Whole foods brewlist, 1\6\14

Whole foods: Bringing beer into focus

I hope that no-one takes that the wrong way......its merely a mater of fact. Whole foods is expensive. Their food, groceries, and home supplies all cost more than their competitors (Trader Joes, Costco, Publix, Wallmart, etc). Can't fault me for saying that, and its pretty obvious that no-one goes to Whole Foods to save money.....besides me I suppose (I obviously like to bargain hunt). However, if your a beer fans, you should give them a shot, because against all conventional wisdom, whole foods often undercuts their competitors by quite a bit on beer prices.

No lie. I first thought that was a fluke when I found the two leading Ballast point stouts marked down so much, but when I started working on this list, I was surprised to continue seeing the trend for lower priced beer. I cant find every point where they have a better price than competitors, but I will point out when I notice that they beat the rest on certain items.

However, their surprisingly lower-prices is not why I find this place to be fantastic for beer. Its also not because of their occasional stocks of rare white whale level beers, and its certainly not the free samples (but Ill admit, those help a lot)............no its because you can drink in the store! And not just at the bar, you can drink the RETAIL single bottles (after you pay for them that is). That's just crazy to me. You can pick up a bottle, open it, and drink it. Anywhere in the store.

Finally, the concept of buying a single bottle makes sense to me!

Its just amazing. Its pretty much makes them the cheapest pesudo bar in town, and can make for a great stroll around the store, a good chill-spot at the cafe, or a good place to take friends out to have a few nice cold ones. And common, who doesn't want a beer when they are shopping for organic goodness? With free samples? That's just a match made in heaven.

And to add to that, the place is expanding the beer selection. The expansion will allow for more single beer purchases, a greater variety of beers, and a larger percentage of the refrigerated shelf space. Currently they are planned to take effect by next week (as of today, 1\5\14).

As a final point of interest, I personalty know that at least 2 of the staff are experienced homebrewers, and are more than happy to talk home-brew with you if they have the time and if you bring it up! This is a serious plus for me. 

If you haven't already gone and enjoyed what their offering, your missing out. I highly recommended it.

The Brew List:

Bombers\singles

• Avery brewery
  • the beast grand cru, 9.99, 12 oz
    • style: Belgian dark strong ale 16.83%
    • rating: ratebeer (98\100), beer advocate (86\100)
    • personal rating: 83\100. This is a remarkably furious beer.....but that's just the problem. Its too furious. Its flavor too strong, its body too thick. Its a beer that ozzes out 'too much”. But that's just the way we like it, isn't it? A good example of extreme beer, and well worth trying one just to say that you did, but really, in may ways it just goes too far.
• Ballast point
  • Victory at sea coffee vanilla porter, 7.49
    • style: Imperial porter, 10%
    • rating: ratebeer (100\100), beer advocate (98\100)
    • personal rating: n\a, yet............
  • Sea monster, 7.49
    • style: Imperial stout, 10%
    • rating: ratebeer (98\100), beer advocate (90\100)
    • personal rating: n\a.....yet
• Samuel Smith
  • Organic chocolate stout, 4.99
    • style: sweet stout, 5%
    • rating: ratebeer (97\100), beer advocate (94\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Eel river brewing
  • Trippel exultation, 5.99
    • style: old ale, 9.7%
    • rating: ratebeer (96\100), beer advocate (85\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Stone
  • Old Guardian, 7.99
    • style: American barleywine, 12%
    • rating: ratebeer (96\100), beer advocate (89\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Sierra Nevada
  • Brux domesticated wild ale, 14.99
    • style: American wild ale, 8.3%
    • rating: ratebeer (96\100), beer advocate (86\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Legacy brewing
  • Hoptimus prime, 6.99
    • style: Imperial ipa, 9%
    • rating: ratebeer (93\100), beer advocate (90\100)
    • personal rating: n\a

