20 Down, 0 To Go!

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Aug. 15, 2011

I started this blog way back in January of this year.  Now, about 7 months, 40 posts and 20 American Double IPAs later, I have reached my goal - to drink and review the Top 20 Most Reviewed Beers on Beer Advocate.  For any of you who are active reviewers on BA and happen to be as much of a beer nerd as I am, you can understand why the little blue check marks in the picture to the right make me happy.

That, by the way, is what the list looked like right after I completed my last review - AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer).  The list wasn't always in the same order, there were some changes in the rankings along the way, but all 20 beers on the original list remained there for the duration of my project and I am grateful for that.

The original list had the 20 beers ranked in this order:

1.   90 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
2.   Stone Ruination - Stone Brewing
3.   Bell's Hopslam - Bell's Brewery
4.   Pliny the Elder - Russian River
5.   Hop Wallup - Victory
6.   120 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
7.   Maharaja - Avery Brewing
8.   Dreadnaught IPA - Three Floyds
9.   Hercules Double IPA - Great Divide
10. Hop Stoopid - Lagunitas
11. Burton Baton - Dogfish Head
12. Double Simcoe IPA - Weyerbacher Brewing
13. Maximus - Lagunitas
14. Gordon Ale - Oskar Blues
15. Unearthly - Southern Tier
16. Founders Devil Dancer - Founders
17. YuleSmith (Summer) - AleSmith
18. Double Dog Double Pale Ale - Flying Dog
19. Hopsickle Imperial IPA - Moylan's Brewery
20. Founder's Double Trouble - Founders

Below is what the list looks like today.  You'll notice that the biggest mover was Founders Double Trouble going from 20th all the way up to 12th.  It is a seasonal release from Founders that can be difficult to track down, but this past winter when it was released around the same time as Founders super-popular Kentucky Breakfast Stout the Double Trouble got a decent boost as the best Founders beer that you were allowed to buy more than two bottles of at the liquor store.

The only other real significant move was AleSmith YuleSmith.  It dropped from 17th down to 20th.  Sure, it is a seasonal beer that was out of season for most of the duration of this project, but I was surprised that once it was released in July it didn't jump back up.  At this point, it seems to be a likely candidate for getting knocked out of the Top 20 since this year's batch is starting to dry up in the few states it is distributed in and it's only 15 reviews ahead of the number 21 spot - Smuttynose's Big A IPA - a year-round release. 

1.   90 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
2.   Stone Ruination - Stone Brewing
3.   Bell's Hopslam - Bell's Brewery
4.   Pliny the Elder - Russian River (Will need some help finding this one for sure)
5.   Hop Wallup - Victory
6.   120 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
7.   Maharaja - Avery Brewing
8.   Hop Stoopid - Lagunitas
9.   Dreadnaught IPA - Three Floyds
10. Hercules Double IPA - Great Divide
11. Burton Baton - Dogfish Head
12. Founders Double Trouble - Founders
13. Double Simcoe IPA - Weyerbacher Brewing
14. Maximus - Lagunitas
15. G'Knight Ale (Formerly Gordon Ale) - Oskar Blues
16. Unearthly - Southern Tier
17. Founders Devil Dancer - Founders18. Double Dog Double Pale Ale - Flying Dog
19. Hopsickle Imperial IPA - Moylan's Brewery
20. YuleSmith (Summer) - AleSmith

I did not reach my goal of finishing this project before I moved to Boulder, but I did get pretty close - only reviewing one beer here in Colorado.

