The Craft Beer Thread....

DrockNJ

So who around here enjoys a good beer...and when i say good beer i'm not talking the Bud, Miller, Coors giants..Nothing against them but i'm talking about a nice handcrafted micro brew...

One of my all time favorites: Troegs Hopback Amber..

bigeye21

Seattle beer snob here.

My favorite local brew:

mfc2006

my favorite beer(s)
http://www.blvdbeer.com/beer.htm
good, good beer. wish they sold it down here...but i always take some back when we go visit the family.

and my other favorite..
http://www.shiner.com/

PatrickBateman

friend recently gave me a Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale from Berkshire Brewing company which was pretty delicious

intodeep

The great thing about craft beer is it is so regional. The worst thing about craft beer is it is so regional.....

I have a buddy out west and we ship some beers to each other. Which is illegal i think, but so is speeding.

He has turned me onto Russian River beers. The Blind Pig and Elney are two of my favs. I have a Damnation in my fridge that i'm saving for this weekend. It is gonna be awesome! I wish i coudl get those beers here is the south.

I like some of what Terrapin is doing out of Athens GA they have some neat stuff.

For my national craft beer Dogfishhead and Flying dog are probably my favs. Both of their IPA's are very nice.

Asheville NC and the surrounding NC area has some very good stuff going on. I love going there and trying all the new beers.

Oh and Ommegang usually has very quality beers. I like their 3 Philosophers A LOT, but i've enjoyed all of theirs i have tried ( Hennepin, Abbey Ale, Chocolate Indulgance & Ommegeddon) Although Ommegeddon is just not my style of beer

mca47

intodeep wrote:

The great thing about craft beer is it is so regional. The worst thing about craft beer is it is so regional.....

I have a buddy out west and we ship some beers to each other. Which is illegal i think, but so is speeding.

He has turned me onto Russian River beers. The Blind Pig and Elney are two of my favs. I have a Damnation in my fridge that i'm saving for this weekend. It is gonna be awesome! I wish i coudl get those beers here is the south.

I like some of what Terrapin is doing out of Athens GA they have some neat stuff.

For my national craft beer Dogfishhead and Flying dog are probably my favs. Both of their IPA's are very nice.

Asheville NC and the surrounding NC area has some very good stuff going on. I love going there and trying all the new beers.


Oh and Ommegang usually has very quality beers. I like their 3 Philosophers A LOT, but i've enjoyed all of theirs i have tried ( Hennepin, Abbey Ale, Chocolate Indulgance & Ommegeddon) Although Ommegeddon is just not my style of beer

You listed some good ones!!

DrockNJ

intodeep wrote:

I have a buddy out west and we ship some beers to each other. Which is illegal i think, but so is speeding.

i've done a bunch of this as well and was able to get some really nice stuff from the west coast...some good Bear Republic before it was available here in Jersey..

I was also able to get my hands on some Westy's from Belgium which i'll be hanging on to for a couple of years before i crack those beauties open..

the IPA's that Dogfish puts out are definatley on point....the 90min and even the 120 min are real nice treats everyone once in a while. i can sit down and drink the 60min all night long...

pretext

Sitting in a Denver airport, I recently had New Belgium's (home of Fat Tire) 1558 Black Ale. Damn fine stuff. But the distributors around me in NY can't even order it. Sucks.

I too enjoy Dogfish Head (Raison D'etre, Punkin' Ale), though not the renowned IPAs, since I don't fancy IPAs at all.

A note on the Sam Adams Imperial series: I have not been impressed, and generally I enjoy Sams as standby beers. The Double Bock was alright, but the White Ale SUCKED. A two-second explosion of alcohol and mess of spice, etc.

DrockNJ

lralle wrote:

Sitting in a Denver airport, I recently had New Belgium's (home of Fat Tire) 1558 Black Ale. Damn fine stuff. But the distributors around me in NY can't even order it. Sucks.

