Hunahpu's Day/BA Day/TBBW 2018 Thread

[2plums4one]

Been enjoying a very nice time along the east side of the state thus far, driving across the vast expanse of Central Florida today to add nothing to the crowds at these ridiculous beer events, but can someone please explain briefly why people care so much about these AC releases? Every beer I've had from them, BA or otherwise, has been forgettable and just like every other adjunct/pastry stout or IPA out there replicated hundreds of times over and currently getting worse by the day in all of our overpacked cellars. This must be driven by ********* profit bros, yes?

My take is that they are actually very talented at lactose use in their beers, thus creating the "dark chocolate milk" flavors that "those kinds of people" like. For example, I have a buddy that hates IPAs and most traditional styles, but is huge into pastry stouts and AC-type beer. I for one think that what they are doing is actually very tasty, but in a "two ounces every once in a while for desert" type of way, not a "let's run full speed into each other to get shitfaced on this chocolate cake beer" kind of way. I will not knock AC, as almost every beer I've had from them has been a well-executed concept. Even purple puffs.

 

[2plums4one]

I really don't see how AC beers could be forgettable as they are extremely milky compared to other stouts and they do new concepts all the time. If I had a lineup of 20 stouts, and 5 of them were AC stouts, I'd be able to pick out at least 3 blind even if I hadn't had them before. The lactose gives it away.

 

[jivex5k1]

Every time I've had an AC stout it was undrinkably sweet. To be fair I've only been there like three times though.

You know what im most sad about from this week? That I forgot to make a huna voting bot to get old Rasputin to win.

 

[2plums4one]

Every time I've had an AC stout it was undrinkably sweet. To be fair I've only been there like three times though.

You know what im most sad about from this week? That I forgot to make a huna voting bot to get old Rasputin to win.

Yes this is how insulin resistance and the moonbutter were to me, but I thought an ounce or two was interesting nonetheless. I think their whole deal is balancing an extreme amount of sweetness with a good amount of lactose. Seems to be the constant theme there and in most cases, they accomplish what they set out to do and that's why I don't knock them. Seems to also be why high ranking members of the pastryarchy subscribe to said beers with unequivocal enthusiasm.

 

[jivex5k1]

Lol ****ing pastryarchy. Solid ****ing gold Jerry.

 

[sacrelicio]

Yes this is how insulin resistance and the moonbutter were to me, but I thought an ounce or two was interesting nonetheless. I think their whole deal is balancing an extreme amount of sweetness with a good amount of lactose. Seems to be the constant theme there and in most cases, they accomplish what they set out to do and that's why I don't knock them. Seems to also be why high ranking members of the pastryarchy subscribe to said beers with unequivocal enthusiasm.

Doesn't lactose add some sweetness?

 

[2plums4one]

Doesn't lactose add some sweetness?

Not really sure honestly, I just know it adds that milky mouthfeel. I'm not a homebrewer or anything. Not sure how they get the sweetness other than the choice of malts.

 

[kbuzz1]

Lactose is milk sugar...it def adds more sweetness. So being good at balancing sweetness with sweetness really doesn't make sense.

I shouldn't be getting involved here. I've never even really heard of this brewery until their fanboys apparently started shitting on voodoo (haha, drama. Now I hate them for no good reason).

But when I hear someone say that a beer is good in two ounce increments, what I actually hear is "this beer is bad". I will never desire to only consume two ounces of beer and just continue on my way.

 

[2plums4one]

Lactose is milk sugar...it def adds more sweetness. So being good at balancing sweetness with sweetness really doesn't make sense.

I shouldn't be getting involved here. I've never even really heard of this brewery until their fanboys apparently started shitting on voodoo (haha, drama. Now I hate them for no good reason).

But when I hear someone say that a beer is good in two ounce increments, what I actually hear is "this beer is bad". I will never desire to only consume two ounces of beer and just continue on my way.

I hear you, and thanks for clearing that up. I just know that their beers are milky and sweet. I agree that I'm not going to purchase a bottle that I only want 2 ounces of, and technically its bad beer, but I've thought the small samples I've had from other people are interesting. Am I wrong in attributing the beer's milky mouthfeel and flavor to lactose, or is the only thing it contributes sweetness?

after doing a little research, it looks like lactose adds both body and sweetness, so I answered my own question.
" Milk Stouts are very similar to Sweet Stouts, but brewers add unfermentable sugars, usually lactose, to the brew kettle to add body and some sweetness." Courtesy of everyone's favorite beer site.

