Your Favorite Local Breweries

[jmgrub]

Rather than just **** on Contemplatebeer's thread, I thought I'd start one of my own (you know, trying to be positive and whatnot).

Do you live in a big city with tons of breweries and have one or two favorites? What do you like about them, and what makes them stand out from the rest?

Do you live in the middle of nowhere and think the one local brewpub is pretty cool?

We don't have a ton of breweries on the island (4 to be exact), but my favorite is Big Island Brewhaus. It is has a super laid-back local vibe. It's usually busy, but not TOO busy, and has a cool little outdoor seating area. They do mostly "classic" beer styles (i.e., they are, in most cases, 5-10 years behind what's going on at the hypest mainland breweries), but they do them well. Good IPAs, lagers, stouts/porters.

My favorite beer they make is Red Sea of Cacao, an imperial red ale with chocolate, molasses, sea salt and pink peppercorns. It sounds weird but it's delicious. Foodwise, I would say the menu is Mexican-ish (with some local twists like poke etc.). Not the best food ever, but the ingredients are super fresh and it's pretty good for what it is.

Looking forward to hearing about your favorite local spots.

 

[jwazzy]

Kettlehead Brewing - Tilton,NH - Newish brewery. Fantastic beer, good variety of styles, well thought out small menu. Favorite beer: MoElla session IPA.

Kelsen Brewing - Derry,NH - great execution of almost everything they do. Dark beers are thier specialty. Seriously my favorite brown ale ever. Favorite beer: Paradigm Brown Ale

Backyard Brewing - Manchester, NH - cool brewpub with good to great beer over a very wide range of styles. Excellent pub food. Favorite Beer- Swipe Right IPA

Not hyper local but not too far:

Silavaticus brewing company- Amesbury, MA - brews all lagers and Belgian style ales and absolutely kill it. Nice taproom with an outdoor area overlooking a small stream. Not chasing trends just making great beer for drinking in volume. Favorite Beer: Soverign Pilsner

 

[PSUMike]

Almost did something similar based on that thread. Was thinking more under the radar though.

Voodoo - Obviously really good stouts but their hops are stellar as well and now that they are dipping their toes in the sour game, I'm anxious to see how that plays out as well.

Brew Gentlemen - Even though they built their reputation off of IPAs, some of my favorites from them are in other styles. The best hops in the area (if not a bit repetitive at times), clean lagers, usually pretty decent stouts, and they are still growing and improving.

Grist House - While everyone in the area is in the Dancing Gnome circle jerk because they like waiting in line for cans of IPAs, I'd rather go 10 minutes up the road, get canned hops from Grist House that are at least 99% as good as Dancing Gnome's, wait in no line, and be happy.

Now if someone in the area could make a sour beer worth drinking, I'd be happy.

 

[Lutter]

Mine:

Austin Beerworks - These guys always have fun beers on at the brewery that are not available in cans. Often 2/3 or more of their taps. Plus their merch is full of unicorns and rainbows and they have a general fun attitude about them. They're also big supporters of CraftPAC, who is trying to change Texas beer laws to better align with other states (IE: to-go sales at production breweries). Their taproom is also one of the nicest in the city. They own their own food truck that sits in the back and incorporates ingredients from the brewery in many of the entrees.

The Brewtorium - These guys are relatively new to town (they opened about 3 months ago) but they've got kickass German food, a gigantic beautiful space with a parking lot (which is something a lot of places lack) and they always have 2-3 new beers on every time I go in. They've also got cold brew and mead (from local Meridian Hive) on tap if you have someone in your party that doesn't want beer.

The Draught House Pub & Brewery - These guys have been around for almost 50 years and I feel like their brewery gets overlooked a lot of the time. This is one of those places I've been going to since I got to town and you can always count on a solid lager, english mild, or IPA (often with rotating hops). They've also got 70+ other taps of beer and, because they've been around so long, they get some of the choicest kegs in town. On Sundays their house beers are $3 off and on Saturdays they have free Brats at 4pm. Enjoy. There's normally a food truck here as well from 5pm-8pm if you're hungry.

Live Oak Brewing - I mean, cmon. They recently (in the past 5 years) built a big, brand new facility near the airport. Watch the planes landing while sipping on one of their taproom exclusive beers under the Live Oak trees behind their brewery. $5 500ml pours on all beers or get a can and borrow some discs for their disc golf course out back. This is really one of the nicest brewing facilities in town and doesn't disappoint. Food truck available on site.

Pinthouse Pizza - They have 2 locations in Austin (North and South) with another coming soon with far north (Round Rock, near where I live). These guys are the city's "juice factory" (ugh) and crank out IPAs that are normally somewhere between a NEIPA and a West Coast IPA using a combination of both techniques but also styles that lean more towards both directions. Best IPA makers in the city and they even make some seriously good BA stouts a lot of the time. Of course they have pizza. And it's great!

