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Merc’s Birthday Beers

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While Merc wasn’t around for his actual birthday, on his next swing through the Capital District we had a pretty fucking stellar tasting to celebrate. He brought over a shit ton of Russian River bottles and some extras, I brought out some Juicy and Golden Blend, Pig Destroyer Jon brought over some Fruet. Seriously, not a bad beer of the night. Which is near impossible to be had considering how many bad Cigar City beers Merc manages to find and bring over.

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BeerAdvocate Top 100 (Most Popular)

Well, since BeerAdvocate has gone and changed the way they are determining the ratings of their beer, there’s been a bit of a shakeup at the top of the charts. Long time champ Pliny the Younger has gotten knocked down from newcomer Heady Topper, and there have been plenty of other changes down the line as well. After seeing Adam’s post on the matter, I thought it’d be a good idea to go down the line and see how many I’ve been able to try in 2012. Hads are starred and in bold:

*1 Heady Topper The Alchemist 4.71 2362
2 Pliny The Younger Russian River Brewing Company 4.69 1309
3 Bourbon Barrel Aged Vanilla Bean Dark Lord Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub 4.67 361
*4 Founders CBS Imperial Stout Founders Brewing Company 4.66 1821
*5 Pliny The Elder Russian River Brewing Company 4.64 5311
*6 Trappist Westvleteren 12 (XII) Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren) 4.64 2431
*7 Zombie Dust Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub 4.63 2283
8 Peg’s G.O.O.D. Rare D.O.S. Peg’s Cantina & Brewpub 4.63 92
*9 Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout) Founders Brewing Company 4.62 3917
*10 Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout Goose Island Beer Co. 4.61 1486
*11 Parabola Firestone Walker Brewing Co. 4.59 1860
12 Citra DIPA Kern River Brewing Company 4.59 595
*13 Double Sunshine IPA Lawson’s Finest Liquids 4.59 445
14 Kaggen! Stormaktsporter Närke Kulturbryggeri AB 4.59 126
15 Adam From The Wood Hair of the Dog Brewing Company / Brewery and Tasting Room 4.58 259
16 Duck Duck Gooze The Lost Abbey 4.57 367
17 Cantillon Blåbær Lambik Brasserie Cantillon 4.57 328
*18 Double Galaxy Hill Farmstead Brewery 4.57 226
*19 Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout – Laird’s Apple Brandy Barrel Cigar City Brewing 4.57 211
*20 The Abyss Deschutes Brewery 4.56 2693
*21 Supplication Russian River Brewing Company 4.56 2338
*22 Cantillon Fou’ Foune Brasserie Cantillon 4.56 758
23 Dark Horse Bourbon Barrel Aged Plead The 5th Dark Horse Brewing Company 4.56 579
*24 Ephraim Hill Farmstead Brewery 4.56 322
25 Kuhnhenn Bourbon Barrel Fourth Dementia Kuhnhenn Brewing Company 4.55 624
*26 Abner Hill Farmstead Brewery 4.55 447
27 Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze Vintage Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen 4.55 210
*28 Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout Cigar City Brewing 4.53 981
*29 Cantillon Lou Pepe – Kriek Brasserie Cantillon 4.53 592
30 Cable Car The Lost Abbey 4.53 312
31 Bourbon Barrel Aged Dark Lord Imperial Stout Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub 4.53 282
32 Peg’s G.O.O.D. RareR D.O.S. Peg’s Cantina & Brewpub 4.53 119
33 Keene Idea Alpine Beer Company 4.53 65
34 Alesmith Speedway Stout – Vanilla & Coconut AleSmith Brewing Company 4.53 32
35 Bell’s Hopslam Ale Bell’s Brewery, Inc. 4.52 4953
36 Black Tuesday The Bruery 4.52 1068
37 Trappist Westvleteren 8 (VIII) Brouwerij Westvleteren (Sint-Sixtusabdij van Westvleteren) 4.52 1037
38 Hoppy Birthday Alpine Beer Company 4.52 234
*39 Founders Breakfast Stout Founders Brewing Company 4.51 5896
*40 Trappistes Rochefort 10 Brasserie de Rochefort 4.51 3860
