THE BEER THREAD(?)----->!!!

[odontophobia]

The only shitty thing about Halloween is pumpkin flavored beers.

Yeah -- I'm not into the Pumpkin stuff either.

[bigchiefbc]

I like some pumpkin beers, it really depends how it's done. I like a bit of spice, but agree that a lot of places go over the top and those can get bad.

But yeah, I like a lot of them. I'd rather an over-spiced pumpkin beer than the chewing-on-hop-pellets IPAs that I'm subjected to at most beer-fests.

[bigchiefbc]

On another note, my wife and I just went for a couple tasting flights at Brutopia Brewhouse in Warwick, RI last weekend. My favorite was the Bonfire Brown Ale, fucking delish. My wife dug the White Electric, which was a coffee stout. Those were the two growlers we took home. Recommended

[pelliott]

I like some pumpkin beers, it really depends how it's done. I like a bit of spice, but agree that a lot of places go over the top and those can get bad.

But yeah, I like a lot of them. I'd rather an over-spiced pumpkin beer than the chewing-on-hop-pellets IPAs that I'm subjected to at most beer-fests.

What IPAs do you like, out of curiosity?

[bigchiefbc]

I mostly like the English-style IPAs, which are more balanced. I don't mind hop-forward, but it has to have some balance. I find that most American IPAs just sledgehammer you in the face with hops and it doesn't impress me.

Ones I've liked: Sam Smith's India Ale, Fuller's IPA, Meantime IPA, etc. 3 Floyds Blackheart and Brooklyn East IPA are two American examples that get the balance right.

[pelliott]

I mostly like the English-style IPAs, which are more balanced. I don't mind hop-forward, but it has to have some balance. I find that most American IPAs just sledgehammer you in the face with hops and it doesn't impress me.

Ones I've liked: Sam Smith's India Ale, Fuller's IPA, Meantime IPA, etc. 3 Floyds Blackheart and Brooklyn East IPA are two American examples that get the balance right.

Yeah I completely understand the balance issue. I used to be all about the punch you in the dick hop bombs but now I really appreciate more balanced IPAs. Blackheart is excellent.

How do you feel about Pliny the Elder for comparison's sake? And have you had some of the popular Vermont beers or Maine Beer Co IPAs? MBC in particular does some really, really well-balanced IPAs.

[bigchiefbc]

I mostly like the English-style IPAs, which are more balanced. I don't mind hop-forward, but it has to have some balance. I find that most American IPAs just sledgehammer you in the face with hops and it doesn't impress me.

Ones I've liked: Sam Smith's India Ale, Fuller's IPA, Meantime IPA, etc. 3 Floyds Blackheart and Brooklyn East IPA are two American examples that get the balance right.

Yeah I completely understand the balance issue. I used to be all about the punch you in the dick hop bombs but now I really appreciate more balanced IPAs. Blackheart is excellent.

How do you feel about Pliny the Elder for comparison's sake? And have you had some of the popular Vermont beers or Maine Beer Co IPAs? MBC in particular does some really, really well-balanced IPAs.

I haven't had either of the Pliny's because they're completely impossible to find. I've had Heady Topper before, and that was definitely along the lines of the style I DON'T like, way way too hoppy. I haven't tried MBC because I've never seen it anywhere.

Basically, all of those "white whale" beers are just completely out of reach for me. There's no way to get them here, I'm too poor to travel anywhere to try them, and none of them are distributed here. I've never gotten into trading, because there's no rare beers that I can get here that would make decent trade bait.

[jrmy]

Man, I've gotta get to Brutopia. How was the food?

Campus Wines off Wickenden in Providence usually stocks MBC if you wanna try 'em, bigchief. Pliny's tough to get out here, tho.

[bigchiefbc]

Man, I've gotta get to Brutopia. How was the food?

Campus Wines off Wickenden in Providence usually stocks MBC if you wanna try 'em, bigchief. Pliny's tough to get out here, tho.

I've been meaning to get my butt over there at some point. I usually go to Nikki's on Branch Ave when I want the harder-to-find stuff.

[pelliott]

I haven't had either of the Pliny's because they're completely impossible to find. I've had Heady Topper before, and that was definitely along the lines of the style I DON'T like, way way too hoppy. I haven't tried MBC because I've never seen it anywhere.

Basically, all of those "white whale" beers are just completely out of reach for me. There's no way to get them here, I'm too poor to travel anywhere to try them, and none of them are distributed here. I've never gotten into trading, because there's no rare beers that I can get here that would make decent trade bait.

Yeah I'm not much of a trader either. My friends and I will occasionally pick up beers for each other if we're in a specific city, that's the only way I've been able to try Pliny. It gets to Philadelphia on draft every once in a while, however.

