Beer

[storrsroars]

The super malty DIPAs made in the great lakes and midwest (to Colorado) are some of my least favorites.

The Midwest IPAs are my least favorite style of beer these days. I won’t even look at them. I have a pretty welcoming palate but I find these unbalanced malt bombs to be seriously off-putting.

Not sure what beers you guys are referencing here. Pliny, Ruination, and G-Bot could all fall into the DIPA category.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Not sure what beers you guys are referencing here. Pliny, Ruination, and G-Bot could all fall into the DIPA category.

Example. ODell Myrcenary. Myrcenary – Odell Brewing Co

Hopslam is another. If it's a double IPA, it's clear and it's orangey amber, it's probably one of the malt bombs. Pliny and G-Bot are not in that category.

 

[karstenkibbe]

Example. ODell Myrcenary. Myrcenary – Odell Brewing Co

Hopslam is another. If it's a double IPA, it's clear and it's orangey amber, it's probably one of the malt bombs. Pliny and G-Bot are not in that category.

Bingo. I was thinking Hopslam as well and Bell’s Two Hearted, Pipeworks Ninja vs Unicorn.

 

[Dove]

Bingo. I was thinking Hopslam as well and Bell’s Two Hearted, Pipeworks Ninja vs Unicorn.

Love love love that Hopslam!!

 

[Waquoit]

Any good beer in Myrtle Beach?

 

[karstenkibbe]

Any good beer in Myrtle Beach?

Depends on your definition of good. Let’s just say you’ve got better options in Charleston, but New South Brewing is pretty solid. Stick to IPAs, stouts and fruited sours. Their lager game is fairly weak.

 

[Chin Diesel]

The Midwest IPAs are my least favorite style of beer these days. I won’t even look at them. I have a pretty welcoming palate but I find these unbalanced malt bombs to be seriously off-putting. I’ve been revisiting WCIPAs in the last year, as many breweries across the country have redefined the style, dialed back the bitterness and produced delicious and crushable versions.
Westbound & Down outside Denver has done an experimental series of WCIPAs and they are fantastic.

View attachment 81611

I've been up in cow country Madison for a couple of weeks and people swear by New Glarus Spotted Cow. It's not really a good beer. I've tried a couple of them and they are basically flavorless. You could easily crush one after yard work in the summer.

Best beer I've had up here is an IPA by Karben4 called Fantasy Factory. Great representation of an IPA. Doesn't try to be something it isn't and does a great job representing the style.

I'd recommend it to anyone.

 

[Chin Diesel]

BTW, happy 10 year anniversary to these merged threads.
As UConn fans we had just watched year 2 of PP and football going 5-7.
Basketball was middling this season but only a season away from another championship run.

My initial post about a microbrewery in Pensacola, FL seems quaint now. Same brewery is still one and doing well regionally but I wouldn't put it in my top five for that area.

While Pensacola Bay kept their lineup the same and concentrated on production and distribution a bunch of other breweries popped up with real good creative beers and great drinking environments.

Not that I expect to see any of you near here (Destin is a good 75 minutes east) but breweries like Alga, Odd Colony, Emerald Republic, Gulf Coast Brewing all do beer better.

Having done enough traveling over this past decade, Burlington and Vernont is by far the best collection of beers I've come across.
CT definitely holds it own and none of you need any knowledge on that.
San Diego was great as was Fairbanks, Alaska.

As far as beers over the years, these are a few that stand out.

Foam Experimental Jet Set
Alchemist Focal Banger
Steel Hands Coffee Lager
Karmelit Tripel
Hoegaarden Grand Cru

 

[Chin Diesel]

I've been up in cow country Madison for a couple of weeks and people swear by New Glarus Spotted Cow. It's not really a good beer. I've tried a couple of them and they are basically flavorless. You could easily crush one after yard work in the summer.

Best beer I've had up here is an IPA by Karben4 called Fantasy Factory. Great representation of an IPA. Doesn't try to be something it isn't and does a great job representing the style.

I'd recommend it to anyone.

