The Beer Thread

[Hards Alumni]

Favorite Breweries:
Stone Brewery (San Diego) http://www.stonebrew.com/
Ale Asylum (Madison) http://www.aleasylum.com/

Favorite Beers:
Stone Ruination (Stone Brewery)  Best IPA hands down... better than the 90 min Dog... 100+ IBU... though it runs around $15 a 6pack. http://www.stonebrew.com/ruin/
Ale Asylum Ambergeddon (Ale Asylum) My go to beer, a hoppy amber beer that always puts me in a great mood.
Ale Asylum Hoppilicious (Ale Asylum) another great IPA... and was just put on tap in a few places in MKE
Stone OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale (Stone Brewery) again, delicious... all of their beer is grade A

other random favorites:
anything by the big 6
Lake Louie's Coon Rock Cream Ale http://www.lakelouie.com/
Schlitz using their old recipe
Victory HopDevil http://www.victorybeer.com/home.html

Basically, I love all beer, and it was pretty hard to make a short list... but rather than type an anthology about beer, I tried to be concise.

[Hards Alumni]

Capital Brewery does a very good job. Their Maibock is one of the best I've ever had in that style. I have the Blonde Dopplebock in my fridge right now, another excellent beer.

Thinking of picking up some Oberon tonight.

Capital is going to totally ruin themselves.  They think that the swill they brew is worth over $9 for a six pack.

IMHO Leinie's has a similar Mai and is $6 a 6 pack.  If Capital doesn't drop their prices, other breweries in the state will grab their share.

[greenman]

Three Floyds Gumballhead – My current favorite beer. Hoppy wheat beer. Awesome!

This has quickly moved into my top three. Love the citrus flavor, grapefruit gives it an awesome finish. Its pretty hard to get in the CHI area in my experience. althought I bought a case of it at a Whole Foods in Glenview. Ive kept a 6 pack over the winter and plan on enjoying on opening day.

[MUfan12]

Where can I get Three Floyds in the Milwaukee area? I'd be interested to try some.

EDIT- Saw some at Discount and Whole Foods, but no Gumballhead. Is it out yet?

[MUfan12]

Having a Furthermore Fatty Boombalatty. Pretty darn tasty. It is just a hodge podge of styles which doesn't surprise me coming from them. It is Belgium White crossed with a Pale Ale. Damn this is good.

That's real good stuff. I'm also a fan of their Knot Stock, a Pale Ale brewed with cracked pepper. They do some pretty interesting stuff up in Spring Green.

http://www.furthermorebeer.com/ourbeer.html

Also picked up some of the Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout, pretty solid stout. But it won't be unseating the Founder's Breakfast Stout any time soon.

[🏀]

Where can I get Three Floyds in the Milwaukee area? I'd be interested to try some.

EDIT- Saw some at Discount and Whole Foods, but no Gumballhead. Is it out yet?

I'm also very interested in this Gumballhead, any info would be great.

[Mobot]

Dogfish Head 60 min IPA – Love this beer. Bold hops. Like 90 min more though.

Otto's in Cedarburg has Dogfish 120 min IPA in stock for only $8 per 12oz bottle.

21% ABV!

[Chili]

I'm also very interested in this Gumballhead, any info would be great.

I bring it up or have it brought up from Chicago about once a month. The only Three Floyds available in bottles in Milwaukee, or Wisconsin for that matter, are the 22oz Bombers. That means no Gumball Head, Alpha King, Pride & Joy or Robert the Bruce.

[Chili]

Had two new beers and an old one last night:

Magic Hat #9 - Interesting beer that is very smooth. It could have used more hops IMO.
Boulder Brewing Mojo IPA - This was a very drinkable yet dry IPA. Not as citrusy as I like my hops but really freaking good

Also had a New Glarus Crack'd Wheat - love this wheat beer. Hoppy yet wheaty. It is good!

[rocky_warrior]

I'm enjoying some Sam Adams White Ale right now, and looking forward to Sam Summer coming out in a few weeks.

Also a big fan of Boulder Beer Company, their MoJo is amazing.

And I just discovered Bluepoint Brewing Company out of Long Island, their Hoptical Illusion IPA is fantastic!

Any other IPA suggestions would be welcomed.  Shame no decent IPA's coming out of MKE.

re: BBC - they hosted a beer tasting party (Beer Rave) a couple months ago where they scoured the US for hard to find micros - excellent event.  Anyhow, I assume you've had their Hazed & Infused?  They also had a keg of Hazed that had been aged in a whiskey barrel - one of the best beers I've ever had.

Do you only like true IPA's or are you just a hop-head in general?  If the latter, try to get your hands on Oscar Blues "Dale's Pale Ale".  Comes in a red white & blue can, but don't let the can fool you. It's a big beer.

