enjoyed a Great Divide Hercules Double IPA on friday night.

the new liquor store just outside my neighborhood is starting to get some quality stuff. this is a bad sign for my wallet

4/16/2012 11:06:16 AM

Bottles is great. I've been there a couple times. You have a few more tap selections for growlers at CBX, but bottles is probably next best in Charleston. It's much bigger, but that's more for the wine selection. I would "like" each one of those places on facebook so you can keep track of their daily growler stations.

4/16/2012 11:06:53 AM

http://www.beerpulse.com/2012/04/lagunitas-brewing-founder-sounds-off-on-craft-beer-industry/

i love this guy, and Lagunitas. he is never afraid to ruffle feathers.

4/17/2012 3:39:05 PM

yea, i love people willing to speak their mind.

but i don't agree with him about a lot of his opinions and seems like he's only about protecting his brand which using his words is very "Budweiser-ish" imho. it's ok to ruffle feathers if you're right, it's another thing if you're wrong. sounds like he's bitter that other breweries are tapping into the IPA market. i do agree with his comments about the 'bigger' craft brewers (>2Mbbl) like Sam Adams that run a different business model than smaller 1,000bbl breweries, it's not really the same business, but to that I say who really cares, we're all in it for better beer made with quality ingredients, and beer is beer, people like what they like.

i understand lagunitas concern about bauxite, but it's apparant from what i've read from them that they aren't fully grasping the big picture on sustainability and in 'most' places the aluminum can is much more sustainable and 'green' than glass is, and it's better for beer, shipping, recycling, etc.

[Edited on April 17, 2012 at 5:04 PM. Reason : .]

4/17/2012 4:59:46 PM

Anyone going to Hickory Hops tomorrow?

4/20/2012 11:11:33 AM

Quote :

"sounds like he's bitter that other breweries are tapping into the IPA market."

heyo

4/20/2012 11:47:57 AM

anyone been to the goose island pub in ohare airport?

the reviews looks rather poor, but was wondering if it was worth trying to swing by (would be in the wrong terminal) while on a layover there next weekend

4/20/2012 11:52:20 AM

IIRC it's just their regulars plus one or two seasonals. Although you can find all the Goose Island regulars on tap at most other bars in the airport as well. Rumor has it they may have bottles of BCBS, that would be worth the trip, but I'd call ahead to see if they actually have any.

[Edited on April 20, 2012 at 12:27 PM. Reason : .]

4/20/2012 12:25:13 PM

^^ haven't been to the pub in the airport but i went to the brewery last weekend. Didnt get to try any of the BCBs but a few of the belgians were alright, Sofie and Pere Jacques are worth a shot if they have either

[Edited on April 20, 2012 at 1:29 PM. Reason : any*]

4/20/2012 1:29:01 PM

good trip to CBX today. Got their last bottle of Boy King they were holding for me along with about a half dozen other bombers.

Jbrick, does coast not have anything out other than Hop Art from their year round lineup? Havent seen them much anywhere.

Local charleston beer doesn't seem to be supported by local bars as much as I thought it would be.

4/20/2012 8:08:09 PM

tried two "Old Meck" beers today (charlotte beers)


they were offered to me as a pilsner and an amber- neither of which I would agree with as described, but the "pilsner" was not a bad beer (hoppy for a pilsner), and I liked the Copper, but seemed to be the only one at the table who did

4/20/2012 8:57:02 PM

Old Meck beers are brewed in true german style. For what they brew, they brew it great. The copper is actually a german altbier. It's very popular here, in almost every bar/restaurant these days. I wasn't a huge fan at first but it's actually quite refreshing. But in the craft beer wave it's definitely strange to find a brewery that focuses on classic german stylings and not towing the line of every other craft with big IPAs and rare aged releases. a welcome change IMO.

4/20/2012 9:08:53 PM

haha yeah, I liked it, but it wasn't what I expected, nor was it a "common" beer style for me... but it was good!


our waiter looked like this though:



so he probably figured he could tell me whatever and it wouldn't matter because it didn't taste like copper canned pbr

4/20/2012 9:15:34 PM

lol, where were you?

4/21/2012 12:24:40 PM

Actually the brewmaster at Dry Dock here in Denver, left to open his own classic german brewery. He went so far as to actually order and ship a used copper top brew kettle from germany (and building the firebox underneath). It's still craft beer, just craft german beer. When most people think craft here in the U.S. they are referring to the american craft beer movement which has brought on all these new American beer styles.

