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TrentonDevils

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Glad to hear the Sam Adam IPL is good stuff.  Seen alot of it in the local bodega, so I'll have to pick it up.  I'm also an outside fan of Yuengling.  Like many have said, it's a perfectly tasty bridge beer that everybody at the party can enjoy.  Their Black and Tan is actually quite good.  Much better than the Buds and Coors Lights that make up most "red solo cup soiree's".

 

And I agree with corzman, PBR is just fine if you have low funds and a high thirst, especially when it's $3 a pint at your after hockey bar.

Noooooooooo haha the sam IPL is absolutely atrocious. I just noticed this thread, im a manager for a liquor store down here in hazlet and i try a million different beers. Im a HUGE sam fan, but that IPL was an enormous swing and a miss. You cant give the stuff away, they try and mix an ipa and a lager and its just awful, even my salesman says its awful and the guy is selling it haha. The white lantern they came out with along with the IPL is good if youre into a lighter more floral type of beer. Their maple in the spring thaw variety was outstanding as well. I recently had Magic Hat Burnpile Smoked Porter and it was very good too if you're into that smokey flavor

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Noooooooooo haha the sam IPL is absolutely atrocious. I just noticed this thread, im a manager for a liquor store down here in hazlet and i try a million different beers. Im a HUGE sam fan, but that IPL was an enormous swing and a miss. You cant give the stuff away, they try and mix an ipa and a lager and its just awful, even my salesman says its awful and the guy is selling it haha. The white lantern they came out with along with the IPL is good if youre into a lighter more floral type of beer. Their maple in the spring thaw variety was outstanding as well. I recently had Magic Hat Burnpile Smoked Porter and it was very good too if you're into that smokey flavor

 

Eh everyone has different tastes.  It seems everyone in the world loves Founders beers but I think they are nothing special.  It's just what you like and don't like.  I used to dislike IPA's but now love them so tastes can even change over time.

 

  I bought the spring thaw case from them a week ago and I think the Maple Pecan porter is alright, but nothing great.  I do still think their IPL is awesome and really hits that sweet spot between a Lager and IPA.

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Being from north England, it has to be bitter or ale. Not sure which of these are available where you are but here goes:

 

John Smith's

Boddingtons

Hobgoblin

Stones's

Black Sheep

Theakston's Old Peculiar

Bombardier

 

Love them x

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I actually like Boddingtons and John Smith's very much and look for it when I can. Boddys is very creamy!

If you ever get the chance to try Black Sheep I definitely recommend it if you like those two. Boddys is so nice when chilled; goes down nice and easy!

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For all you IPA lovers - another current favorite - Ithaca Flower Power IPA. Excellent. Love IPAs with lots of hop-goodness!

 

Oh and tried Avery Maharaja IPA in a 750ml.  A+++ would drink again and again.  Lived across the street from this brewery for 2 years and never was able to try this.  

Edited by gardenstatepkwy
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At an English/Irish bar/restaurant in Montclair, N.J., recently, I tried Fuller's London Pride, an English pale ale, and thought it was pretty good. So I went home and found it in a liquor store near me and bought myself a sixer.

Edited by 95Crash
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  • 4 weeks later...

Finally got my hands on a 4 pack of Dogfish head Sixty-One. It's billed as a 60 minute IPA brewed with Syrah grape must.  First couple of sips were very interesting - wasnt sure if I liked it or not.  The more I drank it the more I liked it.  I got three distinct tastes from it - first I tasted the sweetness of the grapes, the middle had a very subtle hop taste and the back end was malty and bready to me.  The grape must definitely dulls out the hops of the original 60 minute IPA.  My girlfriend and I agreed that this brew would be good at picnics and BBQs due to it's lighter body and slightly fruity taste.  

 

On a side note has anyone here tried any of the beer apps out there? (Pintly, Brewgene, Untappd)  I'm looking for a way to keep track of all my tastings and such.  

Edited by gardenstatepkwy
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I don't know if anyone ever gets a chance to go into NYC, but if you do, you must check out a really cool bar called Rattle 'N' Hum a couple of blocks down from MSG on E. 33rd St. The place is a craft beer lover's delight. It has ranked at or near the top of a few different online lists of Best Beer Bars in NYC. I went there on Saturday, my third time ever. It hasn't let me down yet. I also checked out its sister bar Beer Authority, which opened up just over a year ago across the street from the Port Authority.

 

http://www.rattlenhumbarnyc.com/

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I don't know if anyone ever gets a chance to go into NYC, but if you do, you must check out a really cool bar called Rattle 'N' Hum a couple of blocks down from MSG on E. 33rd St. The place is a craft beer lover's delight. It has ranked at or near the top of a few different online lists of Best Beer Bars in NYC. I went there on Saturday, my third time ever. It hasn't let me down yet. I also checked out its sister bar Beer Authority, which opened up just over a year ago across the street from the Port Authority.

 

http://www.rattlenhumbarnyc.com/

 

 

Been there a few times over the years.  One time went on one of their "beer tour events" a couple years back.  The one I was on was to Dogfish Head.  Basically you get there early in the morning either 6 or 7AM and board a bus with the other people.  They have a keg on there (usually of beer from the brewery you are visiting that day) and you drink the entire way down.  When you get there you take a tour and have a tasting and a lunch.  Ours was a nice BBQ lunch and got to try a ton of different beers from there.  Then you get on the bus with another keg and drink the entire way back to NYC and you get to Rattle n' Hum at about 5-7PM.

