emelius

oh, & I had Cantillon Fou' Foune... wonderful, wonderful, wonderful...best of show...hug the bottle good...

Upright Sole Composition Series Blend Love...more sour goodness...this time in the form of a wild ale...I like it, I do...but it sorta bugs me that I'm probably never going to see it again let alone try any others from the series... Saint Arnold Pumpkinator...was certainly glad to see/sample this, but I've had so many pumpkin beers lately & the memory of that home brew was still fresh in my mind...& the home brew was killer... Fantôme Magic Ghost...I brought this one...it's new & unique...I cannot describe it...it really does pour without head & it really is green...it's already got quite the reputation...there's a buzz...I know it has lemon grass, but there's a rumor out there that it contains spinach dust...in any case, it surprised a lot of people...highly recommended... Three Floyds Biggs' 'Stache...sucks to be me, right?... an unknown Hill Farmstead beer..I have another pic of it w/a tag, but I cannot read it...the first letter looks like a T:)...anyways, nice & rare... Beaver Pecan Pie...I have absolutely no recollection of this, if I'm honest... Kuhnhenn Crème Brûlée Java Stout...ya...kickin' myself for never visiting this place...everything I've had from them's been glorious...& this guy shows up w/a fucking growler?!?...cheers to him...that's a helluva drive...I thought I had it bad at four hours...there were some New Yorkers & some Chicagoans...what an event!... fittingly, I'll end the pics w/a bottle of Jackie O's Grand Wazoo...I immediately thought CRAP, I just opened one for that Sun King/HBG Tailgate for Nothing event...& I agonized over that decision...I know it's just beer, but this one's special & it's drinking crazy good right now...just the nature of small batch beers...I just can't get enough, I just can't get enough... I'm sure there are many beers I've missed...after picking up my allotment & heading over to the brewery side, I went into trade mode:)... apparently, I did pretty well...before I headed back to the hotel, I landed a second Rum Barrel Apparition...

Bullfrog Old Toad Barleywine Ale...I had a quick swig on my way to another table...middle of the road... B. Nektar Margarita-Style Melomel...only the second B. Nektar that I can recall having...didn't move me...went straight to the Kuhnhenn bottle... Kuhnhenn Imperial Bourbon Barrel Braggot...simply amazing...one of the highlights of the entire selection...excellent... Jolly Pumpkin Lúpulo de hielo & Cascade Sang Royal...there were a lot of sours about the place & most were quite good...but I had another beer on my mind:)... Bruery Wanderer...bam...can't thank Al enough for this one...a real crowd pleaser...we killed the bottle in no time...all smiles:)... just a few more...

got situated & ordered Jackie O's Rum Barrel Dark Apparition, Cellar Cuvee #4, Wood Ya Honey, Cherry Wood Ya Honey & Chunga's Old Bruin... I opened up one of my newly acquired 750s of Mikkeller Sour Bitch...thanks to Bryan for letting me know when to order:)... I don't know what a lychee berry is supposed to taste like, but this one didn't go over so well...it wasn't sour or sweet enough & it was very dry...will age the others... Hill Farmstead Arthur...an ok saison...a little soft... DuClaw Retribution...Bourbon...stout...awesome:)...I was left wanting to try more DuClaw beers...sadly, they're not available in Indiana...anyone seen them locally & wanna trade?... sorry for the lousy pic...Cascade Vlad The Imp Aler...saw it at Fluffy & made sure to find the guy who had it...it's been on my list for a long time...so good...& the people there were all so generous... more later...

well I stood in line until a little after 2:30a.m. yesterday morning outside Jackie O's for a desk calendar date...when your allotment is ready for purchase, they call out your date... got my date then slept in my car until ~7a.m. when the Fluffy Cafe opened...joined a group of guys for a bottle share... I started with a cup of Jamaican Coffee & Terrapin Wake 'n Bake which I had tried before thanks to Peter...I brought some Three Floyds Zombie Dust & Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout...& so it began... a gallon(!) of Weasel Boy Bourbon Barrel Aged Anastasia Russian Imperial Stout...big growler, big beer... Jackie O's Kentucky Monk...never disappoints...I only have one bottle left... Stone Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout (12th Anniversary)...didn't age too well...but not bad... Cigar City Bourbon Barrel Aged Big Sound...so much wax was cracked that day:)...this was definitely a step up from regular Big Sound which is something I also enjoy... also had some wicked home brew pumpkin porter & some kinda Great Lakes collaboration...there was also Bell's Batch 7,000 & some pink-bottled Rogue bacon donut beer, but we had to leave to get back in line at Jackie O's...they opened at 9a.m. & it took a bit to get everyone seated... more to come...

yes...where do you find the time, Mikey?...

^^wait 'til you see Saturday at Jackie O's:)... New Belgium Lips of Faith Le Terroir...

^^Beatification:)... Alpine Barrel Aged Token...not good...took an unintended sour turn...infected in a bad way... Bell's Batch 9,000...lightly raisin-y...less so than DFH's two raisin brews...very pleasant/smooth...most times I would prefer a chewy raisin, but this was a nice surprise...better than I remembered... more '11 Founders Backwoods Bastard...great, but I still prefer '10... Surly Coffee Bender...try it...tell me what you think...I've had it a few times & am sold... '10 Deschutes Abyss...dark molasses yumminess...got better as I progressed through the glass...a definite winner... since my buddy opened that Abyss, I decided to open a '10 Darkness for comparison:)...I liked the Darkness better by a slim margin...both were superb...I think Abyss would be the one I'd choose if neither were aged... couldn't resist creating a Darkness/Abyss blend:)...

there used to be a place called South Bay Drugs that'd ship Russian River...they were super cheap, but they said they were moving to a new store then disappeared...

I usually use http://www.beverages4lessinc.com/ for Russian River...they run out of things often, but are pretty good at restocking if possible... like with most places, they ask that you order 6 or 12 bottles...e-mail your order/zip & they'll send you a quote...

hurray for hoppy porters:)...I might grab more tomorrow... having some Epic Brewing Fermentation Without Representation Pumpkin Porter...

Two Brothers Cane & Ebel...

Boulevard Smokestack Series Seeyoulator Doppelbock...like it as much I did last year...cedar goodness...

Brewdog Hardcore IPA....hadn't had it in some time...grandiloquent...

New Albanian Yakima Rye, Upland Winter Warmer, Sun King Westy, Founders Red's Rye & now Sierra Nevada Ovila Quad...

^^cool...I've been thinking of taking advantage of Canon's trade-in program & getting something similar... I'd like to see how it does on video...I l've got a general idea from watching stuff on vimeo...

I drank a growler of Breakfast Stout in your honor... Cheers:)...

starting a growler of Breakfast Stout...

time for me to plan for next season:)... too many injuries to manage...

Happy Birthday!...I'm eager to see what beers/bars you choose:)...

Founders Red's Rye...

^^just filled a free growler of Breakfast Stout:)... we think this other sixtel is Ommegang Kup O' Kyndnes...tastes less plaid than I remember...

I wish I hadn't fallen asleep on the Triple.Fi 10 deal this year...I knew it was coming...they make great gifts & eye-openers for friends...

Bier Brewery DFG IPA, Founders Centennial IPA & Founders Red's Rye...

only have a couple left 'til april... now breakin' into a growler of Bier Brewery's DFG IPA....nothing like a 9.1% IPA that's smoooth & with the proper hop presence...approve:)...