By the way, some of the other stats from this project:

10 beers were distributed year-round in Chicago and I had no problem getting my hands on them, they were:

Dogfish Head 90 Minute
Stone Ruination
Victory Hop Wallop
Lagunitas Hop Stoopid
Lagunitas Maximus
Three Floyds Dreadnaught
Great Divide Hercules
Southern Tier Unearthly
Flying Dog Double Dog Double Pale Ale
Moylan's Hopsickle

7 Beers were seasonal or only made a few times a year and I had to wait for them:

Bell's Hopslam
Dogfish Head 120 Minute
Dogfish Head Burton Baton
Founders Double Trouble
Founders Devil Dancer
Avery Maharaja
AleSmith YuleSmith (Summer)

4 Beers were not distributed to Illinois at all:

Russian River Pliny the Elder
Oskar Blues G'Knight Ale
AleSmith YuleSmith
Weyerbacher Double Simcoe IPA

I travelled to get the G'Knight and the Russian River.  Oddly, I now live a half an hour away from the Oskar Blues brewery, but I ended up trying it for the first time in Nashville, Tennessee over the winter.  The Russian River I had for the first time when visiting Estes Park, Colorado before I moved to the state.

The Double Simcoe and the YuleSmith I got in trades.  Thanks to nevins and ren over at Beer Advocate for being great traders and coming though for me.

In addition to having to travel and trade for some of these beers I almost missed out on two of them even though they were distributed in Illinois.  The Dogfish 120 Minute IPA was an exceptionally rare beer this year.  After not producing it for quite some time Sam and the guys over in Milton, DE finally put together a small batch of it, but demand was very high and supply extremely low.  My former roommate worked at one of the biggest Whole Foods in Illinois and his store only got 8 beers.  One of which he was able to snag for me for $12 only because a customer who was on the waiting list for it failed to show up.  I later managed to get spoiled with two bottles at my local hang-out in Evanston - and that was 25% of their supply.

The other tough one was Founders Devil Dancer, which oddly was released on the same day.  I miscalculated how much of it would be available and I focused all my efforts on finding the 120.  As it turned out, however, while liquor stores were only allowing one bottle per customer of the 120 Minute, they were only allowing two Devil Dancers.  After I finally got the Dogfish I turned my attention towards the Founders offering and realized quickly that I might have screwed up big time.  None of my regular bars or liquor stores had it by the time I got around to searching for it.  I then proceeded to do a ton of research and make about 25 phone calls before I was able to find a full 4-pack.  At least it was full until Dan, my brother-in-law agreed to drive me 30 minutes to go pick it up.  As a new DIPA enthusiast, his fee was one of the four bottles.  Thanks Dan!

Speaking of thanks, I had to rely on a lot of help from several people and they all deserve a big round of applause: Emily, Dan, nevins, ren, Robb from Poppy's Pizza in Estes Park, Kyle and Phil from Prairie Moon in Evanston, Carlos at Fischman's, Beer Advocate, r/beer and all of you who have read the blog, especially those who commented on the site.  It has been a blast.  We're not quite done yet though, there will be a 20 Beers in 20 Nights Awards posting for the DIPA Project along with rankings.  Not 100% sure when, but it's coming soon.

The Updated List (Again) - 10 Down, 10 To Go

Posted by: Tyler Rippeteau

Mar. 30, 2011

We've reached the half way point here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights and I thought it was a good time to post an updated version of The List.

The initial goal of the website was to review the Top 20 Most Reviewed American Double IPAs on Beer Advocate.  As we reach the halfway point, however, I am having a lot of fun with this and the plan is to keep it going beyond the Top 20.  I have a few ideas for another set of 20 beers, but if any of you out there have some thoughts I would love to hear them.

Back to the current list, however, here is what it looked like in the beginning of the project:

1.   90 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
2.   Stone Ruination - Stone Brewing
3.   Bell's Hopslam - Bell's Brewery
4.   Pliny the Elder - Russian River (Will need some help finding this one for sure)
5.   Hop Wallup - Victory
6.   120 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
7.   Maharaja - Avery Brewing
8.   Dreadnaught IPA - Three Floyds
9.   Hercules Double IPA - Great Divide
10. Hop Stoopid - Lagunitas
11. Burton Baton - Dogfish Head
12. Double Simcoe IPA - Weyerbacher Brewing
13. Maximus - Lagunitas
14. Gordon Ale - Oskar Blues
15. Unearthly - Southern Tier
16. Founders Devil Dancer - Founders
17. YuleSmith (Summer) - AleSmith
18. Double Dog Double Pale Ale - Flying Dog
19. Hopsickle Imperial IPA - Moylan's Brewery
20. Founder's Double Trouble - Founders

