Bell's Hopslam in the UK- A 10% Michigan IPA

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Sun May 08, 2011 4:52 pm

spzretent wrote:Wa Hey!
It's Short's Anniversary Ale(previously 6th Anniversary Ale) release day. This shocked me.
Bought a case. This is the blood orange wheat wine clocking in at nearly 12% abv. With a peppercorn finish.
Stunning beer.

Tease....

Drie Fonteinen Schaarbeekse Oude Kriek is one of the rarest, and best, Belgium (world) kriek beers there is. I think I'm getting a bottle of it.

Post by **spzretent** » Sun May 08, 2011 6:59 pm

I'm bringing some over in July.

Re: today's update in the Neighbor problem thread. Taking a little road trip tomorrow to Marshall Michigan(Dark Horse Brewery) to load up on some Plead The Fifth Imperial Stout. And try that Super Juice Quad IPA they have on tap.
There is my Monday sorted.

Post by **runcible** » Sun May 08, 2011 8:53 pm

spzretent wrote:I'm bringing some over in July.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Mon May 09, 2011 5:06 pm

Hopefully I'll be about and perhaps have a bottle or two to trade.

How come not all of the USA bottled beers show the ABV on the labels, is it an individual state law/requirement?

Post by **spzretent** » Tue May 10, 2011 2:09 am

Yes. Every state is different.
Just got back from Dark Horse empty handed. Drove 1:20 there and back for nothing. However I did meet a few nice folks while having a pizza and this ridiculous Raspberry Icee Black clocking in at 17% abv.
Pissed that the store next door sold out of Plead The Fifth YESTERDAY! I feel like an idiot.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Tue May 10, 2011 7:12 am

spzretent wrote:Just got back from Dark Horse empty handed. Drove 1:20 there and back for nothing. However I did meet a few nice folks while having a pizza and this ridiculous Raspberry Icee Black clocking in at 17% abv.
Pissed that the store next door sold out of Plead The Fifth YESTERDAY! I feel like an idiot.

Have you considered mail order here http://www.wlvliquors.com/index.php?tar ... ory_id=160 ? Looks like they have some in stock at $3.49 a bottle, and some raspberry stout. How would that compare (including shipping) to the cost of a bottle at the brewery plus the fuel both ways?

TheWarmth · Post by **TheWarmth** » Tue May 10, 2011 2:44 pm

West Lakeview Liquors is in Chicago. The lady who owns it is a little crazy, but they an amazing selection.

Post by **spzretent** » Tue May 10, 2011 3:33 pm

Shaun wrote:Have you considered mail order here http://www.wlvliquors.com/index.php?tar ... ory_id=160 ? Looks like they have some in stock at $3.49 a bottle, and some raspberry stout. How would that compare (including shipping) to the cost of a bottle at the brewery plus the fuel both ways?

Well the Raspberry Icce Black i'm pretty sure was a raspberry eisbock. Completely different. It goes thru a frozen process which takes out much of the water and leaves the alcohol hence the high abv. It was delicious. Brewery only. Never bottled.
Had I known it would have been more cost effective to mail order. After Sunday I felt like a drive. I called the brewery and they said the shop next door had plenty of Plead The Fifth. Oh well.
The bar staff told me that there was much less Plead the Fifth bottled than Double Crooked Tree. Hence the Detroit area getting shut out completely.
Live and learn as someone once said.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Tue May 10, 2011 7:22 pm

The Warmth wrote:West Lakeview Liquors is in Chicago. The lady who owns it is a little crazy, but they an amazing selection.

Looks a very good store. I wish we had something as good as that over here. We probably do to be fair, i just don't feel it. And their prices seem fairly reasonable too, especially for the high strength beers. While the real ale scene is flourishing over here, the general overall choice can seem to be very dull, to me anyway. I never buy bottles of what we call 'real ale' unless there's the odd Brew Dog or Meantime beers that catches my eye.

spzrtent wrote:Well the Raspberry Icce Black i'm pretty sure was a raspberry eisbock. Completely different. It goes thru a frozen process which takes out much of the water and leaves the alcohol hence the high abv. It was delicious. Brewery only. Never bottled.

