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Your thoughts?

It's the best of the crappy.

I'm spoiled in cincy having a glut of fantastic local brews everywhere, so I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I had a non-local or non-craft when I was out.

Beer is beer
Cold or room temp
Its Beer
I never turn a free beer down
Actually that would depends.
If I am going to drink I would have to forgo some meds for a day

It's crap. If I want to "slum it" with beer, I'll drink Guinness. Other than that, I only drink craft beer. My friends often call me a beer-snob. There's valid reason for it.

Can someone enlighten me as to what is meant by the phrase "craft beer". Is that slang for "good beer"?

Living in Washington State, but having lived in TN (where Yuengling was sold) I think that it either at the high end of crap, or the low end of good..... It quite literally (for me anyway) depends on the container it came from.

By this I mean that Yuengling in a bottle was hit or miss, which would put it at the high end of crap. But if you can get it on tap, I never had a bad pint, so it was pretty good.


Now, when it comes to crap beer, there's the "usual" suspects: PBR, Olympia, Bud, Bud Lite, Coors Lite, MGD, etc. One that is surprisingly good (ish) that also comes with a VERY nice price tag, is Rainier Beer.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 jasper76 wrote:
Can someone enlighten me as to what is meant by the phrase "craft beer". Is that slang for "good beer"?

"Craft" beer is your local brewery, small batch, locally sold type stuff. The kind that you can only get at the brewery itself, or within around 100 miles of it. Some Craft companies defy these "rules" though, such as Widmer Brothers, as they've grown in popularity and size over the years.

There's definitely a lot of gakky "craft" beer out there. IMHO, the vast majority of them come in the form of the IPA

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:
Living in Washington State, but having lived in TN (where Yuengling was sold) I think that it either at the high end of crap, or the low end of good..... It quite literally (for me anyway) depends on the container it came from.

By this I mean that Yuengling in a bottle was hit or miss, which would put it at the high end of crap. But if you can get it on tap, I never had a bad pint, so it was pretty good.


Now, when it comes to crap beer, there's the "usual" suspects: PBR, Olympia, Bud, Bud Lite, Coors Lite, MGD, etc. One that is surprisingly good (ish) that also comes with a VERY nice price tag, is Rainier Beer.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 jasper76 wrote:
Can someone enlighten me as to what is meant by the phrase "craft beer". Is that slang for "good beer"?

"Craft" beer is your local brewery, small batch, locally sold type stuff. The kind that you can only get at the brewery itself, or within around 100 miles of it. Some Craft companies defy these "rules" though, such as Widmer Brothers, as they've grown in popularity and size over the years.

There's definitely a lot of gakky "craft" beer out there. IMHO, the vast majority of them come in the form of the IPA

Seattle
I love Seattle Micro Brewery's
Ensis your near a Ram micro brewery to
Rainier beer though I'm growing a taste for

Edit

Some serious plans starting to crank a Seattle style Micro Brewery in Bangkok Thailand and then Pattaya

I live an hour from where the stuff is made. You can't walk down the street without tripping over a case of it. I'd put it on the high end of basic (crap) beer. I like it, and when I only have $20 in my pocket at the distributor, thats usually what I get. Blue Moon is my standard, and my craft of choice is Victory, which is made maybe 20 minutes from me.

 jasper76 wrote:
Can someone enlighten me as to what is meant by the phrase "craft beer". Is that slang for "good beer"?

It's what the hipsters of the beer drinking world drink.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
As for Yuengling, I have what many "beer hipsters" would call heathen tastes. Miller Light is my beer of choice. I can't drink Yuengling right off the bat, but after 3 or 4 Millers to warm me up, I start to enjoy it.

But the same can be said of PBR, so maybe it's just my inhibitions being lowered.

What's the usual abv for a US beer nowadays? Over here the mainstream beers usually are 5, bottled special beers can be 6 - 7.

Yuengling is a macrobrew, which means it is produced in huge quantities, with an aim for consistent flavor between batches. It's a relatively small player compared to the Miller/Bud/Coors crowd, but it's definitely a mass market, mass produced beer. It's also quite good. The Yuengling brewery also make interesting seasonal and speciality beers, which is a bit different from other Macrobrews.

The reason Yeugnling is sort of an outlier is that it's one of the last traditional regional breweries. Even 40-50 years ago, this would have been the most common type of beer bought, but market consolidation kicked in hard in the 60s and 70s, leaving only a handful of national breweries.

