NT, What Beer Do You Drink?

Bought some beer yesterday and today:
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Nice! I saw Tilted Barn still had some cans yesterday but didn't make it down.
Stopped by Long Live last night instead.

 
MT Prices felt ridiculous. Yet after seeing breeders cup pricing and buying those, this doesn’t feel so bad. Even bottle craft wasn’t cheap. Sort of used to $12/ four packs. Not $20. But so far it’s been worth it.

That's what happens when you attend events that are sponsored by BMC. Not even SD is immune to the big boys.

As much as I hate it, $4-6/pint can is the norm these days. If ever I feel like being cheap, I hit up the grocery store for some Lagunitas
 
Other Half just announced this year's Trillium collab and it sounds like a dud, to be honest. It's basically 4 different beers, all of which have the same exact malt and hop bill (all Citra and Golden Promise with 30% flaked oats), but the way they use the hops is different in each beer. One uses T-90 hop pellets, the other uses T-45, one is all lupulin powder, and the last one uses all 3 and has the ABV jacked up to 10%.

I'm actually relieved. I have no problem sitting this one out as I can't see how each beer will be all that different (or how each beer will be different from All Citra Everything, for that matter). Really thankful I made the trip to Tree House, Tilted Barn, and Bissell this past weekend. I'll probably use some of those beers to trade for a can of each, but you definitely won't catch me on line for this.
 
Got a recommendation to visit Kings Brewery in Rancho Cucamongo, CA as I was driving through the area.

IMHO, They are basically already the Sand City of that Inland Empire area of California. Not sure if everyone gets that reference. But just a year in, they are already pushing 3.75-4.25 level incredibly murky and somewhat juicy IPAs. Nothing totally blew me away in the WoW sense. But they will be one that will be blowing up soon. Nothing sucked. I have been used to sampling and drinking drain pours as these places figured things out. Not sure if that place has been mentioned here. LA heads, head east and check them out. I could even see some similarities to a place like OH.. Just very young IPA and stout focused places. Considering you are charging $7/pint and $20 for 4 packs, you better not put out junk, and so far, I dont exactly feel ripped off.

I wouldnt trade for them just yet. and their growler and can prices are at NE TH levels. So you arent exactly getting that. But I love that a little 6 bbl shop is putting out cans and has 15 different beers on tap. I would love for a little brewery to open up around me like this

But I never thought I would fall for the Strawberry/Vanilla bean IPA gimmick. But they have a couple fruit/vanilla bean beers that left me questioning why I hated on them to begin with
 
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Never had this before but decided to try it tonight. Might grab another 6 just to have.
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Saw a 6 pack at Total Wine and decided to just do a single. Not terrible, but it's ok.
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I haven't had this in like 2 years, but saw it posted in here and it's as nice as I remember.
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My cousin in Washington sent me this. Pretty good to me.
 
Nothing going on other than football and beer this Sunday. Figured this would be a good opportunity for a review dump. Let's get it started:

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Equilibrium dHop2. Pretty sure this one is all citra/mosaic. Really good. Doesn't have that pungency associated with mosaic. Very rounded, but almost to a fault. Sometimes I like one particular note to stand out. Just my personal preference though.

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Tree House Lights On. Loving the new can design. Still the best pale ale I've ever had. This is a beer I wish Tree House would do more often. Every time they brew it the limits are really high. Given their recent increase in yields/allotments I wouldn't be surprised if they started selling this by the case. I would make the trek for this beer alone.

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Sand City Oops! I Cullen'd My Pants! This is a variant of the original Oops! brewed with Mosaic, Galaxy, and Mandarina Bavaria. It was brewed as a fundraiser beer for a family friend of the owners that had their property destroyed from Hurricane Irma. Pretty middle-of-the-road if you ask me. Not a bad beer by any stretch of the imagination, but very forgettable.

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Grimm Striking. New DDH IPA. Really wasn't fond of this one. It has Ekuanot cryo powder, which is one of my least favorite hops. Way too spicy/grassy/peppery. Also had some weird floaties in the glass. Grimm has been putting out duds as of late. Really hoping it's because they're focusing their energy on opening up their own place. Their sours are still outstanding, but I haven't had an IPA from them that has been up to par in months.

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Other Half DDH Green Power. Hopped with Mosaic, Chinook, and Motueka. People lost their minds over this one considering what a great beer the original Green Power was. Turns out double dry-hopping doesn't always make a beer better. The OG version was loved because it was soft/creamy and very well-rounded. Double dry-hopping took away from a lot of that. Further proof that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Still a good beer, but it's missing the balance that made the original great.

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Other Half Space Dream. Oat/lactose IPA brewed with Galaxy. This one was fine. Some of Other Half's lower ABV IPAs suffer from a strange minerality in the flavor and this one is no different. Given the description of this beer, I had a good idea of what it would taste like and my expectations met reality. Not a bad beer, but I'm glad I split the 4-pack with a friend.

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Other Half DDH Oh... . Hopped with Citra, Motueka, Galaxy. The hop notes are great (hard to go wrong with that combo), but as I mentioned above it has a strange gritty/mineral aspect to the flavor. Nice breadiness, but those other notes take away from it. Other Half seems to thrive in the 8.0-10.0% range.