You can check out some of the pics here:
http://www.facebook.com/ProstBrewing

4/21/2012 12:32:29 PM

Oh yea, almost forgot... finally had my birthday beer bash #2, knocked out a bunch of my big beers:

They were all pretty phenomenal, every one was different & interesting and just incredible tasting.



[Edited on April 21, 2012 at 2:14 PM. Reason : .]

4/21/2012 1:49:48 PM

Quote :

"Jbrick, does coast not have anything out other than Hop Art from their year round lineup? Havent seen them much anywhere. Local charleston beer doesn't seem to be supported by local bars as much as I thought it would be. "

Hmm...I get the opposite impression. Westbook is all over the place and Holy City is getting there as well. People are kind of hard up on the local beers here. The "local" movement is a little ridiculous around here with everything...including beer.

The only reason I can see you getting that impression is that Coast does have a limited production so all the new places opening up can't get a Coast tap. The last bar I worked at opened up 3 years ago and still isn't able to get a Coast tap.

4/21/2012 2:06:52 PM

4/21/2012 2:56:57 PM

^^you are right...And actually all the bars today had local taps (except Coast) I guess I just struck out on my places last night.


Went to Westbrook today and enjoyed their stuff a lot.

4/21/2012 7:19:24 PM

Quote :

"lol, where were you?"

The Lodge



it is over off colony. We discovered it several years ago, and go to it whenever I'm back home. Great beer, great food, great specials, great patio, great music... it would be my go to joint if I lived back in Charlotte again

4/21/2012 7:50:11 PM

Palmetto Pale Ale
Coast Hop Art IPA
Coast Boy King DIPA
Westbrook Gose (growler fill. German sour wheat brewed with salt and coriander. Tart, delicious)
Westbrook Covert Hops Black IPA
Westbrook Vanilla Tree Dubbel
Westbrook Lichtenhainer Smoked Sour Wheat
Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus
Cantillon Classic Gueuze
Hanssens Ouede Gueuze

4/23/2012 9:21:10 AM

FWbP

id like to get into trading, but it seems as if everyone on /r/beertrade is also from south texas.

4/23/2012 9:52:52 AM

^^left off one bottle...

Cisco Brewing - The Woods LE - Lady of the Woods (bright straw with white lace. Tropical fruit, oak, Chardonnay. Slight tang finishes dry and refreshing.)



^are you searching for anything from the East Coast you can't find down there? I'd be willing to seek and put together a care package in exchange.

Or are you looking for west coast/hard to find/limited editions?

4/23/2012 10:01:42 AM

west coast stuff, east coast stuff, northern stuff.... the texas laws are pretty arcane in terms of restrictions for craft sales in the state, for breweries that are based out of the state. there's several political movements underway to try and reform some of the rather ridiculous laws... for instance, if you open a brewery, you have to chose one or the other with being able to sell your beer at a brewpub, or being able to legally sell it outside of the pub... a lot of labeling restrictions that are currently being laxed (ie, to qualify to be able to put "beer" on your label, it must be between 0-4% abv, and above 4% must be labelled as an "ale" no matter what the style.... this has since been overturned in the last year, but for a long time, made texas breweries seem rather...dumb to the outside). there's also some weird legalese about being forced to label some beers as malt liquors. this also prevented any brewery that wished to bring in beers that were brewed outside of texas, that said "beer" on the label, and were over 4%... how ludicrous. texas breweries were also (and may still be, i think) disallowed from advertising where their beer can be purchased. they could not label with the "strength". so a "strong ale" or "imperial" couldn't happen.

however, there's some pretty tasty stuff coming out of (512), jester king, real ale, karbach and one of the st. arnolds' beers is pretty palatable.

i don't have any specifics in mind, but i do miss being able to find anything at all from founders, great lakes, bells, troegs, terrapin, etc.

but there's tons and tons of things i'd like to try. anything really.

[Edited on April 23, 2012 at 10:52 AM. Reason : e]

4/23/2012 10:50:50 AM

i'm looking for the (512) Whiskey Barrel Aged Double Pecan Porter if you have any you're willing to trade.

4/23/2012 11:01:28 AM

unfortunately, i haven't been unable to get any bottles this year. in preparation of getting hitched this coming weekend, i haven't had time to scout down when bottles of some of the more interesting things are becoming available. when i get back from the honeymoon, i plan to try and spend some more time tracking down the more limited releases of things for potential trades.

had some from a friend though... with using maker's barrels this year, it's really really nice.


