When the juices flow...

[k_rock923]

Great, I've been puking all day and someone goes and posts about a ton of awesome beer

//When did :pity: get switched to :hang:?

[swingdjted]

testing

ity:



lol

the first was pity and the second was hang

I'm sorry about the bad timing. Wait a couple days before going to that beer galore thread. Right now just think about whatever puts you to sleep. Just start reading an EULA and that might help get you to sleep where the nausea won't be noticeable. I really hope you feel better soon.

[Warrior of the Light]

I don't remember ever using : pity: Must be years.

Originally Posted by swingdjted

Sometimes when the label is painted or embossed on, I just roll the bottle or can with the light on the scanner, and it works out.

I could have used my tripod too but I'm lazy

[swingdjted]

When I do the "poured" pictures, I'm too lazy for tripod too. I could potentially make much better pictures with more light plus tripod rather than less light plus flash, but that would take time; time when I could be enjoying the brew!

[hanshalton]

yes drink it!!

[swingdjted]

Alright, on Friday, I was sent home from work early (before lunch even) because an off-site all-day meeting was cut short. This was just, well, wonderful, so I decided to celebrate. I pulled out something that I've had in the fridge for a while.

Left Hand Brewing Co.
"Wake Up Dead" Imperial Stout
Vender's site is here. Scroll and click on the one that looks like my picture.
RateBeer's review here.
Beeradvocate's review here. Aww, shit... right now, their site is down for maintenance. Google it later.




Now, I was so excited about getting a slightly bigger weekend, and about finding this deadly beer, and, it was a bomber bottle, too big for most of my glasses, that I thought... hmm... this would really kick ass if I drank it out of something of an unorthodox nature. Then I thought… bucket. A beer that is called “wake up dead” should be drank from a fuckin’ bucket. At the same time, I’ve always been a crystal collector. So, there’s some serious contrast here. Just to fuck things up even more. This thing requires two hands, as it is rather large and very thick/heavy. But I’m ok with that. Being home alone (wife was still at work), I found it a great time to have a heavy imperial stout, with some absurdly loud heavy metal while running dj gear tests since I had Valentines Day dances to prepare for. I had some hot chili with it too (made that stuff a while ago and froze a bunch of portioned out bowls of it). Nice pairing for the music and the beer. Needless to say, it was a (to pull out a term that's been dead a few decades) 'totally bitchin' Friday.

[fc*uk]

Sounds divine Ted

Good luck with the dance.

Right now I'm I'm for tequila. Knocking back some aha toro anejo. Shit. Mas bueno.

[swingdjted]

One of the dances is over already (was last night, kinda boring though; was actually posting on Winamp while doing it), but the next will be Tuesday, and the last Friday the 17th. If I remember, I'll bring a cam and post video and/or pics.

In the mean time I'm drinking Cran-Grape juice. No fun tonight, since the work week is coming.

I haven't touched decent quality tequila since the summer of '10. Los Osuna and Don Julio Anejo, both drank at Mazatlan, Mexico. I miss that stuff. I do have some "El Toro" (cheap stuff) that my in-laws brought here to make long-islands, but I don't usually drink it unless someone mixes me a drink with it. Too lazy to do it myself.

[Warrior of the Light]

heh looks tasty! The reviews are clear: you either love it or hate it... They probably missed the reviews of people that didn't wake up after the rather heavy alcohol percentage.

[fc*uk]

On my last trip to Mexico I got really turned on to tequila. Mainly quality stuff drank straight. Mixing is too much of a pain

Hey, I ran across a beer tonight and was curious if you have ever had it. It's Bell's Hopslam. I have never seen it before. It retails in Michigan for $20/6-pack and let's just say that curiosity got the best of me.

I have not had any yet, but I would expect this to be like Dogfish Head 120 minute IPA.

[swingdjted]

Part of the description on the Wake Up Dead label says "Sometimes you’re not in the mood for what everyone else is having". That said, I could understand if some people don't like something so rough.

I've had a lot of Bell's, and so far I've been very happy. Ratebeer loves them, especially one I had pretty recently called Two Hearted Ale. The pics below are those I've tried, except the pic with two bottles that aren't poured (I haven't tried those yet, but they're waiting in the fridge).

