OT: BEER Questions
I TOO DO NOT FEAR THE NEG SO I WILL START OT. HAPPY THURSDAY.
I have never been a heavy drinker. Love a beer but always settled for lower quality domestics like bud light, miller light and high life.
About two years ago a switch flipped and I decided to start trying different kinds of crafts whereever I went. I travel a little, maybe 3-6 nights a month, so I have started a tradition of ordering the local craft whereever I am, taking a picture on my phone and noting whether I would order again, etc.. My questions:
1. Where do you live and what is the best local craft?
2. What beer traditions do you have?
I am not afraid to steal it if it sounds fun. Thanks all
EDIT: I just downloaded Untappd. THANKS!!!
Also, if you in Birmingham, my current favorites are Good People pale ale and GP Snakehandler double IPA.
September 17th, 2015 at 3:05 PM ^
September 17th, 2015 at 3:11 PM ^
Pittsburgh's beer scene is mostly just getting off the mat right now, as there has been a rash of micros opening over the past 5 years. The best, in my opinion, are probably Grist House, Brew Gentlemen, and Spoonwood. East End has a great stout but is pretty average elsewhere. Church Brew Works is okay, but the brewery is in an abandoned church so it's a real neat place to go. If you drive a little more than an hour north of the city, Voodoo is really good.
September 17th, 2015 at 3:13 PM ^
Goose Island is our big one, of course. Their "normal" stuff is generally good - Honker's is a decent ale, 312 is a nice wheat, Goose is a good IPA. Their "special" limited edition stuff, like the Matilda, Sofie, and Bourbon stouts are very good, imo.
Lagunitas is a California company, but they have a huge brewery in Chicago.
Revolution is probably the other large craft brew in Chicago. They do a lot of seasonals, which I really like. The Little Crazy pale ale is excellent, as is the Fistmas red ale (Christmas thing).
Two Brothers is another local brew. I've had a few of their offerings and they're fine, not the most interesting, but good examples of whatever type they make (golden ale was a bit light, although typical of the type; i did like their french country ale).
For the record, I travel several times a month, usually, and always try to pick up a local brew wherever I am. In the past year, I've been in Wichita, Kansas City, Eugene, Portland, Dallas, Houston, Denver, NYC, Atlanta, and San Francisco.
Kansas: Boulevard is all over Kansas, I also liked Tallgrass. Free State had a couple decent brews, also.
Oregon: Heaven for beer. Ninkasi, Rogue, Deschutes... All great stuff.
September 17th, 2015 at 3:52 PM ^
You do know that Goose Island is owned by Budweiser, right? I would hardly refer to it as craft beer anymore. Their everyday beers are terrible and all watered down, however you are correct that their specialties are solid, especially the Bourbon County brand beers. Thankfully those speciality brews haven't gotten caught up in Budweiser's push for cheap, mass-produced beer that pleases the masses at the expense of taste and quality.
Two other great ones in Chicago are Three Floyds and Half Acre. People are very passionate in Chicago about Three Floyds. Half Acre Daisy Cutter is a great pale ale.
September 17th, 2015 at 5:19 PM ^
The Bourbon County Brand Stout "series" and the wild ales they do (the Sisters, Lolita, Halia, Madame Rose, etc.), and even Sofie and Matilda...are all very much "craft beer". The selling to InBev is a bit disappointing on some levels but "craft" beer has nothing to do with how big a place is.
September 17th, 2015 at 5:54 PM ^
September 18th, 2015 at 1:36 AM ^
September 18th, 2015 at 11:24 AM ^
True. The BCBS is great. I just ignore the rest of their stuff
September 17th, 2015 at 11:21 PM ^
September 17th, 2015 at 3:13 PM ^
September 17th, 2015 at 3:16 PM ^
September 17th, 2015 at 10:53 PM ^
I live in Northern Mi as well. My next door neighbor is a master brewer for Short's, very good products. I also like the Right Brain and Keweenaw goods, expecially the Pick Axe Blonde ale.
September 17th, 2015 at 3:33 PM ^
September 17th, 2015 at 5:34 PM ^
September 17th, 2015 at 3:48 PM ^
Try me. I dare you
September 17th, 2015 at 3:53 PM ^
September 17th, 2015 at 4:03 PM ^
1. In Wisconsin, Lakefront Brewery is just a good brewery with solid but not great options all around. Also New Glarus brewery is really good, especially their Spotted Cow and 2 Women selections
2. No traditions, just drink and enjoy!
September 17th, 2015 at 4:16 PM ^
I live in Sacramento. Rather than repeat a long list of California IPAs that this board is probably sick of hearing about from the drinking threads, (Alpine Nelson. There is nothing better and nothing even close for my money) I will instead stick to extremely local beer.
There is a small brewery in Sacramento called "Device." The husband and wife team used to homebrew in the San Diego area and were rather plugged in to the scene accordin to the website. At any rate, they opened a "hop heavy" brewery not too far from where I live and are absolutely killing it. All of the beer is great, including collaborations with better known breweries like Knee Deep. If you were to come through Sacramento I would say head to Device Brewing and order an "Integral IPA".
As for the second question, my traditions are to drink anything I can during Michigan football games (often 9am on the west coast), lie to my wife about how many I have had, and lie to myself about my ability to lose the weight craft beer is slowly adding to my body.
