Lackadaisical (PBUH) sent me a nice selection of upstate NY beers.
For some reason, the arrival of the BIF box got me thinking about something that has struck me as an odd inversion. It used to be that beer was the cheap/economical way to get your booze on (and it still can be, if you stick with mass market beers), but given the price for craft beers (which is still a little shocking to someone who started drinking beer back when the only thing on the shelf was cheap crap), I have been laboring under the perception that they are actually as or more expensive than cocktails.
However, I was moved to do the math. A six-pack of good craft beer costs me between $10 – 12.00, call it $1.75 a bottle. A bottle of beer has between .75 and 1.0 oz. of alcohol, so to be we’ll say craft beer delivers alcohol at @ $2.00 per ounce. Your typical fifth of booze is 80 proof, and so it has 10.25 oz. of alcohol. Now, there is crazy variability in booze prices, so we’ll take Bulleit Rye as our standard, which costs me $21.00 for a fifth, or . . . $2.05 per oz. of alcohol (before mixers).
Bottom line: there’s so much variability in price per oz. for both beer and booze that its hard to give a general rule, but the craft beer market (although it seems pricey to this old-timer) actually is pretty much equivalent per oz. to cocktails, maybe a little cheaper. I would say craft beer and cocktails both deliver the goods within about the same (broad) range.
I’m not the most critical beer drinker, and tend in general to enjoy pretty much whatever is in front of me at the time. With that in mind, my impressions:
Rohrbach Scotch Ale: Either this one or the Asylum Porter were my favorites. This is an excellent example of Scotch Ale, one of my preferred types of beer. Decently full bodied, nice caramel malt flavor with some roast, and the hops were behaving themselves and being good team players.
42 North Asylum Porter: Very interesting beer, probably more depth and more flavors around the edges than the Scotch Ale. I got a little bitter chocolate and maybe coffer, and just enough smoke, but not so much that it was getting into the stout range. The kind of beer that you keep working because you want to chase some of the flavors.
Rohrbach Patty’s Irish Ale: A good Irish Ale – very comparable to their Scotch Ale, not quite as much body, and a hair less roasted flavors, a little drier on the finish. No complaints, would drink again.
Genesee Octoberfest: Genesee in general takes me back to my college days, and this is a competent, if not too exciting, beer. Adequately malty, if not quite as much body as I might like. Decent flavor. I would say this is an excellent beer to take to a tailgating party to class it up a little, and not go broke when your friends (and their friends) go through your cooler like a Mongol horde.
Big Ditch Hayburner: An IPA, but not hop soup. I can tolerate a legit IPA, so long as the brewer hasn’t decided that adding hops is somehow going to compensate for certain . . . personal shortcomings. This is a good example of the breed – decent body, hops definitely there but a little more on the floral side (which I prefer) rather than tastebud-killing bitterness.
Big Ditch Low Bridge: Interesting beer – a golden ale (whatever that is). Kinda-to-pretty hoppy; in a blind test I would have likely said this was a pale ale of some kind, but maybe a little maltier than I expect from a pale ale. It went right down, I’ll tell you that. A good beer for moderately spicy food. May get the nod over the Genesee for a good session beer, depending on how you like the hopping.
Not a dud in the bunch. I would not be sorry to discover any of these in my fridge. Thanks, Lack (and Nephilium)! Will BIF again.
First, think about what size barrel you want to use; they range from one liter on up. As with everything in life, there is a trade-off: The larger the barrel, the slower the booze ages. You can use a barrel probably 4 times, maybe 5. I’m refilling the barrels immediately after emptying them – you can leave them empty, but they need to be cleaned and stored full of water. A one-liter barrel will deliver around a gallon or so of booze before its done, and mixed drinks don’t store forever, so you need to think about how fast you will drink whatever you barrel-age.
The Manhattans age faster – I used Bulleit Rye (again) and Carpano Antica vermouth in the classic 2:1 ratio. I think the sweeter vermouths might be too sweet for barrel aging. The first batch was done in a week, and subsequent batches each took only a few days longer than the previous batch. Doing a side-by-side with an unaged Manhattan, I can definitely say that I prefer the barrel-aged, which has a deeper flavor and starts getting some cinnamon and cherry flavors. Needless to say, I use real maraschino cherries (sour cherries simmered briefly in maraschino liqueur and refrigerated), because the candied grocery-store maraschino cherries are an abomination. I’m using a brighter bitters for these – currently, the 