4\6 packs

• Brasserie d'Achouffe
  • La Chouffe, 11.99\4
    • style: Belgian strong ale, 8%
    • rating: ratebeer (98\100), beer advocate (94\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
  • Houblon Chouffee
    • style: Belgian IPA, 11.99\4
    • rating: ratebeer (99\100), beer advocate (94\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Wells and Young
  • Banana bread beer, 9.44\4
    • style: fruit beer, 5.2%
    • rating: ratebeer (42\100), beer advocate (79\100)
    • personal rating: 94\100. This stuff tastes like banana bread. Its mission is accomplished. And it tastes delicious. Give it a shot. You wont be disappointed. Unless you don't like banana bread, then you will be disappointed
• Coronado brewing co.
  • Islander IPA, 12.99\6
    • style: American ipa, 7%
    • rating: ratebeer (95\100), beer advocate (85\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Holy Mackerel
  • Panic attack, 9.99\4
    • style: Belgian strong ale, 10%
    • rating: ratebeer (61\100), beer advocate (77\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Lagunitas
  • Brown sugga, 10.99\6
    • style: American strong ale, 9.99%
    • rating: ratebeer (97\100), beer advocate (90\100)
    • personal rating: 95\100
  • Ipa,
    • style: American IPA
    • rating: ratebeer (94\100), beer advocate (87\100)
    • personal rating: 85\100
• Founders
  • dirty bastard, 11.49\6
    • style: Scotch ale, 8.5%
    • rating: ratebeer (98\100), beer advocate (91\100)
    • personal rating: 93\100. One of the best scotch ales on the market.
  • Centenial, 11.49\6
    • style: IPA, 7.2%
    • rating: ratebeer (99\100), beer advocate (93\100)
    • personal rating: 87\100
• World brews
  • 4 in hand IPA, 4.99\4 pints
    • style: American ipa, 6.3%
    • rating: ratebeer (24\100), beer advocate (73\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
  • St cloud, 4.99\4 pints
    • style: Witbier, 5.4%
    • rating: ratebeer (22\100), beer advocate (66\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Narragansett brewery
  • Narragansett lager, 6.99\6 pints
    • style: American adjunct lager, 5%
    • rating: ratebeer (12\100), beer advocate (77\100)
    • personal rating: 83\100. In terms of the American adjunct lager style, this is simply the best there is. It is my go too choice when friends want to drink something that their familiar with (and I don't feel like drinking bud). A high recommendation for anyone who says that you cant make a good American adjunct lager.
• Joseph James brewery
  • Red fox Russian Imperial stout, 10.99\6
    • style: Russian imperial stout, 9%
    • rating: ratebeer (80\100), beer advocate (79\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Fat head
  • Holly Jolly, 12.99\6
    • style: herb\spice beer, 7.4%
    • rating: ratebeer (76\100), beer advocate (85\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Hinderland
  • pale ale, 10.99\6
    • style: English pale ale, 5.3%
    • rating: ratebeer (63\100), beer advocate (76\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Victory
  • headwaters pale ale, 10.99\6
    • style: American pale ale, 5.2%
    • rating: ratebeer (94\100), beer advocate (89\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Red Brick
  • Hoplanta, 9.99\6
    • style: American ipa, 6.7%
    • rating: ratebeer (64\100), beer advocate (84\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• La Rossa
  • Birra Moretti, 8.99\6
    • style: Doppelbock, 7.2%
    • rating: ratebeer (74\100), beer advocate (83\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• left hand brewery
  • Nitro milk stout, ?\6
    • style: milk stout, 6%
    • rating: ratebeer (96\100), beer advocate (89\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Siera Nevada brewery
  • Narwhal, 9.99\4
    • style: Russian Imperial stout, 10.2%
    • rating: ratebeer (99\100), beer advocate (92\100)
    • personal rating: 98\100. I flat out love this beer. Its easily one of the best stouts on the market, easily the best in the store right now (unless a surprise bomber comes around)
• Southern Tier
  • 2xmas, 9.99\6
    • style: herb\spice beer, 8%
    • rating: ratebeer (93\100), beer advocate (84\100)
    • personal rating: 97\100. I thought that it was a perfect spiced beer, at the time anyway. Are-review might be necessary, but yea. I liked it a lot.
  • 2xIpa, 10.99\6
    • style: Double ipa, 8.2%
    • rating: ratebeer (97\100), beer advocate (91\100)
    • personal rating: 98\100. Its my go-to big ipa. Enough said. I love this stuff.
• 6 point
  • crisp, 9.99\4 pints
    • style: German pilsener, 5.4%
    • rating: ratebeer (59\100), beer advocate (88\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
  • Bengali tiger, 9.99\4 pints
    • style: American ipa, 6.4%
    • rating: ratebeer (94\100), beer advocate (88\100)
    • personal rating: 90\100. This beer is my prime choice for a nice, crisp, hoppy American IPA. Its large container also adds a lot to what makes this beer great. Highly recommended beer for starting your night, before you really break out the big guns. I also recommend it as a picknick or sport event beer. Not exactly sessionable, but highly portable and large can size make it useful for such events. Highly recommended.
  • Sweet action, 9.99\4 pints
    • style: cream ale, 5.2%
    • rating: ratebeer (79\100), beer advocate (88\100)
    • personal rating: 85\100
• Fullers
  • London porter, 11.99\6
    • style: English porter, 5.4%
    • rating: ratebeer (100\100), beer advocate (94\100)
    • personal rating: I had this one at the store. A great, highly malt forward brew, and a hard one to resist when I'm shopping at whole foods. A good go-to porter, and a proven classic. 95\100
• Lexington brewery
  • Bourbon barrel ale, 12.99\4
    • style: English strong ale, 8.19%
    • rating: ratebeer (61\100), beer advocate (83\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
  • Bourbon stout, 13.99\4
