Top Five Micro-Brews

[50 Mission Cap]

Okay,

So what are your favorite microbrews? I'm always looking to try something new...

1. Bells from Michigan (Amber, Oberon, Two-Hearted IPA)

2. Pyramid from Colorado (Excellent Wiezen)

3. New Glarus from Wisconsin (Copper Kettle - wheat beer, very tasty)

4. Boulevard from right here in Kansas City (whole line of beers... the Wheat is their flag ship though, and my old standby)

5. Fat Tire from Colorado - the Amber

[mimbresman]

Kind of out of the micro-brew loop living over-seas but I found a new favorite while in Albuquerque over Christmas.

-Dale's Pale Ale

The local brew-pub in Silver City "imports" beer from the Sierra Blanca Brewing Co. (http://www.sierrablancabrewery.com/our_beers.html) over in Carrizozo, NM (website shows a different address). The IPA is excellent.

Had a good Scottish beer at a friends house during my visit, but don't recall what it was. Very nice.

[varider]

Another vote for Dale's from Oskar Blues... it comes in a can and is delicious. Pack it in Pack it out.

They make a few others including a Scottish Ale goes by "Old Chub" not bad, but a wee heavy on the malt for me, but hey, it's a scottish ale after all... right?

http://www.oskarblues.com/

Dogfishhead 90 minute IPA Mmmmmmmm

[Tman]

Sierra Pale Ale
Most offerings from Rogue

[phlatlander]

Anything from Stone (http://www.stonebrew.com/)

Anything from Boulevard (http://www.boulevardbrewing.com/index.cfm)

Anything from Bells (http://www.bellsbeer.com/index.php/home) (thanks 50!)

Breckenridge (http://www.breckbrew.com/) has quite a selection of beers/seasonals and so far none have disappointed (thanks RIPP!)

And of course, my favorite: 1554 (http://www.newbelgium.com/beers_bk.php)
(However, not a fan of New Belgium's Fat Tire. It's very inconsistent — on a rare occasion it's fine, but most of the time it has had the essence of sour milk.)

[Spatafore]

1. Dogfish Head
2. Unibroue
3. Bells

[50 Mission Cap]

1. Dogfish Head
2. Unibroue
3. Bells

Spatafore,

What's yer fav bells? I'm digging the oberon, but Amber is my old standby...

[FBX]

Not sure how easily you can find these in your neck of the woods, but here are my favorites:

1.) Blackfoot River (www.blackfootriverbrewing.com/) Scottish Ale - Very smooth. Goes well with fish and chips. From downtown Helena, MT, and my first [legal] pint.

2.)Silver Gulch (www.ptialaska.net/~gbrady/pages/main.html) [Copper Creek] Amber Ale = From the northernmost brewery in the USA (Fairbanks, AK). Pretty hardy tasting, but made with excellent Fox spring water.

3.) Alaskan (www.alaskanbeer.com/) Amber Ale - Probably too big to be called a microbrew nowadays, but the AK Brewing Co. still makes top-notch ales. Their IPA is pretty good too. (Juneau, AK)

4.) Kona (www.konabrewingco.com/)- Hits the spot after a long day of surfing. I liked all their varieties, but the Golden Ale and Pipeline Porter are my favorites. (Kona, HI)

5.) Lewis & Clark (http://www.lewisandclarkbrewing.com/) [Miner's Gold] Hefeweizen - Also from Helena. Tasty!

[Teamfubar]

1. Odell Brewing Company Fort Collins, CO: 5 BARREL PALE ALE. A master brewer at Odell's is a family friend. He is so into beer, he named his first kid Porter! A great Pale Ale, without a sharp bitter finish, just a subtle bitter finish of a good pale ale.
2. Odell Brewing Company Fort Collins, CO: EXTRA SPECIAL RED. Seasonal that was unreal. Brewed from an ancient Egyptian recipe. over 8% ABV. A real ass kicker!
3. New Belgium Brewing Fort Collins, CO: FAT TIRE. The first "micro" that started it all for me. Not as inconsistent here in Colorado. (I think that is a dating issue.) A person couldn't ask for a greener company that supports the sport. Definitely a good standby.
4. Bristol Brewing Company Colorado Springs, CO: VENETUCCI PUMPKIN ALE Another seasonal, but by far, the BEST pumpkin I've ever had. Not overpowered by a bunch of spice. They grill their pumpkin first before adding it to the brew. Nice pumpkin taste, not overbearing spice taste.
5. Crow Peak Brewing Spearfish, SD: PILE O' DIRT PORTER: Only had one chance to try a brew in my old home town. A good smokey finishing porter. Seemed pretty decent drinking it on a nice summer night under the stars.

