It May Not Be the Best Beer Ever, But...

[OCGuy]

I don't lump all hoppy IPAs together....some are better than others. Dogfishhead 90 Minute is great.

They make them because they sell, but at least with the IBU, it isn't going to sneak up on you if you don't want a hoppy beer. You can make your choice, which is what matters.

Personally I don't think the IBU is the end all be all. I have had relatively lower rated beers where it tasted like the hops were just an afterthought to the recipe, so it tasted much worse than maybe one with more hops but the brewer actually gave a shit.

That is why I like the one in the OP...being a dark ale it is a nice middle-ground between higher ABV, chocolate like flavor, and hops.

Another 4 pack today? Yes please!

 

[mundane]

..

 

[Fritzo]

This is going to be one of those threads where everyone calls everyone else a moron for liking a certain type of beer, and in the end the only acceptable beer will be made from unicorn tears, brewed under a rainbow in southern Germany, and infused with bacon.

 

[OCGuy]

This is going to be one of those threads where everyone calls everyone else a moron for liking a certain type of beer, and in the end the only acceptable beer will be made from unicorn tears, brewed under a rainbow in southern Germany, and infused with bacon.

Actually it seemed quite civil.

But seriously, Unicorn Tears and German rainbows? Everyone knows the best tears come from Ligers and the best rainbows are Swiss.

Moron.

 

[Vdubchaos]

I love the Stone RIS; dollar for dollar it might be one of the best beers out there as it's only around $8 a bottle.

Say what?

 

[Codewiz]

This one:

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/westbrook-mexican-cake-1st-anniversary-imperial-stout/165181/

 

[OCGuy]

This one:

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/westbrook-mexican-cake-1st-anniversary-imperial-stout/165181/

That looks like it is worth a try! It says regional distribution...hmmm.

 

[vi edit]

Say what?

It's a 25oz bottle of delicious awesomeness that is around 10.5% alcohol.

For the size, flavor and punch, it's not too bad of a value. It's almost like drinking a six pack of light beer. That's the price you pay for something that is heavily hopped, and takes a *TON* of grain to produce. Imperials take 2x or more of ingredients over a normal brew.

 

[uclaLabrat]

Actually it seemed quite civil.

But seriously, Unicorn Tears and German rainbows? Everyone knows the best tears come from Ligers and the best rainbows are Swiss.

Moron.

Belgians rainbows, asshat!

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Huge IPA fan -

Simtra by Knee Deep- genius of a beer

 

[xanis]

Stone has some good brews. I'm a fan of Arrogant Bastard.

 

[xanis]

meh, too many US microbrews have decided that since all we've had for 40 years is weak macros, what we need to do is:

HOPS

in typical american ham-fistedness.

I mostly agree with you (I don't like IPAs, but there are definitely some good ones out there).But hey, if it's what you like to drink, go for it. The good thing about the microbrew explosion is that people are left with plenty of beers to choose from.

 

[Codewiz]

That looks like it is worth a try! It says regional distribution...hmmm.

Yep, you can get it in SC and NY at this point.

Another thing you should look at is the trading forums on beer advocate and reddit.com/r/beertrade

 

[sourceninja]

There are a ton of great microbrews out there that are not just hop bombs.

Wee Mac from Sun King
Founders Dirty Bastard
3Floyds Robert the Bruce

Those come right to mind.

That said, hop bombs are the easiest beers to make. Hops cover up faults and that is why I always encourage new homebrewers to start with IPAs.

 

[Triumph]

This is going to be one of those threads where everyone calls everyone else a moron for liking a certain type of beer, and in the end the only acceptable beer will be made from unicorn tears, brewed under a rainbow in southern Germany, and infused with bacon.

A German brewer would never brew with bacon and unicorn tears. That goes against the Reinheitsgebot.

