Official ATOT Beer Thread

[scott916]

It's fucking blasphemous that I can't get Three Floyd's in CA.

 

[Platypus]

It's fucking blasphemous that I can't get Three Floyd's in CA.

Ugh I know. Where in CA are you?

If you ever make it out to the midwest you should buy as much as you can carry back. They really don't make a bad one. The only one that I'm not super fond of is their Alpha King, but only because I drank the shit out of it back in the day and it's just kinda meh at this point.

 

[scott916]

Sacramento. Right smack dab in the middle. On the flipside, I get Russian River. :awe:

I just have to try a stout with a citrusy hops finish. Sounds genius.

 

[dr150]

Name: Pliny the Younger
Brewery: Russian River Brewing
Type of Beer: (Triple?) IPA
Score: 10/10
Value: Priceless

For me, Pliny the Younger has always been a bit of an apparition. It’s one of those beers that is always spoken of but rarely consumed, partly due to the fact that it’s never released in bottle form, and partly because of the self-induced scarcity by the good folks at Russian River.

On February 5th, I played hooky from work and drove from Sacramento up to Santa Rosa for the release of the Younger. I was not prepared for the effort it would take to sample one of the world’s finest liquids. Upon arrival at Russian River, there was already a line almost a block long snaking from the entrance to the brewery. There was quite an interesting crowd of die-hard beer nerds from all walks of life, one couple had even travelled from Ohio to make the ultimate IIPA pilgrimage. Most had empty growlers, some had two or even a backpack full.

The line was nearly stationary, and it took me a good two and a half hours of standing there watching people with small 10oz glasses of Younger grin in excitement. Once inside, the place was a madhouse. Shoulder to shoulder across the bar, an average of about three deep. It took me about 20 minutes to receive a growler and two glasses while my girlfriend luckily procured a table.

To be blunt, the Younger is truly a perfect IPA. It pours a deep, tree- sappy orange color, with an abundant and extremely creamy head. The layers upon layers of subtle pine, orange, grapefruit, fine marijuana, and even sour pineapple flavors explode onto your tongue in a fashion I’ve only experienced in fine champagne, followed by a slight alcohol warmth, the only factor that lets the ~10.5% ABV be known.

I am truly glad this isn’t available during the rest of the year, I would spend as much as I could possibly afford to secure availability of this divine ale in my fridge at all times. Never did I expect the beauty of Pliny the Elder to be so easily eclipsed. After having one at the same time for comparison, the Younger is nearly identical in flavor, but adds complexity, depth, and volume of incredible flavor. If you consider yourself to be an IPA fan, I consider the next release of the Younger to be something you absolutely must experience. (Quasmo, this means you) I heard it was available in a few places around the west coast for about a week following the release, but was never able to find it myself. I brought home a growler and shared it with my friends, it was difficult to see it go.

Simply a revelation.

As a hophead, I've always wanted to try the Younger. That much better than the Elder huh?

Never knew the pilgrimage were so many on 2/5! I was thinking about going, but my lady friend wouldn't put up with such huge lines......unless, of course, I would treat/score at table 3 months in advance at "The French Laundry" afterwards :hmm:

 

[joesmoke]

I just have to try a stout with a citrusy hops finish. Sounds genius.

my thoughts exactly.

also, its cool to see all the LFDM and Maudite love in this thread. tried them initially cuz i thought they looked cool, was blown away by how taken i was with Unibroue style. definitely unique.

 

[joesmoke]

This really benefits from the 'roll the last sip of the bottle' yeast trick.

what is this?

 

[Platypus]

what is this?

I'm not a beer expert so forgive me if this is sounds dumb, but really yeasty beers (I believe the ones that are bottle conditioned have this the most?) get a lot of the yeast stuck to the side of the bottle. If you pour 95% of the beer into a glass leaving just enough at the bottom, you can put the bottle vertical between your two hands and roll it really fast back and forth. The remaining beer will break off all the yeast and when you pour it into the beer, a nice cloudy blast will fill in the color and give it a nice head too. It works exceptionally well with yeasty beers, I only do it on those.

 

[scott916]

As a hophead, I've always wanted to try the Younger. That much better than the Elder huh?

