Random Beer Thoughts

[Lutter]

Meh. **** "craft" beer. Lottos, lines, trade rape... Let's just drink fresh Steel Reserve and call it a day...



Cmon, it's brewed specifically for "smooth flavor". And it's actually nicely hoppy fresh.

 

[sherm10161]

So how does that make it a bad idea?

I guess that depends on who they want their owners to be.

AB Inbev has been very nice to Goose Island from what I can tell.

 

[Treebs]

I guess that depends on who they want their owners to be.

AB Inbev has been very nice to Goose Island from what I can tell.

Outside of the horrible marketing decisions (IMO) regarding BCBS the AB acquisition of GI has been pretty beneficial. They've contracted out GI's simple recipes (Honkers, 312, IPA, etc.) to free up fermenter space and warehouse space. This allows for more innovation/experimentation and more space for larger yields of these beers. Also being flush with cash to source higher end ingredients and other costly ingredients for these beers has been beneficial as well.

 

[JulianB1]

Outside of the horrible marketing decisions (IMO) regarding BCBS the AB acquisition of GI has been pretty beneficial. They've contracted out GI's simple recipes (Honkers, 312, IPA, etc.) to free up fermenter space and warehouse space. This allows for more innovation/experimentation and more space for larger yields of these beers. Also being flush with cash to source higher end ingredients and other costly ingredients for these beers has been beneficial as well.

Serious question for you and other Chicago-area people: has the quality of GI's core lineup beers changed much as a result of the contract brewing? I never had any of them pre-AB, but I find they are mostly fairly serviceable for what they are (312 especially) while being fairly middle of the road and boring overall. I mean, IPA is a perfectly drinkable beer but it's squarely in that boring, grassy-and-malty midwest BJCP guideline-adhering IPA realm. Was it ever anything better, like more up to the Two-Hearted or Founders Centennial level, or is it basically the same beer as always?

 

[Treebs]

Serious question for you and other Chicago-area people: has the quality of GI's core lineup beers changed much as a result of the contract brewing? I never had any of them pre-AB, but I find they are mostly fairly serviceable for what they are (312 especially) while being fairly middle of the road and boring overall. I mean, IPA is a perfectly drinkable beer but it's squarely in that boring, grassy-and-malty midwest BJCP guideline-adhering IPA realm. Was it ever anything better, like more up to the Two-Hearted or Founders Centennial level, or is it basically the same beer as always?

Not really. The quality really hasn't changed. As you mentioned those beers were always serviceable where macro options dominated (sporting events, chain restaurants, etc), but never ordered of something like Two Hearted.

 

[danbanana]

Serious question for you and other Chicago-area people: has the quality of GI's core lineup beers changed much as a result of the contract brewing? I never had any of them pre-AB, but I find they are mostly fairly serviceable for what they are (312 especially) while being fairly middle of the road and boring overall. I mean, IPA is a perfectly drinkable beer but it's squarely in that boring, grassy-and-malty midwest BJCP guideline-adhering IPA realm. Was it ever anything better, like more up to the Two-Hearted or Founders Centennial level, or is it basically the same beer as always?

Their regular lineup was pretty much your standard craft-brewery-started-in-the-80's. The Belgian lineup was always good though, and a few of those (Pepe Nero, off the top of my head) were casualties of the InBev buyout. As was their Summer Ale, which was probably the most widely distributed American kolsch at the time. That beer was really solid and is, alas, gone.

I tend to agree that the InBev buyout hasn't negatively affected them, though as Treebs said, the hyping of BCBS is annoying for those of us who actually like that beer and want to buy it so we can drink it. Also, every IPA they've released post-buyout has been ******* awful. Ten Hills tasted like a bad home brew.

 

[lb304854]

Serious question for you and other Chicago-area people: has the quality of GI's core lineup beers changed much as a result of the contract brewing? I never had any of them pre-AB, but I find they are mostly fairly serviceable for what they are (312 especially) while being fairly middle of the road and boring overall. I mean, IPA is a perfectly drinkable beer but it's squarely in that boring, grassy-and-malty midwest BJCP guideline-adhering IPA realm. Was it ever anything better, like more up to the Two-Hearted or Founders Centennial level, or is it basically the same beer as always?

Don't know about any change in the core lineup, but the Harvest Ale sucks. Don't buy.

 

[RedCoffee]

Serious question for you and other Chicago-area people: has the quality of GI's core lineup beers changed much as a result of the contract brewing? I never had any of them pre-AB, but I find they are mostly fairly serviceable for what they are (312 especially) while being fairly middle of the road and boring overall. I mean, IPA is a perfectly drinkable beer but it's squarely in that boring, grassy-and-malty midwest BJCP guideline-adhering IPA realm. Was it ever anything better, like more up to the Two-Hearted or Founders Centennial level, or is it basically the same beer as always?

