CRAFT BEER Thread.

[Jimmydeicide]

There has been a lot of beer references in the racing threads lately and with the way craft brewery's are changing the landscape for beer i thought this might be a good time and spot to talk about some brews, maybe do some trading.
I dont buy many games anymore so that money is used for beers now, so much good stuff out there.
So lets here it, who's into these craft brews?
Whats your Favorite style? Ipa,Dipa, Belgian, Stouts, Barrel Aged.
Look forward to hearing about your favorite local brews, what you would like to try,what you here is good and what is all this hype about this certain beer,

Cheers Lads.

[Teal]

In Alabama, the craft brew king is Straight to Ale brewery in Huntsville. There's a Knickerbocker Red there that kicks all kinds of ass. Love it. These guys started very small, and grew to quite large on nothing but reputation and taste.

[Wilk5280]

Here in Colorado you can't walk down the block without running into a brewery. I really like IPA'S, but drunk about anything.

Some of my favorites are Stone IPA (San Diego), Avery IPA (Boulder, CO), Titan IPA (Colorado), and just about anything from Osker Blues or Odell (both Colorado).

Currently drinking an Osker Blues Death by Coconut as I type this.

If anyone is in Florida I'd love to get my hands on some Last Snow or More Moro from Funky Buddha.

[Jimmydeicide]

Some great brewery's from Colorado and i love Oskar Blues. Their Ten Fiddy Stout is a top of any list. Old Chub Scotch Ale is another of theirs i love.

Some Really good IPA's coming from southern California right now local to me . Beechwood out of Long Beach is one their Citraholic is awesome and Noble Ale works Citra showers is a fast seller there from Anaheim in between the Ducks Stadium and Angels Stadium.

Some good ones too look out for.

Tonight for Dragons night I'll be trying Modern Times Hoppy Citra and Bootleggers Knuckle sandwich (DIPA at 10%) a biggy.
I would like to try Funky Buddah also , Tree House is my number one whale right now.
Cheers.

[DChaps]

Lately I am heavily into the IPAs, but enjoy porters and stouts during the winter.

Jekyll Brewing - Alpharetta, GA
Hop Dang Diggity Southern IPA
http://jekyllbrewing.com/beers/

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. in Athens, GA
Tropicalia IPA
http://www.creaturecomfortsbeer.com/tropicalia/

Scofflaw Brewing Company - Atlanta, GA
Basement IPA
http://scofflawbeer.com/our-beers/

Straight to Ale - Huntsville, AL
Monkeynaut IPA
http://straighttoale.com/monkeynaut-ipa/

Plus I still love a Sweetwater 420 and just about all the crazy things they do.
http://sweetwaterbrew.com/brews/sweetwater-420/

Currently enjoying a couple of their "catch and release" brews as well:
Squeeze Box
http://sweetwaterbrew.com/brews/squeeze-box/
Grass Monkey
http://sweetwaterbrew.com/brews/grass-monkey/

[RobVarak]

I'm not loyal to a specific variety. Some of my favorites, though:

Three Floyds Zombie Dust Pale Ale
Three Floyds Robert The Bruce Scottish Ale
Two Brothers Sidekick Extra Pale
Victory Hop Devil IPA
Left Hand Milk Stout
Stone IPA
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter
Revolution Anti-Hero IPA
Goose Island Matilda (A-B bought them, but I'm still calling it craft b/c it's so damn good)

[Jimmydeicide]

Good stuff lads.
Don what state are you in?
Rob the Left hand Milk stout ive had the Nitro version loved it. The zombie Dust is a famous beer around these parts , hard to get but pretty much any beers past the mid west usually arnt making it out here .

The ipa Is a tough one for me. Ive had a 2 week old citraholic and i rate it as one of the best Ipa's ive had but then 2 days later from the same batch a totally different beer and dwindled into run of the mill territory.

Goose island actually do one of my favorite beers so who cares if its from big beer. Bourbon County (Bourbon barrel aged stout) should be anyone's must try list.

[Wilk5280]

Left Hand Milk Stout is great!

