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Post by stringypoo on Aug 8, 2018 6:13:42 GMT -5
Been having this most times lately here in Shanghai, due to the lack of other goodies that I like. An old favorite of mine. Haven't tried it? Well, do you like banana bread? This is a bready light wheat beer with strong notes of banana, you know, the typical German hefeweizen style. Paulaner also does a good Hefe. But for me, this is the best Hefe you can buy, and the best value too! Not light on carbonation, which I used to like about it, but now I wish it was less carbonated, but whatever. Still a damn solid beer!
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Post by stringypoo on Aug 9, 2018 8:08:53 GMT -5
lol because I finished the Franziskaner at my wife's parents' home, her dad who knows nothing about beer at all decided to get me another bottle tonight. He bought me a Corona Extra, feeling excited about it. I did not know how to react to this...I should do a beer review of it. Hahaha
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Post by stringypoo on Sept 8, 2018 8:38:33 GMT -5
Went to World of Beer in Shanghai finally! Had a couple of new beers on draft.
First was Brewdog's Punk IPA. Very citrusy, very easy to drink, and a pleasant IPA overall. A little too easy to drink for my tastes, but it was truly a great experience finally having this rather pricey beer on draft.
Second was a more local beer, an offering from Catfish Brewery of China called Osmanthus. This one is marketed as an east coast IPA of the American tradition. Its trademark is its stone fruit presence, which I found undeniable in the taste. I had been not so optimistic about beer culture since coming to Shanghai/Kunshan, but this restored some hope for me. It wasn't amazing, but it's the best craft beer from China for me so far!
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Post by stringypoo on Oct 3, 2018 3:46:31 GMT -5
Oh man, lots to talk about today!
Firstly, I went to the newly opened as of two months ago Stone Brewery in Shanghai. This makes me proud to call Shanghai my new home, as this place did it up right! The beers here taste right, they had a whopping 28 Stone brews on tap, even including the farmhouse ale they did in a combined effort with Dogfish Head and a couple other top US breweries. I will certainly be a repeat customer of this new location. They also had a very cool building, which felt very western with garage door walls and warehouse style interior, blasting metal music in the hallways that lead to the bathroom. This place was legit! They also had Arrogant Bastard, Double Bastard, and one more from the Bastard series. I can share pics of any of this if you guys are interested, including the tap menu.
Second story for today: this actually happened before going to Stone. I had already begun to expect that good American craft beer was going to be a thing of the past for me. But then I was walking in the Changshu road area and saw a place simply called Wine Shop. A tiny place packed wit wine. I normally would have passed it right by (I don’t like wine) but they had this amazing craft beer display in the window featuring greats from Founders, Firestone, Stone, Dogfish Head, Belching Beaver (I bought two of their peanut butter stouts today), Boulevard (tour their brewery in Kansas City if you can. Amazing tour!), and even a bunch from California I’d never seen before. Really cool experience. Went in an talked to the owner for a while about how cool his selections were. I specifically asked if he regularly stocked Belching Beaver, which he said he didn’t. But he somehow knew I might be looking for peanut butter stout? It was not on the display, but he said, “Peanut Butter is here” and pointed to a corner where there were four cans left. Hahaha
Yeah, today was a good day for beer. Honestly, I thought moving to Shanghai was the end of my wonderful craft beer days. Seems it’s actually just the beginning of a new discovery period, which is just as exciting in some way. Now if only I can find some western IPA bottles that are not months old here... lol
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Post by tao on Oct 6, 2018 1:50:31 GMT -5
Got a 4-pack Of these babies:
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Post by tao on Oct 15, 2018 6:05:59 GMT -5
Holy shit was this terrific. So smooth and the chocolate and mint were fantastically balanced. 10/10 would def have again and I can’t recommend it enough.
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Post by stuartoxlade on Nov 5, 2018 3:44:59 GMT -5
Got to try my first Jester King beer over the weekend - Aurastone. HOLY SHIT, what a taste sensation. I love American Wild Ales and sours so this was the perfect blend of taste bud explosions. Only downside was it was like $10 for 1/3 of a pint (and I went for the cheapest option, there were 1/3's going for $16 a pop).