[davkatreb]

I only get to pick five? Damn, dude!

[50 Mission Cap]

Anything from Stone (http://www.stonebrew.com/)

Anything from Boulevard (http://www.boulevardbrewing.com/index.cfm)

Anything from Bells (http://www.bellsbeer.com/index.php/home) (thanks 50!)

Breckenridge (http://www.breckbrew.com/) has quite a selection of beers/seasonals and so far none have disappointed (thanks RIPP!)

And of course, my favorite: 1554 (http://www.newbelgium.com/beers_bk.php)
(However, not a fan of New Belgium's Fat Tire. It's very inconsistent — on a rare occasion it's fine, but most of the time it has had the essence of sour milk.)

Phlat,

Looked at the Bell's site... you need to try their Brown Ale... fabulous. So fabulous, I think Perez Hilton just might agree.

[50 Mission Cap]

I only get to pick five? Damn, dude!

By all means, as many as you please.

An esteemed drinker / rider like you should at least be able to rattle off upwards of 25....

[50 Mission Cap]

Any minnesotans remember James Paige (sp?)... Damn good beer. I drank 12 of them before my first European trip about 7 years ago. Was freaked about the 8 hour + flight... definitely soothed the nerves... Or the time the cute but slightly heavy stewardess on a Minne - Chi-town flight gave me like five of them for free; that was sweet.

Did they lose their national distribution license? I found them on the web, but never in the liquor store...

http://www.pagebrewing.com/beers/beers.php

[Spatafore]

Spatafore,

What's yer fav bells? I'm digging the oberon, but Amber is my old standby...

I Originally had Java Stout as my favorite but when I visited the brewery a couple years ago they had a great batch of Kalamazoo Stout on draught and it had me speechless. Oberon is great also. I picked up an Oberon jersey while I was there.

[50 Mission Cap]

I Originally had Java Stout as my favorite but when I visited the brewery a couple years ago they had a great batch of Kalamazoo Stout on draught and it had me speechless. Oberon is great also. I picked up an Oberon jersey while I was there.

Apparently they moved operations to a different site and do not give tours any more!! I was up in TC this summer and was wanting to go on our way home to KC.. no dice :) The stout is definitely tasty! Thanks Phlat!

[MrTB]

Right now I'm having a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Anchor............pretty good stuff.

Others.......

3 Floyds.....Robert the Bruce
Goose Island.......Jaques Piere
2 Brothers.....Domaine DuPage
Old Rasputin
Rogue.........Brutal Bitter
Anything on tap at Americas Brewing Company
Anything on tap at Lunar Brewing Company
The 500-700 beers available at the Freakin' Frog in Las Vegas :eek:

[Hand/of/Midas]

Right now I'm having a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Anchor............pretty good stuff.



what are the odds, i had one a week ago and liked it, and i live 3 miles from you. im still loving the gunnar frame btw.

[50 Mission Cap]

what are the odds, i had one a week ago and liked it, and i live 3 miles from you. im still loving the gunnar frame btw.

Easy, this isn't a I-94 rest area...

[MrTB]

what are the odds, i had one a week ago and liked it, and i live 3 miles from you. im still loving the gunnar frame btw.

HOM...........A group of us are planning a trip to Fruita/MOAB April 16-21 if your interested.

Also doing a tour of 2 Brothers new brewing facility on Feb. 2nd if you wanna get in on that.

50............It's an I-88 rest area

[50 Mission Cap]

HOM...........A group of us are planning a trip to Fruita/MOAB April 16-21 if your interested.

Also doing a tour of 2 Brothers new brewing facility on Feb. 2nd if you wanna get in on that.

50............It's an I-88 rest area

Wessssyde.....

[Hand/of/Midas]

HOM...........A group of us are planning a trip to Fruita/MOAB April 16-21 if your interested.

Also doing a tour of 2 Brothers new brewing facility on Feb. 2nd if you wanna get in on that.



am hopefully planning
on a trip to peoria for that midwest fest may2-4, and a trip to wisconson the week before. so that time frames pretty full, thanks for the invite though.

i just might give you a call about 2 brothers, ive only had one of their brews(The bitter End,was good). and im not a stalker, but your # is still in my phone.

