Obsessed with 'The Best!'

Yea it's getting better every month. I tend to use Ohio as my beer buying ground because the distribution over there is probably one of the top in the country, but WV is getting a lot of good small breweries.

 

Everyday beers that don't get enough love here? Here are bunch that will always have a place in my fridge (and my heart)

Narragansett Lager
Schaefer
Haffenreffer Private Stock (I won't stop bringing this up until it comes back from the dead)
Jack's Abby House Lager (you can sub this out with any of their beers, really)
Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest
Four Peaks Sunbru Kolsch
Tecarte/Pacifico/Carte Blanca/whatever you put in my hands with carne asada


These are unsung because they're still too small:
Cape May IPA
Buzzards Bay Moby D
Dragoon IPA
Old Bisbee Double Hop IPA (the best english IPA in Arizona; their Royal Stout is great too!)


I'd also like to shout out DFH 60 Minute IPA because it's a nice beer that isn't really talked about as much anymore. Speaking of "only the best will do" beer elitists, I replied to some fool on youtube questioning why he thought Dogfish Head was "mediocre beer" and he replied with "you're right, my bad, DFH is less than mediocre". I had a good laugh at that one.

Unquestionably the best porter made in the US today. (I think my South Shore homer-ism is showing)

 

EPIC Big Bad Baptist...I don't know if this is an "everyday" beer, it is typically only available for about 5-6 months, its still a vastly under rated beer imo. The best BA stout I've tasted especially if you like them HOT!

 

LOL that is what I told my kids, make sure you land a good job when your older so you can get Dad good beer and cigars when I come over, ha ha.

 

My wife and I are having our first baby any day now. I've been stocking up on beers to have around the house when I just want something good and strong after a long day, and I won't have the time, money, or justification to hit up my local bottle shops for the newest, shiniest thing on the market. This made me think about what I've been missing -- beers that I loved when I first got into the craft scene. So I picked up quite a bit of North Coast Old Stock 2017 and Old Rasputin, Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, and Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout. All great beers that are complex, hit the spot, and I don't have to wait in line or take out a second mortgage for.

 

Same about the hurry but I'll grab yuengling, Highwater Hefeweizen or the crisp.

 

Best for me means a beer that's been around for awhile and I still look forward to. Flavor of the week/fad beers come and go, but staying power is what it's all about. A beer that's priced reasonably, and is consistent, batch to batch, year to year. A few of these include:

• Lagunitas IPA
• Mayflower Porter
• SN Kellerweis
• Dogfish Head Festina Peche
• Founders Breakfast Stout
• SN Celebtration
• Lost Nation Gose
• Deiu Du Ciel Peche Mortel

 

EVen thought I'm in the same town as Jack's Abby / Springdale and Exhibit A, with a 2-year-old running around, I do the vast majority of drinking at home, and what's on the shelf when I get a chance. my everyday drinker these days is SN All Day, with some Otter Creek, Wachusett and a couple others in the rotation. When I get out, I go to the aforementioned, plus Medusa, in Hudson MA, The Canton Trillium generally is pretty quick when I can get down there, plus Castle Island now has a nice room. Further down is Barrel House Z, doing some really interesting things.
If I'm out at a restaurant, it's hard not to find something worth drinking, even if it's SNPA or SA Rebel (on tap is pretty tasty, most of the time)

 

I'm more of a Sweet Action guy but yuengling and anything Sixpoint has are great choices

 

I actually think the "drink local" concept has a lot of "drinking not the best." I mean, how do 5,000 breweries pop up, and survive (so far) without customers? Some of us have a brewery that is highly regarded to a larger crowd nearby, and some of us don't (being different than the best of what's local).

Anyhow, my point being that I feel most of these local places are producing "solid beer" - or at least a few solid offerings. At the very least, solid enough to get people coming back and supporting their business. They might not be producing anything that you'd encourage someone to travel hours for, but could easily be producing stuff you enjoy and might even buy some for your buddy when you meet up with him/her.

So sure we have Aslin, Adroit Theory, Ocelot - but also have Mad Fox, Fair Winds, Port City in NoVa. As an example just now having a Port City Derecho - a very good, I would share this beer.

