Beer Cruising

[savoir]

When I get back to the boat I'll take a look for cans. Last year all you could get was Miller Lite, Bud etc. They did have Heineken in cans.

[goboatingnow]

In recent years, there seems to be an explosion of local" craft beer, but I always think variety doesn't necessarily equal quality. Anyway my fridge contains Miller Genuine Draft, so what do i know

Dave

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

In recent years, there seems to be an explosion of local" craft beer, but I always think variety doesn't necessarily equal quality. Anyway my fridge contains Miller Genuine Draft, so what do i know

Twenty years ago the craft beer industry bubble burst, largely because there were too many craft breweries and in many cases, quality was not high. The industry is facing a similar situation now. The word "craft" is no guarantee of great beer. But it is almost always a guarantee that the the beer is better than MGD.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Twenty years ago the craft beer industry bubble burst, largely because there were too many craft breweries and in many cases, quality was not high. The industry is facing a similar situation now. The word "craft" is no guarantee of great beer. But it is almost always a guarantee that the the beer is better than MGD.

Most things are, but cold MGD a arms reach away is always better then a fine beer , 10 miles away on the shelf in a shop , IMHO

Dave

[jkindredpdx]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

Twenty years ago the craft beer industry bubble burst, largely because there were too many craft breweries and in many cases, quality was not high. The industry is facing a similar situation now. The word "craft" is no guarantee of great beer. But it is almost always a guarantee that the the beer is better than MGD.

Quantity may not guarantee quality, but options help eliminate the losers... as mentioned by our European friends, American Beer and Coffee pretty much sucked 25 yrs ago... I took up brewing in 1982 trying to make Guinness, Harp, or Anchor Steam because I couldn't always find good beer to buy. I just read in RateBeer Weekly - An Open Letter to Brewers there are over 250,000 beers in the Rate Beer database. Odds are you can find something to like.

[Flem.S.Coyle]

Originally Posted by goboatingnow

Most things are, but cold MGD a arms reach away is always better then a fine beer , 10 miles away on the shelf in a shop , IMHO

Dave

My friend Bob says, "There's two kinds of beer: free and cold. If it ain't one, it better be the other."

[Flamingo1]

I was just in San Diego and they have quite a few microbreweries popping up all over town. I sampled as many of them as I could to determine which ones were good and due to un-scientific testing methods, my results on inconclusive. However, I can report that results did not identify any that were undrinkable.

Coronado Brewing Company - very good.
Stone Brewery - very good.
Ballast Point - especially the Yellow Tail Pale Ale - fantastic.

These are the bigger names - but there are smaller places all over town serving some really good beers such as Blind Lady, Belching Beaver, Hillcrest Brewing Company, Pacific Beach Ale House. I hear Pizza Port is good as well - although I have not been there.

It was only a three day weekend, so I could not finish testing all of the samples and my notes ended up being mostly illegible scribbles, doodles and the word "poop" written in various fonts. I guess that's the hazards of running such tests on human subjects.

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

Ok what about inexpensive beer? Because on a hot day a cold lighter beer is pretty good, period!

The Cheapest Beer In The World - Thrillist Nation

[RainDog]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

Looks like any of a dozen places within a mile of my house. Grand Rapids has the official title Beer City USA. We have more micro breweries per cap than anywhere else. New laws let the stuff get bottled & sold around so you can often get them in bars & take-outs in any Michigan port town. In Grand Haven, there are two micros in sight of the docks. Traverse City has a few as do most of the small towns. Never cheap but always affordable.

Grand Rapids Brewery Tour | West Michigan Breweries

I would have to agree with Michigan. It has the best beer culture I have seen in the US. Even in small towns, more shelf space is devoted to local beers than national brands. Every shitty little bar in every town has some really good beers on tap. Plus it has three of the top 5 breweries on this arbitrary list: ratebeer best 2013 - best brewers in the world (I am making Thee Floyds and honorary Michigan brewery

[john540]

Originally Posted by jkindredpdx

Before I am found guilty of being an Arrogant Bastard, I salute you all as comrades in the pursuit of happiness...

BTW, If we could sail there, I would have recommended Vermont, Montana, and Colorado.

I am enjoying a 2014 Pliny the Younger at Russian River Brewery as we speak. It may not be the best beer anywhere, but it's the best I've ever had!

I salute you all as well! And remember, if you can't be drinking the beer you love, love the one you're drinking.

[fstbttms]

Originally Posted by john540

I am enjoying a 2014 Pliny the Younger at Russian River Brewery as we speak. It may not be the best beer anywhere, but it's the best I've ever had!

I salute you all as well! And remember, if you can't be drinking the beer you love, love the one you're drinking.

How long was the wait?

[Boatguy30]

The duty free provisioning place in Opua sells some horrible stuff called Red Star or something like that. It's about 1/2 the cot of other NZ beers and "quite drinkable" as my Dutch friend told me. He drank his warm as he had the fridge. Was much more drinkable cold.

[john540]

Originally Posted by fstbttms

How long was the wait?

Three and a half hours, Thursday is the last day.

[jeepbluetj]

I'll absolutely second San Diego. Ballast point, Green Flash, etc.. There's great beer in San Diego. Never had an Alesmith I didn't like, particularly Alesmith anvil. Pizza port stuff is great (hell, pizza port is great -- My fav is bacon cheezeburger pizza... sounds awful, tastes out of this world)

Stone is a bit one-note for me. it's gonna be hoppy. Very hoppy. At the expense of any other taste. There's a restaurant at the brewery - same thing. Everything is bitter. (And I like bitter)

[carstenb]

Yeah, same damn thing happens to me when I try to do a beer tasting (wine tasting too for that matter). I mean I do alright until about the 4th brew and then some idiot steals my notes and writes all kinds of weird comments on the paper. By the eight brew, he really writing crappy stuff.

You don't suppose it could be the ballpoint pen do you? Maybe I should use pencil?

Originally Posted by Flamingo1

I was just in San Diego and they have quite a few microbreweries popping up all over town. I sampled as many of them as I could to determine which ones were good and due to un-scientific testing methods, my results on inconclusive. However, I can report that results did not identify any that were undrinkable.

Coronado Brewing Company - very good.
Stone Brewery - very good.
Ballast Point - especially the Yellow Tail Pale Ale - fantastic.

These are the bigger names - but there are smaller places all over town serving some really good beers such as Blind Lady, Belching Beaver, Hillcrest Brewing Company, Pacific Beach Ale House. I hear Pizza Port is good as well - although I have not been there.

It was only a three day weekend, so I could not finish testing all of the samples and my notes ended up being mostly illegible scribbles, doodles and the word "poop" written in various fonts. I guess that's the hazards of running such tests on human subjects.