Picture this scenario. On friday nights you could stop at the local brewpub, but instead you shave a few bucks and stop at the chain sports bar down the street. Now imagine that the brewpub owner, a decent guy who lives with his family a few blocks down the street, sold one too few beers this month and has to take a second mortgage to keep up the pub’s credit rating. This means that instead of spending the summer at a NASA summer camp, the brewmaster’s snotty 10-year-old kid will instead spend the summer huffing glue and looking for trouble. Now imagine that you sometimes forget to lock your car. And you live near a poorly-marked cliff. See where I’m going with this? Even when it seems like you’re spending a bit more, when you add it all up you’re actually saving money.
Let’s kick off friday beer blogging with our favorite local brew joints.
You find Bristol Brewing Company by biking ten minutes south from Colorado College in Colorado Springs. The ride back takes longer because it’s uphill, and because if you’re not stone drunk you’re riding one-handed with a growler full of Winter Warlock in the other. In a city that hardly lacks for brewpubs you can do much, much worse.
In the interest of full disclosure I should point out that my friend Jason is their head brewer, my old Cell Biology professor does something scientifical on their payroll and Mike Bristol is one of my favorite people anywhere. But that should hardly cloud my judgment, when their beer does that just fine.
For a while my fiancee and I spent weekends touring the old stone churches that you see practically everywhere in Pittsburgh. Even the major cathedrals took us weeks, a few standouts being a Serbian Orthodox cathedral perched on a cliff on the North Side and the grand cathedral on Polish hill, whose enthusiastic caretaker practically adopted us into her family. God help anybody who tries to see everything in a city this old and faith-dense. However, one pilgrimage we made on a regular basis was the Church Brew Works, on Liberty Ave. in Lawrenceville. The food is freakishly good, and you pay for it, but the sermon that gets served up every day is what they make in the gleaming fermenting tanks behind glass where the altar used to be.
Who are the brewers in your neighborhood? Discuss.
***Update***
By popular demand, here is your non-beer friday night alternative:
One of the best single malts that I’ve tried. And yes, I’ve tried Laphroaig.
scs
Hey what happened to Friday cat blogging?
Tim F.
If John wants to post pictures of Tunch, that’s his prerogative. With me you get beer.
olie
i’m drinking a Speakeasy Prohibition Ale on a sunny mid-afternoon in San francisco
Sam Hutcheson
A few worth noting around the southeast:
Five Seasons in Atlanta.
Blue Ridge Brewing in Greenville, SC.
Rogue Brewing just outside of Portland, OR.
Oglethorpe Brewpub in Savannah, GA.
JWeidner
Friday Beer Blogging?
Tim F. I’m liking you more and more.
Ever been to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver? I figure if you’re in CO, you must have.
I used to go each year with a couple buddies from college. Fly out to CO from CA, spend a week in Denver, sampling beers and some, uh, other entertainment venues in and around the city.
I’ve always been partial to Breckinridge Brewery in LoDo, although Wynkoop’s was a favorite of some of my buddies.
As for local brew joints – well, out here in Southern CA, they can appear and disappear pretty quick. I live in a small town called San Clemente, and we have Port Brewing Company’s Pizza Port brewery and restaurant. I love their pizza and their beer.
Down the road aways is a place called San Marcos, and that’s home to one of my all-time favorites – Stone Brewing Co. More a true brewery, and not a brewpub, but they’ve created some truly wicked brews. Stone IPA is hands down my beer of choice when it’s on a local restaurant or bar menu…
Stormy70
My favorite brewery is my fridge.
Anderson
Beer. Yeah, go on kidding yourselves, people. “Wow, this one is marginally less like swill than the other one I just had!” “Ooh, let me try some, right after I go piss again for the 11th time this hour!”
There is too much fine bourbon and Scotch in the world to be wasting time on stuff you’ve got to chill to near-freezing to be able to bear drinking it.
stickler
My favorite brewery is in my garage, and my homebrewed Scottish Ale is carbonating in the corny keg right this very moment.
But I also live in Portland, Oregon, a town with more breweries than any other in the country.
Consistent favorites include Widmer’s Gasthaus, the Horse Brass Pub, and both outlets of the Lucky Labrador Brewing Company.
