No Quarter said:The Asahi black is VERY hard to come by. It's a euro style dark lager like the Heinekin Dark. However, it's only distributed to specialty retailers like bevMo, TotalWine or Asian food stores.
It's excellent if you like roasted coffee-like flavors from the roasted malt.
Ballast point makes some world class beer, but you gotta be careful with the date. Ballast Point Sculpin is freakin delicious from a fresh tap, not so much from old bottles. Costco's 750ml selection is getting better, but Total Wine has the best selection in Irvine. I've noticed Trader Joe's getting better 750s also. Glad to see The Bruery and Alesmith there.ps9 said:Costco at the District has Ballast Point variety pack at around $30 for a 24 pack case... saw two IPAs in the mix.. should be good...
jayl23 said:I do like the Asahi Black, but the Kostritzer Schwarzbier (ya ya German ya ya) will always have a special place in my heart, because it is THE beer that turned me onto beers in general. I was never a beer person before this, then I had this in Germany while on a business trip, and I was forever changed. Must have been a combination of the jet lag and great food, but I still remember that beer tasted like dark chocolate and malt, unlike any other beers I've tasted before. Lucky for us, it's readily available pretty much everywhere:
http://www.bevmo.com/Shop/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=4573
and a little review:http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/648/1774
Brewery was founded in 1543, so yea, they know what they're doing.