I can imagine the scene at the brewpub is a bit insane for Younger. And while I think it's great, I don't know that I would jump through a ton of hoops to have it again, to be honest. So I understand your hesitation -- especially if you think you can get it elsewhere without the hassle.

I've heard that some of Alpine's stuff, along with Boneyard's Notorious (from Bend) are right up there with PTY, too, and might be a lot easier to find.

plaster,

As recently as just a few years ago, you could go to a bunch of bars in SF after the younger release and drink it for a couple weeks nbd.

Then it got super extra hyped up and then all of a sudden it became a crazy thing where places would advertise having Pliny and there'a a huge swarm and it gets tapped in a few hours. I think twitter is a lot to blame too!

A couple of places I know (and plenty sure I don't know) don't make a big deal about it and you can usually get it for a few days before word gets out. At this point I really drink it more as a "thing" rather than any really great love for it, though I do like it a lot.

This, on the other hand, is always really awesome: http://www.sfbeerweek.org/

Wow, I suck at life. Never heard of Bell's before, but just looked them up, and they really don't serve anywhere west of the Mississippi except Arizona. And it is all over Tempe. Going to get some here shortly for sure.

Thanks for the heads up, guess I'm not as good about knowing about beers as I thought.

Edit: I still suck, but I've had Hopslam before.

Just found a bottle of Pliny at one of our local grocery stores, so at least I can have a last hurrah. And Lagunitas Sucks is out now, so things aren't all that bad.

SF Beer Week sounds awesome.

Any of you guys into sours? I'm not a huge fan, but I haven't been too exposed to them - two out of three I had were at beer festivals where I just ordered something and didn't realize it was a sour.

On a semi-related note, the best beer I've tried in the last 6 months or so is Flemish Kiss from the Commons Brewery in Portland. The Commons is the nuts, btw. If you are in or make a trip to Portland and post in this thread it is a must. Flemish Kiss is a Pale Ale with Brett, which gives it an interesting flavor. I don't think I've had any other Brett beers, I think they make some sours with that yeast but I'm not completely sure, and will be trying some out in the near future.

I've had the brewdog Tactical Nuclear Penguin which is like 32%. It was...not very drinkable. The Tactical Nuclear Penguin t shirt I bought there is much better. Brewdog does make some great beers though.

All,

Picked this up last week and was reminded by plaster's post to post it here.



Lagunitas Sucks IPA

Nice hoppy flavor with very little bitterness. A bit of sweet fruity flavor. Overall really well balanced, big fan of this beer. Only $9.99 at whole foods here!

Went to this yesterday http://www.bayareabrewfestival.com/ but we just drank whatever had short lines and got drunk and didn't really pay attention to much. Very fun time, though!

All,

Winter is the best time for beer.











deliciously,
goofball

Hey beer snobs

I was just out in the garage and I found a cooler full of miller lite someone left here at Xmas.

Not bad IMO.

There's a reason someone left it there instead of taking it home.

But hey, free beer is free beer.

The Commons is my favorite brewery in Portland at the moment, all their stuff appeals to me and it's refreshing to have a brewery in this town that doesn't over-hop everything (and I like hops).

Tons of sours in Portland as well - the most well known and easy to get being anything from Cascade. I actually have mixed feelings about some of their beers, but most people go crazy for them so it's def worth trying a bunch at their barrel room.

If you liked the Flemish Kiss, give Logsdon Seizon Bretta a try. http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/25710/69702

You should be able to find it any any beer store in town.

I'm a big sour guy but have usually been disappointed with everything that is labeled a "Brett" beer.

The last couple that come to mind were the Russian River/Sierra Nevada Brux and the New Belguim/Lost Abbey Brett beer.

I have tried a couple others and I don't find them to be sour at all.

Maybe I would have enjoyed them more if I didn't have a taste I was expecting and I am not saying they are bad beers or anything.

I really like most of the Cascade stuff I've tried, so I will definitely have to check out The Commons and Logsdon the next time I'm down there.

As for Brett beers (referenced by 3fiveofdiamonds) I don't think it's the Brett that makes beer sour for the most part. I could be completely wrong, but I think Brett imparts the kind of "barnyard funk" that some sour beers have, while Lactobacillus is responsible for the tartness.

Someone with more brewing knowledge than me can certainly chime in. My expertise remains on the drinking side of things.

Anyone have a good link for familiarizing myself with all this beer lingo, I'd like to get into this whole trying all kinds of diff fancy pants beer thing.

http://www.totalwine.com/eng/guide-to-beer/index.cfm

Pyramid Snowcap has to be one of the best beer values out there...6 pack for under 7 bucks in this part of the world and it's pretty yummy. I also look forward to the new Jubelale release each year.

Agreed on both. The Commons usually has 3 or 4 styles I hadn't heard of or at least wasn't very familiar with before I started going there and they are definitely a nice change of pace from the big hoppy beers I get just about everywhere else. The setting is pretty awesome as well.

Will be going to Cascade very soon. I know a lot of people like them, but I'd avoided it specifically because sours are their specialty, but now I'd like to give them a fairer shot.

Will add Logsdon to the list, thanks for the rec.

Jared, if you head over there soon I would suggest trying the kriek, apricot, and blueberry. Those would be the best introductions to their beer. Too bad the Sang Noir isn't there right now.

Anybody supremely dissappointed by the Firestone 16? 14 & 15 are two of my favorite alltime beers and I'm a huge fanboy for Parabola, DDBA, etc. I feel like the tequila barrels ruined this blend. Anyone else tried this yet?

I have one but haven't cracked it yet. Your post makes me consider aging it for a year or so, though.

My friend who I split my case with told me that he opened a 2nd bottle and it was great. He thinks that there are just quality control issues - even so its a disappointing new development with the FW anniversary beers.

Lagunitas is great. I've been drinking the Cappuccino Stout pretty regularly. I'll have to look for this one.

Get Sucks soon. I think it is going to be a very short stay on shelves this year.

Just grabbed two 6 packs of this beer. One is in the freezer now, and the other is in my closet hid away from my brother.

I doubt I wait until they are cold to drink.

I think Sucks is going to be year-round now, actually. Last I heard, there were even going to be 32-ounce mini-growlers of it on shelves at some point.

Brett doesn't sour beers. That's typically done by some other organism, often a bacteria. There are different strains of brettanomyces, just like there are different strains of saccharomyces, and like sach, different strains of brett will bring different stuff to the party. I had an IPA fermented 100% with brett drei that, fresh, had a crazy tropical fruit/pineapple nose to it completely from the brett, not from the hops. As it aged that started to fade some and the beer got drier and funkier. Other strains of brett will give other flavors, but they all tend to get a beer super dry as it ages. I've heard that the Sierra/RR Brux is much better with some age on it, but unfortunately I heard that after I had bought and drank mine. Wasn't super impressed with it fresh.