posh beers and ales and stuff thread

[encey]

Expedition Stout is THE TITS!!

[lala]

dangerous thread. ive got a hangover today

Edited August 22, 2014 by lala

[baph]

 

My life is significantly worse for having moved away from the Stone brewery outlet in Pasadena. Stone's limited release/distribution stuff has been incredible for the last year or two.

 

Poor empty growler.

 

 

lol

[Guest A/D]

If you like the Expedition Stout, try fellow Michigan brewer Dark Horse's Plead the 5th Imperial Stout. It's a limited release - I think it comes out in Jan or Feb. Dark, rich, but still tastefully balanced.

 

And if you be crazy, you can stand in line for the Bourbon Barrel Plead, which is released for one day in the winter. People camp overnight in snowstorms for that stuff. It's pretty amazing, but I'm not sure I'd do that.

[Guest A/D]

[Hugh Mughnus]

that looks delish

[spratters]

Did the Bermondsey beer mile again yesterday (http://www.londonbeerguide.com/article.php?ID=bermondsey)

 

 

 

The only one I managed to remember well was this little beauty:

 

Had a light taste and could be a decent session beer. Enjoyed muchly.

[Hugh Mughnus]

Pre-note: though I'm working on sobriety I still enjoy a beer here and there lol.

 

Any of you beer geeks know how long you can cellar beer that has a lid (vs a cork?).... I don't know if there's a difference but I can't find any information on it.

 

You can cellar corked beers for a long, long time but not sure how long if it has a lid (properly sealed, not a twist off lid...).

 

I ask because I managed to snag a case of this (enlarged for full lushness lol). Amazing smoked russian imperial stout (or dark norse ale or whatever lol) that's surprisingly hard to find around here.

 

I got a bit of a laugh because the brewer says "The beer was originally meant to be a Strong Ale, but the brewers decided to focus on making great beer without extreme alcohol."

 

It's 11%, how much stronger does it need to be?

 

Edited October 8, 2014 by StephenG

[Candiru]

you can definitely cellar any beer at 11%abv. That might lose some of its smoke flavor, but I could be wrong.

[Hugh Mughnus]

you can definitely cellar any beer at 11%abv. That might lose some of its smoke flavor, but I could be wrong.

 

So it should be alright for a year or so?

[jeremymacgregor87]

 

 

I'm a massive red duck fanboy; they do a lot of excellent "extreme" ales, but not gimmicky or cloyingly sweet - always nicely balanced. This one had a touch of cocoa and had all kinds of chilli goop in it. quality

[jhonny]

 

you can definitely cellar any beer at 11%abv. That might lose some of its smoke flavor, but I could be wrong.

 

So it should be alright for a year or so?

 

It'll definitely be ok for a year. Some minor modification of flavour to be expected.

[olo]

 

 

you can definitely cellar any beer at 11%abv. That might lose some of its smoke flavor, but I could be wrong.

 

So it should be alright for a year or so?

 

It'll definitely be ok for a year. Some minor modification of flavour to be expected.

 

 

2nded. Do not cellar high ABV DIPAs though. You lose the hop bitterness/flavor over extended cellaring. Tastes more like a strong ale. But, I've done it & sometimes enjoy the change in flavor profile.

 

I've been cellaring Dark Lord, Imperial Biscotti Bourbon Break & The Bruery's Sucre for awhile. Definitely cracking all those soon.

[Hugh Mughnus]

thanks for the advice guys =)

[beerwolf]

anybody here a member of CAMRA?

 

years ago it was full of Catweasel beardy-weirdy types, I presume now real ale is trendy it's full of achingly cool hipsters. Either way I'm thinking of joining up as my social group is depleted somewhat (after the arrival of various newborns).

[Hugh Mughnus]

anybody here a member of CAMRA?

 

years ago it was full of Catweasel beardy-weirdy types, I presume now real ale is trendy it's full of achingly cool hipsters. Either way I'm thinking of joining up as my social group is depleted somewhat (after the arrival of various newborns).

