Beers you don't "get".

I really like most styles, and I will keep trying different beers in ones I don't "get" right away. Many have grown on me. Right now I have a hard time appreciating Gose, but I'm not a big fan of a lot of salt. Now if someone could send me some Westbrook, I just might get it....

 

I feel beer is like music. Everyone has different tastes. Even if you listen to underground stuff you can still enjoy some mainstream music, but then there is always that "I will never understand why this group/artist is popular". The people who can't stand sculpin and/or two hearted. I can't help but wonder what IPA's they are drinking instead. Those are two of my go to IPA's. Two hearted in Cans and typically sculpin is on draft at every restaurant in San Diego next to Stone Pale Ale, Arrogant Bastard, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, and a bunch of shit like Sam Adams Rebel IPA, Stella Artois, Budweiser, etc. It's juts always a safe beer when there is a mediocre selection. I'm not saying it's mind blowing by any means, but I've never had a "mind blowing" IPA. Speaking of which, the beer that I don't get at all is Pliny. It's skunky, thin, there is no malt character to it. I feel like people like it because it's "girly" to like sweet and/or fruity beers, so liking something that pungent and bitter is considered to be "manly". Heady topper falls into the same category but is not quite as pungent. I find it odd that "clarity" and "balance" make a "quality" beer, and beers should be poured into a glass so you can get the aromas of the beer.....yet Heady has hop residue in the can, is a cloudy beer and is recommended to "drink from the can" which does not allow you to get the full aromas of the beer .....does this not defy everything that makes a "quality" beer?

 

That's the oil. It's mint! That means you got a good batch. Bad one tastes like lemon water.

 

He's an artist, bra

 

I bought a 12 pack, and also had a single while visiting a friend in VA(to avoid the extra 4th tier in Montgomery County, don't get me started sigh...) and still didn't get it.

 

Pumpkin beers & Christmas beers, no thanks. Uh & I like hot, spicy food but again NOT in the beer. Novelties to me, much like the cider, root beer, Americanized-shandy, and the a-rita nonsense as well. Not my bag, seems geared to the freshman drinkers.

 

Those I have not. I have had scotch ales before, just none aged in barrels. I have yet to try any barleywines yet at all. They are definitely on my list, as I am far from having tried every style yet. Which I wish to someday do.

 

Founders is in your distribution and makes Backwoods Bastard; one of, if not the best bourbon barrel aged Scotch ales. It is a seasonal, so unless you know someone with one from last year, you'll have a few months to wait until the new batch is out in November.

I recommend trying a few barleywines not aged in barrels before trying barrel aged versions. Anchor's Old Foghorn is an English Barleywine that should be easy to find, perhaps less easily found but more highly regarded is JW Lees Harvest Ale. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot and Victory Old Horizontal are easy-to-find American Barleywines, which will be much hoppier than their English counterparts (as is usually the case with American vs English versions of a style).

Once you've had a few out of a barrel, then try in the barrel; Barrel Aged Bigfoot and Oak Horizontal shouldn't be too difficult to find on the American side and while perhaps harder to find, Mirror Mirror was plentiful when it came out and could still be found, and while harder to get, Goose Island's Bourbon County Brand Barleywine and Firestone Walker's Sucaba are two of the best examples out there.

Though out of your distribution, Central Waters makes a barrel aged Barleywine and Scotch Ale that are both great, inexpensive, and pretty easy to get.

 

Habernero Sculpin..... Was excited to find this the other day. Good god it's a waste of good base beer. Tone the heat down. I like hot but not for the sole reason to be hot. My trachea burned after the first sip. I waited a while and tried another sip and it was the same. Too hot. I will cook with this beer I guess. DP the glass as it was not enjoyable at all. Wish that BP would reduce the peppers to give this a nice heat backdrop not a full on assault. I would love to taste the base beer with the peppers as well. Maybe try Jalapeño Sculpin instead to better meld the tastes.

Enjoy

 

Flavor wise I'd really like to try Scotch Bonnet Sculpin, but they'd have to keep the heat wayyyy down. I have heard that there can be a pretty wide variance in the heat on that beer, but from the one I had I agree completely with your assessment.

 

For me I would go with aggressive sours as a category. Many sours are some of the most expensive beers out there, and I dont' really like the idea of having one singular flavor dominate the entire beer profile, and fork out $20+ for a 750 Mll. I enjoy balanced sours that are blends and wild and "funky" beers (Brett. beers etc.,) but I really can't stand a beer that's so sour that you taste nothing but the dominate sour characteristic.

 

Can you specify what beers are sour/one note AND so expensive? Not as a challenge, I'm just curious what you include in that description.

 

This one is kind of obscure but Carton Regular Coffee. Way too sweet.

 

FFF Skull'Ole

 

Totally agree on that one, that beer was terrible to me; with that said, I feel like its cost is because it's a FFF beer more so than because it's a "high end sour".

 

For a style of beer I guess I just don't get, " gueuze in general". I have had plenty, over 20 different ones at one tasting, but my take away from them is the most common flavor descriptions of the best/favorites are, "Barnyard aromas, best with powerfully scented cheeses".

As for a specific beer? Well, so far anything "VooDoo Doughnut" gets my vote, sorry guys - I like many of your other beers and especially your scotch and gins.

 

I gotta chime in to say I really love hab sculpin and all of it's heat. I am also a chile head that grows carolina reapers and other superhot varieties of peppers as well. Maybe the beer was brewed for us chileheads not really for the masses? It's a nice twist. I think that the heat is best, and most pronounced on firkin.

 

Sure, the las beers that come to mind in this category were Avery's Insula multos Collibus- sour ale with cherries aged in bourbon barrels and was about $14 for a 12 oz., their new raspberry sour was also in the same category, although more approachable in the pricepoint. (I love Avery, not knocking them in any way.)

I am also a big Bruery fan, but Tart of Darkness really underwhelmed me, and was about $22. I thought it was pure, mouth-puckering sour without really any other factors.

 

The beer I don't get has got to be almost any beer with cherries in it that is not a lambic/sour. Now, I have had a couple that were good but the majority of beers I've tried with cherries really had a taste I don't like.