    • style: Imperial stout, 8%
    • rating: ratebeer (88\100), beer advocate (81\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Julius Echter
  • Heff-weiss hell, 11.99\6
    • style: Hefewisen, 4.9%
    • rating: ratebeer (85\100), beer advocate (89\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
  Bulk, 12 packs
• Oscar Blues
  • multipack, 18.99
    • dales pale ale, 6.5%
      • style: American pale ale
      • rating: ratebeer (98\100), beer advocate (88\100)
      • personal rating: I hate this one. I think that it tastes like cheesy socks. But its a classic to many, soo ehh. 2.5\5
    • Old Chub
      • style: Scotch ale, 8%
      • rating: ratebeer (97\100), beer advocate (90\100)
      • personal rating: I love this beer, and its my former go-to scotch ale (right now its after Dirty bastard), but I still love this ale. 87\100
    • Mama'a little yella Pills,
      • style: Czech pilsener, 5.3%
      • rating: ratebeer (52\100), beer advocate (81\100)
      • personal rating: 73\100
        • Average pack score: ratebeer(82\100), beer advocate(86\100)
        • Overall impression: The only place in town to get this one. It looks like a GREAT bulk purchase of craft if you and some friends are curious about the original canning craft brewers, Oscar blues. And for what you get, the price is quite nice. If its ever on sale it should be an immediate purchase!
          • P.S. For the money, this one also has a high concentration of alcohol! Just saying :p
• Magic hat
  • Winterland variety pack, 14.99
    • Number 9 not quite pale ale
      • style: Fruit Beer, 5.1%
      • rating: ratebeer (45\100), beer advocate (77\100)
      • personal rating: I'm not a terrible fan of this beer, But I think that my old review of it is a bit off. I find that I can finish the beer and enjoy it for what it is. Its nothing special, but I find this beers apricot flavor to work in the short run. I cant drink more than one of them, but I think that it can work for a single severing durring the winter. 70\100
    • Heart of darkness
      • style: English stout, 5.7%
      • rating: ratebeer (91\100), beer advocate (88\100)
      • personal rating: n\a
    • Encore ipa
      • style: American IPA, 6.4%
      • rating: ratebeer (n\a), beer advocate (82\100)
      • personal rating: n\a
    • G-thing ginger spice ale
      • style: herb\spice beer, 5.7%
      • rating: ratebeer (46\100), beer advocate (77\100)
      • personal rating: n\a
        • Average pack score: ratebeer(60\100), beer advocate (81\100)
        • Overall Impression: I honestly did not know that this was a variety pack until I did the list. I think that its diversity of style can make it a good choice to spice things up, but I still really don't have much of an opinion of the box set. A good one for magic hat fans is what I would say, or for a good purchase for the money, its a solid buy. Not sure if it would be so those two factors are not important to you.
• Boston Brewery
  • Winter lagger, 14.99
    • style: spiced bock, 5.6%
    • rating: ratebeer (64\100), beer advocate (82\100)
    • personal rating: I found this beer to be highly refreshing, crisp, and lively winter offering. Perfect in quality for price, this bulk order is a must try for anyone interested in seeing Sam Adams when they get things right. 84\100
• New Belgium
  • Sunshine wheat, 17.99
    • style: American pale wheat ale, 4.8%
    • rating: ratebeer (48\100), beer advocate (79\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
• Siera Nevada
  • Torpedo extra, 15.99
    • style: American ipa, 7.2%
    • rating: ratebeer (98\100), beer advocate (93\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
      • P.S. For the money, this is the best craft beer ABV (booz) return per dollar. Just saying.......
  • Pale ale, 15.99
    • style: American pale ale, 5.6%
    • rating: ratebeer (96\100), beer advocate (91\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
  • Celebration, 15.99
    • style: American IPA, 6.8%
    • rating: ratebeer (98\100), beer advocate (93\100)
    • personal rating: I found this to be a great hop forward brew, but not nearly as hoppy as the torpedo. A good choice for less hop-forward friends looking to get a buzz going and enjoy a decent brew at a great price. 90\100
• Innis\gunn
  • box set, 9.99, 3 pack + glass:
    • Original
      • style: Scottish ale, 6.6%
      • Stats: ratebeer (64\100), beer advocate (84\100)
      • personal rating:70\100
    • Bourbon Stout
      • style: Scottish stout, 7.4%
      • Stats: ratebeer (63\100), beer advocate (85\100)
      • personal rating:Anyone looking at this one, be advised: its quite sweet. A lot of this sweetness comes from its bourbon aging (giving it a hot and estery\fruity character), and the rest from its Scottish-style yeast. Their is not nearly enough chocolate\roast to back it and balance out the bourbon sweetness. I think that this beer would had tasted better if it had a stronger hop bitterness or a dose of smoked\roasted malt barley to curve its sweetness. However, as you drink it, it grows on you a lot, and because of that I give it a 75\100. Easily worth trying once.
    • Treacle Porter,
      • style: Scottish porter 7.4%
      • Stats: rate beer (n\a), beer advocate (78\100)
      • personal rating: 80\100
        • box average rating: ratebeer (64\100), beer advocate(82\100)
        • Box overall impression: Now this one is quite interesting. Besides having a box that, in my opinion, is worth getting just for the art (Innis and Gunn have always had a sense of style), its a great chance to try a good chunk of the brewery’s main offerings. I also love the glass that it comes with (which is perfect, obviously, for Scottish style beer), and the glass was one of the primary reasons why I picked it up in the first place. Overall I give the box set a score of 85\100, with an extra 5 points added because of the glass.

