Community Beer Council - Bottoms Up!

[bmdubya]

Beer! A beverage that has been around for thousands of years, is the third most consumed beverage in the world, and is attributed to the creation of civilizations. In recent years, a craft beer movement has taken the world by storm, throwing out the old guard and bringing tasty beer to everyone. Let's use this thread to celebrate all aspects of this frosty drink.

I'll start off: I started drinking beer in college, usually cheap stuff at the beginning, and then switched over to craft beer around 2009, right in the middle of the craft beer boom in the United States. Over the years I've tried to get my hands on as many different styles of beer as possible. I'd say the rarest beer I've been able to drink are limited edition sours from New Belgium (I live in Fort Collins).

In recent years I've gotten into homebrewing. I don't homebrew as often as I like, but in the last year I moved into a house with plenty of room to homebrew. I've been building up my equipment and plan on getting back into it this summer. Any other homebrewers out there?

Anyway, cheers! I look forward to chatting about beer with all of you.

 

[Routa]

Was introduced to craft beer by my older brother, and got way to into it for a few years.

I'm not as hardcore as I was into craft beer in my mid-20s (i.e. waiting in line over night for beer releases, sometimes in freezing weather), but still try to get to the stores for some new releases as much as possible. It was fun for a while, but not worth the stress anymore.

Trying to make a trip to Cantillon soon.

 

[Firewithin]

Aw fellow beer drinkers!

Being from southern California I have a plethora of local breweries around. Golden Road is among my favorites.

Regular type beers are good as well such as modelo, XX, 805. Those tend to be the gathering beers when I'm at kiddie parties or similar events.

Nothing beats the first cold sip on a hot day or at the end of a stressful day.

Only downside is getting fatter as I've gotten older

 

[Guilty of Being]

I drink cheep beer and local beer.

 

[bmdubya]

I look forward to reading posts about beer from people who are more knowledgeable than myself. I'm from CO as well and I am actually going to Fort Collins for a beer festival very soon, I will try to remember to take some pictures and post them here!

That’s awesome! Which festival? We’ve got some good beer up here in Fort Collins if you need any recommendations.

Was introduced to craft beer by my older brother, and got way to into it for a few years.

I'm not as hardcore as I was into craft beer in my mid-20s (i.e. waiting in line over night for beer releases, sometimes in freezing weather), but still try to get to the stores for some new releases as much as possible. It was fun for a while, but not worth the stress anymore.

Trying to make a trip to Cantillon soon.

Oh wow, I’ve definitely never waited over night for a beer release haha. That’s pretty cool. Were you able to score anything good or unique by doing that?

 

[Routa]

Oh wow, I’ve definitely never waited over night for a beer release haha. That’s pretty cool. Were you able to score anything good or unique by doing that?

Yea, mainly some really nice beers from Voodoo brewing out in PA. The best part is all the attendees sharing their local beer (that they bring) with everyone while waiting in line.

 

[bmdubya]

I drink cheep beer and local beer.

Cheap beer is preferable in some situations. I went camping this past weekend, and that's the perfect situation for cheap beer. When you're sitting by the river drinking all day, you don't want to sip on high ABV beers.

Aw fellow beer drinkers!

Being from southern California I have a plethora of local breweries around. Golden Road is among my favorites.

Regular type beers are good as well such as modelo, XX, 805. Those tend to be the gathering beers when I'm at kiddie parties or similar events.

Nothing beats the first cold sip on a hot day or at the end of a stressful day.

Only downside is getting fatter as I've gotten older

As I now live in a house with a yard, I've learned that beer tastes so good after doing some yard work.

 

[Guilty of Being]

If I had my choice, I typically prefer Shiner Bock.

If you ever want to get knocked down, check out Big Hoppa IPA.

 

[bmdubya]

Shiner is really good. I'll have to look for Big Hoppa IPA.

Gonna brew up a New England IPA tonight, I'll post pictures later.

 

[bmdubya]

It's called the Odell Small Batch Festival. If you have any recommendations for sour beers I would definitely be interested.

Oh nice! I am hoping to go to that festival as well! It is also Odell's 30th anniversary party. It will be insane. Any of the sours at that festive will be really good. Just down the street is Funkwerks that has incredible sours, and then one of the pioneers of American sours (New Belgium) is literally around the corner from Odell. Those three places have the best sours in Fort Collins, in my opinion. There is also another spot in the south part of town called Purpose Brewing. It was founded by the former head brewer at New Belgium who started the sour line. He wanted to do something different after being at New Belgium for a while, so he started Purpose. They have some good beers, but I usually avoid it because they do a lot of stuff with peanut butter, and I'm allergic.