Those I've tried:

Amber Ale
Christmas Ale
Kalamazoo Stout
Lager
Pale Ale
Porter
Two Hearted Ale

Those I haven't tried, but have in the fridge:
Cherry Stout
Best Brown Ale

Anything not listed I have not seen yet, including Hopslam. Just realize it's a double/imperial IPA style and likely will be very bitter and hoppy in flavor. Ratings are great, but remember that if you don't like IPAs, it may or may not be your thing.

[fc*uk]

So, given my location to Kalamazoo, MI where bells is brewed, it's pretty easy to find here. I've had most all of them in my past 6 years in Michigan.

Great beers all around. The only ones I have been opposed to are the Christmas Ale and the Cherry Stout. The Christmas Ale is kinda null and void; I am biased and will admit it. I really only like GLBC Christmas Ale and find all others non-acceptable. Not that all others are bad, they just are not GLBC's.

The Cherry Stout I had probably 15 years ago given to me by a friend from Kalamazoo who swore by it. At the time I did not like stouts in general. This was no different. Now I do like stouts and probably ought to give it another try. However, the memory of the extreme bitterness from 15 years ago just puts me off. The next time I am in a store that sells it, I will have to get some so I can more seriously evaluate it.

About the hopslam, I absolutely adore crazy hoppy beers. My favorite of all time is Detriot Hip Hops from the Black Lotus Brewing Company. Small, local brewery in Clawson, Mi. It's got mixed reviews on beer advocate, but personally I am quite fond of it.

edit:

absolutely love your massive collection of beer pictures by the way.

[swingdjted]

Thanks; sometimes I think it makes me look like a lush or insanely obsessive/compulsive, but really, it keeps me out of trouble and is fun... makes a damn fine screensaver too.

[fc*uk]

I could imagine about the screen saver.

Obsessive/compulsive: maybe. But then again, so are my wife and I; so I'm not about to hold that against anyone.

As for a lush. Well, I'll skip that because I'm not one to talk. In my opinion, you are doing good (in terms of not being one) --- and I'll leave it at that (not in a bad way; I drink more than I should).

[swingdjted]

There was a summer a few years back when I was putting down probably more than I should have. At the time I figured, no hangover, no problem, but when tolerances go up, hangovers go down, even when drinking a lot. I had to find something to replace the time spent on drinking, because just telling myself to stop resulted in wanting to crack one open every time I sat down, so, I simply had to stop sitting down as much as possible. I got up, stayed busy, and only sat down to eat or shit. Sounds crazy, but it worked by way of a lot of little projects.

As for the dj work, yesterday was a good day for the kids, but I had a headache. (resized small to keep personally identifiable faces unrecognizable). I also added a bit of a human component to the gear this time (had a fellow staff member play the ax since it was my school this time; the kids loved it - lots of screaming).



This video clip is only a couple seconds long (doesn't amount to much), but gives you an idea of the general state of morale of the place:

http://localhostr.com/file/RURQ70X/a...0know%20it.wmv

No beer to post yet, but hopefully will have one soon.

[swingdjted]

[swingdjted]

Thirty-Four. That's a lot of years; a lot of laps our Earth has run around the sun since I showed up.

In an effort to feel younger, I decided to spend time with something that is only five. That's how many laps around the sun this beer has run while in my possession.

When this was brewed in Chicago (early 2007), I lived in Ohio, but it sat in bourbon barrels for about a hundred days.

Then, it was shipped to the back of a beer store in South Dakota, where I found it in a walk-in cooler a couple months later when I moved to that state.

I drove it and a few other beers in an ice-filled cooler another three-hour drive to middla-nowhere-Winner where I lived. It was in a 4-pack. I drank 2 of them a couple weeks later, nearly having an orgasm with every sip. The other two bottles sat in the back-bottom of my refrigerator, waiting, not knowing it would have so much more of a story to tell.

A couple years later, I moved to Iowa. The beer moved moved with me in a newer cooler in a car atop a tow dolly behind a U-Haul truck and found a new home about a 5-hour drive East in the back-bottom of a new refrigerator I got when I settled in.

A couple years later yet, I moved here to West Virginia. Another cooler for moving; this time in a trailer towed behind my pickup truck driven by Renee (I was driving a giant truck with a different trailer). That was another 2-day-trip. Then came another back-bottom of a fridge for more aging.