 

Great but make sure someone who is sober is driving you back home from the bar.

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That sounds awesome.  What kind of bus is it and how many people were there?

 

It was a coach bus so it was pretty nice and confortable.  Ride each way was approx 3-3.5 hours. so plenty of time to get sloshed lol.  I didn't drink on the way down as I just have this thing about not drinking in the morning.  It's just too early for me.

 

The bus was almost full, so approx 40 -50 people.

 

Also tickets were about $100 each.  Not 100% sure on this but I can look back and see if I still have something from it if I remember to look later lol.

Edited by DevsMan84
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That sure does sound like a lot of fun.

 

I saw that Newjerseycraftbeer.com took a bus trip to Dogfish Head recently. They posted a bunch of photos on the NJCB website. I wish I had known about it beforehand. It's definitely something I'd like to do.

Edited by 95Crash
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Stone Enjoy by 5.17.13 has been distributed.  If you like IPAs you MUST go get this.  Was lucky enough to grab one last night at Joe Canals in Lawrenceville but had to ask an employee for it who fetched it from a stockpile in the backroom.  Looks like they are keeping it on the DL. Anyway it was excellent.  $7.49/22oz.

 

Take a look:

 

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/84596

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Stone Enjoy by 5.17.13 has been distributed.  If you like IPAs you MUST go get this.  Was lucky enough to grab one last night at Joe Canals in Lawrenceville but had to ask an employee for it who fetched it from a stockpile in the backroom.  Looks like they are keeping it on the DL. Anyway it was excellent.  $7.49/22oz.

 

Take a look:

 

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/147/84596

My local has this on tap and it's phenomenal.  I'm usually not a big fan of the Stone Enjoy By series, but they killed it on this one.  A must have for IPA fans.

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I had the Stone Enjoy by 5-17-13 on tap on Saturday and liked it a lot as well.

 

Has anyone had Founders All Day IPA or Founders Double Trouble? I saw both in stores near me and will probably give them a shot next before they're gone.

Edited by 95Crash
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I just heard that the All Day was light and a little fruity, good for hot days. I was thinking of putting a few aside for the summer, but will it still taste good?

 

On the one hand, people say to check the bottle date on beer bottles before buying them so that you know how fresh the beer is -- because supposedly it will taste better if it's still fresh.

 

But then on the other hand, I sometimes hear about people waiting a few years before opening their beer bottle, letting it age in the basement -- because supposedly it will taste better.

 

So which is it, do beers get old or do they get better with age? Or does it depend on the type of beer?

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I just heard that the All Day was light and a little fruity, good for hot days. I was thinking of putting a few aside for the summer, but will it still taste good?

On the one hand, people say to check the bottle date on beer bottles before buying them so that you know how fresh the beer is -- because supposedly it will taste better if it's still fresh.

But then on the other hand, I sometimes hear about people waiting a few years before opening their beer bottle, letting it age in the basement -- because supposedly it will taste better.

So which is it, do beers get old or do they get better with age? Or does it depend on the type of beer?

Depends on the type.

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Yeah hoppy beers you want to drink fresh.  The flavor of the hops fades over time so it won't taste as good later on.  It won't be bad for you like spoiled milk or anything like that, just won't taste the way it's meant to.  Big beers like imperial stouts, quads, and barleywines can be aged as the hops aren't really the focal point in those beers and the harshness of the high alcohol content will mellow out. 

 

There is some disagreement on certain varieties though, for example many say if it's a coffee stout it should be had fresh before the coffee fades out.  Bourbon barrel-aged stouts some say are better fresh before the bourbon flavor fades, but the rest of the beer sometimes will improve if you let it age for a while, so it's up to you to do some experimenting and see what aspects of these beers you want magnified when you drink it.  Sometimes for bourbon barrel-aged stouts I let them sit a few months so it mellows out without the bourbon flavor disappearing.

I like to age beers and then when I'm going to drink it I buy a fresh one so I can do a comparison.  When you do this with the same beer of a few consecutive years, it's called a vertical.  It's interesting to see how the beer changes from year to year.

 

If you're going to age beer, ideal conditions are a cool, dark place I think around 50 degrees.  Keeping beer refrigerated will slow down the aging, so if you're aging beer you don't want it just sitting in the back of the fridge for months.  The top shelf of a closet or something is probably a good spot.  I keep my aging beers in a kitchen cabinet.  It's probably not the perfect conditions since it gets hot in there sometimes, but I don't have a basement so it's good enough for me.

Edited by devilsfan26
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The only IPA I can think of that ages well is Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA which can get near 20% ABV with a little age. I guess you can call 120 an IPA although I think 90 Minute is a hoppier beer. :)

 

Good stuff there devilsfan26.

Well the aging has no effect on the ABV percentage but yeah you can definitely age that one, it's more like a barleywine than an IPA.  The 120 is hoppier than the 90, but it also has more of everything else lol.  I have had it fresh and didn't really care for it, felt like there was too much going on and it wasn't really that enjoyable.  I have a bottle that we are aging though so we'll see how that one is.

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Well the aging has no effect on the ABV percentage but yeah you can definitely age that one, it's more like a barleywine than an IPA.  The 120 is hoppier than the 90, but it also has more of everything else lol.  I have had it fresh and didn't really care for it, felt like there was too much going on and it wasn't really that enjoyable.  I have a bottle that we are aging though so we'll see how that one is.

 

I can only imagine how many different bottles you have aging right now LOL. I picture your kitchen cabinet stocked top to bottom with beer :lol:

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