Avery's The Kaiser might be my favorite American Märzen. I wish 2SP would do a Märzen...their Delco Lager is legit.
OT: Post different types of beer you've tried, and how it was.
- Thread starter ruready4somefootball
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Second this...a quality beer, and you can't go wrong as an entry into sour beers. Westbrook is a solid brewery in mt. Pleasant/Charleston SC, they just started distributing in nj.
Has anyone here tried Victory's XX Anniversary Imperial Pils? Their Prima Pils is excellent and Victory nails the German style beers. I am planning on getting a bottle of the XX Anniversary at some point soon.
Had the Westbrook lime sour for the first time last night. Definitely better than Dogfish Seaquench, which is also pretty good
While I know Ballast Point is now owned by a large conglomerate (though it is my understanding that it was for distribution and they still have creative control over their products), their newly released Unfiltered Sculpin is EXCELLENT, if you like IPAs.
There's a lot many IPAs that are quite better.
Can you list your favorites?
Sculpin isn't my favorite IPA, I actually like Ballast Point's Big Eye better (but like Grunion the most from them - a Pale Ale). However, their unfiltered version is excellent, IMHO.
Perhaps I have a thing for unfiltered IPAs. I had the Finback Visible Spectrum, which is an unfiltered IPA and absolutely loved it. Not sure if Finback will produce it again though, they sort of have 2 or 3 staples and then experiment with everything else.
Has anyone here ever tried Mead? I just had Redstone's Nectar of the Hops. Very sweet yet refreshing on a day like this. I might look into B. Nektar's meads as well.
Evil Twin
Omnipollo Old Fashioned Lemonade IPA
I'm not a huge hop head, but this is an ipa I am really enjoying. At 70 ibu's, it's nicely balanced, refreshing, a great summer ipa.
Evil Twin
Even More Jesus Imperial Stout
Huge flavor! Dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, coconut, raisins. Hides its 12% very well.
These were my first two tries with Evil Twin. I'll definitely be looking for more of their stuff.
Omnipollo Old Fashioned Lemonade IPA
I'm not a huge hop head, but this is an ipa I am really enjoying. At 70 ibu's, it's nicely balanced, refreshing, a great summer ipa.
Evil Twin
Even More Jesus Imperial Stout
Huge flavor! Dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, coconut, raisins. Hides its 12% very well.
These were my first two tries with Evil Twin. I'll definitely be looking for more of their stuff.
Evil Twin is the real deal. Stouts and IPAs with double digit ABVs galore. Look for Mikkeller's stuff as well. They are a brewery from Denmark.
The Evil Twin owner/brewer has a bar in Greenpoint named Torst. I have not had the chance to visit, but have heard and read very positive reviews. The Evil Twin beers I have had have been very good.
Mikkeller has a brewery in San Diego through a deal with AleSmith. I know for certain I will be visiting AleSmith when I head to SD later this summer, hope to make it to the Mikkeller spot too.
Ramstein Double Platinum Blonde from Butler, NJ (High Point Brewing)
its hard to find but its really good. i think only served in restaurants. Taphouse Grill in Wayne usually has it.
The beer is horribly distributed. The brewery is throwing away money by not brewing and distributing this beer.
its hard to find but its really good. i think only served in restaurants. Taphouse Grill in Wayne usually has it.
The beer is horribly distributed. The brewery is throwing away money by not brewing and distributing this beer.
I imagine many of these brewers could do themselves a favor and watch Profit on CNBC.
Dark beer fans need to seek out Dogfish Head Barrel Aged Vanilla World Wide Stout. It will be in NJ this week. I just had Stone's best beer, the Woot Stout and Cigar City's Marshal Zhukov. I also got the Lervig/Evil Twin Imperial Stout collaboration (Lervig is a brewery in Norway), and Jack's Abby Brandy Barrel Aged Framinghammer. I'm in midseason form as an Imperial Stout addict thanks to Bella Vista Distributors in South Philly.
Bella Vista sold their wholesale division this past year. I wouldn't be surprised if retail is next.
That Jacks Abbey is awesome.
Some new beers Ive had recently. Benediktiner Weissbier. Great!!! From Germany, distribution with the group that controls Bitberger. Had Sierra Nevada's Oktoberfest collaboration with Brauhaus Miltenberger. Meh. I guess with those two I was expecting more.
Not a new beer but now in cans is Einstok. Their white ale is as good as any I've had and cans are now $10 cheaper a case.
Germany's Krombacher is sending their weizen to the U.S.. Very good.
Had the Threes Brewing Vliet Pilsner at their brewery this weekend, which just won the first annual NY State Governor's Excelsior Cup.
