So disappointed in my beer tasting

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bosox

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Boston, MA
I went to this place in Boston that suppossseddlyy had like over 500 different varieties of beer. They had beer menus that were pages and pages long, double sided. The walls were lined with infinite numbers of different beer cans and bottles...I thought I was in heaven!

So I tried to ask for a Pliny The Elder, since I've never had one....said they didn't have it.

I asked for some other stout that I've read about, told me they didn't have it.

I then saw they had Sam Adams Utopias on the menu, 2oz for $21.99 but figured I need to try it...and they told me it was sold out.

So I was kind of disappointed. I thought I was going to get to try all these great world famous brews, and my first 3 I asked for were unavailable!

I did get to try Anchor Steam, Delerium Tremons, some dunkel that I didn't care for, a bunch of dark beers that I don't really remember, Dogfish Head 90min, and a Belgium Tripel.. St Bernards I think?

I just need to find places that have Pliny the Elder and Utopias!!
 
There's a reason Pliny and Utopias are world famous: they're very limited, and you can only get them in a handful of places and times. I've never had either one, but would be ecstatic to find a place with 500 different beers to chose from.
 
There's a reason Pliny and Utopias are world famous: they're very limited, and you can only get them in a handful of places and times. I've never had either one, but would be ecstatic to find a place with 500 different beers to chose from.

As far as I know...Pliny and most Russian River's stock is only available on the west coast. Unless you have someone willing to ship them out this way...

Utopias you seem to either need to find someone willing to share, or shell out for it. For the cost of a bottle, I'd rather try 10 other top notch brews rather than go too far out of the way for it.
 
reading this thread drinking Consecration, with a Pliny cold in the fridge. Damn it feels good to be a gansta.. lol Sorry :mug: Though I've never had the utopias so I'm missing out there.
 
As far as I know...Pliny and most Russian River's stock is only available on the west coast. Unless you have someone willing to ship them out this way...

Utopias you seem to either need to find someone willing to share, or shell out for it. For the cost of a bottle, I'd rather try 10 other top notch brews rather than go too far out of the way for it.


I had several Pliny's in Philly at Monk's about a month ago. They always have a great beer selection. Tons of Belgians and other good craft brews. No BMC in the place.
 
Ah so you went to Sunset. I suggest you order off the menu next time.

As far as I know, they've never had Pliny (and if they did it'd be gone in just a few hours once the beer geeks got wind of it). I've never seen a Utopia on a menu in Boston either and if they served 2oz they probably could only sell it 10 times as each bottle is 20oz and I doubt they'd just sell more than one bottle over the bar.

You know, Sunset usually has a huge selection of stuff from all over the place... not to be rude but it's kinda odd that you're complaining about them not having a few ultra rare beers then you go on to order relatively common craft beers like Anchor Steam, 90min, and Delerium Tremens.

If you're really looking for a Utopia you should probably just buy a bottle. I got mine at the place in Central Square in Cambridge, any good liquor store can probably get you one if you reserve it.
 
I had several Pliny's in Philly at Monk's about a month ago. They always have a great beer selection. Tons of Belgians and other good craft brews. No BMC in the place.

I have been to monks a few times, I was never impressed. It was like an old dive bar.
 
PTE is a pretty tasty beer, but you'd be better off finding the best IIPA that you can get in your area and enjoying that. It's not a life altering experience kind of beer. Its a very well made beer that's delicious, but you shouldn't worry about not getting it east coast. I have had a handful of equally delicious IIPAs from Michigan that are readily available to me.
 
It was Sunset yeah, but I figured a place that prided itself on having all these different exotic weird and rare beers would...have some of the rare beers I wanted to try haha.

I had never had any of the beers I tried though, so it was still worth it for me. Plus it's not as if I drove 100 miles out of my way to get to the place, I can always go back.

They did say they do sometimes have Pliny, but it sells out fast. It wasn't even on their menu, but the Utopias was. I really was looking forward to that, so that's mostly why I was disappointed I spose.

I'll have to go back though, try some more beers. I sampled all in all about 10 while I was there, so not bad for the first go 'round. I'll be back ;)

And yeah, I've heard the criticisms of the place as not being very 'beer geek friendly" but it was still fun. I'll have to try the Publik Hause or however the spell it some time, and I forget there's another place somewhere in the area I was told to try.
 
Pliny is only distributed to the West Coast states, Denver and Philly. If they have it, it is grey market. Why not just buy one online?

I hate to break it to you, but there is no place in the world where you can buy every beer.
 
The only spot on the east coast that Pliny is available is Philly. As others have suggested, it is a good IIPA, but not earth-shattering. It's reputation is more a product of limited availability and hype on sites like Beer Advocate.

I would venture to say that a good homebrewed IIPA might even be more enjoyable from the unparalleled freshness obtained by going from grain to glass in 4-6 weeks.
 
I agree with the others about Pliny, it's delicious and is a spectacular beer, but there are others out there that I think are equally as delicious and spectacular, in their own unique ways. Avery Maharaja, Great Divide Hercules, and Good People Snake Handler are a few that come to mind....

I made a stop in to Sunset Grill a few weeks ago when I was in Boston on vacay.... I had a pint of Lost Abbey Brandy Aged Angels Share.... Holy crap was that an amazing beer, if you see anything from Lost Abbey the next time you stop in there I highly recommend it!
 
Sunset is an alright place given it's location. If you live in the allston Brighton area you should check out Deep Ellum. They don't have a huge selection but they have some great brews. I'm pretty fond of the Lower Depths in Kenmore too, they have a great bottle selection and some of the best pub food I've found in the city.
 
Few bars will have ultra rare beers like the ones your listing.

I've had Utopias a couple times now at beer fests and such and I must say, I don't get the hype. Its not really any good.
 
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