 

[Stevey]

I'm a filthy lager drinker

 

[Guilty of Being]

I'm a filthy lager drinker

Hey, I'm a filthy, cheap American beer drinker.

 

[bmdubya]

I'm a filthy lager drinker

If you're ever in Colorado, try the Upslope Craft Lager. It is one of my go to beers, it's so good.

 

[bmdubya]

I’ve been trying to upload pics of homebrewing like all day and can’t get it to work. I will try again tomorrow.

On another note, drank some Pliny the Elder tonight. It’s getting easier to find in Colorado. Still as tasty as the first time I had it.

 

[Rockin' Ranger]

Got a couple free bottles of Lunch, it's pretty good.

It's called the Odell Small Batch Festival. If you have any recommendations for sour beers I would definitely be interested.

I liked Odell's Sippin' Pretty sour.

I don't think you'll find it there, but New Glarus Strawberry Rhubarb is a great fruit sour I had this week.

If you can find Dogfish Head SeaQuench though you should definitely have that.

 

[bmdubya]

Finally got pictures uploaded from homebrewing the other night.

Dough in

Best part about brewing is enjoying a cold beer while doing so. This is one of my favorite beers being made in Colorado right now.

Transferring over to the boil kettle

Pitching yeast!

And settling into the carboys for fermentation! We made a New England IPA, look at how hazy it turned out! The first 24 hours of fermentation was crazy.


I'll be sure to post some pictures of the final product. Gonna do the first round of dry hopping tomorrow.

 

[Guilty of Being]

 

[bmdubya]

How is it? Never heard of Spindletap, but I do love a good blonde ale during the summer.

Do you all have a go to craft beer when you can decide what to get? You’re at the beer store and nothing new looks interesting, so you have that one go-to beer. For me, it is Odell IPA.

 

[Guilty of Being]

How is it? Never heard of Spindletap, but I do love a good blonde ale during the summer.

Do you all have a go to craft beer when you can decide what to get? You’re at the beer store and nothing new looks interesting, so you have that one go-to beer. For me, it is Odell IPA.

Shiner Bock.

I’m not big on IPAs, but I always give locals a shot.

 

[bmdubya]

Never posted a picture of the home brew I made. We made a hazy/New England IPA. It was a clone of Juicy Bits from Weldwerks, a brewery in Greeley, CO. My home brew is on the left, and on the right is the inspiration. We got pretty damn close.

The beer is on tap at a friend’s house because he has a kegerator. I’ve also drank so much of his home brew over the years that I figured it would be my contribution back to his house. So I just grab a growler of my beer whenever I’m over there.

 

[Copons]

I've been an IPA buff for years now, and I'm kinda sad I've left Italy right at peak craft beer boom.
My favourite is Toccalmatto's Zona Cesarini, a New Zealand pale ale from the the Emilia Romagna region, which is rather citrusy with tropical fruit tones, not super sweet but also definitely not sour. Damn I miss it, I haven't had one in years now.

Now that I'm in the UK, the weather usually doesn't justify having anything lighter than an IPA, so I usually just get whatever is served in the pub I'm in, as long as it's not above 6£ because fuck you then.
At least though English pubs serve crafts in full pints, while usually in Italy are served in 0.33 glasses, and cost roughly the same.

I've recently been to Spain and it was so fucking hot all the time that for the first time in a very very long time I've actually appreciated cheap random lager. Cruzcampo and Alhambra, served super cold, are my new lords and saviours.

Generally I don't like very sour beers (no double IPA for me), and the stale piss Britons seem to love for some reasons.

 

[Guilty of Being]

 

[Rockin' Ranger]

Do you all have a go to craft beer when you can decide what to get? You’re at the beer store and nothing new looks interesting, so you have that one go-to beer. For me, it is Odell IPA.

I've got a few I might go to in that situation. Lately it's been Fair State IPA, Toppling Goliath Psuedo Sue, Surly Furious, or Indeed Mexican Honey.

On the topic of Odell I've picked up their Mountain Standard IPA a few times and really like it.

 

[Guilty of Being]

Sadly, I'm about to stop drinking for a while; I need to lose weight.

 

[bmdubya]

I've been an IPA buff for years now, and I'm kinda sad I've left Italy right at peak craft beer boom.
My favourite is Toccalmatto's Zona Cesarini, a New Zealand pale ale from the the Emilia Romagna region, which is rather citrusy with tropical fruit tones, not super sweet but also definitely not sour. Damn I miss it, I haven't had one in years now.

Now that I'm in the UK, the weather usually doesn't justify having anything lighter than an IPA, so I usually just get whatever is served in the pub I'm in, as long as it's not above 6£ because fuck you then.
At least though English pubs serve crafts in full pints, while usually in Italy are served in 0.33 glasses, and cost roughly the same.

