Nice

Wifi on the plane. Yesterday we started off at Revolution's brewpub.  The beer there is very solid and the food was great!   I had Revolution Double Fist (double pale ale), Revolution Coup d'état Belgian farmhouse Saison, and we brought our own Goose island Big John (base beer for bcbs).  For lunch I had duck fat popcorn and a spicy chilies burger.  I sampled some bone marrow, pizza, and wings as well.  And since my buddy is an investor, we got 50% off the whole bill! He says his friends always invite him to hang out when they go there.

It's been along time in the works but two of my friends are finally opening Empirical Brewing this fall a little bit north of Wrigleyville. The next week or so will be spent finalizing the lease on the facility and then they will begin the equipment ordering and installment process. If all goes well they hope to be up and running by September.

Another friend of theirs who I've met a few times and saw again last night is opening Sandy Bottom Brewing in Munster, IN (same town as Three Floyds). I have no recollection of when he told me the expected date!

Dark Lord Day 2013 was a success!  The event was better managed this year so there was a lot more room to sprawl out and have a good time.  There were long lines to get the actual bottles but that is expected, so we just drank 3F beers, shared bottles we brought from home, met new friends and BS'ed for a while.  The people we met and shared beers with were great and it was fun seeing all the drunks play.  I saw no less than 30 people passed out on the grass outside the event.  It looks like they tried to make it back to the hotel, but never stood a chance.

Because of the Revolution lunch,  we got there late so I didn't hit up the guest taps (or get the special variant DL pours which were outside the pub for the first time) but they had tons of offerings from what I was told (Hunahpuh  was one of them).  

Beers I had on draft:
Dark Lord Russian imperial stout
Zombie dust (like 10 of these)
Barrel age behemoth Wick Cherries (barley wine)
In the name of suffering black IPA
Toxic revolution imperial stout
Barrel aged Alpha Klaus porter
A few other things that I don't recall

Bottles we brought or were given to us:
Port brewing older viscosity
Bcbs 2013
Pipeworks abduction  coffee break
Lost Abbey Sede Vecante
2013 KBS
Pliny the Elder
And again, a few other things I can't recall

Some pics:











Roadside bottle graveyard:





Dark Lord:





My zombie dust and behemoth on the left:





My favorite coffee, and a welcomed surprise seeing them there.



A gift i received at dld.  I didn't plan on opening this yesterday but the line was long and I was thirsty.



I'm just not sure about this guy...



I haven't yet got a pic of the haul but will post that when I get home.  I actually had to leave some beers behind at my buddy's house because I ran out of room. 

 Life is good.  Three Floyds is F'ing metal.

Just reading the DLD review made me need a little salvation

Next time... accept the damn invite. We actually had extra tickets!!!

(and that's a good beer right there)

I dont even wanna think about it

Haha. If it makes you feel better, we didn't find out about the extras until we got there. I wanted to call BigAg but it was already way late in the day.

But actually, I invited you on my +1 ticket before that so yeah, you ****ed up.

I AM AWARE!

The link doesn't seem to work very well on the iPad

lil' motor oil for tonight

Page 206!!! Whoop!

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Having some Jester King El Cedro, lets see what the hype is all about

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I love El Cedro. If it wasn't so damn expensive I'd buy much more of it.

Here are a few bottles I got this weekend:




Apparently there are some airport workers enjoying the rest (including 3 more DLs and te Port DL), as the box never showed up at baggage claim.

Airport workers. Sounds like your beer got sequestered.

And yes, the El Cedro was very good. Unfortunately, Jester King is very proud of all their beers, or I would enjoy them more often.

No way, BSD... That SUCKS!

Founders Centennial IPA. This stuff is awesome, can't wait for bottles to hit stores here soon.

BSD,

Are you willing to trade a bottle of DL?

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And yes, the El Cedro was very good. Unfortunately, Jester King is very proud of all their beers, or I would enjoy them more often.

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I dont think that "proudness" is really a factor at JK. I think the price is what they need to charge to stay in business. I've been out to the brewery 4-5 times and I think the brewing process is what commands the higher price. Most bigger craft breweries can pump out a "staple" beer in a couple weeks. The fastest JK will get one out is a few months. Plus, a good amount of their beers have some barrel aging going on.

If you head over to the JK thread on beer advocate, there is some really interesting stuff. Jeff (one of the owners) will post from time to time. He doesn't hide anything about how they brew and what they make on a beer.

I'm a big fan of JK and what they are doing for Texas... If you haven't noticed yet .

I had the JK RU-55 tonight to drown my sorrows. Very tasty.



[This message has been edited by Bsd (edited 4/29/2013 8:52p).]

I haven't been to their brewery, but my friends have said some very good things about it. I didn't mean 'proud' in a bad way, just meant they charge a premium. But like you said, their process is very labor intensive and time consuming, so they have to get compensated.
They also seem to be into the artistic side of brewing as far as their beer styles, the 100% organic, and their souring processes. I do get a kick out of messing with their diehard fans though, just mention their pricing.

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BSD,

Are you willing to trade a bottle of DL?

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Probably not at this time unless it's a great offer and I can't think of anything I'm actively seeking. If you can get my luggage back, I'd give you one, though!

Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale...

I really cannot say how much I love this beer...only have one of the bottles from the sixer left...hopefully can find another sixer around town before its gone till next April.

Anyone familiar with Shut-Down know of any beers similar to it?? Would love to try some more of the style...

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Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale...

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Saw plenty of it at Specs here in Dallas this past weekend. Passed on it, but I'm a fan of just about anything Lagunitas puts out. For someone that's tried both, is it similar to Sucks?

I prefer Undercover to Sucks by quite a bit, but that takes nothing away from sucks....both great beers, just personal preference. From what I remember sucks is more of a pine-y, yet super clean finishing IPA. Undercover is more complex to me...tastes like you bit into an orange and got a bit of resiny pine-branch with it...sticks to your tongue and lets the finish linger...

 
They found my case of beer in Oakland and it was back in Houston last night and is being delivered to me this morning.  Whew! Having the extra DLs will come in handy at bottle shares.
 

reading some of the DLD reviews on BA this morning ... BSD, you dirty dawg...

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The one incident - and there's always one - that I just remembered that could have been bad was the dude waiting in the unlocked portajohn that my wife opened who was waving his dick at her (or any other woman that was about to enter, I guess) and said, "No, you can come in."

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this sounds interesting...... from No Label Brewing newsletter


Thursday, May 23rd- Whole Foods in Katy- Tapping Elda M. Vanilla Bourbon Stout

Karbach posted that their next batch of BBA Hellfighter will be released on May 13th.

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Karbach posted that their next batch of BBA Hellfighter will be released on May 13th.

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Oh hell yeah! Too bad I'll be out of town but y'all should definitely jump on that!

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reading some of the DLD reviews on BA this morning ... BSD, you dirty dawg...

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The one incident - and there's always one - that I just remembered that could have been bad was the dude waiting in the unlocked portajohn that my wife opened who was waving his dick at her (or any other woman that was about to enter, I guess) and said, "No, you can come in."

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That's thing wasn't going to suck itself, Jetch!

Land in San Francisco next Wednesday and will be driving down to stay in Carmel for a few days. Any brewery/pub suggestions in the Carmel area?

I know Russian River will be suggested, but with it being on the north side of SanFran I don't see it working out. Regardless, hopefully I'll be able to locate some RRBC to enjoy.