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Post by stringypoo on Jan 12, 2019 3:56:54 GMT -5
I’ve been on a bit of a beer drought since moving to China. I did manage to get out to Stone Brewery in Shanghai for my 2nd time the other day. I sampled two Stone brews I’d never had/seen before: Stone’s ParaXtranormal IPA (brewed with whole mandarin orange and pineapple) and Stone’s Rotating Hop Series IPA. Both samples were fine, but neither were total knockouts. I ended up getting a 16 ounce Stone Delicious IPA. I’d had that in Arizona, but never a fresh one on tap. It was solid, more bitter than I remembered. I’m starting to wonder if my beer tastes are getting watered down since the best thing I’ve got access to in Kunshan is Goose Island IPA. Compared to Stone, Goose is so easy to drink. But Stone have always been among my favorites, along with Odell, Firestone, Dechutes, New Belgium, Victory, Green Flash, and a few others.
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Post by tao on Jan 12, 2019 11:54:30 GMT -5
I’ve been on a bit of a beer drought since moving to China. I did manage to get out to Stone Brewery in Shanghai for my 2nd time the other day. I sampled two Stone brews I’d never had/seen before: Stone’s ParaXtranormal IPA (brewed with whole mandarin orange and pineapple) and Stone’s Rotating Hop Series IPA. Both samples were fine, but neither were total knockouts. I ended up getting a 16 ounce Stone Delicious IPA. I’d had that in Arizona, but never a fresh one on tap. It was solid, more bitter than I remembered. I’m starting to wonder if my beer tastes are getting watered down since the best thing I’ve got access to in Kunshan is Goose Island IPA. Compared to Stone, Goose is so easy to drink. But Stone have always been among my favorites, along with Odell, Firestone, Dechutes, New Belgium, Victory, Green Flash, and a few others. IPA’s are tricky bastards to nail down.
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Post by stringypoo on Jan 12, 2019 23:39:47 GMT -5
I’ve been on a bit of a beer drought since moving to China. I did manage to get out to Stone Brewery in Shanghai for my 2nd time the other day. I sampled two Stone brews I’d never had/seen before: Stone’s ParaXtranormal IPA (brewed with whole mandarin orange and pineapple) and Stone’s Rotating Hop Series IPA. Both samples were fine, but neither were total knockouts. I ended up getting a 16 ounce Stone Delicious IPA. I’d had that in Arizona, but never a fresh one on tap. It was solid, more bitter than I remembered. I’m starting to wonder if my beer tastes are getting watered down since the best thing I’ve got access to in Kunshan is Goose Island IPA. Compared to Stone, Goose is so easy to drink. But Stone have always been among my favorites, along with Odell, Firestone, Dechutes, New Belgium, Victory, Green Flash, and a few others. IPA’s are tricky bastards to nail down. IPA’s have been my longtime favorite since I REALLY started getting into beer back in 2013, starting with Stone Ruination Double IPA and Firestone’s Double Jack Double IPA. The Ruination ripped my tongue to shreds the first couple of times for how intense it was, and Double Jack was the most balanced IPA ever...Shame it’s not in rotation anymore, although I love Firestone’s Luponic Distortion series. The lack of IPA support in China is extremely saddening. Then, when you find a decent one, it often comes down to this situation: 1. The bottle is too old to guarantee a fresh and honest IPA experience worthy of the brand/brew, and 2. You’re probably going to pay nearly $10 US for that old bottle because it’s such a special import. It’s times like these when I wish I didn’t have such specific tastes, as German wheat ales and pilsners dominate the market intensely here.