 

It's pretty lame, in all realms (beer, wine, bourbon, and scotch) when these beautiful creations are stuck inside their bottle and no one gets to enjoy them. The hoarding mentality is very annoying to me, and frankly it bites people in the ass all the time:

• Beers that were better fresh, breweries that were hard to get are now exapnding and producing tons of what used to be hard to get
• Wines where the collector accumulates more than they could dirnk if they opened 5 bottles a day for the rest of their life, also letting age past prime
• Bourbon: buying way more than they could possibly drink, not being aware that the distilleries are putting record amounts in barrels (yay for everyone else 10yrs from now), also going apeshit over one brand when there's something else that's +/- the exact same thing, but doesn't have a cool label, but then word gets out and it's hot too
• Scotch: this is actually the only reasonable one, since a lot of age statements are starting to come off the labels... there is less hoarding in scotch IME though.

cheers!

 

Haven't tried the new rendition yet. It's tops on my list.

 

There's a niche crowd obsessed with "the best" in just about any hobby. Walk into a local artisanal coffee bar, and ask why they don't drink Folger's and they'll let you know.

Over my short time here, I did get rather obsessed with the best for a while. I still enjoy pulling a trade for Tree House, seeking out a new-to-me top-100 stout, or visiting Side Project on a weekend trip, but overall I get the most enjoyment out of just trying new beers. Whether it is a top-50 rated stout, or a new beer style being produced by one of the local breweries. As much as I enjoy trying new beers, there are a handful I'll return to year after year. The two that come to mind are: SN's Pale Ale, and Mother's Winter Grind. Both delightful brews, and easily available (although Winter Grind is seasonal).

 

There's is one local brewery by me (same zip code) and another 2 are 15 miles away. If I drank these 3 I'm not sure I'd be satisfied. It's a lot of ipa, pale lager, chocolate porter things. The one did a saison this summer that was very good but yet created in a way to appease the Bud crowd. Besides all that, the NJ is growing fast but behind the giant of Carton/ Kane, they are to most, just ok. Mainly because of stylistic choices i dont prefer my locals, but will still go to events and buy shirts and shit like that. But some are gaining a cult following aka Brotherton and watching the scene here grow so that we (my friends) no longer chase things like Founders releases or bourbon county, is nice for us and for the small business. I stopped chasing about a year ago and I mostly drink imports from Germany and belgian styles nowadays so it'd be nice to see some stuff like that locally.

Tl,Dr. Some scenes are just starting. There's not much to go around, so some people around here still prefer chasing huge releases instead of local spots.

 

The statement of enjoyment of new beers. I love finding a new beer I get stuck on. I don't like flying dogs raging bitch. It's everywhere around me. But I tried tropical bitch and couldn't stop buying it that's why I love craft. It's so subjective and the slightest change in recipe can alter a beer entirely. The mango in that Belgian ipa cut down the HUGE amount of spice, the carbonation dropped a tad and the clove/fruit combo was crazy good. The original I feel is boozy, too spicy and way too carbonated, but a tiny addition made it amazing.

 

I'll agree here, even with my locals. But do you enjoy having their beers?

The post (as I took it) was about appreciating things that aren't "on the top 250 list." I didn't take it as being about ignoring the top 250, but simply given the solid offerings you drink every day their due.

So to with that description, I stand by my statement that, in general, people are supporting their local brewery as the "solid beer" the OP was claiming needs some love. In a global perspective, these are "nameless," but as a group they are what the poster was requesting some love for (IMO). I think you're last statement sort of hit on my point. So maybe we sort of agree??

 

True. But using the OP's example, Folger's is not analogous to SNPA. It's BMC all the way. Now I do chuckle at the folks in front of me at the coffee shop waiting for their $6 singe origin pour over, while I'm fine with a house drip.

 

Beers that I like that are easy to get are the best in my mind. If I have to wait in a line or luck out at a store to get it, it's not as good as the beer that I can get when I want it.

 

There's plenty of great beer that isn't difficult to get. I drink a ton of great divide hibernation ale, $11 sixes of an absolutely incredible old ale. I'm shocked its reviews aren't better than they are. I also drink quite a bit of funkwerks, their saisons are great. Then I also have a bunch of great locals that are always available. I would be just fine without chasing beers, but sometimes it's fun to go after the extremely limited beers. Sometimes they live up to the hype and are absolutely worth going after and are truly better than what's out there, and other times it's disappointing, but without going out of my way I'll never find out.

 

My favorite everyday beer is bell's two hearted at the moment. Very solid ipa that can be drank at any situation. A buddy gifted me 5 founders dirty bastards (he didnt like it) those are a nice affordable, available beer.