Favorite Beers or Brewpubs

[Pete from Boston]

Not that it matters, since Europe already does a fine job, but has anyone had a really, really good US pilsner?  All the ones I have seem to be made less sharp and crisp than their German and Czech counterparts, as if the cost of the long lagering time makes it too risky to make a product that might offend some folks a little.

[triplemultiplex]

Wisconsin breweries Lakefront and New Glarus have set the standard by which I judge all other craft beers.  The brewery tour at Lakefront is way fun; partly because you can drink before and during the tour, not just after.  And the guides have a good time with it.
Spotted Cow is an institution unto itself.  I miss it when I travel to other states.  (New Glarus does not distribute outside of Wisconsin).

While currently working in New Mexico, I had one of the most unique beers I've ever tried.  A red chile porter.  It finishes with a spicy tingle on the tongue and goes great with food.  Found it at this place in Socorro.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Wisconsin breweries Lakefront and New Glarus have set the standard by which I judge all other craft beers.  The brewery tour at Lakefront is way fun; partly because you can drink before and during the tour, not just after.  And the guides have a good time with it.
Spotted Cow is an institution unto itself.  I miss it when I travel to other states.  (New Glarus does not distribute outside of Wisconsin).

Spotted Cow is one of the very few beers I enjoy drinking. I get to Wisconsin fairly frequently and always forget to bring a six-pack home with me. I also have to admit I felt some disappointment when friends wanted to go to Duluth bars, because they won't have Spotted Cow there.

The funny thing about their "only in Wisconsin" tag is that I lived in Superior which is about as far as you can get from New Glarus while still being in WI, and you could still find their beer everywhere. Even the tiniest, shittiest gas stations had it.

[empirestate]

Wisconsin breweries Lakefront and New Glarus have set the standard by which I judge all other craft beers.  The brewery tour at Lakefront is way fun; partly because you can drink before and during the tour, not just after.  And the guides have a good time with it.
Spotted Cow is an institution unto itself.  I miss it when I travel to other states.  (New Glarus does not distribute outside of Wisconsin).

A fun thing with New Glarus is that they make sort of street blade-like signs for their beers, which you can display in different configurations. You could make fake headlines with them such as "[Two Women][Totally Naked][Spotted Cow]".

Another Wisconsin brewery is O'so, which I don't know well, but the house brew they make for the Brick Lot pub in Sturgeon Bay is a very respectable pale ale (house brews typically seem to be Vienna-style lagers).

[Pete from Boston]

The only New Glarus I've had is a sour cherry thing in a 22oz bottle.  Tasty, not something I could drink a lot of.

But as for "only in Wisconsin," I've seen it in a store here around Boston.

[dfwmapper]

Texas breweries:
Deep Ellum, Lakewood, (512)

Non-Texas breweries:
Odell, Oskar Blues, Deschutes, Ballast Point, Troegs, Great Lakes, Bell's, Founders

Individual beers from other breweries:
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA and Indian Brown Ale, Schlafly American and Tasmanian IPAs, Sierra Nevada Celebration, Rogue Dead Guy Ale, Peticolas Velvet Hammer, Southern Tier Iniquity.

[Pete from Boston]

As I get old and more easily make a mess/fool/hangover of myself, I find the session ("don't call them light") beers particularly helpful.  We now have Notch on the North Shore that produces nothing but low-4%s beers, all of them very good. 

Other session favorites are Founders All-Day IPA and Jack's Abby Jabby Brau. 

[odditude]

I tried at least 9 different beers at a restaurant in New Hope PA for my first time buying a drink for my 21st birthday

Triumph?

my personal preferences are wheat beers (e.g. Troegs DreamWeaver) and ales (like Yards Brawler). any beer fan in the Philly area should visit the Irish Pol, which is located in Olde City and has a phenomenal draft selection.

[texaskdog]

I still don't understand the IPA obsession

[texaskdog]

Two favorites I can't get here: Three Floyds Zombie Dust Pale Ale from Munster, Indiana, and Carson's RIPA (red IPA) from Evansville.  Both really well-rounded hoppy ales.

My local favorite success story is Jack's Abby in Framingham, Mass., the only local brewer I know to only brew lagers (and a crapload of them).  Really creative line of beers, from hoppy to light, sweet to smoky.  Their tap penetration is impressive, considering there's practically a commercial brewer on every third block nowadays. 

I keep threatening to brew my own, and am probably closer than ever.  Maybe this next snowstorm will be the time.