 

[maximum12]

As a placid Midwesterner I'd only previously had two Angry Chair beers. We went down to Tampa with no desire to stand in any lines, & when we showed up at AC with a massive line on Friday, just got back in the car & toodled over to Cigar City, my first love anyways. The only line we stood in the several days we were there was for 3 Sons at Huna Day. Because I wanted to.

Anyways, we went to AC Sunday night once the hordes had passed on to unravaged pastures & it was quite sedate. Not only that, but the Chocolate Imperial Cupcake (non BA) was the best beer I had in Tampa. Every time I lifted it to my lips, they sang me a little song. Seriously amazing beer. Call it a pasty stout, call it an adjunct nightmare, call it too sweet, call it liquid poop. I'll still love it.

Maybe I should have stood in those lines & been part of the problem. Nah.

 

[BadJustin]

Maybe I should have stood in those lines & been part of the problem. Nah.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Dumping some of the pictures I took last week that don't have a better home than this thread.

Love the look of Coppetail Brewing and think they have really maximized the space on both floors.

Extremely happy that they are now serving food in collaboration with Ty and The Stein and Vine, and hoping that there might be some more changes to the format of the dining room (servers instead of an order counter) in the not too distant future.

Drank a fair bit of Independent (hop forward Pilsner) this trip, but enjoyed almost everything they were serving.

Cajun Fried Corn on the Cob (modified elotes basically)

Bacon Tater Tots

Drunken Shrimp

Panko crusted pork cutlets, everything bagel, fried egg, arugula with some crisp pickles and a side of tots.

They don't get the hype of other Tampa area breweries, but I always have a great time spending a few hours here every trip. If I was a local I'm sure this would be in my regular rotation of places to check out.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Came to grab out Hunahpu bottles on Thursday morning after hearing from a friend that the line for Maple Hunahpu bottles was huge, but that we could walk right in and get our regular Hunahpu no problem.

Was back on Saturday afternoon after Hunahpu day to continue drinking, and was pleasantly surprised to see almost everything that Cigar City was serving at Hunahpu was on draft at the brewery. BA Coffee / Hazelnut Hunahpu and Lemon Cranberry Witbier were both delicious.

Ended our Sunday at Cigar City again to continue drinking through the taplist and had a couple of pours of Batch 2 Leon, various Hunahpu treatments and a tasty Grungeist hopped Pale Ale. Had a few pours from some folks bottle sharing in the main room and was generally impressed with the low key vibe at Cigar City every day except for Thursday.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Arkane Aleworks in Largo, FL was totally off my radar until dvelcich raved about them from his trip before the rest of our group got out there, so we hit them up on Thursday.

While the Hefeweizen, and some of the sweet Stouts were good, they obviously specialize in low ABV sour / fruited beers. Of those, the Gimme Swelter (mango / habanero) and Gypsy Tears (ginger / pomegranate) were particularly impressive and really only had one that we didn't like in Pants Party (tamarind higher abv sour).

Small system (looked like a 3bbl to me), and they were hustling as fast as they could to get through the lines when we were out there as folks where buying crowlers 6+ at a time. Kind of a weird location (in a strip mall), but the beer quality and folks working were both top notch.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Cycle Barrel Aged Day 2018 was as much fun as ever, and thankfully our group was able to lock down a large table out of the sun (h/t to Powzy for the legwork on this).

Well done by elkhunter36 for bringing a marker so we could grab all the beers available and drink through them at our leisure. My favorites were Buns of Cinnamon (#9), Blueberry Coffee (#4), Smores (#12), and Eric's Cuvee (#15) but only a few of them were misses.

A relatively drunk picture from that afternoon of myself, dvelcich and our buddy Glen (who had put down at least x4 - 40's of High Life by this point).

And an even drunker picture of Dan and Glen before someone had to come and save Glen from himself at the end of the event. Probably as much fun as anything we do in Tampa that week, and drinking at Cycle afterwards totally was a great idea.