BStayer:California is perhaps "THE" Mecca for beer in America. But I just want to give some love to a brewery that's not been mentioned in here yet, and that's Russian River. Russian River makes so many AMAZING beers. The Temptation and Consecration will blow you away. Their Pliny the Elder is easily one of the best beers I've ever had, so balanced, full of grapefruit, citrus, and caramell malts in the background. Fantastic stuff. Though I love a thick heavy Russian Imperial Stout on a cold winter day. There are so many good ones out there! Other great breweries: Great Lakes Goose Island Stone Bells Founders Three Floyd's Lost Abbey/Pizza Port Cigar City - they make some beers that are meant to be paired with cigars, like their Bolita Brown Double Nut Brown Ale Alesmith Obviously, this is a very small list, but were just some that I thought of off the top of my head. "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin.
ejenne87: BStayer:California is perhaps "THE" Mecca for beer in America. But I just want to give some love to a brewery that's not been mentioned in here yet, and that's Russian River. Russian River makes so many AMAZING beers. The Temptation and Consecration will blow you away. Their Pliny the Elder is easily one of the best beers I've ever had, so balanced, full of grapefruit, citrus, and caramell malts in the background. Fantastic stuff. Though I love a thick heavy Russian Imperial Stout on a cold winter day. There are so many good ones out there! Other great breweries: Great Lakes Goose Island Stone Bells Founders Three Floyd's Lost Abbey/Pizza Port Cigar City - they make some beers that are meant to be paired with cigars, like their Bolita Brown Double Nut Brown Ale Alesmith Obviously, this is a very small list, but were just some that I thought of off the top of my head. "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin. I have had at least one beer from almost all of these breweries and I have to agree. Anything from Stone or Bells is just fantastic! Lost Abbey, Great Lakes, Founders - all great breweries. I recently got a package from Phil (TatuajeVI) containing a book about home brewing and I plan to get in to that when I get home. I am fairly confident that I can make some decent beer, and even tailor it to my liking. Hopefully it works out! I also plan on reviewing different beers when I get home. It was somehting that I was in to a little bit before I left and I loved it. I will be sure to post them on here if there is any interest in hearing what I might have to say.
BStayer: ejenne87: BStayer:California is perhaps "THE" Mecca for beer in America. But I just want to give some love to a brewery that's not been mentioned in here yet, and that's Russian River. Russian River makes so many AMAZING beers. The Temptation and Consecration will blow you away. Their Pliny the Elder is easily one of the best beers I've ever had, so balanced, full of grapefruit, citrus, and caramell malts in the background. Fantastic stuff. Though I love a thick heavy Russian Imperial Stout on a cold winter day. There are so many good ones out there! Other great breweries: Great Lakes Goose Island Stone Bells Founders Three Floyd's Lost Abbey/Pizza Port Cigar City - they make some beers that are meant to be paired with cigars, like their Bolita Brown Double Nut Brown Ale Alesmith Obviously, this is a very small list, but were just some that I thought of off the top of my head. "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin. I have had at least one beer from almost all of these breweries and I have to agree. Anything from Stone or Bells is just fantastic! Lost Abbey, Great Lakes, Founders - all great breweries. I recently got a package from Phil (TatuajeVI) containing a book about home brewing and I plan to get in to that when I get home. I am fairly confident that I can make some decent beer, and even tailor it to my liking. Hopefully it works out! I also plan on reviewing different beers when I get home. It was somehting that I was in to a little bit before I left and I loved it. I will be sure to post them on here if there is any interest in hearing what I might have to say. I've played around with the idea of brewing some of my own beers, I guess I'm just a little gun shy though. Living in Colorado tends to raise one's expectations when it comes to beer and I'm afraid I'll never meet my standards. Having said that, I've had some amazing homebrews. At the GABF this year, I had a homebrewed watermelon lambic. Wow, that was incredible!! Did you rate beers on either Beer Advocate or Rate Beer? I'm a current member on RateBeer. It's a good place where I go to learn what I need to be looking for. They also have a homebrewing forum and from what I've seen, they're all very helpful. If you had any questions, I'm sure they would be willing to help. Good luck with your adventure and be sure to let us know how it turns out!! Sounds like fun.
ejenne87:I am in love with beer. My favorite beers are all IPA's. I love Stone IPA, Bell's Two Hearted, plus so many more... There is a bar about 50 mins away called The Flying Saucer and they have about 400 different beers in stock. I try to make it there as often as possible because there are always new beers that I have never tried. Plus, all the waitresses wear VERY short skirts and tight tops. It's pretty much the best place ever. I normaly spend all night saturday there and every sunday after noon. It's like my second home and they let me smoke my cigars so I can't beat that. Def. try that Stone IPA, as well as anything else by them. The IPA is amazing, and the rest are just great. Also, anything brewed by Bell's is great as well.
BStayer: ejenne87:I am in love with beer. My favorite beers are all IPA's. I love Stone IPA, Bell's Two Hearted, plus so many more... There is a bar about 50 mins away called The Flying Saucer and they have about 400 different beers in stock. I try to make it there as often as possible because there are always new beers that I have never tried. Plus, all the waitresses wear VERY short skirts and tight tops. It's pretty much the best place ever. I normaly spend all night saturday there and every sunday after noon. It's like my second home and they let me smoke my cigars so I can't beat that. Def. try that Stone IPA, as well as anything else by them. The IPA is amazing, and the rest are just great. Also, anything brewed by Bell's is great as well. If you like IPA's, try Russian River's Blind Pig - it's up there with Stone's, imo. Also, have you had any Dogfish head? I really like their 60 minute IPA, the 90 minute is just over the top bitter for me (and I like DIPA's). If you have access to Avery, try their Maharaja. And of course, RR's Pliny the Elder is a world renowned legend. Have you had anything by Alaskan? If you like porter's, they have a very tasty Smoked Porter. They smoke the porter with the alder wood from a fish smokery across the bay. This beer is very tasty and is fantastic with barbecue or any smoked meat. Even by itself, it's terrific.
dennisking:Every time you call in on your Ccom order, I suggest saying "All Hail the Beard" before you hang up. It's like a secret handshake.
TatuajeVI:A couple more weeks until my first homebrew is ready to drink. An IPA. Let's hope I didn't screw it up, lol.
jsnake:Keep your head focused on keeping your butt safe. We will have plenty of beer here in America when you get back.
ejenne87: jsnake:Keep your head focused on keeping your butt safe. We will have plenty of beer here in America when you get back. Haha, I have all but mastered the art of keeping my next beer in mind while remembering to keep my head down. Actualy, I never leave the camp. Which is a nice change of pace form last time I was here (let's just say there were quite a few close calls this time last year). So, until I get home, keep popping tops and enjoying those beers. I'll be home to enjoy along with all of you in a couple more months!