Is this the duke of dochester, Pete Doherty?

[OCGuy81]

I still don't understand the IPA obsession

It's an easy beer to brew, so a lot of breweries make em. They're also usually higher in ABV, which I'm sure helps with their appeal.

[lordsutch]

IPA was designed for the heat of Indian Summers - American IPAs aren't real IPAs if they can't take the heat!

Well, technically they were designed to last long enough to make the trip to India before spoiling. Honestly I've never been a big fan of IPAs.

Personally I'm partial to hefeweizens and pale ales. Fat Tire or Bass would probably be my default ale, while 312 is probably my default go-to wheat beer, although I'll usually try something local or on-site brewed if available instead. Locally, Macon Progress pale ale (yes, everything in Macon is usually a pun) is pretty good. If I have to drink a lager, Yuengling.

[empirestate]

I still don't understand the IPA obsession

It's an easy beer to brew, so a lot of breweries make em. They're also usually higher in ABV, which I'm sure helps with their appeal.

They're still not my favorite, but I'm come to appreciate them more over time.

For my part, I don't understand the weiss/Weizen/wheat beer obsession.

[dfwmapper]

Some people like strong flavors and some don't. I love IPAs and other strongly flavored beers like porters and stouts. I can't stand super-spicy foods.

[Zeffy]

I tried at least 9 different beers at a restaurant in New Hope PA for my first time buying a drink for my 21st birthday

Triumph?

Damn, you're good.

[Desert Man]

For cheap beer, I like Coors the best (they say it has Rocky mountain glacier/spring water in their beer), but from what I was told: there's a water filtration plant next to the Coors brewery in Golden, CO. I like Sierra Nevada pale ale and Anchor Steam, both Californian beers, and Rolling Rocks from Latrobe, PA (or so they say). I'm not a beer drinker, nor has a huge wallet...my knowledge in what are the best beers are limited. My two trips to France (one I was over 21) I tried a few SUPERB GOOD local northern French and "West" Flemish beers in my Dad's home region of Nord/Pas-de-Calais, more known for beer production and growing hops than wines.

[Pete from Boston]

For cheap beer, I like Coors the best (they say it has Rocky mountain glacier/spring water in their beer), but from what I was told: there's a water filtration plant next to the Coors brewery in Golden, CO.

I have read that in the 80s or 90s Coors built a plant in Virginia to which they sent a dehydrated incomplete product from Colorado, and non-Rocky Mountain water ended up in the final product.  Anheuser-Busch protested to the ATF, and Coors dropped the "Rocky Mountain spring water" bit and replaced it with something about a "fresh-from-the-Rockies taste."

[Mr_Northside]

Rolling Rocks from Latrobe, PA (or so they say).

It was.  It was the brew made by the company "Latrobe Brewing", which - if memory serves - was acquired by In-Bev, who decided they didn't want it, and sold it to Anheuser-Busch, who moved production to Newark, NJ.  (Of course, when In-Bev bought AB, they once again owned Rolling Rock.
I was never a huge fan, but had a soft spot for the beer, having been born literally across the creek from the brewery.  I can say I haven't bought a single Rolling Rock since they moved production to New Jersey (though I've had a few free ones)

[texaskdog]

I still don't understand the IPA obsession

It's an easy beer to brew, so a lot of breweries make em. They're also usually higher in ABV, which I'm sure helps with their appeal.

They're still not my favorite, but I'm come to appreciate them more over time.

For my part, I don't understand the weiss/Weizen/wheat beer obsession.

I still can't find anything I like better than Bud LIght, but if I'm in the right mood it's Mickey's or Guiness

[leroys73]

For cheap beer, I like Coors the best (they say it has Rocky mountain glacier/spring water in their beer), but from what I was told: there's a water filtration plant next to the Coors brewery in Golden, CO.

I have read that in the 80s or 90s Coors built a plant in Virginia to which they sent a dehydrated incomplete product from Colorado, and non-Rocky Mountain water ended up in the final product.  Anheuser-Busch protested to the ATF, and Coors dropped the "Rocky Mountain spring water" bit and replaced it with something about a "fresh-from-the-Rockies taste."

I used to drink gallons of Coors.  I toured the brewery in 1974.  At that time Coors was in the process of opening the brewery in VA.  The person we were talking to wasn't sure how they would handle the Rocky Mountain water deal.  I assumed the Keystone brand was from VA but didn't know. 

