The Beer Thread: 2009 – 2012

[EdgarDiazRocks]

You guys get Kona out there? Longboard ALWAYS a hit with the Bud Lite midwest folk here.

[Funketown]

If people are drinking from glasses, I'd go with New Glarus' Moon Man for sure. Great American Pale (if you haven't had it already), mildly bitter but lots of fruity/floral hop character and very refreshing. Two Women would be better straight out of the bottle.

 

If drinking straight out of the can/bottle, I'll suggest Capital Amber. Malt-centric so it should be fine out of the can. Sessionable and pretty accessible (and $10.99/12 pack, to boot).

 

Ale Asylum's Madtown Nutbrown is a pretty sessionable and accessible one too.

 

I don't think Kona distributes to Wisconsin, although I think they have been distributing further east.

 

Edit: Oddly enough, I saw Longboard Lager for sale at the Harris Teeter in Carrboro, NC. I've never understood the novelty with Hawaii beers, and I haven't been impressed by any of them, but perhaps the novelty is enough to help Longboard sell out here.

[Funketown]

Well after a week down here in Chapel Hill (NC), I'm pretty optimistic about the future of the beer scene here. Nothing has really amazed me yet, although I really enjoyed Mother Earth's Endless River Kolsch (Kinston, NC). Duck-Rabbit (Farmville, NC) does some good stuff (Milk Stout, Porter both good), and I also thought Aviator's Tripel (Fuquay-Varina, NC) was a good effort at the style.

 

Although there isn't a huge number of breweries in the state, craft beer culture seems to b pretty prominent, at least in Chapel Hill/Carrboro. There are some nice bottle shops down here, and I'm lucky enough to live about a mile from a pretty good one. In Durham, Sam's Quik Stop is the place to go for beer (about 15 minutes from me); all bottles there are available in singles and they have pretty much everything from the East Coast you can get in NC and lots of Colorado and California too (Allagash, Terrapin, Ommegang, Green Flash, Stone, Avery, Founders, Bells, etc.).

 

I already miss my old favorites (New Glarus, Tyranena, Central Waters, Surly), but luckily I still have family in Madison to supply me when they come down. All I can say is I'd kill for a Moon Man in this heat!

[Schlitz001]

Leinenkugel made it's first appearance on grocery shelves here in Montana about 4 years ago. I'm happy to report that for the first time ever Lakefront Brewery has beers on shelves here. While I usually go very local with my beer buying, it's nice to know that I can get a small taste of Wisconsin when I'm looking for it.

[GAME05]

i'm glad you seem to be liking North Carolina so far, Funketown.

[Funketown]

i'm glad you seem to be liking North Carolina so far, Funketown.

Yeah, the weather's a bit rough, but everything else down here is great. I had Mother Earth's Weeping Willow Wit last night and I thought it was very well done. Not a style I usually dig but in the heat down here I've grown to like Kolsch, Wit, and non-West Coast APA's a lot more. Lots of moderation in this beer; coriander and orange zest flavors are mild, a light refreshing sweetness balanced by a nice wheat tartness on the finish. Not awesome, but certainly commendable.

 

Also, a nifty article on Mariners reliever Chris Ray, who seems to be a big beer geek. He's currently brewing an IPA aged on Louisville Slugger maple which will be sold at an upcoming home game. Pretty neat to see a ballplayer who is interested in beer.

 

http://www.washingtonbeer...relief-pitchers-of-beer/

[TooLiveBrew]

Wow, really cool about Ray. Nice promotion by the Mariners.

[Ando Calrissian]

TooLiveBrew wrote:

 

I'm guessing I've made some gross omission that EDR will correct me on, hopefully soon.

Well, yes. You left off Amnesia which every Brewmaster I've sat down and talked to speaks with reverence that is only rivaled only by foodies talking about Russian River.

 

It's hard to get to, but the beer is worth the cab ride, 'tho everyone freely admits the food there is dodgy at best.

 

Hopworks is a MUST also, and I'm a big fan of the Super Dog Red at Lucky Lab which is now on both sides of the river.

 

Laurelwood has soldiered on after their original brewmaster left to found Hopworks, but his beers are still there and fantastic.

Awesome info, guys. How about Seattle?

[TooLiveBrew]

That one's going to have to be all EDR. I never got to Seattle, sadly.

 

EDR-seeking PM dispatched!

[Funketown]

I may have just found my new favorite beer for 95 degree, humid summer nights: 1809 Berliner Weisse. It has a little bit of a barnyard lacto funky nose but nothing too powerful. What I love is the great tart bite on the finish; it's dry, tart, and incredibly refreshing. Unfortunately, it's about $6 for a 500 ml bottle.

[brettac1]

Putting the Hammers down tonight. That's been my cheap beer of choice lately.

[GoudaBrew]

Thanks for the advice on wedding beers. We've decided to go pretty safe. We're getting either Coors/Miller Lite for the masses, Honey Weiss (I would have just gone with Spotted Cow, but oh well) and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (my choice and probably my 2nd favorite beer of all time).

 

On Beer Advocate they have a "Sierra Nevada Draught Style Pale Ale". Is this the same beer, just in draught form? It's only 5.0% ABV compared to 5.6% ABV in the bottle version. I have noticed that it has a little less taste when I've gotten it on draught at bars before so the lower ABV does make some sense.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Wisconsin beer lovers unite!

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Quick seattle rundown . . ..

