Beers You Took for Granted

The Alesmith lineup back when they were 750s
Double DBA
Double Jack
All the great UK beers that used to be available in my area
OG Ruination

 

Gettysburg is cool, but if you're making a battlefield trip in this part of the country, make sure you also visit Valley Forge, Old Town Philly, Richmond, all the sites around Fredricksburg, and also Yorktown. The Mid-Atlantic is rich in civil and revolutionary war sites. I kinda feel like you can't appreciate one without the other.
So far as beer, brewery visits don't yield the spoils the used to, just show up and get some half pours and take back what you like. If you're into distilleries, I'd suggest Bowman's in Fredericksburg to see how a company pivoted from making rotgut into high end liquor, and Woodford Reserve in KY to see what I feel is the most beautiful distillery in the US. I haven't been to Scotland, but most US distilleries are just industrial sites. Woodford was almost as pretty as Yamazaki was.

 

I appreciate the advice. I will be in touch to gain more information. Currently, any trips must be put on hold. My shithead kid is on probation, and his probation mama is a bear. I will continue the planning phase. There are a few BAs I would like to sit down and have a beer with, too.

 

Don't come to me for info. These are all places that it's been years since I've been. I will say that Fredericksburg is worth a day or two to check out all the nooks and crannies on, just because my mom retired there and it's how we fill out our visits, and I learn something new every time we go to a historical site.
Off the beaten path are George Washington's childhood home and the Stonewall Jackson shrine. Mt. Vernon and Montecello in the spring are worth it. If you dig deeper into the tour, you learn about how much the founding fathers faked being wealthy (Mt. Vernon looks like it was made from stone, but it's really just wood carved to look like stone slabs, Jefferson died broke to support his lifestyle and bailing out his relatives, etc.) Learning about the lives of slaves and how the founder's felt about each other is also eye opening. Washington was shunned by most of the other Virginia bigwigs because he was a farmer and not a planter (he made money from grain and whiskey instead of tobacco like the plantation owners on the more southern rivers did).
Checking out Madison and Monroe's houses is also worthwhile. They both seem like a nicer version of my broke ass farmer grandparents' house.
Baltimore and Annapolis are both a nice day trip if you want to check out War of 1812 sites. The Baltimore aquarium is also top notch.

 

My wife and I visited Woodford Reserve in the spring and we took a tour, it is indeed a beautiful place there. During the tour, the tour guide discussed their production facility which apparently you can see on the drive in (which I personally did not take note of). She described that facility as looking like a prison. But the visiting area is indeed beautiful and worth a visit (I recommend taking the tour).

Cheers!

 

If I ever end up in prison, I'd hope that it would be in one as picturesque as that.

 

I live about 1/2 hr. from Gettysburg but don't "take it for granted" to tie into the thread title. I visit and walk the Battlefields at least once or 2x every year. Do the auto-tour, its really cool and informative (and free). Go early in the morning if you can, I walked my dog out there around 8am-10am back in early June and barely encountered anyone on my walks. Antietam also is a must stop about 45min. south of Gettysburgh, and then only about 15 min. from Anteitam is Harpers Ferry which is another awesome town with lots of civil war history. Breweries worth noting...Four Score in Gettysburg makes solid beers and has good food. Harpers Ferry Brewing has ok /solid beers but it sits on a cliff overlooking the Potomac River and views are spectacular. Tried to tie it back into beer talk best I could.

 

Hop Rod Rye by Bear Republic- Haven't seen in my area for quite awhile-One of my all-time favorite beers- A depth charge of flavor and a great food-pairing brew- i miss you "Hoppy"!

 

El Segundo
Swamis (pizza port overall)
Stone irs
Three weavers
Firestone
Russian River
Celebration
Lagunitas sucks.

why did I leave SoCal???

 

Great discussion topic.

When I lived in SoCal, there were so many great local breweries that I kind of took the whole concept of “fresh, local, high quality” beer for granted. Even though breweries were always opening or closing, there was almost an overwhelming amount of good options.