I saw a raspberry ale and a blueberry stout on that website and got the two mixed up, made five. I simply can't think of a brewery over here where, even if you're as enthusiastic as yourself, where it's almost essential to drive to just to get hold of these beers. Mainly the micro breweries tend to churn out as and when they feel like it, or the seasonal and occasion beers (i.e, the royal wedding) but they are usually blends of beers or dry dry hopped. I don't think there are any beer release days over here. Some special beer festival beers but that's about it really but having been over here many times and recently I guess you already know that Alan.

Post by **spzretent** » Tue May 10, 2011 7:48 pm

Almost every single brewery in Michigan has beer that is brewery only and brewed in tiny batches. There were three on the menu yesterday. Bell's, Founders, Shorts, New Holland etc. So its always worth the drive. And most people aren't as crazy/enthusiastic as myself. Where they would get in their car and drive nearly 1 1/2 hours. I've done far crazier things than that.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Tue May 10, 2011 8:04 pm

spzretent wrote:Almost every single brewery in Michigan has beer that is brewery only and brewed in tiny batches. There were three on the menu yesterday. Bell's, Founders, Shorts, New Holland etc. So its always worth the drive. And most people aren't as crazy/enthusiastic as myself. Where they would get in their car and drive nearly 1 1/2 hours. I've done far crazier things than that.

And no doubt those brewery only beers are the better ones. Sods law, although I know how highly you talk of these breweries and their beers. Everyone is allowed some crazy moments. I barely want to remember most of mine. Well if you want to cut through that crap red tape and make a few quid while you're over next, if you have some spare room in your suitcase in July I'd take a couple of bottles of your choice off your hands...

Post by **spzretent** » Tue May 10, 2011 9:32 pm

Problem is every checked bag after the first is $50. So at some point its not worth it. I did promise some folks a case of the rarer stuff ie: Hopslam, Double Crooked Tree, Shorts Blood Orange Wheat wine. If some is left over I will let you know.
How does that sound?

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Tue May 10, 2011 9:56 pm

That sounds perfectly reasonable to me. With a bit of luck your plans will click into place before too long. I'm probably going to be in Brussels during the summer and there's too many to choose from over there so I won't go short. Thanks anyway...

Post by **spzretent** » Wed May 11, 2011 12:23 am

How great would a Spiritualized message board beer excursion be over here?
Take your pick Detroit/Chicago and all points in between;
Dragonmead, Kuhnhenn, Liberty, Arbor, Jolly Pumpkin, Dark Horse, Arcadia, Bell's, Livery, Founders, New Holland, Three Floyds, Goose Island and i'm sure I am forgetting a few and some I dont know in Chicago. There are more. Especially around Detroit: Black Lotus, Detroit Brewing, Motor City Brewing, Lilys Seafood/Brewery, Royal Oak, Rochester Mills Brewery.
Or California/Oregon. Definitely nicer scenery. Not that well versed on the breweries. Redcloud and Toomilk can help us there i'm sure.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Wed May 11, 2011 7:31 pm

I think I should start saving now for that road trip.

Post by **spzretent** » Wed May 11, 2011 7:38 pm

Put away extra for the designated driver

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Wed May 11, 2011 7:57 pm

Is that put away extra beer or put away extra $$$, or both....

Post by **runcible** » Wed May 11, 2011 8:03 pm

spzretent wrote:Put away extra for the designated driver

I suspect after one bottle of Hopslam you'd be over the limit....

Post by **spzretent** » Wed May 11, 2011 9:44 pm

But with a designated driver you could have as many as you like

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Thu May 12, 2011 7:47 pm

stopped into a great liquor/beer/wine shop in NJ today, asked the guy about Bell's, he said NJ can't get it yet.

i did pick up a large bottle of Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop Ale from Sierra Nevada - the last one.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Thu May 12, 2011 8:07 pm

davedecay wrote:
i did pick up a large bottle of Northern Hemisphere Harvest Wet Hop Ale from Sierra Nevada - the last one.

