BEER

[mouse]

After re-reading my previous post, it probably came off as bashing Dogfish Head more than I meant to.  I too like that they are constantly trying to innovate and make beers that have interesting stories behind them.  I think they're overrated because a lot of their beers are sweeter than I would prefer, and their famous IPAs aren't all that great with the exception of 120 Minute on tap.  The couple times I've had it from a bottle, it was a struggle to get through, but both times I was lucky enough to have it on tap, it was incredible.  I do appreciate what they're doing though and they are definitely one of the craft brewing industry's pioneers.

Agreed. I get Dogfish when I'm bored and willing to experiment, and go in with an open mind and no expectations. They're never gonna be one of my staples, because I can't afford to drink the stuff I like most with any regularity, and because, as far as a good IPA, winter stout, or summer lager go, they're not the best. Part of why I love craft beer is I can always get what I want, and my moods change regularly.

[gardenstatepkwy]

Schlafly T-IPA 

 

Also Cape May Brewery 6 packs soon!

 

http://newjerseycraftbeer.com/cape-may-brewing-co-6-packs-new-beers-and-more/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=New%20Jersey%20Craft%20Beer&utm_content=Cape%20May%20Brewing%20Co%206%20packs,%20new%20beers%20and%20more&utm_campaign=coschedule

 

Very good news.  Awesome for them.

Edited November 3, 2013 by gardenstatepkwy

[Bartholomew Hunt]

I had dogfish 60 minute awhile ago and I liked it, but honestly terrapins recreation is the best hoppy beer ive ever had, has anyone had it? If not I strongly recommend it.

Im drinking dogfish's kvasir right now. Its been said before, its a good story behind it, and its worth a try for sure but its not worth $13. It tastes more like a lambic than an ale. This is a swing and a miss for dogfish imo

[Bartholomew Hunt]

Im getting the following in tomorrow please let me know if anybody has tried any of them;

Fegley's Rude Elf

River Horse Belgian Freeze

Rogue Yellow Snow

Sly Fox Xmas

Blue Mountain Barrel Room Long Winter Naps

Breckenridge Christmas

Great Divide Fresh Hop

New Holland Cabin Fever

Rogue Santa's Private Reserve

B. Nektar Dwarf Invasion (Mead)

And next week

Terrapin Moo Hoo

Terrapin So Fresh, So Green Green

Lagunitas Brown Shugga

[devilsfan26]

Brown Shugga rules.

[mouse]

I don't know if they do the same recipe every year, but I loved Sly Fox Christmas last time I had it.

[mouse]

After re-reading my previous post, it probably came off as bashing Dogfish Head more than I meant to.  I too like that they are constantly trying to innovate and make beers that have interesting stories behind them.  I think they're overrated because a lot of their beers are sweeter than I would prefer, and their famous IPAs aren't all that great with the exception of 120 Minute on tap.  The couple times I've had it from a bottle, it was a struggle to get through, but both times I was lucky enough to have it on tap, it was incredible.  I do appreciate what they're doing though and they are definitely one of the craft brewing industry's pioneers.

Revisiting Dogfish (because I tried Palo Santo this weekend, and it reminded me why I love and hate Dogfish at the same time), they're great about being creative, but they really need to think things through more (there's a great article about them, the founder likes to try new stuff, his head brewer tries to temper him, sometimes he gets his way, sometimes he doesn't), or perfect them. It seems like, while Dogfish has some inspired beers (I loved Sahtea, even though it's really weird), they also have some beers that aren't as good as they should be. To me, Palo Santo fell into that category, especially because I'd tried Oskar Blues' Ten Fidy a week or 2 earlier, and that beer was damn near perfect, and a similar style. If Dogfish paid more attention to nailing their beers, rather than constantly pushing the envelope, but manages to keep the inspiration and creativity, that would be awesome.

[gardenstatepkwy]

That Palo Santo beer is aged in some gnarly ass wood tanks. That wood is no joke. It's bullet proof.

[Bartholomew Hunt]

Revisiting Dogfish (because I tried Palo Santo this weekend, and it reminded me why I love and hate Dogfish at the same time), they're great about being creative, but they really need to think things through more (there's a great article about them, the founder likes to try new stuff, his head brewer tries to temper him, sometimes he gets his way, sometimes he doesn't), or perfect them. It seems like, while Dogfish has some inspired beers (I loved Sahtea, even though it's really weird), they also have some beers that aren't as good as they should be. To me, Palo Santo fell into that category, especially because I'd tried Oskar Blues' Ten Fidy a week or 2 earlier, and that beer was damn near perfect, and a similar style. If Dogfish paid more attention to nailing their beers, rather than constantly pushing the envelope, but manages to keep the inspiration and creativity, that would be awesome.

If you have netflix streaming theres a show called Brew Masters on there about dogfish. I've never seen it before on tv. Anyway the first episode is about their Bitches Brew which I ironically just drank a bottle of about an hour ago. The beer was very good, oaky, chocolatey, roasted, and you can taste the bitterness from the gesho. I love stouts though. I really dont taste any honey though. Definitely a lot better than the Kvasir.

