Anyone else already over the whole micro brewery thing?

[Champco]

I will admit there are very few craft beers I like. Probably 9 out of 10 I don't like. Don't even give me a flavored beer, apple, orange, etc. Just give me a fine American pilsner. I think I misspelled that. Had my 1st craft that I remember at the 1999 US Open, down the road here in Southern Pines. A local craft that tasted like pine straw. Was $5 a cup then. I've tried every Sam Adams and don't like any. I used to buy 6 packs of Old Speckled Hen to give as literally gag gifts. I ruined 2 lb of shrimp boiling them in it. Keep that hoppy shit away from me. Darks are too heavy. I either drink no beer or 6 to 12. I prefer draft, but can or bottle is fine. I remember reading an article in Playboy many years ago about drinking beer across America. The author of the article hated it when he was in the South, because he said we drank our beer too cold. A couple slithers of ice floating in the top of mine is fine. Wetting my lips is part of it.

Nice. Just so you know the difference. Craft beers are primarily Ales. You like Lagers. Lagering is a process where the fermentation is a temp changing process that takes time allowing the particulates to settle giving you a clear beer. Ales fermentation is at one temp and is done quickly. There are things done to clarify it but it is not always done. More important is the grains used. Ales typically use mostly, 98% Barley. lagers can have typically 60-90 % corn. Mostly the higher percentage across the board. Budwiser fermints with rice. as well. Sam Adams being the glaring exception using more Barley. Keep in mind it is mostly water in all cases. A percentage of alcohol which is fermented from the grain bill. This has been going on this way since the lifting prohibition with more and more corn being used over the decades. Barley and hopps added sparingly to give different sweetnesses or bitters.

 

[Champco]

A few weeks ago my daughter breaks out a bottle of Dragons Are Real (one word) that she had stashed away for maybe 5 months. Poured into a small glass I took a sip and thought this might be a bad beer. Once my brain caught up with my taste buds I took another sip. I said, I have no idea what this is but its possibly one of the best things I've ever tasted. She said it's a Mead. It was so good I didn't want to drink it. Meaning I didn't want it to end. I set it aside while drinking a couple other beers then came back to it. I could easily give up craft beer for this stuff. Only problem is finding more of it. I think she said she paid $30 for it but I can see this stuff flying off the shelf for much much more than that.

Meads are brewed mostly with Honey. If you were to go to the Renaissance festivals there is a lot of different meads there.

 

[Champco]

This is a pretty good Sour beer that seems to have wide distribution.

View attachment 1027719

-Dave

Sours is where I draw the line.. Paradox is the only beer I have ever taken back to the liquor store. They make several sours.

 

[Champco]

Yeah, we all can't have the fine local selections of Old Style and Pabst like you Northern Tier folk.

Actually have a bar here serving Hamms on tap. Not the same as I remember. This is much more malty.

 

[whoaru99]

Have a couple beers lined up to brew, but come spring/summer I'm going to look around for a Kona Big Wave copy cat recipe. That to me is a pretty good light ale. Low enough alcohol to facilitate having a few but a little malt and just a very light hit of tropical/citrusy type hops. Pretty good session beer, IMO. Might even check on just buying by the 1/6 or 1/4 bbl keg.

 

[Champco]

These are all that's left from my beer cellar. I stopped collecting them a couple years ago. i only collected these and others for about 4 years and have been drinking them over time.

 

[whoaru99]

Recognize a few of those. I think the Bourbon County 2017 is coming out around Thanksgiving.

I cellared about a case of a one-time Abbey-type ale from New Glarus, called "Abt". Got better with age until it was gone.

My homebrewed Russian Imperial Stout I kept in secondary aging for ~14 months before started drinking it. It was quite nice.

 

[Champco]

Recognize a few of those. I think the Bourbon County 2017 is coming out around Thanksgiving.

I cellared about a case of a one-time Abbey-type ale from New Glarus, called "Abt". Got better with age until it was gone.

My homebrewed Russian Imperial Stout I kept in secondary aging for ~14 months before started drinking it. It was quite nice.

New Glasius is a secret. shhhhhhhh

 

[Champco]

Recognize a few of those. I think the Bourbon County 2017 is coming out around Thanksgiving.

I cellared about a case of a one-time Abbey-type ale from New Glarus, called "Abt". Got better with age until it was gone.

My homebrewed Russian Imperial Stout I kept in secondary aging for ~14 months before started drinking it. It was quite nice.

Yea thanks for reminding me. In 2015 my son and I ended up with about 20 bottles. We were in Illinois that weekend and hit every store there in the morning. One grocery store sold us a whole case. This is my last bottle. When the KBS comes out there are guys following the beer truck around and buying it all up.

 

[Ib_tripn]

Founders CBS 2017.
Nuff said.

 

[judsonw]

Meads are brewed mostly with Honey. If you were to go to the Renaissance festivals there is a lot of different meads there.

There is a great little meadery in my town that has some great meads (they have basic, rhubarb, blueberry, wassail (spiced mead), and an oak barrel aged mead). I really need to go back and pick up a few bottles to have on hand.

 

[Ib_tripn]

And to my surprise 6 cases of Bourbon County Stout right as I entered my local BevMo. I do all my shopping at BevMo but didn't excpect them to have any BCS which were released today, Black Friday.

Of course one one of the caps flew off soon as I got home. Mighty tasty indeed.

 

[valvenator]

And to my surprise 6 cases of Bourbon County Stout right as I entered my local BevMo. I do all my shopping at BevMo but didn't excpect them to have any BCS which were released today, Black Friday.

Of course one one of the caps flew off soon as I got home. Mighty tasty indeed.

...too much carbonation perhaps?
Glad you were there to save it in time

 

[judsonw]

And to my surprise 6 cases of Bourbon County Stout right as I entered my local BevMo. I do all my shopping at BevMo but didn't excpect them to have any BCS which were released today, Black Friday.

Of course one one of the caps flew off soon as I got home. Mighty tasty indeed.

I do love BevMo and am glad that one opened up where I am a couple years ago.

 

[soundmotor]

There is a great little meadery in my town that has some great meads (they have basic, rhubarb, blueberry, wassail (spiced mead), and an oak barrel aged mead). I really need to go back and pick up a few bottles to have on hand.

Somewhere I'm certain someone is making hopped mead; a further indication of the gilded age we live in.

I'm also certain I've never had good mead before. Only tried it at the big yearly Renaissance fair near us. Not bad, but just a bit sweeter than I usually like.