It's not a high end beer though, which is fine. It's a cheap and tasty brew that's widely available, which is a good thing in its own right.

For me, it's the Chipotle of beer. Chipotle is really good, but it's still glorified fast food.

Yuengling Lager is OK. Nothing special, but better than a Miller Light or Bud.

While I wouldn't say no to a free beer, I'm sticking to Bourbon these days for sipping.

I actually like Yuengling. It reminds me of Shiner before Shiner became a national beer. I wish I could find here at home. I only have it when I got to NOVA con.

 jasper76 wrote:
Can someone enlighten me as to what is meant by the phrase "craft beer". Is that slang for "good beer"?

From the Colorado Brewers Association:

According to the Colorado-based Brewers Association, craft beer must be small, independent and traditional.
"Small" means the brewery distributes no more than six million barrels of beer a year.
"Independent" means that less than 25 percent of the brewery is owned by a non-craft beer brewery (like Anheuser-Busch InBev).
"Traditional" means that the majority of the brewery's output consists of "beers whose flavor derives from traditional or innovative brewing ingredients and their fermentation." (Sorry, Smirnoff Ice.)

I'm very much not a hipster, and I only drink craft beer, for a couple of reasons:

1. It's locally made and locally sourced. Most of the breweries in Cincinnati grow their own hops and get the rest of their ingredients from local farms. There are obviously hops they have to import (Galaxy from Australia, all the noble hops from Germany) but I know Listermann, MadTree, Blank Slate, and 50 West all grow everything they can or source it to local farms. Jackie O's has their own farm.

2. It almost always tastes better and is always more flavorful. I've had some craft brews that I didn't like, but it's not usually due to lack of flavor or complexity; some just don't agree with my palate. As a whole, your craft beers are going to be more flavorful, and craft brewers are going to take more risks and try more 'new stuff' than the macrobrews. You might recall Budweiser attempting to make fun of Craft Breweries for their "pumpkin peach ales,' to which Bell's (Kalamazoo, MI) responded with this:



3. My goal isn't typically to get drunk when I'm enjoying a beer, but Ironically it's easier and tastier to do with Craft Beer as a whole. The beers I drink are typically 7-12% alcohol and/or barrel aged, as I lean towards stouts, bocks, belgians, and IPAs. These are very easy to find in the world of craft brewing. I could drink and enjoy and, ironically, get drunk more efficiently than you standard macro that sits somewhere between 3.5-5%. The highest I've had are Avery's Uncle Jacob's Stout (17.4%)



and The Bruery's Chocolate Rain at 19.5%



Both were incredible.

 Ensis Ferrae wrote:
Living in Washington State, but having lived in TN (where Yuengling was sold) I think that it either at the high end of crap, or the low end of good..... It quite literally (for me anyway) depends on the container it came from.

By this I mean that Yuengling in a bottle was hit or miss, which would put it at the high end of crap. But if you can get it on tap, I never had a bad pint, so it was pretty good.

This is very accurate. And it's a bit worse than hit-or-miss in a can. But living an hour or so away from the brewery, it's not hard to find it on draft.

I like it. It's a good macrobrew. And there are plenty of times that a watery American lager hits the spot. If I've just come inside after doing a lot of yard work when the temp and humidity is like it is today -- my first thought is definitely not to grab a hoppy IPA. IPAs just aren't refreshing IMO. But then I'm kinda over IPAs anyway.

There's definitely a lot of gakky "craft" beer out there. IMHO, the vast majority of them come in the form of the IPA

And this is pretty much the reason why. Went to a beer fest earlier this year and it really hit home how many bad IPAs and craft brewers there are. IMO, there's an IPA "bubble" that's going to burst soon, as beer hipsterism fades and people start asking themselves if they really like what they're drinking.

 gorgon wrote:


And this is pretty much the reason why. Went to a beer fest earlier this year and it really hit home how many bad IPAs and craft brewers there are. IMO, there's an IPA "bubble" that's going to burst soon, as beer hipsterism fades and people start asking themselves if they really like what they're drinking.

I (happily) spent $14 on a 4-pack of this three or four times this spring/summer. It's a 10.4% Imperial IPA made with Citra Hops. My wife, who doesn't like IPAs, loves it. She also loves Ballast Point's Grapefruit Sculpin (also an IPA). Both beers are incredibly refreshing and tasty.

