- Mar 10, 2013
- 9,025
- 8,119
Firestone Double Jack while I settle into this Wisco / Zona game
- Aug 31, 2012
- 12,479
- 35,066
Turns out at least one place by me is going to have KBS tomorrow. Another place has Heady Topper. Gonna make sure I'm up before 10 tomorrow in an attempt to snag both. The Heady isn't guaranteed at this point, but I'll be getting my hands on at least 2 bottles of KBS.
- Nov 4, 2003
- 6,136
- 981
Turns out at least one place by me is going to have KBS tomorrow. Another place has Heady Topper. Gonna make sure I'm up before 10 tomorrow in an attempt to snag both. The Heady isn't guaranteed at this point, but I'll be getting my hands on at least 2 bottles of KBS.
The KBS this year is unreal. So smooth. Much more than the 2013 is what I have heard. Heard that a distributer will be sending out a couple cases if the 2013 in the next few weeks. Should be able to snag a 4 pack if that to compare. That will be all for a while unless I find a 120 or someone to trade or buy a heady topper from
- Sep 28, 2004
- 13,924
- 5,900
Wow
Review in Spoiler
Review in Spoiler
I could not resist trying this out today.
Bottled date 3/10/14... So about 19 days ago. My last review was on March 8th, of a 18 day old bottle.
Pliny the Elder... I sensed a piney, slightly citrusy smell. That followed through with the hops and bitterness. I sensed very little of that hop aroma with my first try 3 weeks back. Maybe the hops or bottling went bad? After having this goodness, something was definitely up with the last bottle. That's why bottle trades can be iffy. To no fault of anyone really, it could be the store who stored it wrong, or how it was in transit.
Taste: Similar to the smell, It's a lighter mix of pine and citrus. the malt backbone is very subdued. I get a small sense of caramel malt .
Overall, one of the best DIPAs I have had. I'm not even sure you can call it a double IPA though. The alcohol heaviness is never present. I got a nice sense of some hop bitterness this time around.
IMHO, it felt very similar to Elevated IPA
Bottled date 3/10/14... So about 19 days ago. My last review was on March 8th, of a 18 day old bottle.
Pliny the Elder... I sensed a piney, slightly citrusy smell. That followed through with the hops and bitterness. I sensed very little of that hop aroma with my first try 3 weeks back. Maybe the hops or bottling went bad? After having this goodness, something was definitely up with the last bottle. That's why bottle trades can be iffy. To no fault of anyone really, it could be the store who stored it wrong, or how it was in transit.
Taste: Similar to the smell, It's a lighter mix of pine and citrus. the malt backbone is very subdued. I get a small sense of caramel malt .
Overall, one of the best DIPAs I have had. I'm not even sure you can call it a double IPA though. The alcohol heaviness is never present. I got a nice sense of some hop bitterness this time around.
IMHO, it felt very similar to Elevated IPA
Elevated is more of a "hop bomb" with the same sort of initial mouthfeel and taste. Upon swallowing, Elevated has a mango sweetness that comes through. PtE doesn't have any deep sweetness.
As weird as this sounds, Nothing stands out flavor wise with PtE. It just just a very smooth easy to drink beer. It's a bit "generic", but again, I go with that meat tenderness example. A great tenderloin steak is just like butter. This PtE has that slight pine, slight bit of citrus, and slight bit of caramel malt. Great carbonation and moutfeel. It's top notch but can seem a bit basic if you will
Elevated is much more out there from PtE. IBUs has to be 20-30 more with Elevated. It has that near hop bomb taste and smell... Upon swallowing, I get a sense of a deeper malt sweetness out of Eelevated... This stuff is more flavorfull if you will. I think both are highly balanced... Price wise, Pliny is about 4x the cost of Elevated. I can't say I "need" PtE when there is elevated around.. I do wish elevated could be a touch lighter in IBUs, and lower mango sweetness, and I think you'd have a near match to PtE.
As weird as this sounds, Nothing stands out flavor wise with PtE. It just just a very smooth easy to drink beer. It's a bit "generic", but again, I go with that meat tenderness example. A great tenderloin steak is just like butter. This PtE has that slight pine, slight bit of citrus, and slight bit of caramel malt. Great carbonation and moutfeel. It's top notch but can seem a bit basic if you will
Elevated is much more out there from PtE. IBUs has to be 20-30 more with Elevated. It has that near hop bomb taste and smell... Upon swallowing, I get a sense of a deeper malt sweetness out of Eelevated... This stuff is more flavorfull if you will. I think both are highly balanced... Price wise, Pliny is about 4x the cost of Elevated. I can't say I "need" PtE when there is elevated around.. I do wish elevated could be a touch lighter in IBUs, and lower mango sweetness, and I think you'd have a near match to PtE.
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- Apr 6, 2011
- 1,109
- 2,216
will be trying these tonight/tomorrow
UPDATE: hop devil is alright. nice amount of hops, there was some spices. didn't really taste as much fruity/citrusy flavors as i would have liked.
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- Jul 20, 2012
- 2,482
- 598
Took the trip out to Half Time Beverages in Mamaroneck. Only like 30 minutes away from the city. It's like beer heaven...They had beer tastings too so multiple rounds around the store were had.
Got 2 of each, 3 more that I forgot to take a pic of and some nice glasses.
Got 2 of each, 3 more that I forgot to take a pic of and some nice glasses.
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- Aug 31, 2012
- 12,479
- 35,066
Good morning, NT.
- Jan 21, 2003
- 1,976
- 416
Holy smokes
Comparison Ford
.
Comparison Ford
.
- Feb 26, 2004
- 2,736
- 355
Good morning, NT.
Jelly. Real Jelly...
- Nov 17, 2012
- 61
- 103
one day ill get my hands on a heady topper one day
this weekends pick ups
this weekends pick ups
- Apr 6, 2011
- 1,109
- 2,216
a very nice stout. the cofffe/expresso notes and the chocolate is strong. At 6.5% i believe, a nice drink to just chill.
an awesome beer. tasted some sweetness, some fruits, and it was well balanced with the hops. It was bottled in december so I am not sure if 3 months made a difference in taste but great overall. would like to try a fresh bottle.
- May 9, 2008
- 3,420
- 907
I need that KBS in my life !!!
- Jan 21, 2003
- 1,976
- 416
East Coasters...especially Vermont heads...
My wife is going to Burlington on business and I'm asking her to bring me home some Heady Topper. Anyone from or familiar with the area able to lead me in the right direction for some Heady Topper?
Also, can anyone let me know if there is anything else I should ask wifey to bring home?
Thanks in advance, NT brethren.
My wife is going to Burlington on business and I'm asking her to bring me home some Heady Topper. Anyone from or familiar with the area able to lead me in the right direction for some Heady Topper?
Also, can anyone let me know if there is anything else I should ask wifey to bring home?
Thanks in advance, NT brethren.
- Aug 31, 2012
- 12,479
- 35,066
If I'm not mistaken, the cannery for The Alchemist is right across the street from Ben & Jerry's in Waterbury.
The Alchemist has been brewing two other beers other than Heady Topper recently--Focal Banger (a single IPA) and Petit Mutant (a sour with 3 strains of brettanomyces brewed with cherries and aged in pinot noir casks). Those would be a treat to try.
Also look into Hill Farmstead and Lawson's Finest Liquids. Both are supposed to brew incredible beers.
She might also be able to find Gandhi Bot from New England Brewing Co. That would be worth trying as well.
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- Sep 28, 2004
- 13,924
- 5,900
No first hand experience but I do read around the web.
I hear to check their website as they list when stores should be getting their weekly allocation. ie store #45 gets theirs on Wednesday mornings. So have her plan her day/week accordingly.
I also hear of people picking up farm hillstead beers and Lawson beers. I see a couple on beeradvicate a top list but can't say I've tried anything.
On a beer front, I've been sick as a dog since Sunday. Haven't had a drop of beer in days. I lost my sense of smell and taste. I was lucky to enjoy that PtE because right after my senses gave out. I did give a elevated Ipa a shot Saturday night and with no sense of taste or smell, it was an awkward experience for sure. All I tasted was this carbonated liquid and a great sense of unending bitterness
I hear to check their website as they list when stores should be getting their weekly allocation. ie store #45 gets theirs on Wednesday mornings. So have her plan her day/week accordingly.
I also hear of people picking up farm hillstead beers and Lawson beers. I see a couple on beeradvicate a top list but can't say I've tried anything.
On a beer front, I've been sick as a dog since Sunday. Haven't had a drop of beer in days. I lost my sense of smell and taste. I was lucky to enjoy that PtE because right after my senses gave out. I did give a elevated Ipa a shot Saturday night and with no sense of taste or smell, it was an awkward experience for sure. All I tasted was this carbonated liquid and a great sense of unending bitterness
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- Jan 21, 2003
- 1,976
- 416
Thanks guys! Appreciate it!
- Feb 7, 2005
- 1,134
- 440
Wow
Review in Spoiler
I could not resist trying this out today.
Bottled date 3/10/14... So about 19 days ago. My last review was on March 8th, of a 18 day old bottle.
Pliny the Elder... I sensed a piney, slightly citrusy smell. That followed through with the hops and bitterness. I sensed very little of that hop aroma with my first try 3 weeks back. Maybe the hops or bottling went bad? After having this goodness, something was definitely up with the last bottle. That's why bottle trades can be iffy. To no fault of anyone really, it could be the store who stored it wrong, or how it was in transit.
Taste: Similar to the smell, It's a lighter mix of pine and citrus. the malt backbone is very subdued. I get a small sense of caramel malt .
Overall, one of the best DIPAs I have had. I'm not even sure you can call it a double IPA though. The alcohol heaviness is never present. I got a nice sense of some hop bitterness this time around.
IMHO, it felt very similar to Elevated IPA
I had the same experience with February's batch of PtE. Had this really strange bitterness to it. Tasted like a bottle that was past its best by date. This batch was much better.
Been busy with work lately so I haven't been able to post much. Had these two over the weekend. The Project Dank was quite an experience. Don't think I've smelled or tasted anything like it yet. Dank is a fitting name as there's lots of it haha. I didn't get much of the fruity notes but it was a great brew nonetheless. Had the Elevated IPA after man was it tasty! Tasted grapefruits, peaches and piney hops toward the end. Very balanced brew. I find myself liking the Elevated over the Dank because of the fruity notes but both are great beers. I have 5 cans left and I'm not even mad!
I'd probably give a slight nod to Pliny over Elevated because of its smoothness. Especially for a DIPA. 
- Aug 12, 2012
- 731
- 313
At last. Got my hands on parabola. I was geeking out over it the past week
- Feb 7, 2005
- 1,134
- 440
^^^Nice! My local BevMo is getting it tomorrow. Was thinking of bringing a bunch of beers to Coachella but most of my friends aren't into craft brews so it might be a waste.
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- Feb 26, 2004
- 2,736
- 355
Just got the email that my local BevMo got Parabola in this morning.
-J-
-J-
- Jul 1, 2005
- 6,113
- 159
You guys are killing me... I gave up Beer for Lent and I keep checking in here and I know it will only hurt me... On the upside. Come the 17th I have a crap ton on beers to get to drinking since I've gotten 4 trades in since Lent started haha.
My local guy said KBS should land today late afternoon. He will be holding me down as usual. Gotta love loyalty.
My local guy said KBS should land today late afternoon. He will be holding me down as usual. Gotta love loyalty.
- Apr 30, 2011
- 10,915
- 2,735
At last. Got my hands on parabola. I was geeking out over it the past week
Picked up my 2 bottles during lunch today
- Sep 28, 2004
- 13,924
- 5,900
neosole89, glad to see you tried one after another. That was my best initial experience with both of them. They're kind of the same. But then really not at all. I would compare Dank to Stone Enjoy by ***** and Elevated to Lagunitas Sucks (if you ever want to get nearly the same experience).. Both Sucks and Enjoy By have a crazy strong LARGE following now.. Maybe this small NM brewery can capture the heart of a state at a time.
I agree about PtE as well. It's funny that some of the "top" IPAs or DIPAs aren't really "hoppy" at all/. I guess at that level of hop bomb bitterness. I think I appreciate a beer like Elevated more because it balances out both extremes. PtE and even HT just seem to stay relatively mid to high range on the hops to appease even non hop head loving beer fans.. Sculpin and Blind Pig follow with that same theme more or less. I guess there's a place on the shelves for both types of IPA/ DIPAs. I'll see how Double Jack, Union Jack, and APex compare in either regard.
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What's retail on Parobola? I'd love try to some. I don't have nomuch to offer but it'd be worth your time lol.
My smell is back. I'm gonna run through a couple of the beers you sent neosole89. I'll have some reviews up at some pt today or tomorrow
I agree about PtE as well. It's funny that some of the "top" IPAs or DIPAs aren't really "hoppy" at all/. I guess at that level of hop bomb bitterness. I think I appreciate a beer like Elevated more because it balances out both extremes. PtE and even HT just seem to stay relatively mid to high range on the hops to appease even non hop head loving beer fans.. Sculpin and Blind Pig follow with that same theme more or less. I guess there's a place on the shelves for both types of IPA/ DIPAs. I'll see how Double Jack, Union Jack, and APex compare in either regard.
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What's retail on Parobola? I'd love try to some. I don't have nomuch to offer but it'd be worth your time lol.
My smell is back. I'm gonna run through a couple of the beers you sent neosole89. I'll have some reviews up at some pt today or tomorrow
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- Feb 7, 2005
- 1,134
- 440
Back in action huh
. I agree that Dank is similar to Enjoy By. Enjoy By might be a tad mellower with the hops. Parabola is $15.99 at my local BevMo. Picking some up soon. I got you man.
- Feb 26, 2004
- 2,736
- 355
Total Wine would only sell me one bottle of Parabola. *****.
Off to BevMo.
1 bottle down, quite a few more to go....
-J-
Off to BevMo.
1 bottle down, quite a few more to go....
-J-
