The Bar Towel

grub wrote:especially for aging, I'd much rather have a standard bottle over a swingtop any day

How come?

squeaky wrote:

grub wrote:especially for aging, I'd much rather have a standard bottle over a swingtop any day

How come?

seals on swingtops are often leaky, especially older non-silicone ones that would dry out and crumble over time. I reuse them occasionally for brewing and frequently have to abandon a bottle because it just doesn't seel properly.

BrewDog Tokyo* - quite hot but quite delicious. This followed a Hardcore IPA which tasted remarkably similar to every Hoptimum I've ever had...

I'm currently in the middle of an Amsterdam-Paris-London trip. Beer searches have been somewhat interesting. In Amsterdam I found a great place called De Bierkoning which had a sprawling array of beers. Westys innumerable, Bruery Cuir and Fruet (at skyrocketing prices) and even a solitary Bourbon Country Vanilla for 90 euros. I went home with Cantillon Kriek and a regional DIPA whose brewery escapes me at the moment. Also found Beer Temple, an "American Beer Bar" which had an impressive selection of offerings. I had a great glass of Raging Bitch followed by To Øl Sans Frontière. They had a bottle of 2013 Dark Lord available for 99.50 euros. I passed.

Paris has been somewhat slim pickings. I've had Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus and Cantillon Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru. I've tried a few little things here and there as well, including Chapeau Banana Lambic and BrewDog 5AM Saint.

And I'm trying out a Craig Allan Cuvee D'Oscar, largely because that's my son's name.

And now on to London in the morning. Any and all suggestions are greatly welcomed. The only thing that I really have in mind is to find a BrewDog pub and try STB and TNP out of pure curiosity.

Go to Kernel in London. You won't be disappointed.

grub wrote:seals on swingtops are often leaky, especially older non-silicone ones that would dry out and crumble over time. I reuse them occasionally for brewing and frequently have to abandon a bottle...

The seals are meant to be replaced, homebrewers talk about buying them in bulk for fairly cheap. These ones aren't such a good deal, maybe ask around where to get them nowadays for just a few pennies in bulk.

Seems you could re-use swingtops indefinitely, never reusing seals if you don't want to.

Belgian wrote:The seals are meant to be replaced, homebrewers talk about buying them in bulk for fairly cheap. These ones aren't such a good deal, maybe ask around where to get them nowadays for just a few pennies in bulk.

Seems you could re-use swingtops indefinitely, never reusing seals if you don't want to.

i find it less an issue of a bad gasket and more that the whole assembly gets too loose to hold a proper seal. i'd rather not play the "will it work" guessing game. plus i drink far more from non-swingtops so i have no shortage of empties to work with. it also makes it much easier when things are a consistent size rather than throwing a bunch of randomly sized swingtops in the mix. not to mention that caps are cheap and they work right every time with no guesswork involved.

and that doesn't solve the issue of seals cracking over time. can't exactly swap out the seal every 10 years...

munrets wrote:And now on to London in the morning. Any and all suggestions are greatly welcomed. The only thing that I really have in mind is to find a BrewDog pub and try STB and TNP out of pure curiosity.

Drink the bar at Market Porter in Borough Market, and, while you're at it, head down to the Royal Oak in Southwark... it's only a bit farther to The Kernel. There's also the Rake (overpriced) and Utobeer. Get the lamb sandwich at the Guildable Manor sandwich stand.

Get your fill of the Samuel Smith pubs. As touristy as they are, they're great bars and the beer is cheap as chips (probably cheaper actually).

I like the Meantime Brewery, but mostly because it's in Greenwich, my favourite part of town (on a nice day). It's also neat to visit Wolfe's memorial at St. Alfege Church.

Over the last few days in Buffalo...

@ Coles --- Ballast sculpin IPA on tap---awesome aromatics similar to green flash, fruity flavours in a golden IPa with a softer carb.

@Blue Monk---Victory Hopdevil NItro on tap---the nitro part intrigued me so i had to try it---IPA in taste, guiness in mouthfeel---went great with the calamari

Yeti bottles each night in my room; wow---thick and delicious

Premier Gourmet--- six Sculpin, six Edmund Fitzgerald, six Anchor Porter, four DFH 90 minute, one alesmith IPA pint

Last night out with the Hamilton crew:

CURATORI-ALE (IPA made with neighbourhood hops) & Black Oak Saison at The Ship. Then we ducked into an alley to brown bag a bottle of Bell's Oracle before heading to The Judge for Wellington Bike Ryed Kolsch and a couple pints of the Oast House IPA which was tasting great!

Then a nice walk home up 500 stairs to my place on the escarpment

drinking a black double brett IPA brewed with andrewrg

Grabbed a quick stone enjoy by while picking up a package in buffalo

J343MY wrote:drinking a black double brett IPA brewed with andrewrg

What are your thoughts on it now?

Last night in Burlington/Waterbury...

Heady
HF Citra Single Hop
HF Edward
Rock Art Simcoe
Jack's Abby Hoponius
Zero Gravity Conehead
Harpoon Saison Liaison
Lost Naton Saison Lamoille

andrewrg wrote:

J343MY wrote:drinking a black double brett IPA brewed with andrewrg

What are your thoughts on it now?

Right now its the best its been so far I think, but the sweetness is still bothering me a bit.

Nelson Brewing Hop Good Organic Session IPA - at 5.2% not much of a session ale But a very nice balanced IPA.

Phillips Brewing Bottle Rocket - Another nice, bitter offering from Phillips. The can looks great too

Dieu du Ciel Peche Mortel - fresh growler fill. A little bit softer from the tap.