Hooray beer!

[Zimbra]

Appreciate the recommendations.  I checked hotels today and for some reason every one downtown is like $500 that weekend so I'm either going to need to broaden my horizons or skip the trip (or drive back to Madison that night, which, ugh)

If I do come down I'll buy you a beer.

 

[Ramo2653]

On 2/12/2025 at 3:28 PM, Technico Support said:

That's wild, because Tito's is like $10 more than New Amsterdam where I am.

I was at the liquor store today getting a gift for a friend and a bottle of this really nice coconut rum (It's the Planterray Coconut Rum, they age actual coconuts in the barrels with the rum so it tastes like an almond joy but not as sweet) for me and I checked the price of Titos and New Amsterdam. Titos is $17 for a 750ml and New Amsterdam is $13 so a $4 difference. But this is Wisconsin.

As an aside, when I was in Sister Bay, WI last year around this time and checked out the grocery prices I had big sticker shock. Granted it's the tip of the "thumb" of the state so it's a drive to get there and it's a tourist area but everything was way more than here in Milwaukee and the alcohol prices were the big sticker shock. A 750 of Tullamore Dew was almost $40. It's enough to make you stay sober!

[Technico Support]

Over the weekend, my beer store had a 10% off deal for local beers, so I got a six of Cosmic Frost double IPA from Silver Branch brewing.  It was really tasty.  Good strong hop flavor but not necessarily overly bitter, balanced by a little bit of maltiness.  Also, it was 8% abv, so it hit a little harder.  Definitely worth a shot if you can find it.  I might grab another beer from the same brewer this weekend.

[Curt McGirt]

Now I want a Celtic Frost Tyrannical Stout (you can go ahead and use Imperial and that'd be fine, but...)

[Technico Support]

I was going to get another beer by Silver Branch but all they had was a heifeweizen, which I don’t like, another IPA but it was made with mosaic hops, which I’m allergic to, and a Pilsner, which I wasn’t feeling.  I got a six of Sierra Nevada Torpedo.  Not earth shattering but well above average.  Sometimes, you just go with old reliable.

[zendragon]

This exists

[Zimbra]

Unless it has enough caffeine to give you a permanent murmur what's the point?

The only time I had OG 4 Loko was at an amateur MMA show where they made us all stay inside because someone threatened to come shoot up the place. A perfect night.

[Curt McGirt]

A buddy of mine was interviewed by the local news outside a gas station about it when there was a report on how everyone was in an uproar over the caffeine and whatnot. I almost guarantee he was walking out with a pack of American Spirits or the rolling tobacco of his choice, probably Bugler, and about five of those. 

God, the peach one tastes and smells like perfume as I recall. They've got some new varieties, it looks like: https://fourloko.com/products I guarantee you all of them have this particular taste, but the USA can has to be packed with it: failure.

Edited February 22 by Curt McGirt

[Technico Support]

I’ve never had Fourloko but I’ve absolutely mixed vodka and energy drink.

[Nice Guy Eddie]

On 2/22/2025 at 2:39 PM, Technico Support said:

I’ve never had Fourloko but I’ve absolutely mixed vodka and energy drink.

Red Bull and vodka, baby. Almost as good as Jagerbombs!

[Technico Support]

This weekend’s pick was Dale’s Pale Ale by Oskar Blues brewing.  Really tasty American Pale Ale, haven’t had it in a while.  The same brewer makes some other really good stuff, including a Pilsner and a scotch ale I really like, though it’s been harder to find anything but Dale’s around my way due to decreasing shelf space and brewers cutting back their product ranges.  So it goes.  

[FireThunder]

I've had a couple of bottle of barleywine from my local brewery sitting around since 2020. I finally decided to brush the dust off of one and crack it open. I swear it tasted better than when I had it from the tap way back when. The acrid flavor I remember seemed to have mellowed with age and it was a super smooth drink for an 11.5% beer.

The remaining bottle is one that's already been barrel-aged. I think I'll save that one for a really special occasion.

[Technico Support]

Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' was the beer of choice this weekend.  Described as a "smooth and silky IPA," it's kind of a hybrid of a wheat beer and an IPA, and is probably as wheaty as I'll go.  Really delicious and has a nice kick at 7.2%.

[Zimbra]

I am a real sucker for anything orange-vanilla so when I saw Surly had an orange whip beer I knew I had to try it even though it was probably bad.

It's so much worse than I could have imagined.  I have five of them still in the fridge taunting me.  Absolutely played myself.

[Technico Support]

25 minutes ago, Zimbra said:

I am a real sucker for anything orange-vanilla so when I saw Surly had an orange whip beer I knew I had to try it even though it was probably bad.

It's so much worse than I could have imagined.  I have five of them still in the fridge taunting me.  Absolutely played myself.