And how strong is that? Haven't seen any of it available over here yet. I was going to get a bottle ofÂ Hoptimum at 10.4% from Sierra Nevada but it's now sold out....

TheWarmth · Post by **TheWarmth** » Thu May 12, 2011 8:09 pm

Hoptimum is really difficult to obtain here. I think it sold out in less than an hour at the store I usually go to.

Post by **spzretent** » Thu May 12, 2011 8:14 pm

This whole limited release beer thing is smacking of comic books now. Or record store day....

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Thu May 12, 2011 9:41 pm

I think they were available for about 2 weeks. Wish I'd have got one now but it was Â£8.99 a bottle.

davedecay · Post by **davedecay** » Fri May 13, 2011 3:30 am

6.7% according to this
http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/harvest.html

toomilk · Post by **toomilk** » Fri May 13, 2011 7:25 am

Had a nice night of great records, great book (a good 50 pages of The Dice Man), and great beer.

However, I completely underestimated the beer. It was a Left Coast Asylum. Left Coast is from San Clemente, CA (on the border of Orange and San Diego County). It's a really smooth beer, a very mild Belgian triple, but (the thing I completely forgot) it's 11%abv. It crept up on me. I'm in a limbo between drunk and embarrassment.

Ah, beer. When it's good, it's great.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Sat May 14, 2011 9:39 pm

Something that might be of interest to a few people on here. Scottish brewers Brew Dog has done a special collaboration beer with Three Floyds brewers at BrewDog. It's a 12% barley wine and called Bitch Please.

mc · Post by mc » Sun May 15, 2011 1:04 pm

Shaun wrote:Something that might be of interest to a few people on here. Scottish brewers Brew Dog has done a special collaboration beer with Three Floyds brewers at BrewDog. It's a 12% barley wine and called Bitch Please.

Funny you should mention that - I had a bottle last night. It had a nice thick mouth feel and was dark and peat smoky and hoppy with obvious toffee flavours. Very enjoyable and cost Â£6 from the local specialist wine/beer merchant.

Post by **runcible** » Sun May 15, 2011 2:35 pm

I'm slightly suspicious of Brew Dog. I attended a launch event for 3 new IPAs at a specialist bar in Leeds in February and was astonished at how bad the beers were. One was drinkable (seriously - that's all I can say about it that is positive) and the other 2 were truly awful with one, which had a Japanese name, genuinely smelling of urine. It was a very strange experience as I like the bar and the guy who was promoting it, but the beers were absolutely shocking. It was put into perspective by the Hopslam and other glorious Michigan IPAs I'd tasted a couple of days earlier, but that's no excuse for such poorly made products as I tasted that night.

mc · Post by mc » Sun May 15, 2011 2:54 pm

Was it these ones, Runcible?

I haven't tried any of these yet; I've seen them on sale at rather high prices so I might hold off. I enjoy many of Brew Dog's beers (particularly 5am Saint, Punk IPA and Paradox; Trashy Blonde makes a good "standard" pint) but can take or leave others. The American IPAs I've had have been superior beers, but I like Brew Dog's irreverence and willingness to experiment and take risks. Some don't pay off, but it's all part of the fun.

Post by **runcible** » Sun May 15, 2011 5:27 pm

Not sure - the Citra one looks familiar. The really disgusting piss-flavoured one had a Japanese name.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Sun May 15, 2011 6:04 pm

mc wrote:
Funny you should mention that - I had a bottle last night. It had a nice thick mouth feel and was dark and peat smoky and hoppy with obvious toffee flavours. Very enjoyable and cost Â£6 from the local specialist wine/beer merchant.

Where is that? There isn't any decent specialist stockists near here. I'll be looking on the Internet to get one for Â£6.99 if I do.

