Helgs -

Not too sure on the batch; I will check when I get home. I have also got some Beautification and Consecration; the hard part is actually aging them instead of drinking them now.

Dave99, I seriously recommend buying a ticket to the Friday night small batch tasting. The festival is ok, but mostly features beers that you could get in Texas.

I'd definitely plan to go to Choice City Butcher & Deli and Mayor of Oldtown. Choice City is a nice place to go for a late lunch. They have killer sandwiches and the tap list will amaze you considering the place. Mayor of Oldtown is simply phenomenal. You can run the gamut of styles there.

Other worthwhile breweries would be Funkwerks/Crooked Stave and Equinox. Coppersmiths is a nice brewpub in Oldtown and they have good food.

Wilburs and Supermarket Liquor are your best bets to pick up bottles.

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Helgs -

Not too sure on the batch; I will check when I get home. I have also got some Beautification and Consecration; the hard part is actually aging them instead of drinking them now.

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well, about time I got my hands on some.....we live in a black hole of beer....not bad, i could drink a few.

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"Food should be fun." -Thomas Keller

Needed something a bit lighter tonight...



Not too shabby, but prefer the RIPA...

Jew beer

The Heebs know how to brew....

...but the proper spelling is "Joo"...

Yeah. I mean their nostrils are so big they really get a better sense of olfactory manipulation.

Interesting article I found today...

http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/06/the_5_craft_beer_personality_t.html#incart_hbx

Kinda neat to see which "craft beer personality" I fall into...

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Beer Gourmands: These folks are casual craft beer drinkers might even be seen enjoying a Michelob or a Budweiser once a while. That doesn't mean they don't enjoy craft beers, it means they don't care about what beer snobs say or worry about being politically correct in the overall craft beer culture. They enjoy what they enjoy, but they have been adventurous enough to step outside the major industrial breweries corral. They probably aren't going to be drinking Belgian Sours or double IPAs very often. But they have developed their palates to know a great beer when they drink one.

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Made chicken tikka masala tonight and paired it with this:

Indian food and highly hopped beers is, in my experience, an excellent pairing. I have a while notebook of cheese to go with them as well.

A good time was had by all at last night's Real Ale cask at O'Bannon's.



Not a busy as usual but it is June, the slowest month of the year for Northgate plus the beer was an IPA which typically gets a smaller turnout than the dark beers. Chris Nunez was on hand from Real Ale to talk all things beer and we had several entertaining conversations.

I have to say the Lost Gold cask IPA was very drinkable. Very creamy (helped out by being served via a beer engine and not gravity fed), citrusy and smooth. Not nearly as bitter as I would have expected. It was a nice change of pace for me. Another great cask event at OBs!

and yes, that's a baby in the background of that pic.

Wife and I are going to Chicago this weekend. Any recommendations on bars/brewpubs/beers we can't miss?

Anyone had the Southern Star Walloon? It's a Belgian Grissette ( I'd never heard it before either, basically a Saison). Picked up a 4 pack from Specs and was blown away. It might be because I have been on a real Belgian kick lately, but I will definitely need to look into this style more.

Frio,
Drive 30 miles south to Munster, IN and drink everything 3 Floyds has to offer! If you can't make that, Paddy Long's is a great bar with a bacon focused menu and has a few 3 Floyds brews available. According to the website, they have Alpha King and Dreadnaught on tap, as well as Behemoth (bring me back a bottle!!!). I didnt see it on the Paddy Long's list, but you'll definitely need to try the Gumballhead wheat beer, which should be easy to find in Chicago. Also don't leave without finding Zombie Dust. So many good beers...Three Floyds is just a world class brewey!

Other beers to seek out are Two Brothers and Jolly Pumpkin, which you can't get in Texas.

Oh, be sure to hit Kuma's Corner for bad ass burgers and a great beer list and Jack Daniels on tap. Go as soon as they open though as it gets crowded!

[This message has been edited by Bsd (edited 6/21/2012 7:37p).]

Wow, Thanks BSD! Paddy's looks great and Kuma's was on our list(Kuma Burger, mmmm....). I want to make sure to drink up out of state beers as much as possible.

Ain't no thang. I'm not sure if Surly or New Glarus makes it down there but if you see some, drink it! I can ask my buddy who is an investor in a new brewery up there for some more bar suggestions if you need me to.

Why the hell not?

Finishing up my last hopslam tonight

Mbole - I picked up some last week or so. I had never had a saison before and I liked it. Oddly enough, it had a taste that reminded me of how lillies smell. I bought some flowers for my wife and the smell was not pleasant to me. But I did enjoy the beer. It's weird.

Maui Brewing Company's Coconut Porter is pretty good.

Pretty good stuff, I think I'll have another or five

Had a bomber of Stone IPA earlier, and am drinking my second Stone Fat Head Bear Republic TBA now. It has more of a nutty flavor than I remember the last time, also more of an alcohol hit on the pallet. I was going to age it but the bottle says to not age so what the hell.

Starting around noon tomorrow it'll be a weekend of consuming mass quantities of coors light and whatever I find at the Georgetown Specs.

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Why the hell not?

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No work tomorrow....But I think I'll be feeling this one in the morning.

Tomorrow is the NW Cider Summit. Not sure if I'm going yet, but they have some tasty looking ciders.

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Anyone had the Southern Star Walloon?

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My analysis:
Very bland - totally surprised. Not much taste. first one and last one for me. Never had a farmhouse ale with so little character[/url]

Interesting MnA. What are you favorite Farmhouse Ales then?

It certainly doesn't have as much taste as many others of the style, but I'm not sure that it was intended to. I think it was intended to be a light session Saison, with only 5.5% ABV as opposed to ~7%.

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Starting around noon tomorrow it'll be a weekend of consuming mass quantities of coors light and whatever I find at the Georgetown Specs

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Are you from Georgetown Fours? Depending on where you are, it may be closer/better to head to Hamrick's Market in Cedar Park. They have a pretty awesome Austin beer selection.

mbole, saisons are not a particular style I seek out but I have had a few. I like Tank 7 and the Rahr offering is not bad althought a bit too bitter at the end for me. The Rahr is a very complex beer as the taste changes through out each sip. The cask of it last summer was nice. Hennepin is also decent. Mad Meg was also enjoyable.

Hitting the Karbach tour again Saturday... looking forward to trying the Double Dry Hopped Hopadillo and some more of the BarnBurner Saison

Mmmmmmmmmmmmm