"Craft" beer recommendation

[BP]

So I was a world traveler last week and stopped at Caybrew in the Cayman Islands and found a spectacular beer bar in Cozumel, right next to Margaritaville.

Oh yeah and NOLA on Tap last weekend.

So for Caybrew they of course are in the Cayman Islands and were started by the former overseas market manager for Guinness and his group of investors. They hired a good German born brewer and they make beer, a lot of it. They wouldn't say what the capacity was but they have 6 of the massive outdoor fermentation tanks. I'd imagine it's well over 100k barrells a year.

On to the beer though they are a little different than most. Their "bock" is very hopped up, if it wasn't so malty it'd probably be an IPA to most people. To me it was pretty similar to Rahr's Stormcloud only with a more floral hop profile. Which is good because I love the Rahr one. Ironshore Bock is the name and I rated it pretty highly.

They also do one called Mango Tango which as you can imagine is a fruit beer. Normally these types of beers are wheat based and I hate them. This was more of a lighter bodied pale lager and the Mango wasn't too overpowering. It was a great lighter beer.

Also had their 345 Stout and it was a very good traditional strong stout type beer. Amazingly enough since the brewery was founded by a former Guinness employee.

They have a few other beers but they are traditional styles that are obviously trying to appeal to everyone.

[GrayStangGT]

It is October, what Oktoberfest beers are yall drinking. I've been hitting up the Big Bend Brewing one at a local burger joint for almost a month now.

[BP]

As for the Cozumel place it's right on the beach and almost hidden other than the Paulaner umbrellas.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/La-Internacional-Cerveceria-Cozumel/825715740782532

Beers were $5-6 each which is expensive for the area considering Carlos and Charlies and Margaritaville are within a couple of blocks, along with several dozen other places selling Corona's with limes. It keeps the massive crowds out though so I was happy paying the same I would here.

It seems that Mexican breweries really like making Imperial Stouts with peppers which is awesome because I love those. Even better if you barrel age it and throw in some Cacao nibs.

Cerveza Oscura Con Cacao Y Chile was my favorite of the group and if you look on untappd it's pretty rare. I can't even really understand the reviews since most are in Spanish. It's a chocolate pepper stout and it was fantastic.

They also had a beer called Sospeso IPA. It's from a brewery in Tijuana that does collaborations with their local coffee roaster. There are a couple of coffee IPAs out there now, this and Rogue's Cold Brew are the only two I've had but I liked them both equally.

For NOLA on tap it was almost a complete clusterf@ck but turned out okay. We went to Cafe DuMonde for their fried biscuits with powdered sugar. I really don't get the appeal. The great thing about that though is it's located adjacent to Jackson Square, where a group planned on tearing down the statue. Also where David Duke decided to hold a rally while we were there. So several hundred cops were blocking the entrances, barricades were set up, fire trucks were blocking the roads. It was GREAT! We finally managed to get in touch with an uber driver and it routed us right next to where the protest march was starting up.

So I'm white, as is my wife. Our driver is black and local. These weren't BLM protesters but there were probably 2k of them, I'd imagine a some of them had the same views. They started blocking the streets while marching to the square. Eventually (around 45 minutes) the road cleared up enough and we were on our way.

Oh on top of this there was a biker rally in town. So you have a group of protesters marching by the biker rally, heading to a David Duke rally in an already crowded as hell French Quarter.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/09/jackson_square_protest.html

I really don't understand how you can expect someone to tear down a statue dedicated to a former president, in a park named after him.

Then at Nola on tap they used RFID enabled wrist bands to "pay" for beers. Instead of tickets like most festivals. Well they didn't work so anyone that bought pre loaded bands had to go back and swap them for ones that worked. Without a receipt, since we paid cash. Other than that the festival was great. My favorite was Voo Ka Ray IPA. Just a really good IPA. I sampled around 30 beers so I can't remember them all.

[BP]

It is October, what Oktoberfest beers are yall drinking. I've been hitting up the Big Bend Brewing one at a local burger joint for almost a month now.

I like sticking with the Paulaner Oktoberfest. Although Pedernales Lobo Oktoberfest won gold at the US open last year and silver at the LA competition. I'd buy it!

Also the FW Saucer's beerfeast is this Saturday. http://www.saucerbeerfeast.com/festi...ion=fort-worth

[BP]

The FW Flying Saucer held their annual Beerfeast last Saturday and I have to say it turned out great. At the last minute they decided to cut capacity to 600 people and sold only VIP tickets. I think it had to do with not getting a permit to close down the street. Regardless the crowd was very manageable and lines were never very long.

The hits in my opinion were Prairie's Brandy Apple Noir which I give a solid 5 star rating to, Bourbon County Stout of course, Parabola, Stickee Monkee, Sour Monkey, Vietnamese Speedway Stout, Jolly Russian, Boulevard's Rye on Rye and a great beer from the Bruery named Poterie.

I ended up sampling around 35 beers, it was a good day!

[95DRGT]

I ended up sampling around 35 beers, it was a good day!

35 damn I would say so!

[Strychnine]

Been in downtown Denver for the past five days and didn't step foot in the Great American Beer Fest

[BP]

Been in downtown Denver for the past five days and didn't step foot in the Great American Beer Fest

There were plenty of Texas winners if you want to see what you missed. If it's like years past Oskar Blues gets all the left overs, you might try them this week if you are still in town.

[BP]

35 damn I would say so!

2 ounce pours and I didn't drink all of them. I'm a connoisseur, not a drunk!

[95DRGT]

2 ounce pours and I didn't drink all of them. I'm a connoisseur, not a drunk!

I get it but still a good time in my book to sample that many

[BP]

I get it but still a good time in my book to sample that many

Rahr's anniversary party is on November 5th, they'll have at least that many beers on tap. Also this Sunday from noon to 4 they are hosting an Iron Mash competition. 25+ home brewers outside plus the taps inside. Should be a good time.

[phaux]

Division brewery has a ton of new stuff on tap such as a peanut butter stout, watermelon saison, an oinony ipa, and other tasty brews

[BP]

Division brewery has a ton of new stuff on tap such as a peanut butter stout, watermelon saison, an oinony ipa, and other tasty brews

Meanwhile Rahr has a catnip infused beer they'll be serving next Wednesday. It's for a charity/pet adoption day though, definitely not for regular production!

[GrayStangGT]

Went to Oktoberfest up in Ruidoso, NM this past weekend and got to try Santa Fe Brewings Oktoberfest, it is another good one.

[dsrtuckteezy]

drinking a bit tonight. st arnold 2016 pumpkinator imperial stout, pretty damn good at 11%, had a dogfish head 2016 punkin ale last night and the 2015 tonight, not much of a pumpkin taste, kinda let down.