Wow, I'm in love with that glass! Did you buy that at the brewery? Wondering if they are still selling it...

the wimperoo wrote:

Yeah it's at Half Acre. Should still be there. $7

Great Lakes Brewing Company "Burning River" Pale Ale. I like everything about this ale. I discovered it a few months ago on special draft at Lizard's Liquid Lounge (in Chicago's Irving Park) and have been buying it in bottles ever since.
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/73/225
To accompany: Frontera "thick & crunchy tortilla chips" with Whole Foods guacamole premixed with pico de gallo.

Three Floyds' Dreadnaught

I forget how good this is when it's fresh. I knew Binnys got a new shipment this week and figured, in the absence of bottling dates, that was as good a guarantee of freshness as I was going to get without heading to Munster. So much tropical fruit, lively carbonation, heavy body... It's probably a good thing it's so expensive or I'd be buying it more often - and since the alcohol content is so well hidden (for me)...

Also, anyone looking for Goose Island's Lolita should be advised to check out the Jewel at Ashland/Paulina. Plenty of bottles on the shelf and they're ringing up for $8.99 - though this did require a long wait since the UPC wasn't scanning and the cashier and to put in three calls, etc. Not to exploit an obvious pricing error or anything but... that's a hefty discount (and, honestly, I'm sure SuperValu will survive).

2012 batch, and it does not disappoint. Tasty...

Decent IPA. Probably at the end of its shelf life so I'm helping it along. I like a more floral hop; this one's more bitter than hoppy.

I went up to Half Acre on Saturday as they just released their Chocolate Camaro on Friday. Picked up a growler of that for my wife. Also grabbed 6 bombers of Baume, 6 bombers of Cipher and a 4-pack of their Over-Ale.

It was my first time at the brewery and the staff is very friendly and helpful. I like that they have growler cards too. Once you buy 10 growlers you get a free one. I don't think I've seen that anywhere else. Pretty cool that they do that and it will definitely get me to head up there a bit more often.

They were out of the Double Daisy Cutter but a guy I work with is going to trade me a bottle of that for one of my bottles of Cipher.

Oh, and I drank a half pint of the Chocolate Camaro and it's really good. I just can't drink much of it as I'm lactose intollerant and it has lactose in it.

Some things that I've been drinking over the last couple of weeks

Friend brought me back a 750ml growler of Hill Farmstead Abner. It was excellent


Can't say I've ever been a fan of Lakefront, but I had to pick up a beer with my name in it. It actually was a decent version of a baltic porter


Received some Texas beers in a trade recently. Jester King Noble King is a farmhouse ale hopped with Noble hops. It was refreshing and easy drinking


Placed an order for some MN beers last week. One new brewery that I've been hearing a bunch of good things about is Steel Toe. The beer pictured is their special release Size 11 Double IPA. I also ordered their regular IPA and Imperial Red. This DIPA was actually my least favorite of the bunch. It's really well balanced for an 11% beer, but way too malty for my DIPA preferences. There was a nice light melon flavor to go along with the bready malt. Both the Size 7 IPA and Rainmaker red were well made. Very hoppy with nice citrus flavors. Definitely worth checking out if you're ever up in Minneapolis or are looking to add some bottles to your Surly order.


One of my favorite offerings from Surly. Their saison, CynicAle. Nice and crisp on a warm afternoon

the sleeve wrote:2012 batch, and it does not disappoint. Tasty...

I dig the Batman glass

Summer(ish) has meant the return of really, really obnoxious swizzles! Here be ounces of Ango and orange bitters

the wimperoo wrote:I dig the Batman glass

Me too!

solid b-day old fashioned @ Publican:

I do foodie travel for business but often find that cocktail/wine pairings for (even fancy) ethnic food are limited. I just returned from Shanghai and my contact at the classic Waldorf Astoria finally agreed to give me the original recipe for a vintage cocktail that everyone in our group liked ridiculously much, from teetotalers to lushes like me. Doesn't taste strong, but packs a punch. Since historically this was served at teatime, the Waldorf serves it in teacups! Might also be great (though not historically accurate) for a Madmen-type cocktail. The English translation of the recipe is below, but I also got a pdf. copy of the original menu from that time, which is quite fun. Enjoy:

Here is the English version translated on March 23, 2012:

Waldorf Queen’s:
2 slices of pineapple (this seemed to be crushed and strained in mine)
½ English Gin
¼ French Vermouth
¼ Italian Vermouth
A small slice of orange - I like a twist better)
Shake well with crushed ice, serve up

Here is the original cocktail book dated 1927 that contains it: 1927-WALDORF_QUEEN

(If it doesn't post correctly please feel free to request it an I'll e-mail it and a picture.)

travelbluesfood wrote:Waldorf Queen’s:
2 slices of pineapple (this seemed to be crushed and strained in mine)
½ English Gin
¼ French Vermouth
¼ Italian Vermouth
A small slice of orange - I like a twist better)
Shake well with crushed ice, serve up

Here is the original cocktail book dated 1927 that contains it: 1927-WALDORF_QUEEN

This is known as the Queen's Cocktail in the Savoy Cocktail Book and the renowned Harry Craddock is given credit. I'd be interested in the photo (which I don't see), as the Savoy book wasn't published until 1930.

Yes, my menu is dated so it looks like it's earlier, but I'm new to this site (shame on me) so I haven't figured out how to upload the pdf or picture of the drink. Send me a PM (or tell me how to upload) and I'll be happy to pass it on.

My go to. Just a perfect pale ale.

