A New Beer Thread

We could always just pick a time and brew all at the same time and post here or else do like a google hangout.

 

A cool new "toy", a 32 oz. "Crowler" machine. They pour to-go beers into cans and seal them and mark them up, ready to go. Half the size of a growler, makes great sense.

 

A guy in my homebrew club has a friend that sold off all his home brewing stuff for $100. I picked all of it up and he had a few canisters of Mr. Beer stuff that was close to expiring...so, for the first time ever...I brewed with Mr. Beer! LOL
I tripled up a batch to make 5 gallons, mixing two cans of Czech Pils with three 8 oz packets of Golden Ale, and put it on a yeast cake of Wyeast English Ale I used to make an Olde Ale a week or so ago. I'm going to call it "A Trip Around Europe" if it doesn't taste like ass.
Oh, and it took all of 48 minutes to make! Hahaha.
Now I see why Budweiser is brewed "the hard way."

 

Throwing this one out there, curious what the responses will be. What is:

1. The best beer you've ever had. Your "last day on earth" brew. Yeah, I know....it's nearly impossible to pick. And it's purely subjective. That's the point.

2. What's your "go to." The one you're most likely to keep stocked year 'round. Make it something that's actually available to you, on a regular basis. No one from California, should be selecting a 3 Floyds product.

For me?

1. Ballast Point Sculpin. IMO, damned near perfect.

2. Half Acre Daisy Cutter. Prefer some others (ex: Zombie Dust), but the higher ABV's make it rough on an old guy.

 

1. Pliny the Elder

2. Hardywood's Great Return IPA

 

1. (TIE) Cantillon Lou Pepe Framboise 2001 and 3 Fonteinen Armand & Tomme

2. Whatever I bought most recently??? I dig my variety, whatever's fresh and tasty. Generally something hoppy or tart/funky. Wish I was in downtown Toronto more often, I'd live at Bellwoods Brewery based on the few bottles I picked up a couple weeks ago. Really liked their Monotony Single Hop Pale Ale (was Citra when I was there - fabulous aroma but like most single-hop Citra beers, the taste never lives up to the wonderful aroma).

 

1. Dragonsmeade's Final Absolution
2. 3 Floyds Robert the Bruce

I'm not a big hoppy guy...I mean, I drink 60 and 90 from DFH and can appreciate Hopslam...but it's not my go-to anymore...I'm a BIG malt guy.

 

Word on the street up here says Chill Wave is much better than Hopslam (one of my all-time faves, but still think the hop changes over the past several years have brought its level from fabulous to just damn good).

And that's coming from some big-time MI beer homers.

Oh, and I drive by DragonMead just about every day on the way to the office. Mrs. Fly and I had our engagement party there back in the day when they were just a tiny little spot, not that they're massive at this point but they have expanded a couple times since then.

 

Final Absolution was my first introduction to craft beer outside of "Blue Moon" back in about 2005 at the Frankenmuth World Expo of Beer.
I was THRILLED it was on tap at The Joe for the Garth Brooks show...got me through all the YeeHaws (and Yahoos?) in the stands.

 

Heady Topper
Ayinger Oktoberfest

 

While Heady Topper was pretty transcendental when I first tried it several years back (pre-flood) and I still enjoy it when I get the chance, having it side-by-side with The Alchemist's other IPA Focal Banger I'd choose FB 1000x out of 1000 over HT. One man's opinion, of course, and both are damn tasty.

 

1. dogfish 120. It was glorious.

2. I currently live in Cleveland so it would be Hoppin Frog Boris. It's very smooth.