I used to drink a lot of 312 but now I don't bother with it. Seems like it got more "boring" after the buyout. I fully acknowledge, however, that this might just be my own perceptions following the buyout/increased exposure to other similar beers.

 

[trickytunadicky]

I used to drink a lot of 312 but now I don't bother with it. Seems like it got more "boring" after the buyout. I fully acknowledge, however, that this might just be my own perceptions following the buyout/increased exposure to other similar beers.

I drank a lot of 312 after I first moved here and Bell's had to pull out because of the distributor disagreement, and it was the closest thing to Oberon available, but it is a pale comparison, and I won't even close to touch it if Oberon is available. That being said, these days I don't think I have more than a 6-pack of Oberon a year, but that is how I ring in spring.

 

[JulianB1]

Yeah I regard 312 as a far inferior option to Gumballhead, Oberon, and several others in the same vein, but when I need to grab a 6-pack at the grocery store on the way to a party or cook-out it's not a bad choice.

 

[Gonzoillini1]

Yeah I regard 312 as a far inferior option to Gumballhead, Oberon, and several others in the same vein, but when I need to grab a 6-pack at the grocery store on the way to a party or cook-out it's not a bad choice.

While both 312 & Gumballhead are both American Pale Wheat Ale's, that is about where the similarities end in my opinion. 312's best comparison is the Widmer Hefefweizen.

 

[regularjohn]

a barrel aged long duration fermented wild ale is that same bowl but malted ice cream turned into a banana split covered in hot fudge, peanuts, whip cream, cherry on top and dusted with gold flakes

ISO

 

[tosh1]

Pliny people are funny. Been here 5 minutes and heard 8 people concerned if their Pliny will be okay if out of the fridge for more than 10 minutes. People freaking out over bottles and Growlers. And you know why the customers are freaking out?


Russian River ******* staff.

'Did you bring a cooler' is the first response to everyone. Come on, grew the **** up already. It will be fine if they drive home without a cooler.

'a few hours? Well as long as it goes straight in the fridge'

I still hate beer, but I hate people more.

 

[JulianB1]

Pliny people are funny. Been here 5 minutes and heard 8 people concerned if their Pliny will be okay if out of the fridge for more than 10 minutes. People freaking out over bottles and Growlers. And you know why the customers are freaking out?


Russian River ******* staff.

'Did you bring a cooler' is the first response to everyone. Come on, grew the **** up already. It will be fine if they drive home without a cooler.

'a few hours? Well as long as it goes straight in the fridge'

I still hate beer, but I hate people more.

The most succinct description I can recall of Russian River's approach to selling their beer came from Arbitrator: "they're egotists about their product."

 

[dvelcich1]

Serious question for you and other Chicago-area people: has the quality of GI's core lineup beers changed much as a result of the contract brewing? I never had any of them pre-AB, but I find they are mostly fairly serviceable for what they are (312 especially) while being fairly middle of the road and boring overall. I mean, IPA is a perfectly drinkable beer but it's squarely in that boring, grassy-and-malty midwest BJCP guideline-adhering IPA realm. Was it ever anything better, like more up to the Two-Hearted or Founders Centennial level, or is it basically the same beer as always?

I haven't noticed a quality change. What I have noticed is that experimental stuff like the Fulton & Wood series is still awesome and priced ridiculously low for what you get. Them with BCBS is like a mule with a spinning wheel if you will. They don't understand why it sells so well, and they definitely don't know how to use it, but they know they can make a **** load of money with it, and that's what they're doing. The quality on those hasn't changed either. I haven't heard one complaint about the styles they chose, just the marketing/packaging.

 

[boogercrack]

I haven't noticed a quality change. What I have noticed is that experimental stuff like the Fulton & Wood series is still awesome and priced ridiculously low for what you get. Them with BCBS is like a mule with a spinning wheel if you will. They don't understand why it sells so well, and they definitely don't know how to use it, but they know they can make a **** load of money with it, and that's what they're doing. The quality on those hasn't changed either. I haven't heard one complaint about the styles they chose, just the marketing/packaging.

speaking of which, i'm amazed that when beers like juliet went from 22oz at like $16 to 25oz to ~$25, the **** tornado didn't even reach an F1.

 

[LukeAleTime]

Pliny people are funny. Been here 5 minutes and heard 8 people concerned if their Pliny will be okay if out of the fridge for more than 10 minutes. People freaking out over bottles and Growlers. And you know why the customers are freaking out?


Russian River ******* staff.

