ive yet to try the avery samaels but i hear that it is really sweet. i have a bottle here but ive yet to drink it. tomorrow ill take some pictures of my "collection" and post it for you.
ive had midas touch, but i am not that big of a fan of it, it was a little too sweet, and you do mention the chardonay aspect of it - i do not like white wine much at all, only red for me,
the super bitter beer comment was geared towards these brewers making 1 hop variety beers and just pouring them into them and it comes out smelling and tasting like a bitter ass grapefruit. dont know if you have ever had weyerbacher double simcoe, but it was so bitter it was just ungodly. i love me some bitter beers, pour me up a double IPA and ill go to town! but i have my limits, and when you substitue flavor for adding another 12 pounds of hops, youve lost me there.
arrogant bastard isnt all that bitter at all, its rather tame compared to some of the double IPAs i have consumed recently. double bastard is pretty brutal though, haha.
did you ever drink any 120 min back when they had it in the corked bottles? i hear that was some really good stuff back then. ive drank the 120 before, and if given the choice between that and the WWS, the stout will win every time. though i have never kept a bottle of 120 for more than about 6 months, ive been tempted to grab one whenever i go to virginia and just throw it in my cooler for about 10 years and see what happens. i felt the beer was a little too sweet for my personal tastes.
lambics, ah yes, spontaneous fermination - its a wonderful thing, but they are certainly ales that you have to get accustomed to, given the biting sour flavor that they produce. who brewed the unblended lambic you speak of? most brewers of unblended lambics know what they are doing (if they are from belgium). this (lambic) has started to become one of my more appreciatied styles, but nothing can top my love of the dark beer. on a positive note, lambics will age longer than just about every beer.
austin huh, i have heard there are some nice local pubs out there. i would love to see more beer getting shipped out of texas other than shiner.
no michigan beers? man, you dont know what youre missing. they arent distributed much outside of michigan, some over into ohio and illinois, but thats about it. i have several friends that ship me beer from michigan when im running low. bells brewery is fantastic, so is jolly pumpkin (they make french style biere de gardes (which also are phenomenal with hot food!!)) and founders brewery which just makes some very nice stouts. if you ever get a chance to get a hold of anything from bells make sure you give it a while. Expedition stout is the best beer they make, but all of their beers are good. Hell, even their lager is very nice, but it doesnt get the high marks that the stout and their more complex ales recieve.
going to bed, checking the post in the morning
nice talking with all of you guys today,
cheers
ross