The updated list has a few changes, Hop Stoopid and Maharaja flip flopped spots, although, I believe they'll probably revert back to their original spots soon seeing as another batch of Maharaja was just released and the Hop Stoopid is available year-round.  At this point the Maharaja is only 11 reviews behind.  The other mover on the list was, once again, Founders Double Trouble.  It has steadily moved up the list, starting at No. 20 and moving up to 14.

As I noted in the last update to The List, the original listed Oskar Blues's Gordon Ale, but the name has been changed since then to G'Knight Ale.

So, after all that, this is what the new list looks like:

1.   90 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
2.   Stone Ruination - Stone Brewing
3.   Bell's Hopslam - Bell's Brewery
4.   Pliny the Elder - Russian River (Will need some help finding this one for sure)
5.   Hop Wallup - Victory
6.   120 Minute IPA - Dogfish Head
7.   Hop Stoopid - Lagunitas
8.   Maharaja - Avery Brewing
9.   Dreadnaught IPA - Three Floyds
10. Hercules Double IPA - Great Divide
11. Burton Baton - Dogfish Head
12. Double Simcoe IPA - Weyerbacher Brewing
13. Maximus - Lagunitas
14. Founders Double Trouble - Founders 
15. G'Knight Imperial Red Ale - Oskar Blues
16. Unearthly - Southern Tier
17. Founders Devil Dancer - Founders
18. Double Dog Double Pale Ale - Flying Dog
19. YuleSmith (Summer) - AleSmith 
20. Hopsickle Imperial IPA - Moylan's Brewery

Of the 10 remaining beers on the list, I am only seeing one as giving me a hard time, the YuleSmith Summer by AleSmith.  AleSmith doesn't distribute to Chicago as far as I know and I may have to wait a few more months anyway, to get my hands on a fresh batch.  I imagine it will be the final beer on the list.

On the other hand, I have already reviewed the Maharaja, I just have to edit and post it sometime within the next few days.  I also have a 4-pack of Double Trouble in the fridge, along with a bomber of Hop Stoopid.

90 Minute, Unearthly and Double Dog should be no problem whatsoever.  The Founders Devil Dancer and the Hop Wallup shouldn't require too much hunting either.  The only other minor issue could arise is the Dogfish Head 120.  Rumor has it that Dogfish somehow screwed up the last batch, but at this point I have no word on when it is coming out.

Anyhow, point is, 10 down, 10 to go.

Review #7 - Dogfish Head Burton Baton

Posted by: Stonecipher

Mar. 6, 2011

The Dogfish Head Burton Baton has been much more difficult to track down than I initially suspected.  Here in Illinois, as is the case in 36 other states, Dogfish Head products are pretty easy to find, but given that the Burton Baton is not brewed year-round out there in Delaware, it can be a challenge to locate.

Fortunately, Binny’s Beverage Depot is an incredible resource and my local Binny’s happened to have one 4-pack left last week.  This was particularly good news considering that a couple weeks ago I lost the one bottle of it that I had been able to get my hands on.  As it turned out, that loss was actually a gain.  Rather than having just the one bottle, I was able to have a few extras to enjoy while I was not writing about them.  The reason I have this blog is because I thoroughly enjoy writing about beer, but sometimes it is nice to just sit back and enjoy one without thinking too much about it.  Plus, rather than stealing a sip or two from me, my girlfriend was able to steal an entire beer for herself. 