Finally, today comes. No family around except my wife, who luckily has helped me clean the house up quite a bit today. This job/location makes me feel isolated when I'm not at work, especially on my birthday. But, to make me feel better, my wife suggested I open one of the bottles I've been carrying around all these years.

It is recommended that these age no longer than 5 years, and I am indeed at 5 years with these, so here goes.



The rear bottle label calls for a wide-mouth glass, like a chalice. I don't have any chalice-style glasses, so I used what you see above (not sure what they're for), which have half-a-beer in each.

Here's the spam links:
Vender (Goose Island's Bourbon County Brand Stout page),
Beeradvocate (highest "world class" rating),
Ratebeer (perfect 100 score).

The beer is exquisite. I don't even know really what that word truly means, but I think it means pretty damn good. It's everything a barrel-aged imperial stout should be, except it goes down so easily. No hardcore bitterness or carnivore's ruthless bite. The mouthfeel is silky, almost oily smooth, and the taste is pretty much all and more of the heavy, tasty, complex imperial stout without much of the assertiveness. They left some yeast in there so that it can age well. I've just now finished the first half while cooking some boneless eye of roast beef (potatos, onions, carrots, spices, Worcestershire, bourbon, spices, even threw some of that home made salsa on top for experimentation sake, etc). The beer is nothing short of delicious. The other half will be consumed when it can be paired with dinner.

The ABV was 13% at the time of bottling; would this have changed while aging?

[swingdjted]

As if I hadn't already posted too many times in a row...

I'm just now noticing, not on the actual bottle, but on the picture and then the bottle,

the skirt part of the cap rusted a bit over the years, leaving a residue on the bottle near the top. I don't think the pouring process touched that, and it was below the rubber part of the cap, so no damage done to the beer. Is this normal, or did I maybe not do something right in storing it?

[fc*uk]

Probably normal due to small amounts of water condensing under those parts of the cap as humidity changed/you moved across the country. I would not been too worried about it.

Oh, my manners. Aha Toro and Don Julio anejo. Don's a great tequila, don't get me wrong about that. Aha Toro mops the floor with Don; and it does it at half the cost.

Makes me curious about the Chile Caliente anejo I have sitting in my closet (that sounds bad). Chile Caliente is made by the makers of Aha Toro, but it is supposed to be even better...

[swingdjted]

Some day I'll put together a good bar again. I've been away from it for a while because I don't have company as much at this location. If I do, I'd love to find some of that Aha Toro. I sure hope it beats El Toro!

[RickKnuckle]

A very cute bunny and a hamster. I really love to have one of this to be my pet.

[Warrior of the Light]

I got a 2 liter (!) bottle of Christoffel Beer recently. Great beer but my head is feeling a bit funny now. (no, I didn't drink it all in one evening)

[swingdjted]

Alright,

Stop right there. 2 Liters? And you didn't invite me (and my wife as the designated driver)?

Yeah. It's going to be a while.

A while before I let this go.

Aw hell, send some over and all will be forgiven.

[swingdjted]

Shameless crosspost...

Click above to go to a new update for the "Beer Galore" thread. I have added literally hundreds of new images since my last submission in January. Most of the beers were quite delicious. I collected from all over the country, since I had to travel a lot over the summer. You may have to scroll to the large text that says "September 29, 2012 Update" to figure out where it starts.

[k_rock923]

Originally Posted by swingdjted

Thirty-Four. That's a lot of years; a lot of laps our Earth has run around the sun since I showed up.

In an effort to feel younger, I decided to spend time with something that is only five. That's how many laps around the sun this beer has run while in my possession.

When this was brewed in Chicago (early 2007), I lived in Ohio, but it sat in bourbon barrels for about a hundred days.

Then, it was shipped to the back of a beer store in South Dakota, where I found it in a walk-in cooler a couple months later when I moved to that state.

I drove it and a few other beers in an ice-filled cooler another three-hour drive to middla-nowhere-Winner where I lived. It was in a 4-pack. I drank 2 of them a couple weeks later, nearly having an orgasm with every sip. The other two bottles sat in the back-bottom of my refrigerator, waiting, not knowing it would have so much more of a story to tell.

A couple years later, I moved to Iowa. The beer moved moved with me in a newer cooler in a car atop a tow dolly behind a U-Haul truck and found a new home about a 5-hour drive East in the back-bottom of a new refrigerator I got when I settled in.

