Craft Beer Thread

Peter Minde wrote

Come on, PBR is the beer of effete snobs.  

More like hipsters in skinny jeans riding single speeds.  But, yeah, there's a type of snobbery tied up in that lifestyle as well.  Sad and pathetic snobbery.....but snobbery.

I still think guys that oooo and awe over a beer's "finish" or its abundance of hops probably also speak fluent Klingon and have at least one Leonard Nimoy autograph.

Noah John wrote

I still think guys that oooo and awe over a beer's "finish" or its abundance of hops probably also speak fluent Klingon and have at least one Leonard Nimoy autograph.

What's Klingon and who's Leonard Nimoy?

mattchuck2 wrote

I fall somewhere in the middle of this debate. I like good beer, but I like PBR, too. I like IPAs, but I have no idea what IBUs are. I like hoppy goodness, but sometimes you just want to drink cold Bud Light on a lake.

I did stop by the new brewery in Saranac Lake (Blue Line Brewery?) in the old car wash building next to the McDonald's, and it was pretty damn good. I recommend the Black.

I have not been at blue line yet.  I need to go check it out.

NJ - I know a good deal of my fellow mug club guys at LPBP and not many are playing dungeons and dragons.  If I'm really thirsty ill occasionally have a labbatts blue.  High test craft beer is not great if you just finished a long bike ride or cut the grass because of the higher ABV.

I started this thread to talk good beer - if you are a bud light drinker thats fine but no need to bash those that are into craft beer.  I got the idea for this thread from all the discussion on my Utah thread where many posts were about good beer so I know I am not alone here.  For commercial beer drinkers you have campy's wood chucking and beer thread.

mattchuck2 wrote

I fall somewhere in the middle of this debate. I like good beer, but I like PBR, too. I like IPAs, but I have no idea what IBUs are. I like hoppy goodness, but sometimes you just want to drink cold Bud Light on a lake.

International Bitterness Units.  I never want to drink a bud light or any other light beer.  But, I do agree that sometimes (hot middle of the day) a nice cold Bud can be quite refreshing. :).  

Noah John wrote

I still think guys that oooo and awe over a beer's "finish" or its abundance of hops probably also speak fluent Klingon and have at least one Leonard Nimoy autograph.

While I don't know any klingon, I am guilty of enjoying both tasty, hoppy IPA's and Star Trek.  Although I never really watched much after Deep Space 9.  

Coach, I'm not bashing anybody; I'm just kidding around.  I've been known to drink a microbrew now and again (and again and again).  

Wait just one minute....only craft beers are "good"??? Thats just silly.

campgottagopee wrote

Wait just one minute....only craft beers are "good"??? Thats just silly.

Actually, many micro-brewers will tell you that the QUALITY of the mass-produced beers in the United States, Budweiser, Miller, Coors, etc., is excellent. Their ability to produce a product with such consistency and quality in such massive volumes is very impressive.

It's really just a question of style. The mass produced beers in the US generally all fall into the category of pale lagers, while many of the micro-brewed beers fall into the ale category.

After that, it just comes down to what you like. I tend to like them all!!!

I think that once you get used to craft beer mass produced North American beer lacks taste.  That is not to say that I just love hops as good German and Czech pilsners are one of my favorite beer styles.  I think what is missing in Bud and others is barley taste.  To save money Bud uses corn and rice in place of barley.  It's not that Bud and others are not good beer it's that they not "TRUE" beer.  Beer is supposed be made from just barley yeast hops and water and that is actually a law in Germany.

I'm not a fan of adding anything to beer. No fruit, spices, sugar, corn, rice.  I want just beer in my beer.  

what about sam adams, magic hat, yuengling etc? i think they make some pretty good post worthy brews but would hardly consider them "craft" brewers. hell most of us can;t tell the craft brewers from massed produced micro marketing bs without looking it up on a list anyway. the thread title just has some implied beer snobbbery that's all

Sam Adams is still considered craft beer.  That is why the term microbrew went away as some brewers got bigger like Sam, New Belgium, Sierra Nevada, etc

Personally I'm not a fan of magic hat because they add all kinds of funky stuff to their beers but that is true to who they are.

Yuengling unfortunately has sold out to cost cutting and changed their recipe to add corn so they could make more money

Then there is the issue of AB and the big boys buying up craft brewers to try to prevent from losing market share to craft beer.  AB InBev bought Goose Island and now you see it a lot particularly at bars dominated by AB distributors like the Cloudspin Lounge at Whiteface.

If you like it it's "good"to you so drink away but I'm going to have to be really thirsty or desperate to drink "corn" beer.  I will not disagree if that makes me a bit of a beer snob.

I did not create the thread to spur controversy but to talk about good beer.

I like corn

Where is Cornhead when you need him?

This made me thirsty, I'm going home:

DrSkimeister wrote

CONTENTS DELETED

DackerDan wrote

campgottagopee wrote

I like corn

The kind that comes in a 5th?

I checked out the new Blueline Brewery in Saranac Lake today.  Good beer that is pretty much the opposite end of the spectrum from LPBP.  Very malty and not much hops compared to the more hoppy LP beers.  Picked up a growler of APA.

I have driven by there a few times and have been meaning to stop in.  I drive by the Naked Dove Brewery often and finally stopped in last fall.  Decent beer but nothing earth shattering.  I am currently drinking a Southern Tier Live...bottle conditioned Pale Ale...A little too citrusy for me.  I like the bitter traditional or English hops.  Coach, I agree with your Magic Hat assessment but they do brew Heart of Darkness (which they discotinued and then brought back), which I rate in my top ten year round category.  Back to Southern Tier...they have a Phin and Matt's which is really nice blend of Malt and Hops.  Long Live Craft Brewing and especially in NY...although Vermont's not bad...

I have not been to Southern Tier in person but their beer is amazing.  Bending my no fruit in my beer rule exception is Pumpkin Beer in the fall and Southern Tiers Pumpking is freaking amazing.  Best Imperial Pumpkin beer on the planet.

Their 2X IPA and Phin & Matt's are also excellent.

American beer has come a long way. It wasn't that long ago that the running joke was "why is American beer like making love in canoe?" If you don't know the answer, I'll tell you later. In my limited experiences, the Long Trails and Otter Creek Copper Ales are quite fine and I totally support the renaissance of American craft brewing.

Coach, if you ever stray north of the border, you will find some fine beers in Ontario. The list is just too long, though my personal favourites come from Creemore Springs. "Rock Cut," the the new Lake of Bays Lager is VERY nice as well, plus it is local.

Sick Bird Rider wrote

American beer has come a long way. It wasn't that long ago that the running joke was "why is American beer like making love in canoe?" If you don't know the answer, I'll tell you later. In my limited experiences, the Long Trails and Otter Creek Copper Ales are quite fine and I totally support the renaissance of American craft brewing.

Coach, if you ever stray north of the border, you will find some fine beers in Ontario. The list is just too long, though my personal favourites come from Creemore Springs. "Rock Cut," the the new Lake of Bays Lager is VERY nice as well, plus it is local.

I am north of the border this weekend and tasted some local Canadian Micro's.  This one was, by far, my favorite...A very delicious IPA:

I get to Toronto about once a year and beer is great there.  Lots of Craft never seen on this side of the border plus different Euro beers that you don't see in the US

Unibroune in the Montreal area is my Fav Canadian brewer.  Great Belguim style beers sold in 750 ml bottles for around 10 bucks in US but you can buy them for 5 bucks in Quebec.  Best one is La find du Mond a strong golden ale similar but better than Duval.