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It's just like it was foretold in the prophecy, little brewery fights to be a successful big brewery so they can a smaller brewing system.
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We kinda drank some beer tonight.

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nhindian jeevo shuggy
That we did. It was sour Saturday.
17425834_2043730089187230_7049318019331791585_n.jpg

Blind Gueuze tasting broken into two groups five on the left five on the right in order as pictured:
Group one personal rankings
1. Cuvee Rene
2. DDG 2016
3. DDG 2013
4. 3F Golden Blend
5. New Glarus Vintage 2015

Group two personal rankings
1. Horal's Mega Blend 2013
2. LPG 2011 Sticker
3. 3F A&G
4. 3F OG 2015
5. Tilquin Gueuze 2015

17629889_2043730079187231_8949287569654220347_n.jpg

Impromptu blind vanilla stouts between Gueuze flights:
1. Vanilla Rye (by a mile)
2. Derivation 4
3. The End
4. Rue D'Floyd (coffee - **** that ****)
Bruery Hoarder's Cuvee - Tasty but not ranked due to not being a stout

Flora Plum - Nightcap - Deliciously dry AF
 
That we did. It was sour Saturday.
17425834_2043730089187230_7049318019331791585_n.jpg

Blind Gueuze tasting broken into two groups five on the left five on the right in order as pictured:
Group one personal rankings
1. Cuvee Rene
2. DDG 2016
3. DDG 2013
4. 3F Golden Blend
5. New Glarus Vintage 2015

Group two personal rankings
1. Horal's Mega Blend 2013
2. LPG 2011 Sticker
3. 3F A&G
4. 3F OG 2015
5. Tilquin Gueuze 2015

Yeah right. You probably bought all the Cuvee Rene in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area and now are trying to get the hype train rolling!!!

Horal's and LPG must be awesome, I really enjoyed the A&G and 2015 OG recently, so those must be awesome if they beat them out in your rankings!
 
That we did. It was sour Saturday.
17425834_2043730089187230_7049318019331791585_n.jpg

Blind Gueuze tasting broken into two groups five on the left five on the right in order as pictured:
Group one personal rankings
1. Cuvee Rene
2. DDG 2016
3. DDG 2013
4. 3F Golden Blend
5. New Glarus Vintage 2015

Group two personal rankings
1. Horal's Mega Blend 2013
2. LPG 2011 Sticker
3. 3F A&G
4. 3F OG 2015
5. Tilquin Gueuze 2015

17629889_2043730079187231_8949287569654220347_n.jpg

Impromptu blind vanilla stouts between Gueuze flights:
1. Vanilla Rye (by a mile)
2. Derivation 4
3. The End
4. Rue D'Floyd (coffee - **** that ****)
Bruery Hoarder's Cuvee - Tasty but not ranked due to not being a stout

Flora Plum - Nightcap - Deliciously dry AF
Cuvee Rene is money. I think most gueuze have their merits and it usually comes down to personal preference. 3f will always be my favorite. I'm real surprised ddg ranked that high for you. I've always heard mixed reviews.

I was also super underwhelmed by 2011 lpg
 
That we did. It was sour Saturday.
17425834_2043730089187230_7049318019331791585_n.jpg

Blind Gueuze tasting broken into two groups five on the left five on the right in order as pictured:
Group one personal rankings
1. Cuvee Rene
2. DDG 2016
3. DDG 2013
4. 3F Golden Blend
5. New Glarus Vintage 2015

Group two personal rankings
1. Horal's Mega Blend 2013
2. LPG 2011 Sticker
3. 3F A&G
4. 3F OG 2015
5. Tilquin Gueuze 2015

17629889_2043730079187231_8949287569654220347_n.jpg

Impromptu blind vanilla stouts between Gueuze flights:
1. Vanilla Rye (by a mile)
2. Derivation 4
3. The End
4. Rue D'Floyd (coffee - **** that ****)
Bruery Hoarder's Cuvee - Tasty but not ranked due to not being a stout

Flora Plum - Nightcap - Deliciously dry AF

When I was in Belgium last month, the golden blend was one of my favorite things I drank the whole time. Compared to multiple LPs, 50n, etc.

personal preference.
 
Yeah right. You probably bought all the Cuvee Rene in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area and now are trying to get the hype train rolling!!!

Horal's and LPG must be awesome, I really enjoyed the A&G and 2015 OG recently, so those must be awesome if they beat them out in your rankings!

Cuvee Rene is money. I think most gueuze have their merits and it usually comes down to personal preference. 3f will always be my favorite. I'm real surprised ddg ranked that high for you. I've always heard mixed reviews.

I was also super underwhelmed by 2011 lpg
The second flight had the least amount of variance from top to bottom. They were all really good. The upcharge to acquire things like LPG or A&G just isn't worth it as they were not leaps and bounds better than the more easily acquired entries.

DDG did pretty well amongst everybody within it's grouping. Cuvee Rene was the clear winner for me and that NG V15 was not enjoyable in the slightest. '16 DDG was a solid #2 but both the '13 DDG and Golden Blend have some issues and could easily swap places with each other.

Would've been interesting to have had them all at the same time but 10 of any style in succession is just too much. It was nice to have the stouts with some food and water for halftime entertainment.