Redhorn Brewing & Coffeehouse - Last one. These guys are kinda sorta underrated because they're way up in Cedar Park (even further north than Round Rock). These guys are the premiere stout makers in town and make fantastic coffee to boot. If you eeeever see Barrel Aged Vanilla Coconut S.O.N. around town that beer sits right with the big boys. They've got excellent cold brew and some pretty decent appetizers from their kitchen, but I wouldn't recommend them for a meal.

Honestly my list skews Northward because I live North, but there's a whole lot of great places here in town.

 

[KevSal]

Nice! i frequent a couple of spots a that are local and localish

Alpha acid- they finally started canning their beers (way too late i might add) but htis place is solid and right across the street from my work. i say canning too late because i had told them for years to start canning and take advantage of the hungry market, fieldwork moved in and took it over, than they started canning

Fieldwork - about a 6 min drive from work, i stop by here a lot! big fan of their stuff for sure.

Cellarmaker- i dont make it up as often as i would like anymore, but i used to frequent this spot a lot!

Sante Adairius- bout an hour drive from my house, nice drive to the coast. i hear this place has good beers

47 Hills- this place is really close to my house, but its all draft only right now, which makes it hard for me. with my boys im more of a "enjoy it at home" mode for the time being. solid offerings, really hope they find a niche and run with it tho

 

[flexabull]

Here are some favorites from the Sacramento area.

Moonraker (Auburn) - Top notch hoppy beers, arguably among the best in the entire state. I sometimes wish they canned more than just hoppy beers, but then I grab one of their DIPAs and I forget that pretty quickly. It's pretty incredible how much they have grown in just over 2+ years.

New Glory - Also making great hoppy stuff. They can some pretty tasty non hoppy stuff like lagers and stouts too.

Moksa (Rocklin) - New kid on the block, but off to a great start. Lots of variety which is a plus too.

Track 7 - The "old guard" now at 7 years old. Was once the best in town, (IMHO) but have been passed up by some of the newer places. Still good though.

Berryessa (Winters) - Off the beaten path, but I always try to stop if I am in the area. Good hoppy stuff, also some very nice true session ales including a great English Mild.

 

[KevSal]

Here are some favorites from the Sacramento area.

Moonraker (Auburn) - Top notch hoppy beers, arguably among the best in the entire state. I sometimes wish they canned more than just hoppy beers, but then I grab one of their DIPAs and I forget that pretty quickly. It's pretty incredible how much they have grown in just over 2+ years.

New Glory - Also making great hoppy stuff. They can some pretty tasty non hoppy stuff like lagers and stouts too.

Moksa (Rocklin) - New kid on the block, but off to a great start. Lots of variety which is a plus too.

Track 7 - The "old guard" now at 7 years old. Was once the best in town, (IMHO) but have been passed up by some of the newer places. Still good though.

Berryessa (Winters) - Off the beaten path, but I always try to stop if I am in the area. Good hoppy stuff, also some very nice true session ales including a great English Mild.

Sacremento beer scene is blowing up! personally id also add

Claimstake Brewing- stopped by on my way home from south tahoe, their hoppy stuff is excellent

Urban Roots Brewing- Saisons and farmhouse ales were money! also BBQ!

Device Brewing- Went here when suggested by someone at fieldwork, didnt try a lot but the 2 beers i had were tasty

one i havnt been to personally but hear alot about

Mraz Brewing- apparently their sours are really really good, but i cant vouch for them myself. Gonna try to stop by next time im in the area

yup Sac is becoming a serious beer haven

 

[stakem1]

Do you live in a big city with tons of breweries

nope

Do you live in the middle of nowhere

yep

I think Yuengling (the OG location) is the nearest brewery to me. Ive been there maybe once in the last decade and took the tour that seemingly lasted 2 hours and was awesome (from a historical standpoint.)

To find a brewery worth visiting on the reg, its more than an hour away. I visit Selinsgrove on the semi-reg and crush their pale ale because its incredible. Sometimes ill grab a pint of their IPA if im feeling frisky or if the pale is kicked. They also make one of the best pumpkin beers and if fruity sweet beer is your jam, their fruited things are unmatched (kriek especially.) They do everything pretty much true to style without getting stupid/gimmicky. They have been in business for nearly 20 years and for long as I have been patronizing them, they have never strayed from being who they are. They maintain a local is best approach to everything. Their kitchen is likely the same size or smaller than what you have in your own home so the food selection they offer is limited.

