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WallyHopp - It's was good. You can really taste the sweetness on the first sip but it isn't overpowering. It has a creamy feel to but it's not on the heavy side at all. It goes down smooth. How was the Weihenstephaner OctoberfestBier? I've had a handful of their beers, all good to me so far.
Yooolos - I've been meaning to pick up a bottle of Vertical Epic, I haven't had one since the 10.10.10
Stillln729 - Are you drinking Pumking on tap? So lucky
Yooolos - I've been meaning to pick up a bottle of Vertical Epic, I haven't had one since the 10.10.10
Stillln729 - Are you drinking Pumking on tap? So lucky
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killed my heady topper...till the next time i get the re up.
grabbed some new stuff tho...
leaving it at my girls so ill break one open and try it next time i come thru.
grabbed some new stuff tho...
leaving it at my girls so ill break one open and try it next time i come thru.
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Founders has a new special release IPA called ArtPrize Black IPA... Have to go scoop a single and see what it is all about
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All these reviews are adding up fast.
A quick rundown
-Tried my first Samuel Smith beer. This one was an oatmeal stout. Such a smooth solid stout. It has the heaviness, smoothness, and drinkability of a much heavier beer. So I can appreciate that aspect. With only 5% ABV, it did finish a bit better when it was all said and done. One of the best normal stouts I have ever had 9/10
-Tried a Shiner Wild Hare Ale out of a mixed pack. They call this one a pale ale, but like most Shiner beers, it was just a touch off, and totally mediocre/not to style at all.. 7-8 out of 10.. This one was a touch sweet with a very solid hop aroma but there was little substance
-----------
-I survived a pumpkin blind sampling. I may have had just the sam adams harvest ale out of these five, so it was nice to get a new clean tasting on most of these.
Sam Adams harvest Ale
Anderson Valley Fall Hornin'
Wasatch Pumpkin
Shipyard Pumpkinhead
Shocktop Pumpkin
Now I'm not too fond of what most of the breweries try with pumpkin beers as they try to mix in all spice, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and pumpkin that doesnt quite taste like it does in a pie. Here the one I found the most artificial in flavor and smell happened to be the one I liked the most. It also happened to be one of the ones that was rated the worst. So go figure. I'm not a great judge on all styles. The other 4 beers really tried to make it an all natural cooked pumpkin type subtle taste, which doesnt work for me. Overall, I liked the Shipyard beer the most with the candle like fragrance. If I'm drinking pumpkin, i'm not in it for the all spice, clove, cinnamon, and the other pumpkin pie spices that all mix together.
----------
-Onto one of the biggest samplings we have ever attempted.
10 octoberfest beers all head to head in a blind tasting.
We served 10 glasses, one for each beer, and sampled them in any order we preferred. After sampling, we made notes on what we liked and attempted to make a list of our favorites in chronological order.
Weihenstephaner Oktoberfestbier
Ayinger Oktober fest-marzen
Paulaner Octoberfest
Spaten Oktoberfest
Samuel Adams Octoberfest
Leinenkugels Oktoberfest
Hofbrau Oktoberfest
Beck's Oktoberfest
Pyramid Octoberfest
Santa Fe Oktoberfest
Two we found to be a bit out of style based on color. Those two were the Weihenstephaner and the Hofbrau. Both were very good in their own right. But light on the biscuit and malt taste. Out of the other 8, we had a consensus on just one. The Beck's beer proved to be the worst out of all three of us tasting. Beck's was actually a favorite when the tasting was much smaller in the 5 beer tasting. WIth 10 beers of similar styles, I guess it becomes that much more of a challenge.
With the other 7, each and every one of them seemed to blend in with one another. Nothing truly stood out from the others. 4 of those 7 tasted 95% identical. All very solid drinkable feast beers.