[Tman]

I got to try 2 Surly Brews for thanksgiving. Had my sis in law pick up Growlers and haul em out. Bender and Furious...................Furious is a new favorite!

Now if I can con someone into hauling my empty growers up to the Brewery on Feb 16 for refills as I work Frostbike?!?!?!?!

[davkatreb]

Okay, here's a few from a very long list, in no particular order:

1-Troegs Mad Elf. A holiday beer, brewed with cherries and honey and about 11% ABV. The stuff just goes down WAY too easy. It goes pretty quick when it hits the stores, and I spaced, so I got none this year. Bah humbug.

2-Clipper City Winter Storm ale. But it GOTS to be draft. Yummy.

3-Oskar Blues Gordon's beer. Canned beer that comes in a 4-pack which runs about $15. Try one and you'll wonder why anyone in their right mind would sell anything that good, that cheap.

4-Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot. Actually a barleywine ale. Somewhere around 14% ABV if memory serves. Not to be treated lightly; you could seriously get hurt if you're not careful. Truly the hammer of the Gods.

5-Dogfish Head Raison d'Etre. Full bodied and flavorful with raisins and carmelized brown sugar.

Jeeze, now look what I've done. I've talked myself into going for a beer run. Later.

[Tman]

I wish we had more selection here. It gets better every year but still not the best. The more mainstream Micros show up first. One store has taken to bringing in beers that the local dist. wont carry.

[Spatafore]

How many people here have tried one of the microbrew of the month clubs? I did this about 5-6 years ago and was pretty pleased. A 12 pack at your door every month is pretty cool. And since you never knew what you were getting until you opened up the box it was like 12 christmases. I had some great beers, some so-so beers, but never any bad beers from this. They would have 3 different beers from 4 different breweries and would include a description of the brewery and beers.

[Tman]

How many people here have tried one of the microbrew of the month clubs? I did this about 5-6 years ago and was pretty pleased. A 12 pack at your door every month is pretty cool. And since you never knew what you were getting until you opened up the box it was like 12 christmases. I had some great beers, some so-so beers, but never any bad beers from this. They would have 3 different beers from 4 different breweries and would include a description of the brewery and beers.

Good idea, may have to look into it

[poison idea]

Patriotism is a folly, but i get choked up thinking of the quality of our brews. PA knows how to craft some beer:
Troegs
Victory
Weyerbacher
Yards
East End
Stoudts

Good work gets done in Michigan:
Bell's

Stones and Greenflash get it done as well
Lets not forget Southern Tier, Harpoon, Ommegang, Great Divide and Great Lakes

Beer is America's wine

[mutantvan]

Boundry Bay IPA-Bellingham, WA
Snoqualmie IPA-Snoqualmie, WA
Industrial IPA-Mukilteo, WA
Dead Guy Ale-Issaquah, WA
Just about anything in McMennamin's Bend, OR

[HempKnight]

Brooklyn's Black Chocolate Stout.
10.6apv In a 6 pack for Sam Adams money
A wintry punch in the face.MMMM

Middle Ages Druid Fluid. Barleywine goodness from Syracuse. Home of misery.

Back In the Day- When Sam Adams was Micro.
Sam Adams Triple Bock. Little blue bottles of joy.

I'm sure I have more.
Just none I can remember :o

[myron]

Mick,seriously we should go here (http://www.freestatebrewing.com/) after a ride sometime. IPA? let me count the ways....

[Ripp]

Okay,

So what are your favorite microbrews? I'm always looking to try something new...

1. Bells from Michigan (Amber, Oberon, Two-Hearted IPA)

2. Pyramid from Colorado (Excellent Wiezen)

3. New Glarus from Wisconsin (Copper Kettle - wheat beer, very tasty)

4. Boulevard from right here in Kansas City (whole line of beers... the Wheat is their flag ship though, and my old standby)

5. Fat Tire from Colorado - the Amber

WOW not sure how I missed a thread on micro-brew for so long.

50 Bells has more than one good product for sure, but possibly their best is not on yor list......Oberon Ale! It's a summer seasonal and one of my favorites!
There is some stupid distributing issue that took Bells products off the shelves in IL for two years (about 6-8 months left) so a friend has a relative from michigan bring down Oberon anytime she is coming and it's available!

[Ripp]

Bells is not the only good brewery in Michigan.

