Beer

[J. Walter Weatherman]

That's like Jon ranking a limited edition Japanese import 7-inch picture disc of a dub remix of a live recording of Captain Beefheart's first performance as the greatest record ever.

[snorts]I used to think that [adjusts hipster glasses] until I discovered a rare acetate of Roky Erickson performing acoustic demos for a failed collaboration with Helios Creed.

You haven't lived until you've listened to Roky's post-electroshock sessions on reel-to-reel.

He does a rendition of Manson's "Cease to Exist," accompanied only in his head by Tommy Hall's electric jug, that will make your hair stand on end.

(Rick Rubin produced.)

[PenPho]

I've actually seen some meta-talk about this, essentially admitting that many of them will rank harder to find beers higher.

I think I mentioned this in the SBox, but I started a very long-term, not very serious quest to try the top 100 American beers on that site.  To put in perspective, I have a really, really good beer store by me and they have 6 of them in stock.  

That's because most small places don't send their beer all over the country.

I don't want them to send it all over the country, just to me.

[CT III]

That's like Jon ranking a limited edition Japanese import 7-inch picture disc of a dub remix of a live recording of Captain Beefheart's first performance as the greatest record ever.

[snorts]I used to think that [adjusts hipster glasses] until I discovered a rare acetate of Roky Erickson performing acoustic demos for a failed collaboration with Helios Creed.

You haven't lived until you've listened to Roky's post-electroshock sessions on reel-to-reel.

He does a rendition of Manson's "Cease to Exist," accompanied only in his head by Tommy Hall's electric jug, that will make your hair stand on end.

(Rick Rubin produced.)

Bah.  I've still got an original copy of The Death of Superman sitting unread in a mylar bag.

[Internet Apex]

That's like Jon ranking a limited edition Japanese import 7-inch picture disc of a dub remix of a live recording of Captain Beefheart's first performance as the greatest record ever.

[snorts]I used to think that [adjusts hipster glasses] until I discovered a rare acetate of Roky Erickson performing acoustic demos for a failed collaboration with Helios Creed.

You haven't lived until you've listened to Roky's post-electroshock sessions on reel-to-reel.

He does a rendition of Manson's "Cease to Exist," accompanied only in his head by Tommy Hall's electric jug, that will make your hair stand on end.

(Rick Rubin produced.)

Bah.  I've still got an original copy of The Death of Superman sitting unread in a mylar bag.

I've got a used condom worn by Paul Tanner at the 2005 Spring Swing at Rockin' Bowl in Hobart encased in solid glass.

[J. Walter Weatherman]

That's like Jon ranking a limited edition Japanese import 7-inch picture disc of a dub remix of a live recording of Captain Beefheart's first performance as the greatest record ever.

[snorts]I used to think that [adjusts hipster glasses] until I discovered a rare acetate of Roky Erickson performing acoustic demos for a failed collaboration with Helios Creed.

You haven't lived until you've listened to Roky's post-electroshock sessions on reel-to-reel.

He does a rendition of Manson's "Cease to Exist," accompanied only in his head by Tommy Hall's electric jug, that will make your hair stand on end.

(Rick Rubin produced.)

Bah.  I've still got an original copy of The Death of Superman sitting unread in a mylar bag.

I've got a copy of Youngblood #1 that Alan Moore used to wipe his ass.

[Wheezer]

That's like Jon ranking a limited edition Japanese import 7-inch picture disc of a dub remix of a live recording of Captain Beefheart's first performance as the greatest record ever.

[snorts]I used to think that [adjusts hipster glasses] until I discovered a rare acetate of Roky Erickson performing acoustic demos for a failed collaboration with Helios Creed.

You haven't lived until you've listened to Roky's post-electroshock sessions on reel-to-reel.

Those were dubbed from the Magnecorder wire originals.

[CT III]

That's like Jon ranking a limited edition Japanese import 7-inch picture disc of a dub remix of a live recording of Captain Beefheart's first performance as the greatest record ever.

[snorts]I used to think that [adjusts hipster glasses] until I discovered a rare acetate of Roky Erickson performing acoustic demos for a failed collaboration with Helios Creed.

You haven't lived until you've listened to Roky's post-electroshock sessions on reel-to-reel.

He does a rendition of Manson's "Cease to Exist," accompanied only in his head by Tommy Hall's electric jug, that will make your hair stand on end.

(Rick Rubin produced.)

Bah.  I've still got an original copy of The Death of Superman sitting unread in a mylar bag.

I've got a copy of Youngblood #1 that Alan Moore used to wipe his ass.

YOU HAVE NO SUCH THING!

[Canadouche]

That's like Jon ranking a limited edition Japanese import 7-inch picture disc of a dub remix of a live recording of Captain Beefheart's first performance as the greatest record ever.

[snorts]I used to think that [adjusts hipster glasses] until I discovered a rare acetate of Roky Erickson performing acoustic demos for a failed collaboration with Helios Creed.

You haven't lived until you've listened to Roky's post-electroshock sessions on reel-to-reel.

He does a rendition of Manson's "Cease to Exist," accompanied only in his head by Tommy Hall's electric jug, that will make your hair stand on end.

(Rick Rubin produced.)

Bah.  I've still got an original copy of The Death of Superman sitting unread in a mylar bag.

I've got a copy of Youngblood #1 that Alan Moore used to wipe his ass.

YOU HAVE NO SUCH THING!

