state your beer, drinkers

[renski]

shufon: I'd say it was good but I didnt really plan the order of which was consumed, it was pretty tart but I drank the expo before lost abbey so my taste buds could have been hopped out.

[shufon]

Been meaning to try Rodenbach Grand Cru forever concealed, just never think about it when I'm in the beer store. I also didn't realize it's that cheap.. will probably pick up a few bottles next beer run.

@ren - After having Pure Hoppiness, I can imagine Expo completely kills any ability to taste other beers after it.

[renski]

I'm not much of a wid ale consumer as I enjoy IPAs but im trying to venture outside of my usual pint.

[shufon]

Go get Supplication or batch 4 Temptation.. pretty sure you have easy access to both.. those are amazing sours to try if you're just getting into them. Ahh man my fridge is full of awesome IPAs right now but I think I'm going to crack a sour tonight instead, haha.

Also, I just discovered Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido.. about to place an order with them. Have you been there ren?

[Stylish Pilot]

Lagunitas Gnarly Wine was actually really solid. Very impressed with it. Had plenty of sweet alcohol flavors balanced with a lot of hops and still some citrus flavors in there.

[renski]

have not been there yet. it's a bit of a drive from me but it's near stone. their prices are ok but it really depends on what your buying.

[shufon]

^Yeah their prices are pretty varied but they seem on point for the most part... I appreciate them selling different years of the same beer at different prices because at least they know the difference (unlike most beer stores). I've used KLWines in the past to order stuff from Cali because they're usually the cheapest but they stopped shipping outside of CA.. they have the new Sanctification for $8.99 but won't ship it to me.. everywhere else is $11.99+ :\

Anyway.. couldn't go out to the bars tonight, so I drank one of these at home:

And my last couple of these while they're still drinking well:

[renski]

there was another one in san diego which i heard was good too but never bothered. i think it was beverages for less. i know they ship or did ship at one point.

[Jkerman]

Found a spot that has a good selection of foreign and microbrews locally.

P.S. I understand its a faux pas to keep beers lying down but they don't stay in there long.

[concealed]

hop juice mmm

grand cru is much better, but this is still tasty!

[renski]

I think another expo is on tonites menu.

[shufon]

Took my growler of Jai Alai over to my friend's house tonight.. it was flat she didn't mind but I drainpoured my glass of it. Went out to the bars, Nugget Nectar on tap as of 3 days ago at the first place we went... flat as could be..

Finally went to my friend's bar.. chief (owner of Ithaca Beer) and the owner of Iron Hill Brewery out of Delawere were there.. they gave me free pints of a sour porter they're collaborating on.. should be out in May.. made up for all the flat beer, haha.

[shufon]

Oh also picked up a bottle of 2008 Ithaca Old Habit my friend had at his bar..

[Manx]

Hey gang,

Is anyone here into Berliner Weisse (sans syrup):

( Berliner Style Weisse by Bayerischer Bahnhof Brau & Gaststättenbetrieb GmbH & Co.)

(Professor Fritz Briem 1809 Berliner Weisse)

and/or Flemish Sours?

The Petrus Aged Pale might be my favorite beer.

Anybody into these styles? They're not for everyone. Highly acidic and mostly tart.

[concealed]

hell ya, just difficult/expensive to find here

are you european?

[Manx]

Nah, I'm from Baltimore.

Thankfully we have an excellently stocked store in Towson, MD called Wells that carries "obscurities."

I just really can't see why these are "dead" styles over here. I would assume that they would take off like hotcakes given the appeal they would have to crafters.

[shufon]

^Somebody threw in a couple of those you posted as extras on a trade I got last week. The 1809 and the Monk's Flemish Sour Ale. I've had the latter before and it's pretty underwhelming imo compared to other beers I've had of the same style.

I wouldn't really consider Flemish Red a "dead" style.. a decent number of craft breweries are making oud bruins. Not many of them have ventured into making berliner weiss beers but I've seen a few pop up recently..

I think with the American wild ale and traditional lambics/gueuzes taking off in popularity among the craft crowd, oud bruin and berliner weiss have taken a backseat as they are on the less extreme end of the spectrum of sour (and generally the craft crowd goes for more extreme beers).