Plenty of IPAs are very, very good.

Well, seeing as the stuff has failed to cross the border, I'd guess it falls on the "crappy" side of things.

 Wolfstan wrote:
What's the usual abv for a US beer nowadays? Over here the mainstream beers usually are 5, bottled special beers can be 6 - 7.

Well, looks like it's time for my constitutionally-obligated joke about American beer (seriously, check our constitution, it's in there).

Q: How is American beer like making love in a cannoe?

A:

Although I will admit that many craft brews don't deserve this reputation.

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:
Well, seeing as the stuff has failed to cross the border, I'd guess it falls on the "crappy" side of things.

 Wolfstan wrote:
What's the usual abv for a US beer nowadays? Over here the mainstream beers usually are 5, bottled special beers can be 6 - 7.

Well, looks like it's time for my constitutionally-obligated joke about American beer (seriously, check our constitution, it's in there).

Q: How is American beer like making love in a cannoe?

A:

Spoiler:

It's close to water

Although I will admit that many craft brews don't deserve this reputation.

While accurate, we don't like to have our noses forced into acknowledging our beer inferiority. Keep bugging us and we'll take yours.
"We will WADE into the enemy, drink HIS Molson, eat HIS maple glazed donuts!"
-ghost Patton speaking before the ghost Third Army, shortly before invading Mississauga. All your Yonge Street shall be ours!

For the Philly area, Yuengy's the beer of choice when you want something cheap, but still tastes kind of like beer.

It's the best of the macro's, which isn't saying much, but it's certainly better than drinking the slightly flavored water that the other macro's peddle. It was probably the beer of choice at Temple, with plenty of it flowing on both campus' bars.

We're I'm at, we're certainly spoiled for choice when it comes to craft beer. There's the Doylestown Brewing Co that I recently had the chance to try a flight at, and they had some awesome ales (especially their Cream Ale) and a fantastic dry Irish stout. And thank goodness I finally have a place to drink that isn't one of the regular bars, which get crowded with kids looking to drink cheap beer and get deafened by techno and pop music blaring from a mid-30's DJ who's disappointing with how his life turned out.

Crooked Eye Brewery is also new, and they were hit-and-miss at first, but they've improved with every batch. We've got Victory and the Philadelphia Brewing Co in Philly proper. And there are plenty of bottle shops that have stocks from around the country (and some from around the world) in addition to the stuff they've got on tap.

It's a great time to be a beer fan.

 gorgon wrote:
And this is pretty much the reason why. Went to a beer fest earlier this year and it really hit home how many bad IPAs and craft brewers there are. IMO, there's an IPA "bubble" that's going to burst soon, as beer hipsterism fades and people start asking themselves if they really like what they're drinking.

I get accusations of snobbery towards craft beer fans, but I'll never understand the suspicion that we're all hipsters that don't even like what we're drinking.

I like IPAs. I enjoy drinking them, in that I dig the taste. Most people that drink IPAs are doing it for the same reason, because there is literally no upside to pretending to like IPAs.

Sure I''ve pretended to like some hipster music to get with a girl, or look cooler, but nobody thinks you'll look cool because of your beer. And if you look at craft beer fans, they're not exactly the kind of people whose approval I crave.

Maybe you need to make your peace with the idea that different people have different tastes.

 Polonius wrote:

 gorgon wrote:
And this is pretty much the reason why. Went to a beer fest earlier this year and it really hit home how many bad IPAs and craft brewers there are. IMO, there's an IPA "bubble" that's going to burst soon, as beer hipsterism fades and people start asking themselves if they really like what they're drinking.

I get accusations of snobbery towards craft beer fans, but I'll never understand the suspicion that we're all hipsters that don't even like what we're drinking.

I like IPAs. I enjoy drinking them, in that I dig the taste. Most people that drink IPAs are doing it for the same reason, because there is literally no upside to pretending to like IPAs.

Sure I''ve pretended to like some hipster music to get with a girl, or look cooler, but nobody thinks you'll look cool because of your beer. And if you look at craft beer fans, they're not exactly the kind of people whose approval I crave.

Maybe you need to make your peace with the idea that different people have different tastes.