Is anyone else noticing the complete lack of variety in pricing on beer? We have a large selection in stores in my area, and the pricing seems to be in 3 tiers. Busch/natty/beast low end, where it's 10 bucks for a 30 pack or whatever. Then there is Yuengling/Michelob for 20-25 bucks a case. And then eeeeeeverything else is 8.99+ for a 6 pack. Now it's getting to be 9-10 bucks for a 4 pack! There is no variety in that middle ground. It seems that if you're not a major label, you are entitled to charge over 30 bucks for a case. Honestly most of the beer I buy is the TJ's house brands because they are pretty good, and only $1/beer. Their oatmeal stout is the perfect winter brew, can't wait!

 

[Sinsear]

It's a 25oz bottle of delicious awesomeness that is around 10.5% alcohol.

For the size, flavor and punch, it's not too bad of a value. It's almost like drinking a six pack of light beer. That's the price you pay for something that is heavily hopped, and takes a *TON* of grain to produce. Imperials take 2x or more of ingredients over a normal brew.

Exactly

 

[OCGuy]

A German brewer would never brew with bacon and unicorn tears. That goes against the Reinheitsgebot.

Is anyone else noticing the complete lack of variety in pricing on beer? We have a large selection in stores in my area, and the pricing seems to be in 3 tiers. Busch/natty/beast low end, where it's 10 bucks for a 30 pack or whatever. Then there is Yuengling/Michelob for 20-25 bucks a case. And then eeeeeeverything else is 8.99+ for a 6 pack. Now it's getting to be 9-10 bucks for a 4 pack! There is no variety in that middle ground. It seems that if you're not a major label, you are entitled to charge over 30 bucks for a case. Honestly most of the beer I buy is the TJ's house brands because they are pretty good, and only $1/beer. Their oatmeal stout is the perfect winter brew, can't wait!

Watch "Beer Wars", I know it used to be on Netflix.

Any micro-brew that garners enough market-share, draws the attention of the big 3 (BMC). They attempt to buy them out to either shut them down or take over production and ruin the brand. (Inbev/Bud bought Rolling Rock and stopped using the glass tanks for brewing. Some people say they can tell the difference)

If they won't sell out, they are threatened with lawsuits that they cannot afford to defend.

So what we are left with are basically boutique breweries that have to charge enough to make a profit with their small volume, the "middle of the road" mass produced "craft" beers that are really owned by InBev or Miller/Coors (Blue Moon, Shock Top, Corona, Becks, etc), and your stereotypical American piss-water (Which sometimes hits the spot, you have to admit)

Dogfishhead refused to sell to Bud, so Bud dragged them into lawsuits over random crap that they knew would get thrown out, but would cost lots of money to litigate.


Edit: I am obviously referring to your standard 7-11 or Supermarket. There are specialty stores where none of this is an issue.

 

[zinfamous]

A German brewer would never brew with bacon and unicorn tears. That goes against the Reinheitsgebot.

Is anyone else noticing the complete lack of variety in pricing on beer? We have a large selection in stores in my area, and the pricing seems to be in 3 tiers. Busch/natty/beast low end, where it's 10 bucks for a 30 pack or whatever. Then there is Yuengling/Michelob for 20-25 bucks a case. And then eeeeeeverything else is 8.99+ for a 6 pack. Now it's getting to be 9-10 bucks for a 4 pack! There is no variety in that middle ground. It seems that if you're not a major label, you are entitled to charge over 30 bucks for a case. Honestly most of the beer I buy is the TJ's house brands because they are pretty good, and only $1/beer. Their oatmeal stout is the perfect winter brew, can't wait!

there is more variety in that "microbrew" tier. At least at Trader Joes (not a great place for beer, on average), they sell a lot of lower end microbrews at good value. Full Sail, for one, is generally around 6.50 or 6.99 per sixpack. Trader Joe's own stuff Mission Street to be exact, is 4.99 or 5.99 per six pack. They aren't all that great, but better than the Budweisers of the world (in particular, drink enough of Mission Street stuff, and you notice the cheap sugar additives and what I think is primarily extract malts. They all tend to taste the same). The Mission Street 22oz bottles are a damn good deal at $1.99 though--I find the Brown to actually be a remarkable beverage on its own.

In CA, you can get Mendocino for 6.99 per six pack at Trader Joes, where they are usually, at least 7.99 or 8.99 in other parts of the country.

