Random Beer Thoughts

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

JulianB1

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 3, 2013
Messages
15,929
Reaction score
73,273
Location
Florence, SC
I figured we could have a thread for things which aren't interesting enough to warrant their own thread but also not irreverent or amusing enough for the true Random Thoughts thread.

Anyone else not very impressed with the direction Sierra Nevada has been going lately? I'm mostly referring to their seasonal releases and mixed packs, where it feels like they are getting lazier and lazier. Today I saw the new "Winter Snowpack" seasonal variety pack at my local store. It's a case that contains 4 each of Coffee Stout (cool, I'd like to try this), Boomerang IPA (IPA with New Zealand hops, sounds fine but it's yet another IPA from Sierra), and two of their regular shelf beers, Porter and Pale Ale. How do you fill half a seasonal pack with year-round beers, including one that's your flagship and available in half the gas stations in the country? This started in the fall where that variety pack had Pale as well. Not to mention the 6-pack seasonals are getting more boring and I'd argue worse (Ruthless Rye has gotten worse each year, and Flipside is totally bleh and replaced Tumbler which, while not great, was at least something different).
 
This year's version is equally memorable — and will be equally hard to come by — with an ingredient lineup so wide that Siegel joked it should be called "BCS Massive Carbon Footprint" — cassia bark from Vietnam, cocoa nibs from Congo, coconut water from Thailand and Mexican panela sugar.

The base beer is a tweaked version of Bourbon County Stout, brewed with the addition of rye. The initial idea was a cassia bark (cinnamon, essentially) and cocoa nib BCS aged in rye whiskey barrels. But the result was slightly astringent, leading Goose to make a syrup of coconut water and Mexican sugar that was added as a final step.
 
I have what might be a stupid question...
Why aren't there any green apple sours/wilds? Is that not something that would be appealing to people? I personally would drink the **** out of something that resembled a green apple Jolly Rancher. Or am I just ignorant to the fact that such beers already exist?
 
I figured we could have a thread for things which aren't interesting enough to warrant their own thread but also not irreverent or amusing enough for the true Random Thoughts thread.

Anyone else not very impressed with the direction Sierra Nevada has been going lately? I'm mostly referring to their seasonal releases and mixed packs, where it feels like they are getting lazier and lazier. Today I saw the new "Winter Snowpack" seasonal variety pack at my local store. It's a case that contains 4 each of Coffee Stout (cool, I'd like to try this), Boomerang IPA (IPA with New Zealand hops, sounds fine but it's yet another IPA from Sierra), and two of their regular shelf beers, Porter and Pale Ale. How do you fill half a seasonal pack with year-round beers, including one that's your flagship and available in half the gas stations in the country? This started in the fall where that variety pack had Pale as well. Not to mention the 6-pack seasonals are getting more boring and I'd argue worse (Ruthless Rye has gotten worse each year, and Flipside is totally bleh and replaced Tumbler which, while not great, was at least something different).

I'm with you on this. I'll defend them to the death for what they've done over the years.. but it's hard to get excited by a stream of something-IPAs
 
I have what might be a stupid question...
Why aren't there any green apple sours/wilds? Is that not something that would be appealing to people? I personally would drink the **** out of something that resembled a green apple Jolly Rancher. Or am I just ignorant to the fact that such beers already exist?
Seems like apples would be a hard fruit to age beer with. The flesh of the fruit is very rigid and prone to oxidation, unlike soft stone fruits, grapes, berries, etc...You could always use juice or puree but traditional fruit lambics tend to be aged on whole fruit...Maybe an AWA would work.
 
I have what might be a stupid question...
Why aren't there any green apple sours/wilds? Is that not something that would be appealing to people? I personally would drink the **** out of something that resembled a green apple Jolly Rancher. Or am I just ignorant to the fact that such beers already exist?

Actually, just tonight I had a taste of Cigar City's Fight the Power Sour Cider... tasted just like green apple Jolly Ranchers. Not what I was in the mood for so I didn't actually order it, but it might me the kind of thing you are looking for.
 