 

the weasel beer was good though.

 

you're talking about the mikeller kopi luwak (sp?) beer I presume?

 

very good stuff

[beerwolf]

 

anybody here a member of CAMRA?

 

years ago it was full of Catweasel beardy-weirdy types, I presume now real ale is trendy it's full of achingly cool hipsters. Either way I'm thinking of joining up as my social group is depleted somewhat (after the arrival of various newborns).

 

the weasel beer was good though.

 

you're talking about the mikeller kopi luwak (sp?) beer I presume?

 

very good stuff

 

 

you've lost me....

are you on drugs stephen?

 

CAMRA is the Campaign for Real Ale, a group of beer drinkers who get together to quaff ale. I have no idea what you're talking about lol

Edited October 9, 2014 by beerwolf

[Hugh Mughnus]

what's Catweasel beardy types?

 

there's an expensive beer by mikeller $25ish a bottle that I thought you were taking a dig at me for haha figured catweasel referred to that.

 

cats and weasels ingest coffee beans which are broken down by enzymes in their stomach and the result is an expensive coffee that was used to brew the beer....

 

Edited October 9, 2014 by StephenG

[beerwolf]

lol, okay mate, thanks for clearing that up, though to be honest I'm still confused lol

 

once upon a time I knew almost every beer brewed in the United Kingdom, nowadays there can be a dozen pumps and I might recognize 2 if I'm lucky, fookin' mental.

Edited October 9, 2014 by beerwolf

[Hugh Mughnus]

=(

 

 

lol

 

 

Yeah there are a million micro-breweries now

[Silent Member]

oh right, have you tried the Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel? Had one yesterday, it's an imperial oatmeal stout with weasel shit coffee and it's fucking incredible. Highly recommended!

Edited October 9, 2014 by Gocab

[baph]

 

 

 

you can definitely cellar any beer at 11%abv. That might lose some of its smoke flavor, but I could be wrong.

 

So it should be alright for a year or so?

 

It'll definitely be ok for a year. Some minor modification of flavour to be expected.

 

 

2nded. Do not cellar high ABV DIPAs though. You lose the hop bitterness/flavor over extended cellaring. Tastes more like a strong ale. But, I've done it & sometimes enjoy the change in flavor profile.

 

 

Definitely good advice.

 

Really, for beers that showcase a complex hop character, get them as fresh as humanly possible, preferably straight from the tap and into either a glass or a growler (for drinking within about 24 hours). Ironically for something that was originally intended as a preservative, the hoppiness itself changes character quite a bit on the shelf and in transport.

 

There are heavily-hopped beers that the above doesn't apply to, and tons of beers that you'd want to mellow out, but the super hop-focused, intentionally "flowery" stuff tastes so much nicer when fresh.

 

I'm pretty spoiled by having a few good IPA-focused breweries close by, mind you. Currently miss filling the growler with Stone's Enjoy By IPA series something fierce.

 

Edit: on that subject, see http://enjoyby.stonebrewing.com/

Edited October 9, 2014 by baph

[Hugh Mughnus]

So overall you guys don't recommend bright/lighter hop focused beers to be cellared.

 

In general the ones that I cellar are either barley wines, beers aged in wood barrels (broad description I know), and stouts...

 

Really looking forward to Odin's Tipple. If you ever see one for sale grab a bottle guys, it's really really good. Up there with my favorite.

[nature]

I feel lucky to live 20 minutes from this place. A local treasure.

[Candiru]

So overall you guys don't recommend bright/lighter hop focused beers to be cellared.

 

In general the ones that I cellar are either barley wines, beers aged in wood barrels (broad description I know), and stouts...

 

Really looking forward to Odin's Tipple. If you ever see one for sale grab a bottle guys, it's really really good. Up there with my favorite.

You can age strong Belgian ales too. Eisbocks, wheat wines, sours like Flemish reds and oud bruins- probably any Jolly Pumpkin beer, doppelbocks, you can age a ton of shit just 8% and above as a general rule few exceptions