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Beer 2019, imo.


HenryJames

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5 minutes ago, TBGFL said:

Hopslam has evolved into the "McRib of IPAs". Used to be a solid beer back in the day

Good analogy.  I'll probably end up ordering a draw of it every year, if I come across it, but I don't think I'll ever buy another 6 pack.

Honestly, it's been awhile since I really loved a Bell's IPA.  Both Two Hearted and Hop Slam were important beers when I was coming up, but either it changed or I changed, and regardless it just isn't the draw for me it used to be.

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7 minutes ago, DDD Dad said:

[hipster neckbeard beernerd] Bells is so lamestream. [/hipster neckbeard beernerd]

The rest of their line up is damn good.  I just don't like their IPAs much any more.  Oarsman and Oberon are some of the best summer beers around.

Edited by Al_4_ISU
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40 minutes ago, Al_4_ISU said:

The rest of their line up is damn good.  I just don't like their IPAs much any more.  Oarsman and Oberon are some of the best summer beers around.

Agree on their lineup. Bells makes some good beers. They just don't do IPAs well anymore.

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1 minute ago, TBGFL said:

Agree on their lineup. Bells makes some good beers. They just don't do IPAs well anymore.

Do they make IPAs other than Two Hearted and Hopslam?

I always sort of compare them to Founders, due to their geographic proximity and similar production scale.  Between All Day, Mosaic Promise, and Azzacca, Founders is definitely ahead on the IPA front.  But Oarsman is better than any Founders sour or tart beer, and I don't know that Founders makes a similar beer to Oberon.

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The rest of their line up is damn good.  I just don't like their IPAs much any more.  Oarsman and Oberon are some of the best summer beers around.

I celebrate their entire lineup. I have yet to find one that isn’t among the best domestics of their style.

The cherry oarsman (something in the pool?) is a great summer beer.
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8 hours ago, Dark Horse said:

Is there a hands down worst Texas brewery since Texas Big Beer closed a few years ago? There a few in Houston like Bakfish and Platypus that are on the wrong side of mediocre.

I still don’t think I’ve come across anything as consistently bad as TBB.

4th Tap in Austin. Running walker in the Houston area (Richmond).

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8 hours ago, Dark Horse said:

Is there a hands down worst Texas brewery since Texas Big Beer closed a few years ago? There a few in Houston like Bakfish and Platypus that are on the wrong side of mediocre.

I still don’t think I’ve come across anything as consistently bad as TBB.

 

Chimera 

Fetching Lab

Gordon Street

Beerfoot 

Huff

Blue Star

Bearded Fox

Fire Ant

Triple J

Wicked Boxer

4J

The Phoenix

Baileson

Big Texan

Flying Man

Stesti

Treaty Oak

Vallensons

Plains

 

All of those I listed i’d never drink a beer from again. Ive visited em all (except Stesti) and had everything they had on tap at the time. Plains, Big Texan, Triple J, Treaty Oak, Wicked Boxer, Chimera, and Gordon Streets beers were literally a fucking pain to drink. There are worse breweries out there than what TBB was.

 

Plains or Triple J is prolly the worst tho

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I liked what I drank at Baileson one time. So there's that.

i’ve also had solid beers from baileson. not one i considered sub-par. haven’t had beer from

most on greenspoint’s list, but he did name a couple i would agree with.

 

by the way, greenspoint, have you had a GHBC beer since your visit during our first month?

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I still vouch for 4th tap. i like several of their beers and their taproom is cool enough. but their branding is so bad. so so fucking bad. i don't buy it out on the market because i'm legit bitchass about buying such an awful looking beer. surely they have to know that 98% of craft beer idiots drink with their eyes first. (and i've seen that their re-brand has actually reached the mainstays -- and are can wraps too. the fuck is going on over there?).

Anyway, 4th tap is alright. I would have said Treaty Oak was the worst, but they've killed their program for now pending a re-boot. 

I've never had a good beer from strange land. I'll say Lazarus has been the worst of the popular breweries. 

Zilker and Oddwood are the most underrated. Skull Mechanix is on the cusp on being good enough to be underrated.

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I’m seeing lots of Zilker love these days. I think it’s catching on. Never had a problem with Lazarus. Thought it was decent, run of the mill, craft beer in a cool spot.

I want to like 4th tap because I like their apprentice program, their tap room, and their location is good for me. Just can’t find a beer remotely drinkable to me.

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22 hours ago, THRILLHOUSE_X said:

Is Strange Land still in business? If so, I'll go with them.

I was just coming over to ask this.  Wife and I were talking about this last night.  Her coworkers were talking about how Hat Creek stopped selling their beers, and the brewery doesn't seem to have large crowds like they used to.  I'd guess they're not long for the world.

20 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

My entire thought during those commercials was "so what?  Bud Light doesn't taste any better than Miller/Coors".

Someone needs to answer back with "it's brewed with rice".

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13 hours ago, patrickdrinksbeer said:

i’ve also had solid beers from baileson. not one i considered sub-par. haven’t had beer from

most on greenspoint’s list, but he did name a couple i would agree with.

 

by the way, greenspoint, have you had a GHBC beer since your visit during our first month?

Negative. Need to swing by again soon

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On 2/4/2019 at 10:39 AM, Al_4_ISU said:

Good analogy.  I'll probably end up ordering a draw of it every year, if I come across it, but I don't think I'll ever buy another 6 pack.

Honestly, it's been awhile since I really loved a Bell's IPA.  Both Two Hearted and Hop Slam were important beers when I was coming up, but either it changed or I changed, and regardless it just isn't the draw for me it used to be.

I agree with your assessment of Hopslam. I didn't have it until last year when Texas finally got it and I was way underwhelmed. Two Hearted is still god though imo but there is really so much better and cheaper to buy.

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2 minutes ago, usmc0331horn said:

I agree with your assessment of Hopslam. I didn't have it until last year when Texas finally got it and I was way underwhelmed. Two Hearted is still god though imo but there is really so much better and cheaper to buy.

Two Hearted is definitely well made.  But it very much belongs to a certain era, and I don't drink many amber, balanced IPAs these days.  Surly Furious is the same way.

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22 minutes ago, AnotherUTFan said:

Evidently there are no longer lines for Pliny the Younger. Waits have been under an hour at the 2 brewery locations. Today Toronado is serving it to a half empty bar.

And this might be my favorite iteration of it. Very tropical.

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Bet if it was hazy there would be lines down the street.  Got lucky  with PtY at Toronado a few years back by just tipping well.  Bartender gave my a pour of PtY (tap handle was covered) and asked me to keep it a secret.  Still one of the best IPAs I've had.  

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Pinthouse in RR is open, launched with a badass DIPA.
 
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That’s good to know as I’ll be heading down to Austin this weekend and they don’t have anything in their social media showing they are officially open. Or is this a soft opening? Either way, I was hoping to check it out on the way down.
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12 minutes ago, mdleast said:


That’s good to know as I’ll be heading down to Austin this weekend and they don’t have anything in their social media showing they are officially open. Or is this a soft opening? Either way, I was hoping to check it out on the way down.

Soft opening but they have full menu and almost all their taps were going.  They had Jellyfish/Bines/Green Battles/etc

 

The new space is awesome too.  They have a huge section with the long bench tables and then another area that is more of a bar scene with games.

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