*41 Bourbon County Brand Stout Goose Island Beer Co. 4.51 3495
*42 Beatification Russian River Brewing Company 4.51 879
*43 Bell’s Black Note Stout Bell’s Brewery, Inc. 4.51 696
44 Ann Hill Farmstead Brewery 4.51 89
45 Oude Tart With Sour Cherries The Bruery 4.51 82
46 Abrasive Ale Surly Brewing Company 4.5 1296
*47 §ucaba (Abacus) Firestone Walker Brewing Co. 4.5 1261
*48 Everett Porter Hill Farmstead Brewery 4.49 492
49 Bad Boy Alpine Beer Company 4.49 216
*50 Society & Solitude #5 Hill Farmstead Brewery 4.49 146
51 Darkness Surly Brewing Company 4.48 1285
*52 Cantillon Saint Lamvinus Brasserie Cantillon 4.48 677
53 Mother Of All Storms Pelican Pub & Brewery 4.48 667
54 Silva Stout Green Flash Brewing Co. 4.48 363
55 Imperial Eclipse Stout – Elijah Craig (20 Year) FiftyFifty Brewing Co. 4.48 345
*56 Birth Of Tragedy Hill Farmstead Brewery 4.48 259
*57 Society & Solitude #4 Hill Farmstead Brewery 4.48 186
58 Bell’s Bourbon Barrel Aged Batch 9000 Bell’s Brewery, Inc. 4.48 151
59 Marshal Zhukov’s Imperial Stout – Zhukov’s Final Push Cigar City Brewing 4.48 46
*60 St. Bernardus Abt 12 Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV 4.47 3952
61 AleSmith Speedway Stout – Barrel Aged AleSmith Brewing Company 4.47 429
62 Imperial Eclipse Stout – Elijah Craig (12 Year) FiftyFifty Brewing Co. 4.47 387
63 Imperial Russian Stout – Bourbon Barrel Aged Stone Brewing Co. 4.47 225
64 Winter Ale (2012) / 5th Anniversary Ale Kern River Brewing Company 4.47 186
65 Churchill’s Finest Hour 2012 Port Brewing Company / Pizza Port 4.47 98
66 Dirty Horse De Struise Brouwers 4.47 91
67 Darkness – Bourbon Barrel Aged Surly Brewing Company 4.47 55
*68 Consecration Russian River Brewing Company 4.46 1808
*69 Temptation Russian River Brewing Company 4.46 1534
*70 Cascade Sang Noir Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub 4.46 365
71 Matt Hair of the Dog Brewing Company / Brewery and Tasting Room 4.46 323
*72 Double Citra Hill Farmstead Brewery 4.46 158
73 Hop Venom Double IPA Boneyard Beer Company 4.46 108
74 Exponential Hoppiness Alpine Beer Company 4.45 595
*75 Chocolate Rain The Bruery 4.45 397
*76 Dreadnaught IPA Three Floyds Brewing Co. & Brewpub 4.44 2668
*77 Cantillon Gueuze 100% Lambic Brasserie Cantillon 4.44 878
*78 Cantillon Lou Pepe – Gueuze Brasserie Cantillon 4.44 282
*79 Maple Bacon Coffee Porter The Funky Buddha Lounge & Brewery 4.44 186
*80 Susan Hill Farmstead Brewery 4.44 148
*81 Nor Hill Farmstead Brewery 4.44 139
82 Drie Fonteinen Framboos Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen 4.44 89
83 Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Bayerische Staatsbrauerei Weihenstephan 4.43 3318
*84 Sculpin India Pale Ale Ballast Point Brewing Company 4.43 3251
*85 AleSmith Speedway Stout AleSmith Brewing Company 4.43 2124
*86 Samuel Adams Utopias Boston Beer Company (Samuel Adams) 4.43 736
*87 Brute Ithaca Beer Company 4.43 634
88 Bourbon Barrel Aged Hi-Fi Rye Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery 4.43 218
89 Humulus Lager The Bruery 4.43 210
90 Columbus Bodhi DIPA Columbus Brewing Company 4.43 128
91 Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout – Bourbon Barrel Aged Cigar City Brewing 4.43 128
92 Moe’s Bender Surly Brewing Company 4.43 118
93 AleSmith Speedway Stout – Kopi Luwak AleSmith Brewing Company 4.43 61
94 Oil Of Aphrodite – Kopi Luwak Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery 4.43 34
*95 Péché Mortel (Imperial Stout Au Cafe) Brasserie Dieu Du Ciel 4.42 2049
*96 Fat Head’s Head Hunter IPA Fat Heads Brewery & Saloon 4.42 527
97 Melange No. 3 The Bruery 4.42 431
98 Drie Fonteinen Schaerbeekse Kriek Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen 4.42 405
*99 Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze Golden Blend Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen 4.42 213
100 Black Damnation V – Double Black De Struise Brouwers 4.42 160

