# Beer



## Keith Sinclair (Mar 7, 2020)

I have always liked beer. Not high rated as wine, but most of the world makes some kind of beer for the locals. In far reaches and hole in the wall places on the planet.

Now only drink one a day on average. Pour it in a glass so that it has some suds. I know that some brew is aged in barrels, but have found that most beer the fresher the better. I first noticed when would pick up from Lanikai brewers just over the Pali from where I live in brown bottles.

IPA's that tasted fresh. Another local craft brew & eats has great beer. 

If buy at the store get California premium beers like Sierra Nevada not pasteurized in cans (no light) they are shipped chilled to Hawaii & taste fresh. 

I wonder if most even know they are drinking stale beer. I sure didn't until got hooked on fresh brew.


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## The Edge (Mar 7, 2020)

I remember when I first tried Sierra Nevada. It was nearly 22 years ago, when I first started college. A bit strong in flavor for a novice drinker, but fast forward through the years, and it's become something I turn to when options are limited. 

I'm lucky enough to have over 22 breweries within a couple hours of me, and I know quite a few people who brew, make wine, or even have stills. Most beers will taste much better when fresh, though some of the super strong flavor bombs will do well to age. Though we live in a time, where the brew masters are taking care of the waiting time for us. 

The different varieties and flavor profiles still amaze me. And yet with all this new stuff out there, you can still rely on a handful of old faithfuls that have kept true to the craft.

When in doubt though, drink local.


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## tgfencer (Mar 7, 2020)

I like beer, worked in a craft brewery/bar when I was in university. Not a big drinker though, 3 beers is a heavy night for me. I'm from and live in Asheville, NC, which is something of a craft beer mecca these days with tons of local breweries and 'Big Beer' east coast centers for guys like Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Oscar Blues, and others who all come here for the water quality. I live within walking distance of the best brewery in town though, a small joint only open two days a week and run by a husband and wife team who do everything themselves.


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## panda (Mar 7, 2020)

keith, you have kona brewery, how much better is the fresh local stuff on tap?? ive only had it in bottles. 

didnt realize sierra nevada were available in cans.

my favorite right now is a local (to florida) beer 
sailfish brewing co - white marlin wit
https://sailfishbrewingco.com/project/white-marlin-wit/


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## Keith Sinclair (Mar 7, 2020)

Tried light ales on tap. That beer is good. 

Some of the Hawaii beer is made in California. Like all of the Lanikai brews have tried. They come in larger brown bottles couple have higher alcohol content. Pick it up from guys who make it. Can get it at Safeway at slightly higher price. 

Safeway has quite a few diff. Sierra Nevada in cans. Brown bottles are better for light protection than green or clear. Cans let in no light.


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## krx927 (Mar 7, 2020)

The Edge said:


> ...
> 
> I'm lucky enough to have over 22 breweries within a couple hours of me, ...



I am even luckier, I have 224 breweries within a couple hours of me, and probably even more


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## LuvDog (Mar 7, 2020)

In New England, there is a top notch micro brewery in just about every town. Hoppy, citrusy, Dan, New England IPA’s dominate... but I love them so I’m in the Mecca for hop heads.

we also have some great breweries putting out some great sour beers lately.


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## Matus (Mar 7, 2020)

I live in Germany, I drink beer rarely, often get just alcohol free Hefeweizen - great to fight thirst in the summer.


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## tgfencer (Mar 7, 2020)

Matus said:


> I live in Germany, I drink beer rarely, often get just alcohol free Hefeweizen - great to fight thirst in the summer.



Mmm, I do love a good radler in the summer. Sometimes brewers and drinkers in America think bigger is always better when it comes to flavors and alcohol percentages, but often times I think simple flavors and low alcohol are a winning combination


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## McMan (Mar 7, 2020)

The amount and diversity of good beer in the US these days is astounding and wonderful--especially considering most of this has happened in the last 20 years. There were always micro-brew epicenters (New England, NoCal, Colorado), but now there are multiple options to drink good (sometimes great) beer in practically every city. Of course, there're also junk options with people capitalizing on "craft brew" as a label more so than trying to learn to make it well, but this is the nature of the beast.

Take hazy NE IPAs as an example. Heady Topper was at the tippity top (sorry) of the heap for a while (I'll admit, I bought a four pack for $60 on eBay to try it). Now hazy IPA are just another style that many breweries in different parts of the country do well. Good brewers take learning seriously.

Distribution is the tough part--especially if a brewery requires constant refrigeration for product, has a short shelf life, state regs tangle up distribution etc.

Long story short, I think we're in the golden age of beer right now in the US.
I don't think it's a stretch to say the US making some of the best beer in the world right now.


