NT, What Beer Do You Drink?

Ahhhh snap.

These other local NM breweries need to step it up ten fold
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La Cumbre's Malpais Stout just got canned this week for the first time. I'll be picking some up tomorrow.

They dominate the IPA consumer market (marble is a close second). They dominate the hefeweizen market (not much is close to be honest). They will soon dominate the stout market with this bad boy. I've had it for years. I think it's on the bitter side, so the 7.5% isn't as sweet as some other breakfast stouts or chocolate/oatmeal or imperial stouts. It's as solid as any other 90-95 rated BA easily available stouts. The 7.5% makes it an in between a normal stout, and an imperial so the ratings or comparisons can be tough.

Canned or bottled NM brewery beers just aren't as prevalent as other states appear to be. Most are still on their way up from the ground floor, so they aren't even thinking of packaging.. But for me atleast, tha's where the savings is.. A $4.50 pint of OKAY beer is okay to do once in awhile. Getting a full growlers worth for $10 is where the deal of the weekend is. I will soon be showing more love towards La Cumbre's product line. They have done it right from the beginning.
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Tonight I had a stand alone La Cumbre Elevated IPA to finish off the case I bought awhile back (hope you enjoy those yeahitsRUST. My same dated cans were WONDERFUL).. I don't know if I will ever try a IPA blind tasting again. I see that brewing news is doing a march madness style bracket again this year
http://www.brewingnews.com/nipac/

Has anyone taken part in this sort of bracket challenge tasting? I tell myself I would never do it again because my taste buds were just totally shot after one or two IPAs. I could sense some differences. But the vast majority probably went to waste.. Even tasting beers at the bar can be a challenge. It's not feasible to try a beer empty stomach every time you want to try one.. La Cumbre Elevated IPA in cans is amazing on an empty stomach as your first beer of the night.

I'll be popping the top of my 2-14-14 Project Dank bomber shortly. I'll post up some photos/reviews soon

Edit:
Here we go
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This is one of the only beers I have gone back and forth with constantly. I like it, I love it. I like it a touch but the price is out of range for its "value". I'm still conflicted. On draft, it's the best Beer I have ever had... etc..

An hour after having the elevated, I pop open the dank bomber. A near 1.5x potency in smell/aroma is present compared to elevated.. Taste, as I have mentioned many times before leads to a much thicker mouthfeel. It feels like a 8.5% DIPA. Taste this time around was borderline dank onions, if that makes sense. It had a true sense of that raw piney citrus flavors. That may be more to do with the batch #4 than the overall style of the beer (the tasting this weekend showed the 1/31/14 more favorable to me). It's a beer garnering near perfect scores online. I don't know if its exactly worth it. I feel its much more accessible and cheaper counterpart, which has been around going on 3 years is a STAPLE product (elevated IPA) deserving of a higher BA score.

The resolution is that dank may be something I drink brewery only on draft, experiecing the greatness outside of the bottle, and elevated is something that seems to thrive in brewery and/or canned.

With every batch, it may be one I ultimately try, as I'm just sucked into this craze.. Trade wise, it's an iffy proposition unless ya'll really want to try it.
 
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Review time:

I found this one completely out of the blue two days in a row.  Not the biggest Belgian fan, but given the hype/rarity of this beer I couldn't pass up the opportunity.  Pours a deep brown with moderate to high carbonation.  Has a soapy head forms quickly and dissipates slowly.  Surprising for a 10.2% ABV beer.  This one demands that you pour it gently.  The aroma on this beer is up there with Hopslam as one of the best smelling beers I've ever taken a whiff of.  Smells like a chocolate-covered cherry with an underlying sweetness behind it.  Taste is somewhat of a letdown after giving it an initial smell.  The dark fruit flavors and sweetness are there, but it's somewhat muted when you compare it to what the aroma would lead you to think what it tastes like.  Taste is a lot mellower.  Not as sweet as I expected with a bit of funkiness from the Belgian yeast.  Having said that, this beer is very drinkable, very pleasant, and certainly isn't bad by any stretch of the imagination. Considering that I went out and bought another the next day, I'd say this is a worthy beer.  Is it the best Belgian quad? Not quite sure.  Is it worthy of being in the top 10 beers on BeerAdvocate? Not quite sure of that either.  Either way, I plan on holding onto my second bottle for a special occasion.  Didn't live up to the hype, but a damn good beer nonetheless. 9.4/10