I am typically not a pilsner drinker, occasionally on a hot day I will have one because they tend to be light and easy to drink. However, this pilsner was much more complex and filling than any that I have had. If anyone ever has the chance to visit this gastropub, it is worth it. They have their beers on draft and they also have other outstanding beers from other breweries on draft. They also offer 3 sizes (flight size, 10 ounces & 16 ounces).
I am typically not a pilsner drinker, occasionally on a hot day I will have one because they tend to be light and easy to drink. However, this pilsner was much more complex and filling than any that I have had. If anyone ever has the chance to visit this gastropub, it is worth it. They have their beers on draft and they also have other outstanding beers from other breweries on draft. They also offer 3 sizes (flight size, 10 ounces & 16 ounces).
Had the Stone Wootstout, was excellent. Also had the Kane Sunday Brunch, another awesome beer but I still rank Kane's Holy Nights better.
Speaking of German styles, just enjoyed Hideout Helles from Pug Ryan's in Colorado ski country. Good stuff. Had their pilsner, too, but that was more run of the mill.
Saw Two Roads Ok2berfest at Roger Wilco in Pennsauken today. I want to try Von Trapp's Märzen when it comes out. They only do lagers.
Von Trapps Octoberfest Marzen is out and was just ok but their Helles is on point!
If you like beer I highly recommend visiting San Diego. Will describe the experience once I return.
Agree 100 %. Dago is on my craft beer destination list. Wife and I visited Denver last Summer and the craft beer experience there was fantastic. Pliny the Elder pints at Falling Rock Tap House a block from Coors Field was $ 8 a pint all week long. My only regret is that I didn't go there more often and the food was stellar. Beaucoup brewery choices in CO that most have never heard of that are killer across all beer styles.
Here in SW FL Tampa and St Pete have a VG craft beer scene. But Denver and Dago are the Meccas of US craft beer IMO. I need to get back to the left coast. May as well as add the PAC NW to the list as well.
The best IPA Ohio has to offer, rivals the North East IPA's like Heady Topper which I also just had
I second the Heady Topper. My sister brings it down from Vermont every Christmas.
During the summer I prefer a good kolsch from Germany or any well regarded micro brewery, but it is not easy to find surprisingly. For people who like the seasonal summer ales and haven't tried a kolsch style I highly recommend it. It is refreshing but doesn't contain anything but water, barley, hops and kolsch yeast. The yeast give it a champagne taste note. It is an ale fermented at almost lager temperatures and stored at lager temps to condition. I used to make it in the winter when one corner of my basement stayed a consistent 55 degrees. I think I've just talked myself into going out and buying some now.
Anyone here have Dogfish Head BA Vanilla World Wide Stout yet? I'm cracking open my first bottles of it tonight...gonna watch the incoming thunderstorms with it, and a robust Dominican cigar.
Starting the pumpkin season early with an Avery Pumpkyn from last year. It's awesome.
Bourbon flavor has to be dominant after a year of cellaring. I had Clown Shoes Rexx the other day. It's an Imperial Red Ale aged in Heaven Hill and Four Roses bourbon barrels. Very strong flavor of bourbon.
A kolsch might be one of the most underappreciated styles out there. Fantastic for summer.
Has anyone here had anything from Dieu Du Ciel? They're from Montreal...make very underrated stuff. I recommend their Peche Mortel Imperial Stout.
Haven't had it but was just looking at getting some today. Instead, I opted for more St. Bernardus Abt 12 which is awesome.
Just returned from the West Coast and need to fight off sleeping to try to get back on East Coast time, so what better time to write a long post about beer. I was able to visit 8 brewery/brew pubs in SD (plus 1 in LA). The LA brewery is a subject for another post, but needless to say I had no idea AB InBev owned that brewery (Golden Road) until after I got home that evening.
San Diego has 120 or so breweries, many of which are located on the outskirts in industrial/manufacuring areas. However, many new breweries are opening in SD proper, particularly in popular neighborhoods like Little Italy and North Park and established breweries are opening tasting rooms and brew pubs in these neighborhoods. North Park (30th Street area) is particularly impressive with at least 13 located within walking distance of each other with a great selection of restaurants and bars in between. While in North Park we visited Fall Brewing Company and San Diego Brewing Company. Fall Brewing Company, a very new brewer, had a decent sized facility in a more residential area of North Park than the other breweries, place had good beer, a cool vibe and was fun. San Diego Brewing Company, which has been around since the early 90s, just opened a small facility and tasting room in a building shared with two other brewers (Eppig Brewing and Pariah Brewing). Vibe was much more subdued (it was a Tuesday night and SD seems to close down between 9 and 10 on weekdays). Beers were solid. Had an excellent dinner at Urban Solace, where I also has a Societe Brewing beer, which is top notch stuff. I would highly recommend North Park / 30th Street if you ever visit SD, even if beer isn't your thing. North Park also is home to North Park Beer Company and their Hop-Fu! IPA, which has won a number of awards. I didn't get to visit the brewery, but was able to get a pint on draft during a dinner in Coronado and it was excellent.
