This is one damn good IPA isn't it? I have yet to be disappointed with a Founder's beer.

Mini review: Their Breakfast Stout (4-pack, little child on the front) is VERY well done. It's got a lot of coffee/chocolate/roasted malt flavor, and it's slowwwwww drinking, as it's thick, heavy, and like 8% if my memory serves. A real winner though if you like big, complex stouts.

I don't mean to slob the knob of Surly once again, but the Darkness is other-worldly this year. REALLY flavorful. I love the light cherry notes in the beginning, gives that RIS a great balance, not all hops.

I've been wanting to hit up the Triple Rock for quite some time. Perhaps you, and some friends would want to grab a weeknight beer SL? I'll shoot you a PM.

Yeah, the Maharaja is superb.

Definitely second the Founder's Breakfast Stout. I'm not a huge big stout guy, but that's easily one of the best I've had. Also the only beer I've had from them, and I'm going to be back in the distribution area in December, so I'd love more recommendations to check out.

Three Floyd's Alpha Klaus, it's released sometime before Christmas iirc, it's a delicious Porter.

If you like bitter stouts, their Black Sun Stout is also quite good.

Dark Horse has 5 Stouts they make in the winter, I've always enjoyed all of them (some of them are reviewed in this thread, I sent Wookie the Blueberry one iirc).

Lunar Brewery in Villa Park (near Chicago west suburb) had a really good stout too, but I can't recall the name. They don't bottle, so you'd have to pick up a growler if you were in the area.

Rock Bottom Downtown Chicago will likely have a good porter/stout on tap during the holidays as well.

I'd check out some of the smaller Indiana Breweries as well, and of course Bell's (if you can't get that by you), they have some really good stouts all the time.

Tonight's review is the Mountain High IPA from Mt. Shasta brewing, "Mountain high" punning off the brewery being from Weed, CA. According to Ry who shipped this to me, it's around $11 for a sixer of 7% ABV beer.



It pours a classic, just slightly cloudy god with a mild head. It does lace my glass some, though.



The aroma is a caramel malt with a light citrusy hopping. Huh. The flavor doesn't exactly come through. It's very forward with a dry bitterness from the hops, but that bitterness isn't really accompanied by much of the classic hops aromatics. That bitterness kinda overpowers the malt, too, so I don't get as much as what I smelled. Yeah, it a world with a lot of good IPAs for less money, I don't think I'd get this one again. and a half

They just don't make em out there like they do in the midwest

(kidding Cali/Portland people, I long for your beer!)

Had Ska Brewing Co.'s Modus Hoperandi. This is a good and fairly unique IPA that comes in at about 100 IBUs or so. Nice pale orange/amber color. Very pungent hop aroma with a strong presence of pine in the smell. Tastewise the pine is definitely there, very little malt presence (though it is there). Very interesting flavor all in all. Had it out of a can (cool looking can also). Would definitely drink again.

<3 micros that have the balls to can their beers. It's too bad there's still a somewhat negative image associated w/ them.

I agree.

Canning is:
less expensive
better for the beer
16 oz!!!
cool looking
environmentally friendly

Anybody else from Portland or PNW get to the Hair of the Dog dock sale this past weekend? I managed to blow a shade under 200 bucks that I don't have on lots of yummy goodies. Came away with:

-Magnum of Fred from the Wood
-10 12oz bottles of Fred from the Wood
-6 12oz bottles of 2009 Doggie Claws
-2 12oz Cherry Adam from the Wood
-2 12oz Michael (new Flanders)

And in my part of Texas we aren't allowed to bring glass into a lot of state parks, rivers, and what not....so having decent can options is muy bueno.

wish i knew this thread before sooooo mutch sweet beer reviews, awsome
i bet maybe someone has mentioned this but if not heres a awsome beer documentary

:http://www.watch-movies-online.tv/movies/beer_wars/

dont care off the 6.8/10 rating if you like beer is a h..off an interresting movie.

