Controversial Beer Opinions (Round Two)

Wait... YOU'RE a millennial (unless you mean "those other millennials")

 

I hope you drank a metric shit ton of Summerfest while camping!

 

I find beers like Torpedo, Victory Hop Devil, etc., to be strange beers. At first I feel as if they are not too bad and pretty balanced and the malts and hops play pretty well together. But then about halfway through the glass they get harsher and harsher, by the end I am completely over it. I thought at first maybe it was the flavors evolving as the beer warms but I have done a few experiments and that doesn't seem to be the case, it's really about the hops and the darker malts and how much that clashes on my palate.

Odd stuff, very balanced one minute and very harsh the next.

 

What is worse, shelf beer or shelf turd?

 

hahaha I thought about that when I sent that response. shelf beer is definitely worse

my memory is like a sieve but pretty sure “shelf turd” predated shelf beer (and predated the whole direct to consumer brewery model), and came into being to call out hypey type beers that didn’t sell out immediately/quickly. while douchey, it loosely has somewhat of a valid point. if you made a waxed kopi luwak pappy-aged imperial stout and priced it @ $50 and nobody bought it well tough titties. like nobody is calling SNPA or founders porter a shelf turd

“shelf beer” however.....

broadly creating some underclass of beer (and therefore drinker) purely because - shock horror - it’s accessible by going to a - puke - store, instead of lining up for 12 hours in a winter snowstorm outside of a rural farmstead brewery or an industrial development on the outskirts of town? well fuck you very much

 

Nelson tastes like what happens when you get your mouth washed out with soap.

 

Stan Hieronymous has said that the Growers hate Centennial due to low yield and it being finicky to grow. Brewers love it, as it is one of the few hops that have cis-rose oxide which is very floral and rose like. I get that in fresh Two Hearted, and like it.

As @JackHorzempa says, other compounds give floral aromas too.

 

Who would have thought that proclaiming one's love for Bigfoot would be controversial? I lurve the stuff, fresher the better.

I'm not so crazy about all the other American barleywines I've had, however. Strange but true.

 

Hear, hear! I can't think of a beer that I've done a bigger 180 on over a long period of time. First time I had Bigfoot, I really disliked it, but I kept trying it over the years. I gradually grew to respect it, but I couldn't really click with it. Now, I'm at the point where I think it's a gem and an epitome of modern American brewing.

I also want Bigfoot as "fresh" as possible after release. I'm amazed by how well they hold up with age, but fresh is where it shines the brightest... and I don't just mean because of the hop character, I mean in terms of its overall health. Despite the constant IPA comparisons, I don't think it's really like any IPA. I don't subscribe to the American vs English barley wine way of thinking... but if I did, I still wouldn't be able to wrap my head around the idea that it "becomes" more like an English-style barley wine with some years on it. I guess it’s just me, but it remains Bigfoot to me.

Bigfoot is really unlike anything else, but I do like other American barley wines - particularly Bell's Third Coast Old Ale. That's my tag team.

 

Some might say you just don't like Barleywines then.

I used to adore aged Bigfoot, but I've come to realize it's best when fresh for my palate. It's a thing of beauty.

Curious that you say it doesn't remind you of an IPA. I've always thought of the American Barleywine style as simply a double IPA.

As I stated earlier in this thread, the hop and malt profiles of Celebration and Bigfoot are exactly the same.

 

Great point. Having to parce out all of the component pieces of a beer might be a fun intellectual challenge, but it has nothing to do with drinking pleasure.

 

Yeah for sure. And the extra grinding thing about “shelf beers” in relation to HF, is that I guess if shelf beer is a thing, then at least let the people that do most/all of their buying at stores take the high ground of being able to get great beer with zero hassle/no concerns around image/possession of whales. But saying you like HF shelf beers (there are literally two stores listed on their site; both a couple miles from brewery) is having your cake and eating it too. I don’t care about whales but I buy from highly sought after breweries....

 

Nah! They wouldn't do that since it would contaminate the water they need to brew beer.

Cheers!

 

Sabro tastes like expired off-brand sunscreen.

 

Did you have an 'exciting' day on the beach?

Cheers!