[Manx]

I can't seem to find much variation on oud bruins around here. In fact, those are the only two I've had. In Maryland you have to hunt by foot for beer. You can't order beers here. That might change soon, though. The Monk's definitely put more emphasis on the sweeter end of things than the other. I preferred the Petrus but still like monks. I'm going to Philly next weekend and might stop by there to check it out. Anyone ever been there? If I could mail order I would probably go bat shit for a while and spend too much. It's a crime, really. Can you recommend any?

As far as any american takes on lambics and the like, I can't find any. Reccs?

I did have a fantastic Faro recently, though. My first. I preferred it, actually.

On a side note, I've heard a lot of people complain about the Petrus actually being too extreme in its acidity for them. These people, however, are firmly grounded in the ultra-trendy and overrated American IPA obsession. I don't think their palettes are too mature. That sounds pretentious but it's probably truth.

[shufon]

If you're going to Philly, find a bar with Russian River beers.. pretty sure you can get Consecration and Supplication around there. Supplication is one of the best beers I've ever had and sounds like something you would like -- sour brown ale aged in oak with sour cherries.. it's expensive but totally worth it imo.

As far as oud bruins in particular, some I know off the top of my head are Ommegang Zuur, Kuhnhenn Olde Brune, Lost Abbey Red Poppy Aly, Deschutes The Dissident, and The Bruery Oude Tart. The Zuur should be fairly easy to come by if you're in Maryland.

As far as people saying Petrus is too extreme in acidity.. you're not hanging around the right beer nerds

[Manx]

If you're going to Philly, find a bar with Russian River beers.. pretty sure you can get Consecration and Supplication around there. Supplication is one of the best beers I've ever had and sounds like something you would like -- sour brown ale aged in oak with sour cherries.. it's expensive but totally worth it imo.

As far as oud bruins in particular, some I know off the top of my head are Ommegang Zuur, Kuhnhenn Olde Brune, Lost Abbey Red Poppy Aly, Deschutes The Dissident, and The Bruery Oude Tart. The Zuur should be fairly easy to come by if you're in Maryland.

As far as people saying Petrus is too extreme in acidity.. you're not hanging around the right beer nerds

I'm glad you told me about this thread. I'm about to get so schooled!

I've had a bunch of the Ommegang and I've never seen that one stocked. I'm going to do a little google sniff for my Philly day trip. I'm actually going to drop by the understocked mens section of the barneys up there praying that my high maintenance Korean girlfriend doesn't see anything she likes.

Thanks for the input!

Also, know any good Faros?

[shufon]

Hah I was actually just about to ask you what brand faro you tried recently as it's a style I've never had. There are only about 15-20 faro lambics brewed so I've never seen it in stores anywhere. Going purely based on my knowledge of breweries though, I'm sure you can't go wrong with the Cantillon or Drie Fonteinen faros, although they're probably impossible to find anywhere.

[Manx]

Hah I was actually just about to ask you what brand faro you tried recently as it's a style I've never had. There are only about 15-20 faro lambics brewed so I've never seen it in stores anywhere. Going purely based on my knowledge of breweries though, I'm sure you can't go wrong with the Cantillon or Drie Fonteinen faros, although they're probably impossible to find anywhere.

I was a guest when I had this Faro and I remember asking the dude if I could have the bottle so that I could hunt it down. I forget the name and I'll find out the next time I talk to this guy. I do know that a relatively easy one to find is by lindemans. They make the lambics that you can find in most liquor stores. Contrary to what I said before, I have actually had that one before and I thought that it was pretty good. I really liked it, actually, but the more obscure variation that I had recently blew my load.

[shufon]

Ahh I'm familiar with Lindeman's.. not really a fan of their lambics because of all the extra sugar they add. Their Cuvee Rene gueuze is decent though as it's not artificially sweetened. It's also pretty cheap for a sour ($12ish for a 750ml).