Man, when I was there we thought they had a brewpub, so we drive into this industrial section on the east side of the river, south of the main part of the city and it's just this warehouse that is closed. I saw some empty cloth bags of hops next to the garbage though

wrt canning, I totally agree it's the best package for package beer. But saying it's less expensive is a bit misleading. Over time it's less expensive, but it's significantly more expensive up front. It's hard for someone stepping out and starting a packaging brewery to say, "Well, IF we survive for x years, then our packaging costs will be lower." Brewery start ups are very capital intensive, and often there's just not room in the capital budget for a canning line that will be cheaper in the long haul over a bottler that will be cheap right now. Part of that cost matrix is also the fact that there are so few canning lines, so used ones are more scarce, parts aren't as readily available, there's less experience and a smaller knowledge base no running them effectively. I've also heard, though I haven't confirmed, that you essentially have to buy a whole 53' truck worth of cans at a time. That's a ton of storage space, especially for someone just starting up who has no real idea how long it will take to go through that many cans.

My brewery considered starting out with 16oz cans but went with 12oz bottles instead. In addition to the cost factors, there's the public stigma against cans. And for that size specifically there's a few hurdles: do you do a 4pack or a 6? If you go with 6, will the high price point turn people off? If you do 4, will people look at the 4pack, the similar price point, and instead of trying to figure out a 6/12oz equivalent, just shrug and pick up the sixer? Will most retail stores have a shelf size that adequately fits a 16oz can? And so on and so on.

^ true, I was implying that recyclable aluminum is likely cheaper than glass. I don't know for sure but I believe canning lines are very costly.

Not to mention the stigma. There are times when I'd rather have 6-12 ouncers, than 4-16 ouncers. I don't think I've ever said to myself, "man, I wish there were 4 more ounces in this bottle..." If I'm thirsty for more, I open another bottle, and love knowing that I still have four left. After two 16 ouncers, I'm like, "****, I only have two cans left." Which sucks because I rarely have just one beer, it's at least two if they're just 12 oz.

I think tall boy cans look better than bottles for presentation, and there's just something about them I like. However, 6 12 ounce bottles > 4 16 ounce cans

Well this particular one came in a 12 oz can, not a pounder.

^ damn, that's cool!

Boston peeps have a new option as of last night, Lord Hobo

many Belgians, and they must have a sweet hookup to get Cantillons on tap. usually v v hard to find. they have sick beer lists

draft:

bottles:

Talking to the owner's at Southern Star, this seems to be very true. They actually started canning just 2 at a time, and they've just now been able to find a used canning line that fits their needs. I can't remember how much capacity, but it has to be a lot better than 2 at a time.

Yeah and this is the biggie IMO. The good thing is it seems more and more breweries are canning good beer like Oskar Blue's, Ska, Steamworks (meh), Southern Star, and of course a lot of the UK beers like Guinness, Murphy's, Belhaven, etc. If only someone like Sam Adam's would make the switch, you might see a change in perception since it seems like they are kinda the face of craft brewing to your average beer drinker.

Heh, yeah, it's kind of a crappy place for a brewery. If you're back anytime he is planning on opening up a brewpub within a few months, starting with just beer and eventually moving to food & beer.

Also if you give them a call ahead of time they will almost always try to be there to give a tour/samples etc.

Haven't seen anyone mention it here, but I'm recently digging the Torpedo Extra IPA from Sierra Nevada.

Thanks for the link. Just started watching.

Do I get extra points for spotting Phil Gordon in that Beer Wars film..?

That's a big IPA. I think it's considered a double, not sure though. Good stuff though, and It's like $7 for a sixer here.

New Belgium putting Fat Tire in in cans is the closest to it I've seen. And I'm always tempted to buy that twelver of FT cans even though why would I want to drink Fat Tire when there are so many other, untried beers out there?!

Tried the Victory Yakima Twilight tonight, and it was good. Interesting. 8.7% ABV, kind of tasted like a big India Brown Ale. Dark amber, pretty light tan head of good size. Nice malt upfront with a touch more sweetness than maltiness, with plenty of hop bracing and bitterness, especially on the end. I couldn't tell from the packaging whether it was actually a wet hop/harvest beer or not. Overall, it was ok, definitely well-made, but it didn't blow me away. This one just showed up in town earlier this week along with their barleywine, Old Horizontal. Can't wait to try that one as I've liked just about everything they make.

Here drinking my last Bell's Two Hearted, sad, trying to play some blues likcs in the Pentatonic Scale (I suck at guitar), thinking that this has to be my go to beer. Honestly, one of the best IPAs around imo.