Bottom line, buy what may be local to you or cheapest. Two were rated a touch higher than the others (Paulaner and Ayinger). Those didn't necessarily step above the others in a blind tasting setting. Leinenkugels ended up being the guess for what I thought was my favorite beer , Santa Fe's oktoberfest. So that was a nice surprise. Sam Adam's Oktoberfest stood out on my list as being great. Ayinger had a bit of a ester like yeast taste that stood out, and i rated that one lower than it should have.. I guess with 4-5 tasting soo similar, the ones that were different stood out as being a bit 'off', which can skew things.
After the reveal, we had about a half a bottle of each beer to try knowing exactly what we were drinking.. All turned out to be quite solid.
Looking back at reviews, none of them really stood out as being too low or too high. So to the common beer drinker, it would be hard to pinpoint the GREAT ones or the really BAD ones, because to be honest, there really wasn't.
Mastamind, I have had their Vitus, hefe, dark hefe, premium pilsner, and now festbier. This one is no different. Very crisp and easy to drink. It reminds me more of their original and pilsner than an actual octoberfest beer.. I highly recommend it if you like the others.. It won't surprise you as being above and beyond, but it will be solid.
-----------
For the night cap since I'm local to ABQ, I had some Breaking Bad beer
*not my photo
Heisenburg Dark and Walt's White Lie. Both had about $1 up charge on the "limited" factor. The darker one is a dark IPA. I tasted chocolate with a hop blast.. Solid beer. Galaxy hops present there ... The other is a white IPA.. It's more of a fruity wit, mixed with hops at a 40-60 IBU clip. I ended up with a growler of that.. My own photos in just a bit.
A quick rundown
-Tried my first Samuel Smith beer. This one was an oatmeal stout. Such a smooth solid stout. It has the heaviness, smoothness, and drinkability of a much heavier beer. So I can appreciate that aspect. With only 5% ABV, it did finish a bit better when it was all said and done. One of the best normal stouts I have ever had 9/10
-Tried a Shiner Wild Hare Ale out of a mixed pack. They call this one a pale ale, but like most Shiner beers, it was just a touch off, and totally mediocre/not to style at all.. 7-8 out of 10.. This one was a touch sweet with a very solid hop aroma but there was little substance
-----------
-I survived a pumpkin blind sampling. I may have had just the sam adams harvest ale out of these five, so it was nice to get a new clean tasting on most of these.
Sam Adams harvest Ale
Anderson Valley Fall Hornin'
Wasatch Pumpkin
Shipyard Pumpkinhead
Shocktop Pumpkin
Now I'm not too fond of what most of the breweries try with pumpkin beers as they try to mix in all spice, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and pumpkin that doesnt quite taste like it does in a pie. Here the one I found the most artificial in flavor and smell happened to be the one I liked the most. It also happened to be one of the ones that was rated the worst. So go figure. I'm not a great judge on all styles. The other 4 beers really tried to make it an all natural cooked pumpkin type subtle taste, which doesnt work for me. Overall, I liked the Shipyard beer the most with the candle like fragrance. If I'm drinking pumpkin, i'm not in it for the all spice, clove, cinnamon, and the other pumpkin pie spices that all mix together.
----------
-Onto one of the biggest samplings we have ever attempted.
10 octoberfest beers all head to head in a blind tasting.
We served 10 glasses, one for each beer, and sampled them in any order we preferred. After sampling, we made notes on what we liked and attempted to make a list of our favorites in chronological order.
Weihenstephaner Oktoberfestbier
Ayinger Oktober fest-marzen
Paulaner Octoberfest
Spaten Oktoberfest
Samuel Adams Octoberfest
Leinenkugels Oktoberfest
Hofbrau Oktoberfest
Beck's Oktoberfest
Pyramid Octoberfest
Santa Fe Oktoberfest
Two we found to be a bit out of style based on color. Those two were the Weihenstephaner and the Hofbrau. Both were very good in their own right. But light on the biscuit and malt taste. Out of the other 8, we had a consensus on just one. The Beck's beer proved to be the worst out of all three of us tasting. Beck's was actually a favorite when the tasting was much smaller in the 5 beer tasting. WIth 10 beers of similar styles, I guess it becomes that much more of a challenge.
With the other 7, each and every one of them seemed to blend in with one another. Nothing truly stood out from the others. 4 of those 7 tasted 95% identical. All very solid drinkable feast beers.
Bottom line, buy what may be local to you or cheapest. Two were rated a touch higher than the others (Paulaner and Ayinger). Those didn't necessarily step above the others in a blind tasting setting. Leinenkugels ended up being the guess for what I thought was my favorite beer , Santa Fe's oktoberfest. So that was a nice surprise. Sam Adam's Oktoberfest stood out on my list as being great. Ayinger had a bit of a ester like yeast taste that stood out, and i rated that one lower than it should have.. I guess with 4-5 tasting soo similar, the ones that were different stood out as being a bit 'off', which can skew things.
After the reveal, we had about a half a bottle of each beer to try knowing exactly what we were drinking.. All turned out to be quite solid.
Looking back at reviews, none of them really stood out as being too low or too high. So to the common beer drinker, it would be hard to pinpoint the GREAT ones or the really BAD ones, because to be honest, there really wasn't.
Mastamind, I have had their Vitus, hefe, dark hefe, premium pilsner, and now festbier. This one is no different. Very crisp and easy to drink. It reminds me more of their original and pilsner than an actual octoberfest beer.. I highly recommend it if you like the others.. It won't surprise you as being above and beyond, but it will be solid.
-----------
For the night cap since I'm local to ABQ, I had some Breaking Bad beer
*not my photo
Heisenburg Dark and Walt's White Lie. Both had about $1 up charge on the "limited" factor. The darker one is a dark IPA. I tasted chocolate with a hop blast.. Solid beer. Galaxy hops present there ... The other is a white IPA.. It's more of a fruity wit, mixed with hops at a 40-60 IBU clip. I ended up with a growler of that.. My own photos in just a bit.
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:\ Bout to go on a mean cut.
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Just cracked one of these open. Pours an awesome deep amber color with a soapy head that dissipates slowly. Creamy mouthfeel, with flavors of piney hops, caramel/toffee, and dark fruits with a bitter finish. Glad I picked up another 4 pack of this. Can't wait to see how the taste develops with a few years under its belt. 9/10
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Honest question, what is a barley wine? I've always been afraid to try one, as wines just really arent my thing. Is it brewed with grapes or other fruits? Deep fermented quad ales or stouts are not my thing either. I can drink them once in awhile but not in my monthly rotation. The word Wine scares me when it comes to a carbonated "beer".
Speaking of wine though. Last weekend, I was at a wine festival. If you think what we talk about is a bit extreme with hop choices, mouthfeel, carbonation, and taste profiles, wine drinkers are on a whole other level. I got caught in almost every line with people wondering how it's made or what's in it that makes it special. The servers believed that everyone wanting a taste wanted a back story on the winery and what was in the wine or how it was made.. Beer fests are so much better. I have never really gone to a brewer to ask how they had X beer or what makes it special. I'll read a description at the restaurant and maybe go off of guesses. If they are open to talk, i'll let them talk, but the brewery world seems much more secretive, as grape varieties and growth patterns ultimately dictate quality wine. Whereas beer, just about anyone can get the ingredients.
I actually started to prefer the PORT wines. The barrel aged higher alcohol content wines, many sitting as long as 10 years, gave me an appreciation and direct comparison to many great stout beers.. So I pretty much made a short day of drinking by having ports early and often lol.
A small night cap
Some Breaking Bad Walt's White Lie by Marble Brewing.
7.5% ABV. Very grapefruity/ floral in the smell and initial taste. Then you get hit with some more hops.. Looks wise, it's as murky as any deep hefeweizen or wheat beer. It only has that going for it looks wise. This one is quite the trip.... The alcohol feels much heavier after having just one, as it wants to put you to sleep. It's gotta be higher than 7.5. I'm honestly surprised this one and the Heisenburg Dark are selling out weekly. This is some dark heavy mind twisting stuff (much like the show). The hops are initially present but they don't linger more than a minute. They've accomplished an IPA type beer that has the mouthfeel and backbone but that resiny aftertaste some don't care for is not present at all.. Maybe that's why the popularity lingers.
Speaking of wine though. Last weekend, I was at a wine festival. If you think what we talk about is a bit extreme with hop choices, mouthfeel, carbonation, and taste profiles, wine drinkers are on a whole other level. I got caught in almost every line with people wondering how it's made or what's in it that makes it special. The servers believed that everyone wanting a taste wanted a back story on the winery and what was in the wine or how it was made.. Beer fests are so much better. I have never really gone to a brewer to ask how they had X beer or what makes it special. I'll read a description at the restaurant and maybe go off of guesses. If they are open to talk, i'll let them talk, but the brewery world seems much more secretive, as grape varieties and growth patterns ultimately dictate quality wine. Whereas beer, just about anyone can get the ingredients.
I actually started to prefer the PORT wines. The barrel aged higher alcohol content wines, many sitting as long as 10 years, gave me an appreciation and direct comparison to many great stout beers.. So I pretty much made a short day of drinking by having ports early and often lol.
A small night cap
Some Breaking Bad Walt's White Lie by Marble Brewing.
7.5% ABV. Very grapefruity/ floral in the smell and initial taste. Then you get hit with some more hops.. Looks wise, it's as murky as any deep hefeweizen or wheat beer. It only has that going for it looks wise. This one is quite the trip.... The alcohol feels much heavier after having just one, as it wants to put you to sleep. It's gotta be higher than 7.5. I'm honestly surprised this one and the Heisenburg Dark are selling out weekly. This is some dark heavy mind twisting stuff (much like the show). The hops are initially present but they don't linger more than a minute. They've accomplished an IPA type beer that has the mouthfeel and backbone but that resiny aftertaste some don't care for is not present at all.. Maybe that's why the popularity lingers.
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I have a friend who just moved to ABQ for clinical rotations:
As for barley wine, I don't think it traditionally has fruits in it. It's personally not my thing and a bit offensive to my palate....opinions seem very polarized - you either hate it or love it.
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I had this last night:
New Belgium Coconut Curry Hef.
It was absolutely delicious. Great coconut flavor, not too sweet. Cinnamon spiciness. Didn't even realize it was 8%.
Also had the New Belgium Pumpkick. Nice pumpkin beer. Not mind blowing, just a really good beer.
I haven't been a New Belgium fan in a lot of years, but these were both excellent beers.
-J-
New Belgium Coconut Curry Hef.
It was absolutely delicious. Great coconut flavor, not too sweet. Cinnamon spiciness. Didn't even realize it was 8%.
Also had the New Belgium Pumpkick. Nice pumpkin beer. Not mind blowing, just a really good beer.
I haven't been a New Belgium fan in a lot of years, but these were both excellent beers.
-J-
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- Aug 31, 2012
This beer is always accessible by me, but I never gave it a shot because I find most offerings from Ithaca Beer Co. to be lackluster. However, after reading around on the BeerAdvocate forums I saw that this beer was getting a lot of praise. A bunch of people actually went as far as to call this beer "Heady Topper's little brother." I'm about half way through this beer, and I think they're onto something with that comparison. While the flavor is a little different (this is more citrusy than Heady), this is definitely an awesome beer. Light, balanced, drinkable and extremely flavorful. I'm surprised how much this beer flies under the radar. I think this beer ties with Jai Alai as my favorite single IPA. 9.5/10
A beer I haven't had in ahwile; this one is 13 months old. Roasted malts, dark chocolate, barley, and a bitter coffee finish. Alcohol presence is there, but it's almost refreshing at the end of each sip. Drinks like water. An absolute favorite of mine. Might even prefer it to KBS. Can't wait to try this year's batch along with Backwoods Bastard. 10/10
Oh...bought this too, but I'm waiting to find another before I go ahead and drink this one. 1 per customer limit at the beer distributor. I'll give it a shot tomorrow and hope they don't remember me.
