Represent your local brewing scene.

Going really local. Just Columbia, MO.

In the past 6 months, Logboat and Bur Oak have opened. Logboat has an amazing taproom and both should be canning their brews by the fall.

Rock Bridge continues to improve and started canning in the last few months.

Broadway Brewpub is still churning out good beers.

Plus, many great places to go drink. New places like iTap and the 9th Street Public House. Of course, there are the old standbys, like 44 Stone, Sycamore, 1839 Taphouse and others.

Plus, Macadoodles has added competition to the beer store market. And we've got a Craft Beer Cellar in the works.

 

What is this Scratch you speak of?

 

Chico, CA - Sierra Nevada of course... It is a blessing and a curse... Everything is so cheap it is difficult to justify purchasing more expensive bottles when I can get a Torpedo 16 can for $1.65.

 

I'm in Texas, and we have a great local beer here called Guadalupe River Brewing Co. http://www.craftbeer.com/featured-brewery/guadalupe-brewing Try their Scotch Ale it's excellent. I went to California last week where I am from, and had to go to Russian River Brewing. It was a long wait outside there Bar, but it was worth it. Had some Pliny the Elder while waiting outside, and had their Pizza which was great and several of their Belgian Ales, of which Damnation was my favorite, so I took a couple home with me. I was nice to go back to Cali and drink some good beer, I wish they would sell there beer here in Texas!

 

I would love to try rasberry beer! Not local, tho....

 

Fresno/Clovis, CA

Tioga-Sequoia: This is the largest brewery in town, and most of their beers are very solid. They've recently started to hit their stride with stuff like Rush Hour Breakfast Stout, which is one of the best coffee stouts I've ever had. I've even noticed improvements in some of the base beers lately. The opening of their beer garden has made them an increasingly involved part of the downtown community. I'm really looking forward to the Apricot Saison they're releasing next month, as well as the first releases from their barrel aging program in the next year or so.

House of Pendragon: Makes the best beer in the Valley in my opinion. All of their IPAs are outstanding, especially Lancelot and Arthur. Zealous is a great oatmeal stout, and several of the saisons have been delicious. The brewery is in Sanger, but they just opened a taproom in Clovis. Draft only for now, but they will be doing some very limited bottle releases through the taproom. This would be my pick for California's next hot brewery once people find out about them.

Sequoia: Brewpub with a pretty good selection of beers and decent food. I really like the Black Oak Porter. Two locations, one in the Tower District, one in north Fresno. T-S grew out of this brewpub, though it is now a separate entity.

Full Circle: Hit and miss on the beers. Their Russian Imperial Stout is really good. Not a great location, but they have live music and other events that can be fun.

The Mad Duck: They've recently started brewing their own beer and it will become more of a focus when they open their new brewpub near Fresno State. The existing location in Clovis still largely focuses on other breweries, with a decent selection. I like the food quite a bit.

W Brewing: Every city needs to have a bad brewery for balance, right? This is ours.

Nearby in Madera are Riley's and Three Monkeys. I don't really care for Riley's although they've shown some improvement lately, but Three Monkeys is pretty decent. Both are widely available. On the way up to Yosemite, in Oakhurst, you'll find South Gate, a worthy stop for good food and beer. Prospectors in Mariposa is doing nice things as well. South Gate and sometime Prospectors make it to taplists in Fresno.