[Edited on April 23, 2012 at 11:34 AM. Reason : e]

4/23/2012 11:30:15 AM

nice, well i trade under the same name on BA, so you can look me up there if you're interested in anything CO or west-coast, i get most of it.

4/23/2012 1:09:01 PM

^where is the honeymoon?

4/23/2012 1:09:28 PM

I have to order kegs from Lonerider for an event next month. One will end up being Shotgun Betty because my boss requested it. The other options they have right now are Peacemaker Pale Ale, Sweet Josie Brown, and The Preacher. I haven't heard of the last one before. This is the description on their site:

Quote :

"The Preacher’s sharp blue eyes have seen too many sins. This Belgian-style Saison is created with an American twist. A spicy, fruity ale with a bright citrus hop kick."

I'm really not sure which one to choose. A pale ale seems like a safe bet, but the brown would be good for those that prefer a darker beer. Personally I like saison beers but I don't know if that would be good for a large crowd.

4/23/2012 1:29:39 PM

I've had the peacemaker and it's pretty good. I haven't had the other ones but they look really good.

4/23/2012 1:34:22 PM

I would go with Sweet Josie Brown. it's an award winning brown and will be a good contrast to the shotgun betty. Pale Ales can be hit or miss with a crowd.

4/23/2012 1:35:31 PM

^^^^ pm sent

[Edited on April 23, 2012 at 1:42 PM. Reason : e]

4/23/2012 1:41:27 PM

^^ Yeah I think you're right. Their brown is good and Shotgun Betty is already a light beer. Sweet Josie it is!

4/23/2012 1:43:25 PM

Definitely wouldn't go saison with a large group.

4/23/2012 2:16:11 PM

Yea some people absolutely despise anything remotely hoppy. Drives me crazy, but you have to respect that.

4/23/2012 2:35:21 PM

In Vancouver / Seattle through the end of the weekend. Any recommendations on must try beers or establishments?

4/23/2012 10:19:16 PM

If in Canada look for Cantillon (if you like lambics), I hear it's rampant up there.

4/24/2012 12:30:24 AM

^^ in Seattle I enjoyed having beers at Brouwers, Noble Fir, Uber Tavern, Fremont Brewing, Urban Family, and Stumbling Monk...mostly skewed to the Ballard area since that's where my host lives, went to quite a few other places but those are probably the ones I'd return to first

specific breweries are a little harder, there were so many unfamiliar ones that I had some difficulty keeping track...the Boneyard ipas were awesome, Cascade with the great sours of course, Silver City, Fremont, Oakshire, Black Raven, Hair of the Dog...

4/24/2012 7:03:14 AM

guess who just picked up a 12 pack of National Bohemmian just for the shit of it?

THIS GUY

4/25/2012 8:06:03 PM

^Pikesville Rye with that or it didn't happen.

4/26/2012 12:33:09 AM

4/26/2012 8:16:24 PM

Couple more goodies:



Raspberry Tart is one of my favorites, opened it last night and it was delicious, light, fruit-filled, sweet, it makes an excellent dessert beer.

4/28/2012 11:41:06 AM

Tried this the other day. I thought it was pretty great.

4/28/2012 12:31:03 PM

Oskar Blues expanding into NC

Quote :

"His company has signed a contract on a 30,000-square-foot brewery space adjacent to a 6,000-square-foot restaurant and music venue in downtown Brevard, which he said, has a "small town main street tone" similar to Lyons."

5/2/2012 8:32:55 AM

^ I'm pretty excited about that. My family takes an annual vacation to Cashiers, NC and Brevard is on the way.

5/2/2012 9:06:05 AM

My grandparents live in a retirement community close to Brevard, would give extra reason to go visit.

5/2/2012 9:47:24 AM

Everytime I drink Oskar Blues at a gathering it gets a lot of attention. Anything in a can that isn't macrobrew is baffling to some. Just this weekend some kid with a nattie lite in his hand said Mama's Little Yella Pils looked like a skunk beer

5/2/2012 10:40:40 AM

Just wait, their brewery releases are crazy good! Not sure if you guys get their ODB Barleywine on tap anywhere but I absolutely love it, a must try if you see it.

5/2/2012 10:51:25 AM

Yumm.... couple more from some trading.

5/3/2012 4:11:00 PM

...take one down, pass it around.
IOW, set 'em up.

5/3/2012 4:13:04 PM