Never knew the pilgrimage were so many on 2/5! I was thinking about going, but my lady friend wouldn't put up with such huge lines......unless, of course, I would treat/score at table 3 months in advance at "The French Laundry" afterwards :hmm:

If you've had the Elder on tap, and I mean properly on tap where it's extremely fresh, you can easily guess at the flavor. It's almost the same exact flavors, just more distinct and WAY more of it. It almost makes the Elder taste like a fuckin' Bud in comparison. You simply must try it some day. Unfortunately, it's gonna be tough unless you go to the opening next year.

 

[scott916]

I'm not a beer expert so forgive me if this is sounds dumb, but really yeasty beers (I believe the ones that are bottle conditioned have this the most?) get a lot of the yeast stuck to the side of the bottle. If you pour 95% of the beer into a glass leaving just enough at the bottom, you can put the bottle vertical between your two hands and roll it really fast back and forth. The remaining beer will break off all the yeast and when you pour it into the beer, a nice cloudy blast will fill in the color and give it a nice head too. It works exceptionally well with yeasty beers, I only do it on those.

Yup, it's left in there for secondary fermentation. "Live ales" have this. You can clearly see a layer of yeast in the bottom of the bottle and less so on the sides if you don't pour it out 100%.

 

[Platypus]

Yup, it's left in there for secondary fermentation. "Live ales" have this. You can clearly see a layer of yeast in the bottom of the bottle and less so on the sides if you don't pour it out 100%.

Yes that's what it's called, thanks. A lot of my friends are home brewers and they taught me this trick years ago.

 

[scott916]

I think once I move into a place with a garage (next month hopefully) I'm going to get into home brewing. I went to a local bar and used their setup to brew a Belgian Wit with a friend for his birthday the other day, and it was a blast. It's wild how much hops smell like pot.

 

[Platypus]

I think once I move into a place with a garage (next month hopefully) I'm going to get into home brewing. I went to a local bar and used their setup to brew a Belgian Wit with a friend for his birthday the other day, and it was a blast. It's wild how much hops smell like pot.

Hahaha, yeah.

Man when they get all their equipment set up I swear it looks like a meth lab or something. My friend was trying to sell his condo a few years ago and when they brought people in to see it they had all these tubes and beakers and MacGyver'd contraptions going. I can't even imagine what they thought.

 

[joesmoke]

Name: Brother David's Double
Brewer: Anderson Valley
Type of Beer: Double
Score: 5/10

Poured from a 750-ish size bottle ($5.89 i think) into my Lucifer "snifter", consumed around 8 pm, first drink of the night. An odd double unlike any I've had yet, definitely not made in the traditional style. Incredibly subdued in flavor and smell, i found it hard to describe even while drinking it. The closest I could come to is raisin or fig, but it was really hard to pick up on. The lack of effervescence didnt help either. Fortunately, the 9% alchohol content is hard to detect also I would describe the buzz as akin to being hit by a baseball bat. Less than halfway through the beer I was feeling it heavily.

An interesting beer, and one that i wouldnt turn down if offered, however I cant recommend it for much more than the buzz.

 

[joesmoke]

A few quick reviews of beers I didn't take as much time to analyze:

Franziskaner Hefe Weiss (7.8/10) - Tasty, smooth, and a total 180 from what Ive come to expect from the "heffs" Ive had (and somewhat despised) from local (sacramento) breweries. Paid $2.29 for the 22-ish size bottle, was very impressed for the price.

Franziskaner Hefe Weiss Dunkel (7/10) - A darker and more "apple-y" version of the normal Hefe Weiss. Not as smooth, still very tasty. Same price as above.

Rogue Shakespeare Stout (7?/10) - I think I may just not be as much into stouts as I am other styles. Loved the coffee/chocolate flavors, but found the beer hard to drink. Ive had this problem with other stouts as well, and I would definitely put this one above most Ive tried. Wouldnt turn one down, but it just didnt leave much of a smile on my face. ~$6 for the "big bottle"

St. Bernardus ABT 12 (8.3/10) Reminded me a lot of Gulden Draak, with a sweeter, more "apple-y" flavor. I was kinda busy while drinking it so I didnt give it too much thought, but i definitely enjoyed it. If I had to choose at this point Id say I like GD better. ~$5 for the 11 ozer

 

[Platypus]

The Shakespeare Stout isn't one of my favorites either, I tried a few and wouldn't buy it again as there are just too many other good choices.

