Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the site! Always nice to gain another BA.

A little advice: you want to drink that Hopslam ASAP. Hop-forward beers are usually best as fresh as possible. This is also usually true with beers that are brewed with coffee (and a lot of other adjuncts like berries, maple syrup, etc.), like KBS and CBS. That said, when you get to trading, know that CBS and Better Half bottles are trading for things that are not nearly worth it because the maple syrup that made them unique has faded severely. By all means, search if you still want the, but don't get taken.

Learn as much as you can by drinking as much different beer both style-wise and brewery-wise as possible (responsibly). Enjoy your stay and don't feed the trolls!

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of craft beer!

You've probably had it already, but if you haven't, be sure to grab a sixer of Ithaca Flower Power. Best IPA on the east coast in my opinion. It's brewed in New York too.

Salute!

 

Just an FYI, you can still do trades even though you can't post any yourself. If you see something that you like...just bm the person directly. Most cases....they'll still trade with you. The worst thing...they may want you to send your package first until you get a few trades under your belt. Welcome.

 

I'm gonna second the recommendation for Flower Power, it's incredible.

If you can find them in LI (not sure if they distro there yet, but they distro to Western/Upstate New York, at least), try anything you can find from Jack's Abby, New England Brewing Company, or Maine Beer Company. Jack's Abby does interesting, often hoppy takes on lagers, and New England makes some of the best IPAs made in the Northeast, especially Gandhi-Bot. Maine Beer Co also makes great hoppy beers (Lunch, Zoe, Peeper, etc). They are a bit more expensive, but worth it to me.

You say you are from Long Island- I haven't tried them yet, but apparently Barrier Brewing in Oceanside is very good, very tasty.

A few other breweries you should try to sink your teeth into are Firestone Walker (Union Jack and Double Jack are great IPAs, Wookey Jack is a great Black IPA, Double Barrel Ale is a great English Pale Ale) plus they have possibly the best barrel aging program in the United States). Lagunitas is another one, easy to get, that I would suggest trying everything from. A bonus with them is their prices- some of the most reasonable amongst craft beers.

Finally, my last suggestion will be that there is a ton of really good beer on the shelf at most places in America, including Long Island. There are a lot of beers that are very hyped, and require trading or extreme hunting down to drink them. They are often not worth it. I'm not saying don't try for these beers, because some of them are indeed great, but don't give yourself a headache trying to find them. It's not worth it, there are so many other great beers to try before you try to harpoon any whalez.

 

Try Captain Lawrence Captain's Reserve Imperial IPA. Excellent stuff.

Re: wishlist - keep tabs on brewyorknewyork.com. It has a calendar of events in and around NYC, which is where you'll be most likely to find the occasional whale on tap. Last year, Rattle 'n Hum (33rd and Madison) had a Founders event, which featured KBS, but also had other rarities on tap, such as aged FIS, Better Half, etc.

 

best of luck for you, we hope you will make a great beer.

 

Welcome! If your near Blue Point I think that means Long Island. I'd would try sixpoint brewing which should be near you and I haven't had a beer from them I didn't enjoy. Also, you should take a ride around the corner to southwest CT and can do a little brewery tour of Two roads, Half Full and the fantastic New England Brewing Co.

 

I would also suggest visiting Peekskill Brewing, Rushing Duck, and Captain Lawrence- all are about an hour north of the city.

 

At least they were good for something.

 

Welcome! I don't know New York beers all that well, so I'll decline on suggesting things for you to look for, but I will offer one piece of random advice that may help you identify good beers to buy...

Check out the "What Beer are You Drinking Now?'' thread regularly. You will see pics of many beers on there that are unfamiliar. When you see the same beer show up several times, it's probably pretty darn good! You might want to try it if you come across it. I can't count the number of terrific beers I discovered in my local bottle shop that I might never have tried if I hadn't seen several other BAs rave about them on that thread.

 

Hello and how do you do! I am from Ithaca so I can vouch for the flower power. Grab it fresh and just drink it, don't wait. The Captains reserve DIPA from captain lawrence is one of the most underrated DIPA's. It's excellent buy that too. The folks on this website have a lot of experience so get involved in threads. Don't be afraid to ask questions and you can always find the best newest releases over in WBAYDN. See you over there =)

 

Greetings! Welcome to the site... in the infamous words of one Mr. Henley, "You can check out any time you like, but... you can never leave..."

Guitar solo....

 

WE GOT ANOTHER ONE!!! SUCK IT BMC!!! (acronym that stands for Bud/Miller/Coors, OP).

ONE OF US, ONE OF US, ONE OF US.

Just kidding. Seriously though, welcome. The online community here, for all of its snarky shenanigans, is a pretty cool place to be. In general, the mods here do a decent job preventing any blatant sexism/racism/douchebaggery. One thing to consider: there will always be another whale. By all means, if you have the time and resources to hunt down your wish list, go for it! But, don't beat yourself up too hard about it. Good beers abound now in the good ol' US of Murika. Exhaust your local options so you know a bit better what can go for what, and if it is worth it to bite the bullet on certain trades.

Cheers!

 

you cant be having a problem w/ bcbs are you?? my gas station has it