Here's Fantasy Factory on tap with a Fantasy Factory coaster showing a cat riding a rainbow snorting unicorn.

Fantasy Factory | Karben4 Brewing

Fantasy Factory is a American IPA style beer brewed by Karben4 Brewing in Madison, WI. Score: 91 with 684 ratings and reviews. Last update: 09-27-2023.

www.beeradvocate.com

 

[HuskyHawk]

I've been up in cow country Madison for a couple of weeks and people swear by New Glarus Spotted Cow. It's not really a good beer. I've tried a couple of them and they are basically flavorless. You could easily crush one after yard work in the summer.

Best beer I've had up here is an IPA by Karben4 called Fantasy Factory. Great representation of an IPA. Doesn't try to be something it isn't and does a great job representing the style.

I'd recommend it to anyone.

That Spotted Cow may top my list of most disappointing beers. It's pointless. You reminded me of another brewery making the too malty and too bitter IPAs, Surley in Minnesota.

 

[HuskyHawk]

BTW, happy 10 year anniversary to these merged threads.
As UConn fans we had just watched year 2 of PP and football going 5-7.
Basketball was middling this season but only a season away from another championship run.

My initial post about a microbrewery in Pensacola, FL seems quaint now. Same brewery is still one and doing well regionally but I wouldn't put it in my top five for that area.

While Pensacola Bay kept their lineup the same and concentrated on production and distribution a bunch of other breweries popped up with real good creative beers and great drinking environments.

Not that I expect to see any of you near here (Destin is a good 75 minutes east) but breweries like Alga, Odd Colony, Emerald Republic, Gulf Coast Brewing all do beer better.

Having done enough traveling over this past decade, Burlington and Vernont is by far the best collection of beers I've come across.
CT definitely holds it own and none of you need any knowledge on that.
San Diego was great as was Fairbanks, Alaska.

As far as beers over the years, these are a few that stand out.

Foam Experimental Jet Set
Alchemist Focal Banger
Steel Hands Coffee Lager
Karmelit Tripel
Hoegaarden Grand Cru

When we had our house in Vermont, we had a lot of fun traveling to breweries. At first that was places like Magic Hat, Longtrail and Otter Creek. Then Fiddlehead and Foley Brothers., eventually Foam, Alchemist and Lawsons. The last one we discovered was Red Clover in Brandon, during the pandemic (as we were selling the house), absolutely great. Mad Taco in Waitsfield VT and Worthy Burger in South Royalton are highly recommended for food and tap list.

Best brewery visit experiences: Lawson's in Waitsfield, the original Red Hook in Seattle and Brewery Bourgogne des Flandres in Bruges. Honorable mention to Treehouse both Charlton and Sandwich, Long Live Beerworks. I also quite enjoyed Foley Brothers when it was just starting out. For a brewpub setting, I made many memories at Free State Brewing in Lawrence, KS and love Prohibition Pig in Waterbury, VT. The Oslo Bar in Galway is a brewery owned pub (Galway Bay Brewery), great stuff, fun spot. For beer bars, you can't top Armsby Abby in Worcester, MA.

Beers that wowed me along the way. Alchemist: Heady Topper; Hill Farmstead: Abner and Double Galaxy: Treehouse: Julius, Super Treat, Juice Machine; Trillium: Congress Street, DDH Melcher St and Citra Cutting Tiles; Bourbon County Barleywine and Stout (2014); Lawson's: Double Sunshine, Triple Sunshine, Fayston Maple: Foley Brothers: Pieces of Eight: Ayinger Celebrator; Mother's Brewing: 3rdbass. Many more, but those stand out out.

As for Florida, I've never been to the panhandle I am planning to take periodic trips to FL to check out potential locations, probably starting around St. Augustine and maybe Amelia Island. But I'd be up to visit the panhandle, I just don't know where to go.

 

[HobokenHusky]

Just picked up less than a week old heady topper from a random liquor store in central New Jersey. What a time to be alive.

 

[HuskyHawk]

This is good.

