Stone brewing co. - Thunderstruck double IPA 19thAnniversary

With fall and winter quickly approaching I'm running out of time to constantly talk about ipa's. Soon I'll be spouting off about browns and stouts and porters and oktoberfesters, but before I do all that I have to tell you to go buy Stone's new Anniversary ale. Of course it's a giant hop bomb, that's expected. What's new and awesome here is the use of 100% Australian hops. Malt too. 4 hops specifically: topaz and galaxie but also newcomers ella and vic secret. The use of these make this beer one intense tropical fruit tasting, super sticky and dank ipa. To no surprise either as Stone is known for being kings of the ipa in my opinion. Sort of a heavy hitter at 8.7% abv this one is sure to please you hop heads searching for the new what's next. Cheers!

My Score: 98

Rate Beer:  97

Beer Advocate: 90

Beer Stuff with David Aaron Reaume of Man Mountain

This weeks portion of Thirsty Thursdays is brought to you by Man Mountain. I sat down (made up some questions last minute and sent them via facebook) with David who (is a meme) plays bass in Man Mountain to chat about beer and music because, those things go great together duhhh.

Me_ What's your favorite song to play out of the new tunes you guys have?

DAR_ Little known fact, we are TERRIBLE at naming songs, our new song "To Be Made As New" was code named "Side Boob" for the longest time. With that being said, we have a new song tentatively called "groovy new" that we are all crazy about, it features lots of melodic tapping and some crazy whale sounds Mike was able to come up with on guitar.

Me_  When can I get my hands on the album?

DAR_ We will be heading back to Minx studio in June so we are expecting to have the full length released late summer.

Me_ When did you first realize beer was more than yellow fizzy water from a cheap can?

DAR_ At age 20 when I had my first Guinness, it changed everything for me. I guess I started at the opposite end of the beer spectrum from most but it was finally a drink I enjoyed and not something you choked down to get drunk at a party.

Me_ What are your 3 most favorite go-to styles?

DAR_ Like a good jacket, my beer has to compliment the weather. IPAs are my go-to summer beer, nut browns for the fall, stouts for the winter and session IPAs for the spring.

Me_ For your money, who is a brewery that can do no wrong?

DAR_For the buck I go with New Belgium, I always have a 12 Pack of Ranger in my fridge and at just a dollar a beer its hard to beat!

Me_ How many beers does it take for you to pick up your bass and want to twist it 'round yo head like a helicopter?

DAR_ Sadly, about 4! I once had 5 beers after a show I played with Tokyo Police Club and got kicked out of the venue for throwing a lemon into someones eye from clear across the bar.

Me_ Based on the relatively recent boom of craft beer, where do you see it in 5 years? Bigger and bigger, or leveled off?

DAR_ Sadly I think in 5 years it will SEEM bigger but most of the small independent breweries will continue to get bought up by big box breweries and sell the same crap beer but with a new label.

Me_ When taking brewery tours is it important to hydrate?

DAR_ I once heard that for every beer you drink you should drink half that much water, do I do that? Not at all. I'm really terrible at drinking water when there is a perfectly good beer right next to it, it also doesn't help that I have a personal vendetta against straws.

Me_ What's a flavor of beer in any style you'd like to see made?

DAR_Grape. Not real grape flavor or even wine but grape Kool-Aid grape.

Me_ I don't think grape is a flavor. Purple however, is a flavor. I think that's what you mean. So, how often would you say you try new beers?

DAR_ About every week. Normally when I go to the bar I'll order at least two drinks, the first will be something I've never tried and the second will be an old friend, if the first one is good I'll just stick with it and see how it mellows on the palate for awhile.

Me_ Since we're here in the Mitten, do you have a favorite Michigan brewery/beer?

DAR_ This is really hard for me because I find myself on a different side of the fence every year, last year it was Founders but this year I have really been blown away by every beer Shorts has released. I'll be heading up to Bellaire for their 11 year anniversary this weekend actually.

Me_ One last question. If Jesus ever brewed a beer, what would hebrew and what would the ABV be?

DAR_ I would hope he would brew a beer called Hoplelujah and bottle it at a cool 7.77 ABV.

Me_ Trick question David. Jesus of Nazareth, even if he were a real person, would probably not have drank or made what we know today as beer. What was "beer" back in 30 AD was more of a fermented barley drink served at room temp or above. Plus, Jesus would have totally made wine. Everybody knows that. Cheers!