Michigan brewing has an excellent Nut Brown Ale. Sadly the only decent beer store here in sanitized State Farm Ins. land has stopped carrying it, which is almost proof of how good it muct be. :D

I had a seasonal called Delirium Noel from Belgium over the holidays that was fantastic! 10% ABV and tasted great!

Dav I had the dogfishhead ReasonD'etre a couple years ago and didn't really like it, but I suspect I'm ready to enjoy it now. My memory is that it was too heavy with both flavor and ABV for me at the time, not unlike the Noel I just said I loved. I'll have to look for it again.

[50 Mission Cap]

WOW not sure how I missed a thread on micro-brew for so long.

50 Bells has more than one good product for sure, but possibly their best is not on yor list......Oberon Ale! It's a summer seasonal and one of my favorites!
There is some stupid distributing issue that took Bells products off the shelves in IL for two years (about 6-8 months left) so a friend has a relative from michigan bring down Oberon anytime she is coming and it's available!

Something happened here in missouri as well. Used to be on tap at several bars in KC... mysteriously disappeared 12-18 months ago. Bartender talked about some distribution issue. This is bud country, so that probably has something to do w/ it. LOVE Oberon! My wife and I tried to tour the brewery last summer, but apparentlly they don't do that anymore.

[50 Mission Cap]

Just picked up a 6 of "Rising Moon" from blue moon. Like the orig, but w/ a hint of lime. EXCELLENT!

[K-Man]

....then you've got to try something from Ommegang of Cooperstown, NY. If you enjoy Chimay, then try an Ommegang and realize how much better the fresh domestic stuff is, compared to that stale import that sat forever in the hold of some cargo ship.

Blurb from their website (http://www.ommegang.com/index.php):

Welcome to the Ales of Brewery Ommegang, where the beer isn't overhopped or overhyped. Our Belgian-style ales are functional art, crafted to make your dining and drinking experience something to behold.

Click on each bottle to discover one of our five portraits of an authentic Belgian ale. You will learn how our brewers use a broad palette of high-quality ingredients such as Bohemian hops, Belgian-specialty malts, and an array of traditional spices to create a masterful collage of Belgian-style brewing.

[Ripp]

Ommegang, I'll ask about it at the beer store.

50 your distibution issure with Bell's is the same as mine, it's not just Bud Country, although I'm no further from the brewery than you, a whole lot further from MO though! It's a two year ban. 7-10 months (give or take one) to go.

Right now I'm enjoying a 22oz of Moylans double IPA. 8.2% and with bunches of malty flavor riding behind the hoppy sting. Really good!

[50 Mission Cap]

Right now I'm enjoying a 22oz of Moylans double IPA. 8.2% and with bunches of malty flavor riding behind the hoppy sting. Really good!

Now that sounds tasty my friend. I might have to go get some to motivate me too work on some plumbing issues today. Anything but plumbing. I ****ing hate plumbing.

[S. cerevisiae]

Anyone frequenting this forum that is from SW PA that hasn't mentioned Penn Brewing (http://www.pennbrew.com/) and Church Brew Works (http://www.churchbrew.com/)should hang their head in shame!

I would also add Brooklyn Brewing, Great Lakes, and Rogue in my top 5.

[sbear55]

The five favorites are a constant Merry go round....depends what I'm in the mood for.

1. Furthermore - Fatty Boombalatty
-an unconventional belgian ale

2. New Glarus - Belgian Red
-holy frickin' cherries....

3. Lake Louie - Kiss The Lips
-good pale ale

4. Bell's - Expedition Stout
-like a normal stout on crack

5. Furthermore - Make Weight
-take all your favorite pales...blend em' up and put the alcohol content on overdrive

www.lakelouie.com
www.furthermorebeer.com
www.bellsbeer.com
www.newglarusbrewing.com

[50 Mission Cap]

The five favorites are a constant Merry go round....depends what I'm in the mood for.

1. Furthermore - Fatty Boombalatty
-an unconventional belgian ale

2. New Glarus - Belgian Red
-holy frickin' cherries....

3. Lake Louie - Kiss The Lips
-good pale ale

4. Bell's - Expedition Stout
-like a normal stout on crack

5. Furthermore - Make Weight
-take all your favorite pales...blend em' up and put the alcohol content on overdrive

www.lakelouie.com
www.furthermorebeer.com
www.bellsbeer.com
www.newglarusbrewing.com


Expedition stout is indeed the bomb. Mr. Phlatlander was kind enough to give me a 6 for my 30th b-day. New Glarus - you must be from wisconsin!! I dig it too!