[daigo]

Quote:

I envy you NorCal'ers - I first got into beer when I was working in SF as a travel RN and I had no idea how great Russian River beers really were until I left.  
 
If you're in Wisconsin, New Glarus beers come mighty close, though (Just not Fat Squirrel or Spotted Cow).

I've tried quite a few of New Glarus's beers when I had a contact there with whom I would exchange beers with.  We do have access to a nice variety of beer here in northern California, but there are plenty of great beers in the mid west that we don't have access to as well.  The great thing about beer are all the nice regional breweries that makes every location unique.

 

[daigo]

Quote:

I had some Pliny the Elder on tap a few years ago and while it was good, I think I've had better IPA's. Then again, I'm not a die hard IPA fan. I've heard good things about New Glarus, too bad they aren't distributed in this area.
 
I finally got my hands on a bottle of KBS yesterday after several years of trying. I really owe it to my girlfriend, who waited for three hours at the local liquor store for the truck to come in. I think I owe her a nice dinner!

 
Your girlfriend sounds like a keeper.  KBS is worth a try, but I haven't sought it out in a couple of years

 

[sharkz]

I'm hoping its worth the hype or at least different enough from BCBS, my current benchmark (of which I still have 8 bottles left).
 
The Mid-West really does have some good brews. I am really looking forward to visiting 3 Floyds when I visit Chicago next month. I already did Goose Island when I was there last November and that was a great experience as well.

 

[daigo]

Quote:

I'm hoping its worth the hype or at least different enough from BCBS, my current benchmark (of which I still have 8 bottles left).
 
The Mid-West really does have some good brews. I am really looking forward to visiting 3 Floyds when I visit Chicago next month. I already did Goose Island when I was there last November and that was a great experience as well.

 
Having BCBS and KBS side by side, I prefer BCBS by a fairly significant margin because I think the Founders imperial stouts are just a bit too thin for my liking.  It tastes good, but I like the thicker tongue coating imperial stouts more.  

 

[sharkz]

I've been wanting to do some nice reviews for a while, so I figured this is a good way to start things off.....
 

 
This review has been a long time coming because I have tried unsuccessfully the past two years to get a bottle of KBS. I finally succeeded this year and was happy as a clam. Right off the bat let me start by saying this beer might be the biggest disappointment I have ever had in the beer world. In my opinion, this doesn't even come close to the hype. There I said it.
 
My current standard for any beer, but especially anything bourbon aged is Goose Island BCBS. I still have 8 bottles of this and love it, plus I can get it relatively easily and I've had it on tap as well. The KBS is no where near as good to me. I got very little bourbon or vanilla from the KBS, it was like regular breakfast stout (lots of coffee) with a little extra burn and not much else. The BCBS is sweet with both vanilla tastes and a nice bitterness from the stout, all while containing a little extra burn that I enjoy. The KBS just had none of this and no real hint of the bourbon barrels it was aged in at all. It tasted like a slightly hotter Breakfast stout. Not sure if I got a bad batch or what, but I really don't understand what the insanity around this beer is.
 
I wanted to like this beer more than anything else I have ever drank, but it just didn't do it for me. I have had a lot of great bourbon beers and a lot of mediocre ones. For me this is one of the more mediocre (and disappointing) brews. I will definitely try it again next year, but I doubt I will try nearly as hard to get it.

 

[Tinola]

I hate you sir for having KBS. Maybe you're too used to the thickness of the BCBS since the KBS would be rather thin(Lower alcohol)

 

[sharkz]

Nothing to hate on. I would have mirrored your sentiment this time yesterday to someone who got some KBS, but it really wasn't anything special. Stock up on BCBS and enjoy that. This debacle has me really wanting to try some BCBCS, too bad I couldn't get any this year. Maybe next year....

 

[sharkz]

Another thing related to the KBS too is that I know founders can make a good Bourbon beer. I have a 4 pack of Backwoods person and it is fantastic. Great bourbon taste, something that the KBS is lacking. It kind of makes me wonder if the KBS I got was missing something? I also have a bottle of Curmudgeon Better Half that has been aging a while that I am hoping is more Backwoods and less KBS.

 

[daigo]

Quote:

Nothing to hate on. I would have mirrored your sentiment this time yesterday to someone who got some KBS, but it really wasn't anything special. Stock up on BCBS and enjoy that. This debacle has me really wanting to try some BCBCS, too bad I couldn't get any this year. Maybe next year....

 
I didn't like last year's BCBCS that I tried, wasn't a fan of the coffee they used as it tasted like stale drip coffee.  Ended up trading my extra bottle away that I had picked up in another trade.  

 

[s1rrah]

Stone's "Sublimely Self Righteous Ale"
 
It's a fav of mine. It's tasty, big and hoppy and pretty damn potent at 6.9% ABV. 
 
And, I love the demon graphic on the bottle (and Stone's label art in general).
 
So, I buy and drink it on a fairly regular basis; I consider it a sure thing in regards to ales.
 
...
 
 

 
...
 
Yes, those are Koss Portapros at bottom right, with Grado bowls as ear pads.
 
It's not for this post but I just have to say, that combination, the Koss Portapros and classic Grado bowls as ear pads? Sh1za!! Dude ... it's almost as good as my GS1000's or my roommates Beyer T1's ... only without the obvious soundstage/detail aspects. But I won't say more ... do your own research.
 
The stock Portapros are pretty damn good, far better than the typical asking price. But put some Grado bowls on them? Or even some HD414 pads (reverse) and when properly amp'd ? **** man. ****.
 
Sh1za!!
 
Freakishly good.
 
(so is that Stone ale, btw)
 
 
 
.joel

 

[disastermouse]

My favorite beer styles are Belgian and Berliner wiesse.  The later is especially hard to find.  I really wish brewers would get off the hop train and get onto the sour 'flanders' type beer train instead.  It makes for a much better summer beer and it doesn't give me instant heartburn.

 

[Tinola]

Should move to Germany or Belgium then..

 

[daigo]

Quote:

My favorite beer styles are Belgian and Berliner wiesse.  The later is especially hard to find.  I really wish brewers would get off the hop train and get onto the sour 'flanders' type beer train instead.  It makes for a much better summer beer and it doesn't give me instant heartburn.

Funny you say that flanders style beers doesn't give you instant heartburn with all the acid in the beers  I know going to sour beer fests can be interesting for my stomach.  Brewers have been moving toward trying more and more wild ales and brettanomyces saisons or to English brewing roots with bitters and milds around here a little.  Of course, most brewers will also have their double and even triple IPA's around here on the west coast.

 

[El_Doug]

You may get your wish sooner than you think - New Belgian has a new goal of becoming the nation's largest sour producer, and it wouldnt surprise me if others follow in their footsteps  

 

[1-MiC]

 
Hey a Beer-Fi Thread!