Second beer was a recommendation from da god at the beer distributor.  Having always considered Long Trail to be a "safe" or "middle of the road" brewery, I was skeptical about purchasing this.  However, I trust his judgment and saw that this beer gets a 92 on BeerAdvocate.  That's enough for me to give it its day in court.  Pours a nice translucent golden amber color with a head that dissipates rather quickly.  Aroma on this is surprisingly nice.  Lots of mango, peach, and a little citrus.  Not too malty on the nose, but a generalized sweetness is there from the fruit aromas.  Taste on this isn't too shabby. Same fruit flavors at the front of the mouth, with a little bit of breadiness in the middle and on the back end.  Not as intense as a lot of the "upper echelon" IPAs, but this is quite drinkable and quite pleasant.  Somewhat surprising.  Don't know if I'll be buying another 6'er for awhile, but I wouldn't mind ordering one of these at a bar or buying a single bottle again.  Worth checking out. 9.1/10
 
Westy 12 is good but def didn't live up to the hype for me either though I understand a lot of the appeal is the difficulty factor in obtaining it.
 


In other news: Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout has overtaken Pliny The Younger for the #2 spot on BeerAdvocate's Top 250 beers.  Now THAT'S a beer worth seeking out. 
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ughhh i wanna try that Bourbon County Stout so bad. Here in SoCal, all the Pliny "pilgrims" are causing a ruckus.
 
Had my first Pliny last night.
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Really, really nice beer.
Good balance. Caramel sweetness and the grapefruit of the Centennial hops was nice and not overpowering.
Best beer I've ever had? nope.
I liked Westy more. I like yeast more than hops.
I like The Abyss more.
Would I buy it again? Absolutely. I'll make a point to pick up a bottle when my local spot gets it in (which is about every 2 weeks or so).
It's a beer that should have fairly regular rotation in your fridge, IMO.

-J-
 
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Finally checked out Bottle Logic in Anaheim. 5th day open and it's really taking off. Beer is amazing. I failed to take pictures so don't mind this photo I stole from my gfs instagram.
 
I had another eventful Saturday.. Stopped at this new brewery/gastropub in town, Stumbling Steer.. AMMMMMAZING food first of all..

They had about 8 of their own beers (brewed off site for the time being). I sampled 4 of them. All way above average..
-Their Red Ale isn't hoppy like some reds can be. It was quite mellow, like a boston lager or shiner bock type of simplicity. But imho, a better take.
-I then sampled their brown ale. Nutty for days. Carbonation was spot on on all of them.
-I then went with their 9.5% imperial stout. Very well made. Roasted malts, chocolate, a touch of coffee.. its like any other quality stout out there
- Lastly was their IPA. I'm used to the hop bomb citrus tropical IPAs so this was a bit basic. Think on the lines of a Sam Adams IPA. A bit malty for my taste but not bad...
-We passed on their blonde ale and pale ale for another day.. Double/Triple IPA was sold out

Overall, I have been to quite a few new places just starting out. They have been anywhere from undercarbonated to just odd tasting in different facets. Here nothing stood out in a negative or off way. Their food may be 5 of 5 star quality. You get what you pay for. The beers, although not quite at AMAZING just yet, aren't far behind. This place also had 15 craft taps (no macro stuff at all). I was drawn to Lagunitas Sucks instantly. I've had it in bottle countless times but never seen a place to offer it on draft
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As good as it always has been

