Which brewery is more solid than Sierra Nevada?

I mean lets be honest; is there any brewery more solid? They cover several different styles and they do them all well to very well. If I could only drink one brewery's beer for the rest of my life, it'd be theirs...

I'd either go with S/N or Smuttynose. I don't think I've had a bad beer from either one.

Only one brewery, for the rest of my life? New Glarus.

Not a SN fan. If I couldn't choose New Glarus (since they don't distribute outside of WI) then I would probably pick Great Divide Brewing Co. They have a great range, and all are executed magnificently. St Bridgett's Porter for when I want something dark, Denver Pale Ale for light, and if I feel like drinking hops till I vomit, there's always Titan IPA.

bigjohnmilford said:

I'd either go with S/N or Smuttynose. I don't think I've had a bad beer from either one.

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I'd agree with Smutty if I liked their Summer wheat beer. I didn't enjoy that but they do make several very good beers...

Anchor comes to mind, I enjoy everything they brew.

BlindLemonLars said:

Anchor comes to mind, I enjoy everything they brew.

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Their summer beer ruins it for me, but yeah they're pretty damn good...

Soulive said:

I'd agree with Smutty if I liked their Summer wheat beer. I didn't enjoy that but they do make several very good beers...

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I hadn't tried that yet. I'm not a big wheat beer fan though. Swmbo and I have been trying to slow down on the commercial buying since we went on the barleywine kick a couple of weeks ago. One of which was Smutty and it was very good.

I love Sierra Nevada. They offer my alltime favorite beer in the pale ale. Their wheat, celebration, big foot, stout and porter are all fantastic. I loved their wet hop harvest ale. Their esb was good.

I am not a fan of their summer lager.

Anchor is along the same lines with me. Their liberty ale may be my second favorite beer ever. I am not a fan of their summer beer either.

Deschutes Brewery.

I have always especially enjoyed Mirror Pond, but their Black Butte Porter is great, Obsidian Stout is also very nice. I pretty much like all of their stuff.

Anyone else had The Abyss? It's a stout that they only release once per year, in the fall. I wouldn't drink a bunch of it, but it's quite tasty. I think they said it won best Stout at the World Beer Champs last year.

blacklab said:

I have always especially enjoyed Mirror Pond, but their Black Butte Porter is great, Obsidian Stout is also very nice. I pretty much like all of their stuff.

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I tried Mirror Pond a few weeks ago, and wasn't terribly impressed. Not bad mind you, but just not a standout.

Just this past Sunday though, I tried the Black Butte Porter and was really impressed. It didn't hurt that I was brewing a stout a the time, and in a "dark beer" state of mind!

I love Sierra Nevada, but my personal favorite is probably New Belgium. While they have some brews I just plain don't like, others are among my favorites. Whenever I start getting tired of one, there's always something else to pique my interest and stimulate the taste buds. Fat Tire turned me onto them, but now I find the special roast/biscuit flavor overwhelming. Their Trippel is one of my favorite beers, and the Two Below turned me on to sterling hops. I can do without the Springboard, but I've been very pleased with the Mothership Wit.

BlindLemonLars said:

Anchor comes to mind, I enjoy everything they brew.

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Do you like the Small Beer? I know it's supposed to be, you know, SMALL and all, but I thought it was really, really flat-tasting and thin. Wasn't an especially impressive execution of a small beer.

the_bird said:

Do you like the Small Beer? I know it's supposed to be, you know, SMALL and all, but I thought it was really, really flat-tasting and thin. Wasn't an especially impressive execution of a small beer.

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You know what, I haven't tried it. I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the brewery a few months ago, and drank ample quantities of everything they had on tap, but it just now occurs to me that the small was absent.

I'll take the revenue and profit from Anheuser Busch, but I won't drink their swill.

Soulive said:

I mean lets be honest; is there any brewery more solid? They cover several different styles and they do them all well to very well. If I could only drink one brewery's beer for the rest of my life, it'd be theirs...

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Did Brooklyn wrong you in some way?

olllllo said:

Did Brooklyn wrong you in some way?

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Brooklyn always holds a place in my heart, but beer for beer they're not as well-rounded. Just comparing Brooklyn's seasonals to Sierra's seasonals proves my point. Truth be told though, I have been getting turned off by Garrett Oliver lately...

Soulive said:

Brooklyn always holds a place in my heart, but beer for beer they're not as well-rounded. Just comparing Brooklyn's seasonals to Sierra's seasonals proves my point. Truth be told though, I have been getting turned off by Garrett Oliver lately...

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That's a tough one there. IMHO Brooklyn brews with a much broader palate of styles, flavors and inspiration than SN. SN is a solid brewery, especially considering the volume they produce. There are lots of breweries that could contend for this discussion...including ones I haven't had the pleasure of sampling.

Last I checked, Oliver's posts on BA didn't effect the flavor of their beer

Soulive said:

I mean lets be honest; is there any brewery more solid? They cover several different styles and they do them all well to very well. If I could only drink one brewery's beer for the rest of my life, it'd be theirs...

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That's a very tough question. Sierra is a class act and has been responsible IMHO for making Am IPA's so popular today. Their celebration ale was one of the 1st, and their pale ale is great. They do not have as many diverse styles though as some other craft brewers today. That is changing with their seasonals as I just had my first lager from them, the summer fest. A very good example that is very easy drinking. Yes they do a great job but there are also a lot of other great craft brewers out there.

Warrior said:

They do not have as many diverse styles though as some other craft brewers today

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Innovative? No, but they're definitely diverse. Their range covers Pale Ale, IPA, Porter, Stout, Wheat, ESB, Pilsner, Barleywine, Brown, and Blonde. I don't need any more than that, but then I'm not big on lagers...

