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So, what am I drinking?

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Picked up 2 four packs of Lawson's SOS in New Haven.

Had Kent Falls' Rauchbier (called Anachronism) last night, today some Maredsous Blonde Ale Tripel, just now some Unibroue Grande Reserve 17 Dark Ale and now headed over to Cask Republic.
 
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Back in the 80's I had a chance to work up in Canada briefly and while there I was introduced to Labbatts Extra Old Stock. Very good tasting beer, more potent than American.
 
I am out of my element here in Connecticut. In Buffalo, a flight of four 5 oz. beers goes for $8. At Cask Republic in New Haven, it's $20 a pop. I had 3 flights last night, so $60 for 3. Yikes.

My ratings for what I tried from best to worst:

Baladin Noel (Italy): 4.5
Kent Falls Field Batch #5: 4.25
Captain Lawrence Hop Commander: 4
Tilquin Gueze: 3.75 (much hyped, but flat, too bad... guess people aren't drinking Belgians at CR)
Dogfish Bitches' Brew: 3.75
Allagash White: 3.5 to clean the palate
Delirium Tremens: 3 (great beer, but flat again)
Jack's Abbey Smoky: 1.75 (a fail of a Rauchbier)
I ordered Kent Falls and Baladin on all 3 flights.
 
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upstater said:
I am out of my element here in Connecticut. In Buffalo, a flight of four 5 oz. beers goes for $8. At Cask Republic in New Haven, it's $20 a pop. I had 3 flights last night, so $60 for 3. Yikes.

My ratings for what I tried from best to worst:

Baladin Noel (Italy): 4.5
Kent Falls Field Batch #5: 4.25
Captain Lawrence Hop Commander: 4
Tilquin Gueze: 3.75 (much hyped, but flat, too bad... guess people aren't drinking Belgians at CR)
Dogfish Bitches' Brew: 3.75
Allagash White: 3.5 to clean the palate
Delirium Tremens: 3 (great beer, but flat again)
Jack's Abbey Smoky: 1.75 (a fail of a Rauchbier)
I ordered Kent Falls and Baladin on all 3 flights.
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Cask is probably the most expensive selection you could have made. Happy hour at Prime 16 is the deal. Half-priced pints from 4-7.

Funny that the package stores in that same exact area vary even more wildly. A bottle of Green Spot Irish whiskey is $49 at Temple Wine & Liquor; a frisbee throw away at the Wine Thief it's $60. At Odd Bins, a few blocks away, it's $65.
 
Fishy said:
Heady Topper tastes like pine cones.
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If you really want to taste pine cones, try Dogfish Head Pennsylvania Tuxedo....made with spruce tips.

I think Heady Topper is much more citrusy than piney. Most west coast IPAs are piney.
 
wethyhusky said:
Wife bringing me to Burlington this week for birthday. Obviously getting heady topper. What are some other must gets in Vermont?
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As others have said fiddlehead makes good beers. Check out there double ipa second fiddle
 
8893 said:
Cask is probably the most expensive selection you could have made. Happy hour at Prime 16 is the deal. Half-priced pints from 4-7.

Funny that the package stores in that same exact area vary even more wildly. A bottle of Green Spot Irish whiskey is $49 at Temple Wine & Liquor; a frisbee throw away at the Wine Thief it's $60. At Odd Bins, a few blocks away, it's $65.
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I go to Coastal in Branford for single big bottles, but there is a package store in the area you're talking about that seems to always have SOS. Thanks for the tip on Cask.
 
By the way, if anyone wants to sample some Hill Farmstead without going to the Northeast Kingdom of VT, Armsby Abby in Worcester always has it on tap (along with lots of other good stuff). It's also only 5 minutes from Wormtown, which makes some excellent stuff and has a nice tasting room.
 
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HuskyHawk said:
By the way, if anyone wants to sample some Hill Farmstead without going to the Northeast Kingdom of VT, Armsby Abby in Worcester always has it on tap (along with lots of other good stuff). It's also only 5 minutes from Wormtown, which makes some excellent stuff and has a nice tasting room.
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Love Armsby, and the food is also excellent. Great room, too. Their "Dive Bar" around the corner also has some great taps and a more casual setting.
 
HuskyHawk said:
By the way, if anyone wants to sample some Hill Farmstead without going to the Northeast Kingdom of VT, Armsby Abby in Worcester always has it on tap (along with lots of other good stuff). It's also only 5 minutes from Wormtown, which makes some excellent stuff and has a nice tasting room.
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Anyone know why you can get Hill Farmstead in Worcester but not Boston? Which beers are they distributing?
 
HuskyHawk said:
If you really want to taste pine cones, try Dogfish Head Pennsylvania Tuxedo....made with spruce tips.

I think Heady Topper is much more citrusy than piney. Most west coast IPAs are piney.
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If I want to taste a pine cone, I will taste a pine cone.

I agree with your assessment somewhat - Heady Topper tastes like pine cones dipped in orange peels.
 
Jay-Bone said:
Anyone know why you can get Hill Farmstead in Worcester but not Boston? Which beers are they distributing?
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Not distribution. It's a bar. They are on tap. They have whatever HF has on tap. Owners seem friendly. The whole place is a little like a slice of Vermont. Male staff all have beards, women have tats and sometimes blue hair, food all organic etc.
 
Jay-Bone said:
Anyone know why you can get Hill Farmstead in Worcester but not Boston? Which beers are they distributing?
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I've been told from someone who frequents Armsby Abbey a lot that the owner of Armsby Abbey and the owner of Hill Farmstead are friends and that's why the beer is there. I'll ask next time I'm there.
 
