Best Brewery Experience?

Founders/Grand Rapids without a doubt.

 

I'll throw my hat in for Sierra Nevada Mills River too. It's a gorgeous facility. I've done the tour a few times, I mean why wouldn't you it's free. And I'm always fascinated by how much they've done to make that place "green".

It honestly feels like an amusement park. Still need to dine there though.

 

Either my first trip to Toppling Goliath in October 2014 with Mrs O (she responded ..... brashly when she figured out it was 2-1/2 hours each way, but relaxed with pints of Dorothy’s Lager whilst I purchased 2 cases of PseudoSue bombers brewed in Decorah that were sublime) or my first visit to the Surly Mothership in January 2015 with Mrs O and Little O (Todd The Axe Man had just released for the first time, it was uber fresh, and it was as good as American brewing gets, IMHO).

The trip to Three Floyd’s yesterday with Mrs O and Little O was pretty excellent, too .....





The 25 Million Dollar Man IPA was especially enjoyable .....



..... and I also really enjoyed Man Splits, a funky Belgian Strong Ale.



We’re heading to Transient, so I may have another visit to add to my “best visit” list - kinda like my “Top 25” beers is a list of 80 or so beers.

 

I strongly recommend that you do so on your next visit. I ate dinner and lunch there and I thought my meals were excellent.

Cheers!

 

What did you get? We're actually going to Asheville tomorrow to sample caterers for our wedding. So I don't know if a meal will be feasible, sounds like we're eating a lot. But maybe when we go in March!

 

"For dinner I ordered a Trout Almandine Salad (which was very, very good!) and as luck would have it this salad paired very well with this Kolsch beer."

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-665.546225/#post-5736909

I am a little bit embarrassed to say that I don't recall what I ate the next day for lunch but I do remember really liking it. I do remember I drank a pint of Hazy Little Things with my lunch.

Cheers!

 

For overall experience I enjoyed my trip out to Oxbow Brewing in Maine. Saw it in BA mag and decided to check it out on my trip out east couple years ago. Ended up being their Memorial Day party so it was extra festive. Good brews and food, music, got a tour with the owners, great locale. Just very memorable in every way. Other breweries may have better beer or fancier taprooms but it was a really fun night.

 

The old place is much more comfy. I really hate the large open loud space that the ferm is.

Enjoy

 

The day I walked into the Alchemist Brewpub with my younger son after searching for edible mushrooms up on Blush Hill all morning. Bad luck, didn't even get any oysters. I love mushrooms about as much as it's possible. Sitting with my son, almost done with my first Heady, waitress comes by with a glass of beer. "Excuse me, but the bartender said you will for sure like this one, called Ouroboros, on the house." I thanked her, and now I started on Ouroboros, heavenly aroma, and it was as good as Heady, fantastic beer. When it was time to order our waitress started by telling us one of the specials of the day was a dish featuring fresh picked black trumpet mushrooms. Then it hit me that our waitress had heard us talking about our bad luck mushroom picking, and brought a free beer to help cheer me up. And then offered a chance to try some of the mushrooms I'd missed. Which, by the way, were the best prepared black trumpets I've had before or since.

It was sad just a year or two later, after Hurricane Irene, to be standing in the pub with John Kimmich on the other side of a folding table in the destroyed Alchemist, selling off the last things he had to sell, almost in tears. It's a picture that will always stay with me.

 

My wife shares your opinion here. She went with me once to the Fermentaria and stated: I am never coming back here.

Every month or two I meet a buddy at the Fermentaria for beer, lunch and beer talk. I always invite my wife and it always goes down like this:

Me: I am meeting Richard at Tired Hands for lunch. Would you like to join us?
Her: Are you meeting at the Fermantaria or the Cafe?
Me: The Fermentaria.
Her: Nope, not interested. Please tell Richard I say Hi.

She knows that we are meeting at the Fermentaria but she does this 'kabuki dance' every time.

Cheers!

 

I agree that the Brew Cafe is comfier. I try to go to the Ferm at less popular times, e.g. 3 pm on a Saturday rather than 7 pm, to avoid a big crowd. I like the food more at the Ferm.

 

@mkh012

End of the day I much prefer to go to Forest and Main. I really like the beer and I can sit on the front lawn. The food is good and I enjoy their beer a lot more.

Not been to The new F&M yet that is next door.

Enjoy

 

Two specific experiences come to mind.

The food and beer selection at Avery was exceptional and the tour guide who was being promoted to a sales position in the company was hammered while giving his last tour.

Cantillon was on a whole other level. My wife and I met a gentleman from the site for an in-person trade on Zeanxe day. Ended up spending hours sharing bottles with him and his friends.

 

Me too!!

My wife loves the bologna sandwich at the Cafe. I ordered it once and only ate half of it. The best bologna in the world is still bologna.

Cheers!

 

This reminds me of an episode of The Sour Hour where one of the interns got crushed during the episode. Classic stuff, that.

 

Blind Pig in Champaign IL. Nostalgia for my time there in undergrad, lots of memories with friends, family, and good beer. Really enjoyed their Black IPA, Belgian IPA, and the constant rotation of the taps

 

We try... but it helps to love what you do. We make beer after all.

 

FTFY as well

It's on my agenda! Thanks

 

Two stand out to me:

Barreled Souls (Saco, ME)- Literally in a garage attached to a house. Tons of High gravity and barreled aged beers. Small rustic looking taproom with some games outside like cornhole. Just creative beers here that are uncommon with most small breweries.

Allagash (Portland, ME)- Nice tour, decent size taproom with free flights (at the time). Nice outside seating in the summer and overall good atmosphere. The great thing about Allagash is really location in that it sits right beside Foundation, Austin Street, and Battery Steele. Allagash opens earlier so you get there for a few beers and are excited to walk on over to the others an hour later.

 

There are so many it’s hard to list them all but these stand out:



Vermont Pub & Brewery, Burlington VT. – in late 1980’s personal tour with Greg Noonan (RIP)

Catamount Brewery, Windsor VT – late 1980’s before it was purchased by Harpoon. Awesome Porter

Alchemist, Waterbury VT – Before the flood. – Holy Cow session IPA before it was a thing

Hill Farmstead, middle of nowhere – Double Nelson

Maine Beer Company, Portland ME, – before they moved - MO

Allagash – Portland ME – Great Tour and Tasting, Curieux

Ommegang – Cooperstown NY, - Great Tour and Tasting, Hennipen

Burial Brewing – Ashville NC – Great Outdoor atmosphere

Lagunitas – Petaluma CA – Great atmosphere with live music

Russian River, Santa Rosa CA – Of course Pliny but they had a great Belgium Wit as well

Triple Crossing Brewing – Richmond VA – Great IPA but I can’t remember the name

Victory Brewing - Downingtown PA – Around 1998 when Hop Devil was king!!

1516 Brewing – Vienna Austria – Brewing Victory Hop Devil because Victory guys like the owner

Augustiner Bräu –Salzburg Austria – Marzen