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I was at a packie earlier, and was looking for something else. They didn't have it, but the guy shown me other stuff on a shelf. And then I seen Bitches Brew. Ended up getting that instead. Both cashiers were asking about it.
There's still one left over at Wines and More over on the Post Road.
I may have to run over there and grab it. I find that sometimes the other store accross the street in the shoprite plaza has a better beer selection.
Haven't been over there. I'm visiting a friend in town, and only know a handful of places.
Post by Dave Maynar on Dec 21, 2015 13:30:39 GMT -5
This weekend we went to
Angel City Smog City Absolution Monkish
My favorite of those is Monkish which is funny since it was a late add based off a Google search for breweries in Torrance (which is where we were at the time).
I've just recently discovered that I live fairly close to Jester King in Austin. Been there twice so far, and plan to head back soon and often!
If any beer lover is ever in Austin, do not hesitate to check this place out. The environment is super laid back. The brewery is on a working farm and there are tons of picnic tables set up everywhere. Several sets of corn hole are set up for people to play, and in the evening, there are fire pits going. They had some live music playing the last time I was there. Pets are welcome as well. Super delicious pizza place is 50 yards away on the same property. You can carry your beer back and forth, so you can order your pizza, grab a few beers, and they'll text you when your pizza is ready. And the pizza is absolutely incredible.
Overall, just a great setting that you can relax and enjoy some beers and pizza for hours.
Onto the beer.
I would have never considered myself a beer lover. In high school and college, I stuck to liquor over beer, I just didn't like the taste. Over the years, my palate has grown to accept beer more graciously. I've been experimenting with a bunch of different craft brews. I'd find some that were good, but very few would I actually really enjoy.
That's very different from my experience with Jester King so far. The majority of what I've had there I've really enjoyed, and would love to drink more. It seems I enjoy sours, saisons, and other farmhouse varieties. Really don't like IPA's, so I'd guess it's just certain hoppy flavors I don't like.
Jester King uses a mix of their own wild harvested yeasts and souring bacteria, and everything is unpasteurized and bottle/barrel conditioned.
Some of my favorites so far have been:
Das Wunderkind (sour, blended saison. freshly hopped young beer blended with sour, mature, barrel aged beer) Vulgar Affection (brewed with lemon beebalm and horehound, aged over a year since brewing) Noble King (normally a clean, hoppy ale, this current batch was very different. JK let it mature for an additional 8 months in the bottle, and it's now a sour, funky beer with some wonderful citrus notes)
This next weekend, they're releasing their newest blend. It's a barrel aged sour beer that's been refermented to dryness with Tempranillo grapes.
I've had a few other craft brews since my tastings at Jester King, and they just don't compare. They just taste like normal beer (which isn't that great to me), they lack the depth of flavor that Jester King has achieved.
Some long rambling, but I think I've found my favorite brewery!
NC brewery Red Oak has finally rebrewed and distributed one of my all time favorite beers with their Battlefield dobblebock. I don't think I've had it in some five years!
One of my local favorites has also released a peppermint infused variant of their regular stout that I'm currently all about. I've got three bombers left in my closet, but I think I might have to run by Gizmo Brewery and pick up a few more before it's all gone.
Post by Dave Maynar on Dec 30, 2015 9:42:55 GMT -5
Got this from the ladyfriend's family for Christmas. I'm interested to give it a go as they've apparently been brewing some version of a chipotle porter for years now.
Got this from the ladyfriend's family for Christmas. I'm interested to give it a go as they've apparently been brewing some version of a chipotle porter for years now.
I've recently gotten into porters, maybe I'll have to give this one a try. I've had a few of the Mikkeller beers and have enjoyed all of them. The vanilla sky was a pretty tasty one. Actually had a little hop to it and the vanilla wasn't too over powering.
Three Floys is one of my favorite breweries and I'm lucky enough to have fairly easy access to most of their beer. I've only had Yum Yum for the first time last month somehow. It's a super crisp session ale with a nice citrus kick to in. One of my new favorites.
Post by Dave Maynar on Dec 30, 2015 23:51:11 GMT -5
I was thinking about this earlier during a conversation with Rothric , and I've probably said it before, but can we take a quick moment to give a shout out to bottle design? As a reformed architecture major, I get into the design aesthetic of breweries almost as much as the beer. From this past weekend, I wanted to give a nod to Wicked Weed's Black Angel. Just look at it.
It probably helps that it is a pretty great beer.