They do one called 'Tokyo' but it isn't an IPA.

mc · Post by mc » Sun May 15, 2011 9:42 pm

Shaun wrote:
mc wrote:
Funny you should mention that - I had a bottle last night. It had a nice thick mouth feel and was dark and peat smoky and hoppy with obvious toffee flavours. Very enjoyable and cost Â£6 from the local specialist wine/beer merchant.
Where is that? There isn't any decent specialist stockists near here. I'll be looking on the Internet to get one for Â£6.99 if I do.

They do one called 'Tokyo' but it isn't an IPA.

Apellation Wines in Edinburgh - a great wee shop with an excellent range of beers & wines. You can also get Bitch Please direct from the Brew Dog website:

http://www.brewdog.com/shop

I had a bottle of Tokyo* last year - at 18.2% it packed a serious punch. I remember the flavours being extreme but enjoyable nevertheless. At Â£11 a bottle it's a rare treat. I drank it over 2 nights to eke it out

Post by **spzretent** » Sun May 15, 2011 9:55 pm

runcible wrote:I'm slightly suspicious of Brew Dog. I attended a launch event for 3 new IPAs at a specialist bar in Leeds in February and was astonished at how bad the beers were. One was drinkable (seriously - that's all I can say about it that is positive) and the other 2 were truly awful with one, which had a Japanese name, genuinely smelling of urine. It was a very strange experience as I like the bar and the guy who was promoting it, but the beers were absolutely shocking. It was put into perspective by the Hopslam and other glorious Michigan IPAs I'd tasted a couple of days earlier, but that's no excuse for such poorly made products as I tasted that night.

Correction. It was those 4 IPA's from Brew Dog and the Michigan tasting was in fact the night previous. Your palate was ruined tuesday night by the glory that are Michigan beers.
Shaun, I will be curious to see what you think of the Michigan beers as you seem to like higher abv beers. They dont mess around over here. But they manage to hide this sometimes absurdly high abv very well.
And it stops me, at least, from drinking way too many.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Mon May 16, 2011 4:06 pm

spzretent wrote:Shaun, I will be curious to see what you think of the Michigan beers as you seem to like higher abv beers. They dont mess around over here. But they manage to hide this sometimes absurdly high abv very well.
And it stops me, at least, from drinking way too many.

Oddly I never do go for the higher strength beers when I go to a pub, and I'm not keen on porters or barley wine either. I think recently I may of got tired of real ales and don't go near cider anymore so I think that's helped me get more and more interested in trying your craft beers, and it seems like higher strength beers are unavoidable. Also I'm getting lots of Belgium beers very soon. I like their fruit beers over their strong triples, trappists and lambics.

Post by **spzretent** » Tue May 17, 2011 12:41 am

You cant avoid higher abv's with any US microbrews. Brewers here have pushed the oar way out. Like I have said before. Its like the Wild West here now. There are some that brew beers so high in abv they guestimate what strength it is. These are not bottled for obvious reasons.

toomilk · Post by **toomilk** » Tue May 17, 2011 1:44 am

I think the next trend in US craft brewing will be fitting a lot of flavor into a beer with a low ABV. I think a lot of people would like to get into craft brews but are scared by the high potency. Anchor Brewing from San Francisco has a "Small Beer" that is 3% ABV, but still has a decent taste. It's an ok beer, but I think it can widely be improved up (especially by more adventurous brewers...which Anchor does not have...).

I definitely felt the effects of the high ABV this weekend. I bought a 4-pack of 90-Minute IPA for my friends birthday, drank 3 of them and proceeded to continue drinking craft brews around the 6% level (plus some miller lights....

). The result can only be diagnosed as a "black out."