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## chinacats (Mar 7, 2020)

tgfencer said:


> I like beer, worked in a craft brewery/bar when I was in university. Not a big drinker though, 3 beers is a heavy night for me. I'm from and live in Asheville, NC, which is something of a craft beer mecca these days with tons of local breweries and 'Big Beer' east coast centers for guys like Sierra Nevada, New Belgium, Oscar Blues, and others who all come here for the water quality. I live within walking distance of the best brewery in town though, a small joint only open two days a week and run by a husband and wife team who do everything themselves.



Agreed about Asheville! My personal favorite is Iron Rail IPA (Wedge Brewing). Also love having Sierra Nevada in town for those that prefer mega-beer.

Living inMaine is also good if you're a beer drinker...Foulmouthed Brewing is my personal favorite perhaps because it's across the street from my marina


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## tgfencer (Mar 7, 2020)

chinacats said:


> Agreed about Asheville! My personal favorite is Iron Rail IPA. Also love having Sierra Nevada in town for those that prefer mega-beer.
> 
> Living inMaine is also good if you're a beer drinker...Foulmouthed Brewing is my personal favorite perhaps because it's across the street from my marina



Never been to Maine but it’s on my list. My wife is going to Portland this summer sometime, maybe I’ll try to go along.
Iron Rail is good, that brewery also does a very tasty and well balanced raspberry imperial stout during the winter.


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## Keith Sinclair (Mar 7, 2020)

Wow you guys have great choices. Panda that White Marlin looks good. I like lighter ales, hazy & clear. Medium ales too do a pour in glass some have more head than others. Like to check the color. 

Agree that have strong mega hop beers that don't have balance like simple brews. But there is some great beer in USA these days. 

Back in the day Heineken was my beer of choice.


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## erickso1 (Mar 7, 2020)

Interestingly enough, fresh Budweiser (not light), has become one of my favorites. But my all time favorite was a home brew beer I had when I was 10. Root beer. It’s flavor was such a way that if you took sips, it tasted amazing. Anymore then that, and all the flavor never came out. Amazing, fascinating stuff that I still lust after. Not to sweet either.


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## panda (Mar 7, 2020)

erickso1 said:


> Interestingly enough, fresh Budweiser (not light), has become one of my favorites. But my all time favorite was a home brew beer I had when I was 10. Root beer. It’s flavor was such a way that if you took sips, it tasted amazing. Anymore then that, and all the flavor never came out. Amazing, fascinating stuff that I still lust after. Not to sweet either.


I love an ice cold bud with food.


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## chinacats (Mar 7, 2020)

Meant to add that cask conditioned ales are a big step up if the ale is good to begin.


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## Danzo (Mar 7, 2020)

We have reached a saturation point here in Seattle. Frankly I’m sick of all these Triple IPA hazy stuff lately. Though I’m a big fan of Georgetown, one of the OG’s up here. Honestly I’ll take a bud heavy over all that stuff any day.


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## Michi (Mar 8, 2020)

Back when I was a student, I made my own beer because I simply couldn't afford to buy it. I found that it reached its peak after about three weeks in the bottle. (That was without carbonation, using a secondary fermentation in the bottle to carbonise the beer.) After about three or four weeks, it would start to slowly decline, but was still quite drinkable after two or three months the fridge.


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## Keith Sinclair (Mar 8, 2020)

Grew up on Lagers. Like Pilsner 
Pilsner Urquell, Gordon B Czech style, Trumer Pils, Samuel Adams Noble Pils. 

As with anything it's what you like that matters.


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## Michi (Mar 8, 2020)

The original Budweiser (the Czech Budvar, not the American stuff) is a very nice brew.


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## madelinez (Mar 8, 2020)

I'm lucky enough to live 200m from a decent micro brewery (green beacon) that does a nice tropical pale ale and an IPA.


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## Carl Kotte (Mar 8, 2020)

Pilsner and lager here, with the occasional ale and stout inbetween. Got really hooked on ipas for a while. Now I don’t enjoy them very much. In general I aim for beer with lower alcohol content. More than 5% is often too much for me (though there are good exceptions). One of those is the Triple Karmeliet - the Belgian ale. That’s yummy stuff.


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## RDalman (Mar 8, 2020)

I have oppigårds 10 km away, coincidentally they make some of my favourites


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## tkern (Mar 8, 2020)

Does anyone have access to Pliney the elder? Been trying to get that for years.


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## Chips (Mar 9, 2020)

The SF Bay Area has seen the same crazy growth the past 10 years of brewery after brewery churning out (mostly) bad IPA's. But I'm glad that there's a few places that truly set the bar in categories besides IPA and all it's variants. 

I went to college in Chico and have the good fortune to drink SNB since the late 90's. Still, my all-time favorite beer to this day remains Celebration. 

