FIB War Room

[daniel1]

More beer lines!!! Can't wait! http://halfacrebeer.com/blog/big-hugs-2015

/Edit: And a vanilla version to add to the hype!

That vanilla is going to turn this into even more of a shitshow.

 

[kawilliams81]

You're in the Elgin area, right? Caputo's in South Elgin had 4 cases of regular behind customer service earlier tonight. $10.99 a bottle.

I almost stopped there Friday but never thought they would get it. Thanks for the tip.

 

[RedCoffee]

That vanilla is going to turn this into even more of a shitshow.

DID SOMEONE SAY VANILLA

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Just wanted to let y'all know I made a great discovery recently - they've been putting vanilla in ice cream now. Saw it at my local grocery store and loaded up a cart. Will put out a FT if anyone's interested.

 

[trickytunadicky]

DID SOMEONE SAY VANILLA

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Just wanted to let y'all know I made a great discovery recently - they've been putting vanilla in ice cream now. Saw it at my local grocery store and loaded up a cart. Will put out a FT if anyone's interested.

I wonder how a Soylent float tastes.

 

[tag1]

More beer lines!!! Can't wait! http://halfacrebeer.com/blog/big-hugs-2015

/Edit: And a vanilla version to add to the hype!

looks like the line has already started to form...

 

[dgoogle]

Dammit I hope Regal is as good as I remember at FOBAB....or most likely I'm an idiot for trading a 2014 Prop away for two of them.

 

[trickytunadicky]

Dammit I hope Regal is as good as I remember at FOBAB....or most likely I'm an idiot for trading a 2014 Prop away for two of them.

I forgot to try it. I am going to assume it is more or less like the other cherry/berry deviants and I am quite alright with the ones I have.

 

[IronDave]

Actually I got no cherry / berry / fruit flavor at all, to the point that I seriously question if they were pouring from the correct pitcher. I thought I was insane; luckily, I was not the only one to find the blackberry juice / luxardo cherries lacking.

 

[dgoogle]

At Rare Day it seemed heavy on cherry. But then at FOBAB it was more of a hot, mixed berry thing. Have no clue what to expect from the bottles. It seems to be the most perplexing variant this year.

 

[tag1]

Actually I got no cherry / berry / fruit flavor at all, to the point that I seriously question if they were pouring from the correct pitcher. I thought I was insane; luckily, I was not the only one to find the blackberry juice / luxardo cherries lacking.

The first few times trying Regal I got no berries at all. Then at the GI Clybourn tasting I got a really nice cherry flavor - but this time was drinking it closer to room temp (previously had never really let it warm up). Looking forward to putting this to the test when I open up a bottle.

 

[Lansman]

More beer lines!!! Can't wait! http://halfacrebeer.com/blog/big-hugs-2015

/Edit: And a vanilla version to add to the hype!

Year after year by far the best part about this mediocre (at best) stout is the label artwork.

 

[lb304854]

Actually I got no cherry / berry / fruit flavor at all, to the point that I seriously question if they were pouring from the correct pitcher. I thought I was insane; luckily, I was not the only one to find the blackberry juice / luxardo cherries lacking.

Saturday evening session? I had the same experience. The bottles are much better.

 

[IronDave]

Saturday evening session? I had the same experience. The bottles are much better.

Saturday evening. Hadnt thought about the temperature of the cold kegs however, thanks tag Makes sense, I'll have to try out of the bottle soon.

 

[foscorelli]

The bottles are much better.

You're not helping me dude haha, I had planned to not trade for the variants based on the pours I tried at FOBAB.

 

[gameover170]

At Rare Day it seemed heavy on cherry. But then at FOBAB it was more of a hot, mixed berry thing. Have no clue what to expect from the bottles. It seems to be the most perplexing variant this year.

Had on tap Monday night, literally night and day from Rare Day. Rare Day I tasted almost nothing at first, got a 2nd glass and let it warm up and it was tart cherry and blackberry, but not too strong. Monday, let it sit for awhile and it was incredible. Like a cherry/blackberry chocolate cordial.

 

[middlebrow]

if i had to guess, the fact that each barrel only had 20 lbs of cherries (which is an insanely low amount of fruit, like 3 cherries per 12oz) and the blackberry juice was added prior to bottling, there is going to be wild variations per bottle/keg akin to the coconut prop. wouldve been cooler if they aged the beer on berries instead of adding juice at the finish line. seems like they're cutting corners on these variants due to the massive volume and doing so at the expense of quality.

