Breweries

[Eric Perry]

I know there are a few beer threads here. "What are you drinking?", "favorite beer", etc. I haven't seen any on breweries. I'm not sure if this pertains to the macro guys, but for us micro/craft fans, do you have a favorite brewery, or a preferred brewery, for whatever reason?

My favorite, with weighing in all factors, is New Belgium. Other than Fat Tire, I've never had a less-than-great New Belgium beer. If you come to my place for a beer on tap, there's a good chance it'll be a New Belgium. They're also not stupid overpriced. I've bought 1/2 kegs of Ranger, Voodoo Ranger, Citradelic, and 1554 Black Lager, and all were $139. Some 1/2 kegs are well over 200 bucks. Another reason, is NB is a really environmentally friendly company. They are into recycling, maximizing the efficiency of their water usage, and cutting emissions. Also, the dudes that run the place, seem genuine, friendly, and are pretty funny.

Next up would be Dogfish Head. Yeah they're pricey, but everything they make is simply awesome. Overall, my favorite, from solely a taste perspective. Their founder, Sam Calgione, seems like a great guy, and is very outspoken about the shady tactics many of the huge breweries use. He's also made it very clear that DFH will never sell out to a shady macro. I personally like that.

It's hard to pick a third, as there are so many. If you're gonna hold my feet to the fire, I'd probably go with Odell. All great beers. Their IPA is probably my personal favorite IPA out there. Deschutes is also up there, although I've had a few so-so offerings by them. I am a Lagunitas fan, but they sold out to Heineken, so they don't technically count here. At least as far as I'm concerned. I fart in their general direction.

 

[Pilgrim]

Eric, as I write this in my kitchen in Fort Collins, CO I'm less than 2 miles from New Belgium. My personal favorite locally is Odells, which is less than a half-mile from New Belgium. Overall, I like Odell's stuff a bit better, but also I'm a fan of NB's Citradelic, a beer they introduced last summer which has a slight flavor of tangerine in it. It's a great summer beer...so I can't fault your taste.

We have 23 craft breweries (at last count) here in Fort Collins, so stopping in and sampling them is a local sport.

The beer that absolutely knocks it out of the park for me and my wife is Sad Panda by Horse & Dragon. It's a coffee stout which is just delicious, but it's only available on the front range here in CO. Right behind that is Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro from Left Hand brewing in Longmont, about 30 miles down the road. We often weekend in Breckenridge, CO which is home to Breckenridge Brewery; their Vanilla Stout is also a favorite.

Of course, IPAs have been a big deal for some time, but neither of us are huge fans of highly hopped beers, so we tend to default to lagers, stouts and porters.

Come visit in Fort Collins and we'll do research. We can start with flights at NB, move over to Odells (45 second drive) and then walk to Red Truck, about 150 yards from Odells. We ought to be able to sample 2-oz flights of about 40 beer in two hours.

 

[Eric Perry]

That was one of my favorite things about living in Denver. The micro selection was wide, and all top notch. And that was ten years ago.

I'd love to visit Fort Collins, even if just for the reasons you mentioned. If I ever make it up that way, I'll be hitting you up, no doubt!

I've never heard of Horse and Dragon. Pretty sure it's not available here in Phoenix. Coffee, vanilla, chocolate, etc. stouts are high on my list of tasty beers though. Belching Beaver makes a Peanut Butter stout that's outstanding.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Not remotely local, and fairly macro, but Samuel Smith's from Tadcaster in the North of England makes two stouts (oatmeal and chocolate) I like very much, and some other things (I can't comment on the IPA, I don't buy it as I'm not a fan of the style.) Imported to the USA by "merchant du vin" if memory serves. Still brewing in Yorkshire Squares.

Hard to find in the USA (I have not seen any in years) is Old Peculiar. I have no idea on the brewery, other than it's British and is the one that makes Old Peculiar...which was still available on tap upon my last visit to the UK. Ah, yes, Theakston's - another user of the Yorkshire Square.

The vast majority of the micros in this area seem to cater to hopheads (IPA fans) only. Invalid Link Removed does produce a decent porter (Drayman's) when you can find it, and that's about as local as I can get. Nearly every bar that has their stuff has the IPA all the time. The porter is hit or miss for being available.

I know the owner/founder/brewer of "The Beer Diviner" (self-described as a "nano-brewery") which is nearly as close, but our tastes don't match up well. Even when exploring a flavor profile I'd approve of (I see a coffee/oatmeal stout on the site now) he shoots for a higher alcohol content than I enjoy.

 

[the harp unstrung]

Ahhhhh...Sad Panda...

That being said...as Pilgrim knows...we got to spend some quality beer time in Ft. Fun recently, and I was So knocked out by O’Dell’s 90 Shilling that I hardly drank anything else!

A double edged sword,that!
No doubt I missed out on some fine beers...but I was enjoying the 90 Shillings so much I didn’t want to tear myself away!
I brought 2 cases home to Georgia. 12 of them were gone within a week...the rest are chilling in the basement.

Where DO I get such a level of self control?!!

Along the way home I drank some great beers in Kansas...

and Missouri...

(Gawd, Logboat’s ‘Dark Matter’ is Delicious!!!)

We stumbled upon a Great little, brand-new brewery called Wellspent
while we were out looking for ‘the best bbq in St. Louis’...

The bbq was wonderful...the porter was even better!
The folks there were More than friendly!
If you find yourself in St. Louis, be sure to go find Wellspent and send them our best beams!

If you find yourself at a Cardinals game, be sure to search out an

Way Way Way better than lots of the other AB products on sale at Busch Stadium!

Cheers!

 

[T_Bone_TL]

I guess self control is not that hard to come by - my home-made stuff I often age for years, though sometimes that's also procrastination (I've got 10 or 11 gallons that should be bottled one of these years...)