47 out of 100. Not too bad. Ease of access to the numerous Hill Farmstead beers has hit a huge chunk on this list, but I definitely have some work cut out for me. How many of the BeerAdvocate Top 100 (Most Popular) beers have you had?

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Sour Beer Mail from Illinois

Man, the delivery guy has been treating me well this week. First Zombie Dust and BCBCS, now some Fou’Foune, Gilgamesh, Beat B5, and Cascade Blueberry, plus Bottleworks 13 and some New Glarus to top it off. With the Classic Gueuze versus Gueuze 100% Lambic Bio we did on Tuesday, and Zwanze Day coming up on Saturday, it’s a very Cantillon filled week! No complaints here.

Thanks makdeco!

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Pliny versus Pliny

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Pliny The Elder

— The last time Merc was in town, he was coming up on a milestone tick on BA so he brought over a couple of bottles of Pliny the Elder to open up. The big difference between the two? One was a year old.

Now if you read the little blurb around the label of the beer, and if you’ve ever heard the cry of hundreds of beer nerds out there you know that old Pliny is garbage, you can’t age it, Pliny older than 24 hours is barleywine, etc. What better way to gauge the hype than to crack one open that he forgot about in his beer cellar?

So what’s the verdict?

Well, let’s get the obvious out of the way, the year old Pliny had no hops. There was only a slight amount of bitterness left but it was mostly sweetness from the malts. However, to me, it was darker, and thicker mouthfeel than the new stuff, which to me as of late has been lacking of flavor and overly watery. (I blame The Alchemist, Hill Farmstead, and Lawson’s for that). Anyway, I tried to capture the slight difference in color with my camera as best as possible. Hopefully you can tell, the old Pliny is definitely darker in color than the new stuff, with the new being lighter, and more straw like in color, with the older having a slight orange tint to the hue. Batch variations? I dunno.

I would have preferred the body and mouthfeel of the older Pliny with the hops of the new Pliny. Since that’s not possible, I’ll just have to keep drinking Heady Topper…

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Hops and Roses

August Doom Saloon Tasting Part Duex

- After hammering the IPAs we moved on to a random mish mash or whatever else was brought including some gems like Brute, Hops and Roses, and everyone’s favorite whale: Bud Light Lime-A-Rita!

Bud Light Lime-A-Rita

OK, I brought the Lime-A-Rita because I’ve been meaning to put it up here, and I thought it would be funny to force all of these beer snobs to drink it. Reactions were mostly hilarious. Even CaveDave, who refused it at first, got in on it after the IPA tasting and was appalled. Let’s face it, this swill taste like sugar-coated, artificially lime-flavored assholes. I’m pretty sure that the AB-Inbev R&D nerds used small children to test this for marketability using a modified version of an old recipe for Ecto-Cooler. Fucking awful.