On the tour of North/South Carolina this weekend, we hit up Wicked Weed in Asheville, Ole Hickory in Hickory, Steel String in Carrboro (with A$AP Rosko and Rummy 500) and Thomas Creek in Greenville. Whereas I liked all, Wicked Weed is easily just in a class above the rest. It was super busy at their main location too. There was easily a twenty minute wait at the downstairs bar, but we got lucky and found a spot at the common table upstairs which had a server covering it.
I was thinking about this earlier during a conversation with Rothric , and I've probably said it before, but can we take a quick moment to give a shout out to bottle design? As a reformed architecture major, I get into the design aesthetic of breweries almost as much as the beer. From this past weekend, I wanted to give a nod to Wicked Weed's Black Angel. Just look at it.
It probably helps that it is a pretty great beer.
On the tour of North/South Carolina this weekend, we hit up Wicked Weed in Asheville, Ole Hickory in Hickory, Steel String in Carrboro (with A$AP Rosko and Rummy 500) and Thomas Creek in Greenville. Whereas I liked all, Wicked Weed is easily just in a class above the rest. It was super busy at their main location too. There was easily a twenty minute wait at the downstairs bar, but we got lucky and found a spot at the common table upstairs which had a server covering it.
Wicked Weed really is so great - I was there two nights ago!
Did you try their French toast stout there? I got it because I liked the one from Steel String so much.
Considering you've found the need to respond to my threads as if you are threatened by me I offer you some peace my confused counterpart. May you find peace in your restless soul.
I was thinking about this earlier during a conversation with Rothric , and I've probably said it before, but can we take a quick moment to give a shout out to bottle design? As a reformed architecture major, I get into the design aesthetic of breweries almost as much as the beer. From this past weekend, I wanted to give a nod to Wicked Weed's Black Angel. Just look at it.
It probably helps that it is a pretty great beer.
On the tour of North/South Carolina this weekend, we hit up Wicked Weed in Asheville, Ole Hickory in Hickory, Steel String in Carrboro (with A$AP Rosko and Rummy 500) and Thomas Creek in Greenville. Whereas I liked all, Wicked Weed is easily just in a class above the rest. It was super busy at their main location too. There was easily a twenty minute wait at the downstairs bar, but we got lucky and found a spot at the common table upstairs which had a server covering it.
Wicked Weed really is so great - I was there two nights ago!
Did you try their French toast stout there? I got it because I liked the one from Steel String so much.
We did not. They were super slammed and weren't doing flights at that time, so we had to pare down the selection a little as we were drinking half pours and still had most of the drive ahead of us. I don't recall seeing it on the taplist though as that is one I would have went for if available. I do love my stouts.
Also, we also went to Fly Trap and Ironclad in Wilmington one night running around with her cousins. I forgot about them earlier as I was just thinking on the roadtrip stops.
Ya, some of the label art (yes art, not just a logo) really is impressive.
I've actually started saving my labels, they were too pretty to just throw in the recycle bin! It's been pretty easy to do so far, at least with the adhesive Jester King uses.
I just put the empty, room temp bottle into the cold oven. Turn the oven on to 225°, and leave it in for 10-15 minutes. Take it out with a pot holder, use a knife to pry up an edge, and then just carefully peel back the label. There is enough adhesive left on the label that I was able to stick it onto a piece of cardstock.
I've considered putting tasting notes on the cardstock, but will probably just end up putting the dates on the card that I had the beer.
Ya, some of the label art (yes art, not just a logo) really is impressive.
I've actually started saving my labels, they were too pretty to just throw in the recycle bin! It's been pretty easy to do so far, at least with the adhesive Jester King uses.
I just put the empty, room temp bottle into the cold oven. Turn the oven on to 225°, and leave it in for 10-15 minutes. Take it out with a pot holder, use a knife to pry up an edge, and then just carefully peel back the label. There is enough adhesive left on the label that I was able to stick it onto a piece of cardstock.
I've considered putting tasting notes on the cardstock, but will probably just end up putting the dates on the card that I had the beer.
You should consider using the Untappd app. I use it to keep track of all the beers I drink plus tasting notes. It's helpful if I'm staring at a super long draft list and can't remember if I liked or hated a beer haha. Plus it's fun/addicting to get badges for drinking accomplishments.
I was thinking about this earlier during a conversation with Rothric , and I've probably said it before, but can we take a quick moment to give a shout out to bottle design? As a reformed architecture major, I get into the design aesthetic of breweries almost as much as the beer. From this past weekend, I wanted to give a nod to Wicked Weed's Black Angel. Just look at it.
