Somebody please help! My taste buds are ruined!

So i reside in Birmingham, Alabama....to be very kind about it, we don't have the greatest beer selection ever. I am a major hop head, and had settled for beers such as two hearted ale, sweetwater ipa, and hop ottin as my best selection. So i get the genius idea while i'm in atlanta to find the hoppiest beer their city had to offer. i came across stone ruination ipa, which i've heard a lot about on here, and needless to say my taste buds are ruined now. i can't find anything to even come close to this beer (besides hopsickle which i'm kind of burnt out on). does anyone know where i can find ruination ipa in alabama, or if there are any other brews here i might be missing? i'm starting to hate my state ...

Yeah, Bama kind of sucks for beer. I do see that they have raised the ABV cap on beer though, which is a step in the right direction. I think the last hurtle bama has is the 16fl oz bottle size limit. I don't think I have ever seen ruination or many of stones other big beers in anything other than a 22oz bottle.

Sorry bud

Well, if you can get Two Hearted, things can't be that bad. IMO, its the best IPA out there right now.

I also found a beer called Luganitas its their ipa/iipa like 102 ibus that i picked up...can't wait to try it. if they lifted the 16 oz thing then i could get more rogue beers (mainly yellow snow) and other companies better beers as i've noticed a lot of the higher quality more expensive beers are only bottled in 22 oz or sold on tap locally...kind of sucks...

What's wrong with Sweetwater IPA? I'm just curious as I'm drinking one now and really digging the hops in it.

Lagunitas Hop Stoopid? Thats a good one too. I'm kind of curious whats wrong with Sweetwater too. I guess drinking the same few offerings gets boring. Aside from that, its a solid beer.

CodeRage said:

Yeah, Bama kind of sucks for beer. I do see that they have raised the ABV cap on beer though, which is a step in the right direction. I think the last hurtle bama has is the 16fl oz bottle size limit. I don't think I have ever seen ruination or many of stones other big beers in anything other than a 22oz bottle.

Sorry bud

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My local package store has ruination in 12oz. They only sell them as singles and they are $4, but they do exist.

Haha, nice. Just brew you'r own IPA's or fine a clone recipe. Hopsickle is pretty brutal, lol.

Your beer selection may suck but you have great football (that being a sincere compliment from a die hard Gator fan). But things can't be all bad if you have access to Two Hearted Ale and Lagunitas (a perennial favorite line of mine). What Lagunitas do you get up there?

You need to start brewing with Summit hops, thats all!

gratefuldisc said:

My local package store has ruination in 12oz. They only sell them as singles and they are $4, but they do exist.

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They sell them in 12oz bottles here in TX too. Only bad part is they are $16 for a sixer.

Edcculus said:

Lagunitas Hop Stoopid? Thats a good one too. I'm kind of curious whats wrong with Sweetwater too. I guess drinking the same few offerings gets boring. Aside from that, its a solid beer.

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One of my personal favorites when I'm itching for hops...

I can't get Sweetwater IPA here, but I like it very much.

I drink Bell's Two Hearted all the time.

The Ruination clone I posted (from BYO, I believe) is damn close. It's definitely much cheaper to make than to buy the original!

I love IPAs, but we're in a beer black hole where I live. I usually can get Bell's, but that's about it for craft beer. Good thing the IPA is so good.

All I can get locally is BMC, and most things from Deschutes, New Belgium, and SN. The occasional Rogue single shows up at one store, and a few imports, but an in-your-face-IPA of any kind is rare. I just brew my own when I'm craving Lupulin!

Nothing wrong with 2-hearted or sweetwater. I've yet to taste sweetwater, but I've heard nothing but good things about it.

IMO Ruination was good, but I prefer Hopslam from Bells, when it's fresh. It's not terribly bitter, but has an incredible hops flavor, and is surprisingly smooth.

Though I'll never forget the look on my brother-in-law's face when he tasted his first IIPA, a Ruination. He said it wasn't too bad, but it kind of made his neck, go like *scrunches up his neck*.

thebamaking said:

So i reside in Birmingham, Alabama....to be very kind about it, we don't have the greatest beer selection ever. I am a major hop head, and had settled for beers such as two hearted ale, sweetwater ipa, and hop ottin as my best selection. So i get the genius idea while i'm in atlanta to find the hoppiest beer their city had to offer. i came across stone ruination ipa, which i've heard a lot about on here, and needless to say my taste buds are ruined now. i can't find anything to even come close to this beer (besides hopsickle which i'm kind of burnt out on). does anyone know where i can find ruination ipa in alabama, or if there are any other brews here i might be missing? i'm starting to hate my state ...

