Craft Beer

[slow trickle]

What is your favorite craft beer? I have grown fond of Sierra pale ale and torpedo. Victory headwaters is also one of my favorites. Sweetwater and Terrapin have some I like as well. What do you guys like to drink?

[Jimbo]

ahhh soooo many good ones. Bells Two Hearted is near the very top of my list. Three Floyds Gumballhead too.

Since its punkin season, check out Pumking from Southern Tier. I usually dont care for spiced beers, but of the 10 or so pumkin beers I tried, most I disliked and that one I LOVE. Its an imperial, 8.5% and damn delicious, they nailed that recipe. I look for it every fall now. Hoegaarden is great and Blue Moon sucks, to give you an idea of my taste. Oaked Arrogant Bastard is ridiculous. The Double Bastard rocks too. Hard to pick favorites, too many.

There are a few breweries that Ive noticed just dont have a single bad beer. Stone, Dogfish head, Three Floyds, New Glarus, Bells, Russian River, Founders, and a few others.

[jedneck]

Troeggs mad elf (seasonal cherry wheat bear)and troegenator (dopplebach)
Jimbo you can keep that two hearted piss. I like their porter though.

[palinkagus]

I was at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver last week and tried Alaskan Smoked Porter. It was outrageous!!! Like drinking a glass of really good smoked sausage.

Funny thing about that trip was that I had to fly all the way to Denver to find out that there was a brewery less than a mile from my home in NY; Gun Hill Brewing Co. They won a gold medal for their stout called "Void of Light". It was delicious!!!

[slow trickle]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will see if I can find them. I go to the beer fest in Atlanta, Ga every year to sample the new craft beer. I need to take notes of the ones I like best next year. Too drunk to remember what I like best by the time I leave. Designated driver of course.

[MichiganCornhusker]

Oh, don't get me started... I'm fortunate to live in a great beer area, Bells is in my backyard, love the smoked beers they offer at their eccentric cafe, Oracle is one of my faves, just picked up the second in their planetary series, Venus, today, agree with Jimbo AND Jed: Two Hearted and Porter are both world class. They also make a great sour called Wild One. Easy drive to Founders, and love their Double Trouble, Devil Dancer, Doom is fantastic. Darkhorse is just down the road, and their Double Crooked Tree is probably my desert island beer, odd too, because I'm not really a big IPA fan, but that beer is just perfect. Their Smells Like a Safety Meeting is top notch as well. Daytrip to 3 Floyds and Greenbush is never a letdown, love Robert the Bruce. For the seasonal pumpkin, I just tried a Crown Valley, Imperial Pumpkin Smash, and it was excellent. On east coast, Stillwater makes some of the best sour/funk beers I've ever had, and a lot of them served up at a cool place, Of Love And Regret. Sierra Narwhal, Stone Ruinten, Great Lakes Christmas Ale, all of the Firestone beers I've had a chance to try.... No way I can pick a favorite brewery, much less a favorite beer.... Seriously, I could type, and type, and type.....

[Jimbo]

Jimbo you can keep that two hearted piss. I like their porter though.

AHHH!!! Blasphemer! LOL. Maybe you had a skunked one? Or dont like hops?

MCH,..... yes, and type and type and type some more. Its a beautiful world now. lol

[bearriver]

Irish Death growlers from the Iron Horse Brewery. I get one for every new beer I try and always keep coming back to my favorite. Been drinking it for a year now. The empty 1/2 gal bottles are great for feints storage.

Put all Jimbo's recommendations on a check list in my phone. Bout to go checkout some online beer retailers so I can get the stuff that's not available in my area...

[Jimbo]

I thought you brewed bear? Those growler bottles are awesome for filling up off the kegs to take to parties or out back to the fire pit or to church on Sunday morning or...

[bearriver]

I thought you brewed bear?

I have been trying to collect all the equipment I want before starting. Don't want to get into it, and then upgrade. Better to build it right the first time.

Got a 100 gallon SS drum last year, and I still haven't had a chance to touch it (Destined to make 2x 50 gallon brew pots). I've been doing mountains of research between books and beer forums. Someday soon I will start building something similar to the "Electric Brewery".

[Jimbo]

I thought you brewed bear?

I have been trying to collect all the equipment I want before starting. Don't want to get into it, and then upgrade. Better to build it right the first time.