A few notable beers that I miss are OG Alpine Nelson, and Ballast Point Sculpin. When you got them at the brewery, they were incredible (and relatively cutting edge at the time). The current iterations of each just don’t stand up to what they used to be.

Now that I live in Texas, I certainly miss the beer scene from SoCal. There are many fewer breweries, they aren’t nearly as convenient, and the quality / variety just isn’t great (at least in DFW). I have family in Austin and that’s a better scene but we only get down there once or twice a year.

The flip side is that I’m getting back into home brewing. There was a time when I used to grow my own hops and brew my own beer in CA, but I stopped/slowed when we had kids and because quality beer was so easily available.

Now, I’m brewing again for the same reason that I started 20ish years ago. Because I can’t easily find what I like. (And because me and my friends will consume a keg or two every weekend during football season!!)

 

La Fin du Monde....no longer distributed locally

Duvel....see above

Schlafly Pumpkin.....3rd times a charm.

 

That was a great beer. Especially if you cellared it for a year or so, it got just a bit of sour funk to it. Amazing, IMO.

But other beers that I miss, I don't know about taking for granted, there's plenty of breweries that have come and gone with great beers. and lot sof great beers that have gone away, or are in maybe mix packs.
Pretty Things (I know they have a new-ish place in England now.)
Sam Adams Noble Pils. SN Tumbler, OG Dixie Blackened Voodoo.
There were a bunch that were around in the mid 90's when I started drinking, that have gone away or changed. Even Sam Adams Boston Lager is very different from back then. Missing Pete's Wicked. OG Otter Creek. Catamount (yes, some of them do make occasional appearances from Harpoon) A few others that got bought and retired.

 

Fresh Lagunitas Sucks and Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin

 

Any and all Old Ales by Hair of the Dog.

 

Green Flash, Rayon Vert
Anchor Steam, All of it.

 

Since i relocated from PHX to NC 3 years ago:
Ballast Point Victory at Sea, Sculpin on tap
Deschutes Jubelale, The Abyss, Black Butte Anniversary
LaCumbre (Alburquerque) Project Dank and Elevated WCIPAs

 

miss Pete's

 

Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter - Really liked this beer, and would pick it up when I could find it reasonably fresh. Figured it would be around much longer! Couldn't track down the recent Fan Favorites pack with it.
Lagunitas Sucks - Fondly remember the first release of this-- blew me away. I took regular releases of it for granted later, though.
Ballast Point Grunion - Wow, was this good fresh. Didn't know it was going to disappear so quickly.
Troegs Hop Knife - An insta-buy every time I'd see this in the fall. Ok, so not totally gone and is now limited to brewery and local release... which makes me think about driving up to PA in September every year now.
Founder's Mosaic Promise - Such a solid beer. If I knew it was going away, I would have drank much more of it.

 

Reading the above post reminded me of Sierra Nevada Dankful. Below is something I posted in a past thread:

"When Dankful was first introduced:

"I was a big fan of Sierra Nevada Dankful IPA when it was first released in my area (October 2020). From October – December 2020 I purchased at least 5 six-packs of Dankful IPA but from 2021 to today I have never seen a fresh six-pack of Dankful at my local beer retailers."

I would place those beers in my refrigerator upon bringing them home. I noticed that after 30+ days, even when refrigerated, the hop aroma of those beers were noticeably diminished.

If I ever see a fresh six-pack of Dankful ever again I will buy one but I have kinda lost hope here."

I very much miss (fresh) Dankful IPA.

Cheers!

 

Taken for granted:
New Belgium- Fat Tire (the original, not the new version)
Smuttynose- Porter
Sierra Nevada- Porter/Stout/Kellerweis

Others I would buy when I'd see them but no longer exist or aren't distro'd:
Founders - FIS/Red's Rye/Curmudgeon/Devil Dancer
Magic Hat- Heart of Darkness
Victory- Headwaters/Storm King
Anchor- Christmas
Allagash- Saison

Locally, I miss Kane's Belgian styles.