Brew in focus: Victory Dirt Wolf

Brew in focus: Victory Dirt Wolf

ohhhhhhhhh Dirt Wolf, how is it that I can describe this beer. So much has been said about it, but I suppose I can take a crack at it.

To begin, this image comes to mind:

yea, Id say that that covers it. I know that people tend to throw “best ever” around a lot, but this really is the best IPA I've had this year. Most likely the best I've ever had. If you say that you like IPAs, especially big American double IPA's, you have no excuse. You have to pick this beer up when you see it. Hell pick up TWO. Its worth it. Trust me. And now, lets take a look at this gem:

• Style: Imperial IPA, 8.7%
• rating: ratebeer (99\100), beer advocate (95\100)
• Full Personal Review:
  • Appearance: it comes off looking like a very hazy peach colored liquid. Not red, not clear, just very, very hazy...yet, to me, it makes the beer look even better. No head on this one, but considering how much hop everything is in it, I'm not surprised. Hop oils do tend to kill off head retention. 4\5
  • Aroma: wow.....I mean,just wow. This one just leaps right out of the glass and punches you in the face with awesome. It smells of a bonanza of fruit: apricot, pineapple, pears, mixed in with a background of hop resins and a sweet malty goodness. 5\5
  • Taste: Not only does this beer smell amazing, it also has an abundance of flavoring hops as well, and it all works out perfectly. The beer starts off with a subtle sweetness that helps you work into its long, rolling bitterness that never feels too sharp or grading. Big American resinous, citrus, and floral hop flavorings that all take front seat in the flavor department, but keep the malty sweetness around to create a fantastic experience. Also a bit of peach flavor comes out of the stuff. 5\5
  • Mouth-feel: It has a bit too much carbonation that can add a bit too much of a bite to the beer, but it also allows for more aroma to leap forward, so I cant fault it too much in this department. I suppose I give it a 3.5\5.
  • Overall: Id say that overall, this beer has perfect aroma and flavor. The smell is just perfect. The taste is just perfect. It shows how a double IPA can have a huge amount of hops, and yet, not have the grading heavy hop character to drown out all the other flavors. This beer is not balanced, but its not overpowering. Its a brew that has all its characteristics working together to deliver the best possible outcome. 5\5.
    • BA average (4.8\5), or a 98\100

Best IPA of 2013. Will buy again.

This beer is still available in beer stop for about 10$\4, and I'm pretty sure that its the last store in town to have any. Enjoy.

Here is looking forward to Hop Ranch!

L'chaim!

Sam Adams odyssey part two: Sam Aadms Light

Sam dams Odyssey part 2

Sam Adams Light

beer is sitting over my kegerator, and next to be beer flag

On my last review I tried the blueberry wit, and I expected that I would not care for the brew. I was wrong, and found it to be a decent brew. Now this is the one beer from Sam Adams that I have some of the least expectation for (Cherry wheat is the one that I have the most Dredd to try, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it). For this beer, I will be treating it like a light beer, aka comparing it to the other light beers I've had in the past. As a result it may have a high rateing, but just remember, this merely reflects its rating in its weight class.

Because of that, it might get a decent review. I have no idea. I really have never had it before. But yea, enough talk! Lets get started

• Sam Adams
  • Sam Adams light, 1.69, bottle
    • beer style: light lager, 4.3%
    • rateings: ratebeer(16\100), beer advocate (75\100)
    • personal rating: BA style, followed by a overall x\100
      • appearance: This beer actually has some color to it. A very light amber coloration distinguishes itself from its other light brethen, with no real head forming in my glass. Might had been my extra careful pour. Overall not bad. 4\5
      • aroma: Their really isn't anything here that I like. It really just smells like your typical light lagger, with maybe some kind of odd hoping, but I cant place it. Even so, I really don't care for it. I was kinda hoping for a nice load of hop aroma. 1.5\5
      • taste: moment of truth.............and...............you know what, its really not that bad at all! Extremely neutral, light, with few flavors backing it up. Very grainy malt body dominates the flavor. The Trader Joes pilsner had far more hop characters to it, but then again, this is a light beer. Its not suppose to have a lot of hop character. Compared to Bud light, or platinum, seriously, I give this one a 4\5
      • mouthfeel: light with a heavy dose of carbonation, making it very spritzy and covering its very light body. 4\5
      • overall: This beer really was not made for me, but I'll be honest, I don't hate it. Id be happy drinking it for free at a friends house or at a party. Its easy to consume, and is not offensive at the least, and does count as a light lagger. That's impressive, as to make a light lagger inoffensive is damn hard. After drinking the entire glass, my final rating is............. a 3.75\5. Its not bad at all. I cant say that I like its aftertaste very much at all, but overall, the beer really is ok..........especially for anyone who wants to indulge the fantasy of a “diet beer”.

