East coast vs West coast

[zman]

I've had Victory beers but never Ommegang or Saranac. I tried a Hop Devel once and almost lost a molar.

You never had Ommegang??? We get it in Denver. It is Duvel's sister Brewery in Cooperstown. Saranac was one of my staple beers in college. Argonaut only has the Black and Tan (not their best IMO) but Total Beverage and other Big stores along the Front Range have their other stuff

 

[two_hearted]

I'm late to the game here, but I gotta say Midwest with Michigan leading the charge. I would put many Michigan beers up against West Coast beers that are similar. Even Pliny.

 

[mcwilcr]

You never had Ommegang??? We get it in Denver. It is Duvel's sister Brewery in Cooperstown. Saranac was one of my staple beers in college. Argonaut only has the Black and Tan (not their best IMO) but Total Beverage and other Big stores along the Front Range have their other stuff

next time I'm in Denver I'll have to make a stop in Tipsy's and look since they have the biggest selection I know of. in the meantime I guess its time for me to take a closer look at the bomber section of the liquor stores around Colorado Springs.

 

[wonderbread23]

I think the fact that we have to even argue this out is a beautiful thing! That fact of the matter is that nearly every part of the country is producing awesome beer in one way or another. The regional stylistic differences are one of the things I love. I'm fortunate to live somewhere that gets a lot of brews from different areas so I get to try the variety first hand. We truly have the best variety and quality in history. Its a good time to drink beer.

 

[supe_kitchen]

You never had Ommegang??? We get it in Denver. It is Duvel's sister Brewery in Cooperstown. Saranac was one of my staple beers in college. Argonaut only has the Black and Tan (not their best IMO) but Total Beverage and other Big stores along the Front Range have their other stuff

Represent for Argonaut! Every time we go to GABF we load the car down with everything that we can't get in OK and stock the 'cellar.'

 

[zman]

Represent for Argonaut! Every time we go to GABF we load the car down with everything that we can't get in OK and stock the 'cellar.'

You will also want to check out Daveco Liquors - Home and https://www.totalbeverage.net/


both are off of I25

 

[zman]

next time I'm in Denver I'll have to make a stop in Tipsy's and look since they have the biggest selection I know of. in the meantime I guess its time for me to take a closer look at the bomber section of the liquor stores around Colorado Springs.

I have not been to Tipsy's in a while but I am sure they Have Ommegang. All of their beers are good. They have a collaboration with D' Achouffe called Gmnomeagang that is amazing

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

I've had Victory beers but never Ommegang or Saranac. I tried a Hop Devel once and almost lost a molar.

Victory's Storm King is pretty solid too. There's a great spot in Lubbock across from the Texas Tech campus that serves it. Cricket's, the oasis of the south plains!

 

[Zak]

I grew up in Massachuettes and my first introduction to craft beer ranged for the large like Boston Beer Company, to the small like Paper City Brewery (hard to find even in the city/county it is brewed in) That being said even before I moved to Arizona, I still found myself prefering West Coast breweries like Stone, Flying Dog, Rogue, etc. I was able to get a exposure to a large variety of beer, before moving. The liquor store 5 minutes from my appartment was the size of a supermarket so in addition to the multiple cooler spaces that had craft beer, there was also an entire craft beer isle to choose from. Unfortunately, the bars in the Pioneer Valley barely ever had a selection.

When I moved to Airzona it did a lot to improve my already high opinion of WC beers. Part of that may be the selection as I'd say a majority of what's available is from out here (AZ, CA, CO, and OR to be specific). Last time I was on the East Coast, I found a place that had several beers that I had not had before. Of what I tried, the one I liked the best was a Cali beer.

 

[Mongrel]

Rheingold's been gone again for at least 5-7 years. I do remember being able to get it after I left the Army for some time, so between 10-7 years ago it was available.

Damn. I left NYC at the end of '99, so that makes sense. Ah well, at least the Les Paul Rheingold jingles are available online.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5yf69fWgjw]Les Paul & Mary Ford- Rheingold Beer Radio Ads - YouTube[/ame]

 

[BOBrob]

Midwest! hands down and belly up to the bar. Cheers

 

[eanmcnulty]

Pizzas loaded with toppings are trying to showcase the toppings. Plain pizza is practicing the art of simplicity.

See, now I'm a Chicago guy, and even though everyone else seems to consider Chicago pizza that think pan pizza, I usually think of the thin crust (nepolitan-style I think). These are slightly different than NY pizzas. NY pizzas are thin and foldable, and that's fine, I like that feature, but Chicago thin crusts are cracker-crisp and the pizzas are cut in squares. Yes, in a round thin-crust Chicago pizza you can eat the corners.
And don't get me wrong; there really isn't any bad pizza out there: bread, cheese, tomatoes, there is just boring pizza. I'm looking at you Domino's.
I'm for the Midwest beer by the way.

 

[Zak]

...And don't get me wrong; there really isn't any bad pizza out there: bread, cheese, tomatoes, there is just boring pizza. I'm looking at you Domino's...

I've had the unfortunate experience of eat pizza that tasted like the sauce came from a can of spaghetti'os. Trust me there is such a thing as bad pizza.

 

[trigger]

last time I was in Detroit the one bar I went to carried every light american lager knwon to exist it seemed, and no others. Now having been born in Detroit I would like to believe the posts about the beer culture there, but when my brother and I went out in search of something else the most "craft beer" we found in two hours was Boston Lager and Kokanee.