 

[jmgrub]

Kettlehead Brewing - Tilton,NH - Newish brewery. Fantastic beer, good variety of styles, well thought out small menu. Favorite beer: MoElla session IPA.

Kelsen Brewing - Derry,NH - great execution of almost everything they do. Dark beers are thier specialty. Seriously my favorite brown ale ever. Favorite beer: Paradigm Brown Ale

Backyard Brewing - Manchester, NH - cool brewpub with good to great beer over a very wide range of styles. Excellent pub food. Favorite Beer- Swipe Right IPA

Not hyper local but not too far:

Silavaticus brewing company- Amesbury, MA - brews all lagers and Belgian style ales and absolutely kill it. Nice taproom with an outdoor area overlooking a small stream. Not chasing trends just making great beer for drinking in volume. Favorite Beer: Soverign Pilsner

Have never heard of any of these. Will have to keep an eye out/check them out next time I am in New England.

Urban Roots Brewing- Saisons and farmhouse ales were money! also BBQ!

These guys actually sent beer to Kona Brewers Festival this year. Had their pastry stout collab with Bottle Logic (Pallet Treasure - it was solid) and something else.

nope


yep

I think Yuengling (the OG location) is the nearest brewery to me. Ive been there maybe once in the last decade and took the tour that seemingly lasted 2 hours and was awesome (from a historical standpoint.)

To find a brewery worth visiting on the reg, its more than an hour away. I visit Selinsgrove on the semi-reg and crush their pale ale because its incredible. Sometimes ill grab a pint of their IPA if im feeling frisky or if the pale is kicked. They also make one of the best pumpkin beers and if fruity sweet beer is your jam, their fruited things are unmatched (kriek especially.) They do everything pretty much true to style without getting stupid/gimmicky. They have been in business for nearly 20 years and for long as I have been patronizing them, they have never strayed from being who they are. They maintain a local is best approach to everything. Their kitchen is likely the same size or smaller than what you have in your own home so the food selection they offer is limited.

I was extremely ISO their kriek back in the day. Never did land it.

 

[stakem1]

I was extremely ISO their kriek back in the day. Never did land it.

It was still on tap as of 2 days ago. I have filled and shipped many a growler for nothing more than cost. Id offer to do it for ya but I leave for vacation this weekend and it will be gone by the time I return home.

Remind me around this time next year and ill hook ya up. Oh wait... that location though

 

[jmgrub]

It was still on tap as of 2 days ago. I have filled and shipped many a growler for nothing more than cost. Id offer to do it for ya but I leave for vacation this weekend and it will be gone by the time I return home.

Remind me around this time next year and ill hook ya up. Oh wait... that location though

Will pay for it all! Setting a reminder on my phone now lol.

 

[kbuzz1]

In Charlotte:

Resident Culture - best hops in the city in my opinion (Heist apologists can suck it). Also starting to get around to other styles (they have a coolship room). Released a couple BA Saisons in the past week. Great location. Family/pet friendly. All around my favorite place to frequent here.

High Branch - second best hops in the city (Heist apologists can suck it), but make a wide variety of well done styles. I guess maybe technically not in the city proper, but I'm counting them. Smaller location and a little farther out, but well worth it every time I get up there.

Salud Cerveceria - these guys always have a **** ton on tap. They make great hops and recently had on some BA adjunct stout that was easily the best BA stout I've had since I moved here two years ago.

Wooden Robot - Used to be my fave until the three breweries above really got cranking. Lots of styles, good hops, great location. Bonus: they use a naturally occurring enzyme to break down the gluten in their beer...so my wife can actually drink there without having to sip on some shitty cider or whatever. Not technically gluten-free, just gluten-reduced, but the owner's wife has celiac's and drinks everything. That said, it is the best GF beer ever - uses normal ingredients.

Honorable mention: Amor Artis - these dudes are just hitting their stride. Also not Charlotte proper, technically SC, but just barely over the border and super close to my neighborhood so end up here a good bit. Another brewery that makes a wide variety of stuff - hops, lagers and saisons/wilds.

 

[jmgrub]

Love the amount of effort/level of detail everyone is throwing into these. Mostly places I have never even heard of!

Since I just moved away from LA 6ish months ago, I wanted to add that Highland Park Brewery was my favorite "local" brewery there (local in quotes because it was about a 35 minute drive from my place with no traffic). I haven't been to the new Chinatown location yet, but the Highland Park location was really cool - they converted/upgraded an old dive bar but were able to keep the divey feel. Some fun bar games, beer list projected on an old-school math-class style projector, really good bar food. They do a diverse range of styles well, but tend to be known for their hops and their saisons. Looking forward to visiting the new Chinatown location next time I'm in LA.

