Royal is good. Not quite as good as the real Lukas, but darn good. Lee's Summit Gomer's beats 'em all though; best KC beer store in terms of quality.

Some quality big beers stay aging on the shelves of two Northland stores, too: Riverside Red-X and Bubbles. Those are my two mainstay stores. Or were, rather. Sometimes I forget that I don't live in KC anymore.

Oh, and irish -- I don't dislike Avery Mephistopheles, but I don't find it to be an "A grade" beer. Too boozy, not nuanced enough. In my experience.

Shitty day. Got back from the gym and drank my first Tank 7 12oz way too fast. Now I want another, but I want to save them and spread them out.

Days like today are the reason god made cheap, shitty beer (cheap, shitty beer that is currently not in my fridge, sadly.)

Never had it, but I thought you hop heads would like the review:
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/b...essions-133510

This is not a beer for the faint of heart. From the time you open the bottle to the very last sip, it is a full-on hop attack. Suddenly, all those descriptions of hoppy beers as tongue-bruising, eye-popping taste wreckers make a lot more sense.



Beer Details: Ruination IPA from Stone Brewing Company, Escondido, California. (7.7% ABV, 100+ IBU)
Appearance: This has a nicely clear copper color. Against the light, it practically glows. A loose head of sticky foam tops the glass.
Aroma: This is just wave after wave of hop flower - green, herbal, and resin-y. Trying to see past the hoppy cloud, there’s a perceptible wild honey sweetness.
Taste: This starts off with a quick and unassuming burst of warm honey malts. Which leads right into the hop craziness. We tasted lots of bright grapefruit and citrus flavors upfront, but this dissolves into resinous lemon zest around the edges of the tongue and then into earthy herbal and white pepper flavors in the back of the throat. An astringency like black tea leaves the tongue feeling fuzzy and dry.
For all this, the beer is smooth as all get out and almost creamy. Personally, we would have liked a little more carbonation to add some crispness.
This is one heck of a beer. Beneath the obvious hop flavors, there’s a lot of subtlety going on. It’s a challenging beer to drink. Even as we drank the last dregs, we couldn’t decide whether we actually liked the beer or not. And yet...we also can’t stop thinking about it. More taste-tests will definitely be in order.
Food Pairings: Spicy Mexican food would make a great match for this beer, especially if you love the “tongue-battering” pairing of spice and hops. During the winter months, we’d pair it with a big pot of chile con carne. During warmer months, we’d go for tacos and carnitas.

Stone Ruination is as bitter as I am over Mizzou not going to the Cotton Bowl.

Spent 6 hours working on a new TV cabinet, hot shower and relaxing with some nice Boulevard Stout. Wife says we need to use up some leftovers. Gonna pair some Morretti with whatever I find.

TV better work after all this. Figure 6 more hours tomorrow, then start finishing.

Have a beer. Its just not in the cards for Mizzou.

Nothing is in the cards for them. Jesus. I'm actually wearing a Mizzou shirt right now. I'm pissed. I'm not drinking a beer, I'm drinking a can of Cheerwine. Stream of consciousness sentences.

Looks like abyss release date is today, I may need to swing by Deschutes and grab a case. I am down to two dissident, they went so damn well with turkey I couldn't help myself.

Have a Jewbelation 14th anniversary brew along with a Harvest Dance chilling right now.

tried a few tasty brews over the weekend.

Big Sky Brewery - their IPA (they also make Moose Drool which might be my favorite nut brown); light and spicy; lots of good hop aroma.
http://haveabeer.couchand.com/wp-con...29-big-sky.jpg

Copper Gold (I belive) - golden ale; can't recall the brewery. was pretty good; can't put my finger on it...might have to try it again.


Boxcar Brown - ..forget the brewery name. Not as good as Moose Drool, but still pretty darn tasty. lots of 'roasty' flavor.
http://beeradvocate.com/im/beers/43523.jpg

all were outstanding. Big Sky is 2 for 2 with me - excellent brew; going to try their other ale...the one with a Trout on it (can't remember what it's called)

I finally tried the new Blvd Amber yesterday. Assuming it becomes readily available like the Pale & Wheat, it will probably become my go-to when there is nothing more appetizing available.

So I went into the liquor store today with the mindset that I was going to try something I have never had before, which is my new favorite hobby. I find a variety pack of Smuttynose. Which includes Smutty Nose IPA, Shoal's Pale Ale, their brown ale and I'm not sure what the other one is, since it said "brewer's choice" but I'm hoping it's a stout.

What a night! 4 beers I haven't had and from what I hear, Smuttynose is a good brewery. I can't wait to try them out!

just picked up a Lagunitas Cappuccino Stout

http://www.drunkenpolack.com/images/capstout.jpg

and a fort collins double chocolate stout (just checked beeradvocate and they rated it D+ Avoid....so, we'll see...)

Any of you all get a chance to try Dogfish Head's Bitches Brew? I believe it was released in June or July and they are supposedly re-releasing some this fall.