All Things Booze... and food too

[Bluewater34]

Originally Posted by Jack The bloom is definitely off the rose. I’ve gone back to drinking macro, or macro micro types (sierra types) if I’m just looking for a beer. I don’t want to spend $20 on a 4 pk and then not like it. But it also is just so bad for you, I’ve mostly moved on to bourbon

Yeah, I’m drinking mostly whiskey and mixing cocktails for fun now, but I always keep some local craft beer in the beer fridge. But yeah, it got both overwhelming and disappointingly homogeneous.

[Jack]

Overwhelming is right. My local liquor store has so much local beer, it’s insane. There must be 200 different four 4pks to choose from. I’m also not a big NE IPA guy, which is what most everything is nowadays. The ABV are just getting silly too. Drinking more than one 8%’er just isn’t in the cards for me anymore. I make my 3 trips to VT every year, load up with Alchemist, and make that last as long as possible.

One other thing is how all the beers people use to line up for just sit on shelves now. You can go into stores and see KBS, CBS, BCBS all just collecting dust. We also get a steady supply of Lawsons now which is nice. They’re starting to distribute Sip, which is delicious. Can’t wait to have a few of those on the deck when the whether turns.

[Jayes]

Apologies in advance for the lame and laziness of this ask, but can anyone recommend a good countertop toaster-oven? I suppose I’d like to be able to do pizza in it if possible, but I’m more thinking bagels, open faced sandwiches, nachos, and the like. It also looks like some of these newer ones have other capabilities now, too. If there is a feature I shouldn’t miss out on, comment on that as well. Thanks

[Bluewater34]

My old toaster crapped out a few weeks back, so I bought a Mueller toaster oven that I found on sale on Amazon for $40. It’s not an air-fryer model, because I already have an air fryer, but after a little trial and error to get used to the differences of using a toaster oven, I’m happy with it. If I had a complaint it’s that the heating from the top heating element is a little uneven. But it does very well for small baking needs and everyday toasting of bread and bagels.

[NiCK (Crush)]

I was able to find a 6 pack of Bell's Hopslam recently and good god damn I had forgotten just how wonderful of a beverage it is.

[Josh.0]

Indeed it is wonderful. Still one of the OG’s of the craft hops wave.

[Josh.0]

Originally Posted by Jack Overwhelming is right. My local liquor store has so much local beer, it’s insane. There must be 200 different four 4pks to choose from. I’m also not a big NE IPA guy, which is what most everything is nowadays. The ABV are just getting silly too. Drinking more than one 8%’er just isn’t in the cards for me anymore. I make my 3 trips to VT every year, load up with Alchemist, and make that last as long as possible. One other thing is how all the beers people use to line up for just sit on shelves now. You can go into stores and see KBS, CBS, BCBS all just collecting dust. We also get a steady supply of Lawsons now which is nice. They’re starting to distribute Sip, which is delicious. Can’t wait to have a few of those on the deck when the whether turns.

We’re in the same boat on beer. 400 calorie 20oz NE IPAs at 8-10% ABV aren’t what my mid-30’s body is interested in anymore. I think breweries would be wise to go back to 12oz cans because the tall boys push a lot of buyers like me away. I know I MAYBE want about 10oz-12oz of those types of beers MAYBE once a week or every other week and that’s about it. But they age poorly so often I buy these four packs and they sit in the fridge for months, then taste like shit, so I end up tossing them or giving them to someone that doesn’t mind skunked hops. There are also WAY too many breweries that have flooded beer stores with subpar hop bombs that are trying to charge Alchemist prices.

I still love sours. Lambic is king, and has been for a long time for me. 4-5% ABV and you can often find 375ml bottles. Perfect. Whole thing is like 150-200 calories and you don’t wake up feeling like shit. Only issue is it’s pricey, but it is what it is.

Back to hops: if you don’t want to drive all the way to Stowe but want a really well-made VT four pack, try Upper Pass. Cloud Drop is my favorite VT DIPA, sans when Hill brews Double Citra (which I think is constantly available now - IMO it’s the best DIPA in the world).

[beitsaad]

Originally Posted by Josh.0 We’re in the same boat on beer. 400 calorie 20oz NE IPAs at 8-10% ABV aren’t what my mid-30’s body is interested in anymore. I think breweries would be wise to go back to 12oz cans because the tall boys push a lot of buyers like me away. I know I MAYBE want about 10oz-12oz of those types of beers MAYBE once a week or every other week and that’s about it. But they age poorly so often I buy these four packs and they sit in the fridge for months, then taste like shit, so I end up tossing them or giving them to someone that doesn’t mind skunked hops. There are also WAY too many breweries that have flooded beer stores with subpar hop bombs that are trying to charge Alchemist prices.

I hear you there, I realized I couldn't just drink 4 packs day after day of M43 anymore, luckily there are a lot of low-cal IPAs out in Michigan right now that I can at least have something with a little flavor.

