Do you make an effort to drink local?

When you got the ABC Smoked Porter in your backyard .... my question would be: does a bear poop in the woods?

 

That's admirable, but that still does not change the commonly understood definition of what the majority of people think when they hear or use the terms "local restaurant" or "local brewery".

 

Can you elaborate on that please? What is the commonly understood definition of local?

 

Nope. I seek the best beer for the least cash. I still have a huge weak spot for Real Belgians. Trappist.

I can understand rooting for the home team and state loyalty and all that. But when I am paying all that goes out the window. As a Navy Vet who has seen the world as they say. Well some of it anyway, and as a Transplant, I cannot attach myself to Florida. In live here, not really by choice. Still I am happy here. Beer is just a small part of life, no matter how many times I post on BA, lol. When your are retired you got time.

WE have 1 up and comer locally, sadly I just do not feel the value nor the great draw to travel there and drink it.
To me local would be walking distance. I do think its great so many feel an attachment to a brewery, that in the end just wants your cash. Its a biz after all.

as always just my 2 cents, and I do not mean to offend anyone.

 

Yes, precisely that. But only if they promote themself as being "local".
There are several restaurants nearby that locally source (almost) everything, including listing the farm that provided the ingrediants. Obviously the definition of local might differ between you and others, but I would think that ordering a burger and fries, with a list of the farms nearby that provided the beef, lettuce, cheese, tomatos, potatos could be considered "local".

 

I try, especially since I purchased a two faucet kegerator over the summer. The problem I run into is a.) availability of logs & b.) distributors trying to offload old stock (why do I want a 4 month old log of Finest Kind?).

 

When we go out to eat lunch at Euro street cafe, they have locals. but I tried them and since its all the same price. I go for the better IMHO beer. At Bone fish grill I had the local Pale ale, when I do not want wine or a Martini.

Still its a huge step up for this town. Choices are a good thing.

 

So would that not be cool a micro in the middle of grain and hop fields. I bet in the USA somewhere there is one.

 

I drank local (CO) forever, still do but mostly from Great Divide since it's the best. I drink what tastes good these days whether it's Victory or Lagunitas.

 

I have to admit, I have yet to sample most of the great brews made here in Illinois. With so many to choose from you figure it would be easy. I am a sucker for Lagunitas, Founders, Bells, etc. I am going to actually try this year to make a better effort to pass on my favorites and focus on the locals. New beers for a new year!

 

When out on the town we definitely drink more local but at home I'd say its more 50/50.

 

I make an effort to drink quality beer, I do not put any added effort on making sure it is local. I am very fortunate to live where I do, more often than not the best beer I have available to me happens to be local. I also prefer to drink at a brewery rather than a bar. Again, no extra effort placed on drinking local but my preferences lead me to it.

I am an advocate of supporting local, independent business and am often outspoken when it comes to my support for my local breweries. Many may view that as blind homerism but I am a firm believer in supporting business that have earned the support. I cannot blame folks for not supporting their local breweries if they can drink better else where. If you are a brewery and see customers choosing non-local options over your offerings that should be incentive to improve. Mediocre beer is not going to cut it with the tremendous amount of options we have available to us at this point.

 

I did not attempt to define "local" (I'll leave that up to Noah Webster) - I did note what is commonly understood to be a "local brewery" above. That has been the definition of "local brewery" in the US brewing industry for many decades, really since the rise of the "shipping" breweries in the second half of the nineteenth century.

It was once typically confined also to breweries of certain yearly barrelage - say, by the mid-20th century, under 100k bbl/yr - but the rise of the "specialty/craft" brewer has changed that, with tiny 5k-25k bbl. breweries often shipping their beer to distant markets. Breweries that shipped to multiple states were "regional" and "national" breweries' beers were typically available in all or most every region of the US. You might live the shadow of the Anheuser Busch tower in St. Louis, and that brewery is "local" to you, but it's not a "local brewery".

The terminology had nothing to do with where a brewer's barley, corn or rice was grown, where the barley was malted or where the hops were grown.

I doubt that most people think "exclusively locally grown meat, fish, fruit and vegetables" when they hear or use the expression "local restaurant". I suspect that if someone defines "local restaurant" in that manner, they're often going to be disappointed. Just as if someone is having car trouble, and I say, "Well, why not just take it to a local mechanic?", I mean, not back to the dealership or to Sears. I don't expect the "local mechanic" will fabricate his own parts.

 

LOL before imports and all that we used to make parts for cars locally at times in the Machine shop as late as the 1980's....its just that growing stuff requires the right climate area. parts just require steel or aluminum, etc and a machine to make it, or a cast. You know?

 

"local beer" to me means small breweries/brewpubs that either don't distribute or have a distribution within state lines. I hate that term "local" because it is simply relative to your proximity and has nothing to do with quality.

I don't go out of my way to "eat locally" or "drink locally". However, my rule of thumb is to always try beers that I have not yet tried. With that in mind, when I travel I usually find myself going to the places that do not distribute great distances, where I can find things I cannot get back in Rochester NY.

 

PA has some great breweries!
I have several breweries close enough (1 - 2 hours away) that put out quality beers at a decent price: Weyerbacher, Victory, Troegs, Saucony Creek, Spring House, Sly Fox, Yards and many more that I haven't even had yet.
It gives me a sense of community when buying from these breweries and when they put out awesome and tasty beers it's a win-win!

 

I love supporting the great breweries in NJ, but do not force myself to choke down the mediocre stuff coming from Cricket Hill because they're 10 minutes from my house. I'll drive down to Carton and Kane once or so a month for a couple pints and a growler fill. Especially when they have bottle releases (which normally aren't a one and done affair, which is nice)

I'd also consider Captain Lawrence, Rushing Duck, Peekskill, Brooklyn, Bronx, Six Point and maybe some of the PA/Philly breweries local to me as well.

 

We can't even decide the definition of a Porter or Stout on this board. So how could we define local?