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Post by tao on Jan 13, 2019 7:03:39 GMT -5
IPA’s are tricky bastards to nail down. IPA’s have been my longtime favorite since I REALLY started getting into beer back in 2013, starting with Stone Ruination Double IPA and Firestone’s Double Jack Double IPA. The Ruination ripped my tongue to shreds the first couple of times for how intense it was, and Double Jack was the most balanced IPA ever...Shame it’s not in rotation anymore, although I love Firestone’s Luponic Distortion series. The lack of IPA support in China is extremely saddening. Then, when you find a decent one, it often comes down to this situation: 1. The bottle is too old to guarantee a fresh and honest IPA experience worthy of the brand/brew, and 2. You’re probably going to pay nearly $10 US for that old bottle because it’s such a special import. It’s times like these when I wish I didn’t have such specific tastes, as German wheat ales and pilsners dominate the market intensely here. I’m more of a stout/porter kind of guy, but I don’t mind exploring other styles when I feel like it. IPA’s aren’t high in my rotation, but I like Stone, and I’ll try anything they put out. For me, the IPA has to have a strong, distinct body to it, and yet have a smooth finish to it with hardly any bite, otherwise it’s just too much bitterness for me. I feel for you though; the struggle is real, my friend.
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Post by stuartoxlade on Jan 14, 2019 4:35:47 GMT -5
IPA’s have been my longtime favorite since I REALLY started getting into beer back in 2013, starting with Stone Ruination Double IPA and Firestone’s Double Jack Double IPA. The Ruination ripped my tongue to shreds the first couple of times for how intense it was, and Double Jack was the most balanced IPA ever...Shame it’s not in rotation anymore, although I love Firestone’s Luponic Distortion series. The lack of IPA support in China is extremely saddening. Then, when you find a decent one, it often comes down to this situation: 1. The bottle is too old to guarantee a fresh and honest IPA experience worthy of the brand/brew, and 2. You’re probably going to pay nearly $10 US for that old bottle because it’s such a special import. It’s times like these when I wish I didn’t have such specific tastes, as German wheat ales and pilsners dominate the market intensely here. I’m more of a stout/porter kind of guy, but I don’t mind exploring other styles when I feel like it. IPA’s aren’t high in my rotation, but I like Stone, and I’ll try anything they put out. For me, the IPA has to have a strong, distinct body to it, and yet have a smooth finish to it with hardly any bite, otherwise it’s just too much bitterness for me. I feel for you though; the struggle is real, my friend. Are there no Chinese breweries doing IPAs at all then? Surprises me given most of the world tends to love them now. I guess maybe they don't grow the hops there as much and they're expensive to import? I know Japan had a beer tax law which prevented people from making beer but that all changed last April. Maybe it's similar in China? EDIT: Read an article about Chinese breweries - you heard of any of these? Boxing Cat, Jing A, Great Leap, Master Gao, Taps and Slow Boat?
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Post by stringypoo on Jan 14, 2019 6:44:19 GMT -5
I’m more of a stout/porter kind of guy, but I don’t mind exploring other styles when I feel like it. IPA’s aren’t high in my rotation, but I like Stone, and I’ll try anything they put out. For me, the IPA has to have a strong, distinct body to it, and yet have a smooth finish to it with hardly any bite, otherwise it’s just too much bitterness for me. I feel for you though; the struggle is real, my friend. Are there no Chinese breweries doing IPAs at all then? Surprises me given most of the world tends to love them now. I guess maybe they don't grow the hops there as much and they're expensive to import? I know Japan had a beer tax law which prevented people from making beer but that all changed last April. Maybe it's similar in China? EDIT: Read an article about Chinese breweries - you heard of any of these? Boxing Cat, Jing A, Great Leap, Master Gao, Taps and Slow Boat? Yes, Chinese breweries are indeed doing IPAs. The problem is that if you don’t live in Shanghai or Beijing, you often don’t have excellent access to them. I spend only weekends in Shanghai. Why I still complain is that the prices of these craft beers are really high. Boxing Cat is one I have not tried yet, but I will visit them soon, despite the many reports that they’re not that special. Master Gao is also commonly listed in places, but it tends to sell out quickly. Most likely they aren’t in high volumes of production at the moment. The scene is growing, I think, but extremely slow. I can’t find much information on it, but apparently there is a brewery in China called Catfish, as I had two of their brews in World of Beer in Shanghai, and enjoyed those. They have this Osmanthus IPA which is pretty cool, especially with its tendency to sweeten as it gets warmer. I have yet to see Slow Boat or Great Leap here. Maybe those are Beijing breweries, not sure. I’ll have to look those up.