On to the review:

ABV: 10%

IBUs: 70

Brewery Location: Milton, Delaware

Style: American Double IPA (Blended with an English-style Old Ale)

Average Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.14 – Excellent

My Beer Advocate Rating: A-/4.25 - Excellent

Current Number of Reviews/Rank in the Top 20 on Beer Advocate: 1,189/11^th

Brewery Description: Dogfish Head Burton Baton

Bottled On: NA

APPEARANCE:  (3.5 out of 5) I poured the Burton Baton from its 12oz. bottle into a snifter and found it to be a fairly standard (for a DIPA), but still good-looking deep, mildly opaque copper color.  A small, slightly creamy head rested on top, but it didn’t last long.  Within seconds it was completely gone, which did seem to negatively impact the smell.  As expected with the lack of head retention, not much lacing was evident, although a few scattered wisps of foam remained as evidence that a beer had recently been enjoyed in the snifter.

SMELL:  (3.5 out of 5) Speaking of the snifter, it is an absolute must for this beer.  The aroma is complex and should be appreciated to its fullest and the snifter provides plenty of surface area while simultaneously directing the aroma right into the nose.  Sweet smells of vanilla, malt and some citrus lead the way, but hints of oak and hops lurk in the background.  Had the strength of the aroma lasted a bit longer than it did I would have been able to give this beer higher marks in the smell category.  Unfortunately, though, my first sniff was by far the best and as soon as the head vanished the smell seemed to go with it. 

TASTE:  (4.5 out of 5) A strong, malty, vanilla and citrusy sweetness completely dominates each sip of the Burton Baton, but if close attention is paid to the taste, there is also a very intense hop flavor that might be missed by some.  It’s like drinking good bourbon in the respect that the strong alcohol flavors often fool people into thinking that it isn’t as sweet as it really is.  The Baton is sort of the opposite; the sweetness hides the bitter, hoppy flavor.  There are plenty of DIPAs (Hopslam immediately comes to mind) that would be good for introducing a non-hop head to the style, but the Dogfish Head Burton Baton might be the perfect beer in this respect.  The hop flavor is a large part of what makes it so impressively tasty, but unless you are really focusing on that in particular it is very easy to not notice what it is.  This is getting to be a long-winded description of the taste, though, so to get back on track notes of pine and citrus are also detectable in this very delicious Double IPA.  A slightly bitter aftertaste also leaves the palate craving the next sweet sip.

MOUTHFEEL:  (4.5 out of 5) The Burton Baton has the rare combination of having both a smooth, creamy and oily feel while still possessing some strong sparkle and carbonation.

OVERALL:  (4.5 out of 5) This is an absurdly easy beer to drink, at least for the first one.  I have not attempted to drink two in one sitting before, but I’m not 100% sure that I would want to.  It sits like a rich dessert would.  The palate craves more, but the stomach might disagree.  One of these days, though, when I have some Burton Baton around again, I’m sure my palate will win out and we’ll see how it goes then.

DRAWBACKS:  My biggest problem with this beer was the lack of head retention and lacing.  The head retention would not have been such a big problem if it had not impacted the nose so strongly.  In terms of the lacing, I know I tend to knit pick about it, but I like my beer to please all of my senses and strong lacing is a large part of what pleases my sense of sight. 

SOUND:  The Burton Baton is a very smooth, pleasant and accessible beer, but at the same time it is extraordinarily complex, lively and full bodied.  It also happens to be rare, at least compared to many other Dogfish Head products.  These characteristics reminded me of a very smooth, easy to listen to, yet still very complex song by a group called the Whatnauts.  The song is called “Help is on the Way” from their album, “The Whatnauts on the Rocks” and was released in 1972.  I usually try to include  a link to the song I am referencing in the sound section, but iTunes doesn’t carry it.  So you’ll have to do a little digging yourself, but in the mean time you can at least check the group out with one of their hit singles called “Livin’ My Life”.

The Mystery of the Missing Burton Baton – A Short (and True) Story About the Three Beers I Didn’t Get to Drink this Week.

Posted by: Stonecipher

Feb. 18, 2011

It has been a tough week here at 20 Beers in 20 Nights.  If all had gone well, we would have had three more of the Top 20 DIPAs reviewed and checked off the list, bringing us close to the halfway point.  Instead, the beer universe was against us and we are still stuck at #5.

