CW 16 vs. GM vs. SS Vietnamese Coffee

They're three pretty different beers – a BA stout, a BA stout with Hazelnuts, and a non-BA coffee stout – so which is better is going to be very subjective, depending on how much you like/dislike hazelnuts, coffee, and/or barrel aging. For me personally CW16 > GM > VSS.

Rarity is also arguable because of the way they've been released, but I would say CW16 and GM are rarer than Viet SS, since VSS has been brewed and released multiple times since 2012 and (from what Alesmith has said) seems likely to come out again.

I think all three are definitely in reach of Prairie brews, with the right combo and person.

 

Recently had CW16 and GM and I'd take the 16 hands down every time. GM was pretty sweet for my taste.

 

VSS is awesome if you love Speedway- it really does take it to another level.

CW16 is one of the best beers I have had this year.

 

For me:
GM>VSS>16

I thought GM & VSS were both excellent, albeit quite different, 16, for my tastes, was just ok. It's purely a matter of individual preferences.

 

Piling on, I think everyone has a different order of preference. I for example, love the taste of GM, but I prize drinkability and can really only take about 6 ounces of it. Vietnamese and CW16 are just much easier to drink and therefore I prefer them and could probably go either way depending on if I'm in a coffee mood or not. I also find I have a hard time picking out a lot of complexity in the big Bruery Stouts - sweetness and alcohol are always the primary dimensions and it's tough for me to get underneath that. If you've had other Bruery beers from that series, you know if you're a fan or not. If you flip out for BT then this will work for you. If you don't, I wouldn't expect this to turn you around.

As for rarity, I sort of disagree with the second reply. Well, maybe it's not that I disagree about rarity but difficulty to acquire; which isn't always the same thing. For example, New Glarus Wild Peach has 4K+ bottles, so not crazy rare, but very hard to acquire. It seems like CW made a TON of 16, the price was low (as is CWs style), and many people got a lot of it. Like cases. Vietnamese is produced yearly but the bottle price is higher, you have to purchase online and find your way to SD to get it, it's a 4 bottle limit. GM is produced annually as well and sold to club members so I think it gets a bit "wider" distribution since club members are dispersed ... problem is bottle price is higher again.

My hunch is that CW16 would be easier to acquire than the other 2. For the others, I think it's a toss-up, just a difference of $s since GM is probably $10 more than VSS.

 

Absolutely, none of which are right or wrong, merely different. I was sooo pleased when Iowa finally got CW & then stunned to discover how little I care for most of their beers. CW16 is easily my favorite so far & still I was underwhelmed.

 

All 3 world class, very different like people have been saying. Definitely drink the GM with at least 4 other people as it gets to be quite sweet. 16 is a phenomenal BA stout, on par with parabola, BBPT5, and BCBS IMO. VSS is a great coffee stout. Price point on VSS was $17, 16 was $15 and GM is around $35 if not mistaken.