 

[pepband99]

Here's Fantasy Factory on tap with a Fantasy Factory coaster showing a cat riding a rainbow snorting unicorn.

Fantasy Factory | Karben4 Brewing

Fantasy Factory is a American IPA style beer brewed by Karben4 Brewing in Madison, WI. Score: 91 with 684 ratings and reviews. Last update: 09-27-2023.

www.beeradvocate.com

View attachment 81869

Kent Falls should sue.

 

[karstenkibbe]

Kent Falls should sue.

Agree. Buddy Sprinkles would not be happy about that label art.

 

[MJKI]

Anyone get the Hoppy Pilsner yet at NEBCO? Big fan of it, always a lover of Czech leaning beers

 

[HuskyHawk]

This was superb from Vitamin Sea in Weymouth, MA. Not many breweries are better with NEIPA.

 

[karstenkibbe]

This was superb from Vitamin Sea in Weymouth, MA. Not many breweries are better with NEIPA.

View attachment 83020

I’m really glad to hear that. I used to chase VS releases and have South Shore connects send VS beer mail. But then I found their hazies, which are really the bread and butter of the brewery, falling off about a year ago. So I moved on. Sounds like I might have to revisit.

 

[HuskyHawk]

I’m really glad to hear that. I used to chase VS releases and have South Shore connects send VS beer mail. But then I found their hazies, which are really the bread and butter of the brewery, falling off about a year ago. So I moved on. Sounds like I might have to revisit.

Have you had Little Willow? Tremendous stuff.

 

[karstenkibbe]

Have you had Little Willow? Tremendous stuff.
View attachment 83024

How have I never heard of this brewery!? He only has 1,000 Instagram followers and appears to either be a homebrewer/nanobrewery or a gypsy brewer with no physical location? Distro in Mass and RI but not in CT. What is this guy’s story?

 

[storrsroars]

How have I never heard of this brewery!? He only has 1,000 Instagram followers and appears to either be a homebrewer/nanobrewery or a gypsy brewer with no physical location? Distro in Mass and RI but not in CT. What is this guy’s story?

Seems he contract brews through Brewmasters Brewing Services in Williamsburg, MA. And it seems that place has a taproom with a bunch of beers I've never heard of, all brewed on-premises.

Little Willow brewer aims to bring personal touch to his beer

FLORENCE – Kyle Hume still remembers the first time the notion of brewing his own beer entered his mind.

www.thereminder.com

 

[karstenkibbe]

Seems he contract brews through Brewmasters Brewing Services in Williamsburg, MA. And it seems that place has a taproom with a bunch of beers I've never heard of, all brewed on-premises.

Little Willow brewer aims to bring personal touch to his beer

FLORENCE – Kyle Hume still remembers the first time the notion of brewing his own beer entered his mind.

www.thereminder.com

Contract brewing scares the heck out of me. Even if QC standards are in place, if the brewer himself/herself isn’t present for the brewing process, his/recipe rarely produces the intended result. I experienced that scenario a few weeks ago with a local Stamford brewery that went out-of-house to contract brew with an outfit in East Haven. Still, the comments on Untappd were glowing re the beer @HuskyHawk posted. Now I’m quite curious and need to find this beer.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Contract brewing scares the heck out of me. Even if QC standards are in place, if the brewer himself/herself isn’t present for the brewing process, his/recipe rarely produces the intended result. I experienced that scenario a few weeks ago with a local Stamford brewery that went out-of-house to contract brew with an outfit in East Haven. Still, the comments on Untappd were glowing re the beer @HuskyHawk posted. Now I’m quite curious and need to find this beer.

I have really liked every single Little Willow beer I’ve had. Haven’t opened the stout I bought yet. It’s hard to find. So far I’ve only seen it at Julio’s in Westboro and my small specialty store here in town.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Popped this yesterday. Classic Belgian.

 

[HobokenHusky]

Popped this yesterday. Classic Belgian.
View attachment 83073

I had that for the first time this year, in an IPA world I welcome those unique off the beaten path beers. Also have been loving fox farm for their awesome non-ipas recently