This was my nightcap this evening, paired with a few pieces of dark chocolate. Can't find it in Illinois, unless you're in my basement . It is sold, however, in Indiana so not impossible to get for Chitown residents. Really good infusion of bourbon. Not too hot, not too heavy, and not too expensive either. It's not as complicated as a KBS or an Eclipse, but definitely good and certainly worth trying if you can find it.

That's one of my absolute favorites whenever I'm in Louisville. I also like Bluegrass' slogan, "beer is food."

Out of several beers I tried at Bad Apple last Sunday this one stood out at the top for me. Such a fantastic flavor.

I also enjoyed Dogfish Head's Kujo, Founder's Double Trouble annnnd...a bunch of other stuff.

Stopped by Owen & Engine on Monday to sample some of the Three Floyds Cimmerian Sabertooth Berzerker they had just tapped. I'm an IPA guy so this one was right up my alley. If you are familiar with Green Flash West Coast IPA it's a lot like that, except on steroids - if the steroids themselves were on steroids. Piney/hempy with a big IBU punch in the mouth yet really not much of the high ABV (9+ %) coming through (a good thing, IMO). I'll definitely try to stop back in before that keg is gone.

Kman wrote:Stopped by Owen & Engine on Monday to sample some of the Three Floyds Cimmerian Sabertooth Berzerker they had just tapped. I'm an IPA guy so this one was right up my alley. If you are familiar with Green Flash West Coast IPA it's a lot like that, except on steroids - if the steroids themselves were on steroids. Piney/hempy with a big IBU punch in the mouth yet really not much of the high ABV (9+ %) coming through (a good thing, IMO). I'll definitely try to stop back in before that keg is gone.

Nice. The description of "Piney/hempy" made me think of Zombie Dust, which I love. Have you had it? How does it compare to the Berzerker?

the sleeve wrote:Nice. The description of "Piney/hempy" made me think of Zombie Dust, which I love. Have you had it? How does it compare to the Berzerker?

Yes, I've had Zombie Dust both bottled and on tap (and very much like it). I'd say there are definite similarities but Berzerker is a much, much bigger brother to ZD (as to be expected for a Double/Imperial vs "just" an IPA). CSB is higher ABV but what is most noticeable is the considerably higher IBU - this is not a beer for the "bitter face" crowd. Also I *think* that while ZD is either exclusively or mostly Citra hopped there are a variety of hops at work in the CSB. It certainly tastes like there's some Citra in there but there's some other flavors and aromas going on as well. Hats off to FFF for crafting another fine beer.

(edited to correct botched quoting)

I've not gotten a hempy thing from ZD but from a few of the other DIPAs from 3F.

does anyone know where i can pickup New Glarus "Dancing Man Wheat" in Kenosha?

MBK wrote:does anyone know where i can pickup New Glarus "Dancing Man Wheat" in Kenosha?

I'd bet the Woodman's has it.

I went to Three Floyd's last night and they actually don't have that Berzerker on tap themselves. I was going to give it a try.

I did have a Mutiny & the Mollusk stout that they collaborated with Half Acre on. I liked it but it didn't "wow" me.

My next beer, Mushy P. porter literally wowed me. I took one sip and blurted out "WOW!" One of the best porters I've tasted and I used to drink a ton of them. This has such a great caramel, chocolatey finish but isn't super heavy like some porters with those notes.

Finished off with their Intelligencer which I also like a whole lot. The coffee flavor really stands out and was a good way to finish our dinner.

My wife and I both had their smoked beef tri-tip for dinner which was a solid meal. Picked up 4 more cases of ZD and headed home. Now I have enough liquor and ammunition to last me through the holiday weekend.

A DIY Hotel Special: 1 mini-bottle Patron Reposado, 2oz trop 50 orange juice, 1oz of lime juice, 1 packet of honey.

Not too bad, shaken over hotel ice cubes. Only thing I had to do was get room service to bring up some lime juice.

domaine Cayron Gigondas, 2000 by Mel Hill Photography, on Flickr

drinking really well tonight.

Decided to road test my new Three Floyds branded glassware:


The glass is apparently known as a 'teku glass' -- to be honest, I'm not sure it is much of an improvement over the balloon glass I normally use but it looks plenty spiffy (and I guess that adds something). The text just reads "3 Floyds Brewing Company" in an olde-English type text. I bought a pair of the glasses via Three Floyds' online shop -- they're relatively new so I don't know how consistently they will be available (sound familiar?). As with all things Three Floyds, if anyone is looking for glasses of their own, a trip to the brewery is probably your best bet.

As for the beer in the glass, I always look forward to Blackheart, Three Floyds' take on an English-style IPA. Still hoppy, still high ABV (8.5% this year), but a little maltier than some of the other IPA's they make. I don't find the hops quite as prominent on the nose, either. Per the commercial description (A throwback historical ale brewed when English IPA's were hopped up to last the long voyage from England to Colonial troops in India, using English malts, English hops, English yeast and aged slightly on toasted oak for a 19th century taste. 78 IBU 8.5% ABV) - which is rather apocryphal, but whatever - it's aged on oak but I certainly wouldn't think of that without having read the description first. Altogether really enjoyable and it should be hitting stores this week if anyone is looking to pick up bottles.

This lives up to the reputation. The best imperial IPA I've ever had.

BTW, I have more Pliny if anyone is interested in a trade. PM me if interested. I like Stouts, Imperial Stouts, Bourbon Barrel Aged Beers, Barleywines, and IPAs.

Cheers...