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I am from Birmingham as well. For a good selection should have gone to the Magic City Brew Fest ( http://www.magiccitybrewfest.com/beer.html ) they had a ton of good selection. Supposedly Jclyde downtown has some good beer on tap constantly. They also support the Brewfest too! Look for Hopsecutioner by Terrapin. I had it at the end of the night at brewfest. The strong hoppy taste cut through all the beer and drunk in me to taste so sweet. I definitely suggest it. Supposedly Vulcan Beverages and Wester Supermarket(in Vestavia) both carry high gravity beer. Also S&S Smoke shop in Vestavia near Vestavia Middle School(I think) has a decent selection that changes from time to time.

Also for home brewing Alabrew is on in a strip mall on Highway 31 near where Interstate 65 passes over. Also near where the Oak Mountain Amphitheater to give you a better idea. The owner is Mr. Kim, he has decent prices not to mention hes an old schooler that is very willing to share his brewing knowledge and opinion with you. Not to mention he is stocked on hand and has over 1000 recipes on file many of which are clones. Each one contains pretty good directions so you can't go wrong there. If you know what you want I suggest going through Brewmasters Warehouse. They have a huge selection and a tight brew builder! Not to mention cheap prices for items and shipping! Super quick too!

Deuce said:

They sell them in 12oz bottles here in TX too. Only bad part is they are $16 for a sixer.

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ya we sell a 6-pack for 15.49 where i work

curlyfat said:

All I can get locally is BMC, and most things from Deschutes, New Belgium, and SN. The occasional Rogue single shows up at one store, and a few imports, but an in-your-face-IPA of any kind is rare. I just brew my own when I'm craving Lupulin!

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My dads old boss just bought Grand Teton Brewing Co. in Wyoming and he brought over the the IPA, Double-IPA, and imperial stout for my dad to try. Luckily he doesnt like beers like that and gave them to me. They are DELICIOUS. If you get a chance you should try them. I'm trying to get an internship there in december because they specialize in IPA's.

i had to drive to atlanta to get the lagunitas...haha. and by the way, i'm a florida fan also, and yes it does suck being stuck in the middle of alabama...

actually, s&s is in homewood off of valley avenue. diplomat deli is probably what you are thinking of near vestavia middle school, and that is where i go to get my brew from usually they have the best selection in the town pretty much...i've had hopsecutioner it isn't near hoppy enough for me...the closest i can find that i like in birmingham is hop ottin from anderson valley except for hopsickle on tap at dee's package store on greensprings...thats another good one...

I work only a few minutes from Stone... I'll be sure to think of those of you who can't enjoy them on a regular basis as I enjoy some Ruination...

nothing is wrong with sweetwater, in fact it's what turned me on to liking ipa's and eventually into a full blown hop head. i've just had so much of it i could tell you how old it is everytime without even looking at the best by date. it is still in my top 5 ipa's. i still like hop ottin, even though its a bit sweeter. ruination is probably my favorite. hop stoopid was great. yellow snow is wonderful, but it's very malty a think they use a lot of cara-pils in it and i have to say, i kinda like it...

Heh I know I said this already in another thread, but really Mississippi is way worse on beer laws. == 13.9 you guys have it made. ~6% max here, and on and on (rules). So... enjoy your 2 Hearted and Sweetwater etc..

I feel for you with the scarred taste buds. I brewed an AHS Pliney clone. I did not just have a bottle or two I drank about 4 gallons over the course of many months, as it was one of the only beers on tap. Now I go to try one of the bigger/famous beers and I am thinking, "wheres the hops?" It hasn't ruined my ability to appreciate other styles just IPAs IIPAs though. It has been about 2 months and the scar tissue is healing and I am learning to appreciate other IPAs again.

Curlyfat,
Where in Wyoming do you live? Jackson Hole has a pretty good selection of beers. Smiths with a Smiths card usually has some good prices on decent beers. Go and stock up.

The Teton Liquor Store (next to Albertsons) has a good selection of big name bombers, unfortunately you will pay Jackson prices for them but worth being able to sample the good stuff. Just picked up a bunch of Deschutes Black Butte XXI.

Even with it's holly roller reputation Utah can get some good beer but limited in choices. There is a Utah branch of HBT and a few of the members have been picking up special beers when they are in better beer states and bringing them home to us option starved Utahrds. Its a cool way to meet up with other local HBTers. Isn't this how Nascar started?