 

Awesome:

Maritime Pacific (Islander Pale, Jolly Roger X-mas)

Georgetown (Mannys Pale, Chopper Red, Roger's Pilsner)

Diamond Knot (Industrial IPA, Front Street Bitter Pale)

Boundary Bay (anything, especially the IPA 'tho)

 

Good:

Airways (Sky Hag Bitter IPA)

Fremont (Interurban IPA, Universal Pale)

Snoqualmie (any, oddly I LOVE their Heif)

Big E (Kolsch, Copper, Two Pint IPA)

Two Beers

Port Townsend

 

shoot me an email at craigfarrar@gmail.com and I can give you a more detailed plan or if you want to meet for a beer even.

[logan82]

The Vintage and Great Dane stopped serving SAB/Miller products a couple weeks back. Not sure if they are serving them again. It has been really hard to find information on Motion 414. I think it is important to remember that even though we love craft beer, we only represent 5% of the beer drinking population at most.

[sgtcluels]

Headed to the left coast at the end of the week. Looking forward to hitting up Heritic, Lagunitas, 21st Amd, Russian River.

[Funketown]

Headed to the left coast at the end of the week. Looking forward to hitting up Heritic, Lagunitas, 21st Amd, Russian River.

That sounds like a great trip. I've long been a fan of Lagunitas simply for their great pricing on their bombers; Hop Stoopid for $4+, A Little Sumpin' Wild for $4+, etc.

 

I've noticed that with the weather down here consistently 90'F and humid from June-August, I've really started to enjoy American Wheats, Belgian Wheats, and Kolsch styles. Even IPA's and APA's just aren't that refreshing in this heat. That said, I had Foothill's Hoppyum IPA and it was pretty enjoyable.

[chuckiehacks]

Just returned from Belgium, where I had Blanche de Namur for the first time. Granted, I'm a big wheat fan, but this is the best beer I've ever tasted.

[Beerambassador]

I went to the Twin Cities last week and got to try four varieties of Surly. Well worth the hype. Furious is an outstanding IPA with big, rich stinky hops. Bitter Brewer is an outstanding session ale with a huge hoppy nose and only 4% ABV. CynicAle was maybe a little too sweet for a true saison, but very tasty nonetheless with a big continental hop flavor. Bender, a brown ale, was just okay, but I'm not a big fan of brown ales. Having lived in the cities area during college, I was skeptical that Surly would be as good as I heard. Minnesotans tend to get really excited and over hype their local places/people/products/sports teams, but Surly is some darn good stuff. Already trying to figure out how I can get some more.

[sgtcluels]

When I get some time I'll review the beers I remember from my trip. But we hit up the following breweries.

 

21st Amendment - Not worth the hype, stuff in the cans are their best stuff. I wanted to love them more, but just didn't.

Russian River - Dive brewpub, great beer. IPAs were unreal, the belgians all had a sour twang that made it enjoyable (Brett based)

Bear Republic - Nascar themed brewpub, but really good beer. Had their 15th anniversary racer 15 DIPA and it was unreal.

Lagunitias - Awesome place, unreal beer garden. When a beer missed it missed hard, when it hit it knocked it out of the park. 13th Alt is great. Glad I was able to get 2 bombers of it. FYI, they love pot.

Heretic/JA Phair - Start up, brew house isn't' even done yet. Beer needs some work, JA Phair traditional english pales were really good, the rest forgettable.

[TooLiveBrew]

I saw a Lakefront 4-pk. at the grocery store recently. Fixed Gear Red Ale, Bridge Burner Special Reserve Ale, Rendezvous French-style Ale, & IBA (India-style Black Ale). I didn't buy it, but I think I have to give it a try.

 

http://www.lakefrontbrewe...rewers_series_beers.html

[logan82]

Heretic/JA Phair - Start up, brew house isn't' even done yet. Beer needs some work, JA Phair traditional english pales were really good, the rest forgettable.

Heretic is the brewery Jamil started up I believe.

[gypcasino]

I went to the Twin Cities last week and got to try four varieties of Surly. Well worth the hype. Furious is an outstanding IPA with big, rich stinky hops. Bitter Brewer is an outstanding session ale with a huge hoppy nose and only 4% ABV. CynicAle was maybe a little too sweet for a true saison, but very tasty nonetheless with a big continental hop flavor. Bender, a brown ale, was just okay, but I'm not a big fan of brown ales. Having lived in the cities area during college, I was skeptical that Surly would be as good as I heard. Minnesotans tend to get really excited and over hype their local places/people/products/sports teams, but Surly is some darn good stuff. Already trying to figure out how I can get some more.

I'm intrigued now. I'll be up in River Falls this weekend and plan on going to Hastings or Stillwater to pick some up.

[GAME05]

i'm upset that my grocery store only temporarily carried Czechvar--it's the import name of the real Budweiser Brewery in the Czech Republic and it's delicious. when the Czech Republic privatized all their businesses after the Soviets left, they specifically kept that brewery as a state-owned business, knowing that St. Louis would buy it out and ruin it.

 

at least they carry Schlitz now (i'm not in Wisconsin). now if only i can talk them into carrying the versions of Leines that aren't gross (basically all their summer seasonals)....

[Ando Calrissian]

Am recently back from my trip to the PacNW. When I get some more time, I'll list the 70+ unique beers sampled on that excursion. What an awesome freaking time.