TheWarmth · Post by **TheWarmth** » Tue May 17, 2011 1:49 pm

Ha-ha! Blackout! Gotta be careful when you're drinking high ABV beer.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Tue May 17, 2011 3:08 pm

mc wrote: Apellation Wines in Edinburgh - a great wee shop with an excellent range of beers & wines. You can also get Bitch Please direct from the Brew Dog website:

http://www.brewdog.com/shop

That's useful to know for when I'm there for the Calcutta Cup clash. Went to the Diggers pub earlier this year.

I see the Brew Dog website have a couple of Three Floyds beers avaiable. Interesting.

Post by **spzretent** » Thu May 19, 2011 1:48 am

Guess what magically appeared here?
Dark Horse- Plead The Fifth Imperial Stout. Two bottles chilling as we speak.
A lot less expensive than having it shipped from Illinois.

OK. This may be the most well balanced high abv stout I have ever had. That includes Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Founders Oatmeal Stout....beats them all imho.
My only previous experience with this beer was passing around the dregs of a barrel at Dark Horse w/Paul Warmth and friends. Well exceeded my expectations.
Time to hoard.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Thu May 19, 2011 8:50 pm

For anyone in the London area and fancies an alternative evening, this should be quite good.

MIKKELLER SINGLE HOP IPA TASTING

On Saturday the 4th of JuneÂ from 5pm,Â The Bottle ShopÂ will be atÂ The Kernel Brewery,
London, SE1Â to host a tasting ofÂ 19 single hopped IPAâ€™s from Mikkeller.
Tickets costÂ Â£30Â and will gain you entrance to the brewery for the night and a tasting card that
will allow you to indulge yourself on all 19 beers â€“ plus the chance to enter a raffle to win great
prizes including a box of all 19 IPAâ€™s. Fantastic beer fromÂ The Kernel and Mikkeller will also be
available to buy throughout the evening.
A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY? Almost certainly.
Tickets for the event will be issued on a pre-pay basis so give The Bottle Shop a call onÂ
07515 398685Â to book your place at this historic event.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Thu May 19, 2011 8:55 pm

spzretent wrote:Guess what magically appeared here?
Dark Horse- Plead The Fifth Imperial Stout. Two bottles chilling as we speak.
A lot less expensive than having it shipped from Illinois.

OK. This may be the most well balanced high abv stout I have ever had. That includes Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout, Founders Oatmeal Stout....beats them all imho.
My only previous experience with this beer was passing around the dregs of a barrel at Dark Horse w/Paul Warmth and friends. Well exceeded my expectations.
Time to hoard.

Looked really nice. I think I'll try the 13% Goose Island Vanilla Stout at this weekend.

Post by **spzretent** » Thu May 19, 2011 9:15 pm

It was delicious.
Even on a warm-ish humid spring night.

mc · Post by mc » Fri May 20, 2011 9:34 pm

Shaun wrote: That's useful to know for when I'm there for the Calcutta Cup clash.

Handy! The shop is in that part of town - 2 minutes from Haymarket Station. Great wee place. My gf visited this evening and picked up a Flying Dog Double Dog IPA (11.5%), a Flying Dog Smoked Double Lager (7.8%) and a Great Divide Hercules Double IPA (10%). Looking forward to sampling them this evening!

Post by **runcible** » Fri Jun 03, 2011 7:13 pm

I've just spent a few days in Germany and was handed - on 2 occasions - a beer of unknown origin, but was assured with a wink from my host that this was 'real special shit' and not exported. As the entire trip was to do with quality wine in Germany's prime wine regions it was an odd diversion, but very welcome after tasting something like 40 wines at various vineyards. The bottom line is it showed me that the Germans make some damn fine - and quite hefty - ales. I wish I knew what they were and that we could get them here!

TheWarmth · Post by **TheWarmth** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 1:09 am

Mark, can you get the Schlenkerla smoked beers in the UK? Maybe you saw them in Germany. I like them quite a bit, but I suppose smoked beers aren't for everyone.