Overall, Id be happy to play a game of beer pong with this beer!

BA rating (3.45\5), overall(82\100)

Remember the rating is scaled against the light lager category!

Beer style in focus

Now that the review is over, lets look at some of the history of light beer (information gleaned from the Oxford encyclopedia of beer, section "light lagers"). Light beer is defined as any beer that has less caloric content than your standard variety of beer. As a result most of these beers are brewed to have lower levels of alcohol and malt sugars (less alcohol and final remaining sugars mean less calories). The FDA classifies any beer that contains 33% less calories than a standard offering as being light. In a time of health contentious individuals (and cost sensitive consumers), combined with some clever marketing, light beer has taken the largest market share of any variety of beer on the planet.

Their are four ways of making “light beer”. The first is simply to reduce the grain bill of an original recipe. The second is to sell the beer in smaller bottles so it contains fewer calories. The third way is to employ a longer mash time, which will result in a greater amount of fermentable sugars and a lower body. The beer is then diluted with water. The fourth way is to use exogenous brewing enzymes in the mash to break up a great quantity of starches into fermentable sugars. The final product is then diluted with water, and light beer is the final result.

Because light beer by definition has a very low amount of malt sugars and hop character, brewing defects and off flavors will be very noticeable in the final product. This means that near-perfect brewing is required to produce such beers, often requiring a detailed understanding of brewing science and a high-tech brewery to manufacture. As a result, it is actually quite difficult to produce such beers properly.

The third and fourth methods listed above are used primarily to produce most of the beer in this category, and has its origins in Coors light which was first introduced in the 1940's. It was discontinues before WW2, but it was not the end of light beer. The beer saw new life in 1967 with the release of Gablinger's diet beer. The beer was created by chemist Joesph Owades (and was produced by the Rheingold brewery). The beer was not a success, but the brewery Meister Brau responded by making their own line of light beer. Miller took over the brewery and re-branded it as miller light in 1973. Soon Coors relaunched their Coors light brand in 1978, and Bud Light was soon to follow in 1982. 8 years later Bud Light was the best selling beer in the world, and it has largely stayed that way since. Each one of these big three are very similar, but insist that they have some house uniqueness that distinguishes themselves from the other. The lightest beer to be made in this category was low carb beer that used a generous portion of exogenous brewing enzymes to leave very, very little final sugars in the beer. Marketed as low-carb beer, it had a strong early response, but sales slumped back heavily due to its weaker taste and a overall return to standard light lagers. Today it holds a very small portion of the style's market share.

Despite the difficulty of their production and distribution, light beers have dominated the market. I would say this is due to the offering of large bulk beer purchases at lower prices, effective marketing, low caloric content, and its 'un-beer like” flavoring. Time will tell if Light beer will continue to dominate the market as it has since the early 90's

now you know!

Anyho, I think that just about covers this posting. I was very surprised to find a light style that I could enjoy (for what it was) and doubt that Ill find another one that really fits the bill. I think that Id still prefer a Trader Joes Pilsener or a Narragansett to this (for the price). But hey, for a beer with few calories, it does the job better than any other.

A glass in the hand’s worth two on the shelf—
Tipple it down and refresh yourself!

     — Anonymous

Beerstop brew list, 12\19\13

Beer stop, the diamond in the rough

You might had noticed this small store while driving up Mayhen (possibly en-rout to brewfest at the auto-museum). Located right across from Jenny’s and next to the Indian market, this store really does not look like much. Covering almost 70% of the store front is advertisement for Coors, miller, and Budweiser brews........things that craft-loving people see as red flags.

It makes the place look more like a gas station than a serious craft beer store. And to be fair it does have a lot of the amenities provided by a corner store (snack food, energy drinks, cigarettes, cigars, etc)

However, against all implications of its exterior image, beerstop has one of the best selections of beer in town.

entrance collection of bombers

side bombers, and 6\4 packs

don't forget the end

a few more beers on the side

some 6 packs in a narrow space

dont forget the snacks (and the bottom shelf)

so many bottles of it.........

In my opinion, no Tallahassee beer hunt is complete without a stop at this little gem.

You really have to see it to believe it.

Once you get beyond its shell and walk in, youl be extremely surprised by what they have in stock. Despite covering their windows with what many would call 'swill posters', their actual physical stock of such beers (American Adjunct Laggers to be precises) is actually quite low.

American Adjunct Lagers probably only account for 10% of Beer stops shelf space. The rest is dedicated to a dizzying assortment of craft beers largely condensed into a relatively small store.

a walk in freezer filled with cold crafty goodness.

just ignore the stuff on the bottom.

The truth is, I have never gone into this store and NOT found at least 5 things that I really, really wanted to drink.

(unfortunately I can usually only afford to pick up 1-2 of them!)

I've had to talk people into making the trip and going into the store, and I've never had any complaints.

