Beer

[mauconnfan]

I hear you brother. We're so spoiled. I was having a decent bottle of craft brew at a restaurant a few weeks ago and it paled in comparison to some of the stuff I've been getting at Trillium, Tree House, etc. I texted my friend who is crazy about going to breweries (he makes trips to breweries multiple times a week) that he ruined me.

We had a Halloween party at work and the girls in the office got a bunch of good craft beers at the local liquor store. Before I would have been excited to try them. But this time I stared into the refrigerator and decided I was taking a run over to Trillium at lunch to pick up some better stuff. It's kind of ridiculous.

Part of it is that there are so many great beers in the area and part of it really is that once you start drinking beer that you got from a brewery it's hard to drink stuff from the store. There is definitely a difference drinking fresh beer.

It used to be so much easier.

^^^^^^^
Beer Snob

 

[HooperScooper]

^^^^^^^
Beer Snob

Definitely. I readily admit it.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I hear you brother. We're so spoiled. I was having a decent bottle of craft brew at a restaurant a few weeks ago and it paled in comparison to some of the stuff I've been getting at Trillium, Tree House, etc. I texted my friend who is crazy about going to breweries (he makes trips to breweries multiple times a week) that he ruined me.

We had a Halloween party at work and the girls in the office got a bunch of good craft beers at the local liquor store. Before I would have been excited to try them. But this time I stared into the refrigerator and decided I was taking a run over to Trillium at lunch to pick up some better stuff. It's kind of ridiculous.

Part of it is that there are so many great beers in the area and part of it really is that once you start drinking beer that you got from a brewery it's hard to drink stuff from the store. There is definitely a difference drinking fresh beer.

It used to be so much easier.

I find this to be true for IPAs, but not so much for other stuff. Stouts, porters, brown ales, Scotch Ales, Strong Ales, Belgian and German styles are all as good or better at the store. That said, I may be making a Treehouse run on Wednesday.

 

[Rico444]

I had the Sam Adams Rebel Raw DIPA yesterday. It's meant to be drunk in the first 37 days after it's canned. It was very good; not at the level of the best DIPAs but Sams is getting much better at making IPAs.

 

[RichCTBB]

Wood n Tap just opened in Newington and had a killer draft list. Fuzzy Baby Ducks, Sip, Captain's Daughter, Beer'd Heavyweight @ 11.2% among others...also tried Dogs and Boats by Beer'd and it was delicious...Citra and Mosaic hops...yum.

 

[Brownie]

I wonder if he's really say the same now. Back then, shaker pint glasses were all anyone used. He'll never take the words off the can, but they aren't on the Focal Banger can, I don't think.

Never considered that but it makes perfect sense. My brother has a theory that he does it (or at least at one time, did it) for branding purposes. He wanted his beer to be recognized by as many as possible. But like you say, he'll never take the words off the can now.

 

[Brownie]

Wood n Tap just opened in Newington and had a killer draft list. Fuzzy Baby Ducks, Sip, Captain's Daughter, Beer'd Heavyweight @ 11.2% among others...also tried Dogs and Boats by Beer'd and it was delicious...Citra and Mosaic hops...yum.

Man! I wish the Wood n Taps in the Hartford/Manchester area would follow suit. That's a killer list.

 

[Conndog]

Was at a bar in Easthampton Mass- the Brass Cat- and I had a beer from Lord Hobo (what a name!) brewery from Woburn, Mass called Boom Sauce, very good. It is an American IPA and has alcohol rating of 7.8 %. I was talking to bartender and mentioned recently having Julius from Treehouse Brewery, she said that Boom Sauce is what they have that is closest. It tasted great and I'm by no means an expert with Julius, only drank a few cans recently, but the Boom Sauce from Lord Hobo did remind me of it. It was in a 16 oz can. I'll have to see where I can get Lord Hobo and hopefully it isn't too expensive.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Was at a bar in Easthampton Mass- the Brass Cat- and I had a beer from Lord Hobo (what a name!) brewery from Woburn, Mass called Boom Sauce, very good. It is an American IPA and has alcohol rating of 7.8 %. I was talking to bartender and mentioned recently having Julius from Treehouse Brewery, she said that Boom Sauce is what they have that is closest. It tasted great and I'm by no means an expert with Julius, only drank a few cans recently, but the Boom Sauce from Lord Hobo did remind me of it. It was in a 16 oz can. I'll have to see where I can get Lord Hobo and hopefully it isn't too expensive.

It is available in every store in eastern MA. It is a bit expensive. It's an odd beer. It's a blend of several other IPAs and DIPAs from Lord Hobo. I think Consolation Prize is their best. I hate "Steal This Can". It's also a bit inconsistent (and was VERY inconsistent when first released a year or so ago). Some batches are quite good, others, not so much. They have gotten better at that over time.

Their session IPA Hobo Life is well liked by many people. I'm not a huge fan because it's all Citra, which I find a bit jarring and astringent when it's the only hop used. But give it a try, lots of people love it.

 

[August_West]

Im checking out of this thread............. Y'all are sickos and have ruined good beer for me and everyone else. I spend more time in bars than most here therefore the following opinion is more valid.

You drink beer like nerds collect pokemen. It's all about how many different ones you drink and earning pathetic little badges as opposed to drinking what is best. You would rather have a bad beer they've never had before than something that is decent. In return that means less good beer is brewed and more bad to mediocre beer is made.
You would rather have a bad beer out of a can than a good one out of a bottle. This is absolutely true everywhere Ive gone straight from all of the distributors mouths. The Snobs and Hipsters are all "know it alls" but are really stupid in reality. You equate cans with freshness and bottles with lower quality because of something you read on line. In reality most small breweries that can have more quality control issues than breweries that bottle. Bigger breweries that can can make this argument however, because they can afford the proper equipment to scrub out all of the oxygen, sanitize better.
Local is considered better than out of state or out of county. This means that local beer will own every beer scene pushing many good non local ones out with bad local beer. Connecticut is the best example Ive ran across. No offense Connecticut but your local beer is god awful and thanks to your local hipsters and snobs it dominates. Coalesce is h3tty as hell though but we cant get it now because beer makers are hipster pansies who dont know how to run a business.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Im checking out of this thread... Y'all are sickos and have ruined good beer for me and everyone else. I spend more time in bars than most here therefore the following opinion is more valid.

You drink beer like nerds collect pokemen. It's all about how many different ones you drink and earning pathetic little badges as opposed to drinking what is best. You would rather have a bad beer they've never had before than something that is decent. In return that means less good beer is brewed and more bad to mediocre beer is made.
You would rather have a bad beer out of a can than a good one out of a bottle. This is absolutely true everywhere Ive gone straight from all of the distributors mouths. The Snobs and Hipsters are all "know it alls" but are really stupid in reality. You equate cans with freshness and bottles with lower quality because of something you read on line. In reality most small breweries that can have more quality control issues than breweries that bottle. Bigger breweries that can can make this argument however, because they can afford the proper equipment to scrub out all of the oxygen, sanitize better.
Local is considered better than out of state or out of county. This means that local beer will own every beer scene pushing many good non local ones out with bad local beer. Connecticut is the best example Ive ran across. No offense Connecticut but your local beer is god awful and thanks to your local hipsters and snobs it dominates. Coalesce is h3tty as hell though but we cant get it now because beer makers are hipster pansies who dont know how to run a business.

There are kernels of truth in this, but that's a broad brush you are painting with.
IPAs do hold longer in cans without oxydation breaking down the hop flavors and aromas. That said, you are correct that mobile canning systems are so-so compared to good bottling systems. Permanent canning systems are great, and places like the Alchemist are very good at canning. A year or two ago, even Pilsner Uquel went to cans (and light proof bottle packaging) because the realized the beer they shipped to the US sucked by the time it got here.

Local is fresh, and fresh is better. It's true for food and beer. I don't live in CT, but there are some good breweries there for sure. NEBCO, Beer'd, Kent Falls, Two Roads. Massachusetts has more of them. What you are complaining about is that many of these local breweries aren't all that good (Thomas Hooker anyone?). It's true. Lots of people hit these places and think the beer is great, and it isn't. Those beers may push other better beers off the shelf. But I've also seen great local beers in MA like Jack's Abby push crappy beers like Magic Hat off the shelf. I've also seen bigger brewers like Otter Creek and Long Trail vastly improve their beer to stay competitive.

What beers do you want that you can't get? I'm no hipster. I'm 50 and have been drinking good beer before those punks were born.

 

[8893]

Im checking out of this thread... Y'all are sickos and have ruined good beer for me and everyone else. I spend more time in bars than most here therefore the following opinion is more valid.

You drink beer like nerds collect pokemen. It's all about how many different ones you drink and earning pathetic little badges as opposed to drinking what is best. You would rather have a bad beer they've never had before than something that is decent. In return that means less good beer is brewed and more bad to mediocre beer is made.
You would rather have a bad beer out of a can than a good one out of a bottle. This is absolutely true everywhere Ive gone straight from all of the distributors mouths. The Snobs and Hipsters are all "know it alls" but are really stupid in reality. You equate cans with freshness and bottles with lower quality because of something you read on line. In reality most small breweries that can have more quality control issues than breweries that bottle. Bigger breweries that can can make this argument however, because they can afford the proper equipment to scrub out all of the oxygen, sanitize better.
Local is considered better than out of state or out of county. This means that local beer will own every beer scene pushing many good non local ones out with bad local beer. Connecticut is the best example Ive ran across. No offense Connecticut but your local beer is god awful and thanks to your local hipsters and snobs it dominates. Coalesce is h3tty as hell though but we cant get it now because beer makers are hipster pansies who dont know how to run a business.

Sweet melt.

 

[August_West]

What beers do you want that you can't get?

I dunno, let me check my app and see what pokemon ......... err..........beer badges are missing

 

[8893]

Local is fresh, and fresh is better. It's true for food and beer.

Spot on. I look at it as being macrobiotic about microbrews. The thing I think is ridiculous is when people feel the compulsive need to travel or trade for "it" beers when we have the likes of NEBCO and SoS brewed and available locally.

 

[August_West]

Spot on. I look at it as being macrobiotic about microbrews. The thing I think is ridiculous is when people feel the compulsive need to travel or trade for "it" beers when we have the likes of NEBCO and SoS brewed and available locally.

A crappy beer is a crappy beer fresh or not

 

[8893]

A crappy beer is a crappy beer fresh or not

Who's arguing with that?

If, on the other hand, you are suggesting that NEBCO and/or SoS are crappy beers, yeah, I will take serious issue with that.

 

[August_West]

Who's arguing with that?

If, on the other hand, you are suggesting that NEBCO and/or SoS are crappy beers, yeah, I will take serious issue with that.

You know I like NEBCO. SOS is a VT beer, but OK its very good.

The rest need to close shop.

 

[Rico444]

There are kernels of truth in this, but that's a broad brush you are painting with.
IPAs do hold longer in cans without oxydation breaking down the hop flavors and aromas. That said, you are correct that mobile canning systems are so-so compared to good bottling systems. Permanent canning systems are great, and places like the Alchemist are very good at canning. A year or two ago, even Pilsner Uquel went to cans (and light proof bottle packaging) because the realized the beer they shipped to the US sucked by the time it got here.

Local is fresh, and fresh is better. It's true for food and beer. I don't live in CT, but there are some good breweries there for sure. NEBCO, Beer'd, Kent Falls, Two Roads. Massachusetts has more of them. What you are complaining about is that many of these local breweries aren't all that good (Thomas Hooker anyone?). It's true. Lots of people hit these places and think the beer is great, and it isn't. Those beers may push other better beers off the shelf. But I've also seen great local beers in MA like Jack's Abby push crappy beers like Magic Hat off the shelf. I've also seen bigger brewers like Otter Creek and Long Trail vastly improve their beer to stay competitive.

