No, and I've never had it. They did have Pale Ale on nitro. It made me wish I had some cocaine.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

It has a touch of maple syrup. I had one at the Founders takeover at World of Beer. It's glorious.



That sounds good.



That sounds even better.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Alter Brewing is the best brewery I've been to in the 'burbs. I don't count Two Brothers.

The place is huge and the beer is excellent. I like Solemn Oath and Urban. Urban is really small, though.

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You know me like that.

I never made it to Fischman's, and I read yesterday they're closing. Sucks. Seems like it could have been prevented, but egos got in the way.

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-- source

I'd wager they very likely re-open somewhere they don't have to deal with family BS.

It's a cool place. And down the street is cheap Old Style/PBR at Babe's

45th Ward Headquarters!

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Hop Stoopid, and it's delicious.

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-- source

After cracking me one off I popped open a Rush River Scenic Pale Ale.

It's good.

I tried "Not your fathers root beer". It's really good up until the after taste. It got better on ice though as it said on the can.

It most closely resembled the Christmas spiced ales that mostly suck. I liked this a lot better than the Christmas ales I've had.

Not a fan. I think I'd rather just have some rum and root beer.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

For the one (and likely only time) I had one I really was impressed how much it tasted like root beer. Also found it strange they could have such a high ABC without really any strong alcohol hints.

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Elections have consequences.

I had a bomber of the G13 Wild IPA from Stillwater Artisanal Ales last night. Good mix of fruit and funk. It doesn't have a great rating on beeradvocate.com, but I found it to be--at least upon initial inspection--superior to the Trillium beers that everyone around her in MA is so crazy about. Then again, maybe I need to hit Trillium again, especially now that I am off the nerve medication from the chainsaw accident.

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A great beer for the warm weather. Planted my parent's garden yesterday and drained two of these guys throughout the day. Delicious without being too serious.

Driving back from the Lake/Beach Sunday, I stop by a newish craft beer specialty store and after not finding any brew by RIGHT BRAIN BREWERY, I settle on this Troll Toll brew.

Lady only has a couple of warm 6 packs on the shelf. No cold sixes, but does have the de rigueur "make your own six" of assorted craft beers cooler thing. so she asks, "you want me to swap out one of these for a cold one?" I'm like yeah I want cheesy poofs, and by cheesy poofs, i mean "i want a cold beer to sip on the few mile drive I have from here to home"

I've been drinking a fair amount of two beers lately: Building 8's IPA (Northampton, MA) and Amherst Brewing Company's Jess IPA (Amherst, MA).

Building 8 has received a significant amount of positive press for producing what some have argued is an IPA equal to the best brews coming out of Vermont. People in Western MA are going crazy for this beer, which generally sells out of most package stores within a couple hours of hitting the shelves (or so I've been told). While I like Building 8, I find it a little too bitter. Over the past few months, the brewery has modified its IPA recipe significantly, amplifying its citrus and pine notes while reducing its bitterness. If they move a bit further in this direction, they'll have an excellent beer. In my opinion, Building 8 has already equaled the widely celebrated (though declining) Wormtown Be Hoppy IPA, but has a steep climb before it equals anything by Hill Farmstead or Lawson's.

Oddly, I have been much more impressed recently with the fruity, piney and sometimes dank Jess IPA currently on offer from the beleaguered Amherst Brewing Company, which once brewed a variety of excellent beers but has been slumping for the past several years. This is a very good, nicely balanced IPA that packs a reasonably high ABV without a hint of booziness.

I have a bunch of Hill Farmswtead brews on the way this weekend. Looking forward to them!

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I'm completely off IPAs now. I'm back and forth between sours, porters and stouts.

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I had a box arrive last week with a few Trillium (names don't really matter as EVERYTHING I've had from them has been amazing), Another One, and Substance from Bissell (tastes like Heady light). Should be getting some actual Heady and Dinner next week. Can't wait. Haven't had to hit up Binny's for a while with the steady flow of east coast hops. And in a month or so, I will be out in MA, VT, NH, and ME for my beercation!

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-- source

Nice to hear about Building 8 improving. I haven't tried any of their beers yet, but a friend was kind of underwhelmed by the IPA when they first opened. I'll have to check it out next time I'm in Northampton, as I'm overdue for a trip there anyway. I have a soft spot for The Dirty Truth since I had one of my first Cantillon bottles there.

Yeah Zeph, I was pretty unimpressed with the first few batches of Building 8, but the brewery is finally starting to hit its stride, I think. For some reason, the cans seem to be better than what you'll find on tap at Sierra Grill or other spots around Northampton. I like Dirty Truth a lot. The Foundry, just across the street, is also a good spot that almost always has a nice selection of brews on tap--the owners/staff are also pretty friendly. Even though their beer isn't great, I've always enjoyed drinking on the deck at the Northampton Brewery. Interestingly, I've heard that their recent releases have been quite good.

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Last weekend I had a local breweries sour weizen. It was the first sour I had and wasn't really my thing.

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Elections have consequences.

Yeah, it certainly isnt for everyone. I love them though. If you want to ease your way into it, I'd recommend picking up Nice Melons from Rivertown Brewing. Its a perfect summer beer.

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"It's not exactly a rocket surgery." D.J.

Outstanding!

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Team Cutler.

Love porters. Bell's Porter is a mainstay for winter consumption. That one looks really good, good reviews too.

Grabbed a six pack of Great Lakes Turntable the other day. Not a bad pilsner, I suggest you give it a spin.

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An unjust law is no law at all--St. Augustine of Hippo

Cause tried and true
I see the light in you
Oh, can you dig in my soul?
Could you smell my whole...
life?--Gener and Deaner

Kona Brewing Lemongrass Luau. Great warm weather beer.

A friend brought me back a can of The Alchemist's Crusher. I don't normally go for 9%+ IPAs but this one is really special. The fruit notes really remind of Double Sunshine but it also has a really nice dry finish to keep the ABV from becoming too much. The different strengths of the beers make it hard to compare, but I'd say I definitely like this more than Focal Banger and maybe even Heady too, though the latter is still close to a perfect IPA for me. I really hope I'm able to hit the new retail space while they're still selling this before the end of summer.

anyone heard of Mikkeller ? i grabbed a bomber of some collabo they did with Three Floyds

Recommend anything by Right Brain, an inspiring stop on any Northern Michigan beer/wine/craft liquors tour.

Right Brain are getting more brews out in the wild in standard retail channels. CEO Stout is excellent. As is Dead Kettle IPA.
Have yet to try their Naughty Girl Stout (Mint Chocolate Stout) that's also available in cans.

First time I've tried this 'Smooth Operator' cream ale. First impression "softball tourney keg beer" undersells this brew. A good back 9 refresher, yard work cooler or driving to the beach beer.

Drinking this tonight:



Quite a tasty Double IPA...

Been drinking a lot of Citra Hero and Crystal Hero...whole bunch of Daisy Cutter lately, too.

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Way up here in the far reaches of Northern Lake County, a small brewer named Only Child opened up a tap room...it's in a weird little office suite about 1/2 mile from Gurnee Mills...fun vibe in there, and the beer has all been top notch. Unfortunately, they don't distribute to stores yet, but their howlers are reasonably priced, and they do sell 4 packs in the tap room.

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