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Needs no introduction. First batch that I've had from Charlton. I found that previous experiences I've had with this beer left me underwhelmed, but this batch is the best I've had. Starting to see the hype.

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Bissell Brothers Swish. Brewed with mosaic, citra, simcoe, and apollo. Imagine pineapple juice mixed with a fresh bag of weed. Really stellar stuff. Worth the trip up to Maine.

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Tree House Alter Ego. Basically Julius, but it's dry-hopped with a bunch of mosaic and a small amount of amarillo. Big orange/peach/apricot notes on this. I got this can in a trade when I was on line at Bissell, and I kick myself for not trading away for more cans of this. One of my favorite Tree House beers, honestly.
 
Part 2 coming in hot:

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Tilted Barn Peeptoad. I was skeptical when I saw the "6.3% Pale Ale," but I understand why they call it a pale now. Really nice bready back-end that I've come to appreciate on a good pale. Nice citrus/stone fruit notes. Super crushable. Mouthfeel is somewhat thin, but it definitely works for the style. It's a runner-up to Lights On, but it's no slouch either. This is a brewery to keep on your radar.

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Bissell Brothers Substance. Not a bad beer, but it's entirely too piney for my liking. Glad I only purchased one 4-pack.

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Tree House Bright w/ Nelson. Liking nelson is a pre-requisite to enjoying this beer, as its presence isn't subdued in the least. Given the fact that it's combined with mosaic, this is far and away the most "pungent" beer I've ever had from Tree House. I'm used to Tree House beers being soft/easy-drinking. This reminds me more of Other Half than Tree House. A "punch in the face" of an IPA. Least favorite Tree House offering I got last week.

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Trillium DDH Congress Street. Galaxy and columbus. This didn't do much for me. Also really don't appreciate that you have to decant every Trillium can unless you want a wad of trub to settle at the bottom of your glass. I'm of the opinion that they've fallen off hard as of late.

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DDH Melcher took it a step further for me. A lot of the same complaints as above. Didn't enjoy much about this beer, which is a shame because I remember liking past batches. This was the beer that made me decide that Trillium is officially on my "do not buy" list.

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Tree House Sap. Fairly certain this is hopped entirely with chinook and simcoe. I heard that previous batches of this beer at Monson were extremely piney, but that they've really dialed-in the recipe to smooth out those rough edges. After having this, I'm a believer. Still retains earthy/piney notes, but it's tempered with citrus and stone fruits. Same pillowy mouthfeel I've come to expect with Tree House. Really enjoy this.

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After talking a bunch of smack about Trillium IPAs, I'll offer up a plot twist: this was an older can of DDH Fort Point that I got in a trade while at Tilted Barn and it drank great. Big orange/tangerine notes on this. Mouthfeel isn't at the level of Tree House, but still pretty full for a 6.6% beer. Fort Point has never disappointed me. Easily my favorite Trillium beer.

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Another beer that needs no introduction. I love galaxy hops, and this is easily my favorite galaxy beer. Might even be my favorite beer ever. Another Tree House beer that really grew on me. The orange/pineapple sorbet description is pretty spot-on. The only downside to this beer is that I don't have access to it all of the time.

My brother texted me earlier today showing off his Tired Hands haul today. Used his girlfriend as a mule and went home with a case of Strawberry Milkshake:
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Asked him if he wanted to trade, but he hasn't gotten back to me :lol:. Hopefully I'll be reviewing a can soon.

Cheers, NT!
 
^ good stuff as always CF! I don't even want to know how much you spent on your trip :lol:

On a related note, one of my colleagues is going a beer tour in VT so I told her to bright me back some goodies. We'll see what she brings back haha.
 
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18th street brewery has been treating me right the past couple of release.

Dime and Deal with the Devil are standouts
 

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I Always thought you were somewhere from CT for some reason. Word now i know. Maybe we could trade in the future sincevim from MA
Always down to trade for some Tree House.

Pro tip: keep an eye out for tomorrow. They only released 600 cases of Green today which is VERY odd for a Friday release. Most batches are 1100-1800 cases. Wouldn't be surprised if they're holding out on something special.
 
I’m local to tilted barn and proclamation. As well as Long Live.
Tilted Barn was easily the coolest brewery I visited on my last trip to New England. Something about the drive down the narrow dirt road and the overall atmosphere of the brewery really did it for me. Met some cool people, made some awesome trades, and drank some great beers there. I brought a ton of beers on the trip with the intention of unloading some cans that I'd had enough of and it worked to my advantage tenfold. I started offering people to take some cans for free, and the next thing you know they're going back to their cars and giving me cans of Tree House/Trillium/Aslin/etc. to reciprocate. Really awesome environment. Definitely became a "must visit" spot for the next road trip.
 
Always down to trade for some Tree House.

Pro tip: keep an eye out for tomorrow. They only released 600 cases of Green today which is VERY odd for a Friday release. Most batches are 1100-1800 cases. Wouldn't be surprised if they're holding out on something special.
Ill keep you in mind. I usually stock up on Trillium whenever I pick up if anything. Havent had time to drive out to Tree House yet
 
Getting started early today. For science 2.0 is from destination unknown beer company on Long Island NY. Happy I was able to score 8 cans, the nose and taste are great, on par with some of the sand city releases I've had. Second is Tribunal, a double IPA from torched hop brewing in Atlanta.
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Getting started early today. For science 2.0 is from destination unknown beer company on Long Island NY. Happy I was able to score 8 cans, the nose and taste are great, on par with some of the sand city releases I've had. Second is Tribunal, a double IPA from torched hop brewing in Atlanta.
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Nice. For Science looks really good. I haven't been too impressed with the Destination Unknown cans I've gotten in the past, but the cans I had didn't look anything like that either. Might have to give them a second chance.
 
Time for the weekly update of new beers:

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Sip of Sunshine is officially available on Long Island. Not just a little bit, either. Every bottle shop seems to have waist-high stacks of cases. Haven't had it in a minute, so I figured I'd revisit. Honest opinion? This beer hasn't stood the test of time. Even for what it is, I feel like there are better alternatives. If I wanted an East coast IPA with West coast influence, I'd probably go for Second Fiddle or one of Other Half's grassier/danker offerings. It's cool that we have access to Lawson's now, but I won't be picking up any more of this. I'll hold out for the day they can Double/Triple Sunshine, but I'm not holding my breath for that either.

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Scored 2 cans of In Perpetuity in a trade. In all honesty? It's good, but I think a lot of their flagships are superior. I drank this right after a can of Julius and I'd take Julius over this any day of the week. Maybe Nelson is wearing on me, but I felt its addition in this beer made it too pungent/dank for my liking. I like Tree House beers for their smooth, juicy, balanced character. This one was missing that balance. Glad to try it, but not worth the hype.

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Other Half DDH Mylar Daydream. 8.8% Oat Cream IPA with El Dorado, Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic, and Galaxy (and their respective lupulin powders) with oats and lactose sugar. This one didn't suck. Still a little green/dank, but a week or two will work wonders on this one. Very fruity with a pronounced creamy characteristic. The heaviness of these "daydream" beers don't make them easy to pound, but it's good for when you want a slow-sipper.

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Tree House Curiosity 42. This one was very good. Not sure what the hop bill is, but it has that textbook taste from the yeast and malts. Not ground-breakingly different from their best flagships, but that's not the worst criticism a beer could have either. Really happy to have the opportunity to try this one.

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Other Half Smoke Screens & Oil Slicks with Vanilla, Coconut, and Coffee. Usually not a fan of Other Half stouts, but this one held its own. The smoke worked really well with the coconut, but I wish this had a more pronounced coffee/vanilla flavor to it. Still a little unbalanced, but a step in the right direction.

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Equilibrium dHop5. This one is hopped exclusively with Citra and Galaxy. Really liked this one. Everything I've had from Equilibrium has been very well-balanced, but this had just the right punch from the hops to keep me interested. One of the better cans I've had from them. They're releasing a collab with The Answer on the day before Thanksgiving and my friend is grabbing me a 4-pack. Can't wait for that one.

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Other Half x J. Wakefield Florida Plates. Spelt/Lactose IPA brewed with Citra and Simcoe with the addition of pineapple and peach. The person that picked this up for me described it as "peach tea," and he was pretty spot-on. More fruit juice than IPA. A tasty beverage, just not something I could drink a ton of. Also couldn't see this getting better with time. I'd think the hops would fade before the fruits would. Nice to try, but I'm glad I traded the majority of my 4-pack away.

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Tired Hands Five Leaves Left (iv). IPA brewed with Citra and Candi Syrup. I'm a sucker for a good Nick Drake reference. This beer is above-average, but nothing to write home about. It could do without the Candi Syrup. Adds a somewhat "Belgian" twist on what could be a very respectable IPA. I appreciate the fact that Tired Hands tries to do different things, but some things are better left alone.

Similar to last weekend, my brother continues to flex on me with his beer hauls :lol:. Sent me this photo yesterday afternoon:
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Cheers, NT!
 
Managed to get today off from work so I decided to do something crazy:
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Walked away with a mixed case of Julius and Green as well as this:
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Wasted no time:
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This is very good, but not worth losing your mind over/going out of your way for. Very rich and adjunct-heavy for the ABV, but I've been spoiled with great dessert beers. Glad to have the chance to try this, but I'm much more excited about the wealth of IPAs I acquired today.

Happy Thanksgiving, NT!
 
Managed to get today off from work so I decided to do something crazy:
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Walked away with a mixed case of Julius and Green as well as this:
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Wasted no time:
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This is very good, but not worth losing your mind over/going out of your way for. Very rich and adjunct-heavy for the ABV, but I've been spoiled with great dessert beers. Glad to have the chance to try this, but I'm much more excited about the wealth of IPAs I acquired today.

Happy Thanksgiving, NT!
Nice man. Happy turkey day to you too. Made it to tilted barn and grabbed 3 four packs. They’ll be shared w friends and family this long weekend. The chosen One and Prop #11
 
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