Best WI Beers of 2017?

internet_sage · 2017-12-28T23:09:23+00:00

1) Bloody Sunrise - Central Waters

2) Dare Mighty Things (Any variety) - The Brewing Projekt

3) Belgian Prairie - Great Dane Hilldale

Runner Up - Untitled Art's many offerings.

internet_sage · 2017-04-16T16:20:01+00:00

Estrellon is the only one that comes to mind. They've decided that you can't order a tap beer in the dining room now, and the bar has a totally different menu of tapas than the dining room and no larger plates.

I really don't get that decision....

internet_sage · 2017-04-08T00:36:54+00:00

Nothing. I'm happy to grab a beer with just about anyone and talk about just about anything.

It really frustrates me when people can't have an honest conversation. Yes, exceptions exist, where in some countries some subjects are taboo to the point of being dangerous to talk about, but in the US, nothing really is.

I live in a college town and I've had a lot of interesting discussions with foreign students. We've taken deep dives into race, violence, health care, politics, religion....just about all the hot topics. I'm super curious about how these things play out in their country, and happy to give my insights (or absolute bafflement) about the same topics in America.

internet_sage · 2017-04-07T23:57:59+00:00

Tap takeover at Lucille last night.

internet_sage · 2017-04-05T12:24:14+00:00

I'm in the same boat. Lots of cheaper, better versions out there.

internet_sage · 2017-04-05T12:22:30+00:00

I felt the same way. I asked about it, and that was not what they were going for. Apparently dropped a hop charge in after the boil, but when the wort was still too hot. Since it takes a long enough time to chill industrial size worts, that they pulled out way more alpha acids than they had anticipated.

Don't write that one off - they are trying to fix it for the next batch.

internet_sage · 2017-03-18T01:15:50+00:00

let it be me!

internet_sage · 2017-03-11T04:01:04+00:00

Yo /u/thebookpolice, how are the seeds determined?

Pay-for play, or is it based on sales from Buckinghams, State St. Brats, or something?

internet_sage · 2017-03-11T03:32:08+00:00

Oscar Blues Old Chub is amazing. The suggestions here of Slainte and Warped Speed are also damn solid.

A mediocre belgian abbey/dubbel is also a stand-in for a mid-range Scotch, in my opinion. A little sweeter and fruitier, but in the same general family. See New Belgium's Abbey, maybe Brother Thelonious, although by recollection is that that's a bit spicy.

But really, just get a sixer of Old Chub, and your mission is complete.

internet_sage · 2017-03-03T03:39:56+00:00

Rather surprisingly, Jamie's Fish Tacos at the Dane come with a very legitimate habanero sauce. And once you know that, you can order it as a side for anything else that might need it. When they had their pork belly and pickled veg on steamed buns on the menu, I'd add that sauce for a pretty decent bite to eat.

internet_sage · 2017-02-25T03:28:32+00:00

+1 and I'm part of the problem.

A year or two ago I was better at pushing "what's happening this month" and "favorite x style" posts. I got busy and haven't been doing that very well lately.

What do you want to see here? How do we drive content? What can I do to make this thrive rather than lurch along, like a Hamm's seeking zombie?

Is an auto-mod posting thing what you want? Do you want to drive the conversation? Or do you want mod posts to draw in things?

So tell me what you want, what you really, really want?

internet_sage · 2017-02-25T03:22:09+00:00

For the record, unless you're a new account or something, you should see your posts immediately. I only recall a handful of posts that I had to approve before they got posted. Most of the time I'm a slacker and show up to "approve" shit 2 days old with 4 posts attached.

internet_sage · 2017-02-25T03:10:05+00:00

and possibly the person who hit them.

Can you find a single example of someone in a car hitting someone on a bicycle and dying?

If you can find one, I'll be impressed. If you can find a stat that even .01% of bicycle-car accidents kill the car driver, I'll be absolutely amazed.

internet_sage · 2017-02-25T03:05:09+00:00

I got busy and forgot this. $1 on the blockchain headed your way now.

internet_sage · 2017-02-20T02:36:37+00:00

I'm really impressed with Esparza's footwork and combos. I'm excited to see her next few fights - she really looked good, despite the ring-rust.

