NT, What Beer Do You Drink?

I really wish I could have some of The Shadow of a Doubt to go. That imperial porter is probably the best I have ever had. Keep reminiscing the taste lol.
 
My sunday night consisted of chocolate and beer tastings at the local brewery.
Smog City Brewery
From left to right:
California Love (Imperial Red collab w/21st Amendment) x Meyer Lemon Ginger chocolate
Smoked Smaug Lager (Rauchbier) x Mayan Tradition (cinnamon, chipotle, guajillo chiles)
O.E. Barleywine x Raspberry Truffle
The Nothing (Double Chocolate Imperial Stout) x Coffee Vanilla choc
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-J-
 
Cracked open the Heady.  Seems a little better than the last batch I had.  It's amazing how this beer is both extremely bitter and extremely balanced at the same time. It reminds me of slightly carbonated, floral tasting orange juice (lacking a lot of the sweetness, obviously) with a touch of breadiness on the finish.  Is it worthy of the #1 spot? Still very debatable for me.  Definitely a world-class Imperial IPA though.
 
Cracked open the Heady.  Seems a little better than the last batch I had.  It's amazing how this beer is both extremely bitter and extremely balanced at the same time. It reminds me of slightly carbonated, floral tasting orange juice (lacking a lot of the sweetness, obviously) with a touch of breadiness on the finish.  Is it worthy of the #1 spot? Still very debatable for me.  Definitely a world-class Imperial IPA though.

So what's tops for you?

As a Belgian strong/quad lover, I'm definitely jelly of that Westy. Can you do a Rochetfort A-B comparison?
 
 
Cracked open the Heady.  Seems a little better than the last batch I had.  It's amazing how this beer is both extremely bitter and extremely balanced at the same time. It reminds me of slightly carbonated, floral tasting orange juice (lacking a lot of the sweetness, obviously) with a touch of breadiness on the finish.  Is it worthy of the #1 spot? Still very debatable for me.  Definitely a world-class Imperial IPA though.
So what's tops for you?

As a Belgian strong/quad lover, I'm definitely jelly of that Westy. Can you do a Rochetfort A-B comparison?
Can't say I really have a standout favorite IPA.  I guess my "upper-echelon" ones that I've had are Heady, Pliny, DirtWolf, Hop Ranch, Hi Res, Two Hearted, Hopslam, Elevated, Sucks, Enjoy By, and Head Hunter. Each one is different and awesome in its own way.

As far as doing an A-B comparison with Rochefort...I'm not too sure I have the will power to save the Westy. 
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  I'll try though.
 
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I took a Sunday off from beer. But I think my taste buds are shot.

Monday, I was revitalized . For lunch we stopped at a place that seems to be known more for their New Mexican Cajun style food than their beer , Nexus in Albuquerque

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Their cream ale is very easy drinking. A mix between a blonde and a lighter hefeweizen tasting beer. I taste some corn or rice, like my own home brew cream ale. It's almost on the lager side with its crispness.

Their scottish ale is quite unique. Unlike other scotch ales that I've tried, this one tends to take on more of the form of what scotch actually tastes like. I get a sense of a woody/nutty characteristic. I'm not too keen on the higher spirits that are out there. But I am told that this one has a hint of scotch, just as BCBCS has a big blast of bourbon... Highly recommended stuff. I finished the lunch session with an imperial cream ale (a world beer cup winner). With almost 3-4 more % than their standard cream ale, I get a greater sense of a malt sweetness that gives for a much deeper backbone to the beer. They both have their place. I can't pick favorites.


My second growler from La Cumbre was a Southern Cross Pale Ale.. Apparently it is hopped with nothing but Southern Hemisphere hops (think South Africa). Without going too deep into an analysis, it was basically a less ABV, a touch less hoppier version of Elevated.. It's what is defined as a pale ale (a less than IPA). The 5.3% ABV is too nice. The Southern Hemp. hops add a nice dank sweetness. I could basically interchange Elevated, Dank, and this Southern Cross Pale Ale and die a happy guy.. No complaints.

Since my last tasting, I have done some separate tastings. Elevated on draft was wonderful. Out of the can, no complaints.. Southern Cross out of the growler was world class... I have a dank bomber to finish up tomorrow evening to complete my separate tastings.. So far, It's hard to say not to any of them... All are world class thus far.


btw.... how fresh is your guys' lagunitas sucks? It's vaguely marked on the bottle neck, as a day of the year followed with the year (last digit).. The freshest I have seen is 351 3 (making it a mid December bottle date). I got so spoiled buying and drinking a case when it first came out. It seems no one in my area is buying any of it, so the remaining stuff is sitting.
 
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btw.... how fresh is your guys' lagunitas sucks? It's vaguely marked on the bottle neck, as a day of the year followed with the year (last digit).. The freshest I have seen is 351 3 (making it a mid December bottle date). I got so spoiled buying and drinking a case when it first came out. It seems no one in my area is buying any of it, so the remaining stuff is sitting.
The last 6'er of Sucks I bought was in the beginning/middle of January. I noticed a slight decline in freshness and hoppiness towards the last two beers.  I have a feeling Sucks is like Sculpin,  Heady, and Enjoy By where it's amazing when it's fresh but it falls off fast.

I already caved and cracked open the Westvleteren 12. 
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 Tomorrow is my relaxation day during the week so I have to take advantage of tonight.  I'm about 1/3 of the way through so far.  Don't wanna give anything away just yet.  Full review coming tomorrow (most likely).
 
Westy is amazing. My pics are somewhere many, many pages back. How much did it put you back?
 
Dinner and the Jai Alai were both excellent.
Was able to get my hands on a six pack of Jai Alai a few months back many thanks to @Comparison Ford and been a big fan since. An East Coast IPA that very much resembles a West Coast IPA.

Still holding on to my 2 bottles of Westy 12 I got in Belgium. Even there each bottle cost me 10 euros
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Stopped by the beer distributor to pick up some goodies today:

A little skeptical about the Limbo IPA, but da god at the beer distributor recommended it and said it really surprised him.  Hopefully it delivers.

Oh...and just as I was about to walk out da god stopped me again with surprise goodies that he had hidden under the counter:

Told him that I had Westy 12 yesterday.  He asked how much I paid for it, I told him, and then told me he was gonna give me the bottle for $15.  Good dude. 
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^^ Nice pick ups.

How do you all feel about beer floats? I have seen some posts on FB and such lately that have me like :evil

But then I realize that a lot of these people are using GREAT stouts to slap ice cream in (FBS, etc.). I don't have the courage to risk an FBS to try it without some guidance.
 
Ok... Seriously CFord, if you can secure me a bottle of Westy I will be in debt to you. Two bottles in a 2 day span? I've never had and the trades I have tried to make for it were either way to crazy or didnt pan out and ended up with other good stuff.

Let me know what I need to do to get that in my life.








Please.
 
Yeah Ford, hook him up.. any ways tonights pour and some madden. Life is good.

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