A beer I haven't had in ahwile; this one is 13 months old. Roasted malts, dark chocolate, barley, and a bitter coffee finish. Alcohol presence is there, but it's almost refreshing at the end of each sip. Drinks like water. An absolute favorite of mine. Might even prefer it to KBS. Can't wait to try this year's batch along with Backwoods Bastard. 10/10
Oh...bought this too, but I'm waiting to find another before I go ahead and drink this one. 1 per customer limit at the beer distributor. I'll give it a shot tomorrow and hope they don't remember me.
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Finished my bar finally, heres some pics. and new mixer pack from wegmans.
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Drunk off white chocolate again. I love the bruery! Can't wait for the Black Tuesday release in October!
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Finished my bar finally, heres some pics. and new mixer pack from wegmans.
Wait.. hold up.. that is incredible. Fantastic man cave my brother!
Now for what I came in here to post:
With all these octoberfests and pumpkins coming out I have been looking to invest in a beer flight tray. I am having the hardest time finding a metal one similar to the picture below. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I had this at the Yard House the other night and the metal was chilled so it kept the beers cold while I was sampling.
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NT Summit on NFL Sundays in your garage
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- Jul 1, 2005
Gucci on da floor doe? Doing it right sir.
Anyone here tried that fat jack from Sam Adams? I saw it at the local store by me saying one per customer. But the only other person I know who has tried it says it's not worth the price.
Anyone here tried that fat jack from Sam Adams? I saw it at the local store by me saying one per customer. But the only other person I know who has tried it says it's not worth the price.
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- Jan 21, 2004
Yeah, my wife is pretty awesome. Texted her that a liquor store near her work got these in yesterday...and she just happened to be right by it. So she picked up the max you could buy of each. Two Russian River Temptations and one Pliny The Elder (bottled 08.16).
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I'm drinking shock top pumpkin for football season
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DaFittedKingOG, Nice garage setup. I would never leave there lol. The elevated built in foot rest is legit.. Far too few of places get it right with a resting place for your feet.. The tap with the working drain (presumably) is a must have. I've had 2 of the beers you posted up. Not a bad one of the bunch. Stone IPA was soo good for me one time that I drank one too many . Delerium is a sweet nectar without much of any hop prescence. Just a solid belgium ale. How was the 400 pound monkey? I like Left Hand's stout and milk stout, but really haven't ventured into their other beers. I haven't had a bad Lagunitas but after being spoiled with Sucks, I haven't even tried their other beers, including Censored.
----------------
KickHead23, cupcake trays bro... Those are quite fancy, and may be stainless? but there is nothing wrong with a 8 pack sampler flight on the cheap.. Make the beer your expensive purchases...
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yeahitsRUST...
I may have posted it here. I dont quite remember. But last year or the year before, I had 3-5 of the big bomber specialty Sam Adams beers... Most were very trying too hard to be different with ingredients and away from the norm with beer styles. A double pumpkin beer, if done right with an extreme malt presence, and a way to balance the sweetness, does sound enticing. Reviews are always hit or miss with SA. So I don't want to lump all of them together as "experimental" as this one seems to stay true with the pumpkin theme.. I doubt it's one I try for $9/bomber. But please let me know how it is if you get it.
------------
Been drinking this beauty almost like water
Easily accessible(no limited or rare factor at all), relatively cheap, local, and to top it off an amazing IPA (BA reviewers has it as the 4th best SW beer/12th most popular American IPA). It's definitely gaining some traction from reviewers as beer trades go down (wink wink). And if distrubution goes out of state, it may be a contender like some say as a "not so poor mans" HT.