I've recently been to Spain and it was so fucking hot all the time that for the first time in a very very long time I've actually appreciated cheap random lager. Cruzcampo and Alhambra, served super cold, are my new lords and saviours.

Generally I don't like very sour beers (no double IPA for me), and the stale piss Britons seem to love for some reasons.

I’ve always been very curious about the craft beer scene in Europe. Did you all have a big boom with craft beer in like the early 2000s? The US beer market was dominated by big breweries for years, and then home brewing was legalized so people started experimenting, and then we had a big boom with craft breweries. Was it similar in Europe?

 

[Copons]

I’ve always been very curious about the craft beer scene in Europe. Did you all have a big boom with craft beer in like the early 2000s? The US beer market was dominated by big breweries for years, and then home brewing was legalized so people started experimenting, and then we had a big boom with craft breweries. Was it similar in Europe?

I'm totes not the best person to answer, and anyway I guess each country got there in different ways.
I'm pretty sure Italy followed at least the UK (e.g. the Scottish Brewdog, founded in 2007, was already big enough to start exporting and become big enough to be relatively common in Italy too).

I remember at some point in the late 00s home brewing started to be the craze, and I've drunk some really piss poor beers from overly enthusiast friends and relatives.
In mid 10s, there were a bunch of craft beer fairs well established in Rome, both promoting local/Italian microbreweries, and importing more or less unknown from all over the world.
So I guess more or less it was similar to the US, at least in Italy.

Until 2 years ago (when I moved to England), the good pubs in Rome basically only served craft beers.
On the other hand, here in the super hipster Brighton, most pubs have a more varied offer, with a few crafts, many cheap lagers and ales, and some in-between (e.g. some decent IPAs from big breweries like Lagunitas, which can't really be considered craft anymore).

 

[RionaaM]

I didn't care about beer when I was younger, but in recent years I've grown to enjoy it. If I'm not mistaken, the craft beer scene began less than 3 years ago here in Argentina (or at least in Buenos Aires).

My favorites are honey and red beers. Don't like dark ones, their taste is too strong and I don't like the coffee flavor. Not a big fan of IPA either, though I don't dislike it and I will drink it if there's nothing else. What I definitely despise is wheat beer, it tastes like piss and is probably made with it. My friends used to buy it all the time and oh how I hated it! I'd rather drink toilet water instead.

 

[Mitch]

Almost made a BEER OT upon registering here. Glad there's already a little community for it.

I worked at a brewery in Cleveland, OH for about a year. Dabbled in mobile canning in the CLE/CBUS/Akron area for a month as well, which was a wild ride. My family business has a machine targeted at the packaging portion of craft beer. We have a few going out this year, which is a great start. I believe Land Grant out of Columbus has one already.

I'm also new to homebrewing. 2 batches in this year. One being extract (Porter) and another an all-grain SMaSH IPA. Both turned out decent, which surprised me considering my lack of experience. I knew the basics for the most part, especially the cleanliness aspect thanks to running a canning line for 9 months.

Currently living in Houston and the craft scene here is enormous. I'd say it's in the top 20 cities to visit for craft beer. It'll be top 10 if things continue to grow and evolve.

In a couple weeks I'll be going to Seattle for a few days to hit up a good number of breweries. Very excited to visit Fremont, Holy Mountain and a few others. I'll post some pictures while I'm there!

 

[Nahkapukki]

Funny how Finnish beer is apparently held in high regard among beer enthusiasts yet when I drink Finnish beer and compare it to English beers or Czech beers those are way better and more tasty. Finnish beers seem to be made around the mindset of maximum drinkage 'cause you can keep drinking them bottle after bottle 'cause they don't taste much of anything and are watery.

 

[Routa]

The brother is visiting, which means time to hit up some local beer.

Almost made a BEER OT upon registering here. Glad there's already a little community for it.

I worked at a brewery in Cleveland, OH for about a year. Dabbled in mobile canning in the CLE/CBUS/Akron area for a month as well, which was a wild ride. My family business has a machine targeted at the packaging portion of craft beer. We have a few going out this year, which is a great start. I believe Land Grant out of Columbus has one already.

I'm also new to homebrewing. 2 batches in this year. One being extract (Porter) and another an all-grain SMaSH IPA. Both turned out decent, which surprised me considering my lack of experience. I knew the basics for the most part, especially the cleanliness aspect thanks to running a canning line for 9 months.

Currently living in Houston and the craft scene here is enormous. I'd say it's in the top 20 cities to visit for craft beer. It'll be top 10 if things continue to grow and evolve.