Post by **spzretent** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 3:04 am

Germany was a massive letdown beer wise imho. Not only are Germans xenophobic about there beer it goes by region too.
I guess they think the Reinheitsgebot(German Beer Purity law) or whatever its called means they think they have the best beer in the world. It only guarantees it all tastes the same. Weisse, Dunkel, Lager.
Having said all this one of my favorite summer beers is the Schneider Edel Weisse organic(green label). I never saw it in Germany. Only Detroit. Go figure.

Post by **runcible** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 9:19 am

The stuff I had was a Pils style lager but way darker and more hoppy than normal - really high quality. This was in the Nahe region and was given to us by a restaurant we were taken to by people from the magical DÃ¶nhoff winery. It was brewed locally by a relative of theirs and I think it stays local, not even getting distribution around the rest of Germany. Frustatingly I don't know what it was.

Anyway, this was a wine trip. German dry Riesling is the next big thing I reckon. Absolutely incredible, long lived and frighteningly expensive at up to Â£50 a bottle. Kind of hard to resist swallowing it all - if I had swallowed everything I tasted I think I'd be dead now.

Post by **spzretent** » Sat Jun 04, 2011 2:36 pm

I just think its crazy being so close to one of the great beer countries in Belgium. But hey, to each their own.
I went(twice) to a bar called Ackermanns in Stuttgart. The staff there were great and let me try quite a few different regional beers. They just seemed so similar.
Conversely, when I was in Amsterdam in February I purposely booked a hotel near most of the good Belgian beer bars. What I quickly found out is there are several great Dutch microbreweries. And this is where I spent most of my limited time. The ones I had were excellent and definitely not something I would ever get over here.
One bar in particular a few blocks from my hotel was called T'Ardensnest address Herengracht 90. Great atmosphere.

mc · Post by mc » Sat Jun 04, 2011 4:53 pm

TheWarmth wrote:Mark, can you get the Schlenkerla smoked beers in the UK? Maybe you saw them in Germany. I like them quite a bit, but I suppose smoked beers aren't for everyone.

You can certainly get them in the UK, but not many places stock them. They're quite the acquired taste, but I'm a big fan.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 8:57 pm

spzretent wrote:I just think its crazy being so close to one of the great beer countries in Belgium. But hey, to each their own.
I went(twice) to a bar called Ackermanns in Stuttgart. The staff there were great and let me try quite a few different regional beers. They just seemed so similar.
Conversely, when I was in Amsterdam in February I purposely booked a hotel near most of the good Belgian beer bars. What I quickly found out is there are several great Dutch microbreweries. And this is where I spent most of my limited time. The ones I had were excellent and definitely not something I would ever get over here.
One bar in particular a few blocks from my hotel was called T'Ardensnest address Herengracht 90. Great atmosphere.

In my opinion, Belgium is probably the best brewery in Europe. They produce some fantastic stuff. I've got several bottles already and will be having 4 very expensive beers from there very soon which will need to be saved for a special occasion.Â

Coincidently I'm travelling to Amsterdam from Munich this summer and was just going to get the train from there to Antwerpen and Brussels for a few nights as I'm not too keen on Amsterdam. You might have changed my mind now (that bar looks very good) and 4 nights split between there and Antwerpen seems good. Brussels is a cack hole so I don't need to visit there other than for the eurostar. Was you're hotel decent?Â

By the way. I've not tried any of the American beers I have. It's fell just at the time when I've decided to have a couple of months away from alcohol and to get in the gym instead.

Post by **spzretent** » Sun Jun 05, 2011 9:35 pm

Hotel was ok. It was cheap in Feb. Like under $100. Summer is a different story. I still haven't booked a hotel.

