Craft Brew BEER Thread

[MrX8503]

Here are my favorite breweries:

Founders
Stone
Great Divide
Dark Horse
Bells

 

[stinkynathan]

Stinkynathan, nice list, but none are available in the southwest. I like how the Surly Furious comes in cans, so you don't have to worry about skunked beer.

Indeed. That's quite the beer.

I gotta say, though. Nothing beats drinking your own beer. I got into homebrewing after Christmas and haven't bought a single craft brew since then. I've got two kegs in the basement fridge, about six cases of beers between the fridge and shelf, and another 10 gallons ("Oktoberfast" and a dark wheat) in the fermenters right now.

If any of you happen to find yourselves in Sioux Falls, SD, make sure you hit up a place called "Monks House of Ale Repute." It has an immense selection of imported beers and wines. It's clean, smoke free, comfortable and the bar maid is hot and friendly (AND she's a stout drinker). Absolutely my favorite place to drink beer. Great atmosphere.....and it's in South Dakota.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16525

 

[Xyclone]

I'm sure homebrewing is the shit, I just can't afford the equipment at the moment.

I'm on my second 60 minute IPA of the night. What did they get so right with this? It almost has coffee undertones. So balanced... soooo good. I still have to try whatever was in my OP, but I'm easing myself into hoppy beer. Can you just dive in to a brew like Ruination IPA, or is it an aquired taste?

 

[xSauronx]

I'm sure homebrewing is the shit, I just can't afford the equipment at the moment.

I'm on my second 60 minute IPA of the night. What did they get so right with this? It almost has coffee undertones. So balanced... soooo good. I still have to try whatever was in my OP, but I'm easing myself into hoppy beer. Can you just dive in to a brew like Ruination IPA, or is it an aquired taste?

i cant either, fortunately, a cousin has *Everything* i could ever want and has long since been tired of brewing. im going to play with it a bit and see how i like doing it

 

[shocksyde]

My favorite Belgians that I've tried recently are:

Westmalle Double Trappist Ale
Dormaal Blonde <-- this beer comes completely alive when you open the bottle. The head is absolutely insane and it's the best beer i've ever tasted.
St. Bernardus Tripel

 

[shocksyde]

i have not, but only because its completely on the other side of the city. even the guy at the store where i buy a lot of my beer suggested it. i fear the amount of cash i may spend when i do eventually make it there.

I work in the corporate HQ (Maryland). I actually work right next to the guy in charge of revamping our beer selection. He's doing an awesome job. He spends half of his day on BeerAdvocate.com researching new beers for us to carry.

Beer tastings on Friday around 4PM in the conference room = MASSIVE WIN.

 

[ZOXXO]

I gotta say, though. Nothing beats drinking your own beer. I got into homebrewing after Christmas and haven't bought a single craft brew since then. I've got two kegs in the basement fridge, about six cases of beers between the fridge and shelf, and another 10 gallons ("Oktoberfast" and a dark wheat) in the fermenters right now.

Oddly enough the prospect of homebrewing is what got me into drinking craft beers. After learning I would need cooler weather or a temp controlled environment to properly ferment the lagers I was accustomed to, I researched ale recipes only to realize I hadn't a clue as to what style ale I might most enjoy.

Now having so much fun researching different styles and flavors that I have decided to take my time and only buy home brew equipment when finding a great deal.

 

[anxi80]

I'll definitely keep an eye out for most of these, but I doubt a lot of the Northeast ones will make it to the Southwest. I could be surprised, though. Dogfish head makes it down here and Stone Brewery makes it to Boston bars.

Are Rogue and Green Flash worth the money? And Anxi, you are lucky to live in SD as a beer fan. Have you ever been to the Stone Brewery?

Green Flash is great, one of my favorite up and coming micro brews. If you're in a store and see a bottle of something of theirs like Le Freak I would definitely scoop it up, granted the price isnt something like $10+. If you're ever nearby they have a tasting room in their brewery, open Fridays and Saturdays. Their website has all the info.