Breckenridge Brewery has a seasonal nitro out right now, their Chocolate Orange Stout, and it's pretty good as well.

[Jimmydeicide]

All the left hand Nitro's have been good so far , I've still yet to try their Wake up Dead Imperial stout , hard to find .
Isn't the Vanilla Porter in Robs Post a Nitro also? Not a huge fan of Vanilla but i need to try this one i always see it but never pull the trigger.

If you like Stouts believe it or not Sierra Nevada Narwhal is excellent, I always overlook these guys as they are so readily available but they have some great beers.

Out of the 2 beers I tried last night The Knuckle sandwich Dipa was the best, very tastey and will buy this again for sure good price point also.
I was a bit let down by the MT Hoppy Citra was expecting a lot more from the hops being so fresh.

Cheers.

[RobVarak]

All the left hand Nitro's have been good so far , I've still yet to try their Wake up Dead Imperial stout , hard to find .
Isn't the Vanilla Porter in Robs Post a Nitro also? Not a huge fan of Vanilla but i need to try this one i always see it but never pull the trigger.

Nope, just a regular porter. https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/2137/27800/

I may or may not have once had a beer float with the vanilla porter over vanilla ice cream...

I like that the vanilla is very much in the back of the taste profile. Strong enough that it's definitely there, but not cloying or sweet.

I don't love fruit beers, but 21st Amendment's Hell or High Watermelon manages that same trick, and it's the perfect summer drink.

For a totally non-craft beer, the last few summers I've taken to drinking Imperial from Costa Rica. It's a mass produced beer, but it's heavy on malt and goes down great by the pool.

[Brando70]

I am a beer nut and I especially love stouts and porters. A few faves:

Bell's Black Note -- best beer I have ever had. Very hard to find, lucked into it being on tap once.
New Holland Dragon's Milk -- the ultimate sipping stout, incredible malt taste
Great Divide Chocolate Oak Yeti Stout -- just had this and loved it. They don't overdo it on the chocolate and also add some cayenne pepper for a bit of a kick.
Left-Hand Milk Stout -- agree with others who love this, such a terrific beer
Deschuttes Black Butte Porter -- rich and malty, I love everything Deschuttes makes

For lighter drinking:
Deschuttes Chainbreaker IPA -- one of my go-to summer beers, a little fruit to it but not overpowering
Metropolitan Krankshaft Kolsch -- glad to see Kolsch making inroads, a great alternative to Pilsner for a "day drinking" beer. Usually what I go for when grilling on a hot day.

Special occasion:
Traquair house ale and Jacobite ale -- a little rare but a great pair of beers from Scotland's oldest brewery. The Jacobite has coriander and nutmeg in it, which makes it a nice winter brew when there's a fire going.

[RobVarak]

I am a beer nut and I especially love stouts and porters. A few faves:

Bell's Black Note -- best beer I have ever had. Very hard to find, lucked into it being on tap once.

Bell's almost never puts a foot wrong. One of the best breweries in the midwest. I quite unexpectedly discovered that there's a Bell's brew pub located inside the Grand Rapids airport. I nearly skipped my vacation departure just to stick around.

[Jimmydeicide]

I like Bells also, i have expedition stout in my fridge right now and just finished my last Hop slam this weekend which lived up to the hype.

Deschuttes Is another solid one. Fresh Squeezed is an outstanding Ipa (bottle conditioned) Ive Had Obsidian Stout and Black Butte porter regular and barrel aged. Think it is Reserve and Abyss. Awesome.

Dragons Milk is outstanding i agree, Bourbon barrel aged but its a year round release so very easy to obtain, i like that.
The yetis are decent.
Another Brewery that has an outstanding range of beers is Founders, still the best scotch ale ive had(Dirty Bastard, Backwoods bastard Barrel aged)

A few standout stouts for me are Speedway stout By Alesmith, in fact all their beers are worth the effort.
Mikkeller- Beer Geek brunch weasel.
North Coast- Old Rasputin
Clown Shoes -Blaecorn unidragon
And again cant mention Stout without saying Bourbon County.