The owner of dogfish talks like keanu reeves though. And the head brewer reminds me of matt stone in baseketball. Also when they rap or show their stupid music video I get the worst case of the douche chills ive ever had in my life

Edited November 6, 2013 by Bartholomew Hunt

[95Crash]

Has anyone watched Brew Dogs on the Esquire Network? Love that show.

[devilsfan26]

Revisiting Dogfish (because I tried Palo Santo this weekend, and it reminded me why I love and hate Dogfish at the same time), they're great about being creative, but they really need to think things through more (there's a great article about them, the founder likes to try new stuff, his head brewer tries to temper him, sometimes he gets his way, sometimes he doesn't), or perfect them. It seems like, while Dogfish has some inspired beers (I loved Sahtea, even though it's really weird), they also have some beers that aren't as good as they should be. To me, Palo Santo fell into that category, especially because I'd tried Oskar Blues' Ten Fidy a week or 2 earlier, and that beer was damn near perfect, and a similar style. If Dogfish paid more attention to nailing their beers, rather than constantly pushing the envelope, but manages to keep the inspiration and creativity, that would be awesome.

I actually really like Palo Santo Marron.  I wouldn't compare it to Ten Fidy.  Palo Santo is a brown ale (although much heavier than typical brown ales of course) and Ten Fidy is an imperial stout. 

 

If you have netflix streaming theres a show called Brew Masters on there about dogfish. I've never seen it before on tv. Anyway the first episode is about their Bitches Brew which I ironically just drank a bottle of about an hour ago. The beer was very good, oaky, chocolatey, roasted, and you can taste the bitterness from the gesho. I love stouts though. I really dont taste any honey though. Definitely a lot better than the Kvasir.

The owner of dogfish talks like keanu reeves though. And the head brewer reminds me of matt stone in baseketball. Also when they rap or show their stupid music video I get the worst case of the douche chills ive ever had in my life

Brew Masters was a great show, but unfortunately whatever channel it was on moved it to a different day and time every single week so it was only possible to watch the show if you somehow knew when it was coming on or if you recorded it.  Also, the last episode never aired because MillerCoors threatened to pull their Blue Moon ads if the network didn't cancel the show.  Whatever it takes to avoid having to make their crappy beer actually taste better.

 

I was also expecting to taste more honey in Bitches Brew, but I guess maybe the honey aspect is just what smooths out the mouthfeel.  Their rap stuff is hilarious, I think you're just taking it too seriously.  They just do those things to mess around.

[mouse]

I actually really like Palo Santo Marron.  I wouldn't compare it to Ten Fidy.  Palo Santo is a brown ale (although much heavier than typical brown ales of course) and Ten Fidy is an imperial stout. 

 

 

Point, and I admit it may just be that I like stouts better than brown ales, but they're both somewhat sweet, high alcohol beers, and I noticed more complexity, and better flavors in the Oskar Blues. Either way, I wanted more out of Palo Santo. I can't really articulate what, but it felt, I dunno, close but not there yet? I admit this may be a personal thing, but I've felt that way about Dogfish before, and I say this as a Dogfish fan.

[devilsfan26]

For those in the New Brunswick area, World of Beer just opened up on the corner of George Street and Bayard Street.  According to their facebook page, they have 50 taps and 500 bottles.  You can check out their menu here.

[gardenstatepkwy]

For those in the New Brunswick area, World of Beer just opened up on the corner of George Street and Bayard Street.  According to their facebook page, they have 50 taps and 500 bottles.  You can check out their menu here.

 

Nice. Thanks for the tip.  Looks well worth checking out.

[DevsMan84]

For those in the New Brunswick area, World of Beer just opened up on the corner of George Street and Bayard Street.  According to their facebook page, they have 50 taps and 500 bottles.  You can check out their menu here.

 

I heard about that place opening up about a couple months ago.  Looks good and I will have to check it out sometime.

 

I think its in the same spot where a couple of sports bars used to be and I think one of them closed because of a shooting they had there about 2-3 years ago.

[gardenstatepkwy]

Went to World of Beer today with the girlfriend and old man both of which are huge craft beer fans.

The Good: Tap and bottle list.

The Bad. Awful awful service. Took us over 20 minutes to get a waitress and another 20 to get a beer. The waitress handed us a tap list dates Nov 2 and said that the date wasn't important because they had a lot of the beers listed there. We went through 4 beers before we asked "well ok, what do you actually have on tap?" Two of us decided on a Kane Overhead and when she came back she told us it wasn't Overhead but Head high. She never checked on us the whole time we had out beer and we intended to order food and more drinks but the service was so terrible we decided that one beer each was enough and we'd go somewhere else.

So to summerize more of the bad- severely outdated tap list.

- lack of dark tinting or curtains on upper of windowsade the tables that lines George Street difficult to use at 4pm due to glare.

