In the US the majority of beers are sold in cans - but bottles are also quite often seen in shops. Both small (330 ml) and US pint (473 ml) are popular
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Cloud City (IPA) from Lamplighter Brewing Company in Cambridge (MA)
Smell is quite fruity and tropical- the actual taste has some citrus, orange juiciness but surprisingly little tropical flavor and more piney, dank, herbal flavors with a medium and lingering bitterness. Was actual closer to a “classical” IPA than a NEIPA.
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Matsurika from Japas Cervejaria (Sao Paolo/Brazil) - Pilsner with Jasmine Flowers
Many elements of a typical pilsner - bready, earthy flavors with slight sweetness from the malts - with an interesting twist in the finish from the jasmine flowers
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Canbic Vol 3 from Beachwood Blendery (Long Beach, CA) - Cherry-Raspberry inspired by the Belgian lambic tradition
Lambic style beer with upfront cherry flavor and a nice sour background. The finish is very tart (which is not bad in itself) but has also a very unpleasant turpentine like, lingering aftertaste. Overall the beer started strong but completely crashed and burned in the finish. One of the worst ones in the last few years.
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Jasmin flavoured beer. How interesting. I have had beers brewed with hibiscus before. Didn’t find them exciting.
I have a strong dislike for all things “almond”-flavoured and thought it was just me tasting some nasty chemicals in the beer.
Cantillon is the reason I still drink Belgian sours. Most other sours taste either too vinegary or have an unpleasant unnatural taste of whatever fruit is in them. Turpentine smells terrible, but somehow I only taste cough syrup in cherry lambics (mostly non Cantillon). Again, I don’t think most people have this problem, just like most people don’t detect any soap in “West Coast” IPAs and I do.
I had a grapefruit-infused IPA by Brewdogs last week. Had to pour it down the drain. Did not have any grapefruit flavour, pure nasty chemicals. I tend to avoid fruit-infused/flavoured beers due to so many unpleasant experiences.
How does cilantro taste to you?
Thai coriander is borderline soap.
Turkish coriander is mild so it’s fine.
There’s a well-know variant in certain olfactory receptor genes that makes people sensitive to a specific aldehyde in cilantro/coriander. Almond smell/flavor also comes from an aldehyde.
That explains it. I know about coriander.
Looked up aldehyde sensitivity, it makes more sense now. I have multiple allergies and intolerances that place me in the high-risk group. Aldehydes are present in so many things and I’m allergic to most of those things.
What is aldehyde sensitivity and how is it linked to allergies ? The aldehyde in cilantro is linked to OR6A2 gene which might play a role in how you smell cilantro as it is a related to an olfactory receptor.
Apizza from Aslon Beer Company (Alexandria, VA) - Sour ale brewed with watermelon, raspberry, blackberry, mint, toasted coconut and milk sugar
Looks like I am currently on a sour trip - Strong, mildly tart, berry flavor upfront with some sweetness from the watermelon. Nicely balanced from the sour beer which takes an unexpected turn with the earthy and floral finish of the roasted coconut and mint. Very refreshing. - Not sure why it is named apizza but it nicely paired with some excellent pizza from Area Four Pizzeria.
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Bigfoot from Sierra Nevada Brewing (Chico, CA) - Barleywine Style Ale
Some sweetness at the very beginning followed by strong roasted malts, caramel, molasses and toffee notes and a bitter finish with some piney notes.
I am sometimes skeptical about some of the larger breweries and how much they might compromise to attract to as many consumers as possible but that wasn’t really necessary with this bold, in your face beer
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I’ve long had a tradition of buying a sixpack or two of Bigfoot and letting it age. I have bottles from the late 1990s that are still going strong, with the bitterness smoothing out.
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Nice - I am jealous. I always wonder in general what aging is doing for beer. There are many posts on different boards etc. and it seems it is often seen as detrimental to many beer classes but some are obviously benefiting from it. IPA should be drunken fresh but some time ago more by accident I had a DIPA “aged” for close to two year - fresh it was quite aggressive, piney and bitter whereas after two years it was much more mellow, less piney and more “round” and I actually preferred the aged one. Do you have more experience with other aged beers ?
North Coast Brewing offers aged versions of its Old Rasputin Imperial Stout and its Old Stock Ale. I bought either the 2016 or 2017 edition of the Old Rasputin last year and drunk it around Christmas time. It was amazing–wonderfully rich and warming.
Mostly I have my vertical collection of Bigfoot, but I did put away a couple of bottles of a rather rare barleywine in 1996, described here:
Dazed and Confused by Lamplighter Brewing (Cambridge, MA) - IPA
Very citrus-forward with taste of grapefruit and some notes of sweet honey melon in the background which contributes to the juiciness. Nicely balanced with a hoppy, bitter finish and strong dank, piney flavors. - good classical NEIPA with not too much sweetness
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My autoimmune problems may have little to do with aldehyde sensitivity but I’m highly sensitive to chemicals and pollutants* due to my allergic extrinsic asthma. Chemicals (including aldehydes) and pollutants have an immediate and direct affect on my condition. I taste soap in some plants and some white wine, but I can stop ingesting it, whereas if aldehydes are present in non foodstuffs it gets a lot more serious. It doesn’t take much to trigger a violent immune response.
Symptoms of aldehyde sensitivity include headaches, nausea, fatigue, squeezing, burning eyes/throat/lungs, rashes etc, depends on the severity and the person’s condition. In my case it’s like I have pneumonia that lasts for weeks on end.
(*High concentrations of aldehyde are present in exhaust and smog)
First time in a long time I had to pour a beer down the drain. It’s probably just me. The partner tried a sip and didn’t want any more.
Belgian IPAs, destined for international market. Labels are all in English. Very bitter which I love, but both beers have absolutely no taste whatsoever. I don’t know how they managed that.
This one is more like it. DDH NEIPA. Thick as mud and fruity. Bigger can (under 500ml).
Was in the beer shop the other day and did see the thin cans like in Honkman’s photos. One from a brewery in the US, and the other from Sweden. 330ml slender cans, like Red Bull’s.
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