Anyways, on to the rest of the beers that night

  • Captain Lawrence Hops and Roses
  • Sierra Nevada/Russian River Brux
  • Ithaca Brute
  • The Bruery Mischief Gone Wild
  • The Bruery Trois Poules Français (I left before I got a taste of this one)
  • New England Brewing Co. Wet Willy Scotch Ale (Missed this, too)
  • The Bobcat Cafe & Brewery Flood Suds (which they used my bottling pictures to announce their release on Facebook!)

I missed out on Hops and Roses at the tasting at BCTC so I was pretty happy to see it show up at the Doom Saloon. We don’t see much of Captain Lawrence in the Albany area other than Liquid Gold and Xtra Gold, both of which I’ve had bad experiences with in the past (bad bottle, bad carbonation on tap), so I was really pleased that this beer was so good. This was a good mild wild ale with great carbonation, floral notes and some fruit in the flavor profile. This would be a good “intro to sours” beer, unlike Brux, which I think is just pretty weak on all accounts.

Merc also brought out a Brute, which I’ve never had before, and let’s be honest this is an absolutely phenomenal beer which Ithaca will probably never make again. This was without a doubt the best beer of the night and probably one of the best if not the best sours I’ve ever had (not that I’ve had that many). I’m pretty lucky to try this and thank Merc for bringing this along.

The Doom Saloon guys are really into cigars so naturally we had to break some out before I called it a night.

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IPA Tasting at the Doom Saloon

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Gandhi-Bot, Heady Topper, Furious, Row 2/Hill 56, Pliny the Elder

Pretty solid lineup at the Doom Saloon this month. Heavy focus on IPAs at the beginning of the night, followed up by a couple of sours, barrel-aged stuff and some other randoms. Let’s talk about the IPAs/APAs first. The lineup:

  • Stone Ruination 10th Anniversary
  • The Alchemist Heady Topper
  • Surly Furious
  • New England Brewing Co. Gandhi Bot
  • Russian River Pliny the Elder
  • Russian River Row 2/Hill 56
  • Chatham Brewing 8 Barrel Bourbon

There were a few BA’s here, including Merc, new guy Dino (Sandman5478) and CaveDave, plus the host and a couple of their homebrew buddies. We put the top tier DIPAs to the test first.

Obviously Heady Topper stood out as the clear winner. I’ve done the side-by-side with a fresh Pliny at The Ruck in the past when Winton was visiting and the decision was a little cloudier, but last week Pliny stood no chance. This bottle of Pliny was thin, watery, and lacked flavor. I (the only one of the group to do so) ranked Pliny last of the three. It was my first time drinking Ghandi Bot and while it was not Vermont DIPA it was still really tasty and it’s flavor profile stood out compared to this crappy bottle of Pliny. Dino even brought a case for Merc and I to split and I’ve been handing it out to friends as they’ve been over to very positive reviews.

On to the other beers, like I said in my “It’s not you, it’s me” post, I turned down Stone Ruination 10th. I knew it was going to wreck my palate for the rest of the beers that night and I’d already had it so I passed (and I didn’t love it). I was really impressed with all of the other IPAs we had that night. Row 2/Hill 56 was light years better than the crappy bottle of Pliny (it was a bad bottle, Merc probably confused his new bottle with the one that has been sitting in his cellar for a year!). I was blown away by Surly Furious. This was a can that was an extra from yetanotherbeerblog and I had never had it before. Definitely one of the best tasting IPAs I’ve ever had, up their with Sculpin, Two Hearted, and Head Hunter.

The last DIPA was kind of a surprise. It was the first time I was having the Bourbon Barrel Aged version of Chatham’s 8 Barrel Super IPA. I’m a fan of Chatham’s and I try to support local breweries that are actually making drinkable beers (which lately, especially on the brewpub side of things, has been pretty terrible), but luckily places like Chatham and Crossroads are turning things around. All of the guys had really positive things to say, except for Merc who “Merc’d” it by finding a way to shit on it but still gave it a 4/5 like a douche.

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Beatification – Russian River Brewing Company

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