And then we have things like the last bottle or two of Mt. Gay Barbados Sugar Cane (not the vile Eclipse) rum, which appear to be unobtanium in the current era. Don't want to to save them it for my funeral, but no point rushing to open them it, either.

I went and looked, it is down to one (I bought 3 the last time I could find any. Might have been 10 years ago.)

 

[BadJazz]

I'm sipping a Left Hand barrel aged Auriferous (9.4%) and about to play bass at Oakshire here in Eugene. There's dozens of heavy porters and stouts and the place is packed. Cheers!

 

[BadJazz]

Stage with my drums and bass rig:

Crowd so far:

 

[Passinwind]

I know there are a few beer threads here. "What are you drinking?", "favorite beer", etc. I haven't seen any on breweries. I'm not sure if this pertains to the macro guys, but for us micro/craft fans, do you have a favorite brewery, or a preferred brewery, for whatever reason?

I used to have a few when the local market was so much smaller. But now there are just too many excellent ones within 20 miles or so of my house to really play favorites. And that's not counting Portland , Bend, and the other usual Pacific Northwet suspects. But here are a few that generally are high on my playlist;

Double Mtn. Brewing: IRA (Irish Red Ale), Black Irish
Pfriem: Pilsner, IPA, many Belgian styles
Invalid Link Removed: Maple Imperial Porter
Deschutes : Black Butte Porter
Invalid Link Removed: insane views and owner
Link Removed: light-ish, almost session beer styles mostly

 

[sean_on_bass]

Really hard to choose a favorite, but i'll go with a local option, Hardywood Park in Richmond, VA. They are really proving themselves as having the ability do justice to a variety of styles and their special releases are particularly well sought after.

If i had to choose a more national brewery, i think i'd pick Sierra Nevada. Their pale ale introduced me to craft beer and is still a great staple. Also love their summer fest and alot of the seasonal offerings.

Internationally, i had to go with something in the Belgian category, but hard to name a favorite. Samuel Smith in the UK is also pretty killer.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Berkshire Brewery in Mass.

 

[hbarcat]

South Shore Brewery in Ashland, Wisconsin.

If you stop by for a tour, say hello to brewmaster, Bo.

South Shore Brewery

Their beers are authentic to style and are exceptionally well made. I believe these are the best tasting beers I've ever had the pleasure to drink.

The nut brown ale is heaven in a bottle.

 

[fcleff]

Celis Brewery that just reopened here in Austin after a long sabbatical is a favorite of mine. The founder, Pierre Celis, is the father of Belgian white ale. They do a fantastic pale Bock and lots of special releases only available at the taproom. The last I had was their Belgian dubbel coffee porter. Just slamming good.

f

 

[Pilgrim]

Ahhhhh...Sad Panda...

That being said...as Pilgrim knows...we got to spend some quality beer time in Ft. Fun recently, and I was So knocked out by O’Dell’s 90 Shilling that I hardly drank anything else!

A double edged sword,that!
No doubt I missed out on some fine beers...but I was enjoying the 90 Shillings so much I didn’t want to tear myself away!
I brought 2 cases home to Georgia. 12 of them were gone within a week...the rest are chilling in the basement.

Where DO I get such a level of self control?!!

Along the way home I drank some great beers in Kansas...
View attachment 3014583

Cheers!

It was a pleasure to meet you and explore a fraction of the local craft inventory. And BTW, Hays KS was one of Wild Bill Hickock's early law enforcement adventures. Lots of history to explore on cross-country drives in the US.

And we found out that we're both ex-radio pros, which is a small but verbose segment of the population.

Glad your trip home was safe and enjoyable!

 

[Downunderwonder]

I have a soft spot for the original Monteiths brew, not that it is anything special but they were so nearly victims of a corporate takeover.

Their beer got popular nationally. The corporate expanded the range out of their main breweries with all styles of corporate flash. The corporate decided to shut down the original brewery which is a major employer in an otherwise hard up region struggling to mine coal and keep cows from being washed out to sea.

The publicans told the corporate to pull their heads in or they would drop their whole portfolio.

 

[roller]

It truly is intersting how so many people can brew good beer these days. Information travels quick thanks to the Internet so everyone's "secrets" are quickly passed around. Think about it... there's been such a boom in smaller companies being successful at a variety of tasks (including making basses). We certainly didn't see growth this before the Internet came around. Before, information spread through books, magazines and word of mouth (slow pony).

Aside from all that, here are three breweries I really enjoy:

Founders (Michigan)
Avery (Colorado)
Southern Tier (Western NY)

 

[friskinator]

A few months ago, I visited the new Ballast Point brewery in Roanoke, VA while visiting a friend. I'd never had their beer, but I got to sample a lot of unique offerings there. Plus, they also served some great food. If you live in the area, it's worth a trip.

 

[roller]

I love Ballast Point brews, especially their spicy, special release Sculpins!

Hadn't heard they had an East Coast presence. Thanks for the info!

 

[Eric Perry]

A few months ago, I visited the new Ballast Point brewery in Roanoke, VA while visiting a friend. I'd never had their beer, but I got to sample a lot of unique offerings there. Plus, they also served some great food. If you live in the area, it's worth a trip.

All of the Ballast Point offerings I had were great. They're just stupid overpriced, IMO. There are enough great craft beers out there that I don't need to get gouged to enjoy a solid micro.

 

[friskinator]

All of the Ballast Point offerings I had were great. They're just stupid overpriced, IMO. There are enough great craft beers out there that I don't need to get gouged to enjoy a solid micro.

Agreed - they're quite expensive. A 6 pack in my local Kroger is normally $12.99, which is high. Beer in general has gone up in price in my area. It's hard to find a 6 of anything decent for under $10.