 

[joesmoke]

The Shakespeare Stout isn't one of my favorites either, I tried a few and wouldn't buy it again as there are just too many other good choices.

Any recommendations? (im in CA so no three floyds)

Ive been wanting to get into stouts, but have been having a hard time finding my "flavor". I have found that imperial stouts are a quick road out of sober-town.

 

[Platypus]

Haha.. for the Russian Imperials if you have Surly or Stone out there in CA they both make good ones. I believe the Surly is called Darkness. English.. Hook Double is a good one. American I'm not as big of a fan but Rogue's Chocolate Stout I think is a lot better than the Shakespeare though it is pretty sweet.

Not as fancy but you can't go wrong with a good Guinness or Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout

 

[joesmoke]

Not sure about Surly availability, but I love every stone beer ive tried... i guess ill search that out next.

 

[SampSon]

Name: phin & matt’s
Brewery: Southern Tier Brewing Company
Type of Beer: Pale Ale, they call it an American Pale Ale
Score 7/10
ABV: 5.4%
Hops explosion. Typical Pale Ale. Ends on less of a floral note than most IPAs.

I also like 422 pale wheat ale by southern Tier.

 

[scott916]

Some dark chocolate ice cream or gelato floated in a nice stout is also sublime. Try it sometime.

 

[slayer202]

sippin on some chimay grande reserve. first time having it. unlike anything i've had before. it is supposed to be a spicy, dry/dark fruity flavored beer, but i'm personally having trouble picking out any specific flavors. I probably had the bottle a bit cooler than recommended so it started out very light and the flavors picked up as it warmed a little bit. very carbonated like the duvel I tried last week, maybe even more so. pours a dark color, probably a shade darker than newcastle, but with no head.

I enjoy this much more than the Duvel, but these strong belgian style beers don't exactly fit me well. Sitting here drinking it while trying to watch a movie or just dick around the internet doesn't do it justice. I feel like I need to be sipping while socializing, or sitting by the fire or enjoying a cigar. I suppose that is somewhat obvious, but it really makes a difference in my tasting opinion. When I try the next beer on my list, st. Bernardus, I'm going to make sure I do it proper.

 

[scott916]

Yup, the best temp to enjoy a craft beer is 10-20 degrees below room temp. Some, like the Abt 12, have a recommended temperature range on the bottle. The flavors open way up. Think about the last time you had a warm budweiser... tasted like shit. The same can ice cold tastes like water.

 

[Platypus]

Sorry to my CA beer brothers... but I tried this in bottle form for the first time (had it on tap for years at local pub)

Name: Brian Boru Irish Ale
Brewery: Three Floyds
Type of Beer: Irish Ale
Score: 8/10
ABV: 5.9%
Review: As I said, this is my first bottle of this, I've been used to it on tap for a long time. I have to confess, not surprisingly, that it's far better on tap. It's a fairly typical TF offering in that it has a nice blast of hops to it, although this one is much more subtle than their other beers. They use the same amarillo hops in this that they do in gumball head but it manages to drink much more like an Irish Ale. The maltiness of this beer gets to be a bit much in the bottle but it's still very likable. It has the typical TF citrus hop finish. Surprisinlyg though, it's very caramel/sweet at first taste and, strangely (I might be nuts) has a bit of a pineapple thing going on before the hops kick in for the finish. There's a touch of pine scent as well. My only complaint is the fact that it lost some of the oomph from the draught.

 

[Platypus]

Name: Maredsous Dubbel
Brewery: Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat
Type of Beer: Dubbel
Score: 8/10
ABV: 8%
Review: Pretty damn tasty. This one is extremely fruity up front but finishes very nice and dry. It has an interesting hop flavor though very subtle. It's surprisingly easy to drink for having such a complex flavor profile. A bit pricey but definitely worth trying.

 

[xanis]

Name: Penant Ale '55
Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
Type of Beer: English pale ale
Score: 10/10
Review: Very good. Had a few of these tonight at a bar opening. Reasonably-priced and absolutely delicious. What more could you want?