Got a 100 gallon SS drum last year, and I still haven't had a chance to touch it (Destined to make 2x 50 gallon brew pots). I've been doing mountains of research between books and beer forums. Someday soon I will start building something similar to the "Electric Brewery".

BAH! Why do you want to be different than every other homebrewer. LOL We all started with 5 gal extract batches cooked in pots that were too small over and boiled over leaving black burnt shit all over wifeys stove (and the resulting reduction in good lovin for the following few days while wife gradually got over it). Its all part of the pain of becoming a homebrewer. LOL

Kidding actually, jumping right into decent size batches of all grain brew is a good place to start, especially with stillin experience under your belt. But you can still get as crazy or simple as you want. Windy and I are great friends and both make excellent beer, but we are at polar extremes in the equipment/process world. I have a keg with the top cut off to cook and an 18 gal plastic barrel that I wrap a quilt around to mash in. Windy is loaded with beautiful tanks, recirculation pumps, and enough assorted stainless paraphenalia to give you a hard on when you see it. Im in awe at his place. And he prolly rolls his eyes at my set up. haha (Thanks windy for being kind and not doggin my ass over my setup LOL)

[MichiganCornhusker]

We all started with 5 gal extract batches cooked in pots that were too small over and boiled over leaving black burnt shit all over wifeys stove

Ah, memories... and trying to scooch the pot over two burners on the stove because it was taking forever to heat up 5 gallons on one. Oh, and buying all of your supplies and ingredients off a dusty shelf in the basement of a hardware store behind the wine making supplies. Oh yeah, those hop pellets were fresh....not.

I still brew once in a great while, and I still do 5 gallon batches. Mostly stuff that isn't really out there. I like to make a spruce tip ale in the spring, this time of year I usually make a pumpkin porter without the spices, but adding some smoked grains. And I do like me some strong ginger beer.

Last summer we brewed up a christmasy ale that was so tasty that a restaurant in Cleveland had us work with a brewer to make it available for him to sell at his bar. A great guy at Portside Distillery took our recipe, scaled it up for production, added his own tweaks, and cranked out about 13 barrels. He did an awesome job, it was delicious. We made up some fancy tap handles, called it Snow Days, and it all sold by the end of the year.

Just remember, Bear, you won't be shrinking the volume down with beer, 100 gallons will make about 40 CASES of beer!

[Red Rim]

What's wrong with 40 cases of beer???

For my $.02, too many good beers, too little time. There is a growler station that has 70 beers on tap. How am I supposed to gett to all of them? Hard work that is how!
My favorites are still from my local breweries that are fighting there way up. Ninkasi, makes some killer over the top hoppy beers... Oakshire has a little more mellow yet flavorful beers. Falling sky brewery, oh damn, not a bad beer. But to choose one. I just can't.

Now for the home brew side. Just fired up my first five gallons a few weeks ago, next up a fifteen gallon batch. Which brings up the question, what is your favorite beer recipe Jimbo? I nice manly IPA with a mule kick in the mouth because the hops are so strong? I am all ears!

Contemplating bringing a bale of hops to the meeting of the minds. They almost grow on trees around here.

[jedneck]

Jimbo you can keep that two hearted piss. I like their porter though.

AHHH!!! Blasphemer! LOL. Maybe you had a skunked one? Or dont like hops?

MCH,..... yes, and type and type and type some more. Its a beautiful world now. lol

Its to hoppy for me

[Jimbo]

What's wrong with 40 cases of beer??? NOT A DAMN THING

Which brings up the question, what is your favorite beer recipe Jimbo? I nice manly IPA with a mule kick in the mouth because the hops are so strong? I am all ears!

Singing my song. I like a nice RyePA, nice florally zing from the rye and a snoot full of hops. Heaven. 10 gal batch - 18 lbs 2 row, 3 lbs rye malt, 2 lbs munich, 1 lb caramel 60, 1 lb special roast. Get yourself some nice tasty hops like centennial and use an online IBU calculator to hit 70-80, 100 if you like Pliny, and add heaps more at the last 10 min and flameout for the flavor and aroma bit. Then add a couple more ounces in secondary dry hopped.

Cheers.

here, like this.

[Jimbo]

PS: Use a strike water temp calculator like this one to get yoru strike temp http://www.brewersfriend.com/mash/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow In this case the 8 gal mash water needs to be 168 to hit 155 mash in.

