Halle Berry's pet Octopus: NBS BIF 8

Awesome! Everything made it, and unscathed. Great photo shoot too. Who doesn’t want a pound and a half of bbq chips?

I’d be lying though if I said the root beer wasn’t one of my favorite things in there, but I would throw out a recommendation for the Clear Sky and Wulver. I’ll admit, for a CA dude, I had to do some homework to find some new stuff. That resulted in a lot of new tick breweries for me too. Curious to see what you think of the Dankhouse brew. It is a new place in Newark, which is where I met my wife 22 years ago. Their stuff reminds me of a cross between Alchemist and newer Trillium stuff. Just realized that I didn’t toss any Edmund Fitzgerald in there. Oh well, there’s always future ninja attacks.

 

Awesome hit @WesMantooth

That Nutsmasher is sexy AF!

 

I hope your wife feels better soon. I am keeping a good thought for the both of you.

 

Thank you @Victory_Sabre1973 this is a special ipa. I definitely will remember this ipa is pretty high up on my list.

 

You'd think Wyoming would be hard and it probably still is depending on where you live, but Snake River and Melvin get some semblance of distribution AFAIK. Melvin actually distributed everywhere they could except Wyoming for a long time all while touting that they were from Wyoming. As a Wyomingite it made me furious, but it did help a lot of people get their Wyoming tick. Zonker is the one to keep an eye out for, IMO. It's a world class export stout. Somebody got it this round too. I want to say it was @tasterschoice62 .

 

Nice job @WesMantooth ! Bunch of breweries there I've never heard of, and I've only been out of Ohio for 4 years... though I have heard the craft beer scene is exploding in NE Ohio at least.

 

Ha I was thinking the same thing!!

 

Yeah. The whole state is filling in, but most of the ones in the north/northeast seem to be making pretty decent stuff. I was reading the GABF winners and saw a gold from Lockport Brewing up in Bolivar. Didn’t even know it existed and I have probably driven past it 2 dozen times in the last year. And the Brewers Association said that Royal Docks (the Baba Yaga can) was the 35th fastest growing brewery in the country last year. Haven’t even had one of their beers yet.

 

Ho baby, that Zonker! Awesome stuff, and a legit classic, too. I was actually wondering why I hadn't heard of it before. I finally got some last year by sending a BA some beers that were limited to the NYC area, it seemed, and asked for local faves if he wanted to send anything in return. And it's not just the Zonker; he seemed to be doin' pretty alright in general .

 

Cause it's from Wyoming probably It really is about a perfect stout as far as what I want a stout to be.

 

Excellent box @WesMantooth that mead was a nice touch!!

 

Can never have too much alcohol variety. Haven’t had that one myself, but I have tried a few honey ones that were tasty. Honey/bee keeping is pretty big in Ohio. Seems to have almost bumped apples.

 

I had a few shelf meads that I did not care for but what got me into hunting them down was Schramm's Black Agnes a friend had. I have been lucky he has shared alot but I still pick local stuff up whenever I see it.

 

I've been thinking about exploring some Mead, especially since some of the best meaderies are right here in MI. However, I've already got a whiskey collection that is going to take me years to drink (if I ever finish it) and cases of new beer ticks to get through (you all are nuts), so I probably don't need another alcoholic hobby.

That said, if anyone ever wants some Michigan mead let me know.

Out of curiosity, who here likes smoky/peaty scotch whiskey?

 

I have tried Scotch I have not found one I could drink yet but bourbon on the other hand I love!!! I may hit you up on the mead offer at some point though.

 

I'm just not a big whiskey fan, or a fan of hard liquor in general. That being said, my mom gave me a bottle of Crown Royal that her and my dad got for Christmas in 1973. They never opened it.

Someday I'll pop it open, just to see what it's like.

 

Man, just when you think you know somebody... And hit me up on the mead any time. I don't know enough about it to just throw random bottles at you.

 

Speaking of throwing random bottles,

I still have a spare flat rate boxe and your address.

Hmmm......

 

If it's got smoke I'll probably like it; Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Bowmore are all faves.

Lately I've also found an Italian amaro made with smoked rhubarb that I can't get enough of.