First time picking up beer in a while...

-Troegs Golden Thing Double IPA
-Dead N' Dead Guy Ale (barrel-aged version of Dead Guy Ale from Rogue - much better IMO)
-Ommegang King of the North Imperial Stout

Terrapin Hosecutioner on tap at my hotel, delicious and cold.

105 West Brewing
Smoked English Strong
Laphroaig Barrel Aged Ale 9.8% ABV 47 IBU

If you love really smoky whisky, this beer is for you. For others, it will be as pleasant as drinking an ale with a shot of whisky...served in a heavily-used stove pipe.

Budweiser Jim Beam Copper Lager - Avoid. Even if you enjoy either of these products (I don't), this is not a good combination. Fortunately I was given a bottle and don't have 5 more to throw away.

Collective Arts Origin of Darkness with White Miso. Interesting barrel-aged stout; it's not particularly boozy, and honestly, the miso is subtle... but it's nice and balanced without thick and heavy adjuncts like coffee and chocolate.


I'll have to track down the Dead N' Dead Guy; Dead Guy was one of my first beers ever. That and Guinness were what got me to be able to drink anything.

What did you think of the Troegs Golden Thing? I was frankly a bit disappointed; I love most of their beers, particularly Nugget Nectar, but this was kind of "meh" for a DIPA.

Wilmington Brewing Company "The In-Laws" Triple Dry Hopped IPA -- very good and clever name.

They canned and released it as a limited time release around Christmas and a few cases made it up to Durham this week.

Dogfish Head 61 just sounds bad.

Good on them for experimenting. But this should never have been put in a keg and sold. And apparently it's been around since 2013? It's not beer. It's not wine. But is it weer or bine? It doesn't matter because it's not good.

I'm on a roll this week with 3 bad ones and a 25 ounce can of Rolling Rock that I drank about 30% of and threw the rest out. I'm hoping I can talk Mrs. BV into dinner at the Craft Bar tonight, where if I order anything exotic, it will be a beer I'm already familiar with.

We've been trying to drink some of the wines that we've accumulated, and some of them are really lousy.

I've had much better luck with wines this month than beers. We cleared the wine rack in preparation for moving out and I found a couple that have been sitting there since we moved in almost 6 years ago. So far, we've opened 4 bottles and not a dog in the bunch. Another 4 moved with us an I hope they are equally delicious.

We've opened two this week and one got dumped outside. The second was better, but not great.

Look, I can get past the whole Vol thing. No one's perfect. But if you would have bought a 6 pack of the Budweiser, that would have been a deal breaker. But I understand that the best beer in the world is still free beer.

I had the Dogfish 61 a couple years ago. It is god awful While I love some of their more traditional beers, it seems that there experiments are more misses than hits.
I did like the 75 minute, interesting beer.

This week was in Herndon VA. Had Hoppy Place IPA by Old Ox Brewery, a local microbrewery. Very nice.

Big shipment of New Anthem just made its way to Durham:

New Anthem Clap Back
New Anthem Throne of Lies
New Anthem Long Needle
New Anthem Bend and Snap

Unfortunately got there too late to grab a New Anthem 'The Amen Break' which is rumored to be their best DIPA yet.

All fantastic as usual. New Anthem should be in the conversation when talking top IPAs and should certainly be on anyone's list if they are in NC and see them in store or on draft (especially if visiting the coast).

One of these days I'll make it down to Wilmington and visit both New Anthem and Wilmington Brewing Company in person.

I like their 60 minute and 90 minute. Good solid beers. This ruined it.

As far as free beer is concerned, I have 2 engineers at work that I trade beers with. Now the plant manager has joined in. He brought me three cans from Southern Prohibition Brewing in Hattiesburg, where he is from. I have:

Ice Box lemon gose
Suzy B blonde ale
Devil's Harvest breakfast IPA

The advantage is being able to taste test something without committing, at no cost. The disadvantages are I don't pick them and if I particularly like something, I may not be able to get ahold of more. In the case of the Budweiser, I didn't even want the one. The Brass Tap has two Southern Prohibition kegs currently tapped although neither is what I have in a can.