I too enjoy Dogfish Head (Raison D'etre, Punkin' Ale), though not the renowned IPAs, since I don't fancy IPAs at all.

A note on the Sam Adams Imperial series: I have not been impressed, and generally I enjoy Sams as standby beers. The Double Bock was alright, but the White Ale SUCKED. A two-second explosion of alcohol and mess of spice, etc.

Have you tried the Imperial Pilsner....not too bad...nothing crazy

Steve Dunne

Lake Placid Pub & Brewery has a beer called Ubu Ale which is out of sight. It packs a whallop too!

gabers

mfc2006 wrote:

my favorite beer(s)
http://www.blvdbeer.com/beer.htm
good, good beer. wish they sold it down here...but i always take some back when we go visit the family.

and my other favorite..
http://www.shiner.com/

So you're from KC then? I like Boulevard too. Anything in particular? My favorite is the Bully Porter. They actually sell Boulevard now here in Houston. Do you guys have any decent liquor stores in Waco? You might want to look around.

gabers

lralle wrote:

Sitting in a Denver airport, I recently had New Belgium's (home of Fat Tire) 1558 Black Ale. Damn fine stuff. But the distributors around me in NY can't even order it. Sucks.

I too enjoy Dogfish Head (Raison D'etre, Punkin' Ale), though not the renowned IPAs, since I don't fancy IPAs at all.

A note on the Sam Adams Imperial series: I have not been impressed, and generally I enjoy Sams as standby beers. The Double Bock was alright, but the White Ale SUCKED. A two-second explosion of alcohol and mess of spice, etc.

The Dogfish Head Raison D'etre is so malty good you forget how much alcohol it has. It sneaks up on your ass. Definitely a truly great American microbrew.

adam42381

One of my favorites is a local brew, Red Oak Amber Lager. Mmmm...

http://redoakbrewery.com/home.php
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2951/7330 (You should definitely sign up for a Beer Advocate account. Excellent resource for finding new brews).

bmwweirdoguy

bigeye21 wrote:

Seattle beer snob here.

My favorite local brew:

I'm a Mac and Jacks man myself
It seems the Manny's/Mac and Jacks crowds are the Jets and the Sharks of Seattle...me? I'm just happy to have sooooooooo many good beer choices around here! Also, check out Big Al Brewing - http://www.bigalbrewing.com/ It's my friend Alejandro's brewery, and they're making some REALLY good beers!

lephty

Keegan Ales - Mothers Milk!

I visited the brewery in kingston ny a month ago... they had a vanilla beer on tap that they don't normally sell. it tasted like awesome!

i love trying craft beers. there is a distributor in my area called half-time that has hundreds of different beers! its almost overwhelming!

DrockNJ

adam42381 wrote:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2951/7330 (You should definitely sign up for a Beer Advocate account. Excellent resource for finding new brews).

Love Beer Advocate...that's were i've done all of my trading through

bigeye21

bmwweirdoguy wrote:

bigeye21 wrote:

Seattle beer snob here.

My favorite local brew:

I'm a Mac and Jacks man myself
It seems the Manny's/Mac and Jacks crowds are the Jets and the Sharks of Seattle...me? I'm just happy to have sooooooooo many good beer choices around here! Also, check out Big Al Brewing - http://www.bigalbrewing.com/ It's my friend Alejandro's brewery, and they're making some REALLY good beers!

I like me some Mac & Jacks too! Thanks for the Big Al's recommendation -- I'll have to check them out. If you ever make it out to Snoqualmie, check out the Snoqualmie Falls Brewery & Taproom: http://www.fallsbrew.com/index.html They make awesome beer and have a good menu for lunch. Watch out for the crowds on weekends though. My favorite is their nitro oatmeal stout: Yummy! Living in North Bend, I'm in there at least once a week. :ugeek:

_Crazy_Mary_

Does Dogfish Head make Midas Touch? That's an interesting beer; Barley, honey, saffron - definitely worth a try.
Lately I've been enjoying Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Ale and Speakeasy's Big Daddy, Also Lagunitas Hop Stoopid Ale. Yummmm

mca47

It's only 9:30 here and this thread makes me want to have a beer! Hehehehe!