Post by **spzretent** » Sat Jul 09, 2011 3:24 pm

Well,
Back in UK for a last ditch effort to try and get this Michigan craft beer export business rolling. Many high level meetings

and tossing back of the crazy ass range of limited seasonal beers. Yes, a few more Hopslams are here and also some Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree(same as reg Crooked Tree but twice the alcohol and hops) as well as Shorts Anniversary Ale(blood orange wheat wine w/a peppercorn finish

).
http://www.shortsbrewing.com/beer/our-p ... rsary-ale/
Anyone in and around Leeds Monday July-11 may want to pm me. This is a closed tasting but....I may be able to squeeze another person or two in.
I attempted to bring a full case. 22 of the 24 bottles made it across. Unfortunately two....eh hem...did not. Still, that is nearly a 90% success rate.

redcloud · Post by **redcloud** » Sat Jul 09, 2011 6:21 pm

Spzretent...when you return from the UK I think you should plan to come to Portland next with a suitcase full of your famed Michigan brews. You can stay here with me and I will take you to many of our brew pubs and we can share the delights of both Oregon's famed craft beers and those from the Wolverine State. Oh, and we can catch a gig or two as well.

Just thinking....

Post by **runcible** » Sun Jul 10, 2011 3:08 pm

Those Michigan beers are partly responsible for the state of my head today. Groan...

toomilk · Post by **toomilk** » Tue Jul 12, 2011 4:03 am

Went on a beer bus yesterday to three breweries: Alesmith, Lost Abbey, and Ballast Point. Drank in between breweries from a growler (jug, not poop) of Stone's Sublimely Self Righteous. Memory gets fuzzy right around the time we got to Ballast Point. Only remember having their Habenero Sculpin IPA. Beware of this little fucker. Hotter than hell and it will mess you up. On the whole, 20 incredibly drunk friends with great beer adds up to one hell of a good time.

Post by **MODLAB** » Wed Aug 03, 2011 11:31 am

For you guys out near Indiana.

http://www.indycm.com/tomlinsontaproom/

B,

M

Post by **spzretent** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 3:30 am

pouring tonight is a Dogfish Head Squall IPA. A bottle conditioned naturally fermented 90 minute IPA.
Kind of heavy yet dry but packs a serious punch at 9%. And a bargain at $8. 1 pint 9oz bottle.

If you are in Indiana....Three Floyds is one of the best craft breweries in the entire USA. Why the above establishment isn't serving it is criminal. Strictly my opinion but I know there are others on this board who would agree with me.

toomilk · Post by **toomilk** » Thu Aug 11, 2011 5:46 am

Nice! I'm also drinking Dogfish. 60 Minute IPA. No frills beer. Always fucking GOOD.

Post by **spzretent** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:43 am

Tonight I have a bottle of Georg Schneider Organic Weisen Edel Weisse. Perhaps one of my all time favorite summer beers. I have never seen it in the UK. Which is a lot closer than Detroit. But several shops here carry it.

toomilk · Post by **toomilk** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 6:48 am

Just got back from a 13.5 hour day at work (no paid overtime either).

60 Minute IPA again...

TheWarmth · Post by **TheWarmth** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 1:03 pm

New Glarus Enigma is back and still awesome. It's a sour brown ale. Incredible.

Post by **spzretent** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 2:05 pm

One of my customers called me last night. He is camping in Indiana. I said if you go to the beer store look for any Three Floyds. He called me last night and asked if I wanted Moloko Stout or Dreadnaught Imperial IPA? My response was Hell Yeah. 4 bottles on their way.

TheWarmth · Post by **TheWarmth** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 2:23 pm

Alan, you won't be disappointed with those. You might want to make a stout float with some of your Moloko. I always do that on Halloween. Dreadnaught is intense! I don't know why they don't just do four - packs of 12 oz bottles of that instead of bombers. It'd be difficult to drink an entire bomber in one sitting by yourself.

Post by **spzretent** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 2:30 pm

FFF has yet to dissappoint. I do find it odd they release a stout in August but what do I know. Its not heavy like Plead the Fifth or Bourbon County.

olan · Post by **olan** » Fri Aug 12, 2011 3:43 pm

Sitting here in Melbourne, drinking Peroni (sad) wondering why Australian beer is so shite (James Squire Amber, Golden and IPA excluded; honourable mention to Fat YaK as well).