challenge today at Nebraska Brewing Company's new production brewery and hung out in the tap room afterward. It was the first day it was officially open to the public, and I tried their French Taunter Saison. It was pretty solid, but could have used a little more barnyard funk.

Local new guys Aeronaut have gotten their license to pour full serves in their space, but when I went by, they were only doing 2oz samples. There were like 6 visitors milling around and 3 of the guys that run it there plus the hired brewmaster. And one of them remembered me from their "opening event," so we were talking. He said they just honestly don't have enough inventory finished to open the potential floodgates. They're debating (right in front of me) when to open, how often, etc. They have events they've promised to be at with beer, and if tons of people show up they could run out.

Meanwhile the 2 they have on tap are great. A light 4% IPA with just Amarillo that I thought might even be fruited (wasn't, that's just the hops) and a stout at 8% that was nice and coffee like.

So I'm curating the beer for my neighborhood Spring festival and my options are pretty limited. Wanted to get some opinions.

The neighborhood is really eclectic, racially and socio-economically, and is generally a fairly hip in town hood but has lots of young families as well.

The distributor we're working with is fairly limited in it's offerings but we've worked with them in the past and they've donated things like tap trucks, jockey boxes, man power, cups, wristbands, etc and are generally supportive of the festival (which benefits the neighborhood organization) and they give 1 free keg for every 5 purchased.

Anyway, I've been told that PBR is a must and is non-negotiable. It was last years biggest seller.

I'd like to stay local but the local options aren't my favorite.

Here's what I've narrowed it down to:

Straight to Ale - Monkeynaut IPA (easily the most expensive option)
Red Brick Brewing - Hoplanta
Red Brick Brewing - Dog Days (Hefeweizen style)
PBR
Hacker Pschorr - hefe
Starr Hill - Northern Lights IPA
RJ Rocker - Son of Peach Ale - peach flavored ale (wheat?)
Bridgeport IPA - only available in half kegs
Shiner Bock
Shiner White


Thoughts? I was going to go with 5 selections....

We're also offering Sangria.

Hacker weizen is a wonderful summertime beer. Many non-beer-nerd types wind up liking both saisons and hefes because of the softer profile, the slight sweetness, the fuller mouthfeel, and the low IBUs. Wish I knew more about the others to be of help.

I don't think Monkeynaught is a very good outside drinking beer. It's good and all, but its pretty sticky.

Northern Lights is by no means a great IPA, but its pretty good and better than Hoplanta (which is watery to me)...Maybe get the Dog Days to stay local? (Never had it)

That Son of a Peach actually gets pretty good reviews on BA

I'd probably go with:

1. PBR
2. Shiner
3. Northern Lights
4. Hacker
5. Son Of A Peach

And then bitch about it all day.

^ truth

A few recents from the weekend...

Terrapin - Hi-5: Their take on a "West Coast IPA". Well hopped but not a palatte wrecker and comes in a swell looking can.
Lazy Magnolia - Southern Hop'spitality IPA: Interesting malt character, maybe even a little nutty and also not too aggressively hopped.
Jekyll - Hop Dang Diggity: This was one of my favorites from the tasting at Rancho Bigelow so I picked up a sixer. I really like the balance here, nice tropical hops and a decent backbone. A little pricey for a local six and I wish they had opted for canning instead of bottling but I can see myself buying it again.

Speaking of Rancho Bigelow, I went back to the scene of the crime to retrieve my dishes and a hoodie and to have a few...We ended up breaking this out and my goodness, it was quite good:

He even prints labels.



Of course he does.

Yeah, he brews a staggering amount of beer. Staggering.

How much are we talking about? I know several people who brew well over the legal limit, including two home brew club members that routinely win a bunch of medals at competitions. One of them has like 20+ taps of home brew in his basement. It is pretty ridiculous.

I only know two guys who brew labels that are that fancy, and they are both graphic designers by trade.

I honestly don't know (but I'll ask next time I see him); He always has four taps going in his garage and 3-4 more at their outdoor bar as well as a crap load of bottles in a cooler. Probably not quite on the level of your buddies, but pretty prolific.

Yeah, he's definitely up there, if he has 7-8 taps going at all times and assuming he's brewing ten gallon batches every time.
I wish I could be that industrious as a home brewer, but I can't envision myself attempting to brew more than two batches in a week and couldn't fathom doing a marathon brewing day that involved parti-gyle beers.

Oh I can IMAGINE it. I just can't manage to actually brew more than once a month at best. How he does this with a wife and a litter of kids is the most amazing part for me.

To be fair, if I had a set up like he does, I probably wouldn't leave the house. Ever.

Which gives one time to homebrew.

Wife now works from home, which makes it even tougher to take a "work from home day" and brew. There's always something that needs doing around the house...

Stone Spotlight Series: Rick and Robbie's Sprocket Bier (Black Rye Kolsch Style): It doesn't have many Kolsch style qualities and seems to be more of a really light and sessionable Roggenbier with a hint of smoked malt. I guess it could pass as a blend of a Roggenbier and a Schwartzbier. It isn't bad, but it isn't a particularly stellar beer. I still don't understand why there are people out there who still worship Stone Brewing Company.