[MichiganCornhusker]

How am I supposed to get to all of them? Hard work that is how!
My favorites are still from my local breweries.

I am happy with what I have around me, but sure would be nice to get out west to hang out in that beer paradise for a while! If the PNW meeting takes shape, I will be planning a few extra days to roam around.

[MichiganCornhusker]

... snoot full of hops. Heaven. Get yourself some nice tasty hops to hit 70-80, 100 if you like, add heaps more, Then add a couple more ounces...

Lol, spoken like a true hophead.
I do like the rye. A local brewery here recently brewed up a special batch of double chocolate rye porter as a tribute to Jack Joyce, founder of Rogue Ales, and called it "One For the Rogue". It was very good.

[Jimbo]

There's a PNW meeting shaping up too? I think I missed that one. Where/who? Oregon/Washington is tits. I windsurfed at Hood River on the Gorge once. Insanely good time...

[Red Rim]

Awesome! I am on it next week!

There a brewshop 1 block away from the job I am on right now. Might have to mosey on down and pick up some supplies. The place is perfect except for...... They push turbossssssss. Aaargh. Must educate!!!

Thanks for the input!

Cornhusker, lots of Hoppy brews. More breweries than I can stagger to in one night of drinking. And I wouldn't even call it a city.

[Red Rim]

Windsurfing in the gorge rocks. The next level is kite boarding, however, I think we are getting too old for the beating that would insue.

[slow trickle]

Reading all of this makes me wish I had the time to start another hobby. Guess I will just keep buying the beer for now.

[Jimbo]

I windsurfed before kiteboarding existed. And then I moved to the midwest where there's no good place for a wind/wave snob to windsurf, so my stuff has sat.

[Red Rim]

It is sad to see the old board and sail just hanging out in the garage gathering dust. Maybe I should turn that 10' board into a bench in my brew room.

[Red Rim]

Trickle,
it is all the same, just find someone that is brewing and tag along for a batch, you will find that you already know more than they do. Then it is just a couple of different accessories and you are making beer.

Go for it! Hell you are already a distiller, how many people can say that?

[Jimbo]

It is sad to see the old board and sail just hanging out in the garage gathering dust. Maybe I should turn that 10' board into a bench in my brew room.

I have a few boards ranging from 7'10 to 12' and a decent quivver of sails. Figgered Id hang em all up in my distillery tasting room some day

[WooTeck]

so glad i found this post:). Craft beer is where most of my money ends up. I love that a good pub with rotating casks you can go in every week and drink everything but never the same one twice. there is a beer rating app that helps me keep track of the ones ive had and the ones ive liked.

some of my favourites are brew dog but im a shareholder and have to say that .

also on the home brew side the only difference between what we do here and making beer is the addition of hops as far as i can tell. so just use the kit you have accumulated and give it ago. im currently drinking a home brewed brown that i failed to add enough hops to .

[Windy City]

Really great list of beers, here's a few to add.
Monks Cafe Flemish Sour Ale, it's real refreshing and a great summer beer. I really need to start making some sours.
Dogfish Head 60min IPA
Winter is coming so for your darker beers checkout Anchor Porter, Founders Breakfast Stout, Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout & Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout.
Which reminds me I need to brew a porter for home. So many beers to make and to try, so little time for drinking

Windy City

[MichiganCornhusker]

Oh, WooTeck, you must enjoy being in Brew Dog land! I don't see much of it around here, but I have tried their Tokyo and Dogma and loved them. Wish I could try them all.
Windy reminds me of Brooklyn, I like their large format bottles, esp Sorachi Ace. And Dogfish can be added to the list of brewers than don't make any bad beer.
In the early days when struggling to get started, the bank was threatening to foreclose on the Founders property. One of the owners went out and bought the biggest pair of bolt cutters he could find, just in case he ever showed up to a chain on the door. A couple years ago they released a large format called "Bolt Cutter" to commemorate. Good story, good beer.
And how about those crazy folks at Mikkeller? Love those funky beers!

[WooTeck]

BrewDog / Nøgne Ø / Mikkeller make an increadable dark. Black Tokyo* Horizon.
probably one of the best beers ive ever had

ive been enjoying left hand brewing im lucky to live in a area with 3 craft bottle shops and a growler fill and countless bars that specialise in craft beer mind boggles with opportunity . unfortunately the cash flow is in extreme drought at the moment. at least my father keeps his beer cupboard well stocked.