Is it really that good, that much in demand? Two days ago the local bottle shop I frequent posted on Facebook that they'll be releasing their stock next week. Someone asked if it'd FCFS or via raffle, and they'll be doing the latter. I guess they have very limited quantities. Never heard of this particular label before, so I don't get all the hooplah. That's not to say I won't try to get in on the lottery, however.
You've never heard of Founder's or never heard of KBS? Founder's is one of the top craft breweries in the States, which is saying something. Now, re: KBS, it is undeniably a great beer. But it's scarcity is certainly out of proportion with its quality. A bit like what happened to Westvleteren when it showed up on best beer in the world lists. There are a lot of great bourbon barrel stouts in the US. And when you're comparing them, there really isn't a huge gap; they're all great beers. Founder's tripled the output of KBS, which led some to hope that it would be easier to find this year. Alas, that has not proven to be the case. The increased production seems to have gone toward expanding the brewery's footprint (now into NY, for instance) than to sending more of the beer to existing markets. Bottom line: if you have a chance to try a KBS, do it. But there are other great examples of the style out there that don't require you to take a day off of work, waste a tank of gas driving from shop to shop, memorize the distribution schedules in the town where yo live o you know the exact hour the Founder's beers are delivered, or even sleep out overnight to ensure you're first in line to buy a single bottle.
I brought a bottle of that to Easter dinner last year and it was a big hit. It went great with the meal.
I've def heard of Founders, and may have enjoyed it at least once, can't say I've heard of KBS though.
This is the important thing that a lot of people don't consider or think about because they have the fever to chase the name and the "status" of saying they've tried a particular beer. I love bourbon barrel aged stouts, but when it comes down to it there won't be a huge difference between KBS, Uncle Jacob's, Old Rasputin Barrel Aged or Goose Island Bourbon County. Let alone all of the others out there. There are definitely differences between them, but maybe not enough to go crazy trying to find them all.
A shout out to a new nano-brewery here in Columbus, Sideswipe Brewing. Basically a one man operation, their (his?) Saison is terrific:
Need to get to Treehouse Brewery in Monson. Their Juice Machine was unreal and a huge hit at the Boston brewfest a few weeks ago. Supposedly it was considered by many at the best beer at the festival. http://treehousebrew.com/
Okay my Keg needs to be replaced. Looking for a nice spring/summer beer (no IPA's) Any suggestions? Was thinking of the old stand by http://konabrewingco.com/blog/beers/wailua-wheat-ale/
My neighbor is opening a small craft brewery about a mile from my house called Powder Hollow Brewery. Hopes to have it opened by Oct 1. I'll be sure to update here with my findings
Coronado Brewing Co's Idiot IPA is on tap for this afternoon's weekly office growler share. Anyone tried Brewery Ommegang's Fire and Blood? http://www.ommegang.com/got/fire_and_blood.php
Maybe Bell's Oberon? Weekly office growler share sounds cool. I picked up a bottle of Fire and Blood but haven't tried it yet. I'll report back.
I got some the day it was released. I stopped by two big stores that didn't have it yet. Found it by chance at a little hole in the wall. It's tasty and then you feel a very subtle mouth buzz from the peppers. Nothing overpowering. A little dry (which I like) with a good hop balance. Be sure to share with your khaleesi. I've got one bottle of the black left. Maybe with this Sunday's show.
It all started back in January-ish. A full growler (Troegs Mad Elf) was brought to the office holiday party, and was the hottest item there during the "white elephant". The guy who ended winning it brought it in weeks later, full, for beer:30 on Fridays. It took off from there. Out of 19 people in my office, about 10-11 are on a weekly rotation to bring it in - full obviously - every week. Yesterday there were only 4 of us to partake, so I had a nice full glass. Usually it's more of a tasting, and a nice end-of-week camaraderie type thing. My wife picked me up a bottle last Sunday, and I drank the whole thing (all by myself) during the episode. I don't know how to describe it, but it seemed a little yeasty for my taste. After the first few sips it was tolerable, but it wasn't really my cup of tea, or glass of beer as the case may be. I mean, I drank the whole thing, so it wasn't horrible, I just don't know if I'd go out of my way to buy it again. My local bottle shop tapped Ommegang's Iron Throne blonde ale this week. I'll try and get my growler filled tomorrow.
Ended up ordering a keg of Victory Lager. Saturday a guy at the package store suggested I try this Nasty after taste. I would not recommend this at all. that said I had this as well and liked it a lot but he could not get me a keg for some reason
update on beer... http://www.theatlantic.com/business...tate-of-american-beer/360583/?utm_source=digg
Nothing really new here, though the article seems to have one major short-coming. It's all well and good to talk about growth/decline of the top ten macro-brews. I mean, there really aren't that many of them to compare against one another, and they all make the same single style of tasteless swill beer. But more than 2,400 breweries now make up the craft beer industry; more breweries than at any period in the country's history (as I recall). Measuring the top ten is fine, I suppose, but it rather misses the point. I don't need to find Lagunitas, Stone, New Belgium, etc. at my local bottle shop in order to buy great craft beer. Leaving aside those ten most popular beers, I have a choice of literally scores of other craft breweries to choose from, many of which don't really need large distribution networks because they're local or regional breweries. And just think of the larger craft beer labels that don't appear on the list but, by every conceivable measure, are thriving (forgive any geographic tilt in the following off-the-cuff listing): Founders, Bell's, Great Lakes, New Glarus, Allagash, Ommegang, Victory, Jolly Pumpkin, Rogue, Schlafly, Three Floyd's, Avery, Dogfish Head, ad infinitum. My pint glass runneth over with the number of quality choices. On the macro-side, these choices simply do not exist. So if sales are lagging for, say, Miller High Life, it's not as though they're being picked up by some other large brewery. In this zero-sum game of beer consumption, the big guys have a vast lead. But the trends are hard to ignore. The overall growth in the craft beer market, while not as impressive as the 19.4% growth rate of the top ten breweries, still clock in at a double digit rate every year. Last year, $1 out of every $10 spent on beer in this country went to a craft brewer. Where does that get us over the next decade? Eventually some point of stasis will arrive, I suppose,. And I would assume that, when it does, that stage will still see some macro label or three with a sizable lead in overall beer sales stats. But I doubt that, at that point, craft beer will be the niche part of the industry it is still often viewed as being today. I appreciate that the author says that, in a future post, he'll be penning an article that focuses on craft beer. Perhaps he'll get into the details there. But, in a lot of ways, comparing the macro beer industry to the craft beer industry is, well, a lot like comparing Bud Light (apples) to North Coast Brewing's Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout (oranges); the two products have virtually nothing in common.
My Victory Lager never came in so I was offered another option: I took a chance and it was a big hit this weekend. Nice, smooth and not overly citrusy like some Hefeweizens can be. Slightly cloudy golden color and a nice aroma
Anyone out in Illinois ever have this? http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/24798/86622/ Any chance you could ship me a bottle?
You really only want one. Tastes like root beer. I didn't taste any alcohol and it is 10%! By the end though I couldn't handle the sweetness, which is why I think one would be enough. It would be deadly with a scoop of vanilla ice cream as a dessert.