Not gonna, but I will be watching the clock until it's happy hour!

DrockNJ

_Crazy_Mary_ wrote:

Does Dogfish Head make Midas Touch? That's an interesting beer; Barley, honey, saffron - definitely worth a try.
Lately I've been enjoying Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Ale and Speakeasy's Big Daddy, Also Lagunitas Hop Stoopid Ale. Yummmm

they sure do...Official name is Midas Touch Golden Elixir

pretext

gabers wrote:

lralle wrote:

Sitting in a Denver airport, I recently had New Belgium's (home of Fat Tire) 1558 Black Ale. Damn fine stuff. But the distributors around me in NY can't even order it. Sucks.

I too enjoy Dogfish Head (Raison D'etre, Punkin' Ale), though not the renowned IPAs, since I don't fancy IPAs at all.

A note on the Sam Adams Imperial series: I have not been impressed, and generally I enjoy Sams as standby beers. The Double Bock was alright, but the White Ale SUCKED. A two-second explosion of alcohol and mess of spice, etc.

The Dogfish Head Raison D'etre is so malty good you forget how much alcohol it has. It sneaks up on your ass. Definitely a truly great American microbrew.

I'm having one with my hockey tonight!

Although I can't get so many west coast beers, one of the best things about NY is being able to buy a single beer at a time. Sometimes what I try sucks, but it's only a $2 commitment.

jimed14

This thread seems to come up about once a month ... might want to do a search to see more opinions ...

Anyway, I'll post my #1 of the bay area ... I'm a big amber beer fan, so, this is always in my fridge ...



when I'm back home in Boston, this is the the one i'll go for (note, this one is seasonal ... sping)

pretext

I was thinking about some good Michigan beers. Motor City's Ghettoblaster. Bell's (out of Kalamazoo, I think) Oberon. You can get Bell's on the east coast, but I haven't seen a Ghettoblaster since I left Detroit.

Lukin2Not4You

Here are some brewerys that do special things

Russian River
Founders
Troegs
Victory
Unibroue
Avery
Bells
Lost Abbey/Port
Jolly Pumpkin
Three Floyds
Dogfish Head
Deschutes
Bear Republic
Stone

there may be a few bad beers sprinkled in like the 09 aprihop but those are few and far between, chances are your favorite beer is somewhere up there even if you dont know it.

Brain of mJ

intodeep wrote:

The great thing about craft beer is it is so regional. The worst thing about craft beer is it is so regional.....

I have a buddy out west and we ship some beers to each other. Which is illegal i think, but so is speeding.

He has turned me onto Russian River beers. The Blind Pig and Elney are two of my favs. I have a Damnation in my fridge that i'm saving for this weekend. It is gonna be awesome! I wish i coudl get those beers here is the south.

I like some of what Terrapin is doing out of Athens GA they have some neat stuff.

For my national craft beer Dogfishhead and Flying dog are probably my favs. Both of their IPA's are very nice.

Asheville NC and the surrounding NC area has some very good stuff going on. I love going there and trying all the new beers.

Oh and Ommegang usually has very quality beers. I like their 3 Philosophers A LOT, but i've enjoyed all of theirs i have tried ( Hennepin, Abbey Ale, Chocolate Indulgance & Ommegeddon) Although Ommegeddon is just not my style of beer

You're right on about regionality. And Terrapin is great, I love the side project series; Dos Cocoas, and Gamma Ray rocked. Have you seen the new craft beer store in West Midtown, Hop City? It opened up last week and is suposed to be pretty good.