Aw man, I hate that feeling when you're pouring five beers down the drain.  I recently bought a Lagunitas mixed 12 pack, then realized that 3 of the cans, "Beast of Both Worlds," featured Mosiac hops, which I can't deal with.  So my mixed 12 pack became a mixed 9 pack.

I don't think I've bought a fruit flavored beer in a long time.  Sam Adams used to make a good cherry wheat and Oxford used to have a nice raspberry wheat...not sure if either is still made.  But for the most part, I find the execution lacking.  Also, never ever buy anything that's artificially lime flavored, like Bud Light Lime or even lime tortilla chips.  The flavoring tends to be really fake tasting and overpowering.

Edited March 10 by Technico Support

[Zimbra]

Oh, you greatly underestimate my midwestern-ness if you think I'm just pouring out beer.  I will grimly drink each one of those godawful things.  At least I also got a $5 sixer of New Belgium's Celebration that's barely skunked so I can break up the awfulness.

I used to hate fruit beers but I've warmed up to them recently, and I do love a radler on a hot summer day.  Dogfish Head's Sea Quench is maybe the best of them: it's a black lime sour with sea salt and it tastes like the platonic ideal of drinking a Corona with salt and lime if Corona was actually good.

[Curt McGirt]

Yeah, that's what's up. You grim up and put those fuckers DOWN. Step up, young man; do it under 15 minutes and win a prize. 

[Zimbra]

Sorry, but I'm also 43 and if I drink more than one beer I get sour tummy

[Technico Support]

8 hours ago, Zimbra said:

Oh, you greatly underestimate my midwestern-ness if you think I'm just pouring out beer.  I will grimly drink each one of those godawful things.  At least I also got a $5 sixer of New Belgium's Celebration that's barely skunked so I can break up the awfulness.

I used to hate fruit beers but I've warmed up to them recently, and I do love a radler on a hot summer day.  Dogfish Head's Sea Quench is maybe the best of them: it's a black lime sour with sea salt and it tastes like the platonic ideal of drinking a Corona with salt and lime if Corona was actually good.

Dogfish Head is one of my good local beers.  There’s a Dogfish Head Alehouse maybe 20 minutes away.  I like their 60 and 90 minute IPAs.  The 120, on the other hand, just tastes like grapefruit juice.

[Zimbra]

Damn, I'm jealous, DH makes some really good stuff.

I'm not a huge fan of the 60 or 90; they both taste kinda one-note to me.  I've only had 120 once, and I drank it straight out of the bottle when I was already hammered so I'm probably on some kind of beer watchlist for that.

[Robert C]

23 hours ago, Zimbra said:

Oh, you greatly underestimate my midwestern-ness if you think I'm just pouring out beer.  I will grimly drink each one of those godawful things. 

I can appreciate the grim determination to drink your beer, no matter how bad.

I shared an apartment for three years in college with a guy whose father ran the Old Milwaukee/Schlitz/Strohs/etc beer distibutor in Austin.  Which meant we could get free beer on a regular basis, for the cost of a four hour round trip.  Not necessarily good beer, but free beer.  I once forgot a case of Stroh's and left it in the back of my non-working truck, for six weeks, in the summer, in east Texas.  It was truly vile when we got round to drinking it, and we were offering it to anyone who happened to walk by the apartment, but we got through it.

[Chaos]

4 hours ago, Zimbra said:

I'm not a huge fan of the 60 or 90; they both taste kinda one-note to me.  I've only had 120 once, and I drank it straight out of the bottle when I was already hammered so I'm probably on some kind of beer watchlist for that.

90 was one of my favorites in the early days of broadening my beer taste horizons, and it was new to this area.  It's been a few years since I've last had it, and I don't recall enjoying my last couple of experiences. My tastes have changed, and the quality has lessened since Boston Beer Company acquired them. I've only had 120 once. I'd have to drive 90 minutes into Panama City Beach or Tallahassee to find it given Alabama is capped at 13.9% ABV, but the fishfinder is not always the most reliable app, and despite living so close to the beach, I'm lucky if I go down there more than once a year (some years I don't make it at all). 

[Technico Support]

20 hours ago, Chaos said:

My tastes have changed, and the quality has lessened since Boston Beer Company acquired them

I didn't even know about this.  Every goddamn time.  

Awesome craft brewing company, large and varied group of beers, cool seasonals, etc --> get bought by giant company --> quality drops and variety of offerings is drastically cut to the nothing but the 1-3 beers that sell the best.

Add Dogfish Head to the pile with Magic Hat and Lagunitas (I still drink Lagunitas but I miss their other beers outside the two that they sell now).  Enjoy your cool craft brewers while you can!

Edited March 12 by Technico Support

[NikoBaltimore]

I didn't even know Dogfish got bought out.  That's a shame though I do still love them.  Had a Tropical Squall for the PPV that was pretty nice.

[Zimbra]

That's how I feel about Bell's getting bought out by Kirin.  Sucks knowing they'll never get to do weird shit like brewing a series of beers based on Holst's The Planets again.