A couple years later yet, I moved here to West Virginia. Another cooler for moving; this time in a trailer towed behind my pickup truck driven by Renee (I was driving a giant truck with a different trailer). That was another 2-day-trip. Then came another back-bottom of a fridge for more aging.

Finally, today comes. No family around except my wife, who luckily has helped me clean the house up quite a bit today. This job/location makes me feel isolated when I'm not at work, especially on my birthday. But, to make me feel better, my wife suggested I open one of the bottles I've been carrying around all these years.

It is recommended that these age no longer than 5 years, and I am indeed at 5 years with these, so here goes.



The rear bottle label calls for a wide-mouth glass, like a chalice. I don't have any chalice-style glasses, so I used what you see above (not sure what they're for), which have half-a-beer in each.

Here's the spam links:
Vender (Goose Island's Bourbon County Brand Stout page),
Beeradvocate (highest "world class" rating),
Ratebeer (perfect 100 score).

The beer is exquisite. I don't even know really what that word truly means, but I think it means pretty damn good. It's everything a barrel-aged imperial stout should be, except it goes down so easily. No hardcore bitterness or carnivore's ruthless bite. The mouthfeel is silky, almost oily smooth, and the taste is pretty much all and more of the heavy, tasty, complex imperial stout without much of the assertiveness. They left some yeast in there so that it can age well. I've just now finished the first half while cooking some boneless eye of roast beef (potatos, onions, carrots, spices, Worcestershire, bourbon, spices, even threw some of that home made salsa on top for experimentation sake, etc). The beer is nothing short of delicious. The other half will be consumed when it can be paired with dinner.

The ABV was 13% at the time of bottling; would this have changed while aging?

I hate you, Ted.

I had a 4 pack of Bourbon County Stout about 2 years ago, before I realized how rare it actually was. Yup, drank it all over the course of a week.

That being said, it was the best beer I've ever had.

[swingdjted]

Your hate is just in the beginning stages... I still have one unopened here! The above 2 glasses came from the one bottle, leaving one more here.

Stop by and we'll open it.

[k_rock923]

Originally Posted by swingdjted

Part of the description on the Wake Up Dead label says "Sometimes you’re not in the mood for what everyone else is having". That said, I could understand if some people don't like something so rough.

I've had a lot of Bell's, and so far I've been very happy. Ratebeer loves them, especially one I had pretty recently called Two Hearted Ale. The pics below are those I've tried, except the pic with two bottles that aren't poured (I haven't tried those yet, but they're waiting in the fridge).

Those I've tried:

Amber Ale
Christmas Ale
Kalamazoo Stout
Lager
Pale Ale
Porter
Two Hearted Ale

Those I haven't tried, but have in the fridge:
Cherry Stout
Best Brown Ale

Anything not listed I have not seen yet, including Hopslam. Just realize it's a double/imperial IPA style and likely will be very bitter and hoppy in flavor. Ratings are great, but remember that if you don't like IPAs, it may or may not be your thing.

That Kalamazoo stout looks fantastic! Actually, they all look pretty good, but that one does it for me. How hard are these to find? There's a beer mecca near me that has stuff from all over the world, so it's worth a shot.

[k_rock923]

Originally Posted by swingdjted

Your hate is just in the beginning stages... I still have one unopened here! The above 2 glasses came from the one bottle, leaving one more here.

Stop by and we'll open it.

Should I ever find myself in your area of the country, I'll be paying a visit (hopefully, you've enjoyed your last bottle by then).

Actually, I remember hearing a rumor that Goose Island was going to start making it year round. I'm not sure I'd actually like that, though. Sure, it would be nice to be able to find it, but it wouldn't be a special drink, the way it is now.

[swingdjted]

The Kalamazoo shouldn't be too hard to find. I have seen it from time to time, and hopefully you're in an area that has a pretty good store. I don't have such a store, but when I visit family, there's a place that's great.

I always have something aging and sitting around waiting for a special occasion; another example is an Alesmith Speedway Stout that is about a year or two old, and there are a few other random beers sitting with it. If they leave some yeast in the bottle, the beer can still mature under good conditions.

It turns out that the "Wake Up Dead" pic from a few posts back became inactive.

Here's a smaller version of it; it was a really rough but good beer: