Yes, I know those Midnight Sun M and Cantillon Don Quijote have to be mind-blowingly awesome. But what about those beer that totally blown your mind but didn't cost you an arm, leg, and testicle? Here is mine... 1, FW 14- rare but not whale, had this in NYC Rattle and Hum for $7 a pop with some old friends. I milked 3-4 pops, left the bar at 2am, passed out in the 7 train, got home at 5am, totally worth it. I still remember the waitress told me how strange that I kept ordering multples of FW 14 since that beer had been on tap for awhile and nobody ever ordered it. 2, De Struise Rio Reserva- had it on Oakland Trappist. I am a big fan of De Struise Pannepot but I've never heard of Rio Reserva. I literally puked rainbows after a few sips. So whats your "non whale" surprise beer this year?
That does seem rather excessive no? I mean, I've routinely said I'd gladly give up one of my boys if it meant I got to use the other on Mila Kunis, but as much as I love beer I don't think I could go that far. As far as beer goes though, I'm still new to this so I don't really know if I could be "surprised" by stuff since I'm working on getting my beer knowledge base up. I was shocked at how much I went from not being able to do hoppy beers to enjoying a decent bit depending on how the hopping was used. I guess I should finally try my Brux to see if I end up enjoying it considering it seems to be a markedly mixed beer on reception.
And my third surprise has to be Bruery White Chocolate. I always think their provision series are basically mediocre beer with fancy labels and price tags. But that white chocolate...really tastes like white chocolate...ok bruery you win.
There's too much stuff to name. Considering I just got into craft last September, I had a lot of new stuff this year. If I had to pick, it'd probably be HF Abner or Zombie Dust. I'll throw in KBS and BCBS too.
This year's Remy. The reviews are extremely underwhelming and I went to the release party and got a couple bottles as well as had it on tap. It was sub-par on tap at the release, but a couple weeks ago I cracked a bottle and it turned out to absolutely phenomenal. Never really had a beer before that was literally ten times better in the bottle than on tap, so just goes to show what a few months can do for a brew
My trading buddy sent me some Anti Hero IPA from Revolution brewing company a month or so ago and I loved that beer! So awesome.
You started a thread about non-whale beers but then list 2 fairly rare/expensive beers... FYI Rio Reserva is around 40 euros a bottle, quite limited, and to be perfectly honest not very impressive (I've tried it twice) In regards to your question, the last beer that surprised the shit out of me and is by no means a whale is Meantimes Raspberry Wheat. I saw the label and thought, wow that is probably going to be really bad (no offense to Meantime, it's a great brewery). Tasted it and thought damn, that might be the most impressive fruit beer (aside from lambics) I've ever tasted. Up there with New Glarus' fruit beers, if not better.
Oh muh bad...I thought FW 14 was just expensive but not whale.....at least they were on the shelves for awhile in sf bay area...what surprised me the most was when the waitress told me how people would order that beer, drink half of it and order something else. And thanks for your recommendation of Meantimes raspberry wheat, I'd definitely try it before 12/21
The FW anny beers are quite good and limited, but the reason they sit around for a while is because of the pricetag (imo, not everybody wants to drop 18-25 bucks on a bomber).
Apparently they do, cause those things sell out mighty quick up here. I wish I could still get my hands on a XIII, XIV, or XV. I saw a few XIVs up in Oregon a couple months back and didn't hesitate to drop $25 a bottle for two bottles. That stuff is gold
Plead is a mini-whale in its own right. I call it a dolphin or a pilot whale. One of the most humble beers to get me drooling up a storm was Petrus Aged Pale. It was available in supermarkets here for a while, and it was stunning. Head and shoulders above anything else in their range though. Also: BrewDog Punk IPA. The perfect hoppy balance pretty much whipes the floor with anything else in their range, except for the Dog A and Tokyo Rising Sun imperial stouts, which were gorgeous in their own right but way too expensive.
Had some great surprises from beers that had a bit of a buzz but were highly regarded by reviewers, so not really surprises. But the biggest surprise was from a brand new local nano brewery called Sloop, and the beer was a Peach Berliner Weisse named The Sauer Peach. Absolutely blew me away. Rushing Duck also comes to mind with their Coffee Porter Planet Bean. Deep roasty balanced bright malt and delicious clean coffee flavor.
Can't believe I'm saying this but magic hat heart of darkness. That brewery has been stank for a while, but hopefully the return of a really good beer will make them bring back the others that were good. It's certainly not rare but just saying... Maine beer Zoe was an excellent beer I'd never had before.
I'm kinda new so lot's of things blew me away this year. Keeping to the theme of awesomeness / cost ratio I'm going with: Flower Power Schlafly A-IPA Schlafly T-IPA Odell Myrcenary
W-w-w-wait a minute here. Either you're paying a fucking awesome price for Rayon Vert, or a fucking terrible price for Orval. Maybe Orval x2 = 4-pack of Rayon Vert; that'd make more sense. Regardless, Rayon Vert's totally nutballs awesome.
Hopzilla and Knuckle Sandwich were the big IPAs for me this year. The Emelisse Sorachi Ace for a great hoppy stout The Hof ten Dormaal, Emelisse and de Molen beers aged in Ardbeg barrels. Love the peat.
Some nice surprises this year: -Perennial Fantastic Voyage (better than 3 Hour Tour) -Revolution Bean Gene (quite possibly the best coffee beer I have ever drank) -Wakefield Miami Madness (one of the best beers of the year) -New Glarus R&D Sour Ale (the most authentic interpretation of a traditional belgian lambic made in the US)
Jolly Pumpkin Saison IO - I'm not sure if this is new, but this is the first I have had it. Jack's Abby Kiwi Rising for sure.
Evil Twin Imperial Biscotti Break....to me, it's the best non-BA stout made....and the best beer to hit Alabama..
We've got plenty of that around here in the Scranton/WB area. Only their 6er mix pack. And I wholeheartedly agree. Absolutely delish.
