Nashville just got the next Sierra XXX shipped in this afternoon... after all the trucks at the distributor had loaded up and went out for weekend delivery. So now I'm stuck knowing that it's in town, but can't buy any until Monday, if I can find an open booze shop on Memorial Day.

I tried a bottle of Atwater Block's Double Down Amber, a 7.5%, 90IBU Amber. It was... ok. For some reason whenever I see an "Imperial Red" or "Double Amber" I think, "Oh man, that sounds good," and I've always been let down at least a little. Atwater's had a really chewy malt body, definitely a lot of crystal malt used in it. I could have gone with a bit more hop aroma. Overall, OK. 4 bottles for $11.

Very nice.

11% abv, so im only drinking one tonight, then switching to sn torpedoes.

Seriously, it is pretty damn good... funny you mention Racer 5... I had picked up a case of yet just last week... my wife doesn't like IPA too much, but she had this one and was like "I could drink a lot of these"... I kind of thought damn, now I gotta share these LOL.

Had the Deschutes Abyss Imperial Stout last night. That's a whole lotta beer.

Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest 2010. Nice and drinkable; hoppy and balanced; kinda standard SN'ish I suppose. Not as good as the CHico Estates I had from previous years, but did I say drinkeable,...yep! A solid 4/5 for me.

Rogue Captain Sig's Northwestern Ale. Aaaggh, a bit too bitter and almost a metallic taste in the one I just had. Otherwise also very drinkeable. If it didn't have that lingering bitterness it'd prolly be damn good. 3/5.

edit: I grabbed a bottle of the Rogue Double Mocha Porter also, but I'll try that another time. Guy in the shop said it was excellent.
Wish I had the wide selection most of you guys get. I'm stuck with just the big west coasters and the odd locals .

I must be way too old. I always knew canned beer to taste like ***** compared to bottles. There's been a real flip flop in that regard. I used to be a broke student drinking cans in the 1980's. I guess new can interior coatings are the nutz. The local IPA is sold in cans and it's great.

uhhhh I know!

Wherever I go I ask if they have it, Ive been pleasantly surprised more and more often.

But my local bar always has it, and i mean always.

OAKED Arrogant Bastard. $19 for the sixer!

Looks like a good weekend right there!!

I'm not a huge fan of Arrogant Bastard, but the oaked version is really good. Paid about the same for a sixer, though, so pricey pricey.

yeah its a 30 min drive from Minneapolis to Hudson, WI where Stone is distributed, but oaked arrogant bastard is pretty awesome!

Had a pint of Sierra Nevada's Old Cantankerous Stock Ale recently. It went down easy and was fairly mild, which kind of reminded me of Brooklyn's Back Breaker Ale, in that they're both about 6.5% but you wouldn't really guess it. I'd also consider them both British-style Ales with that biscuit note one can find in the heartier Pale Ales from the UK.

Cantankerous is amber (to the best of my dimly-lit, beer-hazed recollection) and would go well with a lot of foods since it's not overwhelming.

I'm glad to have tried it, but it's tough for me to get past the novelty angle since I probably won't ever see it again. However, if there's any left and I'm with someone who hasn't tasted this one yet I can see another pint in my future.

You can get some 3 Floyds beers there too. Last weekend I picked up a Bastard and a 6 of Alpha King while I was there.

Today:



The $4/16oz is crazy, but I think its worth it.

My weekend haul:




Great Lakes Lake Erie Monster IIPA(4)
Sierra Nevada 2010 Southern Hemisphere(2)
Upland Double Dragonfly IIPA(1)
Dogfish Head Squall IIPA(1)
3 Floyds Blackheart English IIPA(1)
New Holland Imperial Hatter(4)


The Monster and Hatter are both tasty IIPAs, but the Monster($10/4) is a much better deal than the Hatter($16/4). Looking forward to trying the others. Anyone else had the Squall yet?

I haven't even heard of 5/6 of those beers. I really like to do flights, but I have no idea how I'd get through that murderer's row.

can't say that again.

Curious how that DFH Squall Double is....

i love Upland Dragonfly, but haven't seen the double. how is it?

yum yum!!!

Enjoying the last of my Surly goodness right now. Both the Furious and Abrasive are among the best in the IPA/DIPA class. But what struck me most about these two was the aroma. Furious is hands down the best smelling beer Ive ever had the pleasure to drink.

Looking forward to getting more of this in the (hopefully) not too distant future.

Anybody try Ommegang's Belgian Pale Ale yet?

I saw an ad for it somewhere and was curious to know how it was.

I just finished what I fear may be my last Abrasive of the season. I've been having trouble finding it lately. Cleaned out some Edina liquor store on Friday and just drank the 4th one. Luckily I always have Furious to fall back on.

Anyone interested in trading some beer?

I'm looking to get Surly IPA cans.... or 3 Floyd's Dreadnaught or Alpha King.

I've had the 3 Floyd's beers... great stuff... but never the Surly beers. If you want something out here in CA, maybe we can work out a trade?

Name this Beer: I had a beer about 10 years ago in Spain. I have no idea what the name was or what the can looked like. It tasted like candy cane...that is all I remember. Thx for the help....i think it was imported from northern Europe.

It has been some time since I drank the DFH Squall but I remember liking it at the time. Many of DFH's big bottle limited releases are hit or miss. Squall is definitely one of their better ones.