The Stone Brewery is fantastic. I havent been around lately just because word got out and its always busy but when I'm in the mood for something new and exciting I stop in and always come away a happy customer. Have you been?

 

[anxi80]

the first time I tried Racer 5 (draught) I was unimpressed. I like it a little more now...but what is really awesome from bear Republic is their Hop Rod Rye ale, currently available (seasonal, I think).

that stuff is like candy. yum.

Yeah, it definitely grows on you. I'm a huge IPA fan and like you I just love Bear Republic's beers, so the combo of the two for me is the perfect recipe for deliciousness.

 

[xSauronx]

I work in the corporate HQ (Maryland). I actually work right next to the guy in charge of revamping our beer selection. He's doing an awesome job. He spends half of his day on BeerAdvocate.com researching new beers for us to carry.

Beer tastings on Friday around 4PM in the conference room = MASSIVE WIN.

I am amazingly envious of you. god damn.

I gotta say, though. Nothing beats drinking your own beer. I got into homebrewing after Christmas and haven't bought a single craft brew since then. I've got two kegs in the basement fridge, about six cases of beers between the fridge and shelf, and another 10 gallons ("Oktoberfast" and a dark wheat) in the fermenters right now.

thats awesome and all, and i anticipate really getting into this at some point in the future. im a college student, so i wont be able to spend oodles of time making beer and such, but even if i could...theres such a wonderful variety that i have yet to try, that whether im stocked on home brew or not, ill still try beers.

i love to cook, as well...i also love to try new foods and flavors and things, even things i can make, if i think itll be worth trying. *shrug* to each his own.

 

[Xyclone]

ZOXXO, great point. Why waste all the money and effort in to homebrewing if you're going to have 10-20 gallons of something you hate?

XSauronX, I totally agree. Drinking the same beer over and over gets redundant; variety is the spice of life.

Shocksyde, you are one lucky dude. I definitely have to give that Dormaal Blond a try; I hope Bevmo stocks it in the SFV.

Anxi, I have not. I haven't been in San Diego for years. I am going to visit family friends who live 30 minutes east of San Diego; we're going to the sand dunes in the desert with his dune buggy. I told him we would go to the Stone Brewery together when I came down. It looks like we'll be hitting up the Green Flash Brewery as well.

 

[xSauronx]

Anxi, I have not. I haven't been in San Diego for years. I am going to visit family friends who live 30 minutes east of San Diego; we're going to the sand dunes in the desert with his dune buggy. I told him we would go to the Stone Brewery together when I came down. It looks like we'll be hitting up the Green Flash Brewery as well.

mmmm brewtour

i went with a couple of ATers to NYC for the first time back in april...stayed in jersey. went to 2 jersey brewpubs and the yuengling brewery in PA (their bock is actually a rather decent beer, if you can find it, try it, its cheap) and also picked up several PA micros on the way out of the state

number of beers sampled during my trip: 20

hell of a vacation, if you ask me.

 

[Xyclone]

mmmm brewtour

i went with a couple of ATers to NYC for the first time back in april...stayed in jersey. went to 2 jersey brewpubs and the yuengling brewery in PA (their bock is actually a rather decent beer, if you can find it, try it, its cheap) and also picked up several PA micros on the way out of the state

number of beers sampled during my trip: 20

hell of a vacation, if you ask me.

Haha, good stuff. Is getting drunk inevitable when you step foot in to a brewery?

Someone I met from Boston was raving about Yuengling, but he said it's nothing special, just a very cheap, locally produced beer. He said the price and availability were the best part about it.

I've actually never been to a brewery before. I met a girl who used to live up in Chico, CA, who used to be a waitress in the Sierra Nevada Restaurant.

