Let's talk good beer

Green flash west coast iPa....not the best double ipa, but still brings the goodness. Lotta grapefruitness in this batch...more than I remember last time time i got it. Gives it a very unique taste for a double which I can respect with so many options out there these days

I moved to gaithersburg in Montgomery County and there is a craft beer store down the street. The owner is cool so i wont name his store but the prices are eye gouging and the beer is super stale.

sculpin is 24.99 per 6 pack. great divide stuff is 18.99 range.

i decide to buy a sixer lagunitas sucks (bc their beer seems to be always fresh) and at 16.99 its not totally over-priced compared to the normal rate of 11 or 12.99.

i get home and lag sucks taste like shit. i google if they do born on dates and they do, its in black ink along the neck bottle and they use the julian dating - i.e. 071 = 71st day of 2015.

the lag sucks i got was from like March 11th.
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good news, i stopped by perfect pour and picked up a bottle of great divide's yeti - oatmeal imperial stout with a born on date of July 26, 2015. plus a stock load of other fresh good beer.

question - does the freshness date matter as much for non-hoppy beer like an oatmeal stout?

81 - ive been meaning to try great lakes stuff, they sell it in DC so i might swing through the district to get that and some deschutes and founders (if its fresh).

I moved to gaithersburg in Montgomery County and there is a craft beer store down the street. The owner is cool so i wont name his store but the prices are eye gouging and the beer is super stale.

sculpin is 24.99 per 6 pack. great divide stuff is 18.99 range.

i decide to buy a sixer lagunitas sucks (bc their beer seems to be always fresh) and at 16.99 its not totally over-priced compared to the normal rate of 11 or 12.99.


i get home and lag sucks taste like shit. i google if they do born on dates and they do, its in black ink along the neck bottle and they use the julian dating - i.e. 071 = 71st day of 2015.

the lag sucks i got was from like March 11th.
-----------------------------

good news, i stopped by perfect pour and picked up a bottle of great divide's yeti - oatmeal imperial stout with a born on date of July 26, 2015. plus a stock load of other fresh good beer.

question - does the freshness date matter as much for non-hoppy beer like an oatmeal stout?

81 - ive been meaning to try great lakes stuff, they sell it in DC so i might swing through the district to get that and some deschutes and founders (if its fresh).
Hoppy beers are where freshness is of the utmost importance. An ipa should be consumed within 90 days of bottling. As for other beers it depends on how ABV and SRM(beer color ). Higher ABV and darker beers have longer shelf lifes. Yeti will actually get better after a year in the bottle.

Hoppy beers are where freshness is of the utmost importance. An ipa should be consumed within 90 days of bottling. As for other beers it depends on how ABV and SRM(beer color ). Higher ABV and darker beers have longer shelf lifes. Yeti will actually get better after a year in the bottle.

lol i thought i found a gem with such a close brew date. i googled around and it seems Yeti is not bottle conditioned. ill just let it get lost in the back of the fridge and find it one snowy day.

mike - what beer stores do you go to? i know your in odenton. i need to find a good beer store close to Montgomery county but not actually in the county and driving to perfect pour or balt city is kinda far now.

ive been meaning to head down to the whole foods in NW dc which is supposed to have a good selection.

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Good weekend to stop by max's taphouse in fells. these are so freaking packed. lines out the door, when i have gone or intended to go but see the line and just go to blarneys instead.

Max's Taphouse HopFest - this weekend | Community | BeerAdvocate (http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/maxs-taphouse-hopfest-this-weekend.324207/)

anybody on here going? if so, let me know and we can drink one together.

Check out Downtown Crown Beer and Wine on Sam Eig Highway just east of Rio. They have 21 taps and a very good craft selection. (my son runs it so I welcome feedback - thanks)

Check out Downtown Crown Beer and Wine on Sam Eig Highway just east of Rio. They have 21 taps and a very good craft selection. (my son runs it so I welcome feedback - thanks)

I will name drop Fbirks to see if i can get a discount!

Thanks for the heads up, i look forward to it.

Check out Downtown Crown Beer and Wine on Sam Eig Highway just east of Rio. They have 21 taps and a very good craft selection. (my son runs it so I welcome feedback - thanks)
Downtown Crown is a great store. Just wish it was a bit closer to me. Some great finds there. Your son has a nice set up going. Good luck to him.

OTM - I found the prices at DTC to be reasonable, so you should probably make that your regular store. Grab some beers there, then see my buddy Alberto at Il Porto in the Festival Shopping Center on Muddy Branch Road. Great Italian food, had my rehearsal dinner there. Then fresh Dogfish Head beer at their alehouse on West Diamond Avenue. I'm too far removed from that area to recommend a quality beer store, but will ask around.

Downtown Crown is a great store. Just wish it was a bit closer to me. Some great finds there. Your son has a nice set up going. Good luck to him.

OTM - I found the prices at DTC to be reasonable, so you should probably make that your regular store. Grab some beers there, then see my buddy Alberto at Il Porto in the Festival Shopping Center on Muddy Branch Road. Great Italian food, had my rehearsal dinner there. Then fresh Dogfish Head beer at their alehouse on West Diamond Avenue. I'm too far removed from that area to recommend a quality beer store, but will ask around.

BDB how's the DTF beer scene lately? I haven't been out there much since I moved away (college, life, etc...) but every time I come back I find a nice new interesting spot.

Anything other than Brewers alley thats worth paying a visit?

BDB how's the DTF beer scene lately? I haven't been out there much since I moved away (college, life, etc...) but every time I come back I find a nice new interesting spot.

Anything other than Brewers alley thats worth paying a visit?

The folks that own Brewers opened up Monocacy Brewing (http://monocacybrewing.com/) up the road at The Flying Barrel, so look for their wares in your local liquor store. Their coffee stout is very good. Brewers had moved their tanks out of the restaruant downtown, but I believe they are expanding the restaurant behind them (between them and the parking garage) to bring some of that back in house.

Jojo's and Firestone's both have a nice selection of craft taps. Jojo's has been hosting various breweries, including one of my up & coming faves Manor Hill (http://manorhillbrewing.com/). Bushwallers is starting to carry more craft, but are still Irish/English centric. Cafe Nola usually has a nice selection of taps and bottles.

Just south of downtown is my fave watering hole Roasthouse Pub (http://www.roasthousepub.com/). 20 taps (2 nitro) constantly rotating. Barley and Hops is also south of downtown and has a nice selection of their own wares along with some guest taps. BWW and Madrones has a decent selection of craft taps on the north side of town.

Last night I drank 3 consecutive bells 2 hearted ales. Then I had 1 lagunatis ipa and I told my buddy that lagunatis tasted like a bud light with no taste. Basically two hearted dominated the pallet that a lagunatis just seemed like a light beer.