September 17th, 2015 at 4:17 PM ^
2. Craft beer month every April in North Carolina
September 17th, 2015 at 4:35 PM ^
DC Brau is good. Blue Jacket is better. Port City is also excellent. In the outlying suburbs of DC, at least MD side, there are some breweries popping up ( Mully's is awful, Calvert is a little better), but not too many I'd write home about. Haven't been to Three Stars in DC, but have heard its good.
Richmond
If you want to go a couple hours south, Richmond is where it's at. Ardent, Isley, and Hardywood Park are all excellent. They are all better than anything I've had in DC and Richmond is a fun town. It's on a river, like my hometown of Grand Rapids so I have an affinity for it.
September 17th, 2015 at 5:13 PM ^
Been in DC for a while and follow craft pretty closely. My impressions of DC area brewers.
There are a few bright spots worth mentioning:
- DC Brau: One of the first to brew in the District. On the Wings of Armageddon was arguably DC's first homerun craft beer. The luster has fallen off a bit due to batch inconsistency and the fact the game is always evolving whereas DC Brau may not be, instead focusing on pumping out high volume of their standard brews to an increasing distribution footprint.
- Right Proper: My favorite at the moment. They do some excellent saisons, sours but not easy to find outside of their brewpub. They are set to expand and increase distribution.
- Ocelot: Only open since April 2015, these guys have hit the ground running with some excellent hoppy beers. That's where they are excelling now, but they are starting to explore other styles, making them a brewery to watch.
The rest are kinda middling to worse:
- Three Stars: Not gonna lie, I have not been impressed with their stuff at all. Their membership society was one of the biggest scams period.
- Port City: Do a decent enough job making safe beers. Not something I seek out or recommend.
- Bluejacket: Given the start up capital and the players involved, this had the promise of finally delivering a world class brewery in DC. Well, not so much. They fired their first brewer a few months in and have never established any type of identity. Have had a handful of good beers there, but there is no consistency, and no sign they are going to fulfill their original promise.
I've left off a bunch of others, some decent, most ok. Bottom line, DC awaits its golden child brewery, one to elevate the area as a destination to seek world class beer. I will say we have some great beer bars and every year seem to get more and better beers imported from outside the area.
September 17th, 2015 at 5:03 PM ^
I have never been to a state where a brewery is on every corner.
Picking a favorite as well as your favorite ski mountain is like talking politics and religion here.
I will say Odell's and Avery and hopefully not start a CO war.
Vail is overrated. let the war begin Coloradans.
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September 17th, 2015 at 5:20 PM ^
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September 17th, 2015 at 5:25 PM ^
I had a very similar experience to you, though I started branching out a little before you did. What I concluded was that the micro-brew revolution had raised the water level on beer so dramatically, that in fact the differences between micro-brews had really narrowed. Get a micro-brew amber ale from a good restaurant, and it's going to be good. Get a different micro-brew amber ale from another good restaurant, it's going to be good. Same with IPAs and all the others. I never noticed a dramatic difference between Gonzo's Slippery Clown pilsner and Jimmy's Whack Stick Tipperary pilsner. Or whatever the local brewery crazy names were. Even more so in Michigan, I soon found out, we have a lot of great breweries. They're all good and you'll enjoy most of it.
All that said, this summer I had Bell's Trainwreck Amber Ale. 8.2% ABV, a nice sweet taste, different. I'll go buy that stuff and keep in the fridge.
September 17th, 2015 at 5:49 PM ^
SF Bay Area
Gordon Biersch Marzen. Especially tasty along with their garlic fries at a SF Giants game!
From their web site:
Märzen was historically brewed in Bavaria from March through the end of October. It was brewed dark and strong, using dark roasted Munich and caramelized Munich malt to help cover up flavor changes from the lack of refrigeration (ice in those days) used to keep the beers cold in the cellars during the warm summer months. It was also the beer served at the Original Oktoberfest celebration, which originated as a wedding reception for the King Ludwig I and Maria Theresa. Bavaria was a very poor country and had little cause for celebration, so the King and Queen invited the entire population of Bavaria to the reception. They showed up that year and every year thereafter, and the event evolved into the modern day Oktoberfest. Gordon Biersch Märzen accentuates the flavors of the dark roasted imported malted barley and exhibits a caramel malt aftertaste, while downplaying the hop level.
September 17th, 2015 at 6:53 PM ^
September 17th, 2015 at 7:33 PM ^
September 17th, 2015 at 7:06 PM ^
September 17th, 2015 at 8:30 PM ^
1. The Chicago area and not too sure about local craft beers. They really don't make hefeweizen or brown ale which are the styles of beer I like and drink.
2. No fruit in beer. No low calorie beer. Quality over quantity. Drink it out of a glass after letting it sit for at least a minute.
September 17th, 2015 at 9:06 PM ^
Big into trading. So I've gone to some good releases (Kbs and four elf party come to mind) which have allowed me to sample some great non local beers.
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September 17th, 2015 at 9:11 PM ^
September 17th, 2015 at 9:39 PM ^
September 17th, 2015 at 10:48 PM ^
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September 18th, 2015 at 11:12 AM ^
inquring people from the one in Michigan want to know.