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Post by stuartoxlade on Jan 14, 2019 7:18:14 GMT -5
Are there no Chinese breweries doing IPAs at all then? Surprises me given most of the world tends to love them now. I guess maybe they don't grow the hops there as much and they're expensive to import? I know Japan had a beer tax law which prevented people from making beer but that all changed last April. Maybe it's similar in China? EDIT: Read an article about Chinese breweries - you heard of any of these? Boxing Cat, Jing A, Great Leap, Master Gao, Taps and Slow Boat? Yes, Chinese breweries are indeed doing IPAs. The problem is that if you don’t live in Shanghai or Beijing, you often don’t have excellent access to them. I spend only weekends in Shanghai. Why I still complain is that the prices of these craft beers are really high. Boxing Cat is one I have not tried yet, but I will visit them soon, despite the many reports that they’re not that special. Master Gao is also commonly listed in places, but it tends to sell out quickly. Most likely they aren’t in high volumes of production at the moment. The scene is growing, I think, but extremely slow. I can’t find much information on it, but apparently there is a brewery in China called Catfish, as I had two of their brews in World of Beer in Shanghai, and enjoyed those. They have this Osmanthus IPA which is pretty cool, especially with its tendency to sweeten as it gets warmer. I have yet to see Slow Boat or Great Leap here. Maybe those are Beijing breweries, not sure. I’ll have to look those up. We've had a similar growth in the UK, albeit much faster than in China. Going back to 2014 when I first signed up for Untappd (Amazing beer rating app if you don't have it), there were a fair few breweries in the UK but getting hold of their beers was hard as they couldn't produce enough beer to keep up with demand but nowadays, there's tons of breweries locally who are doing great beer and it's accessible. Hopefully the same thing will happen in China for you dude.
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Post by stringypoo on Jan 14, 2019 7:43:28 GMT -5
Yes, Chinese breweries are indeed doing IPAs. The problem is that if you don’t live in Shanghai or Beijing, you often don’t have excellent access to them. I spend only weekends in Shanghai. Why I still complain is that the prices of these craft beers are really high. Boxing Cat is one I have not tried yet, but I will visit them soon, despite the many reports that they’re not that special. Master Gao is also commonly listed in places, but it tends to sell out quickly. Most likely they aren’t in high volumes of production at the moment. The scene is growing, I think, but extremely slow. I can’t find much information on it, but apparently there is a brewery in China called Catfish, as I had two of their brews in World of Beer in Shanghai, and enjoyed those. They have this Osmanthus IPA which is pretty cool, especially with its tendency to sweeten as it gets warmer. I have yet to see Slow Boat or Great Leap here. Maybe those are Beijing breweries, not sure. I’ll have to look those up. We've had a similar growth in the UK, albeit much faster than in China. Going back to 2014 when I first signed up for Untappd (Amazing beer rating app if you don't have it), there were a fair few breweries in the UK but getting hold of their beers was hard as they couldn't produce enough beer to keep up with demand but nowadays, there's tons of breweries locally who are doing great beer and it's accessible. Hopefully the same thing will happen in China for you dude. I can see that. Not a lot of stuff from the UK here yet, but Brewdog is in many grocery stores and restaurants, even here in Kunshan. And their Punk IPA is a pleasant one, just not a very challenging IPA. Brewdog ales are also pretty damn expensive here most of the time. Best to go to World of Beer at happy hour because Punk is on tap in the happy hour section. I guess I’m healthier now that I’m not surrounded by outstanding breweries like I was in Arizona last year, but craft beer used to be an obsession. Now I experience many days in a row in which I live as if I have forgotten the glory a cloudy, citrusy, bitter, IPA. Lol
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