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Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 6:07 pm
by sancarlos
I didn't know that craft malt is becoming a thing
Visit a Bay Area craft brewery, and the staff will tell you whether a beer was made with Simcoe or Mosaic or Amarillo hops. They’ll tell you which local roaster provided the beans for their coffee stout. You’ll know, by the time you leave, the name of the farmer who grew the berries for their fruited sour, and which winery gave them the Chardonnay barrels in which their farmhouse ale aged.

And yet, until very recently, virtually all Bay Area beers were brewed with the same industrially produced malt.

That changed last year when Admiral Maltings opened in Alameda, a collaborative effort from ThirstyBear owner Ron Silberstein and Magnolia founder Dave MacLean. Admiral is the first craft malting facility in California, and since brewing its first batch last summer it’s sold 250 tons of eight types of malt and has found an eager customer base: Already, 112 California breweries (plus seven distilleries) have brewed with Admiral malt... [click link to read more]

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Thu May 03, 2018 11:48 pm
by Rush2112
Ya, most malt in the US is made by a couple of companies in Minneapolis IIRC. Not sure if "craft" really makes that much of a difference, as long as the grain being malted is of high quality it's not like you can do much to change the process unless you want to go back with firing it with coal or another pre-industrial process.

I suppose taking money out of the pockets of big malt and sourcing locally is a good thing for smaller brewers, as long as the price point is good.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 7:18 pm
by rass
mister d wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2017 1:07 pm Same can be said about the beer sitting at the top.
Tiffs just got Bells Two Hearted and it doesn’t even compare to the Kane offerings they regularly have.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 7:24 pm
by rass
Also just started offering Igor’s Dream but even a couple miles from home 12% scares me.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 7:40 pm
by rass
rass wrote: Fri Jun 15, 2018 7:18 pm
mister d wrote: Thu Jun 22, 2017 1:07 pm Same can be said about the beer sitting at the top.
Tiffs just got Bells Two Hearted and it doesn’t even compare to the Kane offerings they regularly have.
Yes

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 9:16 pm
by mister d
Another good entry into the whole "if you don't agree the ceiling is higher than it was five years ago, I'm not going to bother" debate.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2018 9:16 pm
by mister d
On both sides. Two Hearted like eight years and Kane two?

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 1:49 am
by Rush2112
Two Hearted is classic. But it's been way surpassed. My college buddy drinks the F out of it, just because of the classical aspects, and I suppose memories. I'm the same way with Harpoon IPA. I had 4 beers at the local tonight, and all four were probably better than Harpoon. But you know that I'm drinking the fuck out of Harpoon IPA next week when I am back in NE (to wash down the tree house and trillium.)


and Deleware, the SoS i brewed way back when was really really fantastic. Better than the stuff they brew now.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 11:02 am
by EnochRoot
I am finding more and more that I prefer the feeling after 3 or 4 glasses of a good whiskey or scotch than I do after drinking the relative amount of nearly any craft beer.

I certainly feel better in the morning, too.

There has to be a reason as to why that is?

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 11:50 am
by RSmith
EnochRoot wrote: Sat Jun 16, 2018 11:02 am I am finding more and more that I prefer the feeling after 3 or 4 glasses of a good whiskey or scotch than I do after drinking the relative amount of nearly any craft beer.

I certainly feel better in the morning, too.

There has to be a reason as to why that is?
I've never been much of a beer drinker (unlike my Dad, friends, etc.), but I've always loved whiskey. It's a much more comfortable drunkenness. :)

Before I came to Canada, I drank Scotch exclusively, but now I think my favorite drink is a mix of Wiser's Deluxe Canadian rye and ginger ale.

I also can honestly say I've never had a hangover, and I used to live in a bar before I met my wife. So at least my experience coincides with that.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 11:53 am
by P.D.X.
Had a couple Outer Range Corduroy IPA’s last night. For a style I’m burnt out on they were very good.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 7:36 pm
by Pruitt
Fathers Day came early!

My son who works at a craft brewery/restaurant (Bellwoods - perhaps Toronto's finest - where the brew master is a complete mad scientist - brought home some limited editions for me to enjoy this weekend...

Image
This one is "Milkshark - Neapolitan" in that it has cocoa, vanilla and strawberry and hops. I'm no fan of fruity beers, but a truly amazing beer. Subtle, hoppy and there is cocoa (but not cloying chocolate) and a nice light berry finish.

His boss is a lunatic with his beers. And as you can guess by my verbosity, these are strong fucking beers!

Image

This one is meant to age, and is part of a limited edition of 200. I figure it should age on the folklore/religion shelf in my office.