Hm. Is it five o’clock yet? No. Rats.
UncleHorns
Zeno’s in State College, PA.
Just dark enough where the 21 year old amateurs won’t come and the eclectic regulars/townies make for a fun night. Occasional live music packs the house. It gets crazy when Blue Method plays.
Oh yeah, the beer list is 20 pages long. Including 18 taps.
If someone orders a Coors Light the typical bartender response is, “…if you must…” without batting an eye.
stickler
Anderson is one of the many deluded Americans who have yet to try decent beer.
If, by “beer”, you mean the swill churned out by BudMillOors, then yes, it’s a waste of time and money. But good beer is a revelation. Stout, lager, Belgian, Weissbier, porter, IPA, Bock, Doppelbock, barley wine, ah the list goes on and on. Think global, drink local. Here’s a list of the recognized beer styles and their characteristics as given by the Beer Judge Certification Program.
Don’t buy from a megaswill brewer. Do buy from your friendly neighborhood microbrewer. If there isn’t one, then brew your own. Tomorrow is “teach a friend to homebrew day,” by the way.
Joel
When I lived in the Cleveland area I thought Great Lakes Brewing Co. was just about the best beer I ever tasted. Sadly it doesn’t seem to be distributed anywhere outside of Ohio (at least that I know of).
MC
When I lived in Annapolis, we used go the Rams Head Tavern after work on Fridays. They have a fantastic outdoor patio all decked out in outdoor heaters and wisteria. I always liked the Helles. I wish I was there right now…
About a month ago, I had a beer from Atlanta I really liked. New River Pale Ale. Unfortunately, I can’t find it around here.
CaseyL
Tim, how does Highland Park stack up to one of the heavier single-malts, like Talisker or (my fave) Laguvulin? or is HP one of the golden single malts? There’s nothing wrong with the goldens; I just prefer the smokeys :)
Perry Como
Is it possible to combine cat blogging with beer blogging so you can post about beer made from cats? Just a thought.
There’s a bottle of Glenmorangie with port wood finish sitting over there —>
Thanks for the reminder!
srv
Where I should be now: http://www.magnoliapub.com/
When I’m wandering downtown: http://www.thirstybear.com/
You can’t visit http://www.moonlightbrewing.com/, but you can get it at http://www.toronado.com/
db
Once I crossed West of the Mississippi again, the world of New Belgium opened up to me…. oh Fat Tire, the Monk Ale, Loft…. take your pick, you can’t go wrong.
And I second the note on Stone’s beers. Not for the wussy – they will punch a hole in your gut. I don’t know if Stone makes it East of the Mississippi but I know that as of last year, New Belgium was not shipped East of the Mississippi… anyone sense a Smokey and the Bandit remake in the works?
In my time in the Northwoods, my lips were in frequent contact with bottles from New Glarus. Great seasonal stuff that comes out of there.
Tim F.
Joel,
We get it here in Pittsburgh. Very good beer despite coming from Cleveland.
Actually, Highland Park is my wife’s favorite single malt (so it gets blogged first, natch). It’s as balanced as a veteran Cirque du Soleil performer but lacks a certain fire that you get from the island malts. You can bet that I’ll have more to say about Talisker in coming weeks.
tzs
Joel, what does Laguvulin taste like? I’ve usually stuck to Laphroig but even FINDING a single Southern malt in the Midwest is like looking for blue roses. One reason why I’m pissed about moving away from London–I’d hit the duty-free shops when going to France and stock up.
On beers–anyone know of good places in Chicago to go to? I have a fondness for Belgian beers and stout.
Don
Oh, I much prefer Friday night Scotch blogging.
Sadly, it’s *spit* Chivas tonight, but if I had my druthers, it would be Aberlour’s A’bunadh.
Stormy70
I will have to give it a whirl. Speaking of Laphroaig…{clink, clink} It is the weekend and work is quickly fading into the background.
