Old Friends

Is it appropriate to put Deschutes Fresh Squeezed on here? Because that beer is consistently really good and has been for a while now.

 

Monks Uncle is the best selling Pike beer in bombers. Not surprising for a 9% ABV for that cheap.

 

My contribution?

Hales' Supergoose

Super solid PNW IPA. I love this beer but sadly I fall prey to this and haven't had one for a year or two. I think they can it now, too.

 

A seasonal one Deschutes Jubelale.
Had one the other day..really still great, Had not had one for maybe a decade.

 

Maritime Pacific Jolly Roger .

 

8 years ago Bridgeport IPA was the choice beer and was considered a top IPA around the nation which made my constant work travels enjoyable. I rarely drink it now. Calories are precious. Drop Top holds a special place in my beer heart.....haven't seen that one in a while. 4 years ago I was a sucker for Stone IPA. 2 years ago Workhorse was a fridge mainstay. I revisit it in waves and I doubt I move off it.

 

Bridgeport IPA was my 6 pack beer back in 2000 when i first arrived here..a miracle beer at a good price even back then
Its still a nice change of pace

 

I used to be a big fan of Ninkasi's Believer double red ale. After Ninkasi expanded their production, I felt like the beer really fell off in flavor. I swear they must have changed the recipe. I see it is now in 6-packs as a seasonal release. I'll have to pick up a single and revisit it.

 

I had a cask Jubelale at the Deschutes Pub in Bend on the weekend of my 50th birthday. Probably the first one I'd had in a decade, easily. It was so good I still think about that beer every now and then. The cask treatment/beer engine dispense turned it into a thing of rare beauty.

My "Old Friend" for this thread sticks with the Deschutes theme: Obsidian Stout. I hadn't had one in a long, long time, and then it came up in the "PNW Stouts" thread, so I went out and picked up a sixer. It's still a solid, enjoyable beer. Satisfying.

 

I get this beer nearly every time we eat at the Greenwood Wing Dome --- it's always on tap. And I think it's the only time I drink this beer. I usually like it so much that I end up making the one of my teenage boys drive home.

With that said, Hale's Pale Ale is the beer that fits the criterion for this thread. It's one of the beers I drank regularly when I first started getting into craft --- along with Big Time Atlas Amber and Lagunitas IPA. I rarely return to it, though, expect for the occasional times I get a sixer when I'm planning a full-day of meat on the smoker. I learned how to BBQ by trial and error and Hale's Pale Ale.

 

I second this one. Had one recently for the first time in years and thought "why the hell do I not buy this every year?"

 

I'm gonna say Deschutes Red Chair. I remember loving it when it first came out in bombers (I think they called it an IPA back then) and then when they rebranded it I was a little less sure how much I cared for it, seemed like it had changed and was a little blander. However, this year it seems more like the hoppy red I remember and I'm really enjoying it.

 

unlikely they changed the recipe much, but they scaled up and started to make the beer more consistent. they've grown in production from 1,800 to 100,000 barrels per year. when your beer is going to sit on the shelves across the country for 2 months, you have a lot more to consider.

 

I like this idea and will fill up on oldies as soon as I get to TW where you can easily buy singles.
My history (not exclusive but what I will be looking for):
Pre-craft - Rainier beer
'80's - Ballard Bitter or anything Red Hook
'90's - Mongoose - wonder if they still brew it? Used to buy it by the case at Costco.
Millennial - Hop Czar - Grew to find out what Lupulin Threshold Shift was all about again used to buy it by the case at Costco
'10's Not relevant. Not germane to this thread.