 

[xSauronx]

youve never had yuengling at all? the lager and black&tan are...cheap beer, not bud light cheap, but cheap. the bock is really a damn decent beer for the price, not really what one would consider a proper bock (hey, its a yuengling) but its quite drinkable.

also: yes. kind of. its inevitable if the place has a "sampler" because fuck me...im going to sample them all, i dont care how much the thing costs. i didnt go there to look at it!

a full size brewery is...well, it depends. the yuenging one is very old, its interesting. ones for craftbrewers now? pretty much everything is in one room and the tour wont last 15 minutes...a mash tun, a lauter run, a wort boiler, a fermenter, another fermenter, lots of pipes....ah, but at a brewery, they have all their current beers on draft. and growlers (usually).

a good local one has 4 flagship brews they bottle and ship around the area, and offer kegs in some bars. they keep 2 -4 other special brews, be it special experimental brews that they dont sell anywhere else, or special imports that you can only get there on draft. its a wonderful, wonderful place.

 

[shocksyde]

I am amazingly envious of you. god damn.

Haha, well it's not like I just drink beer all the time at work. I'm a graphic designer and the photographer, so it is pretty cool none-the-less. All those pics of pretty bottles you see in their ads and in-store are my work.

SELF PLUG!

 

[Xyclone]

OK! So I tried my first Stone brew yesterday: Stone's Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale. And, to answer my own question, "No, you can't just jump in to a brew like Ruination IPA." The first few sips were overly bitter for my virgin-to-hops palate (the hoppiest I've tried before that was 60 IBU's), but my palate was somewhat numbed after a few sips, and then I could appreciate the bitterness and complexity of the beer. It took me about an hour to finish the 22oz bottle since just one sip was plenty in taste and strength. I have Stone IPA, Oaked Bastard, and Ruination to try in my stash. I'm going to give Speakeasy's Big Daddy IPA a try tonight, maybe Stone's IPA as well.


Sauron, nope, I've never tried Yuengling. It's not available in So Cal.

The sampling sounds fun. Is that you in your avatar with a bunch of sampler cups? That's the look of a satisfied man!

Shocksyde, Fridays must be a good day to be at work. Aren't beer/wine bottles a little... non-challenging to photograph? Just stick them in a light tent, right?

 

[shocksyde]

Shocksyde, Fridays must be a good day to be at work. Aren't beer/wine bottles a little... non-challenging to photograph? Just stick them in a light tent, right?

Actually, along with metal and other glass objects, they're one of the most difficult things to shoot. Just tossing the bottles in a light tent produces undesirable reflections.

 

[Xyclone]

I tried Stone's IPA, and I think this is one of my new favorite IPA's. It will definitely enter the regular rotation with the Dogfish Head 60 Minute. I tried the Speakeasy Big Daddy IPA, and it was really good as well. Great choices, guys, keep them coming. I'm going to try the OAKED next, then Bear Republic's Hop Rod and Racer 5.

Actually, along with metal and other glass objects, they're one of the most difficult things to shoot. Just tossing the bottles in a light tent produces undesirable reflections.

Interesting; that makes me appreciate ad pictures for glass/metal products a lot more. Well, at least that makes your job interesting. The beer tastings are just the icing on the cake after a long's week work.

 

[mmntech]

I think it's time to revive this thread for the summer. I like craft beer because it gives me a chance to try something new. The mainstream beers get boring after awhile. Here's some ones I've tried recently.

Garrison Brewing Hopyard Pale Ale - Halifax, Nova Scotia
A crisp, clean, though slightly cloudy beer. A typical light ale in other words. While not extremely bitter, the hops are very evident in this brew. The aftertaste is a bit too bitter for my liking though. Best consumed with a meal.

Garrison Brewing Irish Red Ale - Halifax, Nova Scotia
Flavorful red ale with a slightly bitter finish. Has a pleasant grainy taste and a fruity body.
Goes good with heavier foods but fine on it's own too. A must with authentic east coast fish and chips.

Brick Brewing Waterloo Dark Ale - Waterloo, Ontario
Many university students have gotten sloshed on this brew. A university town without a brew is like a rose without thorns. Dark like coffee, but not overpowering in taste. Pleasantly malty and not bitter at all. Very smooth finish. Fantastic on it's own, but also great with German cuisine, a regional specialty. I really like this beer.

