What are you drinking?

[GO IRISH!!!]

True. Great value.

One of my buddies is a big fan of Rye Whiskey, and I need to pick up a bottle for his birthday. Any recommendations? I'm leaning toward Thomas H. Handy or Van Winkle Family Reserve, but those may be difficult to find. Maybe Whistlepig, Michter's, or High West?

Templeton Rye is really good. Price is about $30 to $40 a bottle at most places. I love Michter's. That is one of my favorites. I haven't had the Thomas H. Handy, but I have had the Van Winkle Family Reserve - it was good, but the price is a little steep.

If you can find it, Woodinville Whiskey Company makes a tremendous Rye. Not many people know about this place. It is in the Seattle area and not very widely distributed. Kind of fun to pull out something no one has ever seen. Plus it is really good.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Templeton Rye is really good. Price is about $30 to $40 a bottle at most places. I love Michter's. That is one of my favorites. I haven't had the Thomas H. Handy, but I have had the Van Winkle Family Reserve - it was good, but the price is a little steep.

If you can find it, Woodinville Whiskey Company makes a tremendous Rye. Not many people know about this place. It is in the Seattle area and not very widely distributed. Kind of fun to pull out something no one has ever seen. Plus it is really good.

Templeton, IA is a lovely little town too. FYI.

Tonight is Mudshark Brewery Desert Magic IPA. Meh.

 

[pkt77242]

True. Great value.

One of my buddies is a big fan of Rye Whiskey, and I need to pick up a bottle for his birthday. Any recommendations? I'm leaning toward Thomas H. Handy or Van Winkle Family Reserve, but those may be difficult to find. Maybe Whistlepig, Michter's, or High West?

I am a huge fan of High West's Rendezvous. It is a very good rye. I have had their Double Rye as well and it was ok.

I haven't had this but if you want to give him something out there and different.
High West Distillery & Saloon

Part Bourbon, Part Rye, Part peated Scotch.

 

[pkt77242]

There are days, like on the weekend when I kill close to a 12er in one day,... when I wonder if maybe i have a problem...

then come monday someone bumps this thread and I feel fine.

Stone RuinTen.

 

[NDinMich]

A beer called OVERRATED by Surly Brewing Company in Brooklyn Park MN. Billed as a West Coast Style IPA. A little malty for a "West Coast IPA," but it's pretty good. The can makes it look like a cheap energy drink though.

 

[ACamp1900]

The can design is weak...

But Can>>>>>Bottle for just about any beer IMO...

Newcastle, Guiness, Belhaven, Sierra Nevada... Just a few examples of beer you can do a can to bottle taste test with... Can wins every time.

 

[Junkhead]

Templeton, IA is a lovely little town too. FYI.

Tonight is Mudshark Brewery Desert Magic IPA. Meh.

Mudshark brewery? lol

 

[pkt77242]

The can design is weak...

But Can>>>>>Bottle for just about any beer IMO...

Newcastle, Guiness, Belhaven, Sierra Nevada... Just a few examples of beer you can do a can to bottle taste test with... Can wins every time.

I generally prefer Cans to bottles. I prefer bottles to cans if it is a beer I want to age.

 

[pkt77242]

Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale

 

[Black Irish]

Buffalo Trace bourbon is on the menu for later today. For me, Buffalo Trace ranks just under Tito's vodka as the best value for dollar paid.

 

[Emcee77]

A beer called OVERRATED by Surly Brewing Company in Brooklyn Park MN. Billed as a West Coast Style IPA. A little malty for a "West Coast IPA," but it's pretty good. The can makes it look like a cheap energy drink though.

The can design is weak...

But Can>>>>>Bottle for just about any beer IMO...

Newcastle, Guiness, Belhaven, Sierra Nevada... Just a few examples of beer you can do a can to bottle taste test with... Can wins every time.

Surly is all cans. It's one of my favorite breweries. That stuff is legit.

Totally agree that their can designs are over the top though. Not really a fan of that aspect, but big fan of the beer.

Also, you mentioned Belhaven ... the Scottish ale is one of my favorite imports. It's like iced tea that pours like a Guinness. So refreshing and delicious.

 

[GoldenToTheGrave]

I'm drinking Kool Aid

 

[Whiskeyjack]

I generally prefer Cans to bottles. I prefer bottles to cans if it is a beer I want to age.

Same here. Cans: (1) travel better; (2) are more space efficient; (3) don't break when dropped; (4) seem to cool down faster; and (5) offer better protection from light.

Buffalo Trace bourbon is on the menu for later today. For me, Buffalo Trace ranks just under Tito's vodka as the best value for dollar paid.

Buffalo Trace is excellent; one of the best values in liquor. Around that price point, you might also enjoy: Elijah Craig 12y and Elmer T Lee (both traditional bourbons like BT), WL Weller 12y (wheated), or Four Roses Small Batch (high Rye).

Last night, I relaxed this:

One of my all-time favorites. If you're into wheat beers, I'd highly recommend picking up a bottle.

 

[ACamp1900]

I generally prefer Cans to bottles. I prefer bottles to cans if it is a beer I want to age.

Agreed...

Although you have to make sure no light hits that bottle for anything.

Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale

Beer of the year... no doubt.

 

[ACamp1900]

Surly is all cans. It's one of my favorite breweries. That stuff is legit.

Totally agree that their can designs are over the top though. Not really a fan of that aspect, but big fan of the beer.

Also, you mentioned Belhaven ... the Scottish ale is one of my favorite imports. It's like iced tea that pours like a Guinness. So refreshing and delicious.

