The Beer Thread

[MUfan12]

I would probably have to go with Founders. A good mix of styles, all done very well.

[MUWarrior2007]

I'd go with New Glarus.  They have a solid range and I can only think of a few of theirs that I haven't liked throughout the years.

[Spotcheck Billy]

some interesting comments in this (long) post on Lagunitas' Tumbler account regarding the bizness side of brewing.
http://lagunitast.tumblr.com/page/2

[Benny B]

Benny's Picobrewery.  With the varieties of yeast, hops and grain that I have on hand right now, I can make damn near any style of beer at a fraction of the cost.

[JoeSmith1721]

Hill Farmstead, Founders or New Glarus

[Spotcheck Billy]

Favorite brewery top to bottom is Pipeworks. Sometimes they get a little wild, but it works usually. Ninja v. Unicorn is my favorite available IPA.

They look interesting but have yet to see their brews which begs the question, wth are they expanding to NY and CO but not WI?

[rocky_warrior]

OK, so here is the question for everyone, that may or may not be answered somewhere in this thread...but hey I'm lazy, what is each person's favorite brewery top to bottom.

Think of it as "I can only have access to one brewery on a deserted island, which one am I picking?"  And as part of it, why are you picking that brewery?

Russian River.  Because they have  a lot of success in the brewing industry, but still haven't expanded so much that they dilute their excellent products. 

Longer story:  I've had Pliny the Elder/Younger plenty (very good), Blind Pig (also very good), and a few of their collaborations.  But when I visited the brewery, and ordered a sampler, complete with all 22 beers on tap, I was blown away.  Very good, only a couple mediocre beers in the batch.

[rocky_warrior]

I disagree with New Glarus as Wisconsin's best craft though.  Don't get me wrong they have good beer and it's hard to argue with their marketing ability within the state

I'd agree, that if you have regular access to their beers, New Glarus really just makes tasty, really drinkable beers, that aren't especially unique.  But, since they don't distribute outside the state lines of Wisconsin, it makes their very enjoyable, drinkable beers a highly sought after commodity in the 49 states that can't get their beers.

[Sir Lawrence]

1.  Surly Brewing Company
2.  Bell's Beer
3.  Left Hand Brewing Co.
4.  Lakefront Brewery
5.  Miller High Life (the old man worked there for almost forty years, may he rest in peace)(lot's of lay offs until they cranked out Lite)

[MUfan12]

I feel like a homer if I mention Lakefront, but since Sir Larry mentioned them...

I gave them a ton of consideration for the "desert island" brewery, mainly because of the My Turn series. Their stalwarts don't blow me away... I like their IPA, Eastside Dark, and Beerline. Riverwest is always a solid choice. But some of the styles they've brewed in that series have been really interesting beers. The Baltic Porter, Smoked Rauchbier, and Weihnachtsbock were especially well done.

[Spotcheck Billy]

I feel like a homer if I mention Lakefront, but since Sir Larry mentioned them...

I gave them a ton of consideration for the "desert island" brewery, mainly because of the My Turn series. Their stalwarts don't blow me away... I like their IPA, Eastside Dark, and Beerline. Riverwest is always a solid choice. But some of the styles they've brewed in that series have been really interesting beers. The Baltic Porter, Smoked Rauchbier, and Weihnachtsbock were especially well done.

I was at the Brass Tap a few weeks ago when Jim Klisch happened to be there pouring samples of "Tom" and a few others. I thanked him for Lakefront providing homebrew recipes to Northern Brewer for their Black IPA and ESB and mentioned that unfortunately I stopped buying his Black IPA after that since I always have a case or 3 on hand now. I probably shouldn't have pointed that out, sorry fellow brewers (although I did mention that I tell everyone that has one it's a Lakefront clone).

[Benny B]

I'm sure it's been mentioned somewhere in the thread, but has anyone ever done GABF?  It just so happens that I'll be in Denver for business that week, and was thinking of taking a little personal time on Thursday night.

I know tickets go fast... just wondering what others have to say about the experience.  Is it worth it?  Is it something you can enjoy solo or is it better in a group?  Any tips/suggestions?

[Golden Avalanche]

I'm sure it's been mentioned somewhere in the thread, but has anyone ever done GABF?  It just so happens that I'll be in Denver for business that week, and was thinking of taking a little personal time on Thursday night.

I know tickets go fast... just wondering what others have to say about the experience.  Is it worth it?  Is it something you can enjoy solo or is it better in a group?  Any tips/suggestions?

With the caveat of having never been, my understanding is that the events held at pubs in Denver are just as(more?) worthwhile of a visit moreso then the actual Festival.

[MU31]

Ballast Point by a nose over Firestone Walker and 3Floyds.

[Chili]

http://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/the-best-craft-brewery-in-every-state-in-america

Interesting list from Thrillist, had beers from about 80% of the breweries, tough to argue with.  I disagree with New Glarus as Wisconsin's best craft though.  Don't get me wrong they have good beer and it's hard to argue with their marketing ability within the state but I'm much more partial to MKE, Central Waters or Karben4.

Though I will say I love drinking Totally Naked in the summer 

NG is far and away the best brewery in Wisconsin - it's not even close. They have the best portfolio and make consonantly great beer every time. The breweries you mentioned all battle consistency issues which right away puts them in a category below New Glarus. I mean last time I was the the tour at MKE they had such bad diacetyl issues you could barely drink any beer that wasn't 8%+.

[Golden Avalanche]

NG is far and away the best brewery in Wisconsin - it's not even close. They have the best portfolio and make consonantly great beer every time. The breweries you mentioned all battle consistency issues which right away puts them in a category below New Glarus. I mean last time I was the the tour at MKE they had such bad diacetyl issues you could barely drink any beer that wasn't 8%+.

