Beer in the new era

Smuttynose IPA over Bell's Two Hearted? I cry East Coast bias.

(J/k, I like both beers.)

Although I've had surprisingly few of the other beers in the bracket.

I love the anticipation of shopping for a kind 6 pack on the way home from work.

I have a lot of stress about buying six-packs. I want to try new beers but don't want to be saddled with 72 oz. of beer if I don't like one. Then there's the issue of buying something that my girlfriend might also like; I don't always think about this (after all, she can buy her own beer if she doesn't like it), but I usually try to be considerate.

i just got a couple Surly six packs, which is a treat since it's not sold in wisconsin (only minnesota). also been enjoying:

bell's hopslam
o'so lupulin maximus (has hop cones in the bottles!)

jaymc, apparently Armanetti's on Lincoln just added a "build your own six pack" section, which I'm actually very excited to try out.

Oh nice. I've never actually been to that store, though I often gaze at it wistfully while driving back from TJ's.

TJ's itself lets you build your own 4- or 6-packs, too, though the selection is limited.

i'm down with the build your owns if you can find them well stocked

I don't get why it is illegal in Illinois to just buy singles, but apparently it is.

The only place I've ever actually done the make your own six pack thing is actually World Market lol

I dint understand that law. I buys singles sometimes, but it's usually something like worldwide stout. One single bottle.

I don't get why it is illegal in Illinois to just buy singles, but apparently it is.

Is it? I've bought singles at In Fine Spirits. Not bombers, either, but 12 oz. bottles.

Well, they had a sign to that effect in World Market when I created my own six pack...but maybe that's not the most authoritative souce?

They have the same sign in some jewels. I think the small beer stores just don't follow the law.

have we talked about nugget nectar in here? am highly suspicious of rated american microbrews but nugget nectar is a real winner, possibly a classic.

TJs lets you build your own six-packs too. not that they have tons and tons of beer or anything. just fyi.

i drank a stone pale ale that jeff left at my house.

new glarus is awesome responding to someone upthread

on the other hand i have had the worst beer in recent memory and it is the Summit Gold Sovereign. total fucking torturous bullshit. avoid.

we have a bunch of "pick-six" places around here. Plus they punch a card when you reach 10 and you get six free.

The grocery store nearest my home has this going, but it's $8.99 and with only a couple exceptions, it's all beers that sell for $6.99 or under for a six pack in the selection. I haven't seen anything too amazing in there, yet, but I might have to try it eventually.

i think new glarus just doesn't do many of the varieties that i'm into. they're usually too fruity, light, or belgian-y for me. wish i appreciated it more since it's so available around here.

I drank a big old bottle of Gulden Draak that had been in my fridge for way too long last night.

last time i did this, i didn't realize the beer i was putting in my pick six was $7 a bottle.

(x-post) New Glarus does some interesting limited edition "Unplugged" beers. The last one I had was a dry-hopped Belgian wheat, which is a pretty unique melding of styles. I just looked at their website, do they no longer brew the Hop Hearty IPA? I used to love that (but the first ones I ever had were on a road trip to Witz End in Stevens Point; I may have been swayed by the bizarre awesomeness of the bar.)

i think new glarus just doesn't do many of the varieties that i'm into. they're usually too fruity, light, or belgian-y for me.

add "brown-y" and this is OTM for me too, which is sad b/c I want to like them more

i am currently mourning the fact that i had many awesome local hawaiian beers but they will never ever get imported to MN. Kona brewing company in particular was very very good across the board.

gives you a reason to go back though

yeah one of many!

also i just noticed that the best beer store in mn BOOZE MART is about to start bringing in the Brooklyn Brewery stuff. Which seems to be waning according to this thread but fuck it, any new beer is good beer imo.

i still fuck with brooklyn stuff if only cuz the little place by my house usually has them it at a good

price

If ever looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon in Westchester, NY Captain Lawrence Brewing Company has free tasting from 12-6 and basically there is no limit to the amount of refills you can get.

i have heard that half acre brewery in the lincoln square area of chicago is quite fantastic. t/f?

two nights ago here in l.a. i had a Speakeasy Ritual Coffee Porter and a new Stone beer, Highway 78 Scotch Ale. A+

It's pretty good. They don't have a lot of releases but the quality is consistent.

Kona beers have started to show up here, but only sporadically and not many varieties. I see their coconut porter pretty regularly but haven't tried one yet.

coconut porter

color me intrigued

yeah i had that in maui and it was really good! and i normally hate fruit/coffee/tin foil/guano whatevers jammed in my beer but it was very impressive

actually wait the coconut porter i had was from the Maui Brewing Company (came in a can, v tasty) does kona make one as well?

http://www.mauibrewingco.com/mbc/MBCCannedBeer.html

Town Hall did a coconut porter recently. It was awesome, and yeah fruit/sweet beers are generally not my thing.

i suck for neglecting town hall so much, they really do a great job most of the time.

tbf spending half my latter undergrad years boozing it up there in between afternoon and evening classes prob is partly to blame for my lack of excitement

Yeah, that might do it. I'm there a couple times a month for sure; it's close to work and their IPA is like crack to me.

My mistake, it's the Maui that makes the coconut one, and they're the ones I started seeing only recently. Kona beers have been around here for a long time and I know I've had a couple but it's been a while.

There are a shitload of Hawaiians around here which might have something to do with it.

why do i keep buying the magic hat seasonal samplers when i almost never like most of their beers? this Demo IPA tastes like fucking bongwater.

on the plus side Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee is selling 4 pack samplers of their 22 oz beers and i had the first one and it was FANTASTIC. Bridge Burner special reserve ale. damn its good, hits like a pale ale, middle is sorta tasty portery and finishes/aftertastes like a really good stout. also, super drinkable while still being 8% ABV! srsly buy immediately if you see it.

I've never had a magic hat beer that I like. And that #9 beer is vile.

magic hat is awful...again, i've never liked any of their beers either.

I concur with both of you. Who likes their stuff? Or is their entire business model predicated on one-time suckers?

ha! i was just thinking the same thing

same people who probably consider "petes wicked" a micro-brew.

or good.

Pete's Wicked Ales's brand owner, The Gambrinus Company, has sent letters to their distributors saying that as of March 1st, 2011 the Pete's Wicked Ale brand will be discontinued, citing "rapidly declining sales volumes"

dream come true.

There was a time years ago when pete’s was considered a micro brew around where i was