Seems like apples would be a hard fruit to age beer with. The flesh of the fruit is very rigid and prone to oxidation, unlike soft stone fruits, grapes, berries, etc...You could always use juice or puree but traditional fruit lambics tend to be aged on whole fruit...Maybe an AWA would work.
Good to know. Thanks a lot for the info, as I don't know too much about brewing.

Actually, just tonight I had a taste of Cigar City's Fight the Power Sour Cider... tasted just like green apple Jolly Ranchers. Not what I was in the mood for so I didn't actually order it, but it might me the kind of thing you are looking for.
Thanks for the suggestion!
 
Revolution Unsessionable is the best double digit ABV DIPA on the market right now. Real talk.


I was talking with my regular trading partner about Revolution today. He crushes sixers of Anti Hero all the time and now he's obsessed with Unsessionable. I brought up the point that it seems like nationally Revolution hasn't received much recognition, but everything he's sent me from them has been awesome, especially Deths Tar. That beer was ****ing phenomenal, easily one of my top 10 BA stouts.
 
I was talking with my regular trading partner about Revolution today. He crushes sixers of Anti Hero all the time and now he's obsessed with Unsessionable. I brought up the point that it seems like nationally Revolution hasn't received much recognition, but everything he's sent me from them has been awesome, especially Deths Tar. That beer was ****ing phenomenal, easily one of my top 10 BA stouts.

Rev crushes on the reg, but no one blinks an eye at them since they started distributing outside of Chicago. No sweat of my back, though. I crush my trade partners with Rev extras and they all rave. Makes me a happy boy. I'd suggest getting on that Unsessionable as quickly as possible.
 
Rev crushes on the reg, but no one blinks an eye at them since they started distributing outside of Chicago. No sweat of my back, though. I crush my trade partners with Rev extras and they all rave. Makes me a happy boy. I'd suggest getting on that Unsessionable as quickly as possible.


My buddy is picking some up for me tomorrow. Can't wait to try it in a week or so!
 
Revolution Unsessionable is the best double digit ABV DIPA on the market right now. Real talk.

Been seeing this pop up on DDT/Untappd/etc and I'd love to try it. My top pick currently among 10%+ DIPAs that I can actually get is this new batch of Green Flash Green Bullet. I bought a 4 pack and promptly returned to buy a case.
 
I have what might be a stupid question...
Why aren't there any green apple sours/wilds? Is that not something that would be appealing to people? I personally would drink the **** out of something that resembled a green apple Jolly Rancher. Or am I just ignorant to the fact that such beers already exist?

My guess - green apple is generally associated with acetaldehyde and considered on off flavor in beer.

Don't know if it's still made, but Unibroue used to do an apple Ephemere and I think Lindemann's does an apple candilambic. Maybe some of the other crap lambic brands, too.
 
Lesson2270.jpg
 
I think it's cool that beer helped to discover the fact that some deadly germs were carried in unclean water, rather than airborne, like almost all scientists thought at the time (early 1800s). Everyone around a certain water pump was getting cholera, except some monks who drank only beer, which they brewed. Yay for beer. (a wiki source for a brief outline of what I'm referencing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1854_Broad_Street_cholera_outbreak)
 
I have what might be a stupid question...
Why aren't there any green apple sours/wilds? Is that not something that would be appealing to people? I personally would drink the **** out of something that resembled a green apple Jolly Rancher. Or am I just ignorant to the fact that such beers already exist?
Avery Bad Apple is a brewpub only sour beer made with green apples. Really good too.
 
Been seeing this pop up on DDT/Untappd/etc and I'd love to try it. My top pick currently among 10%+ DIPAs that I can actually get is this new batch of Green Flash Green Bullet. I bought a 4 pack and promptly returned to buy a case.
Did they have a best before date printed yet?
 