Beer stop beer hit list:

Bombers, and single bottles

• Gulden Draak Brewmaster Reserve, 17.99
  • style: Belgian strong pale ale, 10.5%,
  • Stats; 87\100 (beer advocate), 84\100 (Ratebeer)
  • My thoughts: I picked up this beer to celebrate my birthday....but unfortunately did not get a chance to consume it until nearly 3 weeks after my birthday! It had a lot to live up too, and to be sure it did so in spades. A lot of reviewers snub this beer primarily because its barrel aging has removed the brilliant clarity that the normal Gulden Draak is famous for, but I found that if you can ignore how the beer is as hazzy as a Hefeweizen, there is a lovely beer to be had here. Its whiskey character is extremely subdued, and to good effect as it does not overpower the Belgian characteristics of the beer or make it too overly boozy. I found this one to be a great sipper, and one I enjoyed immensely. I do feel that its rating come from the fact that its a very big move from the brewery’s usual offerings, and has a far more American-style than people are used too (which makes sense since the beer was made due to the brew-masters travels in America Personal score: 90\100
• Dogfish Head, 75 minute IPA, 10.99
  • style: American IPA, 7.5%
  • Stats: ratebeer (99\100), beer advocate (92\100)
  • personal rating: n/a
• Sierea Nevada, devastation black ipa, 8.29
  • style: black IPA, 6.7%
  • Stats: ratebeer (96\100), beer advocate (87\100)
  • personal rating: n/a
• 500 bc, double IPA, 8.29
  • style: Double IPA, 8.3%
  • Stats: ratebeer (89\100), beer advocate (91\100)
  • personal rating: n/a
• hebrew
  • He'Brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A. On Rye, 10.99
    • style: double\imperial IPA, 10%
    • Stats: ratebeer (98\100), beer advocate (87\100)
    • personal rating: n/a
  • jewbilation reborn 17, 12.49
    • style: American Strong Ale, 17%
    • Stats: ratebeer (91\100), beer advocate (87\100)
    • personal rating: I'm sorry to say that I cannot speak for this one, yet. But I have had their sweet 16, which is offly close, and I have to say its an experience. We have all heard of hop-bombs, but this is a malt bomb on all levels. The hops in it simply exist to keep those flavors from becoming too extreme and adding a bit to the aroma. Absurdly sweet, thick, and smooth, this brew is one that begs to be opened during special events where you really want to cut loose with something intense. Well worth the price if the reason for drinking is good enough! (84\100)
  • st lennys, 7.99
    • style: Belgian strong ale (among other things)
    • Stats: ratebeer (75\100), beer advocate (87\100)
    • personal rating: wow, this one was an experience. Picked up and tried at fermentation, this beer does so many things with flavor that its hard to keep up with it all. The hops, they rye, the Belgian flavors, the malt......you would think that with everything that the beer tries to do, that it wouldn't work. But it does work This beer is worth picking up to experience it. You wont regret it. (90\100)
  • Rejewvenator dubble doppel, 7.99
    • style: Dubble, 8%
    • Stats: ratebeer (91\100), (83\100)
    • personal rating: n/a
  • Origin, 5.89
    • style: fruit beer, 8%
    • Stats: ratebeer (61\100), beer advocate (80\100)
    • personal rating:
  • IPA, 5.89
    • style: American IPA, 6.8%
    • Stats: ratebeer (95\100), beer advocate (85\100)
    • personal rating: n/a
• Timmermans, Oude Gueuze, 17.99
  • style: Gueuze, 5.5%
  • Stats: ratebeer (95\100), beer advocate (88\100)
  • personal rating: n/a
• Blue Moon, Grand Cru, 8.99
  • style: Belgian strong ale, 8.7%
  • Stats: ratebeer (56\100), beer advocate (76\100)
  • personal rating: n/a

