I'm back from another trip...

Hmmm, John Courage for a friend huh? Sounds ok, but that friend is now wondering where his Punjabi is, and if it'll still be fresh when he gets it :^ If he gets it :(.

Can be marvelous, this beer.

One of my current faves.

Damned good stuff.

I see this from time to time but haven't tried it. It's pricey. What's it like?

Any idea if New Belgium will be expanding their distribution in the U.S. anytime in the near future? I'm in Lexington, KY and can't find their brew anywhere around here. I go to TX maybe once a year or so and pick up a couple of 6 packs of whatever I can find there, but I'd like regular supply.

Dave

"Bill Becker" wrote:

Do you mean Imperial Stout or Premium Extra (or something else entirely)?

--NPD

The Stout.

Best regards, Bill

Oh, I brought some of that back from a recent trip to Schenectady, NY. Haven't tried it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I also got the Young's Double Chocolate Stout 4 pack, although I've had it before. It's excellent.

When I was up north, some friends and I did a chocolate beer tasting. I brought:

- Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout

- Bison Brewery's Chocolate Stout

- Rouge's Chocolate Stout

- Sam Adams' Chocolate Bock

- Young's Double Chocolate Stout

It was fun to watch the same folks who were wrinkling their noses and saying with disbelief, "Chocolate...in beer?" be startled at how tasty chocolate in beer can be. And I was careful to point out that the Brooklyn Brewery's Black Chocolate Stout didn't actually have any chocolate in it. Some people didn't actually taste any of the beer, but they did sniff it to see if it really smelled like chocolate.

I also brought back with me:

- Smuttynose Imperial Stout

- Grant's Imperial Stout

- Grant's Perfect Porter

- Flying Dog Heller Hound Bock Beer

- Left Hand Brewing Company Porter

- Lost Coast Brewery Eightball Stout

- Perkuno's Hammer Imperial Porter

(Why, yes, I like dark beers, why do you ask?)

The real prize was a 6 pack of Mill Street Brewery Coffee Porter a Canadian at the chocolate beer tasting brought me. It has that roasty goodness that I love in my porters.

Penelope

Go anyplace good in Schenectady?

Good on ya. The definitive imperial stout. Just watch for poor corkage--had to try a couple of these before I got one that wasn't badly oxidized from a leaky seal.

--NPD

And it was. I'm sure the brown bottle helped. ;^) Must be fabulous served from the cask.

Also, mine.

Hehe...bought another 12 pack locally cuz... I asked my fav retailer to pick me up some while he was in the Denver area delivering some Alaskan Smoked Porter. He also brought me back some Fuller's

Best regards, Bill

I haven't tried it yet...btw..it's the 2000 vintage. When I open it(hopefully the cork won't disintegrate) I'll let you know.

Best regards, Bill

Sorry, I have no idea but if I was a betting man, I'd guess that they'd want to continue limiting their distribution area just because they want fresh products in the consumer's hands. Of course, brews like their Abbey Dubbel and Tripe and La Folie could easily survive wide distribution just because their shelf lives range from 1 year to indefinite.

Sounds like odds are the bottle I bought *will* have corkage probs. I'm kind of used to that, having bought a few Aussie wines in the past. ;^)

Best regards, Bill

Hi Penelope:

before...outstanding!

LOL. I didn't ask cuz...I also like dark beers and apparently, a lot of other folks. All of the highest ratings on Rate Beer dot com and Beer Advocate are pretty much wrapped up by Dark beers.

Never heard of that one.

Best regards, Bill

Just an update:

but I misidentified it with the Maximus.

I've had their Dubbel and Trippel but not La Folie. What's that like?

Dave

"Bill Becker" wrote:

I'll just say that I really like it and an accurate description can be found here:

I think there's only a couple of bottles of it left here, in Casper..

Best regards, Bill

There's no mistaking the chocolate in the Young's brew, IMO.

I'm keeping my eyes out for that. I love Smuttynose Robust Porter.

I like those two, even if the stout isn't really imperial.

Some of that is headed my way. I liked Left Hand Imperial Stout.

That one was just okay in my book.

Oh, no, we didn't have to go any where. We could stand on the landing to the basement stairs and watch the toilet overflow after every thunderstorm! Who needs good places to go when you've got that kind of entertainment at home?

Well, actually, I had the Puppies O'Thunder with me, so going on a brew pub tour would have been difficult. I did feel like I should genuflect in front of the wondrous display of beers at the beer store; but the cashier already looked worried at all the squeals of delight coming from that aisle.

Got to get the beer laws in South Carolina changed!

Penelope