HuskyHawk said:
Not distribution. It's a bar. They are on tap. They have whatever HF has on tap. Owners seem friendly. The whole place is a little like a slice of Vermont. Male staff all have beards, women have tats and sometimes blue hair, food all organic etc.
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As far as my bartending knowledge goes, you have to obtain through a distribution company. So that is what I mean in terms of distribution, kegs, not specifically bottles. That is why you see Goose Island a lot more on tap because Anheuser Busch bought them out and expanded distribution, but you can only get it through the one regional distributor. That is generally why you can get some beers in some states and not others. Think of Yeungling as another regional distribution example, kegs and bottles alike. I've never heard of it being selective to one bar in a state. I suppose in this case, HF has decided to do thus and probably not even through a distributor.

Despite popular belief, you don't have to have a beard to know beer. ;)
 
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HooperScooper said:
I've been told from someone who frequents Armsby Abbey a lot that the owner of Armsby Abbey and the owner of Hill Farmstead are friends and that's why the beer is there. I'll ask next time I'm there.
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Back in Sept., Armsby Abbey had Hill Farmstead's: Grassroots Legitimacy IPA, Walden ABA and What is Enlightenment APA.
 
The local guy in Buffalo who gets Hill Farmstead once in a blue moon gets it directly from there, no distributors.
 
Waquoit said:
I was actually surprised by a Chrismas present this morning. My sweetie gave me a 4-pack of Sip O'Sunshine! And it was cold! How the hell did you come up with that, I asked. It turns out she just happen to be at the register when one employee was buying a pack from another. And she spoke right up and asked where she could get one. He said, "Oh, we keep it in the fridge behind the counter." Timing is everything.
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Where'd she buy it?
 
Waquoit said:
I was actually surprised by a Chrismas present this morning. My sweetie gave me a 4-pack of Sip O'Sunshine! And it was cold! How the hell did you come up with that, I asked. It turns out she just happen to be at the register when one employee was buying a pack from another. And she spoke right up and asked where she could get one. He said, "Oh, we keep it in the fridge behind the counter." Timing is everything.
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I am shocked. Absolutely shocked.

So you mean to tell me that this woman puts up with you?

Wow.
 
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upstater said:
The local guy in Buffalo who gets Hill Farmstead once in a blue moon gets it directly from there, no distributors.
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Was gonna mention that I *think* there is always a bit of that going on with HF and a few other beers, but I gather what @Jay-Bone is getting at is that that might not be exactly legal, unless the brewery has done what it needs to do in order to self-distribute, which I know a few have done--especially in their early stages. I'm not sure exactly what it takes (I knew it pretty well several years ago, but not anymore), but iirc there are both federal (BATF) and state regulatory hurdles to clear, and the state ones vary by the state.

I'm not sure if it's still the case anymore, but CT used to have the most cumbersome and expensive labeling regulations in the country, and that was a big reason why we were so late to get so many great beers from other states. Given the cost, PITA and the relative size of our market, we weren't worth it when there were much better opportunities to sell more profitably in other states. In the past year or so we seem to be getting a better and better inventory of formerly unavailable beers, so either something has loosened up in our regulations, or these brewers are finally getting to us after sating all the other markets that are better for them.
 
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8893 said:
Was gonna mention that I *think* there is always a bit of that going on with HF and a few other beers, but I gather what @Jay-Bone is getting at is that that might not be exactly legal, unless the brewery has done what it needs to do in order to self-distribute, which I know a few have done--especially in their early stages. I'm not sure exactly what it takes (I knew it pretty well several years ago, but not anymore), but iirc there are both federal (BATF) and state regulatory hurdles to clear, and the state ones vary by the state.

I'm not sure if it's still the case anymore, but CT used to have the most cumbersome and expensive labeling regulations in the country, and that was a big reason why we were so late to get so many great beers from other states. Given the cost, PITA and the relative size of our market, we weren't worth it when there were much better opportunities to sell more profitably in other states. In the past year or so we seem to be getting a better and better inventory of formerly unavailable beers, so either something has loosened up in our regulations, or these brewers are finally getting to us after sating all the other markets that are better for them.
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I was talking to the bar/restaurant owner about all this when he had a night of 15 taps of Cantillon beers. I am not sure at all how they managed it because Cantillon doesn't even distribute in the ways you'd expect. They are known for having a Castillon night (Zwanze Day) at certain places around the world on the annual date of their founding. So, this was a complete one-off. Not sure how they managed the regulations for a one-off event..
 
upstater said:
I was talking to the bar/restaurant owner about all this when he had a night of 15 taps of Cantillon beers. I am not sure at all how they managed it because Cantillon doesn't even distribute in the ways you'd expect. They are known for having a Castillon night (Zwanze Day) at certain places around the world on the annual date of their founding. So, this was a complete one-off. Not sure how they managed the regulations for a one-off event..
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Cantillon distribution is, as they say, a whole 'nother story. If we share a beer or three in New Haven one of these times I'll tell what I at least used to know about it. But damn, I love that stuff. I used to have a very steady supply of it, but at this point I am working off the last of that supply, which is probably about ten years old. I think I have only one bottle left, a Gueuze iirc. I cracked my second-to-last around six months ago and it was still awesome.

But I still have dreams of Rose de Gambrinus and Vigneronne, my two favorites that I haven't had in several years.
 
Finally got my yearly trip to monks cafe in. If anyone is ever in Philly you have to get to this place. I had a pint of Hill Farmstead's Susan which was by far my best beer of the day. They also had a few Russian River brews on tap but unfortunately Pliny the elder wasn't available until this week.

Spent the rest of the day drinking Belgium's. Brassiere's Christmas brew was incredibly tasty.
 
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