In a couple weeks I'll be going to Seattle for a few days to hit up a good number of breweries. Very excited to visit Fremont, Holy Mountain and a few others. I'll post some pictures while I'm there!

Where did you work at in Cleveland? I used to live there and was usually at a brewery every weekend...and then it seemed like a new brewery popped up every day.

The Pacific Northwest has an awesome beer scene. My brother tries to bring me stuff whenever we get together, he just brought me from Honey Punch from Floodlands which was fantastic. If you can, look for a day to drive to Portland and hit up Cascade and Great Notion.

 

[Mitch]

The brother is visiting, which means time to hit up some local beer.



Where did you work at in Cleveland? I used to live there and was usually at a brewery every weekend...and then it seemed like a new brewery popped up every day.

The Pacific Northwest has an awesome beer scene. My brother tries to bring me stuff whenever we get together, he just brought me from Honey Punch from Floodlands which was fantastic. If you can, look for a day to drive to Portland and hit up Cascade and Great Notion.

I worked at Platform for a bit. Also canned beer for Masthead, Goldhorn, Hoof Hearted, Seventh Son and a few other breweries.

I thought about going to Portland, but I think Seattle has a ton for me to do and see the 2 days I'll be there. I'll be on foot and utilizing public transit, so my options are limited.

 

[Ge0force]

Some of the finest beers in the world are made here in Belgium. Yet most of the pubs and parties in the city I grew up only served a lokal beer that's even worse than Heineken.

 

[lazerfox]

I don't know shit about beer but I sure as hell like drinking it. I'm gonna visit London next week and thought I'd ask for some suggestion about what's good.

I'm really open to try anything except the lukewarm stuff. Tried it once and hated it.

 

[deftonesrcool]

I whole heartedly recommend Ballast Point's Fathom IPA. Goes down so smoothly with some steak and baked potatoes

 

[Routa]

Some of the finest beers in the world are made here in Belgium. Yet most of the pubs and parties in the city I grew up only served a lokal beer that's even worse than Heineken.

I'm headed to Brussels soon, very excited for some of the beer options. Will probably stop at Cantillon too

 

[Ge0force]

I'm headed to Brussels soon, very excited for some of the beer options. Will probably stop at Cantillon too

I'm not really proud of our capital city, but there are lots of great pubs there. If you can handle some heavier beer, Duvel (which means "devil") is very recommended. You can also try Stella Artois, which is brewed only a few miles from where I live.

Have a nice trip!

 

[Routa]

I'm not really proud of our capital city, but there are lots of great pubs there. If you can handle some heavier beer, Duvel (which means "devil") is very recommended. You can also try Stella Artois, which is brewed only a few miles from where I live.

Have a nice trip!

Was hard to enjoy the city since it was 100+ degrees Fahrenheit outside, ended up spending most of the day in the brewery.

If possible, everyone should take a trip to Cantillon at least once, remarkable place. I will upload some images later

 

[Routa]

Some pictures from my trip to Cantillon.

Was able to get some bottles to go too.

 

[Ron Mexico]

I've shied away from a lot of the beers that exist for nothing more than the hype (hello, 99% of NEIPAs) but Cantillon is in a class of its own.

 

[ramoisdead]

Here are the beers I've been drinking as of late:

 

[Rockin' Ranger]

Todd the Axe Man tonight.

 

[Ron Mexico]

Todd the Axe Man tonight.

Was pleasantly surprised to see Surly reach distro in Jersey. Both Todd and Furious made their way here. I typically go to MN once a year or so and Surly is always a stop. Nice to bridge that gap a little. Hoping for Coffee Bender and the like now.

Equally as surprising was Toppling Goliath. Pseudo Sue is a damn fine pale.

 

[ramoisdead]

More beer pics of what I have been drinking since the last post:

 

[beep boop]

Trying out Affligem beers. Quite nice. I've got the blond here and will follow it up with their tripel later
So far, of the Belgian beers I've tried, the Grimbergen dubbel is my favorite. I also had a decent fruity local brew a while ago but I can't remember the name.

 

[lazerfox]

I gotta try more belgian beers. I only know Hoegaarden because it was the only decent drink they served in the pub when I was in the military.

Loved the flowerish aroma of it.

 

[Trisolarian]

I was on a bit of a 'fruit beer' kick from around the middle of may to now

I had

-Bluepoint Blueberry Ale - 6 pack
-21 Amendment Hell or High Watermelon -6 pack
-Abita Purple Haze -1
-Magic Hat #9 -1

Some others. After all that fruit, I decided it was time to break out the old seasonal.

Victory Summer Love. Its my 'around 4th of july time' beer going back at least 6 years. The time has come!