Beer in the new era

hi, i like magic hat fine, my girlfriend really likes the #9

Has his been posted? http://draftmag.com/features/american-beer-overkill/

My take is I don't mind the pretension because the product that is being produced is so good. But I HATE the crowds at events, and trying to get tickets for some of them. Annoying.

Speaking of events, Dark Lord Day tickets go on sale tomorrow. Better get them early.

I want to go to Eccentric Day at Bell's.

i think his fear that cheaper options are being pushed out in favor of 750 ML bottles of artisan beers is one that would be lessened by a trip to most grocery stores with a wide beer selection in any city in this country. anyway i don't think we live in a beer era where it's sommeliers and pairings vs buffalo wings and blue moon. speaking in a biased manner, the best city for beer i've been in is chicago (possibly because of location, it seems to get more beers from everywhere, definitely moreso than l.a. or s.f. or s.d.) and most places with a really supreme selection are pretty casual and low-key joints without any pretense.

it really is p. great, some good new brewpubs opening here recently too

i went in to a sports bar downtown called jake melnick's which kinda looks like your average sports bar with buffalo wings and burgers (the food being a slight cut above), but their beer selection is really, really outstanding and surprising.

It is, I've been to a few meetups there.

yeah! it's been cool to see bars/restaurants that have previously had totally boring selections starting to offer a pretty wide range of beers.

I wandered over to Jake Melnick's one night last fall when I had some time to kill, but the ambiance sort of put me off, so I went to Clark St. Ale House instead.

yeah! it's been cool to see bars/restaurants that have previously had totally boring selections starting to offer a pretty wide range of beers.

My office's traditional happy hour locale is a place called Monk's, which serves basic bar food and puts shelled peanuts on the table. Until a few months ago, the most exciting beer you could get there was a Sierra Nevada, but now they've got a whole menu of craft selections.

i'm feelin that article

this is from the site of one of the brewers he talks to (stillwater artisinal)

of Love & Regret
For the first edition of the Stillwater Import Series I traveled to the village of Beerzel, located in the Antwerp province of Belgium. Here I teamed up with brewmaster Jef Goetelen to craft an authentic Belgian version of my liquid interpretation of the Spring season. A recipe originally contrived a few years prior as a collaboration brew with my good friend Paul Kretzer. The base is German barley & wheat, with a touch of Belgian aromatic; accented with grassy hops and an array of spring botanicals (heather, chamomile, lavender, & dandelion). Like a fresh meadow in spring.

i mean, for chrissakes

They can blah blah blah about brewing all they want. If I get it and it's delicious, MAKE MORE.

Yeah I love it all for the most part. I really started to get into beer when I moved to Washington and got a burger at super small bar/grill in a town of like 100 people in the middle of nowhere and they had six beers I'd never heard of on tap next to the Bud / Miller / Coors usuals. No pretense, they were just offered up like any other options.

There do seem to be a lot more expensive one-off experimental 22oz / 750ml beers around recently, but I love bringing one of those over to friends houses (or having friends show up at my place with one) where we all get to try something completely different before we go back to our usual $1.50 bottles of the regular day-to-day beers that are still great and interesting. And even the most crazy expensive 750s that I see are never more than $12 or so, which isn't bad at all compared to wine.

There's only as much pretense and expense as you want to deal with and it's not hard to avoid it.

Hit the North with Mark E Smith

Sierra Nevada's Hoptimum is out of this world good.

Like, forreals.

Tried Peak Spring Ale -- perfectly good but tastes like a million other bright, hoppy beers out there imo.

Every bar I've been I'm that had hoptimum it has been gone in like 30 seconds.

Look, seriously, I just opened a Coors tallboy that cost like $1.75 and my day is being made right now as I drink it.

Its noble pils time.

drinking through the great divide sampler - Denver Pale Ale and Titan IPA are fantastic, Hoss Rye Lager is mediocre, Belgica does nothing for me (to be clear, ive really lost my taste for belgian anythings, i know, dont hit me).

i will be following up this round with black label in the can tho and it will be awesome, so Laurel u r among friends here.

yes john that titan ipa is fuckin good.

and shortly i will be drinking gansett talls.

i really don't fuck with belgians.
tonight i drank some fuckin sam adams and i will drink a brooklyn when my dinner arrives.
laurel, please don't pay more than $1.49 for a can of coors. i like coors.

gansett!!

Ian ur from ri correct?

The only place to get it out here is the Walgreen's. At least within walking distance, although with my bike up today I'll have more options. Still, this is an Orthodox neighborhood on shabbos, my choices are limited.

And when I say "tallboy" I mean the 24 oz size, so I don't think the price is outrageous.

i am from RI, yes.
laurel-- i know what a tallboy is.

Are u still pounding the talks laurel? Haha

4.99 for a sixer of gansett talls (16 Oz) here in mass

See?? Sometimes it's only 16 oz. I'm not crazy, I swear.

Chris, I'm only on my second of the day, so it's more "sipping," really.

What??? U no fun. Haha

in mn tallboy means 16 oz, ie pbr tallboy

I know, I don't know if the 24oz size has a name, really? For some reason, regular Coors only seems to come in this size, everything else is "Light" only.

i shall call them "fatboys" and i recommend you all do the same

kinda burned out on belgians myself. i think the closest i get these days are some of the more belgiany offerings from allagash. i'm on a mad scotch ale kick, though if i'm being honest lately i've been drinking mostly red wine since my beer partner got knocked up.

tonight

tallboy Half Acre Over Ale
snifter Dogfish Head Aprihop
pint 3 Floyds Alpha King
bottle Goose Island IPA
bottle High Life

I expected more from Aprihop I think? Also for some reason I was under the impression it was an Apricot-flavored beer. It isn't.

q: is "gluten free" beer any good? my bro's fiancee recently discovered she shouldn't be having gluten and he's been thinking of brewing a gluten free beer for her.

24 Oz around here are called GQ's

Gluten free is arse

John tallboys are 16 Oz here

http://beernews.org/2011/03/anheuser-busch-to-buy-goose-island-for-38-8-million/

i like coors.

^its very thirst quenching, i love it. Coors Light is piss though.

dont get me wrong i love a good cheapie every once in a while.

Didn't A-B already own a significant slice of Goose Island?

http://beernews.org/tag/gnomegang/

as good as you should know to expect

real good