EDIT: lol, I just read the rest of your post and you mention Trader Joe's value beers. Great minds think alike!

 

[Codewiz]

I would also mention that people should look in their backyards. Breweries are popping up all over the place. Try your local breweries to see what they are doing. Most breweries have far far far more beer at the brewery than they bottle. Some of the best beers are the experimental beers that aren't widely distributed.

 

[sourceninja]

A German brewer would never brew with bacon and unicorn tears. That goes against the Reinheitsgebot.

Is anyone else noticing the complete lack of variety in pricing on beer? We have a large selection in stores in my area, and the pricing seems to be in 3 tiers. Busch/natty/beast low end, where it's 10 bucks for a 30 pack or whatever. Then there is Yuengling/Michelob for 20-25 bucks a case. And then eeeeeeverything else is 8.99+ for a 6 pack. Now it's getting to be 9-10 bucks for a 4 pack! There is no variety in that middle ground. It seems that if you're not a major label, you are entitled to charge over 30 bucks for a case. Honestly most of the beer I buy is the TJ's house brands because they are pretty good, and only $1/beer. Their oatmeal stout is the perfect winter brew, can't wait!

If any brewer brewed to the Reinheitsgebot they would be screwed. Reinheitsgebot does not list yeast as a ingredient that is allowed. So you would have hoppy sugar water.

Also, cost is high due to demand, small batch processes, ingredient costs (specialty hops are getting harder to get), and the difficulty of getting your beer on the shelf in the first place.

Go local, join a mug club, use growlers, etc and save money and waste.

 

[OCGuy]

If any brewer brewed to the Reinheitsgebot they would be screwed. Reinheitsgebot does not list yeast as a ingredient that is allowed. So you would have hoppy sugar water.

Yep and since InBev bought Becks and started brewing it in the US, who knows that the hell else they did to it. (Using Becks as an example because they claimed in ads to follow that purity law)

 

[Vdubchaos]

I think this entire brewery crap is WAY too over rated.

America is well known for making the shittiest beer. Bunch of newbie brewers doing it at home or with start ups doesn't make it excellent.....or even good.

Even crappy brewers like Budweiser etc took MANY years to learn lessons and perfect their product. I doubt small business can do that within few short years.

Even if they did, still doesn't make it good.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just because one person loves something doesn't mean another will.

 

[Gibsons]

there is more variety in that "microbrew" tier. At least at Trader Joes (not a great place for beer, on average), they sell a lot of lower end microbrews at good value. Full Sail, for one, is generally around 6.50 or 6.99 per sixpack. Trader Joe's own stuff Mission Street to be exact, is 4.99 or 5.99 per six pack. They aren't all that great, but better than the Budweisers of the world (in particular, drink enough of Mission Street stuff, and you notice the cheap sugar additives and what I think is primarily extract malts. They all tend to taste the same). The Mission Street 22oz bottles are a damn good deal at $1.99 though--I find the Brown to actually be a remarkable beverage on its own.

In CA, you can get Mendocino for 6.99 per six pack at Trader Joes, where they are usually, at least 7.99 or 8.99 in other parts of the country.

EDIT: lol, I just read the rest of your post and you mention Trader Joe's value beers. Great minds think alike!

Full Sail is usually about a dollar cheaper per 6 here as well.

My most recent purchase
http://realalebrewing.com/news/64-17anniparty

 

[vi edit]

America is well known for making the shittiest beer. Bunch of newbie brewers doing it at home or with start ups doesn't make it excellent.....or even good.

America has the best craft brew industry in the world. Most of our "Macrobrews" aren't even American owned any more. Bud = InBev = Europe. Miller is owned by a South African company and Coors is partnered with them in some form.

 

[OCGuy]

I think this entire brewery crap is WAY too over rated.

America is well known for making the shittiest beer. Bunch of newbie brewers doing it at home or with start ups doesn't make it excellent.....or even good.

Even crappy brewers like Budweiser etc took MANY years to learn lessons and perfect their product. I doubt small business can do that within few short years.

Even if they did, still doesn't make it good.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Just because one person loves something doesn't mean another will.

Uhh.....it isn't 1990. Wake up.