Hello all, So my brother recently moved to the Houston area and I'm trying to pinpoint the best bottle shop to send him to for a good Prairie selection (would love Bomb & it's variants, not sure what's available now). Also any input on the best bottle shop overall? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
For my money, best bottle shops: Big Spec's Spec's Montrose D&Q Jugs Draft (they were the last place I saw Bomb, Bible Belt, Coffee Noir; about a month ago) Growlers Montrose Premium Draught Central Market on Weslayan Most underrated is Spec's on Weslayan
I think Jugs Draft might still have orange wax Bomb! and probably still some Noir variants. They've sat there for a bit because the place is fairly new and they're charging $12 a bottle for those. Caution on the Noir variants, there have been reports of infections. The Coffee Noir I bought from there was fine apparently, but the Vanilla Noir that I sent to a trading partner was infected.
Obviously. Thanks for the valued input. I'm referring to when they are released, where they can be found.
Send him to DFW. We have nicer folks and are generally more helpful. Can point you in the right direction, just let me know.
Prairie Birra has been floating around most of the Spec's locations I have visited on the West Side of Houston. It is usually the only thing by them I have seen on shelves consistently. Wine Noir was not as popular as the others apparently, It lingered for quite awhile on shelves, and may still be available at bottle shops. May be out on shelves and no longer stashed in the back. Does not hurt to ask whoever is working the beer section. Pirate Bomb should be making rounds soon if not already made it's appearance in the Houston area. Prairie Coffee and Wine Noir were still available in 12 oz. bottles at the World of Beer location in Sugar Land as of my last visit. On site consumption only if you are unable to locate any.
I visited jugs today. Nice little place. Picked up three prairies. 1. Bomb! 2. Barrel noir 3. Cherry funk How well does bomb and barrel noir age?
I would drink Bomb sooner rather than later. I like it with ~3 months on it which seems to allow the chocolate and vanilla to fade a little so the spice becomes more apparent. Wine barrel Noir is an unknown, but might age well. There really aren't any aspects of the beer where I'd expect aging to improve it.
I had a Bomb! two nights ago, batch that was capped only (no wax, no plastic wrapper around cap). Coffee had faded a bit, but I think the spice was perfect on it. Anyone remember how old that batch is?