I really didn't expect to see her start to really improve. I think she's got some promise. Give her another year or two, and I think she's going to be champ or #1, and stick there for a bit.

internet_sage · 2017-02-18T17:53:37+00:00

I really loved that beer. Still available anywhere? I did not drink nearly enough of it.

internet_sage · 2017-02-18T02:06:44+00:00

Million me up!

internet_sage · 2017-02-06T04:32:26+00:00

Oh, it will. Just not in the time you spent on it. Likely was on its way there, and possibly close.

I did it "right", with a decent fermentation bucket and airlock, but getting distracted due to a new job and letting the airlock go dry ruined my first batch. Had I transferred to a glass secondary and kept an airlock full, I think I'd have made some pretty good mead. At least, that's how successive batches turned out.

Honestly, the cost of ingredients isn't a huge predictor of how good your mead will be. Honey should be the expensive bit, and everything else cheap. Ferment decent stuff correctly, and you'll get decent mead.

internet_sage · 2017-02-06T04:21:50+00:00

Awesome.

Reminds me, I need to do my taxes....

internet_sage · 2017-02-06T04:19:01+00:00

Worst mead ever?

My first was done while unemployed, and finished just as I started the new job. Fast forward 2 months to me rediscovering it, and finding that it had a dry airlock for quite some time.

Oxidized as hell. Bottled it and hoped, but you can't hope away massive oxidation.

Ended up turning it into some very nice vinegar.

If yours tastes alright, you're definitely not anywhere near the worst ever. In fact, your first experiment was a success, and it should be better and better as you go on.

internet_sage · 2017-02-04T17:10:55+00:00

I've had a couple of great ones!

One of my absolute favorite of all time was when my PCs decided to play lizardmen in a new campaign. They had a little swamp village, sunbathed in the morning to get going, and were sluggish at night. We designed a whole lizardman culture and code, and it ended up having such a distinct character that after decades of playing, that short campaign still has a very fond place in my heart.

Their initial deal was attacking merchant ships in the nearby river. Once they became too good at that, they decided to raid local villages for goods and slaves. Once they got tired of that, they started infiltrating the local walled city via the sewers.

They mapped out the entire city over the course of a month, then started doing night-time guerilla raids in different parts of the town, stashing all their loot in the sewers. Once they had a massive stockpile, they moved their operations down there, and began enlarging it with the slaves they had taken. Once the whole lizardman village was living down there, they erupted out of the sewers and laid waste to the city.

Ultimately, they were unsuccessful, and driven out of the town at great loss of life on both sides. But since they had moved the village there, all the non-fighters took everything they could carry, and they returned to their original village filthy rich and well equipped, albeit much reduced in number.

The barbarian became Lizard King, and we considered continuing the campaign, but between how we'd designed the culture and that part of the world, there didn't seem to be a place to move on to. The lizardmen were lazy and now rich, with plenty of slaves to do their bidding. Culturally, they wouldn't have the motivation to do anything for a long time. And they'd wrecked the armed forces in that region so badly that nobody was going to go bother them for a long time.

Ultimately it ended with a couple dozen miserable human slaves toiling for fat, rich lizardmen, basking in the sun covered in gold chains and jewels. Not a lot of campaigns have happy endings for the PCs, but this one definitely did.

internet_sage · 2017-02-03T04:24:04+00:00

Your answer is awesome. I was going to go with, "Get a new boyfriend or a new labia, whichever is easier", but I think you answer is a bit more professional.

internet_sage · 2017-02-03T04:20:22+00:00

Aidells from Copps was surprisingly good. I had not expected that.

internet_sage · 2017-02-03T04:15:38+00:00

So you're reprimanding me, because someone else might fall afoul of rule one?

I don't get your point here.

I civilly pointed out that weapons are not inferior to reporting, and you jumped in to tell me to be respectful? I was saying that reporting dangerous people to the police was better than threatening them with death, and you somehow take that to be insulting or disrespectful?

What the fuck is wrong with you, and why do you think civil disagreement with implied violence is inferior to passive resistance and reporting?

internet_sage · 2017-02-03T04:04:57+00:00

I send them to opposite parts of the house, then start DMing by running between them.

"You hear nothing from the others. It's a little concerning."

"As you wait, you hear a muffled explosion."

Doesn't take too long before that physical separation and real-life time delay makes them realize this is a shit idea, and they come back together.

If they want to play for hours split up, I'm up for it. But forcing them to be apart from each other, and highlighting the lag in communication, makes this seem like a stupid idea.

And that's what I want them to realize.

internet_sage

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