Beer

[Milo65]

Ballast Point makes some good stuff. Been wanting to try Pliny for awhile now, but every freaking brewery on the West Coast is making NEIPAs right now so you can't say nobody in CA is having New England beer shipped out there. Every time NEBCO announces they're brewing FBD people from around the country post on their Facebook looking to trade. And Treehouse beers are everywhere.

I p

YES. Stony Creek is the nicest brewery I've seen. But, outside of Crankenstein, their beer is horrible. Rather go up an exit to Thimble Island for better beer.
Two Roads is another cool brewery, but they have too many beers that taste like piss.

Best beer for the $ is CounterWeight's Headway. Got it for $9.99/4 pack.
Relic has really stepped up their game.

Counterweight has been great! Vulture Culture is awesome and I love Headway.

 

[Waquoit]

I have picked up the odd Relic 4-pack and liked 'em all. I love Beer'd but haven't seen it at my go-to spots for a while.

 

[August_West]

YES. Stony Creek is the nicest brewery I've seen. But, outside of Crankenstein, their beer is horrible.

But still a cut above San Diego

 

[Rocktheworld]

I have a friend in San Diego who brought me stuff for years. Almost all of it disappointing (I liked the Alesmith Tony Gwinn Pale Ale).

Not sure what your friend was sending you, or when he was sending it, but if Alesmith was the best he sent...

The craft beer scene hasn’t been big until the last few years and, again, you can’t judge an area by what cans you get. Many of these places don’t have the capacity to can or are just now doing so. Again, the small batches that drive the craft beer scene are often not canned at all. So to call your sample size limited is an understatement.

I’m a prideful kid from the North East and I want NE to make the best stuff but their style is at least being made equally well out here. It’s sad to say in a way, but craft beer is my biggest “hobby” out here. Between SD, LA, and Portland, I’ve been to upwards of 100 breweries over the last 18 months.

The thing you are missing is that the San Diego scene, with regard to IPAs, is built around a style that is very bitter. So the vast majority of what you get is based on that. Not everything and I know NE Style has made inroads.

Yes, the west coast “piney”, “resin-y”, “dank” taste is pretty different; different, but not necessarily worse. Although I do personally prefer our NE hoppy and certainly hazy styles.

But I've had the core range of beers from the breweries you listed,

Okay, what are the core beers at Mikkeller, Resident, Half Door, IronFist, and Pure Project?

I drain poured Modern Times Blazing World.

Okay so you didn’t care for a single mixed style and hop combination.

Alpine I had once before Green Flash bought them...it was ok.

Alpine is third-rate out here, again not at all something with which you judge a county boasting 150+ breweries

 

[August_West]

Many of these places don’t have the capacity to can or are just now doing so.

pathetic.

Dark Ages.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Lol new? Karl has been around longer than literally everyone in SD, since the late 80s

Coin op is a beer bar, albeit an amazing one especially the one downtown; same as brew project and bottlecraft (which bottlecraft have you been to?). Those are great places to start

But if you’re not drinking Mikkeller, Pure Project, Modern Times, Stone, and Half Door, you’re simply not trying the best the city/county has to offer, sorry

Had plenty of Stone; it's almost a cliche to order it.

I'll give you a good story from Brew Project from last Saturday. Big dude about 6'2" 250 with an appropriately hipster beard, skinny jeans and too tight t-shirt walks up to bar and asks bartender "Do you have anything that tastes like Blue Moon?".

 

[Rocktheworld]

Had plenty of Stone; it's almost a cliche to order it.

You may notice in other posts I mention that you really have to go to the breweries themselves. Stone has a really good tasting room downtown where 17/20 beers you won’t see in bars or stores (or even at most other Stone locations)

I'll give you a good story from Brew Project from last Saturday. Big dude about 6'2" 250 with an appropriately hipster beard, skinny jeans and too tight t-shirt walks up to bar and asks bartender "Do you have anything that tastes like Blue Moon?".

Lmao speaking of cringe

Hope he was kidding and/or the bartender was like G T F O

Brew Project is a Seattle bar

 

[HuskyHawk]

Not sure what your friend was sending you, or when he was sending it, but if Alesmith was the best he sent...

The craft beer scene hasn’t been big until the last few years and, again, you can’t judge an area by what cans you get. Many of these places don’t have the capacity to can or are just now doing so. Again, the small batches that drive the craft beer scene are often not canned at all. So to call your sample size limited is an understatement.

