Curious to see what people rate as their favorite RI beers. There's more to RI than just Gansett (but that's pretty good too).
1. Proclamation - Derivative: Galaxy, Tendril, (In)signficance, Nomenclature 2. Tilted Barn - DDH Chosen One, Waterlemon Cay, DDH Peeptoad, Spruced 3. Long Live - good IPAs(they seem to have a new one weekly), cask beer has been great too 4. Beer on Earth - Double OT IPA, Building Wings
To add to the list, I still really enjoy Grey Sail Captain's Daughter which is pretty easy to find now. Shaidzon Buffalo Czech is really enjoyable as well. Unless you are trading, Proclamation is most available and Derivative is an all-time favorite. Long Live and Tilted Barn have smaller can runs so you either need to trade for them or wait in line. Buttonwoods has some nice offerings, but I'm less familiar with their stuff. Cheers.
A good batch of Captain's Daughter is the best there is. Some inconsistency though. Proclamation Tendril, The Stalk are always on point. Long Live dominates with their IPAs but there are so many different ones I can't name one in particular.
I think Tilted Barn’s The Other One can hang with the best of them. Proc’s hop offerings or Warwick water just don’t agree with me but Derivative Galaxy from West Kingston was amazing. Need to check out Beer on Earth...
Favorite recent beers that are more than one-offs (I think) and some chat about each brewery: Chosen One DDH (DIPA) - Tilted Barn. Personally with TB, a little goes a long way similar to Tree House. When I get to can #2 or #3 the residual flavors tend to wear me down. Moon Destroyer (Imperial Stout w/cacao, coffee & lactose) - Proclamation. IMO while they are still feeling their way with the water in getting back to their previous IPA profiles, the stouts have really stepped up in Warwick. Stalk and Derivative are still very good but not quiiite there. Black Cat (DIPA) - Long Live Beerworks. What is funny is I had this in the first month of their opening and it was muted and FAR from the great flavor profile that now exists in all their beers. Then I saw some hyped release earlier this year with glassware etc and I'm like what's the big deal?! MIssed out on cans but had a taster that weekend and immediately walked out with a growler. The new brewery opening soon is in the same part of the city around a mile away (west side of Providence), so my hope is with the same water supply there is little transition period with scaling up. Object Permanence (IPA) - Buttonwoods. From opening I have rooted for Morgan to succeed but he needs no cheering section, the beers are legit and bring the people in. There are some brett beers being released this week and once I stop in and sample those this may change...but it seems like Object Permanence will be available on a semi-regular basis. If you see a stout or barleywine on tap when visiting, do yourself a favor and try it; hopefully some of these get packaged in the future. To echo above I need to revisit Beer on Earth. I visited the second weekend they were open and the beers were on the right track but nothing special. But the brewer was really seeking out honest feedback of what the people thought, so he was interested in dialing things in for sure.
This is mostly reiterating the above, but there are a few RI beers I'd have in my fridge at all times: Shaidzon: Buffalo Czech Pilsner (also, while seasonal, their Bock and Oktoberfest were incredible) Proclamation: Derivative Galaxy; Moon Destroyer was impressive; most of their stuff is at least pretty solid, some is great Tilted Barn: Violet - this and Derivative Galaxy are my two favorite regularly made APA/IPAs in the state; don't get down there much but man do I enjoy Violet Long Live: Bonus Cup, while only made once (I think?) was great; any IPA/DIPA they make is very good too, I really like Attitude especially since it's only 6%. They seem to have a "new" IPA every week though so not many are made regularly Buttonwoods: IPAs are good, his pils was solid too There are a ton of new(er) breweries too that I can't speak to - Smug, Beer on Earth, Linesider, Apponaug, etc. RI is much more than Gansett these days, though I do dig a cold Gansett on occasion and Gansett's seasonals are pretty good!
Glad to see Derivative getting such praise, now I know I'm not going crazy. I like some of the beers from Revival, hope they stay in business.
For me, Captain's Daughter, when it is on point, is one of the best beers I have ever had. Unfortunately, it it is inconsistent. Also, it won't be distributed for months (in MA), then there will be 5-case drops @ accounts, that sit there for months. I looked at 4-pack last week with a canned-on date of 9/18 -pass.
I wonder if it is the canning process which produces the inconsistencies. I have had CD numerous times on draft within the past few years which are consistently great, but haven't bought cans more than a few times.
Top 5 beers I had from R.I breweries in 2018: 1. Proclamation: Unyielding Wrath of Alpaca Magi (this might've been a 2017 release..) 2. Buttonwoods: Rad Arcade 3. Long Live: 2nd Anniversary IPA 4. Buttonwoods: Thoughts are Geometric 5. Tilted Barn: DDH The Other One Honorable mentions: Proclamation Derivative Citra, Tendril, and Moon Destroyer, Buttonwoods Lionheart, Ragged Island Hydrofoil
I was a little underwhelmed by DDH Other one ... always been a fan of the original version and was surprised this wasn't as juicy, and had a lot of hop burn ... do you think it might have been a bit green and might develop in the next week or so?
Big proclamation fan. I have to make it back to Buttonwoods. I liked what I had there. Unimpressed with Tilted Barn. Some of the beer is alright but the lines and people you have to be around to get it is a joke for what it is. Shaizdon is hit or miss but Buffalo Czech is just not a good beer. Boozy taste every time I've had it. Nice people and some good beers there but that beer is shit and needs to be reworked.
If you're okay with not getting cans, TB gets infinitely better in the late afternoon/early evening after the rush. (In the warmer months) Enjoying a couple beers at the farm is exactly the level of beer they make.
Rude Boy Rude Girl by Long Live is top notch. I think they might be making some of the best NEIPAs in New England right now. Excited for their new spot to open. Hopefully they can keep up the quality on a bigger system
Lol, Cranston isn't representative of the entire state. It's small, but it's roughly divided into 3/4 parts.
You have that character, then on the other side of things Johnny Neckbeard who drove 3 hours and wants to squat in a precious parking space the entire time the Barn is open with their sweet trade bait all while feeding the dogs their pot brownies (allegedly).
It's more the guy who can't stop speaking suspiciously loud about driving his 'rari in gansett', the mass of moron tradebroz who can't wait 30 min to get pours so they flaunt drinking thier other half cans like a waiting in lines badge of honor, the seemingly placed schills handing out ''drink RI' stickers while smoothly plugging thier buddies at shaizdon, and the TB line pros who can't stop comparing this line to the lines in the past. The beer is fine but it is everyone who wants thier own heady or treehouse or whatever to try to validate thier local scene. It's honestly one of the saddest lines I've ever stood in and a huge catalyst to having not stood in a single line since. It's the bottom feeders from the NE beer scene doing anything they can to drum up hype hoping for trade bait close to home. It is the saddest line in NE and only behind TH and BB for worst overall.