. Delerium is a sweet nectar without much of any hop prescence. Just a solid belgium ale. How was the 400 pound monkey? I like Left Hand's stout and milk stout, but really haven't ventured into their other beers. I haven't had a bad Lagunitas but after being spoiled with Sucks, I haven't even tried their other beers, including Censored.----------------
KickHead23, cupcake trays bro... Those are quite fancy, and may be stainless? but there is nothing wrong with a 8 pack sampler flight on the cheap.. Make the beer your expensive purchases...
----------
yeahitsRUST...
I may have posted it here. I dont quite remember. But last year or the year before, I had 3-5 of the big bomber specialty Sam Adams beers... Most were very trying too hard to be different with ingredients and away from the norm with beer styles. A double pumpkin beer, if done right with an extreme malt presence, and a way to balance the sweetness, does sound enticing. Reviews are always hit or miss with SA. So I don't want to lump all of them together as "experimental" as this one seems to stay true with the pumpkin theme.. I doubt it's one I try for $9/bomber. But please let me know how it is if you get it.
------------
Been drinking this beauty almost like water
Easily accessible(no limited or rare factor at all), relatively cheap, local, and to top it off an amazing IPA (BA reviewers has it as the 4th best SW beer/12th most popular American IPA). It's definitely gaining some traction from reviewers as beer trades go down (wink wink). And if distrubution goes out of state, it may be a contender like some say as a "not so poor mans" HT.
thegreenlight
Banned
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- May 31, 2013
Just copped something called Before/After. It's 12% so I think i'm in for a fun time.... First sip
.
edit. End of bottle, worth the 5.22 lol
edit. End of bottle, worth the 5.22 lol
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- Jul 1, 2005
----------
yeahitsRUST...
I may have posted it here. I dont quite remember. But last year or the year before, I had 3-5 of the big bomber specialty Sam Adams beers... Most were very trying too hard to be different with ingredients and away from the norm with beer styles. A double pumpkin beer, if done right with an extreme malt presence, and a way to balance the sweetness, does sound enticing. Reviews are always hit or miss with SA. So I don't want to lump all of them together as "experimental" as this one seems to stay true with the pumpkin theme.. I doubt it's one I try for $9/bomber. But please let me know how it is if you get it.
------------
DUDE,
Wally, That glass, I need it. I have a feeling you'll enjoy what's been sent your way. I don't know how it happened but the PM we had going back and forth is non-existent in my PM box. Even checked my trash, etc. But according to UPS your shipment should be on your doorstep tomorrow. I'll shoot you the details through PM. I've tried once and it came back as sent and I see nothing in my inbox. Anyways, enjoy brotha!
yeahitsRUST...
I may have posted it here. I dont quite remember. But last year or the year before, I had 3-5 of the big bomber specialty Sam Adams beers... Most were very trying too hard to be different with ingredients and away from the norm with beer styles. A double pumpkin beer, if done right with an extreme malt presence, and a way to balance the sweetness, does sound enticing. Reviews are always hit or miss with SA. So I don't want to lump all of them together as "experimental" as this one seems to stay true with the pumpkin theme.. I doubt it's one I try for $9/bomber. But please let me know how it is if you get it.
------------
DUDE,
Wally, That glass, I need it. I have a feeling you'll enjoy what's been sent your way. I don't know how it happened but the PM we had going back and forth is non-existent in my PM box. Even checked my trash, etc. But according to UPS your shipment should be on your doorstep tomorrow. I'll shoot you the details through PM. I've tried once and it came back as sent and I see nothing in my inbox. Anyways, enjoy brotha!
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- Jul 1, 2005
This is me tonight, back on the road. F Alabama.. I bought a couple bombers of pumpking. Digging it this year much more than last year's batch.
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- Jan 25, 2008
Let's do some trading in here gents. I'm down here in Florida so I'm not sure what regional exclusives I can bring to the table. Although Cigar City out of Tampa is fantastic and I don't think they have expanded to far, yet. Let me know if anyone would be interested.
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- Sep 13, 2012
Cantillion's Zwanze day is officially tomorrow, anybody here going to a bar or brewery hosting it?