I'm glad you noticed I was talking about *YOU* and took it so personally.

 gorgon wrote:

 Polonius wrote:

 gorgon wrote:
And this is pretty much the reason why. Went to a beer fest earlier this year and it really hit home how many bad IPAs and craft brewers there are. IMO, there's an IPA "bubble" that's going to burst soon, as beer hipsterism fades and people start asking themselves if they really like what they're drinking.

I get accusations of snobbery towards craft beer fans, but I'll never understand the suspicion that we're all hipsters that don't even like what we're drinking.

I like IPAs. I enjoy drinking them, in that I dig the taste. Most people that drink IPAs are doing it for the same reason, because there is literally no upside to pretending to like IPAs.

Sure I''ve pretended to like some hipster music to get with a girl, or look cooler, but nobody thinks you'll look cool because of your beer. And if you look at craft beer fans, they're not exactly the kind of people whose approval I crave.

Maybe you need to make your peace with the idea that different people have different tastes.

I'm glad you noticed I was talking about *YOU* and took it so personally.

I was extrapolating my experience into a greater point. So, I drink IPAs because I like them, as do the people I associate with that drink IPAs.

I have evidence that there is no "hipsterism." Do you have anything to suggest that people are actually drinking beers they don't like?

Oh, and "you took it so personally" is just code for "I know I said something dumb, but I'd rather focus on your reaction than my dumb statement."

 gorgon wrote:


I'm glad you noticed I was talking about *YOU* and took it so personally.

Well,you painted with a pretty damn big brush.

It is good to know that you have a better grasp on what people actually like to drink than they do, though.

I'll have to ask you for some recommendations next time I'm at the bottle shop.

Alternatively, I haven't met a Chilean Cab Sauv I didn't like.

The IPA boom is a bit of a cause for concern for some in the community, but it's not a bubble. Bubbles are based on speculation, and people are buying (and presumably drinking/enjoying) lots of IPAs. This could be a fad, but I think it goes deeper than that.

Despite the name, IPAs are a distinctly American style, and are distinct from American pilsners (the common style for Bud/Coors/Miller/etc). They are "bigger" beers in nearly every way: higher ABV, hoppier, and increased malt complexity. What they share with the pilsner is a preference for freshness (many ales age well, while at least brewery is making beers where the name is literally "Enjoy by 8/15/15" or something similar), and also a profound balance. IPAs are not heavy, and they are quite quaffable if you can get past the hops. They are also best served cold, much like a pilsner.

In short, for all the difference in taste and marketing, an IPA is a shockingly good warm weather beer, and perfect for parties and cookouts.

I've never had Yuengling Lager (or heard of it) but I do love all the competition nowadays in the beer world. I prefer the craft beers usually, although my favorite macrobrew flavor is Bud Light Lime. Its just so damn refreshing!!

If you ever see it around, Dogfish Head's 90 minute IPA is spectacular, especially with a nice cigar!

 Chief Tugboat wrote:
I've never had Yuengling Lager (or heard of it) but I do love all the competition nowadays in the beer world. I prefer the craft beers usually, although my favorite macrobrew flavor is Bud Light Lime. Its just so damn refreshing!!

I prefered Miller Chill (the same basic thing), but pilsners make great bases for shandies and malt beverages. My wife will drink some of the coors with fruit beers, and I'll admit, they can be tasty on a hot day, and at ~4%, they are quite sessionable.

If you ever see it around, Dogfish Head's 90 minute IPA is spectacular, especially with a nice cigar!

You're my new best friend.

A big IPA, which the 90 Minute is a fantastic example, pairs extremely well with a full bodied cigar. I had just that pair a few weeks ago.

Saturday was Victory Dirtwolf IPA, which is one of my personal favorite IPAs, along with Sixpointe Resin, Great Lakes Commodore Perry, and Fatheads Headhunter.

I am not an IPA fan. Too bitter.

You can keep all your hipster chocolate, berry, fruity and un-holy beers. The best beers are brewed following the rules in Vorläufiges Biergesetz or Reinheitsgebot. Three or four ingredients is all you really need.

 kronk wrote:
I am not an IPA fan. Too bitter.

Its an acquired taste for sure, although I have had a few that are SO bitter it was hard to drink. I feel most people just need to find the "right one" and you'll be hooked. That happened to me a few years ago (I hated anything bitter really) but my Gramps gave me Lagunitas IPA and BLAM!!!

IPA is love, IPA is life.