Burstin’ the Cones by Original Pattern Brewing Company (Oakland, CA) and Cellarmaker Brewing Company (Oakland, CA) - IPA
Wonderful hits of dank, pine and resin with a few smaller bursts of grapefruit and berry flavors to counterbalance the dankness. Very dry medium bitter finish. Classical WCIPA
Cocoa Cow by Sunriver Brewing Company (Sunriver, OR) - Milk Stout
Quite (dark) chocolate forward stout (not surprising with that name) but also flavors of toffee, caramel and roasted malts. It has some reasonable sweetness but not overwhelming and a bit of moderate bitterness into the finish. Good dessert in a glass
PB&J Mixtape by Xul Beer Company (Knoxville, TN) - Fruited Sour
Surprisingly good flavor rendition of a PB&J sandwich but it unfortunately suffers from one of the key issues of many fruited sours - not enough tartness from the sour to counterbalance the fruited adjuncts. It drinks like a liquid PB&J sandwich but not like a sour and is overly sweet.
I have wanted to try a Pliny the Younger for some time. It is the one beer on BeerAdvocate’s top 10 (well 12th) list that looks like it is not a barleywine or a super strong stout.
The number between the ABV and the rating is the amount of reviews.
1 [Kentucky Brunch Brand Stout] [Toppling Goliath Brewing Company] 12.00% 960 4.83
2 [O.W.K.][Side Project] [Imperial Pastry Stout] 15.00% 91 4.86
3 [M.J.K.] [Side Project][English Barleywine] 20% 98 4.85
4 [Marshmallow Handjee] [3 Floyds Brewing Co.]. [Imperial Pastry Stout] 15% 1,837 4.73
5 [Abraxas - Barrel-Aged]. [Perennial Artisan Ales]. [Imperial Pastry Stout] 12.8% ? 4.73
6 [Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout - Double Barrel Aged] [Cigar City Brewing] [Imperial Pastry Stout] 11% 1,674 4.71
7 [Blessed] [Anchorage Brewing Company]. [Imperial Pastry Stout] 15.50% 321 4.73
8 [Black Magick-Pappy Van Winkle] [Voodoo Brewing]. [American Imperial Stout] 13% 288 4.73
9 [Heady Topper] [The Alchemist] [Imperial IPA] 8.00% 15,425 4.7
10 [A Deal With The Devil] [Anchorage Brewing Co.] [American Barleywine] 20.9% 190 4.74
11 [King JJJuliusss] [Tree House Brewing Company] [Hazy Imperial IPA] 8.40% 1,018 4.7
12 [Pliny The Younger] [Russian River Brewing Company] [Imperial IPA] 10.25% 3,618 4.69
13 [Coconut Vibes - Barrel-Aged] [Side Project Brewing] [Imperial Pastry Stout] 15.0% 111 4.76
14 [Mornin’ Delight] [Toppling Goliath Brewing Co.] [Imperial Pastry Stout] 12.80% 1805 4.69
15 [King Julius] [Tree House Brewing Company] [Hazy Imperial IPA] 8.20% 1,728 4.69
But finding Pliny the Younger is no small task. I need to search for Heady Topper and King JJJulius, which shows up twice, so it must be twice as good? Ah, same beer, the funky triple J threw the scoring off.
Side Project looks like a small project if that is all the reviews they have…
Of that list I’ve only tried Younger and Heady Topper. Younger is very good and definitely worth trying but IMHO not worth really going out of your way for. Part of its appeal is probably due to scarcity. Heady Topper is also very good, sometimes I can find cans locally here in the SFBA (the brewer recommends drinking from the can) especially during beer week in February.
Thanks for the heads up on Heady Topper. There are great things about living in NW Montana. The availability of beer/ale is not one of them. We have some good ones but they do not sell outside of Montana, Idaho and eastern Washington for the most part.
No Younger or Heady Topper for me until I visit civilization sometime in the future.
Still thinking about a brewer recommending drinking his brew from the can. I like that answer.
The Alchemist (brewer of Heady Topper) expanded production of Heady Topper significantly during the pandemic and started making it available around the country where previously it was limited to Vermont and then occasionally New England and New York in the late 2010s. I think it’s changed a bit, and is not as good as it was (or the competition just got better). The best the Alchemist does these days are the one offs and seasonals that typically don’t leave the brewery or the state. Vermont is a nice destination to visit and you could combine with a trip to the famous Hill Farmstead, where most of their beers (particularly IPAs) are not sold outside the brewery. Several other great brewers to try as well as other pursuits, food included.
Although I’m not a fan of the juicy line at Treehouse (also represented on the list), they are worth visiting as well.
I really ought to travel up to Vermont for a multitude of reasons, country drives and breweries among them. There is a lot to see and visit there. But i think my next trip is going to be to an old hangout, Key Largo.
I am a fan of good ales and i try to educate my palate while enjoying the brew. I am not sure what to think of it but i kind of like the juicy IPAs. My “problem” with my preference is that it seems kind of contradictory. Liking a juicy/less bitter IPA that is “supposed” to be rather hoppy/bitter is kind of odd. But the King Julius Hazy sounds good to me as do many of the other hazy IPAs.
I do not like most of the new stouts, they are just too rich. A classic Guinness Draft is good but most of the new stouts, like most of the barleywines, are just too much, somehow.
Anyway, i am adding Vermont to my list of places i want to visit. Thank you for your thoughts!
Based on these preferences, you should absolutely head to Treehouse and try the various Juicy lines (the more J’s the jucier. some of these do not leave the brewery outlets). The Vermont IPAs tend to be more hop forward and less fruity but they are excellent. Hill Farmstead in particular has well water with super “pure” characteristics that isn’t replicated anywhere else, more akin to ales in europe where they have been using the same excellent water for centuries. Don’t sleep on Hill Farmstead’s classic stouts and porters. they don’t have the heavy qualities you try to avoid. Happy to recommend more if you head that way.
Alternatively, you are not that far away from OR, WA and Norcal, the best concentration of IPAs and beer in general anywhere (as Honkman regulary demontrates in this thread), in my view.
I had a Russian River Consecration with some cherries and Ossau-Iraty today - sour ale aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels with currants. Very nice - a little sweet, fruity, not too sour.
Some beers I drank over the weekend:
Verdant Blooms from Sante Adairius - a light and refreshing rice lager.
Juice Box from Great Notion (Hazy IIPA) - very juicy, apt name. Citrus, pineapple, peach.
Wide Rainbows from Cellarmaker (Hazy IPA) - very dank.
Amalgamator from Beachwood out of Huntington Beach, CA (IPA). Bit unique for an IPA - soft and easy to drink, not too bitter and with almost a berry taste which is apparently what Mosaic hops bring.
11x11 by Fieldwork Brewing Company (Berkeley, CA) - Triple IPA
Unusual WCIPA that tastes a bit all over the place - some sweetness with notes of orange, peach and grapefruit. Some light floral flavors come through paired with some resinous tastes. In addition, malts are also noticeable. Surprisingly low bitterness in the finish but a very slight alcohol/booziness. Good but perhaps 11 hops didn’t help to really focus on certain flavor profiles.