[MUfan12]

I bring it up or have it brought up from Chicago about once a month. The only Three Floyds available in bottles in Milwaukee, or Wisconsin for that matter, are the 22oz Bombers. That means no Gumball Head, Alpha King, Pride & Joy or Robert the Bruce.

Damn. I found this link... is this even legal? I didn't know you could ship alcohol like that. Might be worth a shot.

http://www.samswine.com/Three%20Floyds%20Gumball%20Head%20Bottle/10049164,default,pd.html?cgid=THREEFLOYDS

[Chili]

Damn. I found this link... is this even legal? I didn't know you could ship alcohol like that. Might be worth a shot.

http://www.samswine.com/Three%20Floyds%20Gumball%20Head%20Bottle/10049164,default,pd.html?cgid=THREEFLOYDS

100% legal to most states - I want to say like 38 of them. Always weird hold outs in those born again states - but for most of America you can. Or just make the 3 hr drive to Chicago and stock up - it's not too bad.

[muarmy81]

I've always been a fan of Leinie's Red as well as their Sunset Wheat.

[MUfan12]

100% legal to most states - I want to say like 38 of them. Always weird hold outs in those born again states - but for most of America you can. Or just make the 3 hr drive to Chicago and stock up - it's not too bad.

Yikes, at $16 shipping, I'm better off driving down there!

[reinko]

re: BBC - they hosted a beer tasting party (Beer Rave) a couple months ago where they scoured the US for hard to find micros - excellent event.  Anyhow, I assume you've had their Hazed & Infused?  They also had a keg of Hazed that had been aged in a whiskey barrel - one of the best beers I've ever had.

Do you only like true IPA's or are you just a hop-head in general?  If the latter, try to get your hands on Oscar Blues "Dale's Pale Ale".  Comes in a red white & blue can, but don't let the can fool you. It's a big beer.

I have seen that canned IPA at my local packy, but never thought about buying it.  Tonight I will.

Thanks!

[WalterSobchak]

For those of you that love an awesome IPA try Bell's Hopslam. It has 100+ IBU's and is delicious. 10% alcohol to boot. It's only available for a limited time and is out right now. It is IMO one of the best beers.

Hopslam is money.

[Chili]

Hopslam is money.

Anyone know of a store that still has some in stock in the Milwaukee Area? All of my local places I go to are out until next winter.

[MUfan12]

Anyone know of a store that still has some in stock in the Milwaukee Area? All of my local places I go to are out until next winter.

I saw some last week at Whole Foods on Prospect and North.

[GGGG]

Anything from Sierra Nevada is good.  Their Pale Ale can be found anywhere, but their Porter and Stout are also very good.

A new one that popped up recently is Central Waters Brewing out of Amherst, WI.  Not a huge fans of their Red, but their Porter is about as good a porter as I have had.

http://centralwaters.com/beer/

[reinko]

re: BBC - they hosted a beer tasting party (Beer Rave) a couple months ago where they scoured the US for hard to find micros - excellent event.  Anyhow, I assume you've had their Hazed & Infused?  They also had a keg of Hazed that had been aged in a whiskey barrel - one of the best beers I've ever had.

Do you only like true IPA's or are you just a hop-head in general?  If the latter, try to get your hands on Oscar Blues "Dale's Pale Ale".  Comes in a red white & blue can, but don't let the can fool you. It's a big beer.

An enthusiastic +1

Had a few of these pops last night during the game, and they were great.

Thanks for the suggestion!

[jficke13]

I had the Satin Solstice Imperial Stout from the Central Waters Brewery; damn good.

If you ever feel like getting international I would recommend just about anything from Belgium. Try Rochefort 10, Westmalle Dubbel, or anything from Chimay. A great place for these in the MKE area is the Palm Tavern in Bay View. It's actually pretty close to the Sugar Maple.

Personally I think that anything the major-brewers puts out is tolerable at best, but since I brew my own I'm definitely a beer snob.

[Hards Alumni]

Also brew my own, and I agree, Chimay is great.

[Phi Iota Gamma 84]

I had the Satin Solstice Imperial Stout from the Central Waters Brewery; damn good.

If you ever feel like getting international I would recommend just about anything from Belgium. Try Rochefort 10, Westmalle Dubbel, or anything from Chimay. A great place for these in the MKE area is the Palm Tavern in Bay View. It's actually pretty close to the Sugar Maple.

Personally I think that anything the major-brewers puts out is tolerable at best, but since I brew my own I'm definitely a beer snob.

Centraal on KK has a good selection of Belgian beers on tap.

[Chili]

Centraal on KK has a good selection of Belgian beers on tap.

Cafe Centraal is part of the Diablo Rojos group in Milwaukee and all of their places have great Belgium selections. And they are going smoke free now for brunch. http://onmilwaukee.com/dining/articles/diablossmokefree.html

[GGGG]

It's too bad that Zur Krone closed down on 2nd Street about ten years ago.  Talk about a fantastic selection of imports.