[mja271]

Originally Posted by Josh.0 We’re in the same boat on beer. 400 calorie 20oz NE IPAs at 8-10% ABV aren’t what my mid-30’s body is interested in anymore. I think breweries would be wise to go back to 12oz cans because the tall boys push a lot of buyers like me away. I know I MAYBE want about 10oz-12oz of those types of beers MAYBE once a week or every other week and that’s about it. But they age poorly so often I buy these four packs and they sit in the fridge for months, then taste like shit, so I end up tossing them or giving them to someone that doesn’t mind skunked hops. There are also WAY too many breweries that have flooded beer stores with subpar hop bombs that are trying to charge Alchemist prices. I still love sours. Lambic is king, and has been for a long time for me. 4-5% ABV and you can often find 375ml bottles. Perfect. Whole thing is like 150-200 calories and you don’t wake up feeling like shit. Only issue is it’s pricey, but it is what it is. Back to hops: if you don’t want to drive all the way to Stowe but want a really well-made VT four pack, try Upper Pass. Cloud Drop is my favorite VT DIPA, sans when Hill brews Double Citra (which I think is constantly available now - IMO it’s the best DIPA in the world).

Pretty much agree with all of this post but feel obligated to point out that every 4 pack at The Alchemist is $12.50 which actually drives home your point about the absurd pricing from mediocre breweries even more.

[Josh.0]

Wow, yeah I forgot Alchemist is still only $12.50, for some reason I thought they were $14-$16 like seemingly everyone else now. It’s crazy to me that so many shit breweries - of which there are a lot now - seem to think they’re deserving of Hill, Alchemist, Lawson’s etc. price tags. It’s laughable.

Market is way over-saturated with bros that were, like, college buddies and one of them had a rich parent/uncle/grandpa that hooked them up with starter funds, yet neither bro has any brewing experience outside of their 5-gallon Home Depot bucket and a lobster pot.

Didn’t Shaun Hill, IIRC, brew for years in I think Denmark before starting HF? There’s a reason the guy is as good as he is...he took the time to become really fucking good at it. Few others do that anymore, many just take old family money and turn it into some BS half-assed operation. I don’t feel bad if those are the ones going under during COVID. Way too many imitators ripping people off in the craft beer world now.

[Fan#41]

Originally Posted by mja271 Pretty much agree with all of this post but feel obligated to point out that every 4 pack at The Alchemist is $12.50 which actually drives home your point about the absurd pricing from mediocre breweries even more.

Have you been to OEC Brewing in Oxford? They consistently produce and select some of the best Sours I've ever had. I went last September to pick up a few bottles of Plumtastic - [Only registered users can see links.] and then ended up grabbing a bunch of other stuff like:

[Only registered users can see links.]

[Only registered users can see links.]

[Only registered users can see links.]

Plus, it's just a great place to relax and enjoy some tastings. Hopefully they're able to at least have some spaced out seating this Spring for in-house tasting and eats.

[mja271]

I enjoy the hangs at a bunch of places that have popped up locally in recent years but it's abundantly clear that so many of these breweries are home brewers who got family/friend money to try and scale up their hobby. Which is fine in some capacity, not everything has to be world class beer. But when you're then sending 4 packs of your subpar beer into the distribution void and charging like $18 it's hard to be supportive.

Strangely enough over the weekend me and the wife were randomly watching a video of John Kimmich drinking his own beer (hilarious btw, seek it out on YT) and ended up watching a HF retrospective that recounted Shaun's experience of spending a few years overseas under a renowned brewmaster. That was a clear aha moment, like no shit this guy is amazing. He honed his craft for years before starting his own operation, and it's abundantly clear the difference in quality he produces.

[mja271]

Originally Posted by Fan#41 Have you been to OEC Brewing in Oxford? They consistently produce and select some of the best Sours I've ever had. I went last September to pick up a few bottles of Plumtastic - [Only registered users can see links.] and then ended up grabbing a bunch of other stuff like: [Only registered users can see links.] [Only registered users can see links.] [Only registered users can see links.] Plus, it's just a great place to relax and enjoy some tastings. Hopefully they're able to at least have some spaced out seating this Spring for in-house tasting and eats.

Big fan of OEC. Consistently excellent beers and great environment

[Josh.0]

OEC brews INSANELY delicious stuff. I knew a spot in Denver that would on occasion get OEC kegs, which blew my mind, and one of the people that worked there would always give me a heads up when it was close to getting tapped because she knew I loved it and sought it out.

Truly amazing stuff. I may have to swing down there soon.

[Jayes]

Originally Posted by NiCK (Crush) I was able to find a 6 pack of Bell's Hopslam recently and good god damn I had forgotten just how wonderful of a beverage it is.

I worked in the original Kalamazoo brewery location in their stellar music venue and beer garden stage from 2012-2015 mixing bands (Digico SD8, D&B arrays on D12’s, B2’s, very legit). Fantastic opportunity, a lot of great bands (too many to name, but TR3 also came through and that’s when I met Tim), so much good beer. I really miss Hopslam. Flew in yesterday to surprise mom for her 60th. There will be a stop downtown at Bell’s

[beitsaad]

Originally Posted by Jayes I worked in the original Kalamazoo brewery location in their stellar music venue and beer garden stage from 2012-2015 mixing bands (Digico SD8, D&B arrays on D12’s, B2’s, very legit). Fantastic opportunity, a lot of great bands (too many to name, but TR3 also came through and that’s when I met Tim), so much good beer. I really miss Hopslam. Flew in yesterday to surprise mom for her 60th. There will be a stop downtown at Bell’s

you should be able to find it all around too, things don't move as fast as they used to.