QFT.  Everybody knows that Alan Moore only wipes his ass with League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie reels.  He enjoys the irony of wiping his shit with his shit. 

[Tonker]

This thread is perilously close to being moved to the dead pool.

Anyone ever had a Westvleteren 12?

I haven't.

So, on the 4th of July, I found myself in a conversation with some beer douche at a party I was at. (Incidentally, we'd started talking after trying some fruity barrel-aged eurobeer someone else had brought and I was remarking on how cider-y it tasted. He assured me that it was just beer and that the cider flavor was thanks to the aging. Regardless, it was fruity and IAN would probably love it.)

Gathering that he was the kind of douche to trade beers online and drink them only in beer-douche-approved glassware, I asked him about Westvleteren. Because that seems like the kind of thing to ask That Guy.

After correcting my pronunciation (seriously, douche... I'm drunk and pronounced the 'W' like an American... it's the 4th of July, let it go) he said something in passing that intrigued me: that the all-but-impossible-to-obtain Westvleteren 12 is identical to the commercially-available non-Trappist St. Bernardus 12.

Turns out this is not quite 100% true, but it's in the ballpark.

But I'll let the internet tell the rest...

http://52brews.com/blog/st-bernardus-abt-12.html

[In] 1946 the monks at [Westvleteren] decided to devote less time to brewing, producing a small amount a beer at their abbey (close to Watou) and contracting Saint Bernardus to [brew] the Saint Sixtus line of "Trappist" under contract from 1946 until 1992...

After Westvleteren ended the deal, Saint Bernardus continued with its own brands, extending the range and boosting production to 10,000 hectoliters (8,500 barrels) a year.

Today it brews beers with no monastic influence...but still uses recipes the brewery claims haven't changed since 1946. Because the head brewer from Westvleteren helped set up the Saint Bernardus brewery, it seems likely he brought along the original Westvleteren yeast with the recipes. We can only guess how Saint Bernardus yeast today might have changed in sixty years. We know, of course, that Westevleteren now uses yeast acquired fresh from Westmalle each time the monks brew.

http://www.classiccitybrew.com/west.html

In the 1940's the abbey gave permission for its monastic name to be used by a small brewery nearby. The beers from this secular brewery were known simply as St. Sixtus and the brewery itself as St. Bernardus. In recent years this agreement has ended, but the St. Bernardus brewery is still cranking out beers that are similar to those of Westvleteren, but not nearly identical. The St. Sixtus abbey and St. Bernardus brewery use different strains of yeast, and as a result their beers have differing flavor profiles.

http://www.hamburgercalculus.com/blog/?p=322

The representative from the brewery (not the brewer, unfortunately) cleared up a few things about St. Bernardus' history. It was started in 1946 by a cheesemaker who was working with the St. Sixtus monks to commercialize their beer. At that point, the monk brewmasters shared their recipes and help develop the manufacturing of beer at this site. The monastery and St. Bernardus brewery are about 20km away from each other, so their water supplies are slightly different. So, even in 1946 with the same starting recipes, there were still very subtle differences based on the water supply.

So: historically linked and very similar, but not quite identical.

But also: more readily available, more affordable, and apparently pretty good by its own merits.

But it's not the #1 ranked beer in the entire world.

What a completely fucking pointless exercise.

[Quality Start Machine]

That's like Jon ranking a limited edition Japanese import 7-inch picture disc of a dub remix of a live recording of Captain Beefheart's first performance as the greatest record ever.

[snorts]I used to think that [adjusts hipster glasses] until I discovered a rare acetate of Roky Erickson performing acoustic demos for a failed collaboration with Helios Creed.

You haven't lived until you've listened to Roky's post-electroshock sessions on reel-to-reel.

He does a rendition of Manson's "Cease to Exist," accompanied only in his head by Tommy Hall's electric jug, that will make your hair stand on end.

(Rick Rubin produced.)

Bah.  I've still got an original copy of The Death of Superman sitting unread in a mylar bag.

I've got a copy of Youngblood #1 that Alan Moore used to wipe his ass.

I've got a copy of Youngblood, starring Rob Lowe Eric Nesterenko

[Richard Chuggar]

http://www.asylum.com/2010/07/22/its-the-worlds-strongest-most-expensive-beer-inside-a-squi/

[Slaky]

http://www.asylum.com/2010/07/22/its-the-worlds-strongest-most-expensive-beer-inside-a-squi/

I don't think I could drink it knowing there were only 12 bottles.

[BH]

So fruit type beers = suck

In Germany, it isn't uncommon to put cola in a dunkelweiss.. I tried it, it was alright. Wasn't as good as the dunkelweiss by itself,
which was outstanding.

[Slaky]

So fruit type beers = suck

In Germany, it isn't uncommon to put cola in a dunkelweiss.. I tried it, it was alright. Wasn't as good as the dunkelweiss by itself,
which was outstanding.

Dogfish Head makes a berlinerweiss called Festina Peche. It's made with peaches. It's tart as hell and I quite like it.

[Internet Apex]

So fruit type beers = suck

In Germany, it isn't uncommon to put cola in a dunkelweiss.. I tried it, it was alright. Wasn't as good as the dunkelweiss by itself,
which was outstanding.

Dogfish Head makes a berlinerweiss called Festina Peche. It's made with peaches. It's tart as hell and I quite like it.

Et tu, Brute?