Staying in Coronado it only made sense to finally visit Coronado Brewing Co., which has been around since 1996. Their Coronado location is more of a restaurant/brewpub, but they brew a great deal on site. Their larger facility is in the Mission Bay Area and includes a tasting room. Solid place with Coronado summer vibe.
Having to meet in downtown for the Brewery Tour described below I wanted to take the chance to visit the Karl Strauss Brewing Company original location (1989) in downtown SD, which was the first SD brewery since the 50s and really started the movement there. Food was very good and I really enjoyed the beers. The brewing company is named after Karl Strauss, a master brewer who fled Nazi Germany in the late 30s and made a significant name for himself in the US brewing industry at Pabsts for 40+ years and then as a consultant. Strauss was a strong proponent of Reinheitsgebot (German beer purity law regarding ingredients). Very interesting story.
Brewery Tours of San Diego
Local company that organizes different Brewery Tours, as many of the breweries in SD are located in industrial/manufacturing parks in the outskirts. The tour was a great way to visit multiple breweries, get behind the scenes a little bit, and taste a number of great beers. We did a Thursday evening tour that included a Ballast Point location, Green Flash, and Ale Smith.
Ballast Point - Scripps Ranch location, where they produce their more specialty beers like Habanero Sculpin. They were brewing and bottling their Pumpkin Down (Scottish Ale with pumpkin) while touring the facilities, which were a bit antiquated compared to their newer locations. While Ballast Point does get some flack for their deal with Constellation, one thing they remain committed to is experimenting. Roughly 30 beers were available, of which at least 10 were R&D (research and development) beers.
I had tasters of:
Bonito Blonde Ale
Brett Grunion Pale Ale (a twist on their regularly available Grunion Pale Ale)
Golden Spruce IPA (R&D) - solid IPA with spruce notes
Trois Light - Table Beer (R&D) low alcohol
Green Flash - very cool space, wth large outdoor area and food truck service. Green Flash acquired Alpine Beer Co. recently and had their beers available as well.
San Diego Surprise (Alpine) - American Pale Ale
Duet (Alpine) - IPA, excellent IPA
Soul Style IPA (Green Flash)
Slow Style IPL (Green Flash) - same ingredients as Soul Style IPA, but with a lager yeast instead of IPA yeast. Was cool to really get to taste the impact yeast has on the beer.
Ale Smith - Another very cool space. Included a Tony Gwynn Museum and a hidden speakeasy. Weirdly it was the first place in SD where I saw people wearing suits. The facility is pretty new (and massive). Their old location is now home to Danish gypsy brewer Mikeller, who they helped get started running in SD, only a couple blocks away.
Sublime Mexican Lager - a beer created for the 25th anniversary of Sublime's first album.
San Diego Pale Ale .394 - my favorite beer of the tour, really excellent Pale Ale (my favorite beer style). It was made in collaboration with Tony Gwynn and was released 10 days before he passed away. Now his son, Tony Gwynn Jr., is working with Ale Smith on a session IPA, as he is an aspiring brewer working under the tutelage of the experts at Ale Smith. Proceeds from the .394 in part go to the Tony & Alicia Gwynn Foundation.
Anvil ESB - their flagship beer (see logo). I really enjoy ESB, but they are not the most popular. Nice to see a good brewery focus on the style.
Orange X Pale Ale - their popular Extra Pale Ale with an orange twist.
On our last day we decided to swing by Pizza Port Brewing Company for lunch in Ocean Beach, a brew pub pizza place that is very popular in the SoCal craft beer scene (pizza since the 80s, brewery since 92). Beer was very good, pizza was sort of what I expected (not up to par with NY/NJ standards, but edible). Beach/hipster vibe.
San Diego has a lot to offer (including amazing weather), I highly recommend visiting even if craft beer isn't your thing. If it is, you'd be hard pressed to find a better place to visit.