I’ll begin with the worst news of all – the beer that went MIA and is now presumed dead.  As some of you may have read, we were in Nashville, TN over the past weekend.  While we were there we actually began the trip with a bit of good beer luck when we found some Oskar Blues Gordon Ale, one of the Top 20 that is not readily available here in Illinois.  That, however, is where our luck ended. 

When we got back from the bar that night we decided to throw the one bottle of beer that we had brought with us in the hotel room’s refrigerator.  That bottle was a Dogfish Head Burton Baton, which comes in at #11 on The List with 1,176 reviews.  The plan was to take advantage of some of the downtime I was hoping to have to review it and cross it off the list.  Unfortunately, I never ended up having too much downtime in the hotel room.  So, I never got around to it.

When we arrived back in Evanston on Monday, I asked my girlfriend where the beer was.  She thought it was in one of our bags.  Turns out it wasn’t.  I thought maybe I had left it in her refrigerator.  Turns out I had not.  Then she suggested maybe it was in my fridge.  Nope.  The trunk of the car?  No dice.  Was it rolling around in the back seat?  Negative.  We could just not figure out where it had vanished to. 

Finally, last night, while sitting at one of our local hangouts and sampling a few of Goose Island’s high-end sours, it hit me.  I turned to my girlfriend and said “I know where the beer is.”

“Where!?!” She replied.

“It’s in the hotel fridge.” 

And with that, the mystery of the missing Burton Baton was solved.

Of course, the Burton Baton would have been Beer #6 on The List, but what about the other two, #7 and #8?  Well, number seven, was supposed to have been the Weyerbacher Double Simcoe.  Many of you read about that last week.  Due to some minor technical difficulties, however, it looks like the Double Simcoe may not arrive until sometime this weekend… if I am lucky.  By the way, none of this was the fault of my trading partner; it was the middle man who totally dropped the ball on this one.  Said middle man has promised to straighten things out quickly, but we shall see.  Hopefully, there is a swift and happy conclusion to this story.

As for number eight, well, this one was simply a case of false advertising.  OK, maybe not false, but at the very least it was lazy advertising. 

Two nights ago, we planned to take my mother and my aunt to see Les Mis in the City.  On the way we picked out a nice restaurant called Erwin on Chicago’s North Side.  After picking it out I went on line to see if they had much of a beer list.  I was not very hopeful, but I figured there would at least be a standard Goose Island brew or two and maybe another craft selection.  As it turned out though, their beer selection was very impressive, I would even say inspired.  Of the 17 available bottles, only Amstel Light and Kaliber Non-Alcohol were non-craft selections.  If you click here and scroll down you can see just how impressive it is – Lagunitas, Two Brothers, Left Hand, even Ska! 

Sure enough, the Avery Maharaja was listed as well, and in fact, still is.  Shortly after we arrived, however, the waiter informed us that they have not had any in stock in quite some time.  I should have known better, Maharaja is not an easy beer to find and it is only brewed a few times a year (I believe three), but still, it was heartbreaking.  Plus, in all fairness, I probably would not have reviewed a beer in that setting, but still, I thought I was going to have a crack at a rare treat.  So Erwin, I appreciate the amazing salmon we had, the delicious burger I tried and whatever that delicious bean spread was that came out with the bread before the meal, but please do me a favor and take the Maharaja off of your online beer list.  Or, wait, better yet, get some Maharaja and let me know when you do so that I can come back.

The good news from all of this is that it shouldn’t take too long to get all of these beers back into my possession and reviewed.  Dogfish Head is distributed here in Chicago, so even though the Burton Baton is a tough find, I’m sure I can track it down.  Avery is also distributed here, but even if it continues to hide from me in Illinois, I will be in Boulder in late March and I will be sure to stop at the brewery then.  As for the Double Simcoe, well, it could show up any time between now and Wednesday and if not, well, I’ll have another topic for a blog post. 

Enjoy your weekend everyone, and remember, just say no to Bud, Miller-Coors.  Say yes to good, American craft beer!