F&M Brewery Stone Hammer Dark Ale - Guelph, Ontario
Somewhat milder than the Waterloo Dark. It's deep red in colour. A bit heavy on the malt but still smooth. Definitely the beer for malt loves. Pairs well with a steak dinner.

Lake of Bays Brewing Pale Ale - Baysville, Ontario
LoB describe themselves as "beer geeks" dedicated to a "true northern taste." This brew reminds me a lot of the Hopyard Pale. It's distinctly bitter with an aftertaste, but not as bitter though. You can really taste the grain in this one. The brewer claims it has citrus notes, which it does, but they tend to be overpowered by the grain taste. Fine on it's own or with a meal. I like it with homemade pizza.

 

[xSauronx]

a friend of mine manages a popular bar and grill here in town, and the bosses are letting her (and by proxy, me) select and rotate choice beers to stock. we get samplers whenever we can from our distributor so we can try new stuff. its great

rogues dead guy is popular here, and weve been drinking anything we can find from rogue. we like most of it. captain sigs northwestern ale disappointed all of us, and invited the comment "it tastes like camping"

newcastles summer ale is a damn decent summer beer, so is new belgiums somersault, though they arent really micros.

locally, duck rabbit always has something good, and mother earth is growing, theyre hard or impossible to find outside of eastern nc.

south of raleigh is aviator, which has some decent and some rather good beers. carolina brewing also has some good stuff, but again, its hard to find once you get away from the capital.

we got samplers from left hand and smuttynose last week. left hand has some very good beer, smuttynose has a couple. those are probably available at a number of places with a good selection, and ive been trying bells stuff when i can find it. need to get the kalamazoo stout

weve also been trying anything we can from dogfish head. theobroma is godlike. really great. i still love the chicory stout. im not big on hoppy stuff, but they have some well known IPAs, as well. generally very good beer.

and while its not craft brew or micro...my brother exposed me to becks and heineken dark brews, and both are rather good. much better than the regular iterations of either, imo. theyre hard for me to find. if you like dark beer, give them a shot.

ive also tried a couple from Heavy Seas. the aaaarsh imperial red is good, their pumpkin ale is tasty when its available, and a couple of their others are ok. check my list in my sig, its hard for me to remember everything.

dont try terrapins tomfoolery black saison. its shit. its a dunkle weizen, which is good from paulaner or franziskaner or whoever, but from these guys....tastes like the sour bottom of a grain silo, nasty stuff.

 

[child of wonder]

If any of you happen to find yourselves in Sioux Falls, SD, make sure you hit up a place called "Monks House of Ale Repute." It has an immense selection of imported beers and wines. It's clean, smoke free, comfortable and the bar maid is hot and friendly (AND she's a stout drinker). Absolutely my favorite place to drink beer. Great atmosphere.....and it's in South Dakota.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/16525

Been there many times and agree on all counts! Monks is, hands down, the best beer drinking establishment in Sioux Falls.

 

[davmat787]

Anyone else tried North Coasts Scrimshaw Pilsner? Been awhile since I had some, but it was an unbelievable tasty pils. Perfect for summer.

 

[mmntech]

Not a craft beer, even though it once was. Here's another review of mine.

Latrobe Brewing Company's Rolling Rock - St. Louis, MO
Terrible. The weakest non-light beer I've ever had. Over carbonated, tastes like drinking club soda with a slice of white bread. Only good for getting drunk. A stereotypical American pisswasser. Premium beer this ain't.

 

[xanis]

Five of my favorite beers, not necessarily in order (except the first one).

Brooklyn Local 1
Rogue Mocha Porter
Nodding Head Lead Pipe Lager
Ommegang Rare VOS
Brooklyn Pennant Ale '55

 

[shocksyde]

Any local Florida brews I should check out while I'm there for work this week? Finally get to actually step foot in one of our Florida stores (Total Wine's new Wellington location).