I couldn't make it to the store Friday.. A small haul for Saturday


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-Spotted a 4 pack near the registers of this Goose Island beer. I am always drawn to seasonal IPAs. They are FRESH! I did a quick google search and saw a solid 93 BA score. I know nothing else about it. I'll review it later today. I actually returned Lagunitas Sucks to the shelf in place of this. Sucks was still a 351 3 dated beer. It looks like they are running out of six packs though. This week may be my last chance at getting some.
- Got a 4 pack of elevated.. That's a gimme... The new Malpais Stout is out. Better than I remember. I drank one before dinner last night. I'll get a photo/review later on
-Spotted 2 celebration IPAs on the clearance section. I want to see how December old IPAs are tasting these days. I felt it was a touch piney the first time around, so it may have mellowed.
 
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Just reading back on this thread alittle bit. Bcbcs up to #2? Maybe I traded too willingly lol. If anyone needs help get at me. I heard coffee beers don't age that well. That flavor and smell is a big factor so I don't want to be sitting on too much or it.

Review time
Goose Island "The Illinois" Imperial IPA
9.0% ABV
95 IBU
Bottled on Feb. 7th '14
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I'm not finding a lot of information on this beer just yet. I see a few press releases mentioning a new Goose Island Imperial series, with this one set to release Feb. 24th (maybe my local place released it early). http://beerstreetjournal.com/goose-island-the-illinois/ http://www.groceryheadquarters.com/2014/02/goose-island-introduces-big-new-beer-the-illinois/

I'm also unclear if this is just their draft only DIPA transformed into cans.. Do prior reviews hold up?

Enough about that.... Onto the review

It pours an amazingly clear light orangish color with a solid 1/2 inch head.. Lacing upon drinking leads to a very sticky finish. Smell, I get a sense there is a bit of dankness, some pine, and a touch of citrus. Incredibly balanced in the taste. Big malt body letting to some heaviness in mouthfeel, with a touch of malt sweetness. Hop bitterness is surprisingly well balanced.. It may not get the phrase it deserves because of its name and affiliation. But that's okay. I'm headed to the store to buy more.. Price was $12/4pack.. Quite steep but worth it.. I'm a bit blown away here. Where is the talk online about this great beer? WOWZA. This may sound crazy, but a HEADY TOPPER level of completeness.. I catch some similiarities with beers I'm familiar with like Project Dank, Elevated IPA, and a Lagunitas sucks. This beer is missing that deep mango or tropical fruit component which relates more to HT... Easily 100/100 for me here... 9% but tastes of a 6%er... SEEK THIS OUT RIGHT NOW.

I'll probably have one more tonight and hope the same impressions hold up. This was really frickin good.
 
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Don't take beer advocates ratings as fact. I have found so many more beers that are superior than pliny in my eyes.
 
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waited in line for a couple hours to try Pliny The Younger yesterday. I thought the Younger was great (8/10), but I wouldn't wait for it ever again. I'd rather get Elder (also 8/10) and just enjoy the unmasked hoppiness.

to each their own though.
 
Growler and beaker pint glass of double actuator double ipa from Bottle Logic. One of my favorite double IPAs right now.
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Thanks fellas. Was suprised to find these at a local grocery store. Dented the wallet in the process :lol
 
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waited in line for a couple hours to try Pliny The Younger yesterday. I thought the Younger was great (8/10), but I wouldn't wait for it ever again. I'd rather get Elder (also 8/10) and just enjoy the unmasked hoppiness.

to each their own though.
that was at 38 degrees, right?
 

I don't like how they limit younger to 5oz. and make customers buy a flight in order to try it.
 
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I need to try one of these fancy beers and see if it's good or all hype
Jumping in headlong isn't really the way to go, in my opinion.  Taste for certain styles develops over time.  Speaking from experience: my tastes have changed dramatically since I started getting into craft beer and my knowledge base obviously increased as well.

Start slow, papi.  Try some Blue Moon, Magic Hat #9, Hoegaarden, etc.  The barrel-aged beers and double IPAs will probably scare you away from craft beer if you're not used to them.
 
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