What beers do you want that you can't get? I'm no hipster. I'm 50 and have been drinking good beer before those punks were born.

August is just trolling, don't pay him any mind. He knows there's plenty of great beer here in New England.

 

[8893]

You know I like NEBCO. SOS is a VT beer, but OK its very good.

The rest need to close shop.

SoS is brewed in Stratford. All of it.

I saw a lot of promise in a lot of other CT breweries but, to be fair, I have cut my beer consumption by around 95% over the past four months or so, so I can't say I've been keeping up with the latest offerings.

 

[Caronimo]

SoS is brewed in Stratford. All of it.

I saw a lot of promise in a lot of other CT breweries but, to be fair, I have cut my beer consumption by around 95% over the past four months or so, so I can't say I've been keeping up with the latest offerings.

I'm against traveling for beer. You could honestly spend 30 min (probably not even needed) driving around town asking for the top beers and you will come out with what you want and then some. Save the time to relax and drink instead of driving and waiting in lines etc. Plenty of good beer around CT.

 

[August_West]

SoS is brewed in Stratford. All of it.

Its not as good as the VT original version

 

[8893]

Its not as good as the VT original version

You realize that you just made yourself the caricature of what you railed against, right?

 

[HuskyHawk]

You know I like NEBCO. SOS is a VT beer, but OK its very good.

The rest need to close shop.

Have you had the stuff from Beer'd or Kent Falls? Hobbit Juice is better than SOS. Also, you never answered the question about what beer is somehow no longer available to you.

 

[August_West]

You realize that you just made yourself the caricature of what you railed against, right?

Yeah so?

Am I wrong? Im not a snob because.............. I have sworn off the whole ball of wax and have switched to Miller High Life. A consistent, clean brew.
Pairs perfectly with Arbys Brisket and Horsey

I could urinate in a growler of treehouse, stick it in the custom treehouse growler bag (and be honest here, how many of you hipsters in this thread have a custom growler bag? All of you, amirite?) and y'all would call it a revelation. Now do I think Treehouse beers are excellent? Absolutely. Do I think I could fool most people by pouring a Sierra Nevada in a Treehouse growler and then sit back and hear your raves? 100%

 

[8893]

Yeah so?

Am I wrong? Im not a snob because.... I have sworn off the whole ball of wax and have switched to Miller High Life. A consistent, clean brew.
Pairs perfectly with Arbys Brisket and Horsey

I could urinate in a growler of treehouse, stick it in the custom treehouse growler bag (and be honest here, how many of you hipsters in this thread have a custom growler bag? All of you, amirite?) and y'all would call it a revelation. Now do I think Treehouse beers are excellent? Absolutely. Do I think I could fool most people by pouring a Sierra Nevada in a Treehouse growler and then sit back and hear your raves? 100%

You're full of crap in almost every way here and you know it.

 

[Deepster]

Do I think I could fool most people by pouring a Sierra Nevada in a Treehouse growler and then sit back and hear your raves? 100%

Absolutely. 1000% true. And the Pokemon comparison is also spot on. It's not about enjoying a good beer, it's about bragging you drove 2 hours and waited in line all day for something that tastes like soap and pine needles.

 

[Dove]

Has anyone had the Death By Coconut porter by Oskar Blues? Was on tap at Knuckleheads and it was tasty. Just found a 4-pack and am looking forward to it Thursday.

 

[Sprague03]

NEBCo has Corliolis cans for sale this week and also double fuzzy baby ducks for growler fills. picked up 3 4-packs of Coriolis which is released every quarter. very very good beer.

 

[Waquoit]

Man! I wish the Wood n Taps in the Hartford/Manchester area would follow suit. That's a killer list.

I'm sure that was a special selection for the opening. ABC seems to have the best selection east of the river, imo.

 

[Brownie]

Absolutely. 1000% true. And the Pokemon comparison is also spot on. It's not about enjoying a good beer, it's about bragging you drove 2 hours and waited in line all day for something that tastes like soap and pine needles.

Except Treehouse beers don't taste like soap and pine needles.