they have one out currently that has Frango mint oil in it
That's something i'd be curious to try a taste of if it were on tap, but no way in hell am I committing to a 4 pack of that

Sounds awful, but I'd give it a try I suppose.

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do you prefer it in the can?

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Especially during this time of year I prefer to give than to receive.

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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's stuff is definitely pretty good. I don't have much of it in the winter, but Kona offerings are regularly in my fridge during the summer.

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I really don't care for hazy IPAs. I want a regular, resinous IPA. I guess that means West Coast IPA.

The waitress said this just came out. I suppose they have an inside line on island things.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

I really can't stand hazy IPA's when compared to regular West Coast IPA's. They are harder and harder to find but Revolution has been consistent with their heavy hopped IPA's over the years. The League of Hero's sampler is my beer of choice and usually only 1 of the 4 varieties is a hazy and their hazy ipa's aren't that offensive. Do I every miss the days of San Diego during the eruption of the west coast IPA. Every bar in town had Stone IPA, Alpine Pure Hoppiness, Pliny (if it was a good beer bar), Alesmith IPA, Green Flash IPA.... on tap. The best not in the west for me was Southern Tier's Gemini. I had that on tap in PHilly and it was outstanding. ........fucking hazy/milkshake crap.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

You're aware Kona brews more than one beer, yes?

The Binny's on Lincoln and Touhy likely stocks Kona brand year round, though I suspect they have more variety in the summer. Their Big Wave and Longboard Lager are both very good. You as not a huge beer drinker would probably enjoy both.

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I used to love getting my hands on some Alesmith IPA, but I can't remember the last time I saw it out here in MA. Great beer. I actually prefer Pliny the Younger to Pliny the Elder, but I think the former is only available at the brew pub, which is a fun place.

As far as Southern Tier goes, it's not regarded as one of the stronger producers of NE IPAs. If you can get your hands on something by Other Half, I would highly recommend giving them a whirl.

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Love League of Heroes sampler! I got the Stone 12 days of IPA and 5 of the 12 are hazy. A friend had one and I tasted it. Wasn't bad but wasn't the hop bomb I was looking for. Agreed, West Coast IPAs are harder and harder to find. There's a place close to my house that has 40 taps and they typically will have 1 West Coast IPA to 4-5 hazy IPAs. I guess people like the perceived bitterness as opposed to the actual bitterness. I don't understand why...

Haven't had Pure Hopiness, love Pliny, Alesmith IPA, Green Flash IPA. Great taste! For a good double, if you haven't tried Sixpoint's Resin, put it on your list.

Yes. I'm talking about this particular lite.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Resin is outstanding. I have had that many times. It will kick you in the pants...for something that comes in such a small can.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Went to the Farmers Market this morning, part of which is held in one of the local breweries. Picked up a 4 pack of their Gingerbread Monk. Good stuff. Highly recommend this place if you are ever in downtown Kenosha. They make all their own stuff and have a good selection.

https://publiccraftbrewing.com/

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Really good selection, based on their website…

Bored thoughts on Le Jus?

It’s one of my favorite hazies, but a little overpriced and consistently makes me feel like horseshit morning after drinking a few.

I’m forecasting a bad morning tomorrow on that basis but curious if anybody else fights through the pain à la Antioch, or if you’re a bunch of patriots.

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SOLID choice

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I had old style on draft last night

Intentionally?

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Haven't had it but I'm not a fan overall of hazy IPAs. I will say I would rather have a hazy than some other styles. Do you only have issues with this hazy or do all hazy IPAs hit you hard?

Anyone been to Alter Brewing in St. Charles? Heading back to Illinois for the holidays and it looks like Alter is one of the stops we are making.

It’s an Alarmist product - taste is good but it does seem to bother me a bit more than the others. If I had to guess it may be a result of me drinking too many of them; at 6% they’re a little lighter than some of the others I’ll typically drink so I probably overindulge thinking the alcohol won’t bother me and therein lies the rub.

Never been to Alter but a friend gave me some of their traditional IPA and it was decent.

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Alarmist is in my neighborhood. My wife and her friends like to drink there when hiding from people. Sometimes I'll go and the guy remembers my name, like I'm Norm. He gives me a free round. Nice people but I don't love the beer and they don't have food.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Public is awesome....love that place.
BUT....just found a 4-pack of their "Orange Hopsicle" at Woodmans....it tasted more like chocolate covered oranges v. a vanilla based orange creamsicle.

Pine Nanas in Pajamas is a fantastic beer.

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My wife likes the Pine Nanas. Have you tried R'Noggin out next to Uncle Mikes on the frontage road by Woodmans? They make some good stuff there as well.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I like the vibe of R Noggin, but their actual brews are not my style. The quality is good, but it's just not what I like to drink. I'm the same with Only Child in Gurnee....I get what they're doing, it's high quality, but it's not my thing.

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I had a dopplebock and a robust porter at Alter in St. Charles. Both were really good.

Had a Cold Pizza from Hop Butcher. Was really good, too. Would have liked to try some of their double IPAs. Maybe next time I’m in town…

It's 11:50 AM and I just cracked open my first beer of the Christmas holiday. It's gonna be a good day.

I'm starting off with one of my favorite IPAs, Flume by Battery Steele out of Portland (Maine), one of my favorite towns on the Eastern Seaboard.

Flume features two hops that complement one another very well--Mosaic and Citra--and also has a lot of wheat and oats in it. Even though it has an 8% ABV, it drinks like a session beer.

Flume and Orbital Elevator by Burlington Beer Company are two of my favorite shelfies from the Northeast. If you ever see either in the Chicago area, I'd highly recommend snapping them up. Both are highly drinkable and provide great points of comparison for IPAs currently being produced in the Midwest.

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Hopslam season!

Normally my favorite. Maybe I’m getting soft but this year it seems a little heavy. It’s also very easy to find, so I’m wondering if something changed with Bells.

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I think I still have one in the fridge from last year. Time to pick up this year’s version.

Larry Bell, the Bell's founder, retired and sold the brewery in November.

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