San Diego has 120 or so breweries, many of which are located on the outskirts in industrial/manufacuring areas. However, many new breweries are opening in SD proper, particularly in popular neighborhoods like Little Italy and North Park and established breweries are opening tasting rooms and brew pubs in these neighborhoods. North Park (30th Street area) is particularly impressive with at least 13 located within walking distance of each other with a great selection of restaurants and bars in between. While in North Park we visited Fall Brewing Company and San Diego Brewing Company. Fall Brewing Company, a very new brewer, had a decent sized facility in a more residential area of North Park than the other breweries, place had good beer, a cool vibe and was fun. San Diego Brewing Company, which has been around since the early 90s, just opened a small facility and tasting room in a building shared with two other brewers (Eppig Brewing and Pariah Brewing). Vibe was much more subdued (it was a Tuesday night and SD seems to close down between 9 and 10 on weekdays). Beers were solid. Had an excellent dinner at Urban Solace, where I also has a Societe Brewing beer, which is top notch stuff. I would highly recommend North Park / 30th Street if you ever visit SD, even if beer isn't your thing. North Park also is home to North Park Beer Company and their Hop-Fu! IPA, which has won a number of awards. I didn't get to visit the brewery, but was able to get a pint on draft during a dinner in Coronado and it was excellent.
Staying in Coronado it only made sense to finally visit Coronado Brewing Co., which has been around since 1996. Their Coronado location is more of a restaurant/brewpub, but they brew a great deal on site. Their larger facility is in the Mission Bay Area and includes a tasting room. Solid place with Coronado summer vibe.
Having to meet in downtown for the Brewery Tour described below I wanted to take the chance to visit the Karl Strauss Brewing Company original location (1989) in downtown SD, which was the first SD brewery since the 50s and really started the movement there. Food was very good and I really enjoyed the beers. The brewing company is named after Karl Strauss, a master brewer who fled Nazi Germany in the late 30s and made a significant name for himself in the US brewing industry at Pabsts for 40+ years and then as a consultant. Strauss was a strong proponent of Reinheitsgebot (German beer purity law regarding ingredients). Very interesting story.
Brewery Tours of San Diego
Local company that organizes different Brewery Tours, as many of the breweries in SD are located in industrial/manufacturing parks in the outskirts. The tour was a great way to visit multiple breweries, get behind the scenes a little bit, and taste a number of great beers. We did a Thursday evening tour that included a Ballast Point location, Green Flash, and Ale Smith.
Ballast Point - Scripps Ranch location, where they produce their more specialty beers like Habanero Sculpin. They were brewing and bottling their Pumpkin Down (Scottish Ale with pumpkin) while touring the facilities, which were a bit antiquated compared to their newer locations. While Ballast Point does get some flack for their deal with Constellation, one thing they remain committed to is experimenting. Roughly 30 beers were available, of which at least 10 were R&D (research and development) beers.
I had tasters of:
Bonito Blonde Ale
Brett Grunion Pale Ale (a twist on their regularly available Grunion Pale Ale)
Golden Spruce IPA (R&D) - solid IPA with spruce notes
Trois Light - Table Beer (R&D) low alcohol
Green Flash - very cool space, wth large outdoor area and food truck service. Green Flash acquired Alpine Beer Co. recently and had their beers available as well.
San Diego Surprise (Alpine) - American Pale Ale
Duet (Alpine) - IPA, excellent IPA
Soul Style IPA (Green Flash)
Slow Style IPL (Green Flash) - same ingredients as Soul Style IPA, but with a lager yeast instead of IPA yeast. Was cool to really get to taste the impact yeast has on the beer.
Ale Smith - Another very cool space. Included a Tony Gwynn Museum and a hidden speakeasy. Weirdly it was the first place in SD where I saw people wearing suits. The facility is pretty new (and massive). Their old location is now home to Danish gypsy brewer Mikeller, who they helped get started running in SD, only a couple blocks away.
Sublime Mexican Lager - a beer created for the 25th anniversary of Sublime's first album.
San Diego Pale Ale .394 - my favorite beer of the tour, really excellent Pale Ale (my favorite beer style). It was made in collaboration with Tony Gwynn and was released 10 days before he passed away. Now his son, Tony Gwynn Jr., is working with Ale Smith on a session IPA, as he is an aspiring brewer working under the tutelage of the experts at Ale Smith. Proceeds from the .394 in part go to the Tony & Alicia Gwynn Foundation.
Anvil ESB - their flagship beer (see logo). I really enjoy ESB, but they are not the most popular. Nice to see a good brewery focus on the style.
Orange X Pale Ale - their popular Extra Pale Ale with an orange twist.
On our last day we decided to swing by Pizza Port Brewing Company for lunch in Ocean Beach, a brew pub pizza place that is very popular in the SoCal craft beer scene (pizza since the 80s, brewery since 92). Beer was very good, pizza was sort of what I expected (not up to par with NY/NJ standards, but edible). Beach/hipster vibe.
San Diego has a lot to offer (including amazing weather), I highly recommend visiting even if craft beer isn't your thing. If it is, you'd be hard pressed to find a better place to visit.
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