The market has probably been at it's saturation point for a long time, and now things like lack of distribution channels and endless competition are starting to close a few of them.

Two extremely notable breweries in central/northern CA are Moonlight Brewery in Santa Rosa (ran by Brian Hunt, one of the first graduates of UC Davis' brewing program back in the early 80's) and in San Carlos, a new brewery, Blue Oak, which makes IPA's that are better than cult breweries like Monkish, and sours that will convert even non-sour fans.


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## Johnny.B.Good (Mar 9, 2020)

tkern said:


> Does anyone have access to Pliney the elder? Been trying to get that for years.



Russian River opened a second brewery not long ago so Pliny is now readily available at the two grocery stores I frequent. It used to sell out quickly and they would limit sales to 1-2 bottles per customer, but not anymore. I don’t know that Pliny is as unique and therefore special as it once was anymore, but it’s definitely very good. The original brew pub is fun to visit if you’re ever in the Bay Area. 

I was super into beer a few years ago and would regularly trade with people across the country via a beer trading forum on Reddit (since shut down for legal reasons), but it started to get a little out of hand as hobbies for me tend to do and these days I mostly drink liquor. 

All that said, if you’re dying to try it, I can arrange it.


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## MowgFace (Mar 9, 2020)

Same here. A local tap house has it on the regular.


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## Johnny.B.Good (Mar 9, 2020)

IPAs remain my favorite style, but I also love sour beers and frequent a world-class maker in Berkeley called The Rare Barrel. Also worth a visit if you’re a beer person visiting or living in the Bay Area. 

When I was trading beer, Tree House in MA was the most sought after. I have not had a “hazy NE style” beer from a brewery out here that compares.


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## IsoJ (Mar 9, 2020)

Stout and lager here some ale now and then. IPA, dont still like it.


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## The Edge (Mar 9, 2020)

Johnny.B.Good said:


> Russian River opened a second brewery not long ago so Pliny is now readily available at the two grocery stores I frequent. It used to sell out quickly and they would limit sales to 1-2 bottles per customer, but not anymore. I don’t know that Pliny is as unique and therefore special as it once was anymore, but it’s definitely very good. The original brew pub is fun to visit if you’re ever in the Bay Area.
> 
> I was super into beer a few years ago and would regularly trade with people across the country via a beer trading forum on Reddit (since shut down for legal reasons), but it started to get a little out of hand as hobbies for me tend to do and these days I mostly drink liquor.
> 
> All that said, if you’re dying to try it, I can arrange it.



Yeah, I used to frequent a couple stores that wouldn't put it out on the shelves, and you had to know who to ask and when Pliny was delivered to grab your two bottles. 

I love IPA's, though I enjoy almost every beer. Fresh Squeezed is one of my favorites, and Revision Double IPA is up at the top as well. I also have a taste for browns, stouts, and anything Imperial. Lots in this region that not only led in these categories for years, but lots of new exciting things popping up.


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## Keith Sinclair (Mar 9, 2020)

Back in my kayak camping days that crowd liked to drink Guinness.

We would ship our kayaks on Young Brothers barge to outer islands. Paddling open ocean to remote valleys. Had some great week long trips. Ice would last two days after that no coolant.


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## 29palms (Mar 9, 2020)

My local brewery has a good assortment of beers they make, but my favorite is "Farmer's Daughter" a Rye IPA. It's not too hoppy and it's their flagship brew. 5.5 - 6 ABV depending on the batch.


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## milkbaby (Mar 9, 2020)

tkern said:


> Does anyone have access to Pliney the elder? Been trying to get that for years.



You should take up @Johnny.B.Good offer, it's really very good. I had it 2 or 3 times when friends brought it back or got in a trade and was always delicious.

Personally not a big fan of the haze trend, although I felt Heady Topper was decent, it wasn't anywhere near my favorite IPA.




McMan said:


> Long story short, I think we're in the golden age of beer right now in the US.
> I don't think it's a stretch to say the US making some of the best beer in the world right now.



I agree with this. The US has been at the top of the beer world for quite some time now IMO. Almost everywhere you can drink something local that is at least decent. And brewers all around the country are making both delicious and interesting beers.

One thing I do laugh about is hype from beer geeks. I know I said above that PtE is worth trying and is very good, but I think anywhere in the US a beer fan can find a terrific beer to drink that is also easy to obtain. Some of the best beer experiences for me were drinking a beer with friends when we had little expectations of it and being really surprised how good it was.

Edited to add: I wish some breweries would bring back some of the beers that were special one offs. RUINten IPA from Stone Brewing was one of them that they did once or twice more after the first run. POW! Triple IPA that was Highland Brewing's 20th anniversary special deserves a yearly appearance.


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## erickso1 (Mar 9, 2020)

On an actual beer front one of my favorites growing up was runaway red from ice harbor brewery in pasco, wa.


