Hyped Beers and Worthy Opponents

yeah I agree- bigger and more bold is not necessarily better.

I'd also throw price in there- Just because a beer is $25 dollars and not a $5 dollar bomber doesn't make it any better or worse.

 

Not at all, I think that's fair.

Everytime I hear how great Pliny is, I think about a handful or so Ipa's that I would buy instead. Not that Pliny isn't great, but I just never understood the huge hype. It shows you how powerful word of mouth and the buzz that can happen pretty fast in the beer community.

 

There are lots of Imperial Stouts that people go nuts over: Hanapu, Founders, Dark Lord, ect. But I'd say that there are plenty of great ones that you can find all over the place with a much wider distro. and much cheaper. Yeti, Ten Fidy, and Stone RIS are a few I can think of that are everybit as good as some of the super hyped ones.

I'd also say Coffee Bender was nothing to write home about. I feel this way about a lot of over-hyped sours too.

 

Not long ago I had a Smuttynose Ry(e)an Ale and was absolutely blown away (both my friend whom I split it with and I) by it. I forgot I had it, I got it part of a trade I made last year for a bottle of Kate the Great and man those 2 alone in that trade made it worth it let alone the Pretty Things stuff I got and White Birch beer. But the Ry(e)an ale was quite an experience, still no Kate but so far my favorite Rye beer I've had, even though I do love my Rye Wine from Brau Brothers.

 

So they have Great Divide commonly in KS? Must be coming a long way. Good to see. I'm anxious to get few East coast beers over here, but I can't complain. CO has amazing stuff, and more and more breweries all of the time. It's good to see kansas graduate from Boulevard Wheat. haha.

 

I'd say it's standing as #40 on the top 100 suggests it already IS one of the best DIPA's in the world, and one of my favorites

 

Cane and Ebel is infinitely better than Founder's Red Rye PA.

 

I agree with you on your point, i am a huge Smuttynose Baltic Porter (well Smutty in general) it was the first beer i actually fell in love with and was fortunate to try HF Everett a couple of weeks ago and i thought that was an awesome beer as well. They are different beers but in general i think Smuttynose is better. I always give Smuttynose love on BA but its nice to see others like yourself doing the same....Make Mine A Smutty....CHEERS

 

Couldnt agree with you more, Its a damn shame there is no Imperial Stout this year from them. The Zinneke is pertty damn good but its still no Imperial Stout....CHEERS

 

In terms of stouts, I think that Thirsty Dog Siberian Night can hold its own with other RISs around. I like MUCH, MUCH more than Yeti, FIS, Blackout, Old Raspy.

Anyone who thinks that Columbus Brewing Co. IPA isnt world class hasnt had it yet, at least IMO.

 

Agreed 100%! As far as RRBC goes, I'd take Bling Pig over Pliny all day. I will say however that the Pliny hype has allowed me to pull some sweet trades because RRBC is a half hour up the road and as such, never a shortage!

 

I think Sierra Nevada's done well in this regard: Hoptimum and Narwhal are both better than many, many examples I've had of each of those styles.

But, to be fair, I haven't had a spirit barrel-aged beer that really stood out for me. (I say that because I think that Goose Island's Sofie is a wonderful beer, and that's wine barrel-aged so I'm not trying to generalize for barrel-aged beers here—just bourbon barrels and such. I just don't care for the flavors imparted by oak or bourbon all that much, when it comes down to it.)

 

Have you ever had Ola Dubh 40?

 

Nope, I haven't. Have not yet ventured into the world of Old World Old Ales, but I'm interested.

 

Ola Dubh 40 is great in my opinion. By far the best of the entire series.

 

Ola Dubh 40 is an incredible beer. It's matured in casks that formerly held 40 year old Highland Park Single Malt Whiskey. The whiskey and oak character in the final beer is assertive without overpowering the porter base. It's really tasty stuff.

 

Long way? Kansas borders Colorado.

 

Columbus is awesome. Similar to Pliny and Lunch, and cheap as heck.