When I was in Folsom, PA I went to the local market to get some beer, they sent me to the beer store. Now, being a left coast type I saw a sign that said wine, so I walked in, and they said that I had to go to the beer store. I finally found a beer store, and once again was greeted with a plethora of light american lagers and nothing else. On top of that the smallest amount you could buy was an 18 pack (I think). I also got an explanation about how you couldn't sell beer, wine, or liquor in the same store, and grocery couldn't sell any of it. Some of the Marines I was working with there took us to a strip club that was byob. Finally, we went to a bar and they had the standard light lagers and a nice selection of big-name Oregon and California brews on tap.

I want to try some more of the midwest beers, but they're wicked expensive around me, when I have even seen them. Also, being a Cascadian I have a contracted a serious case of lupulin threshold, and the few Midwest and East Coast brews I've tried have honestly been lacking the face-melting-soul-liquifying-heart-exploding-tongue-igniting-hair-bleaching hop experience that your average stumptown pale ale delivers.

 

[luhrks]

I lived in Europe from 18-25, lived in Detroit for 2 years and then on the East Coast from 27-37. Four the past four years I live in Seattle. I witnessed the resurgance of the craft brewery on the East Coast and the improvement of beer in general all over. Each has their own virtue and vice.

On the East, they're obsessed with recreating what Europe makes. On the left they're obsessed with how much hops they can cram in a bottle. The middle seems to struggling to recreate what they lost pre-prohibition. The south? (and I don't mean the Mason Dixon, because Virginia, Kentucky, Tennesse, North Carolina, and Arkansas seem to make some good brews)Well, the best stuff comes from Mexico. They seem to be hamstrung with the ABV and "Blue" laws, and really can't quite come into their own.

 

[Fennis]

I lived in Europe from 18-25, lived in Detroit for 2 years and then on the East Coast from 27-37. Four the past four years I live in Seattle. I witnessed the resurgance of the craft brewery on the East Coast and the improvement of beer in general all over. Each has their own virtue and vice.

On the East, they're obsessed with recreating what Europe makes. On the left they're obsessed with how much hops they can cram in a bottle. The middle seems to struggling to recreate what they lost pre-prohibition. The south? (and I don't mean the Mason Dixon, because Virginia, Kentucky, Tennesse, North Carolina, and Arkansas seem to make some good brews)Well, the best stuff comes from Mexico. They seem to be hamstrung with the ABV and "Blue" laws, and really can't quite come into their own.

I have to agree with you about the South. I went to Houston on a business trip with my company and went to a few of the local restaurants over the course of the 3 days we were there and every time I asked them what they had for craft brews, their answer was Blue Moon. Whenever I think of the south and its beer problems, I think of this:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cj5IFdapS8]What's wrong with the beer we got? - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Airborneguy]

Well, we found something we all agree on.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Well, we found something we all agree on.

Tourists! You just have to know where to look.

Houston has a bar on Washington Street called Taps. As the name suggests, they have a wide selection on the walls, but they sell bombers as well, and they have local Texas craft brew from across the state.

Thanks to BMC, our laws are still very favorable to the big boys.

 

[Fennis]

Tourists! You just have to know where to look.

Houston has a bar on Washington Street called Taps. As the name suggests, they have a wide selection on the walls, but they sell bombers as well, and they have local Texas craft brew from across the state.

Thanks to BMC, our laws are still very favorable to the big boys.

Well, I will say that when I went to Addison, TX, there was a place there called Flying Saucer with a huge wall of taps, including beer from two Maine breweries, Allagash and Shipyard, which was a nice surprise finding it 2000 miles from home. But again other local restaurants just gave me funny looks when I asked for anything beyond the big beers. I guess you are right, I just needed to know where to look. I changed jobs since then and now I don't travel, but if I ever make it back to Houston, I will check it out.

 

[mikeysab]

I like good beer, I dong give a $hit where its from.

 

[ceweldon]

I'm just glad Florida has started to enter this conversation with some force. Cigar City, Swamp Head, and Florida Beer are as good as they get IMO.

 

[D_Ranged_Eskimo]

Well, I will say that when I went to Addison, TX, there was a place there called Flying Saucer with a huge wall of taps, including beer from two Maine breweries, Allagash and Shipyard, which was a nice surprise finding it 2000 miles from home. But again other local restaurants just gave me funny looks when I asked for anything beyond the big beers. I guess you are right, I just needed to know where to look. I changed jobs since then and now I don't travel, but if I ever make it back to Houston, I will check it out.

Allagash is awesome. I was fortunate enough to receive six of their corked bottles to try. The Tripel they have is fantastic.

There isn't a lot of choices as far as major resturaunts go to find craft beer down here, but there are some. Shiner is the big boy down here.

Flying Saucer is good, we have YardHouse, BJ's Brewhouse, and The Ginger Man. I'm sure they have more, but I don't live in Houston. Austin and Dallas also have some decent spots, and San Antonio has Freetail which makes very good beer. It isn't as widely available as in other parts of the country, but if you look, there is good beer to be had in this state.

 

[HopLife]

My local convenience store. Dari-Mart, of which there are about 20 or 30 in the county is celebrating 'July Oregon Craft Beer Month' all six packs of Oregon craft beers $ 7.99 + Dep. This includes: Bridgeport, Ninkasi, Widmer, Deschuttes, Oakshire, Ten Barrel, Pyramid, and there are probably some I am forgetting....Nice.

 

[StMarcos]

I think pliney and DFH are both awesome beers. Different, but I'd never say one is better than the other. Anchor is better than SA though. No arguments, that's a fact

Even though Lagunitas is a hop-forward brewery, they are also quite malty. The hoppy/malty coast division was certainly more pronounced 10-15 years ago - much less so now.

Time for a Mexico vs. Canada thread?