Is it me or does Jarhead look BORING! What’s up Jake McDreamy?! Bad reviews. Looks like it will be Harry Potter that gets my movie money.
slickdpdx
I prefer Irish or American whiskies to Scotch. Not that anyone else gives a damn. Cheers!
bains
Aack…
If you want a Breckenridge beer, go to Breckenridge – the LoDo version shrivels in comparison. Wynkoop – lame beer, ok food, great social scene (as with most LoDo brewpubs). Bottom line, if you want good beer in Colorado, get your ass up the pass. or head to Coopersmith in Fort Collins…
I havent spent time in CoSprings for quite some time, so that’s unknown territory.
From Routt County,
Johno
My favorite brewpub, a la stickler, is in my dang ol’ basement. I’m right now enjoying a very nice Starfish Brown Ale, and am looking forward to bottling my Short Bus Very Special Bitter tomorrow.
As for paying other people to make beer for me, the Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland (go Browns!) is the best beer I’ve ever had outside Europe, and the Church Brew Works in the ‘burgh is not far behind. Gooooood. In the Northeast where I live, you got the Boston Beer Works, the Salem Beer Works, the Cambridge Brewery, Smuttynose, McNeils out in Brattleboro Vermont, Trout River up in Saint Johnsbury, and my buddy Patric’s home, where it’s all Whitbread yeast, all the time. He’s a yeast rancher.
Yeast rancher.
He ranches yeast.
What?… I said I’ve been drinking…
CaseyL
“Joel, what does Laguvulin taste like?”
I’m not Joel, but I do love Laguvulin. It’s very peaty and smoky, a deep heavy taste; almost like drinking the bog itself, but oh so smooth.
Callimachus
Lancaster, Pa., is a very conservative town in the best sense of the word and a very German town. In Prohibition days, the breweries kept churning and the taverns kept serving, courtesy of fire hoses run through the sewer drains between the two (needless to say, the cooperation of city authorities was assured). Some of the old speakeasies, like the Horse Inn, are still open, essentially unchanged.
Stoudt’s. It’s gotten awful touristy over the years. But if you can’t sink in and tune it all out, you can get the good stuff on tap at lots of quirky local places, like Bube’s (pronounced “BOO-bies,” as in, uh, “boobies”) which actually was a brewery once and still looks the part.
Closer to home, we spend a lot of time at Lancaster Malt Brewery. The Amish four-grain stout is worthy.
zzzz
JWeid nails it. Pizza Port is great stuff. Also, Stone IPA and Pale Ale are regulars in my Kegerator. Don’t discount the newer Green Flash and Ballast Point brews out of Point Loma as well.
Halffasthero
Grey Goose gimlets here tonight. I was supposed to go watch a band tonight but am trying to fix some things on my new computer. Not sure that the vodka is helping….
Also having a bit of a problem typing…
stickler
Upthread was asked, “what does Lagavulin taste like?”
Well, we do get the occasional distilled beverage across the transom in Oregon, and I have to say: Lagavulin tastes exactly as God intended Scotch to taste. Rather like the salt-rimed peat the barley was smoked over. It’s not for the faint of heart. But even this hop addict will admit that if I were told that I’d be dead within the hour and I’d only be allowed one last drink, I’d pick a healthy dram of Lagavulin. The older the better.
Regarding California beers (obligatory xenophobic Oregon spit when mentioning that state), I have to admit a certain, ah, unhealthy fondness for Arrogant Bastard Ale. The description alone is worth the price of entry, but the full-on West Coast hop bitterness and aroma, melded with a wonderful maltiness, add up to a nearly-unbeatable beer experience.
stickler
Johno brewed a brown ale?
Damn, it’s been a while since I’ve tried that, and the last batch disappeared so fast I’d almost forgotten about it. A very nice style. Tomorrow’s brew day: the yeast smack-pack is swollen with promise. Should I brew a brown for the holidays?
But your friend is like many people I’ve met:
Those folks always unnerve me. Either they’re uptight, nervous sanitation freaks … or their beer tastes like feet. In either case it’s homebrewing mania taken one step too far (which is to say, a step further than I’ve already gone).
Johno
Brew a brown!
Stickler, actually my friend is refreshingly neither. It’s really just that he loves Whitbread Ale yeast and he can’t really get it any more up in Maine where he lives. So, he’s keeping a colony going until its vitality runs out. So far, so good. Probably two more brews before it craps out and he has to resort to WYeast 1028 like the rest of us.