I'd have to go with Smuttynose. I have yet to have a bad beer by them. I love their Big Beer Series!!

I need to try some Dogfish, you guys all seem to enjoy the 60 and the 120. I haven't seen it too much around here, but I also haven't really dug around at the specialty place.

blacklab said:

I need to try some Dogfish, you guys all seem to enjoy the 60 and the 120. I haven't seen it too much around here, but I also haven't really dug around at the specialty place.

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The 60min is great, the 90min is very good, the 120min is undrinkable IMO. DFH is a very good brewery, but they take lots of risks (which is admirable) and therefore are not solid IMO...

I can't think of a more well rounded brewery than the "Ugly Kettle Brewing Company".

• The tap room taps are always flowing with 7 different beers.
• There is the occasional bottle of wood aged IPA or RIS.
• They have some lighter ABV brews on tap for day time sessions.
• They have free Triscuits.

Seating is limited, but I always get there early.

BierMuncher said:

I can't think of a more well rounded brewery than the "Ugly Kettle Brewing Company".

• The tap room taps are always flowing with 7 different beers.
• There is the occasional bottle of wood aged IPA or RIS.
• They have some lighter ABV brews on tap for day time sessions.
• They have free Triscuits.

Seating is limited, but I always get there early.

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This is the Commercial section!

I have a confession to make. SNPA is the only SN beer I've ever had and I don't really LOVE it. I guess I have some work to do.

McNeill's Brewery naturally. Sure he's had some issues with quality, but with the new brewery opening, I'm speculating, those issues will come to an end and his brews will be as consistent as they were ten years ago. Besides, I can walk there, and Ray truly makes some fabulous beer.

Soulive said:

This is the Commercial section!

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Okay...Triscuits are 5 cents each...

Now it's a commercial endeavor.

BierMuncher said:

Okay...Triscuits are 5 cents each... Now it's a commercial endeavor.

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Do I need a reservation? And can I get a Frequent Drinker punch card?

Bobby_M said:

I have a confession to make. SNPA is the only SN beer I've ever had and I don't really LOVE it. I guess I have some work to do.

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So far I've had SNPA, SN Porter, SN Anniv Ale, SN Celebr Ale, and I just bought a 6'er of the SN ESB.

PA wasn't bad, but not great. Porter was tasty. Anniv ale was not baaaaad, but the "wrong" hops for my taste, Celebr ale I didn't like much, and the ESB is so-so. It's got great honey/caramely character to it, but it's still too Americanized for me to appreciate it. It's just not QUITE the ESB that I'm used to. *shrug*

If I had to pick one very solid brewery, it would have to be O'Dell brewing.

90 Shilling is very good and available all over the place here in Denver.
The 5 barrel pale is excellent.
The IPA is excellent, with both GABF (2007) and World Beer Cup (2008) gold medals.
The Extra-special red is very tasty, too, but pricey.

I need to hit the tap room the next time I'm in Ft. Collins. Everything I've had has been well-executed. Pity they don't distribute wider.

Bobby_M said:

I have a confession to make. SNPA is the only SN beer I've ever had and I don't really LOVE it. I guess I have some work to do.

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You can't be serious. I can put you in touch with Bigfoot, ESB, Summerfest, and probably some others. I'll bring some the next time we get together...

How about Bear Republic? I haven't had one from them that I dislike.

Of the other breweries named so far: I don't particularly like SN's stout or porter, SNCA was only ok, and SNPA is pretty forgettable. I'm not a huge fan of anything but the porter from Anchor...Anchor Steam tastes good but sits funny in my gut (makes me feel overly full for no good reason). O'Dell makes good beer, but I hated the porter, and the 90 shilling is more of a 70 shilling. Deschuttes and Mirror Pond are good, but they have a very "mass produced" feel to them.

Overcritical? Yes. But you asked.

New Holland has yet to brew a beer i havent liked enough to buy 4 more times.

I've only had the HopRod and RedRocket from Bear but hey, 2 for 2 isn't bad. They are really good beers.

The coin I'm flipping for "you can only drink from one brewery" has Bell's on one side, and Goose Island on the other. Neither makes any one beer that I couldn't live without, but both are solid across the lineup. I even enjoy their offerings of styles I don't normally drink.

'course, I'm not claiming to have tried every beer from every other brewery out there, so I've got some work to do

I've seen a lot of good choices: Odell and Bell's are high on my list. I've already cast my vote for New Belgium, but I'm suprised that Rogue hasn't shown up yet. They make some fantastic beers, only a few of which get wide distribution.

Oskar Blues.

There. I said it.

I haven't had a chance to drive out to CO to pick some OB up. They don't distribute in NE. I've been dying to try them, I think they could be my new favorite. I love cans with a passion. (It's the redneck hidden in me that also likes PBR.)

chriso said:

I love cans with a passion. (It's the redneck hidden in me that also likes PBR.)

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I've only had the Gordon IPA, and I'll admit that it was very strange to pour such a flavorful beer from a can. You gotta try that stuff!

If it was the only beer I can drink for the rest of my life, it's Frueh Koelsch. They only make the one beer (as far as I know), but to me it's hands down the best ever, anywhere. Great during summer or winter, for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and perfect after a long day's work.

I do like Sierra Nevada though - their Pale Ale, Celebration Ale and Bigfoot are superb, and their ESB is decent. Add to that their sustainability initiatives, and it just feels good to be drinking their stuff.

As for Great Divide... I have yet to enjoy any of their beers, having tried the Titan IPA (which tastes like pine cone mixed with tree sap to me), and the Denver Pale Ale, probably the most boring APA I've tried. I'll take Coors over those.

olllllo said:

Oskar Blues.

There. I said it.

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I love OB, but I only have access to 4 styles they do. The Dale's and Old Chub is awesome stuff though...