I'd give this place another shot in a few months to give te a chance to work out te kinks but today's experience was not good at all. We ended up walking toGeroge Street ale house and had a much better time. Instant seating and service, good food, plenty of TVs and a decent craft selection.

[devilsfan26]

That's disappointing to hear, I was there the day they opened but during the afternoon so it wasn't that crowded.  Started filling up as we were leaving though.  Although the first or second beer I tried to order they said they were out of too.  With so many options it seemed weird to me that they would have run out of a beer an hour into their grand opening.  They did have a couple soft opening days last weekend for friends and family of the staff and then for facebook friends, but it still didn't seem very likely that one of their beers would have run out that quickly.  I still need to check out George Street Ale House.

[DevilMinder]

Anyone hear about this place? New brewpub opening on Manchester/Toms River border https://www.facebook.com/RinnDuinBeer

 

Description

Fathers and daughters experience many of life’s firsts together and opening a microbrewery has been an incomparable first for Chip & Jacqui Town. Inspired by their family’s indubious heritage, originating from County Roscommon Ireland, Rinn Duin Brewing is crafting characteristically traditional, yet distinctive ales of the UK and Ireland.

[Onddeck]

I work in Delaware (live In philly) and have recently found my favorite beer growing up in a few of Delawares distributors.

I grew up in Colorado and the beer is Fat Tire, from the New Belgium brewery. It's nothing spectacular but it's everything I want in a beer. They also have other New Belgium beers, the first time I've seen them in the east coast. Nice!

Edited November 26, 2013 by Onddeck

[gardenstatepkwy]

Yeah New Belgium is expanding into the northeast. It's awesome.  Last time I was in Delaware I think I bought about $100 worth of Ranger, Rampant, Fat Tire and Trippel.

 

I don't think we'll see them in NJ until their new brewery in Ashville NC is open though.

[mouse]

This thread's been quieting down lately, so I have an idea.

 

List your favorite "everyday" beer in each of the 3 basic categories. I'm not asking your favorite beer, and I know there is a lot more variety out there, I just want to see the beer you'd get a 6 pack of, or order a couple times in a bar night. Here goes for me:

 

Refreshing lager -- Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold, honorable mention Sly Fox Lager

 

Pale Ale -- Great Divide Titan IPA, honorable mention Stone Levitation

 

Stout/porter -- Victory Donnybrook (this one was tough for me, because I mostly drink fancy stouts, because I don't drink them that often).

[devilsfan26]

I don't think I even have an "everyday" beer.  I usually get six or four packs as opposed to single bottles since it's more cost-effective, but I don't have anything that I always have in my fridge or buy on a regular basis, and I never buy the same beer at a bar twice in the same night unless nothing else on their menu interests me enough.  I guess it's because I prefer variety over quantity, and if I buy more of the same beer, that's a missed opportunity to try something I haven't had before.

 

With that said, I was at a Founders tap takeover at Barcade in Brooklyn last week and I did have two glasses of their special edition version of Breakfast Stout.  It was poured from a firkin and brewed with bourbon soaked red raisins, cinnamon, and bourbon soaked vanilla beans.  Man that was one delicious beer.  The cinnamon was probably the most prominent of flavors in that one.  I hope I come across it again, but it was a small experimental batch that has been served at maybe a handful of places at most, nobody has even listed it on beeradvocate.com yet.

[gardenstatepkwy]

Ohh you're killing me mouse. That's a very difficult question.  I'm with df26 in that I like to try beers I haven't had before so you won't see me repeat buying a particular beer too much.  I also keep an eye out for those special tappings and one-off kind of beers like that firkin of Breakfast Stout df26 tried.  All that being said I can try to capitulate and make a list of some of my favorites in certain styles in the best interest of stoking this thread

 

I'll keep it to around 3 beers per category.

 

Refreshing/Lighter Beer (This is a style I don't drink much but as far as "lighter" beers go...)

Carton Boat Beer

Odell's Levity Amber Ale

New Belgium Fat Tire

 

Pale Ale

Oskar Blues Dales

Deschutes Mirror Pond

Full Sail Pale Ale

 

IPA (IPAs are my favorite so I could easily list 20 "favorite" beers here)

Ska Brewing Modus Hoperandi,

Ithaca Flower Power

Dogfish 75 Minute

 

IIPA Bonus

Firestone Double Jack

Avery Maharaja

Stone Enjoy By

 

Stout/Porter

Goose Island Bourbon County Stout

Dogfish World Wide Stout

Dogfish Miles Davis Bitches Brew

 

 

These were off the top of my head. Sorry for cheating and adding categories and extra beers but hey I didn't add pumpkin beer although I am obsessed with them 

[mouse]

I know, I have a massive list, and don't try the same thing too often either. I was just bored and wanted to see some basic favorites. 

 

 

 

Oskar Blues Dales

 

I've been loving Oskar Blues lately. Deviant Dales is one of the best IPAs I've had recently.

[devilsfan26]

I guess to somewhat answer the question, of the beers that are readily-available all year long, one of my favorites is Exit 4 by Flying Fish.