Alrighty, it's been a long time since I posted one of these, but I found something new to try, and there's also a new Fallout 76 update, so why not cover both? EDIT: Something seems odd about the image uploads. If they're not showing for you either, let me know and I'll see if I can fix it later.
The 21st Amendment Brewery is obviously named after the Twenty-First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which repealed alcohol prohibition. They hail from California, but I'll try not to hold that against them.
Their Tall Hat Imperial IPA is 9% ABV according to the can, and 65 IBUs. Craft breweries like to advertise their ingredients, and the say this has the following:
Malts
Two-Row, Munich, Flaked Rice
Flavor Hops
Magnum and Centennial
Dry Hops
Comet and Mosaic
What does this all mean? American IPAs tend to lean into either pine or citrus flavors. This is both, or maybe neither? Both, I think. It's bitter, but not harshly so. The malt profile isn't overpowering, but it is present. It's complex without being pretentious or overpowering. I'd gladly drink this one again.
Fallout 76 has a deep crafting system, including brewing beer. Generally, there's a small boost to Strength and Charisma, and a penalty to Intelligence. More complex recipes add other bonuses, like a boost to energy weapon or ballistic weapon damage. Drink too much, though, and you're addicted to alcohol and suffer major penalties if you don't keep your character under the influence. Fortunately, there's also a chem called "Addictol," and a cooking recipe can also remove a random addiction.
In addition to beers, one can also brew wines and distilled alcohol. Mixed drinks can also be made from alcohol and other ingredients.
And last, there's a fermenter to speed the process of alcohol aging into its final form. This works on the same game mechanic as food deteriorating into waste, but instead improving its attributes over time.
I've returned to the game after taking a long break because the new season adds fishing as a side quest. Weather and radioactive fallout change the odds of catching rare fish, and everything can be used to feed Linda-Lee, a giant mutated hermit crab now occupying the hull of an old fishing boat. And there is something odd about The Fisherman and Captain Raymond Clark. The mysterious audio logs and notes hint at something sinister behind the superficial appearance of Fisherman's Rest... So if you haven't played for a while. log in and give it a go!
If you're not on Hive yet, I invite you to join through InLeo or PeakD. If you use either of my referral links, I'll even try to delegate some Hive Power to help you get started.