Great when the kids know what you like!

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 7:43 pm
by RSmith
Pruitt wrote: Sat Jun 16, 2018 7:36 pm Bellwoods - perhaps Toronto's finest
Ha! I was there last year, meeting up with an old friend from university. He swears by it.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 9:40 pm
by Rush2112
Headed to Avery for the annual Father's day lunch and beer tasting. They're another that may have been passed by, but they still do some great testing this only stuff.


Happy Father's day to frog dad's and dad's to be!

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2018 10:35 pm
by The Sybian
My first Trillium that wasn't an IPA or saison. Fuck, if they aren't just as skilled with a stout! This is like liquid velvet, and the most balanced coffee stout I've ever had. Really wish I could have brought back more, and didn't promise half of it away.


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Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 4:07 am
by govmentchedda
Set adrift on memory bliss?

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 7:24 pm
by mister d
Was this really late or really early?

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 7:56 pm
by govmentchedda
That was likely an old man got up to pee post.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 10:02 am
by Pruitt
So my sister who was in town from DC dropped by to visit last night along with my brother. I poured some of that lovely beer I mentioned a few posts up. Sister tastes it, enjoys two big sips and then realizes that the aftertaste is full of berries.

And she is severely allergic to strawberries.

Immediate allergic reaction - throat constriction, trouble breathing, and we don't have any benadryl.

Long story short - an hour in the drug store as the benadryl started working and the pharmacist was certain she was okay. Great end to a shitty fathers Day.

Here's the kicker - we figured she should get an epi pen just in case there was a problem later in the night. My sister was pissed off because she didn't have her Visa with her, I said I'd pay and she refused - didn't want me to spend $700.

The look on the pharmacists's face was priceless. He told her that the two dose epi pen was $120. Plus they were giving out $20 drug store gift cards with each purchase.

She should have bought a case of them.

Hope your Fathers Days were better than mine.

But the beer is really good.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 10:09 am
by govmentchedda
Is you sending epi pens to me in the States illegal? Cause I'll take a box at that price.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 10:31 am
by RSmith
govmentchedda wrote: Mon Jun 18, 2018 10:09 am Is you sending epi pens to me in the States illegal? Cause I'll take a box at that price.
According to The Simpsons it is:


Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2018 4:33 pm
by Pruitt
govmentchedda wrote: Mon Jun 18, 2018 10:09 am Is you sending epi pens to me in the States illegal? Cause I'll take a box at that price.
Aren't there Canadian places you can order them from? Because you can get it over the counter here.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2018 10:48 pm
by Rush2112
New Image Brewing (one of the breweries to watch in CO) is releasing a collab with Kane(!) Brewing called Space Force: A Mixed Culture IPA.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2018 9:53 am
by GoodKarma
Rush2112 wrote: Tue Jun 19, 2018 10:48 pm New Image Brewing (one of the breweries to watch in CO) is releasing a collab with Kane(!) Brewing called Space Force: A Mixed Culture IPA.
I saw that yesterday...definitely looking forward to it

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2018 10:11 am
by wlu_lax6

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2018 7:13 am
by wlu_lax6

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2018 5:39 pm
by DaveInSeattle
wlu_lax6 wrote: Mon Jun 25, 2018 7:13 am 500 beers to try this summer
https://www.bicycling.com/culture/g2176 ... of-summer/
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Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2018 7:55 pm
by mister d
Pretty easy to do. Monday is the recovery day, then 6 every other night except Saturday where you go in for 8.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2018 9:32 pm
by A_B
mister d wrote: Mon Jun 25, 2018 7:55 pm Pretty easy to do. Monday is the recovery day, then 6 every other night except Saturday where you go in for 8.
What about GW travel to get the ones not in your area?

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2018 3:54 pm
by wlu_lax6

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2018 10:31 pm
by Rush2112
PM Dawn is the truth.

Self Reliance #6 from Hill Farmstead is perhaps the closest to perfect pale I've ever had. Very excited to travel to the actual farmstead tomorrow.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 8:07 pm
by Pruitt

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 10:55 pm
by sancarlos
So, my sister-in-law frequents a boutique liquor store in San Francisco that features niche and high end spirits and beer. Today, she came over for dinner with us and brought some beer she tried at a recent beer tasting there - Sufferfest IPA.

Never heard of it. But, their niche is gluten-free beers, and they market themselves as being a beer "for athletes". Don't know how they remove gluten and was prepared to hate the beer. But, it actually tasted pretty good.
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Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:12 pm
by Johnnie
I'm still unable to wrap my head around it... How are there so many micro brews everywhere? I've been back stateside just over 2 years now and I'm still amazed with the sheer amount of micro brews everywhere. And they're mostly really good!