'Did you bring a cooler' is the first response to everyone. Come on, grew the **** up already. It will be fine if they drive home without a cooler.

'a few hours? Well as long as it goes straight in the fridge'

I still hate beer, but I hate people more.

I'm kind of ok with it in the sense that venues, distro, and shops have been ******* up so bad with out of date stock and poor handling that a hardline "over correction" that is almost necessary.

 

[litheum94]

The most succinct description I can recall of Russian River's approach to selling their beer came from Arbitrator: "they're egotists about their product."

And yet if Shaun Hill said this, we'd all nod in agreement.

 

[regularjohn]

Pliny people are funny. Been here 5 minutes and heard 8 people concerned if their Pliny will be okay if out of the fridge for more than 10 minutes. People freaking out over bottles and Growlers. And you know why the customers are freaking out?


Russian River ******* staff.

'Did you bring a cooler' is the first response to everyone. Come on, grew the **** up already. It will be fine if they drive home without a cooler.

'a few hours? Well as long as it goes straight in the fridge'

I still hate beer, but I hate people more.

oh man the the opportunity to troll there was beautiful. you should have turned with a terrified look on your face and told them their beer was gonna go bad...and basically they were ******

 

[ASak10]

oh man the the opportunity to troll there was beautiful. you should have turned with a terrified look on your face and told them their beer was gonna go bad...and basically they were ******

IT'LL TURN INTO A BARLEYWINE BY THE TIME YOU GET HOME!!!!

 

[RedCoffee]

And yet if Shaun Hill said this, we'd all nod in agreement.

Whatchu mean we?

 

[Sage1]

IT'LL TURN INTO A BARLEYWINE BY THE TIME YOU GET HOME!!!!

brb buying a bottle of Pliny and putting it against my nuts until it turns into KH

 

[coldafpipes]

oh man the the opportunity to troll there was beautiful. you should have turned with a terrified look on your face and told them you hate them, their beer was gonna go bad...and basically they were ******

 

[steimie]

brb buying a bottle of Pliny and putting it against my nuts until it turns into KH

That only works if they're third use nuts.

 

[RedCoffee]

brb buying a bottle of Pliny and putting it against my nuts until it turns into KH

Everyone knows if you rub a DIPA on ordinary nuts it turns into, at best, Bigfoot. How many years have you encased your ballsack in a miniature bourbon barrel?

 

[Sage1]

That only works if they're third use nuts.

aw nuts

How many years have you encased your ballsack in a miniature bourbon barrel?

hey lay off the asian jokes

 

[archagon]

I wish I had more time to do some double-blind tests on myself, because even though I've always found people panicking over "old" IPAs a little funny, I was surprised yesterday by just how much more flavorful and aromatic a fresh growler of one of Cellarmaker's recent IPAs* seemed compared to other well-regarded IPAs I've been drinking that had about a month on them. I really want to know if it's a matter of style, quality, placebo, mood, or if age really does have that much of an effect on hoppiness. I've never been able to find any studies where this sort of thing was actually quantified.

* (Mo' Passion, highly recommended!)

 

[JulianB1]

I wish I had more time to do some double-blind tests on myself, because even though I've always found people panicking over "old" IPAs a little funny, I was surprised yesterday by just how much more flavorful and aromatic a fresh growler of one of Cellarmaker's recent IPAs* seemed compared to other well-regarded IPAs I've been drinking that had about a month on them. I really want to know if it's a matter of style, quality, placebo, mood, or if age really does have that much of an effect on hoppiness. I've never been able to find any studies where this sort of thing was actually quantified.

* (Mo' Passion, highly recommended!)

Non-scientific opinion: I've drank a ton of IPAs of various ages, some in blind taste tests, some against older/newer versions of themselves, some just to crack a beer. My conclusion: it really depends on the beer. I know that's a cop-out answer, but that's what I've found. Just for two contrasting anecdotal examples:

I can't remember ever having a Pliny the Elder bottle older than about a month that I thought was still comparable to my memories of the fresh beer (and I've drank plenty of it). On the flip side, I'd have 4 month old cans of Surly Abrasive that still tasted absolutely fantastic.

 

[Sage1]

Yeah there are way too many variables… the kinds of oils in each hop being used, then the ratios of those hops, what time they’re added and for how long, quality of the lot, malt profile, dissolved oxygen, etc. etc., not including subjective environmental factors. I imagine you could make a 30x30 matrix of variables (thus 900 samples) and still get no quantifiable answers. Suffice to say though that anybody who would claim to be able to tell the difference after a half hour in a car is bullshitting themselves (unless of course the growler cap is loose).

 

[archagon]

Yeah, obviously half an hour in the car is silly, but now I do wonder about periods as short as 2 weeks.