Beer Adventures Coming Soon: Chicago, Three Floyds, Hopleaf, Pipeworks, Russian River, and More Surly

To all you readers, my apologies for the recent dearth of new posts. I spent a long Easter weekend back home in Chicago with my family. In addition to all the great time with them, I also had the opportunity to run around town like a mad raider, hunting down all of the beers with Chicago-only distribution. The results were amazing - four kinds of Three Floyds, two from Pipeworks, two from Revolution, some Half Acre, Boulevard, Metropolitan, and more. Here's most of that weekend's haul:

In addition to this coup, I also doubled down on my Surly shipper from Minnesota to score some Bender and Coffee Bender. I'll be reviewing those head to head shortly.

Finally, I was able to track down a shipper in California that had Russian River and Lost Abbey brews in stock. This fact is why I'll soon have the chance to break out some Pliny the Elder, one of the top 3 brews on Earth, to compare to other recent Imperial IPAs that I've tasted, and why I'll be able to put one of Russian River's sours, Supplication, up against one of Lost Abbey's, Saint's Devotion.

All in all, it's been one hell of a couple of weeks in beer on this end. As I taste, compare, and enjoy these many brews, I'll be sure to post reviews and impressions. Check back for updates!