 

[RedCoffee]

So glad to hear everyone having similar experiences to mine with Regal. Well, not glad, but vindicated at least. When I tried it at FOBAB I just figured I was drunk and/or my palate had exploded because it tasted like regular to me.

 

[Hopping Tiger]

if i had to guess, the fact that each barrel only had 20 lbs of cherries (which is an insanely low amount of fruit, like 3 cherries per 12oz) and the blackberry juice was added prior to bottling, there is going to be wild variations per bottle/keg akin to the coconut prop. wouldve been cooler if they aged the beer on berries instead of adding juice at the finish line. seems like they're cutting corners on these variants due to the massive volume and doing so at the expense of quality.

ouch

 

[middlebrow]

ouch

hey man, I got friends that work over there, I spend a **** ton of money at clybourn (though I guess not related) and still thoroughly support the brand & beer but we can't pretend that its the same quality of beer when 5 years ago it was vanilla bean scraping by hand and painfully adding 70 lbs of fresh & prepped berries and dealing with the gunk & beer loss. They're not aging/making variants, they're making BCS cocktails.

 

[mdomask]

hey man, I got friends that work over there, I spend probably a thousand bucks a year in clybourn (though I guess not related) and still thoroughly support the brand & beer but we can't pretend that its the same quality of beer when 5 years ago it was vanilla bean scraping by hand and painfully adding 70 lbs of fresh & prepped berries and dealing with the gunk & beer loss. They're not aging/making variants, they're making BCS cocktails.

No more berry picking trips to Humboldt Park?

 

[mdomask]

...but we can't pretend that its the same quality of beer when 5 years ago....

Also, honest question time... have they changed how they make Sofie? The last bottle I had tasted like every other ******* "farmhouse ale" on the market, but I always remembered Sofie as much more citrusy than average. I'm trying to figure out if I just had a bad bottle kept way too long by the ****** bar I was at.

 

[trickytunadicky]

Also, honest question time... have they changed how they make Sofie? The last bottle I had tasted like every other ******* "farmhouse ale" on the market, but I always remembered Sofie as much more citrusy than average. I'm trying to figure out if I just had a bad bottle kept way too long by the ****** bar I was at.

I enjoyed the heck out of it last time BA had it on tap. But I may have a broke ass palate.

 

[Tooch4321]

Also, honest question time... have they changed how they make Sofie? The last bottle I had tasted like every other ******* "farmhouse ale" on the market, but I always remembered Sofie as much more citrusy than average. I'm trying to figure out if I just had a bad bottle kept way too long by the ****** bar I was at.

It was always a blend of fresh Sofie (which isn't that great) blended with anywhere from 20–25% wine barrel aged Sofie. Haven't had one in a while, but I hadn't noticed anything different when I did have one...

 

[mdomask]

I enjoyed the heck out of it last time BA had it on tap. But I may have a broke ass palate.

It was always a blend of fresh Sofie (which isn't that great) blended with anywhere from 20–25% wine barrel aged Sofie. Haven't had one in a while, but I hadn't noticed anything different when I did have one...

Must have been bad bottles, then. I've been wary of picking up bottles of my own because of that experience. I'll add it back onto the "buy" list.

 

[RedCoffee]

They're not aging/making variants, they're making BCS cocktails.

I will repeat the following because I believe it more now than ever. ******* that is a great description.

Serious question: why did I buy any variants of BCBS? Just opened my first regular of the "season." Should have just driven around looking for more and more.

 

[Unbreakabolt]

Speaking of Clybourn, who's up for a Chicago talk beer meet-up where we crush the goal for the holiday toy drive in one day?

I'm still pretty salty that only like 10 of 400 some people brought toys last year for the Nutulhu release.

 

[Lansman]

They're not aging/making variants, they're making BCS cocktails.

+1000, but don't forget the most important part - packaging!

 

[Dunt1]

I havent read the last 10 pages of this thread, can someone give me a cliff notes?

 

[Tooch4321]

I havent read the last 10 pages of this thread, can someone give me a cliff notes?

Waiting in line for BCS, buying BCS, BCS variants, not gonna wait in line for BCS, do such-and-such BCS variant taste different from keg vs. bottle, BCS and something about Sofie...

Oh and Vanilla Big Hugs, if you're into such things...

 

[RedCoffee]

Oh and Vanilla Big Hugs, if you're into such things...

DID SOMEONE SAY VANILLA