6\4 packs

• Bells, 3ed coast old ale- 15.99\6 pack
  • style: barley wine, 10.2%
  • Stats: ratebeer (100\100), beer advocate (92\100)
  • personal rating:
• Innis and Gunn, seasonal Scottish porter, 9.99\ 4 pack
  • style: porter, 7.4%
  • Stats: ratebeer (64\100), beer advocate (78\100)
  • personal rating:
• Goose Island
  • Bourbon County Stout and Barley-wine, 18.29\ 4-pack
    • stout
      • style: imperial stout, 14.9%
      • Stats: ratebeer (100\100), beer advocate (100\100)
    • barleywine
      • style: English barleywine, 12.1%
      • Stats: ratebeer (100\100), beer advocate (100\100)
    • personal rating: Both of these of really amazing beers, and even though their price points are high, they are a must try. The stout has a reputation that speaks for itself ( in my opinion it has a remarkable character of fudge, chocolate, Hershey syrup, and lots and lots of bourbon), but I actually enjoyed the barley-wine more. Its far less syrupy, and its character from the oak and leftover BCS stout gives it fantastic subtle chocolate flavors. Beerstop is currently one of the only places to still have it in stock, and in spades, so make sure to go here if you haven’t picked these gems up already. My advice pick up both, and age the barley-wine for good chunk of time. I think that over time, it will get to better than the barley-wine (I'd love to try a 5 year old bottle!). For the quality of the product, its honestly being sold UNDER the price it deserves. (both beers get a 100\100 from me)
• Luna, coffee stout, 10.99\4 pack
  • style: American stout
  • Stats: ratebeer (93\100), beer advocate (83\100)
  • personal rating: n/a
• Old Engine Oil, 21.99, 6 pack
  • style: English porter
  • Stats: ratebeer (98100), beer advocate (92\100)
  • personal rating: n\a
• belzebuth, 12.99\3 pack
  • style: Belgian strong ale, 13%
  • Stats:ratebeer (33\100), beer advocate (78\100)
  • personal rating: n/a
• eggenberg, urbock 23, 14.99\4-pack
  • style: doppelbock, 9.6%
  • Stats: ratebeer (73\100), beer advocate (81\100)
  • personal rating: n/a
• woodchuck barrel select, 9.99\6 pack
  • style: cider
  • Stats: ratebeer: 94\100
  • personal rating: n/a
• Resin, 9.99, 4 cans
  • style: Imperial\double ipa
  • Stats: Ratebeer 98\100, Beeradvocate 91\100
  • personal rating: I give this beer a lot of credit. I has both a intense hoppy character, and enough malty backbone to stand up to it and make the beer more enjoyable as a result. For anyone looking for a big DIPA or imperial IPA to get into (and who are still sensitive to abrasive hop flavor) should give it a shot. I gave it a 90\100.
• X2 steam,9.99, 6 pack
  • style: California common, 8%
  • Stats: ratebeer (74\100), beer advocate (80\100)
  • personal rating: Not exactly one of the best from the X2 line, but a worthy beer to try non-the-less, especially if your curious like I was. Not as much character as its brothers, this beers strength is it balance and drink-ability. Good for the money, its worth trying for the experience, and due to the fact that it may never be seen again when its gone from beerstop. (80\100)
• Ceylon\lion brewery
  • Stout, 10.99 \ 6 pack
    • style: Foreign Export Stout, 8.8%
    • Stats: ratebeer (99\100), beer advocate (88\100)
    • personal rating: This beer, coming from the largest brewery in Sri Lanka, is a eternal surprise to the uninitiated. Not only is it a fantastic stout, its also one of the best values on a 6 pack you can buy. Famously promoted by the late-great beer hunter and writer Michael Jackson, the beer continues to live up to its name. A heavy chocolaty concoction with a faint hint of peppery spice, this brew is a must have for anyone looking for a good stout at a even better price. A personal favorite and a must-try. (90\100)
  • imperial Pilsner, 10.99\ 6 pack
    • style: European strong lagger, 8.8%
    • Stats: ratebeer (16\100), beer advocate (70\100)
    • personal rating: n/a
• stoudts brewery, 15.99, 6 packs
  • scarlet lady esb
    • style: premium\extra special bitter, 5%
    • Stats: ratebeer (72\100), beer advocate (82\100)
    • personal rating: n/a
  • fat dog imperial oatmeal stout
    • style: American imperial stout, 8%
    • Stats: ratebeer (n\a), beer advocate (90\100)
    • personal rating: n/a
  • double ipa
    • style: American imperial IPA, 10%
    • Stats: ratebeer (98\100), beer advocate (89\100)
    • personal rating: n/a
• green flash,
  • pallet wrecker, 12.99, 4 pack
    • style: American Imperial IPA, 9.5%
    • Stats: ratebeer (99\100), beer advocate (93\100)
    • personal rating: n/a