Stickler, try this:
1/2 lb crystal 60
1/2 lb crystal 120
1/2 lb chocolate malt
6 lbs DME or 6.6 LME, light
1 oz good bittering hops, Eroica or Northern Brewer
1 oz Willamette for finishing, 5 minutes from end of boil
Yeast of yr choice, I used a packet of Doric but honestly, anything will work.
Brian Chapin
Highland Park IS the best single malt scotch I’ve ever had. Just thinking about it gives me chills…
Krista
He IS a cutie-pie, isn’t he? I know it’s no longer beer-blogging Friday, but if anybody visits Toronto or Halifax, you must check out the Granite Brewery. They brew a Best Bitter that just makes me very happy. Great Sunday brunch too…nothing like steak and eggs, and a beer, at 11am. As far as international beer: Leffe, Boddington’s and Grolsch are my top three. Local beer: Rickard’s Red, Sleeman’s Honey Brown, and Alexander Keith’s.
Dave Straub
Like Callimachus, I’m in Lancaster, PA. I live about 2.5 blocks away from the Lancaster Brewing Co. (“LBC,” FKA Lancaster Malt Brewing), so I’m a regular and mug-club member there. (I also live less than a block from the Horse Inn.) The Amish Four-Grain is actually an American Pale Ale, and not a stout. Until recently, AGF was LBC flagship, but that title has more or less passed to the Hop Hog IPA. My friends who work in the brewery operation say that Hop Hog accounts for at least 50% of LBC’s production now.
Stoudt’s does fantastic work, and I think that they’re dramatically improved since they brought all of their brewing operation back home to Adamstown. (Until about 18 months ago, they farmed out most of their production to the Lion Brewery in Wilkes-Barre.)
Also within a reasonably short distance of here: Troegs and Appalachian in Harrisburg, Victory in Downingtown, Legacy in Reading, Weyerbacher in Easton, and Yards in Philadelphia. With the exception of Legacy, which I’ve frankly never tried, all of these spend their share of time in my fridge. I have most of a case of Yards IPA in the fridge right now. I also was pleasantly surprised recently by the beers produced by Marzoni’s in Duncansville, near Altoona. FYI to the Pgh folks.
Much of my dad’s side of my family is in Saint Marys, but I’m only tangentially related to the Straub Beer folks.
I’m not a big scotch drinker, but I’d say the best single malt I can remember drinking is Oban. Very earthy. I’m much more of a bourbon guy; I love Knob Creek. Top-top shelf bourbons are hard to come by in PA, due to our Soviet system of state liquor stores.
Tim F.
In terms of PA beer, Railbender Ale by Erie Brewing Company spends more time in my fridge than practically anything else. It’s an ‘old ale,’ which is smokier and a bit richer than you classic ale style, not too expensive and straddles the line between beer that you’d serve with good food and beer you’d watch football with.
stickler
Great idea Johno, I might just try it. My yeast is the 1338 Northwest Ale blend but I’m sure it’ll be all right for the style. I’ll have to adapt the recipe for all-grain, though; I’ve finally moved beyond the extract phase.
It’s a nippy brew day, for sure. Long hike, then off to the brew kettle.
dorf
Try the Nosferatu from Great Lakes. Nice hop bite, heh, 8% abv. Just recently available in Pittsburgh. I concur on the Chruch, even non-beer drinkers are amazed by the place.
Johno
The Edmund Fitzgerald Porter is also amazing from Great Lakes. Nosferatu they don’t always make, which makes it more important to drink *all you can* while it’s around.
goonie bird
Theres some brews going by names like GREAT WHIE and FAT TIRE
Aggravated DocSurg
Laughing Lab is definitely worth the money, and is kept regularly on tap in the garage here. My favorite Bristol product, however, is their seasonal Winter Warlock — smooth and somehow warming on a cold winter’s night.
DougJ
Fat Tire — that’s from Arizona isn’t it?
On the spirits front — I’m a Lagavulin man myself, though I think Highland is quite good, too. I also have a rather obscure spirits tip for people — demerara rum from Guyana is one of the best deals going in smooth, cognac-like spirits. The El Dorado 15 year-old is especially good. Try it — you won’t be disappointed. It runs about $35 a bottle, so much less than comparable scotch or cognac.