Belhaven Scottish is one of the world's best beers imo...

Celebrator Double boch is another one that is straight up ten best in the world from Europe...

anyway, I LOVE Belhaven but again, it has to be on tap or in a can... the bottled version is so lower in quality it is really suprising.

 

[ACamp1900]

This weekend i am going quanity over quality...
I'm picking up a 30 of Milwaukee's Best for 13 bucks on my way home...

been that kind of week at work.

 

[GO IRISH!!!]

This weekend i am going quanity over quality...
I'm picking up a 30 of Milwaukee's Best for 13 bucks on my way home...

been that kind of week at work.

I second that! What time should I be at your place? I can bring the Jack!

 

[Whiskeyjack]

This weekend i am going quanity over quality...
I'm picking up a 30 of Milwaukee's Best for 13 bucks on my way home...

been that kind of week at work.

That generally means you're looking to get f*cked up quickly and cheaply, no?

A 30-pack of Beast costs $16 at Total Wine. That's 360 oz (and 4,320 kCalories) of beer. Since it's 4.5% ABV, you're getting 13.5 oz of alcohol at $1.18/ oz.

Just for the sake of comparison, a 6-pack of New Belgium's Trippel costs $7 at Total Wine. That's 72 oz (and 1,290 kCalories) of beer. Since it's 7.8% ABV, you're getting 5.6 oz of alcohol at $1.25/ oz.

If you've gotta drink a macro-lager, you could definitely do worst than Beast. But unless you're craving that cooked corn/ stale grain taste (and the nasty hangover that follows downing 6-10 cans), you'd do better-- both in taste and in efficiency-- reaching for something with a higher ABV.

 

[Emcee77]

Speaking of bourbon, I had Founders Doom last Saturday. Imperial IPA aged in bourbon barrels. I couldn't taste anything else the rest of the night. It was just overpoweringly awesome.

 

[ACamp1900]

Don't know what Total Wine is... I assume it's like BevMo!... BM doesn't have anything like that, at least that i can think of deal wise... never heard of Beast either...

at Super Target right down the street from my house they have a 30 of Natty Ice for 11 something... but I can't do Natty, just me.

They also have Pabst sixers for 6 bucks and Milwaukee's Best 30s for 13 dollars... to me that's a deal and a half...

 

[ACamp1900]

I second that! What time should I be at your place? I can bring the Jack!

sounds good man...

 

[Whiskeyjack]

Don't know what Total Wine is... I assume it's like BevMo!...

It's similar to BevMo!, but much better. BM's beer selection and pricing is always disappointing.

never heard of Beast either...

Milwaukee's Best = Beast.

They also have Pabst sixers for 6 bucks and Milwaukee's Best 30s for 13 dollars... to me that's a deal and a half...

Well, you're definitely not gonna find a better alcohol/ price ratio in beer than a 30 of Beast for $13. Why not just kick it up a notch and drink whiskey?

 

[ACamp1900]

I have never heard of Mil Best referred to as that... so I guess we were on the same page...

I prefer beer...

 

[pkt77242]

Green Flash Citra Session IPA with a hot pastrami sandwich.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

A beer called OVERRATED by Surly Brewing Company in Brooklyn Park MN. Billed as a West Coast Style IPA. A little malty for a "West Coast IPA," but it's pretty good. The can makes it look like a cheap energy drink though.

Surly is, for my money, the best brewery in the country. As I recall, this can is sort of a joke (think Team America).
Here's the online description they provide:

It's been said: "It's easier to brew an extremely hoppy beer than an extremely balanced beer." And you know us, we are always looking for the easy way out, so we jumped on the West Coast IPA Bandwagon and brewed this dry and hoppy ale. "Surly's a little bit of a one-trick pony, they just brew gimmick beers," and maybe we are OVERRATED, but at the end of the day, it's just a beer. If you like it, great, so do we. If you only liked us when we were small, then leave this one on the shelf. Let one of the fanboys grab it.

The OVERRATED only has 69 IBUs. The Surly Furious is really their big IPA...99 IBUs. When it came out in 2006 or so, it was the hoppiest thing I had ever tasted. They were on the cutting edge of the hop craze.

They also have a wet hopped beer (Surly Wet - 90 IBUs) that they put out periodically. Also just excellent. Always 16 oz cans. Spendy, but always well worth it.

 

[ACamp1900]

It's been said: "It's easier to brew an extremely hoppy beer than an extremely balanced beer." And you know us, we are always looking for the easy way out, so we jumped on the West Coast IPA Bandwagon and brewed this dry and hoppy ale. "Surly's a little bit of a one-trick pony, they just brew gimmick beers," and maybe we are OVERRATED, but at the end of the day, it's just a beer. If you like it, great, so do we. If you only liked us when we were small, then leave this one on the shelf. Let one of the fanboys grab it.

Wow someone likes to take not so subtle shots at Stone....

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Wow someone likes to take not so subtle shots at Stone....

I guess I'm not aware of the shot, but it could be. The Surly guys are funny. I just took it as being self deprecating.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Maybe I'm just reading into it... but it seemed they were firing at Stone...

Could be. I love both breweries.

 

[ACamp1900]

I know I love Stone... never had the other...

 

[pkt77242]

Larceny Bourbon. From Heaven Hill Distillery, wheat bourbon with ages ranging from 6-12 years and 46%. Some corn, wheat bread, vanilla, and spices. Coats the tongue and is rather thick. A little mint, tobacco and vanilla on the finish with some bitterness. I just opened this today so the smell/flavor profile might change as I get use to it. Overall I think it is pretty good and not a bad price at about $25.