I went to LBC :-/

So, as far as Lafayette beers, I've exclusively posted about People's beer for over a year now. There's a reason for that. As far as LBC goes, the eighty five is their most unique, and tastiest, option. 85 IBU, ~6.5% and it's straw colored (!?). It is a very good beer.

So, the grad student government had a "social" at LBC on Thursday. I met up with Joe at Peoples for a hop killa and headed over afterwards. My plan was to have an 85, socialize, grab some free food and leave. Well, turns out grad students are all the same, so no socializing happened. I had my 85, and was thinking of leaving when I saw a fellow McLuck and her husband grab one of the (free) pool tables. I grabbed Zach and we played pool. Several games in I decided to grab a small beer.

LBC has a MiChinook American Pale on right now, and I was intrigued. The beertender claimed it was closer to an IPA than an APA and had very little body. More interestingly, it is made of all MI grown Chinook hops (thus the name). I ordered a pint (4.75 for an imperial pint) and went back to pool. The first sip told me I was going to be disappointed. First off, the beertender is obviously a malthead...this is nowhere NEAR an IPA. It's actually less hoppy than Sierra Nevada Pale (which I consider as my APA standard). As far as body goes, I can guess the grain bill because I made the EXACT same beer with the Cascade pale. I've commented before that my Cascade pale needs some colored/roasted malts next time to bring more to the palate. After I got over the lack of body and flavor I noticed something else...chinook doesn't really bring a ton to the table without some backup. This beer tastes EXACTLY like my Cascade pale, except it doesn't have the floral awesomeness of cascades. I guess that's where my disappointment came from. I have brewed a better beer than this. Same ABV, same lacking of body, but I feel the Cascade hops brought more to the plate than the Chinooks.

This is officially the first beer that I can say that I HAVE done better. Not that I could, or will, or should, but have. I take a little bit of pride in this, but my main reaction is that I wanted my $4.75 (plus tip) back. I made mine for ~$1.00 a bottle. It really makes me want to redo the cascade with some roasted malts...although I no longer have access to the IN grown dry-hops that I used.

My skill is advancing, and it's making me want to try to brew more and more aggressive beers. But every now and then you need a mediocre commercial beer to bring you back to what it is all about, and that is making the best beer for the style you aim at. I have never claimed that my Cascade pale was perfect, or great. It was very good for a homebrew, but I had always considered it miles away from what a commercial micro should be.

The only way to attain greatness is to shun mediocrity. I will not settle.

-James0