_Crazy_Mary_

I had never been to beeradvocate.com before seeing it in this thread. I love that website! It has every beer imaginable!

pretext

Just bought a six-pack of Left Hand Sawtooth Ale. Hoping for good things!

intodeep

Brain of mJ wrote:

intodeep wrote:

The great thing about craft beer is it is so regional. The worst thing about craft beer is it is so regional.....

I have a buddy out west and we ship some beers to each other. Which is illegal i think, but so is speeding.

He has turned me onto Russian River beers. The Blind Pig and Elney are two of my favs. I have a Damnation in my fridge that i'm saving for this weekend. It is gonna be awesome! I wish i coudl get those beers here is the south.

I like some of what Terrapin is doing out of Athens GA they have some neat stuff.

For my national craft beer Dogfishhead and Flying dog are probably my favs. Both of their IPA's are very nice.

Asheville NC and the surrounding NC area has some very good stuff going on. I love going there and trying all the new beers.

Oh and Ommegang usually has very quality beers. I like their 3 Philosophers A LOT, but i've enjoyed all of theirs i have tried ( Hennepin, Abbey Ale, Chocolate Indulgance & Ommegeddon) Although Ommegeddon is just not my style of beer

You're right on about regionality. And Terrapin is great, I love the side project series; Dos Cocoas, and Gamma Ray rocked. Have you seen the new craft beer store in West Midtown, Hop City? It opened up last week and is suposed to be pretty good.

Nope. Looks like i'll be making trip into the city sometime soon!

I heard and confirmed that New Belgium will have distribution in Georgia soon (like within a month). It will be nice to have their beers here.

Brain of mJ

intodeep wrote:

Brain of mJ wrote:

intodeep wrote:

The great thing about craft beer is it is so regional. The worst thing about craft beer is it is so regional.....

I have a buddy out west and we ship some beers to each other. Which is illegal i think, but so is speeding.

He has turned me onto Russian River beers. The Blind Pig and Elney are two of my favs. I have a Damnation in my fridge that i'm saving for this weekend. It is gonna be awesome! I wish i coudl get those beers here is the south.

I like some of what Terrapin is doing out of Athens GA they have some neat stuff.

For my national craft beer Dogfishhead and Flying dog are probably my favs. Both of their IPA's are very nice.

Asheville NC and the surrounding NC area has some very good stuff going on. I love going there and trying all the new beers.

Oh and Ommegang usually has very quality beers. I like their 3 Philosophers A LOT, but i've enjoyed all of theirs i have tried ( Hennepin, Abbey Ale, Chocolate Indulgance & Ommegeddon) Although Ommegeddon is just not my style of beer

You're right on about regionality. And Terrapin is great, I love the side project series; Dos Cocoas, and Gamma Ray rocked. Have you seen the new craft beer store in West Midtown, Hop City? It opened up last week and is suposed to be pretty good.

Nope. Looks like i'll be making trip into the city sometime soon!

I heard and confirmed that New Belgium will have distribution in Georgia soon (like within a month). It will be nice to have their beers here.

Yeah, New Belgium is coming out next week I think. They're going to start by sellling 22oz. bottles, then roll-out draft and 6packs later this summer.

fotd

Almost all the New Belgium beers are really good and O'Dell Brewing Co. just started selling a few of their beers here in AZ and I think their IPA is the their best beer that's available outside of CO. Dale's Pale Ale is pretty damn tasty aswell. seriously out of the hundreds of beers I've enjoyed I gotta say the ones from CO take the cake. A couple summers back a cousin and I spent a week driving around the CO trying various beers.
Here in AZ Four Peaks brews some damn good brews including Kilt Lifter. San Tan Brewing Co. has some really tasty ones as does Nimbus down in Tucson.

adam42381

_Crazy_Mary_ wrote:

I had never been to beeradvocate.com before seeing it in this thread. I love that website! It has every beer imaginable!

It's very rare to find a beer that isn't on Beer Advocate. While I only use the ratings as guidelines, it can be very helpful when you want to try something new. I usually try to make a list from BA then go to my local Total Wine to create my own six pack.