I’m a prideful kid from the North East and I want NE to make the best stuff but their style is at least being made equally well out here. It’s sad to say in a way, but craft beer is my biggest “hobby” out here. Between SD, LA, and Portland, I’ve been to upwards of 100 breweries over the last 18 months.


Yes, the west coast “piney”, “resin-y”, “dank” taste is pretty different; different, but not necessarily worse. Although I do personally prefer our NE hoppy and certainly hazy styles.


Okay, what are the core beers at Mikkeller, Resident, Half Door, IronFist, and Pure Project?


Okay so you didn’t care for a single mixed style and hop combination.

Alpine is third-rate out here, again not at all something with which you judge a county boasting 150+ breweries

Craft beer has been big in San Diego for only the last couple of years? What? Are you 23 or something? I'll give it it's due, San Diego has been a craft beer hot spot for going on 20 years. There is no doubt about it.

You listed these breweries initially. "Mikkeller, Pure Project, Modern Times, Stone, and Half Door". Stone has been around for ages. Modern times and Mikkeller certainly much more than a few years. Mikkeller is of course a brewer from Denmark, so I don't know why the hell you call them a local San Diego brewer. Pure Project and HalfDoor, never heard of them. Probably good stuff. I'll take your word for it. Of course there are smaller brewers like that everywhere. San Diego isn't special in that regard. Have you had any Tilted Barn? Any Foam? (Average rating for both on BA higher than Half Door or Pure Project).

I don't know why we're arguing. There is great beer being made all over the place. It's incredible really. The biggest areas are Southern Cal, Portland and New England. New York is coming up. Michigan is fading. But there are good breweries all over.

 

[AdamaNation]

Too many posts now. But the original new Belgium 1554 black lager. Bar none.

 

[AreBee1969]

YES. Stony Creek is the nicest brewery I've seen. But, outside of Crankenstein, their beer is horrible. Rather go up an exit to Thimble Island for better beer.
Two Roads is another cool brewery, but they have too many beers that taste like piss.

Best beer for the $ is CounterWeight's Headway. Got it for $9.99/4 pack.

Thimble Island does a nice job as well. Good Porter, Nice DIPA. I was drinking Headway at a bar in Unionville for $6 a pint. I felt like I was stealing!

 

[HooperScooper]

Craft beer has been big in San Diego for only the last couple of years? What? Are you 23 or something? I'll give it it's due, San Diego has been a craft beer hot spot for going on 20 years. There is no doubt about it.

Probably more like 25 years. I've been out west and I think the IPAs on the east coast are better. Could just be my preference to that kind of style though. If you go on Beer Advocate and Untappd I think the majority of the most highly rated IPAs are in the Northeast. Beer is like food or wine though, everyone has their own preferences.

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Too many posts now. But the original new Belgium 1554 black lager. Bar none.

Gross. Don’t post in this thread again.

 

[wethyhusky]

I missed 6 by Relic, really wanted to try it, but couldn't get to the brewery and I know it had very limited distribution. Relic is killing it!

I wanted to try it as well. I like Relic brews but feel that a lot of them have a similar taste. Hanging Hills in Hartford is releasing Hartbeat this Friday if anyone wants a tasty double IPA

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Pretty pumped for sour season. Sorry not sorry

 

[Jimmy Serrano]

Pretty pumped for sour season. Sorry not sorry

Kill yourself.

 

[Walker11]

Pretty pumped for sour season. Sorry not sorry

I had a good one from Almanac last night. I finished a huge amount of Treehouse's over the past month and have IPA'd myself out.

 

[Waquoit]

I finished a huge amount of Treehouse's over the past month and have IPA'd myself out.

I keep thinking that'll happen to me. Not yet.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Craft beer has been big in San Diego for only the last couple of years? What? Are you 23 or something?

The majority of breweries currently around have been around for 5 or fewer years. Its current form, embracing East coast and certainly hazy styles, is relatively new. Doesn’t matter to me that a few are still around after 10-20 years. They get by on name recognition more than anything. Hence your buddy shipping you Alesmith.

Stone has been around for ages.

No kidding

Modern times

First started brewing in 2013

Mikkeller is of course a brewer from Denmark, so I don't know why the hell you call them a local San Diego brewer.

Lol because less than 5% of their beers are Belgian and probably 1% are from Belgium. They brew American beer styles there.