One thing for certain, you can never have a bad time hanging with jeevo nhindian PSUMike
 
The second flight had the least amount of variance from top to bottom. They were all really good. The upcharge to acquire things like LPG or A&G just isn't worth it as they were not leaps and bounds better than the more easily acquired entries.

DDG did pretty well amongst everybody within it's grouping. Cuvee Rene was the clear winner for me and that NG V15 was not enjoyable in the slightest. '16 DDG was a solid #2 but both the '13 DDG and Golden Blend have some issues and could easily swap places with each other.

Would've been interesting to have had them all at the same time but 10 of any style in succession is just too much. It was nice to have the stouts with some food and water for halftime entertainment.

One thing for certain, you can never have a bad time hanging with jeevo nhindian PSUMike

Yeah I hear that. I have a few LPG 2011 because its my oldest daughters birth year and I stocked up on a few A&Gs when they went on sale online and through trades, but you're absolutely right, Cuvee Rene and Cuvee Rene Kriek are just outstanding for how easy they are to get.

Sounds like a fun time for sure.
 
One thing for certain, you can never have a bad time hanging with jeevo nhindian PSUMike

Awesome time for sure and as always, Bernadette and I appreciate the hospitality and beers that you and the guys share with us.

This was my first real foray into guezes, and while I admittedly wasn't too high on much of the ones we had last night, I was happy to experience the tasting and get my feet wet with this style of beer.

The End, Vanilla Rye, and Derivation #4 were so awesome, all each for their own reasons. I always say that I would love to drink beers like this every night, but when you don't you really learn to appreciate the tastings like the one we had last night. It was a special experience, and I was able to try a beer that I never thought I would have the chance of drinking.
 
It's just like it was foretold in the prophecy, little brewery fights to be a successful big brewery so they can a smaller brewing system.

Got a sense that Nick wanted to do this when I talked to him a while back. Good for them. Hopefully it will result in some creative beers and not just different variations on Chocolate Meltdown, Pumpkin Roll, and Nut Roll.
 
As far as the beers went, the gueuzes were all really similar but all very good. There wasn't really a stand out that was significantly better than the rest. As much as I've loved A&G previously, drinking it blind in this group, it did not stand out as much as I would have expected if I'd known it was in the group. In my first group, I believe I had it

13 DDG
Golden Blend
Cuvee Rene
16 DDG
NG Vintage 15

and my 2nd group went like this

LPG
A&G
Horals
OG
Tilquin

I think on a different day in a different mood, Tilquin could have been my 1 and LPG my 5. They were all extremely close in the 2nd group.

As far as the vanilla stouts go, they were all extremely different but all very good in their own ways. VR was head and shoulders above the other 2 for all of us...it wasn't close. This was much more a testament to just how great that beer is rather than a knock on the other 2. It was the most vanilla-forward of the group, had a nice barrel presence, and decently big bodied. The nose was something special. D4 was 2nd for me but I went back and forth between it and The End. Both had a nice low vanilla presence that wasn't overpowering but I couldn't overlook D4's body which I can honestly say is the biggest bodied beer I've ever had. It was realllllly undercarbed though. I don't want a stout that pours like coke but it needs to have some carb. This beer was completely still and it was prohibitive. The End surprised me. Initially, I put it 2nd over D4 but after marinating on it a bit, dropped it back one. I really didn't expect it to be able to hold a candle to the other 2 but it fared well. It was definitely the thinnest of the 3 (I'd call it medium bodied though), but it had a little more vanilla flavor and nose than D4.

Flora Plum was great, Rue d'Floyd was better than I expected, and Hoarder's Cuvee was interesting but still enjoyable. Was one of the better nights of drinking we've had as a group.
 
As far as the vanilla stouts go, they were all extremely different but all very good in their own ways. VR was head and shoulders above the other 2 for all of us...it wasn't close. This was much more a testament to just how great that beer is rather than a knock on the other 2. It was the most vanilla-forward of the group, had a nice barrel presence, and decently big bodied. The nose was something special. D4 was 2nd for me but I went back and forth between it and The End. Both had a nice low vanilla presence that wasn't overpowering but I couldn't overlook D4's body which I can honestly say is the biggest bodied beer I've ever had. It was realllllly undercarbed though. I don't want a stout that pours like coke but it needs to have some carb. This beer was completely still and it was prohibitive. The End surprised me. Initially, I put it 2nd over D4 but after marinating on it a bit, dropped it back one. I really didn't expect it to be able to hold a candle to the other 2 but it fared well. It was definitely the thinnest of the 3 (I'd call it medium bodied though), but it had a little more vanilla flavor and nose than D4.

Vanilla Rye was probably my favorite, but Derivation 4 and The End weren't as far back for me as I think it was for you guys. The one thing I took away from this, and I've said this in the past regarding differing beers that are on that next level of "value", but it kind of shows you how crazy it is when it comes to trading. Was Derivation #4 better than The End? Quite possibly so. But was it _____ times better in regards to what it takes to acquire each beer? Most definitely not. I admittedly am someone who gives in to the hype and shoots for the biggest shiniest bottles out there, but most of the time, the big guns aren't exponentially better than easily available beers. The Cuvee Rene is a great example.

It also makes me wonder what the results would be if you put something like say SR-71 in a blind taste test with 2015 Rare, BCBS, etc. Not saying that SR-71 isn't an incredible beer, but drinking bottles on that trading level without any preconceived expectations makes it interesting.
 
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