Bottle Logic (2024)

Going to WOL for my first day this year ... what's everyones favorites so far?

 

Caxton Bar should be still on tap, and it's pretty good.

Also Fundamental Theorem is on tap today, so if you have a bottle of it and want to know how it's aged, now's the chance.

 

Don’t mind me, just doing my yearly check to see if anyone has heard anything about Hypermash Hydra b2. I’ve had two kids in between b1 and now. So, uh, it’s been a while.

 

Loved Hydra. I just finished my last Details & Dialects and it’s time for me to grab another 12 pack. One of the absolute best beers on planet Earth.

 

Looks like it was pouring at Week of Logic and it is due at the end of this year

 

Had no idea. Don’t remember seeing it on any of the tap lists for the dates posted on Instagram. This is awesome news!

 

It wasn't called Hypermash Hydra. It was called Bayley Radio or something. I had it but didn't think it was as good as Hypermash b1. It was a bit syrupy. I remember ordering the original at WoL in 2019 and stopping in my tracks at the first sip. I was still at the counter and said, "holy shit." The guy working just replied, "I know, right?"

 

I remember thinking that as well at WoL 2019, and then I also remember when it finally dropped in 2020 that it was even better than the WoL preview I had. B1 was legit one of the best beers I’d ever had up to that point and I had notched some pretty heavy hitters on my belt. Wife and I skipped WoL this year because nothing quite stood out to us as a must, and our lifestyles have changed quite a bit since the last WoL (see “have had 2 kids” above). I hope they can catch lightning in a bottle again with B2.

 

IDK man, I thought Hypermash was a very good pastry stout, but I also felt like BL had 20 other Stasis beers that were far better in that they were more balanced and expressive of both their added ingredients and barrel character. Particularly when you compare them to so many of the others in that arena, who were trouncing you with sugar and viscosity without any regard for drinkability. Then again this is in the face of a culture where we were bouncing from 2oz pour to 2oz pour, often judging off of initial wow factor without a second substantial sip, and that thiccness is why Side Project is still so popular with the pastry boys, whereas for me that became something that ceased turning me on past a certain point of absurdity.

 

It's funny how that's the opposite of my feelings about BL. I've had almost all of their stouts and a lot of of their barleywines. My friends and I call them diabeetus beers because they are always so sickly sweet. When they do no/single adjunct beers like DSN, REN, and FO they are great, but once they start doing more than one adjunct they start getting so sweet and unbalanced. I was so surprised by Hypermash because it was balanced and not too sweet with multiple adjuncts. And the thing I've loved about the Side Project beers I've had is they tend to use more bitterness to balance out the syrupyness from thicc beers.

I agree about the 2oz pour factor.

 

I guess we've had this discussion before, but I find places like Horus, Equilibrium, Hidden Springs, Other Half, Modern Times, Weldwerks etc. to make far more intolerably sweet stouts, so by comparison to those I've always found BL's to be more balanced. Very rarely is BL gloppy or sticky or cloying, nor do they have that terrible acrid sugary flavor that Horus always has. I often find Toppling Goliath and Side Project to be sweeter than BL as well, but not quite to such extremes as the other above breweries.

Perhaps there is a difference between the way people experience certain ingredient flavors, but I think there is a difference here between clarity of ingredient expression and actual sweetness. The coffee definitely helped Hypermash soar, and I gave it quite a high rating, but not so high as many others who loved the huge punch of coconut.

 

I loved Hypermash b1 because it struck a perfect chord between indulgent pastry stout and a balanced, barrel-showcasing big beer. I can’t even remember how many bottles of it I drank, but it was probably more than any other BA stout I’ve ever had before or since.

 

I didn’t get many bottles, but Deprecophobia was that earth-shattering BL beer for me, aside from early days FO. Details & Dialects also just a great beer. That’s the one I’ve probably drank the most of….so damn good. But there are a lot of those incredibly perfect beers by BL for my palate preference. Scatter Signal was incredible, Arcane Rituals, However Improbable…the list goes on. My first trip to BL was Space Trace 2016 release w bro. Been back probably five times since then. Happy place.

 

Deprecaphobia and Somnaphobia were ridiculously great beers. I'm wondering how much I would like them now, though, since lately I've been finding the thicc boi stouts to be too syrupy for me to enjoy much of. I think BL should make them again so I can figure it out, you know, for science.

 

We've got our last archive kegs of both Deprecophobia and Somniphobia pouring in the Tasting Room right now. You should come revisit them for maximum science.

 

Nobody is talking about the event Today? I was curious what it was all about since my session is in an hour. Anyone care to share?

 

Like everything that BL does, it’s a well run event. Very organized and to the point. We all got five different 4-5 oz beers that were handed to us in a platter. Under neath each cup, you will find the name of the beer, whether it will be on draft and/or bottled and a description of said beer.

Lindsey will start to speak around 15 minutes in, will give toast and then run down each beer and it’s tasting note.

In terms of beers, you start with FO and this is by far my favorite release in the last 5 years. I did not get a berry note. It’s not exactly a vanilla batter bomb, but it is well made. The second pour, which was exclusively made for us, Apotheosis was the highlight. You can buy one bottle at the end. It’s is FO with 6x the vanilla. The third one was FO Hucklberry. This was my least favorite. It reminded me of FO if the last few year that had a berry note. It felt like they took the berry note and made it better. Then they had Fococomo. The coconut was strong as the beer warmed. Pretty tasty. Lastly, FO Maple was a close second in terms of favorite.

Overall, if this is the grand prize for coming 7 days of WOL, I am in. It was great to preview the beers instead of blindly buying beforehand. I also liked the WOL exclusive bottle that we can purchase without having to fight for it as a regular released. Pretty happy with the event.

 

I was not a fan of the double-mash beers. Way too thick. Felt like drinking flavored motor oil.