I don't think it will taste boozy. Stone makes very well rounded beers. I have anyone ruination 10th anniversary clone going right now that has an og of 1.095. It's supposed to be over 10 percent but the bottles that I have tasted are really well balanced.
I had my brew stuff in the spare bedroom and it has one of those lights that warms up so it is initially dark. The room is used for me to put my suits on in the morning. I have one of those triple stacked plastic containers that holds my socks so it was pulled out on the bed. Hydrometer slipped...
Don't go all the way to Larry's. There is a homebrew shop right in Arlington. Its about ten minutes away. It's on fourth st downtown Arlington, they have a lot of stuff and are very knowledgable.
I had two major mistakes:
Too much water pressure on my wort chiller - I dropped it in there and cranked it on and the line burst in the close to boiling wort.
Didn't close the lid all the way on my primary - had the lid on but not sealed all the way. I didn't see any bubbling in the airlock...
I think rogue has some pretty good beers. They are just expensive. Dead guy is one of my least favorite. They have a good west coast pale ale and there mocha porter and double chocolate stout are pretty awesome.
My personal experience at one wasn't too great but they were understaffed and that was the issue. Rogue beers are expensive wherever you go. I was at a Rogue establishment last weekend and it was 5.50 to 5.75 a beer. So your prices aren't too far off. I think a lot of you are just trying to kill...