My big brother hasn't moved on from Brewdog and Mikkeller stouts, which is fine because whatever. Beer Geek Weasel ain't bad but they are literally all he ever buys. He doesn't drink a heap. Maybe like, once a month so no biggy.

Anyhoo, had a bottle shop put aside a Black Butte XXVI and part of my scheme was to send him in to pick it up for me. I said "it'll be good, grab one for yourself".

After, we had this conversation:

"I got you that beer, when do you plan on drinking it"
"I dunno, no rush. I'll grab it off you next time we hang out"
"oh ok. I didn't grab one for myself"
"why not"
"I asked the guy whether or not it was better than this, and showed him the Mikkeller weasel and they weren't sure".
"damnit, was it Freddy Mercury" (guy at store looks like Freddy Mercury)
"he was there, they just said wait til you open yours and you'll share it with me".

I've since asked the store to stop ban him from buying anything Mikkeller or Brewdog.
 
Remember when Dogfish Head was a thing?
I don't think this is fair. 90 Minute IPA is still really good, especially if you like your IPAs on the maltier side. India Brown Ale is also good and a unique style. With that said, I probably haven't bought anything from them in two years (except Punkin, as my wife likes it). And I think it is still "a thing", just not around really big beer nerds.
 
I don't think this is fair. 90 Minute IPA is still really good, especially if you like your IPAs on the maltier side. India Brown Ale is also good and a unique style. With that said, I probably haven't bought anything from them in two years (except Punkin, as my wife likes it). And I think it is still "a thing", just not around really big beer nerds.

I hear ya...I was definitely thinking in the beer geek context. It crossed my mind today while I was browsing at a store. I haven't bought anything from them in quite a while and I used to dig a lot of their stuff. I'll revisit things like Black & Blue and it's just not to my taste anymore.

Now this...
if you like your IPAs on the maltier side
...is quite the qualifier!
 
I don't think this is fair. 90 Minute IPA is still really good, especially if you like your IPAs on the maltier side. India Brown Ale is also good and a unique style. With that said, I probably haven't bought anything from them in two years (except Punkin, as my wife likes it). And I think it is still "a thing", just not around really big beer nerds.
Aged WWS and 120 are the bees knees. brees6221 sent me one of each in a BIF and I was blown away.
 
I remember someone posting about not washing your glassware with hot water, possibly justforrazors but not positive.

Wondering why not is all?
 
I figured we could have a thread for things which aren't interesting enough to warrant their own thread but also not irreverent or amusing enough for the true Random Thoughts thread.

Anyone else not very impressed with the direction Sierra Nevada has been going lately? I'm mostly referring to their seasonal releases and mixed packs, where it feels like they are getting lazier and lazier. Today I saw the new "Winter Snowpack" seasonal variety pack at my local store. It's a case that contains 4 each of Coffee Stout (cool, I'd like to try this), Boomerang IPA (IPA with New Zealand hops, sounds fine but it's yet another IPA from Sierra), and two of their regular shelf beers, Porter and Pale Ale. How do you fill half a seasonal pack with year-round beers, including one that's your flagship and available in half the gas stations in the country? This started in the fall where that variety pack had Pale as well. Not to mention the 6-pack seasonals are getting more boring and I'd argue worse (Ruthless Rye has gotten worse each year, and Flipside is totally bleh and replaced Tumbler which, while not great, was at least something different).

I could not disagree more. Never will you find more solid, appropriately priced, quality beer than Sierra Nevada.
 
I remember someone posting about not washing your glassware with hot water, possibly justforrazors but not positive.

Wondering why not is all?

Yeah, maybe it's just because I'm paranoid, but I remember reading something about thermal shock (glass that just had cold beer in it going from hot to cold too fast). I don't remember if I actually posted something about it, but I only rinse with cold water, no soap, and dry with paper towel.

Edit: I'd assume that the glass would have to be very weak and very cold and the water would have to be scalding hot for this to happen, but I like my glasses too much to risk it.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top