box sets\bulk

• Innis and Gunn
  • box set, 9.99, 3 pack + glass:
  • box average rating: 74.8\100
    • Original,
      • style: Scottish ale, 6.6%
      • Stats: ratebeer (64\100), beer advocate (84\100)
      • personal rating: 70\100
    • Bourbon Stout
      • style: Scottish stout, 7.4%
      • Stats: ratebeer (63\100), beer advocate (85\100)
      • personal rating: Anyone looking at this one, be advised: its quite sweet. A lot of this sweetness comes from its bourbon aging (giving it a hot and estery\fruity character), and the rest from its Scottish-style yeast. Their is not nearly enough chocolate\roast to back it and balance out the bourbon sweetness. I think that this beer would had tasted better if it had a stronger hop bitterness or a dose of smoked\roasted malt barley to curve its sweetness. However, as you drink it, it grows on you a lot, and because of that I give it a 75\100. Easily worth trying once.
    • Treacle Porter,
      • style: Scottish porter 7.4%
      • Stats: rate beer (n\a), beer advocate (78\100)
      • personal rating: 3.5\5
    • overall impression: Now this one is quite interesting. Besides having a box that, in my opinion, is worth getting just for the art (Innis and Gunn have always had a sense of style), its a great chance to try a good chunk of the brewery’s main offerings. I also love the glass that it comes with (which is perfect, obviously, for Scottish style beer), and the glass was one of the primary reasons why I picked it up in the first place. Overall I give the box set a score of 85\100, with an extra 5 points added because of the glass.
• Hebrew gift set, 30.00, 8 beers + glass and candles (obviously for Chanukah)
• box average rating:
  • messiah nut brown ale
    • style: American brown ale, 5.5%
    • Stats:ratebeer (60\100), beer advocate (82\100)
    • personal rating: I thought that this was a lovely, smooth, caramel and malt driven brown ale that is good for light drinking and meals. I really liked it. One of the few brown ales I might consider buying again (considering how easy it is for me to just make a 5 gallon batch of the stuff, that's saying something). 85\100
  • funky jewbelation (barrel aged)
    • style: American strong ale, 9.8%
    • Stats: ratebeer (95\100), beer advocate (84\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
  • Rejewvenator dubbel doppel
    • style: Dubble, 8%
    • Stats: ratebeer (91\100), (83\100)
    • personal rating: n/a
  • ST. Lenny's Belgian rye double ipa
    • style: Belgian strong ale (among other things)
    • Stats: ratebeer (75\100), beer advocate (87\100)
    • personal rating: wow, this one was an experience. Picked up and tried at fermentation, this beer does so many things with flavor that its hard to keep up with it all. The hops, they rye, the Belgian flavors, the malt......you would think that with everything that the beer tries to do, that it wouldn’t work. But it does work This beer is worth picking up to experience it. You wont regret it. (90\100)
  • R.I.P.A. on rye (rye whiskey barrel aged)
    • style: Imperial IPA, 10%
    • Stats: ratebeer (98\100), beer advocate (87\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
  • reunion 13
    • style: American brown ale, 7.5%
    • Stats: ratebeer (93\100), beer advocate (86\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
  • death of a contract brewer
    • style: black ipa, 7%
    • Stats: ratebeer (97\100), beer advocate (84\100)
    • personal rating: n\a
  • jewbilation reborn 17
    • style: American Strong Ale, 17%
    • Stats: ratebeer (91\100), beer advocate (87\100)
    • personal rating: I'm sorry to say that I cannot speak for this one, yet. But I have had their sweet 16, which is offly close, and I have to say its an experience. We have all heard of hop-bombs, but this is a malt bomb on all levels. The hops in it simply exist to keep those flavors from becoming too extreme and adding a bit to the aroma. Absurdly sweet, thick, and smooth, this brew is one that begs to be opened during special events where you really want to cut loose with something intense. Well worth the price if the reason for drinking is good enough! (84\100)
    • overall impression: from the look of things, this box may seem expensive, but for what you get its not that bad of an idea. It looks like it would be a great present for anyone (not just for Chanukah), and offers virtually every single one of the main offerings from hebrew. If you want the chance to try them all in one sitting, this box set (while expensive) looks like a good deal for the curious buyer who has yet to experience Hebrew.
• great divide
  • brewers select, 18.99, 12 beers
  • box average rating: 89\100
    • rumble
      • style: American IPA, 7.1%
      • Stats: ratebeer (95\100), beer advocate (86\100)
      • personal rating: n\a
    • claymore
      • style: strong scotch ale, 7.7%
      • Stats: ratebeer (94\100), beer advocate (87\100)
      • personal rating: 85\100. One of my go-to strong Scottish ales when its available.
    • Denver Pale Ale
      • style: American pale ale, 5.4%
      • Stats: ratebeer (76\100), beer advocate (84\100)
      • personal rating: n\a
    • titan
      • style: American IPA, 7.1%
      • Stats: ratebeer (98\100), beer advocate (92\100)
      • personal rating: 90\100
  • big show, 22.99, 12 beers
  • box beer average rating: 89\100
    • rumble
      • style: American IPA, 7.1%
      • Stats: ratebeer (95\100), beer advocate (86\100)
      • personal rating: n\a
    • yeti
      • style: Russian Imperial stout, 9.5%
      • Stats: ratebeer (100\100), beer advocate (94\100)
      • personal rating: 87\100. A very solid imperial stout. If you like this one, look around for the specialty varieties of this brew. Their are about 13 varieties currently made, and about 4 more that are currently retired.
    • Hercules
      • style: American imperial IPA, 10%
      • Stats: ratebeer (100\100), beer advocate (92\100)
      • personal rating:
    • Hades
      • style: Belgian strong pale ale, 7.8%
      • Stats: ratebeer (67\100), beer advocate (84\100)
      • personal rating: n\a
    • overall impressions: overall, I thought that the regular box set did not make much sense. They share one beer (the rumble) and for only 3 extra bucks you get a MUCH better collection of brews (not to say that the regular box brews are bad). I think that the best way to go is to pick up the big show box, and then pick up the brewers select to try its exclusive styles. For the money, this is one of the best craft beer box sets I've ever seen, so if your a thrifty beer lovers, these box sets are made for you.

If that's not enough reason to want to try this place out, I've got another for you: their planning on expanding. They have plans to take over the next-door storefront and make a much needed size expatiation. The owner says that this will add enough room to add many, many more beer varieties to their inventory.

I cant wait for it to happen so I can further expand the list.

Saude!