We asked why Coors was only offered in a region roughly bordered by the Rockies and the Great plains.  They "claimed" it was because they shipped it in insulated trucks not refrigerated and that is far as it could go without getting warm.  Once again they "claimed" that they required stores to always keep it cool.   This was BS in Oklahoma as grocery stores kept it where ever they could. My brother in law was in management at the local Coors distributor and he said the store were not suppose to let it get warm.  Did they really care as long as we bought the stuff.

However, liquor stores could not sell Coors in Oklahoma back then because the state did not let them sell cold beer.  Coors required it to be cold all the time.  I'm not sure if Oklahoma liquor stores still can't as I moved to Texas 18 years ago.  I do know 3.2 is all that non state liquor stores can sell.  Does any other state sell 3.2 beer?

Oklahoma always had some strange laws involving any alcohol.  Probably goes back to the days of Oklahoma Territory and Prohibition.  In my early 20s a person could be drinking 3.2 beer and drive as long as they were at least 21 (girls 18) and not overly drunk.   

[bugo]

My favorite is Abbey, a dubbel brewed by New Belgium. It has a lot of flavor and is easy to drink. Fortunately New Belgium doesn't sell beer in Okiehoma because if they did, I'd probably be an alcoholic.

[texaskdog]

For cheap beer, I like Coors the best (they say it has Rocky mountain glacier/spring water in their beer), but from what I was told: there's a water filtration plant next to the Coors brewery in Golden, CO.

I have read that in the 80s or 90s Coors built a plant in Virginia to which they sent a dehydrated incomplete product from Colorado, and non-Rocky Mountain water ended up in the final product.  Anheuser-Busch protested to the ATF, and Coors dropped the "Rocky Mountain spring water" bit and replaced it with something about a "fresh-from-the-Rockies taste."

I used to drink gallons of Coors.  I toured the brewery in 1974.  At that time Coors was in the process of opening the brewery in VA.  The person we were talking to wasn't sure how they would handle the Rocky Mountain water deal.  I assumed the Keystone brand was from VA but didn't know. 

We asked why Coors was only offered in a region roughly bordered by the Rockies and the Great plains.  They "claimed" it was because they shipped it in insulated trucks not refrigerated and that is far as it could go without getting warm.  Once again they "claimed" that they required stores to always keep it cool.   This was BS in Oklahoma as grocery stores kept it where ever they could. My brother in law was in management at the local Coors distributor and he said the store were not suppose to let it get warm.  Did they really care as long as we bought the stuff.

However, liquor stores could not sell Coors in Oklahoma back then because the state did not let them sell cold beer.  Coors required it to be cold all the time.  I'm not sure if Oklahoma liquor stores still can't as I moved to Texas 18 years ago.  I do know 3.2 is all that non state liquor stores can sell.  Does any other state sell 3.2 beer?

Oklahoma always had some strange laws involving any alcohol.  Probably goes back to the days of Oklahoma Territory and Prohibition.  In my early 20s a person could be drinking 3.2 beer and drive as long as they were at least 21 (girls 18) and not overly drunk.   

I wonder how much beer Coors sold just based on Smokey & the Bandit.  It's pretty awful.

[bugo]

Oklahoma always had some strange laws involving any alcohol.  Probably goes back to the days of Oklahoma Territory and Prohibition.  In my early 20s a person could be drinking 3.2 beer and drive as long as they were at least 21 (girls 18) and not overly drunk.   

The 3.2 law is actually racist in origin. Native Americans often lack an enzyme that helps break down alcohol and they get drunk faster than members of other ethnic groups, and they are prone to alcoholism. The laws were made to "protect" the Indian man from himself.

I believe Kansas and Utah have 3.2 swill.

[dfwmapper]

Oklahoma still prohibits sale of cold real beer. 3.2 dates back to the beginning of the end of prohibition when the Cullen-Harrison Act changed the definition of an intoxicating beverage to anything over 3.2% (previously it was anything over 0.5%). The 21st Amendment was ratified later that year, ending it entirely, but the definition remained in use in some places.

[The High Plains Traveler]

I wouldn't call it a favorite, but it's an unusual beer that shouldn't have worked but it did. We recently ate at Oggi's Pizzeria and Brewing Company in San Diego. I ordered an amber ale, which proved to be rather pedestrian, while my wife ordered Belching Beaver Peanut Butter Milk Stout. Yuk, I thought. Then I took a sip, and it was what I ordered to finish off dinner. When searching for a restaurant, I will usually seek out a brewpub, and I tend to order amber and/or Scottish ales.