Tonight it's Focal Banger from the Alchemist in VT. The retail store is open in Stowe, VT. They have a 2 4-pack per beer limit. They do run out by the end of the day, so you have to get there early.

Focal Banger is extremely hoppy. I think I like it better than Heady Topper. I'm a hop head.

All 4 of these are from the Alchemist. The Sterk Wit was a limited edition and it's all gone now. It was a Belgian White.

The Crusher is less hoppy than Heady, but it's got more of a malt profile and has a lot of alcohol in it.



Kevin

Schneider Aventinus Eisbock.

A whopping 12%. Very similar to a Quadrupel.

Schlafly Oktoberfest. Not bad at all.

Tonight my wife prepared for me a whisky sour, with Burnside bourbon, crushed ice, Equal (yes, Equal) and lemon juice. Tasty.

The nectar of the gods, aged for over 100 years, dinosaurs swam in it, fish have sex in it, served over ice made from itself-WATER.

Ayinger Oktoberfest



Finally available in my area! And it's every bit as good as the past years.

Bought the remaining 9 half-liter bottles left at my usual beer supplier. (He was only able to get one case from this first shipment, and had already sold a little over half.)

I also put two more cases on order. Hopefully I'll be able to get one or both of them. Last year, supply was very limited, and I only managed to acquire one full case before it ran out for good.

Rittenhouse Rye.

Taylor Rye

Maker's Mark over ice.

These will be in glasses at noon today. My pal Angelo will be coming over for lunch. Entrepreneur, Viet Nam vet, bonhomie, raconteur and Master chef. A great guy to have a beer with.

I scored these a few weeks ago in Vermont. I was #30 in line to acquire 8 cans of each in tiny Waitsfield, VT at 9:30 a.m. on a Thursday.

Had them both before. Both are excellent beers, but not life-changing.

I'll give Heady Topper one thing, if you drink it on the day it's released it is QUITE good... provided you like hops with your hops using beer as a delivery mechanism.

Once each of these gets a few weeks age, they lose a step. The "punch on the nose" hop aroma fades after a few days. Heady advises "Drink from the can!" because the action of pouring the beer into a glass causes some of those aroma hops to bubble away with the foam.

I've conducted this experiment with friends and we've proven it to ourselves.

Having some Brew Kettle OctoberFest

Tonight it is a whiskey sour.

O'fallon vanilla pumpkin beer

E.W. single barrel 2008? ^^

Yes, the first one that I have seen. I tried both to compare. The 2008 was aged 7.5 years and does not seem to have developed fully. The bottle from barrel 666 tastes much more like the EWSB that I like.

Saturday went to Cider Dayze at Blake's Hard Cider mill in Armada, MI.

Had 9 samples of cider and beer from all over...all really good.

Blue Mountain Concealed Darkness barrel aged imperial stout chocolate orange variant from last year.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:
Ayinger Oktoberfest



Finally available in my area! And it's every bit as good as the past years.

Bought the remaining 9 half-liter bottles left at my usual beer supplier. (He was only able to get one case from this first shipment, and had already sold a little over half.)

I also put two more cases on order. Hopefully I'll be able to get one or both of them. Last year, supply was very limited, and I only managed to acquire one full case before it ran out for good.

I would like to try that one. What store did you find it at if you don't mind me asking?

Currently watching the Razorbacks play while drinking Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen.

quote:

Originally posted by sasquatch28:
I would like to try that one. What store did you find it at if you don't mind me asking?

I get my Ayinger from Liquor World in Fayetteville.

Liquor Mart in Fayetteville has stocked it in years past, as has Macadoodles just across the Missouri line. But I don't know if those stores have any currently.