Pure Project and HalfDoor, never heard of them. Probably good stuff. I'll take your word for it. Of course there are smaller brewers like that everywhere. San Diego isn't special in that regard. Have you had any Tilted Barn? Any Foam? (Average rating for both on BA higher than Half Door or Pure Project).

I don’t buy any rating services.

People regularly drive down from all over LA county on a weekly basis to Pure for its weekly can releases. Dozens and dozens line up hours before the brewery opens and the cans are gone in hours.

Do people drive 3 hours to those places for a chance at getting a 4 pack of beer? I personally am not familiar with those breweries.

The argument started because I didn’t buy your perception and judgment of what SD has to offer as it was based on a Modern Times you didn’t like, and your buddy was sending over third-rate Alesmith and Alpine.

 

[HuskyHawk]

The majority of breweries currently around have been around for 5 or fewer years. Its current form, embracing East coast and certainly hazy styles, is relatively new. Doesn’t matter to me that a few are still around after 10-20 years. They get by on name recognition more than anything. Hence your buddy shipping you Alesmith.


No kidding

First started brewing in 2013


Lol because less than 5% of their beers are Belgian and probably 1% are from Belgium. They brew American beer styles there.

I don’t buy any rating services.

People regularly drive down from all over LA county on a weekly basis to Pure for its weekly can releases. Dozens and dozens line up hours before the brewery opens and the cans are gone in hours.

Do people drive 3 hours to those places for a chance at getting a 4 pack of beer? I personally am not familiar with those breweries.

The argument started because I didn’t buy your perception and judgment of what SD has to offer as it was based on a Modern Times you didn’t like, and your buddy was sending over third-rate Alesmith and Alpine.

My perception wasn't based on what SD has to offer, it was based on the five breweries you listed. Two of which were Stone and Modern Times, and one of which is in Denmark. The other two I didn't know of and if you say they are goo, I believe it.

Mikkeler isn't in Belgium. They are in Denmark. Yes, they mostly brew American style beers...in Denmark. We have tons of it on the shelves. I don't buy it as it is wildly overpriced for what it is. What do they have to do with San Diego? Did they open a satellite brewery there as Stone is doing in Berlin?

Tilted Barn has hundreds of people in line from all over, every time they open the doors. It's worse than Treehouse now. So yes, people drive a long way to get it. Foam doesn't because they don't can anything yet. It's on premise and growlers only, but the place is pretty much mobbed (and Burlington isn't hurting for beer options). Point is, there are breweries like that everywhere now.

 

[8893]

Holy crap is So Cal boy still gloating about having the best beer?

“West Coast” IPAs were HUGE. Like ten-plus years ago.

“New England style” IPAs have dominated the landscape since then.

If you want to know when each jumped the shark, just look at when Sam Adams felt the need to put out its own “West Coast style,” i.e., “Rebel,” and now its own “New England style,” which means that style is on its way out soon, too.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Had a Ommegang Pale Sour Ale tonight.

Worst. Thing. Ever.

The only marker they hit was flat, soapy, turd water. Had a co-worker laugh at the face I made on first sip. He insisted I let him try it. He called me a dick for letting him go through with it.

 

[August_West]

Holy crap is So Cal boy still gloating about having the best beer?

“West Coast” IPAs were HUGE. Like ten-plus years ago.

“New England style” IPAs have dominated the landscape since then.

If you want to know when each jumped the shark, just look at when Sam Adams felt the need to put out its own “West Coast style,” i.e., “Rebel,” and now its own “New England style,” which means that style is on its way out soon, too.

He's so melty

 

[HooperScooper]

It's probably been mentioned somewhere in this 107 page thread, but has anyone been to Fat Orange Cat in East Hampton? A friend of mine had a couple of their beers and said they were very good. Looks like it's a very small farm brewery with limited hours. Web site says they're not even open during the winter. What's it like at the brewery? Can you taste there? Just buy? A relative lives very close to there so I wanted to stop by after April 1 when they re-open.

 

[Rico444]

Fuzzy Baby Ducks can release tomorrow afternoon at NEBCO just fyi.

 

[storrsroars]

I don't do many brewpub visits as wifey isn't much on beer. But went to one today, paid $6 for a mediocre farmhouse saison redolent of a well circulated 1967 Jefferson nickel.

Anyway, I'm looking at the bar and I see growler options in 32 & 64oz and 32oz cans.

Pardon my ignorance, but is 32oz cans actually a thing? And if so why?