It probably helps that it is a pretty great beer.
Agreed that beer labels can be absolutely amazing and that they are indeed artwork. What's even crazier is that all beer labels have to be approved by the federal government www.ttb.gov/beer/beer-labeling.shtml.
The brewmaster at Wild Heaven told me a little bit about how crazy the restrictions are. They've had labels get rejected for having a baby on the label or a skull or some dumb bull shit. He said it's pretty much arbitrary based on whoever looks at your application because obviously plenty of beer labels have skulls on them.
They're also insanely strict about your descriptions. They had the Ode to Mercy label get sent back because it had the word coffee on it. The beer tastes very, very much like coffee but because they didn't use coffee as an ingredient it was deemed "false advertising" to include the word coffee on the packaging.
Long story short this insane process was part of the inspiration behind the design for Emergency Drinking Beer
It would've been one of my favorite labels regardless but knowing it's a little F you to the government makes it even better.
I was thinking about this earlier during a conversation with Rothric , and I've probably said it before, but can we take a quick moment to give a shout out to bottle design? As a reformed architecture major, I get into the design aesthetic of breweries almost as much as the beer. From this past weekend, I wanted to give a nod to Wicked Weed's Black Angel. Just look at it.
It probably helps that it is a pretty great beer.
On the tour of North/South Carolina this weekend, we hit up Wicked Weed in Asheville, Ole Hickory in Hickory, Steel String in Carrboro (with A$AP Rosko and Rummy 500 ) and Thomas Creek in Greenville. Whereas I liked all, Wicked Weed is easily just in a class above the rest. It was super busy at their main location too. There was easily a twenty minute wait at the downstairs bar, but we got lucky and found a spot at the common table upstairs which had a server covering it.
Did you go tothe Wicked Weed Funkatorium? It is easily one of my favorite drinking places in Asheville.
They tell us "Rock'n'roll is the devil's music." Well, let's say we know that rock is the devil's music, and we know that it is, for sure … At least he fuckin' jams! If it's a choice between eternal Hell and good tunes, and eternal Heaven and New Kids on the fuckin' Block … I'm gonna be surfin' on the lake of fire, rockin' out.
Hey all, I work for Sun King Brewery in Indianapolis and plan on bringing a lot of our beer with me, ill make sure to post my location on the farm so you can get some of Indiana's best beer. If you have a persona prefernce in style, IBU and/or ABV ill make sure to bring what pleases all
I was thinking about this earlier during a conversation with Rothric , and I've probably said it before, but can we take a quick moment to give a shout out to bottle design? As a reformed architecture major, I get into the design aesthetic of breweries almost as much as the beer. From this past weekend, I wanted to give a nod to Wicked Weed's Black Angel. Just look at it.
It probably helps that it is a pretty great beer.
On the tour of North/South Carolina this weekend, we hit up Wicked Weed in Asheville, Ole Hickory in Hickory, Steel String in Carrboro (with A$AP Rosko and Rummy 500 ) and Thomas Creek in Greenville. Whereas I liked all, Wicked Weed is easily just in a class above the rest. It was super busy at their main location too. There was easily a twenty minute wait at the downstairs bar, but we got lucky and found a spot at the common table upstairs which had a server covering it.
Did you go tothe Wicked Weed Funkatorium? It is easily one of my favorite drinking places in Asheville.
We went to the main location. It was her choice. We did try the Black Angel as it was on tap there. Neither of us are huge into sour beers, but we both loved it, so a trip to the Funkatorium definitely got added to the list for future Asheville visits.
Hey all, I work for Sun King Brewery in Indianapolis and plan on bringing a lot of our beer with me, ill make sure to post my location on the farm so you can get some of Indiana's best beer. If you have a persona prefernce in style, IBU and/or ABV ill make sure to bring what pleases all
Live in Indy, have had plenty of Sun King. He's not lying, shit is great.
Hey all, I work for Sun King Brewery in Indianapolis and plan on bringing a lot of our beer with me, ill make sure to post my location on the farm so you can get some of Indiana's best beer. If you have a persona prefernce in style, IBU and/or ABV ill make sure to bring what pleases all
I've heard of it, but haven't seen it before. Is there availability outside of Indiana?
I almost forgot! Rothric was my secret santa this year and he sent me two awesome beers from Jester King. One was the El Cedro, a saison aged in cedar barrels, and the other was Black Metal, a farmhouse stout. I drank the Cedro about a week ago and the Black Metal on New Years Eve. Both of them were awesome.
