Had to buy commercial beer today

[FedoraDave]

The pipeline is at a critical point, so until a couple of batches get conditioned and drinkable, I am forced to buy bottles with free beer in them. I'm fortunate that Cable Beverage is a short trip up the road, and they have a good variety of many fine craft beers (they also have things like Corona and Miller, but I ignore that). And I can make mixer-sixers, which I like.

So I picked up ten bottles (a mixer-sixer and a mixer-quad). Mostly IPAs and Pale Ales, since I'm in the mood for hoppy beers, but I got a Left-Handed Milk Stout, because I like Left-Handed Milk Stout, and one or two Not-IPA/Pale Ales. This will carry me through the weekend, at least, maybe longer. And I can probably bring up a case of homebrew from the basement this weekend.

It's just a little alarming that it's nearly the end of October, and I haven't yet reached the point where I'm restocking the beer closet every weekend. I attribute this to the fact that my first fiver after the summer hiatus was a pilsner, and I just have to wait until it's done. After the first of the year, in other words, and by then I'll have things up and running again, so there will be a big surge in the pipeline.

If anyone's interested, here's exactly what I bought:
Left-Handed Nitro Milk Stout
Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale (which I've enjoyed before)
Bell's Two Hearted Ale
Weyerbacher Double Simcoe Double IPA (I use Simcoe in FedoraDave's American Ale, so I'm curious)
Defiant Medusa IPA (Defiant is the local brewpub here in town, and until recently, they didn't bottle. So I had to grab this. Besides, the Medusa is good!)
Urthel Hop It! Blonde Ale (from the Netherlands. I was curious)
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (Their reputation precedes them, and when I first tried this, I thought it was too hoppy, so I'm interested in how my tastes have changed since then)
Captain Lawrence Freshchester Pale Ale (another fairly local micro, but across the river in Westchester County. I've seen their bottles in the supermarket)
Schlafly Dry Hopped APA
Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA (Also have had this before, and liked it a lot)

[Beer-lord]

Look at the Hat giving IPA's some serious love! Man, nice score.

I've been buying lots of craft beer mostly because Stone and others keep tempting me with their stuff but I have my own beer to drink so I have to slow down a bit.

[FedoraDave]

They had Stone Levitation, and I considered it, but maybe some other time.

[Kealia]

They had Stone Levitation, and I considered it, but maybe some other time.

Blasphemy!

I've been trying to find a milk-stout somewhere around here because people tell me that style is less roasty than a typical stout. I hear good things about the Left-Handed Nitro Milk Stout so I'm always looking for that in my local stores, too.

Can you confirm if it is in fact less roasty? I understand these things are subjective, but I'm curious to hear your (and other's) thoughts.

[FedoraDave]

It's smoother, I would say, than other stouts. Smoother and sweeter, with less roasty flavor.

To be fair, though, I don't think I've had the Nitro. Just the Left-Handed Milk Stout. I assume the difference is ABV, but don't know for sure.

[swenocha]

The difference is the the nitro, not the abv. The Left Hand Nitro varieties are the "craft beer's first nitrogen bottled beer" according to the brewer. The n2 gives a much creamier beer than the c02, while I find the regular variety to be somewhat fizzy in comparison. The bottles are allegedly specially shaped to release the beer properly if "poured hard." They state that you should pour hard "in order to force the nitrogen out of solution in the beer to create the desired head. This is similar to using a restrictor plate on a draft nitro faucet."

As for the milk stout, yeah the lactose and residual unfermentable sugars make it a bit sweeter than other stouts, which masks some of the roastiness. For me, the chocolate and coffee overtones really come through in the Left Hand variety, and the Nitro version of the beer had a really nice milky mouthfeel.

[RickBeer]

I like the idea of a milk stout, but alas, like Leonard, I am lactose intolerant. While I can eat ice cream and other things with a lactaid pill, I figured why would I want to have something that has lactose added? Although, I haven't tried to figure out how much is in a bowl of ice cream as opposed to a beer.

[FedoraDave]

Nitrogen! Of course! It all falls into place now. Thanks, Swen. It does say to "pour hard" on the bottle. I'm going to make sure I pour it into one of my Imperial Pint glasses when I'm ready to enjoy it.

[ssorck]

Haven't had the Nitro but Left Hand Milk Stout is tasty stuff!

Bells is on the list, but not sold in NJ. One of these days I'm gonna have to take a road trip up to Cable Bev.

The Defiant IPA - is that in a big bottle or 12 oz?? I've only ssen larger bottles of special releases in NJ. Haven't dropped in the brewery for awhile either...

[FedoraDave]

The Defiant is a 12 ounce bottle.

You really should get to Cable. Great selection, and it's not far; right up Route 304.

I had the Nitro Milk Stout tonight. Very creamy, with a touch of sweetness that tempered the more bitter and roasty flavors. Pretty well balanced, IMO. I'd definitely not turn this down ever, and I'm not a stout fan.

[ssorck]

I think I mentioned on a previous thread but a bartender at Baileys in Blauvelt was raving about Cable Bev last time I was there.


Left Hand makes a Wake Up Dead Stout in a 22 that is pretty tasty (IF you like stouts).

I also had a 22 of their Warrior IPA not too long ago, unfortunately I thought that was terrible.

[FedoraDave]

Yeah, if you've never been there, it looks sorta hole-in-the-wall-ish, but for beer geeks like us, it's it's a treasure trove. It's easy to turn into those guys from "American Pickers", scouting around, looking for just the right item. A good number of European beers. I could have easily bought nothing but Belgian beers. They have a lot of craft IPAs, too, since that's what's hot.

Definitely worth the effort to get there, I'd say.

[ssorck]

Thread Necromancy!!!!

Thanks for the recommendation Dave!

The wife and I wound up at Baileys for lunch on a whim, and decided to check out Cable today. That place is a riot - it's like a beer bomb went off there, different beers everywhere! Funny thing was there was a guy working there who knew EXACTLY where everything thing was, down to individual bottles. You would have to see this place to know what an amazing feat that is!

Poking around in the back I noticed asummer seasonal from Alesmith in San Diego. I remembered them having one of the top San Diego beers in that episode of Brewdogs. I ask this guy if they have any other Alesmith beers, the guy points me to the row behind huge he's rattling off the different ones he's got, telling me all about them. I'm looking at the bottles on the top shelf and he says there should be a Speedway Stout in the back tucked behind all these others. Bingo just what I wanted!

So walked out with:

Alesmith Speedway Stout
Ballast Point Victory at Sea Porter
2 bottles Bells 2 Hearted Ale (another one I've always wanted to try, not sold in NJ)
Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout
Founders Backwoods Bastard

And FYI Baileys has greatly improved their tap selection too. Had a Troegs Troegenator Doppelbock and a Lagunitas Little Sumpin Sumpin...

By the way what did you think of the Milk Stout Nitro? I'm working my way through a sixer and think I prefer the regular Left Hand over the Nitro version...

[Inkleg]

Sierra Nevada Narwhal Imperial Stout
Founders Backwoods Bastard

YUMMMMMM!!!!!!!!! Enjoying a Backwoods as I type this. I'd have a Narwhal next, but then I'd have to stand up.

[D34THSPAWN]

Just noticed the discussion about the left hand milk stout Nitro, have a sixer, well fiver in the fridge right now, silky smooth, sweet, chocolate, coffee creamy, delicious