Beer!

What IPA's would you place on par with sculpin that are readily available in six packs? I used to default to stone and golden road, but I don't think either quite lives up, and although pricey, our local TJ's is now selling the sculpin line for $13.50. True craft beers like Pliny the Elder (got my hands on a bottle a couple of weeks ago!) are obviously a rung above, but I can't source and buy that on a weekly basis.

 

Year round? Bell's Two-Hearted Ale, Dogfish Head 60 Minute, Cigar City Jai Alai, Uinta Hop Nosh, Victory Dirt Wolf / Hop Ranch, Bear Republic Racer 5, Heavy Seas Loose Cannon. Eight beers off the top of my head that are just as good fresh.

 

Thanks for the list! Racer 5 is the only one of those that I've had - my wife's family is in headsburg, so we can get that right from the source (although TBH, I prefer their brown ale), but I will keep my eyes peeled for the rest.

 

@Psalmanazar - tried a sixer of Bell's two-hearted, and it is quite good! Still prefer sculpin IPA for about $1 more in my area, but I suspect San Diego beer is generally fresher than MI beer in SoCal.

Enjoying something new at the moment: ballast point victory at sea porter on draft at intelligentsia in Pasadena. Pretty tasty with a lot of coffee and vanilla notes and 10% abv. That said, Black Butte on draft is still better.

 

Brief Review:

Obsidian Stout: The greatest. Plain and simple. Fresh Squeezed IPA is good, too.

 

got a handle of New Belgium Rampant, quite to my liking compared the more ubiquitous Fat Tire.

 

I agree. Fat Tire is quite bland to my taste. Not terrible, but it is rarely my first pick.

 

That said, New Belgium usually isn't my first pick in breweries overall. Rampant is good and Abbey is fantastic, but Deschutes, Rogue and Sierra Nevada are usually just as affordable, if not more so, and offer better options. Here in the northwest, New Belgium has stiff competition.

 

I hear Fat Tire started as a bottle-conditioned clone of Palm and has been dumbed-down into an American "craft" beer amber ale as the brewery moved around. Much blander malts, mashing, and yeast. I'd rather drink Yuengling or Shiner honestly. Actually Yuengling Traditional Lager and Shiner Bock are just better beers, adjuncts be damned.

The 1554 Black Lager is excellent though except for the touch of warming alcohol on the finish. I'm drinking it right now.

 

1554 is quite good. And I would agree on Yuengling being better than Fat Tire, despite Yuengling being my bottom line. That's about as low as I'm willing to go for beer, and Fat Tire doesn't even quite reach that unless there's really nothing good on tap.

Great Divide is another brewery I'm pretty fond of, now that I give things a little more thought. Yeti is a little too sweet for my tastes sometimes, but a fantastic stout nonetheless, and one of the only beers that can convince me that just one is enough.

 

Just discovered a very tasty beer. American River Brewing Coloma Brown Ale. It's brewed in Sacramento so it might be a little hard to find.

 

Anyone have any advice on aging Chimay Blue? I have a few bottles and I want to put one in the cellar and forget about it.

 

Jubelale by Deschutes: I'm actually a little floored by this one. Maybe I need to revisit it with a slightly more sober mind and palette, but I have to say that at the moment I am stumped. It's one hell of a beer, though. I'm thoroughly impressed. Yet another winner for my favourite brewery.

 

Deschutes Inversion IPA: Pleasantly hoppy profile. Strong citrus flavor, with considerable complexity. It's difficult to separate one flavor from another, but it is also not one note. More like a fine blend of flavors and aromas. Good IPA, but I prefer ones that are a little simpler or that produce flavors bold enough to separate from one another. I'd give it a 7/10, give or take.

 

Resurrection MFers!!!

So, has anybody else tried Quebec's La Fin Du Monde, by Unibroue? Its when a French Canadian wants to copycat Belgium beer but deny that's what they are doing...

Very nice blonde color without being transparent. Very smooth flavor with a hint of spice. I tried a couple 750ml bottles then only realized they are 9% alcohol by volume. So they are kinda kicking me in the balls...lol

 

Not a big fan of the style in general but a good beer overall. My wife loves the stuff. The Binny's by us had it on sale for ~5 bucks a bomber awhile back which is a great deal IMO.