The Cedro was kind of unlike anything I'd had before. It was really, really piney--imagine that having been aged in cedar barrels--but not super bitters. It had some good citrus flavor and the mix of the brett yeast with the saison plus the cedar barrels made it a wholly new flavor for me. It was really good but I think if I'd had some good cheese or a tasty piece of chicken to eat with it I woulda been over the moon.
Now the Black Metal--holy hell I loved this thing. It was pitch black, super creamy and the head stuck around forever. It tasted just a little sweet with some coffee and chocolate flavors and was really, really drinkable... which was dangerous because it's like 11% alcohol. I think the sour yeast gave it a nice little kick and may have smoothed out some of the bitterness you'd typically get in a big, heavy stout. So yea, drink this one.
Overall review: I'm headed straight to Jester King the first time I ever make it to Texas. Thanks again, Rothric!
I almost forgot! Rothric was my secret santa this year and he sent me two awesome beers from Jester King. One was the El Cedro, a saison aged in cedar barrels, and the other was Black Metal, a farmhouse stout. I drank the Cedro about a week ago and the Black Metal on New Years Eve. Both of them were awesome.
The Cedro was kind of unlike anything I'd had before. It was really, really piney--imagine that having been aged in cedar barrels--but not super bitters. It had some good citrus flavor and the mix of the brett yeast with the saison plus the cedar barrels made it a wholly new flavor for me. It was really good but I think if I'd had some good cheese or a tasty piece of chicken to eat with it I woulda been over the moon.
Now the Black Metal--holy hell I loved this thing. It was pitch black, super creamy and the head stuck around forever. It tasted just a little sweet with some coffee and chocolate flavors and was really, really drinkable... which was dangerous because it's like 11% alcohol. I think the sour yeast gave it a nice little kick and may have smoothed out some of the bitterness you'd typically get in a big, heavy stout. So yea, drink this one.
Overall review: I'm headed straight to Jester King the first time I ever make it to Texas. Thanks again, Rothric!
I had a pour of the El Cedro last time I was at JK. The aroma from that one is incredible, I would have sworn I was sniffing a fresh mango had I been blindfolded.
I had a pour of the El Cedro last time I was at JK. The aroma from that one is incredible, I would have sworn I was sniffing a fresh mango had I been blindfolded.
Glad you enjoyed them!
Yea that beer was nuts. It's always so fun to taste something new that makes you say, "Dang, I didn't know beer could taste like this."
Got got my hands on one of these yesterday. What a great beer. I'm not into the rye stouts so much but being Bournon County I had to give it a try. Probably the smoothest 13.5% beer I've ever had.
I had a pour of the El Cedro last time I was at JK. The aroma from that one is incredible, I would have sworn I was sniffing a fresh mango had I been blindfolded.
Glad you enjoyed them!
Yea that beer was nuts. It's always so fun to taste something new that makes you say, "Dang, I didn't know beer could taste like this."
Ya, I believe that was my first dry hopped beer. I've always shied away from hoppy beers because I don't like the bitterness. Never realized hops could have those flavors/aromas.
I need to pick up a bottle of the Black Metal too. I had a glass the first time I was there picking up your bottles, and really liked it. Just never picked up a bottle for whatever reason.
Yea that beer was nuts. It's always so fun to taste something new that makes you say, "Dang, I didn't know beer could taste like this."
Ya, I believe that was my first dry hopped beer. I've always shied away from hoppy beers because I don't like the bitterness. Never realized hops could have those flavors/aromas.
I need to pick up a bottle of the Black Metal too. I had a glass the first time I was there picking up your bottles, and really liked it. Just never picked up a bottle for whatever reason.
You ever try any single-hop beers? It's when they use only one hop varietal for the flavor instead of a blend. You can end up with some really tasty brews that might be up your alley. I want to say something single-hopped with a citra hop should be easy enough to find and lower in bitterness.
And yea, jeez. That Black Metal. That was amazing. Definitely one of the best new (to me) beers I've had in quite some time.
Hey all, I work for Sun King Brewery in Indianapolis and plan on bringing a lot of our beer with me, ill make sure to post my location on the farm so you can get some of Indiana's best beer. If you have a persona prefernce in style, IBU and/or ABV ill make sure to bring what pleases all
I've heard of it, but haven't seen it before. Is there availability outside of Indiana?
no we plan on only ever being in Indy. It's unfortunate for other states but keeps us Indy's beer