I live in Casper. It's in the middle of the state, and about as easy to drive to Ft Collins, as it is to drive to Jackson.
We get decent selection, but no Dogfish, no Stone, and only a handful of bombers.

I travel south for work sometimes, and have gone to Wilbur's Total Beverage in Ft Collins. EPIC!! It's been awhile, though.

dewd, i live in cali and even i have a hard time finding ruination on occasion.

brew it yourself is the only answer..

yeh...it's hard to believe they make that in 12,000 gallon batches....wow whats that like 1,500 lbs of hops they are using? puts a whole new meaning to using a ton of hops

even though i'm pretty sure they do 4,000 gallon boils and then combine 3 of them...still that is astonishing....

thebamaking said:

So i reside in Birmingham, Alabama....to be very kind about it, we don't have the greatest beer selection ever. I am a major hop head, and had settled for beers such as two hearted ale, sweetwater ipa, and hop ottin as my best selection. So i get the genius idea while i'm in atlanta to find the hoppiest beer their city had to offer. i came across stone ruination ipa, which i've heard a lot about on here, and needless to say my taste buds are ruined now. i can't find anything to even come close to this beer (besides hopsickle which i'm kind of burnt out on). does anyone know where i can find ruination ipa in alabama, or if there are any other brews here i might be missing? i'm starting to hate my state ...

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I would also look Bear Rebulic's Racer 5, Sierra Nevada Torpedo isn't bad either

You might have better luck finding Eastern state beers. Victory makes a nice IPA called HopDevil: it's not malty and has a nice citrus hoppy goodness. Weyerbacher has a nice DIPA called Double Simcoe

i can't find any of those though, thats what sucks. i would love to be able to get some hop devil...i've never seen bear republics racer 5, i've heard of it though, would love to try it. i dont like torpedo ipa very much...not hoppy enough, too malt based...

thebamaking said:

i can't find any of those though, thats what sucks. i would love to be able to get some hop devil...i've never seen bear republics racer 5, i've heard of it though, would love to try it. i dont like torpedo ipa very much...not hoppy enough, too malt based...

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You'll just have to come to Atlanta again to try Racer 5. For the hop head, I'd say it and HopDevil are better then Ruintation (IMO, Stone IPAs can have too much of a malty backbone). Other then that, how about brewing a hoppy beer: this is a homebrew forum

what is a store in atlanta that would have hop devil and racer 5? ill be back over that way soon...

thebamaking said:

what is a store in atlanta that would have hop devil and racer 5? ill be back over that way soon...

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What part of Atlanta? To try just a bottle of beer, The Porter in Little Five Points is a bar that has the best bottle selection. Taco Mac in Decatur has a good draft selection. And for buying packs of beer, Green's package store on Ponce de Leon is probably the best bet. I know Green's will have HopDevil: they may or may not have Racer 5 at the time you're there. They're really good at rotating beers....I can't remember if Racer 5 is there consistantly. I first had Racer 5 in California and then New Orleans: and have been surprised to see it in some small specialty shops in rural NC. And Racer 5 seems to keep well....it's always been hoppy and good: better then Stone IPAs IMO. I live close to these stores, and have found they're the best areas in the metro area of Atlanta.

thats whats up man, i appreciate it...i went to smyrna world beverage and was VERY impressed...is the place you are talking about better than that?

Oh wait, I've got it!!!! I do know one place that I know will always have Racer 5, and I think they have Victory beers too. I've never been to World Beverage, so I can't compare. IMO Green's has the best Belgian ale selection in the metro area. The place that I know will have Racer 5 and a good IPA selection is Hop City on Marietta St. They're relatively new, but have a good beer selection (not the biggest selection, but a very good hand picked by beer snobs selection). They also sell homebrew supplies, and have an OK wine selection for SWMBO.

that is very helpful man, thank you very much...ill have to check them both out...

No prob...and as I said before, if you're looking for a good bar, The Porter has a really good bottle selection. Taco Mac (Decatur) has had HopDevil on tap. Some Taco Macs are better then others around Atlanta, so YMMV.

I haven't ready every post in this thread but I know Austin Home Brew has a nice aclone of Stone Ruination available. I brewed it bor my beach trip. It's conditioning so I haven't been able to compare. Austin has clones of all the ones that I have seen mentioned in this thread.

Somebody please help! My taste buds are ruined!

Too much 'possum in your diet? j/k


The first time I had Sweetwater was at the Fox and Hound Pub down your way. I like it.

Say hi to Kim at Alabrew for me will ya? Thanks.