Heady's one of my favorites but I understand it being too much for a lot of people. It's not AS bitter and has a lot more flavor than most similar DIPAs, however.

If you're ever up in Boston or NYC from your neck of the woods they frequently have MBC and Hill Farmstead beers on tap at good beer bars so I highly recommend trying them. They're a lot more subtle and delicate than Heady. MBC's Lunch, MO, Zoe, and Red Wheelbarrow are great hoppy beers but have very solid malt backbones.
You DO have Captain's Daughter but that seems like it's a diacetyl bomb half the time. No bueno.

[untilshewokeme]

I mostly like the English-style IPAs, which are more balanced. I don't mind hop-forward, but it has to have some balance. I find that most American IPAs just sledgehammer you in the face with hops and it doesn't impress me.

Ones I've liked: Sam Smith's India Ale, Fuller's IPA, Meantime IPA, etc. 3 Floyds Blackheart and Brooklyn East IPA are two American examples that get the balance right.

Yeah I completely understand the balance issue. I used to be all about the punch you in the dick hop bombs but now I really appreciate more balanced IPAs. Blackheart is excellent.

How do you feel about Pliny the Elder for comparison's sake? And have you had some of the popular Vermont beers or Maine Beer Co IPAs? MBC in particular does some really, really well-balanced IPAs.

Vermont beers: I've had Heady Topper, Sip of Sunshine and Super Session. All good. Not to sounds like that guy, but I've had better IPAs than Heady, it's good just not mind blowing.

MBC: I think I've had everything but Dinner and all the pilots they do. Lunch and Another One are my favorites and Peeper is a solid ale.

What's hot in the street currently in New England is Treehouse. They haven't made an IPA I didn't love. The flagship, Julius is out of control good.

[pelliott]

Vermont beers: I've had Heady Topper, Sip of Sunshine and Super Session. All good. Not to sounds like that guy, but I've had better IPAs than Heady, it's good just not mind blowing.

MBC: I think I've had everything but Dinner and all the pilots they do. Lunch and Another One are my favorites and Peeper is a solid ale.

What's hot in the street currently in New England is Treehouse. They haven't made an IPA I didn't love. The flagship, Julius is out of control good.

My thing about Heady is that it's brewed every single day, it's always consistently very good, it's more affordable than most comparable IPAs, and it's more drinkable. It may not be THE BEST if you lined up a bunch of the highest regarded IPAs, but shit it's good. Sip and Super Session are excellent. Have you had Second Fiddle yet?

I haven't had any Tree House yet. Excited to try Julius and Haze (and Alter Ego), but Other Half is scratching my itch for IPAs, and their single hop IPAs, among several other great beers, are outstanding. I plan on stopping at Tree House on my way to Boston to visit my sister soon, though. Trillium, on the other hand, makes some of the best hoppy beers I've had. Absolutely ridiculous.

[Andrew]

This has been my daily brew for the past 3 months, I don't have an issue with hops, though this is one of the better balanced IPAs at 60 ibu and still pretty fruity. I'm ecstatic to enjoy a non Australian IPA while it's actually fresh and now that it's heating up I can't wait to drench myself in it.

I've lost my enthusiasm for Torpedo and PA so something new is welcomed.

[untilshewokeme]

My thing about Heady is that it's brewed every single day, it's always consistently very good, it's more affordable than most comparable IPAs, and it's more drinkable. It may not be THE BEST if you lined up a bunch of the highest regarded IPAs, but shit it's good. Sip and Super Session are excellent. Have you had Second Fiddle yet?

I haven't had any Tree House yet. Excited to try Julius and Haze (and Alter Ego), but Other Half is scratching my itch for IPAs, and their single hop IPAs, among several other great beers, are outstanding. I plan on stopping at Tree House on my way to Boston to visit my sister soon, though. Trillium, on the other hand, makes some of the best hoppy beers I've had. Absolutely ridiculous.

Haven't tried anything from Fiddlehead yet. The one time I was going to pick some up was the time people started getting sick from it, can't remember what exactly happen but it was like 2-3months ago I think.

[pelliott]

Yikes, I hadn't heard about that. Is there any info online about that? Sounds really odd for their quality control.

We had their single IPA on tap for my wedding reception. Nice easy drinking west coast IPA. Nothing exceptional, just really, really good and well-made.

Second Fiddle, though, starts off like a dank musky tropical melon, and then finishes fruity malt. It's so good. We stopped by Fiddlehead on a day they had an unannounced sale of SF cans, so that was a highlight of our trip. I've heard Mastermind is even better and want to try it, but SF is a fuckin winner. The Northeast in general is just making so much good beer right now.