[concealed]

anything by cantillon or drie fonteinen is a good bet

rodenbach makes good oud bruin

russian river, jolly pumpkin, cascade, some allagash, ithaca's brute (figured shufon would mention), new belgium la folie are all solid american sours

unless its for your girlfriend, avoid lindeman's

[Manx]

anything by cantillon or drie fonteinen is a good bet

rodenbach makes good oud bruin

russian river, jolly pumpkin, cascade, some allagash, ithaca's brute (figured shufon would mention), new belgium la folie are all solid american sours

unless its for your girlfriend, avoid lindeman's

I feel the same way. I always found Lindeman's to be cheap. It's an embarrassing thing to bring to the table, like an appletini.

Thanks for the life lesson, fellas. I'm going to sniff around and see what I can scrounge up around here.

[concealed]

I assume you are on beeradvocate as well?

http://beeradvocate.com/beerfly/city/2

this would be a good place to check out if you are not

[shufon]

concealed covered American sours pretty thoroughly -- I'd say try to find some Jolly Pumpkin as it's the easiest of all those to get on the east coast. Allagash should be in MD too although their stuff is overpriced imo.. other than that hunt down Russian River and Cascade in Philly while you're there.

And yeah, Brute is awesome

Just got 2 bottles of 2009 from the manager of the tasting room at the brewery.. have a vertical started now. Can't wait for the 2011 to come out, going to pick up a couple of cases

[soonami]

I'm at Penn for grad school so I get around Philly a good bit. Monk's is definitely a great place to try a lot of different things and they often have a RR beer on tap. I would just recommend going early afternoon before 4 because that place always draws a crowd. Other good places to check out in the area are Latimer Deli on 15th and Walnut-ish, Food and Friends on 20th and Spruce, The Foodery on 10th or 11th and Pine. There's another Foodery at 2nd and Poplar in Northern Liberties that has a better selection but it's kinda out of the way.

Other good bars to consider in Philly are South Philly Taproom, Local 44, Kraftwork, City Tap House, Memphis Taproom, Eulogy, and Pub on Passyunk East (POPE). A really good case store in the city is Bella Vista, they have everything including recently RR Sanctification, Supplication, Consecration, Voodoo Black Magick, Founders Breakfast Stout, Hopslam... Hawthorns, cafe and bottle shop across the street, is expensive, but they have just about anything you'd want.

In the suburbs, I would definitely check out Pinocchio's in Media, it just off the I-476 a couple miles north from I-95. They have a really great selection and the beer manager, Andy, is a great guy that'll help you out. Another nice stop is Frontier Saloon in Ridley/Folsom. It's closer to I-95 and they have a decent selection but will usually give you a 6-pack discount on beer including bombers and RR beers. Another place further from I-95 is Capone's up in East Norriton; they have a really good selection of limited release bottles. The pricing is on the more expensive side for stuff you can find elsewhere, but they have RR, vintage bottles of a lot of beers like Stone Double Bastard and Founder or Bells. The places in the suburbs keep RR a little bit longer and have better prices.

I can't seem to find much variation on oud bruins around here. In fact, those are the only two I've had. In Maryland you have to hunt by foot for beer. You can't order beers here. That might change soon, though. The Monk's definitely put more emphasis on the sweeter end of things than the other. I preferred the Petrus but still like monks. I'm going to Philly next weekend and might stop by there to check it out. Anyone ever been there? If I could mail order I would probably go bat shit for a while and spend too much. It's a crime, really. Can you recommend any?

As far as any american takes on lambics and the like, I can't find any. Reccs?

I did have a fantastic Faro recently, though. My first. I preferred it, actually.

On a side note, I've heard a lot of people complain about the Petrus actually being too extreme in its acidity for them. These people, however, are firmly grounded in the ultra-trendy and overrated American IPA obsession. I don't think their palettes are too mature. That sounds pretentious but it's probably truth.

[soonami]

Drank tonight:

Kern River Citra IPA

Other beers drunk with friends:

Stone Belgo Old Guardian

Left Hand 400 Monkeys

Rock Art Black Moon

Some Renaisance beers from NZ: Scotch Ale, Porter, IIPA

Terrapin Big Vladdy Daddy

[shufon]

Nice one on the Kern River, heard that is a great IPA.

Btw soonami, have a question about PA beer laws -- what's the situation with what quantity places are allowed to sell? I'm under the impression most places can only sell by the case or something to this extent? Can you give me some insight on this as I'm going to be driving down to PA soon for a beer run.