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## LostHighway (Mar 9, 2020)

I moved back to Minnesota from Northern New England just under two years ago. IMO the craft beer scene in Minnesota is good but not quite up to New England standards. I particularly miss Allagash's coolship beers and to a lesser extent Bissell Bros. and a few other NEIPA producers. 
Freed from regional constraints I'm primarily a saison, hefeweizen, APA, and IPA drinker. I'm not a huge fan of the currently popular U.S. gimmicky kettle sours but I'd very happily drink the Allagash and Russian River coolship offerings, along with Dre Fonteinen, and Cantillon if access and disposable income permitted.
For some reason most of the North American breweries are terrible at lower gravity (<5%ABV) beers. Finding a truly good bitter, ESB, mild, Kölsch, etc. in America is a very rare find.
I do not and will not buy beers from AB-InBev as they have been an active enemy of good beer for decades. However, if someone hands one to me I'll drink it.
,


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## tgfencer (Mar 9, 2020)

LostHighway said:


> For some reason most of the North American breweries are terrible at lower gravity (<5%ABV) beers. Finding a truly good bitter, ESB, mild, Kölsch, etc. in America is a very rare find.,



If you ever find yourself in my neck of the woods (western North Carolina) there’s a brewery or two here that would be up your alley. The headbrewer of my favorite called Zebulon Artisan Ales is a historical British ale geek and makes cask ales for their beer pump, as well as doing truly excellent German styles. Too small to distribute though. 

Having lived in the UK I love a good ale and as a farmer I appreciate easy drinking, low abv styles that are made with flavor in mind. Much harder to get up early in the morning after a couple of of 8-10% beers.


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## Corradobrit1 (Mar 10, 2020)

Belgian Trappist Ales


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## LostHighway (Mar 10, 2020)

Corradobrit1 said:


> Belgian Trappist Ales



I've never had Westvleteren but I have a deep affection for the beers of Orval, Westmalle, and Rochefort, Chimay Red was the first abbey beer I ever had but I haven't revisited it for a long time. I do like their washed rind cheese.


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## Keith Sinclair (Mar 11, 2020)

A light ale from local brewery & eats one of the best beers I've ever tasted. On tap from a keg. Fresh is best. 

Read somewhere that English pubs had their own brewers. I guess it's that way in other countries too. Fresh brew.


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## panda (Mar 12, 2020)

Keith Sinclair said:


> A light ale from local brewery & eats one of the best beers I've ever tasted. On tap from a keg. Fresh is best.
> 
> Read somewhere that English pubs had their own brewers. I guess it's that way in other countries too. Fresh brew.


best beer ive ever had was only available for one day from a local brewery back in maine. it was a 'brewer's choice' meaning it was a single batch only and that was it. was a brown ale style that just blew my mind.


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## LostHighway (Mar 12, 2020)

panda said:


> best beer ive ever had was only available for one day from a local brewery back in maine. it was a 'brewer's choice' meaning it was a single batch only and that was it. was a brown ale style that just blew my mind.



Do you remember which brewery? I don't remember any really exceptional brown ales from Maine but Hill Farmstead (Vermont) and the late, lamented, Pretty Things Beer & Ale Project (Mass) both have produced some superb examples.


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## panda (Mar 12, 2020)

It was seadog brewery in topsham. Their beer isn't very good, I was there for brunch. But that batch was exceptional. My fav Maine beer is rising tide and Bissell brothers


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## LostHighway (Mar 12, 2020)

panda said:


> It was seadog brewery in topsham. Their beer isn't very good, I was there for brunch. But that batch was exceptional. My fav Maine beer is rising tide and Bissell brothers



Thanks! I love Bissell Brothers although their flagship, The Substance, isn't one of my favorites. I much prefer Swish and Lux and a few others to a lesser extent. Rising Tide was kind of hit and miss for me. I also like Maine Beer Company despite being overpriced. Tying their brand to those expensive German 500ml bottles looks like a mistake in retrospect.
Too bad the food and drink at Seadog Topsham isn't better as the site is nice. I spend more time just across the bridge at the Frontier.


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## panda (Mar 12, 2020)

Can't go wrong with allagash either, grittys makes a good brown on tap but it's gross bottled.


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## Johnny.B.Good (Mar 12, 2020)

LostHighway said:


> I also like Maine Beer Company despite being overpriced. Tying their brand to those expensive German 500ml bottles looks like a mistake in retrospect.



It has worked well for Russian River who bottle Pliny in 17 ounce bottles. I see Maine Beer Company standard offerings on shelves here in the Bay Area now (not limited releases like "Dinner," but "Lunch" and at least one other I find average to above average), so they must be having real success to distribute so far and wide.


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