What made this happen? It's pretty awesome.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 4:54 pm
by Rush2112
GABF doesn't sell out in minutes for the first time in years...

also shitloads more space, and more breweries. Or they did a better job and foiling the ticket purchasing bots.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2018 12:52 am
by DaveInSeattle
Johnnie wrote: Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:12 pm What made this happen? It's pretty awesome.
History's greatest monster, President Jimmy Carter, gets a lot of the credit for making homebrew legal back in 1979. Almost all microbreweries started out as homebrews.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2018 8:28 am
by Johnnie
DaveInSeattle wrote: Sat Aug 04, 2018 12:52 am
Johnnie wrote: Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:12 pm What made this happen? It's pretty awesome.
History's greatest monster, President Jimmy Carter, gets a lot of the credit for making homebrew legal back in 1979. Almost all microbreweries started out as homebrews.
I'm not talking like the origin or anything. I'm talking the seemingly exponential explosion in the time I was gone to when I came back to America roughly 4 years.

I sent out 35 (!) Tax ID letters for my squadrons booster club to all the local breweries asking for donations to our Christmas party. And I'm sure I still missed a few. How did taking home brewing to a store front happen so easily? Was there an explosion in grants and subsidies for small business owners in terms of beer sales? Were there college degrees in brewmastery or something? It just seems like no matter where you go, throw a stone, hit a brewery.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2018 10:37 am
by mister d
Not enough supply to meet demand and, more importantly, it’s a good that’s objectively better the quicker you get it. But also a lot of them suck and there’s going to be a massive cliff at some point, both locals that never had the quality to exist and majors who leveraged themselves filling markets that have sense filled themselves. Like 7 years ago I bet my most drank state was CA, now it’s NJ by a mile. If I still lived in MA with nearby access to Trillium and Lamplighter I might not set foot in a distributor for a month or two at a time.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2018 10:49 am
by DaveInSeattle
Johnnie wrote: Sat Aug 04, 2018 8:28 am
DaveInSeattle wrote: Sat Aug 04, 2018 12:52 am
Johnnie wrote: Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:12 pm What made this happen? It's pretty awesome.
History's greatest monster, President Jimmy Carter, gets a lot of the credit for making homebrew legal back in 1979. Almost all microbreweries started out as homebrews.
I'm not talking like the origin or anything. I'm talking the seemingly exponential explosion in the time I was gone to when I came back to America roughly 4 years.

I sent out 35 (!) Tax ID letters for my squadrons booster club to all the local breweries asking for donations to our Christmas party. And I'm sure I still missed a few. How did taking home brewing to a store front happen so easily? Was there an explosion in grants and subsidies for small business owners in terms of beer sales? Were there college degrees in brewmastery or something? It just seems like no matter where you go, throw a stone, hit a brewery.
Here in Seattle, it seems like every other store front is either a teriyaki joint or a Microbrewery. There are now 5 that are within a 10 minute drive from my house, and that's not including 2 growler fill places.

Re: The OFFICIAL Craft Beer Thread

Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2018 11:23 am
by sancarlos
DaveInSeattle wrote: Sat Aug 04, 2018 10:49 am
Johnnie wrote: Sat Aug 04, 2018 8:28 am
DaveInSeattle wrote: Sat Aug 04, 2018 12:52 am
Johnnie wrote: Sun Jul 01, 2018 11:12 pm What made this happen? It's pretty awesome.
History's greatest monster, President Jimmy Carter, gets a lot of the credit for making homebrew legal back in 1979. Almost all microbreweries started out as homebrews.
I'm not talking like the origin or anything. I'm talking the seemingly exponential explosion in the time I was gone to when I came back to America roughly 4 years.

I sent out 35 (!) Tax ID letters for my squadrons booster club to all the local breweries asking for donations to our Christmas party. And I'm sure I still missed a few. How did taking home brewing to a store front happen so easily? Was there an explosion in grants and subsidies for small business owners in terms of beer sales? Were there college degrees in brewmastery or something? It just seems like no matter where you go, throw a stone, hit a brewery.
Here in Seattle, it seems like every other store front is either a teriyaki joint or a Microbrewery. There are now 5 that are within a 10 minute drive from my house, and that's not including 2 growler fill places.
When we were in Washington recently, my buddy and I went to the grocery store to pick up some beer. I was surprised at what a large percentage of the shelf space was devoted to local Washington brewers.