I agree. As a non-Wisconsin resident NG remains the standard bearer for me. I think Central Waters has a fantastic barrel program but their core lineup is middle of the road and they're the only one I can think of being remotely in the conversation. Since leaving the area near 15 years ago I haven't found a brewery with the consistency of NG for as long of a period as NG has been on the top.

My desert island choice would be De Struise from Belgium.

[MU82]

Lately I have been really enjoying Red Oak Amber from Red Oak Brewery outside Greensboro, N.C.

As smooth as any Amber I have tried. Outstanding both on tap and in bottles. Very, very easy to enjoy.

It's unpasteurized and unfiltered with no artificial ingredients, so bottles need to be refrigerated -- which is no problem because I want them cold and ready to drink!!

[Hards Alumni]

Founders for me.  Excellent lineup, great diversity, and its all great.

[Juan Anderson's Mixtape]

New Glarus is fantastic but unfortunately they stop making a lot of great beers.  Imperial Saison, Black Wheat, Road Slush, etc.  Most of their regulars are good not great.  Spotted Cow has really gone down hill over the years.  Now it's overproduced.  Someone even tried ordering one last month when I was at Ale Asylum!  SC's on my list of formerly great beers that aren't what they used to be.  Honey Weiss, Blue Moon, and 312 Urban Wheat are also on the list.  Only difference is that MillerCoors and Budweiser never got their hands on Spotted Cow.

Ale Asylum is very good.  My two favorites are Diablo and Tripel Nova but both are seasonals only available for short time frames.  Madtown Nutbrown is another good one.  Not an IPA fan so I'm not into Hopalicious but others who are love it.

I've heard Karben 4 is good but haven't tried them yet.  Coincidently K4 is in the old Ale Asylum brewery.

Central Waters used to have a Vienna Lager that I just loved.  Unfortunately one of the brewers left and took that recipe with him.    Their exotics don't align with my pallet and their regulars are nothing special.  Some great guys though the couple of times I've met them.

Surprised no one has mentioned Sprecher.  Tripel Abbey and Mai Bock are both divine.  Black Bavarian is good too and I want to try the Special Amber as well.

One of my favorites you won't find in stores is One Barrel in Madison.  Only available on site and as the name implies it is made one barrel at a time.  Hit up the brewery tasting room for some great beers ranging from the simple to the exotic.

[real chili 83]

Surprised no one has mentioned Sprecher.  Tripel Abbey and Mai Bock are both divine.  Black Bavarian is good too and I want to try the Special Amber as well.

Back in the early 90's, we took a tour of the old Sprecher brewery on rainy Saturday.  The tour took about 20 minutes.  They left us alone in the tap room for 3 hours!  One of the best days of my life.  Sprecher is good stuff

Had an Odell Fernet Aged Porter on tap a week ago.  Simply wonderful. Trying to find a place locally that sells it by the bottle. 

[JuniorCardigan]

NG is far and away the best brewery in Wisconsin - it's not even close. They have the best portfolio and make consonantly great beer every time. The breweries you mentioned all battle consistency issues which right away puts them in a category below New Glarus. I mean last time I was the the tour at MKE they had such bad diacetyl issues you could barely drink any beer that wasn't 8%+.

Thats interesting, when I went on the MKE Tour (it was over a year ago), the high ABV beers were completely undrinkable, the lower ABV beers tasted fine (although I'm not a huge fan of MKE brewing). The Hop Freak they had tapped for it was one of the worst beers I've ever tasted...never had it out of the can so I don't know if it was a bad batch.

I also hate O-Gii to begin with so there's that too.

[Spotcheck Billy]

Sprecher was very good ... years ago before they pasteurized every beer. Such a shame too, I remember taking the tour and listening to them extolling the benefits of this new Root Beer they had started brewing and how the Root Beer would subsidize the brewing business so they would never have to compromise and do things like pasteurizing their beer. I even recall the days before Sprecher bought a bottling line from Pabst and the only way to get Sprecher in your house was to get it in a 1 liter flip-top bottle with a $3 deposit. Black Bavarian, Oktoberfest and their Maibock used to be favorites of mine, now I only buy Sprecher at Germanfest because its one of the better options there.

[swoopem]

I'm sure it's been mentioned somewhere in the thread, but has anyone ever done GABF?  It just so happens that I'll be in Denver for business that week, and was thinking of taking a little personal time on Thursday night.

I know tickets go fast... just wondering what others have to say about the experience.  Is it worth it?  Is it something you can enjoy solo or is it better in a group?  Any tips/suggestions?

I'm assuming you're talking about the Great American Beer Festival? If so, yes I have done it when it came through Soldier Field a couple years ago. It was an awesome time and I definitely recommend it. I went with a large crew of friends, but I see no reason why it wouldn't be a good time solo. We actually ended up taking over the Stone Brewery tent and things got a little out of hand. If I remember correctly when you buy your ticket they claim that there's a limit on how many beers you can have, but once you show up it's all you can drink. Not a single tent was collecting tickets or trying to enforce a drink limit.

I hope this is what you were taking about, otherwise sorry for the rambling.

[real chili 83]

Sprecher was very good ... years ago before they pasteurized every beer. Such a shame too, I remember taking the tour and listening to them extolling the benefits of this new Root Beer they had started brewing and how the Root Beer would subsidize the brewing business so they would never have to compromise and do things like pasteurizing their beer. I even recall the days before Sprecher bought a bottling line from Pabst and the only way to get Sprecher in your house was to get it in a 1 liter flip-top bottle with a $3 deposit. Black Bavarian, Oktoberfest and their Maibock used to be favorites of mine, now I only buy Sprecher at Germanfest because its one of the better options there.

I haven't had Sprecher in a while.  It's a shame they pasteurize it now.

[Dr. Blackheart]