Ill be keeping an eye out for Black note.

Cheers, Just so much good beer out there.

[Brando70]

I am a beer nut and I especially love stouts and porters. A few faves:

Bell's Black Note -- best beer I have ever had. Very hard to find, lucked into it being on tap once.

Bell's almost never puts a foot wrong. One of the best breweries in the midwest. I quite unexpectedly discovered that there's a Bell's brew pub located inside the Grand Rapids airport. I nearly skipped my vacation departure just to stick around.

Ha! One of the only things tolerable of living in the UP was that the bars around Marquette usually had a variety of Bell's on tap.

It has also been fantastic to see how many good Chicago-area breweries have popped up. Two Brothers, Revolution, and Metropolitan have become go-to Binny's purchases. I also like Finch's, their Secret Stache stout is really smooth and tasty.

[Wilk5280]

I agree on Deschuttes. I've liked everything of theirs that I've ever had. Freshly Squeezed is a great IPA in a bottle.

[ScoopBrady]

I'm a big fan of IPA's as well. 3 Floyds Brewing Co. is my favorite and being in the southwest suburbs of Chicago it is close enough to do a quick run out there to get a couple of cases.
My favorite beers from them are Zombie Dust, Gumballhead, Alpha King, Yum Yum, and Space Station Middle Finger

Other favorites that aren't by 3 Floyds are:
Bell's Two Hearted Ale
Revolution Anti-Hero
Two Brothers Wobble
Two Brothers Sidekick
Lagunitas IPA
Lagunitas Little Sumpin' Sumpin'
Allagash White
Sweetwater IPA
Sweetwater Hash Session IPA

[Jimmydeicide]

Lagunitas is pretty much available any where now right since Heineken own them. Two of my faves from them are Sucks Ipa and brown shugga. Look out for them.
Just had a Ballast point Red Velvet Nitro, what a fun beer that was,it really starts out like red velvet cake sweet and with chewy mouth feel but then finishes quite bitter.
Highly recommended for a change of pace.

[Brando70]

Sweetwater IPA is terrific, one of the most drinkable beers I have ever had. I like to pick that up when we go to beach in the Carolinas.

[Jimmydeicide]

Rob my local store just got hell or high watermelon.

[RobVarak]

Rob my local store just got hell or high watermelon.

Nice. It was an all-time winner in the category of beers I really did not expect to like.

[bkrich83]

One of the perks to living in San Diego is there are now 130+ breweries in SD County. I have 14 within 4 miles of my house and another 11 withing 5 miles of my office. Also living in and being from SD it's obligatory I love IPA's particularly West Coast IPA's the hoppier the better.

My current rotation goes something like this.

AleSmith .394 Pale (Hoppy Pale)
Lattitude 33 Blood Orange IPA (My current go to beer)
Barrel Harbor Fenris IPA (Very Underrated West Coast Style IPA)
Firestone 805 (American Blond Ale. My favorite beer for low ABV.. My Tailgate Beer)
Mother Earth Sin Tax Peanut Butter Stout
Belching Beaver Damned! (Double IPA)
New English Explorer ESB.

[AcemanPR]

IPA's have taken over my beer intake the last few months. Some of my favorites:

Ballist Point Sculpin & Grapefruit Sculpin (San Diego)
Rhinegeist Truth (Cincinnati)
Maumee Bay Brewing Glasshopper (Toledo, OH)
Bells Two Hearted Ale (Kalamazoo, MI)
Great Lakes Commodore Perry (Cleveland)
Deschutte's Fresh Squeezed IPA

I agree with others here that the Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout is very good.

I was able to drink some Moose Drool Nut Brown Ale when I was in Arizona this past week. Which they would distribute to Ohio.

[ScoopBrady]

I tried Temporal Purgatory (Pale Ale) by 18th Street Brewery out of Hammond, Indiana (started in Gary) over the weekend and it was quite good. They have a brewpub in Hammond and a taproom in Gary. I might have to make the trek out there. Along with 3 Floyds there are now 2 good things to come out of Indiana!