 

[PSUMike]

I was extremely ISO their kriek back in the day. Never did land it.

You and me both...

 

[thebandit1]

West of Denver.

Cannonball Creek - In a world of haze, they continue to turn out world-class west-coast clear hop bombs. I have never had a bad beer from them. Great staff with a great selection of food trucks. I love having them ten minutes away.

New Terrain - Great selection of new school vs old school IPAs. Killer one-offs like their Key Lime Kolch. Great events like yoga in the brewery and ski waxing in the winter. And the view cannot be beat.

Westbound and Down - 25 minutes away but a different world in the mountains west. When it’s 95 at home, it’s usually in the high 70s. Food is killer from the restaurant next door. Atmosphere is far different then you’d expect for Idaho Springs. And they make great clear IPAs and fruited Berliner’s.

 

[FoudreGuy]

Seattle:

Holy Mountain - Killer saisons, sours, hoppy beers and lagers. I'm in there enough that the staff know who I am. Never sure if that's a good thing.

Reubens - Making some killer IPAs and it's a kid friendly space.

Urban Family - Not as much under the radar as they used to be, but they're consistently putting out solid IPAs and sours.

Fremont - Been going there since day one, closest brewery to my house. Great space, awesome barrel program and they make so many fresh hops every Fall.

 

[thebandit1]

West of Denver.

Cannonball Creek - In a world of haze, they continue to turn out world-class west-coast clear hop bombs. I have never had a bad beer from them. Great staff with a great selection of food trucks. I love having them ten minutes away.

New Terrain - Great selection of new school vs old school IPAs. Killer one-offs like their Key Lime Kolch. Great events like yoga in the brewery and ski waxing in the winter. And the view cannot be beat.

Westbound and Down - 25 minutes away but a different world in the mountains west. When it’s 95 at home, it’s usually in the high 70s. Food is killer from the restaurant next door. Atmosphere is far different then you’d expect for Idaho Springs. And they make great clear IPAs and fruited Berliner’s.

Almost forgot my favorite local brewery:

Coors - Ten minutes from home. Great tour with free beer at the end. Secret is that you don’t have to go on the tour. Just go to the check-in for the tour, tell them you just want to go straight to the free beer, and they give a different wrist band then point you on your way.

 

[jmgrub]

Cannonball Creek - In a world of haze, they continue to turn out world-class west-coast clear hop bombs. I have never had a bad beer from them. Great staff with a great selection of food trucks. I love having them ten minutes away.

My cousin went to Mines and this was her local. She always raved about it but I've never been.

 

[kbuzz1]

Reubens - Making some killer IPAs and it's a kid friendly space.

Wait. A brewery named Reubens? I think maybe you’ve left out the most important detail about this place.

 

[jmgrub]

Wait. A brewery named Reubens? I think maybe you’ve left out the most important detail about this place.

Unfortunately it's Reuben's Brews, not Reubens & Brews.

 

[Lutter]

Urban Family - Not as much under the radar as they used to be, but they're consistently putting out solid IPAs and sours.

They distro way down here.

 

[FoudreGuy]

Unfortunately it's Reuben's Brews, not Reubens & Brews.

Yeah, it's named after the owner's kid.

They distro way down here.

They don't anymore. New ownership pulled their distribution range back to just Washington and Oregon. Anything you're seeing down there is super old and from previous brewers/owners. In addition to making beer the old owners had taken on Shelton Brothers' WA distribution duties and it was a massive cluster**** that alienated local beer fans and burned bridges with many in the industry. The new owners/brewers have worked really hard to improve their image.

 

[greg4579]

Breweries you probably heard off:

Brew Gentlemen: best hops in Pgh. Really love their other styles and the breadth of styles they do well. Plus, tosh reallly liked their English Mild. Their lager game is really getting good. Their foeder stuff, especially their Table Beer has been turning out nice.

Voodoo: Their BA program is on point. Really love their Cowbell on nitro. If they could fix random can issues on their IPAs I’d be buying more.

Dancing Gnome: while their can line makes me hate humanity, I really do enjoy their beers. Super hop-forward on their styles, when they do stray they are typically really nice.

Fat Heads: Yes, they have a Cleveland brewery, but they have always had a location in Pgh. They do so many different styles and rarely do them bad. I love their food for what it is, and I love that they don’t do haze as it is really nice to do a word-class west coast IPA at my leisure.

Breweries you never heard of:

Roundabout: I have such fondness for them. You will never, ever, have a bad beer here. Top notch quality, if not at times a little too much on the safe side.

Yellow Bridge: Completely avoided them at their open and then heard rumblings of their improvement 8 months back. Really solid hop game and I see them improving rapidly. Drank a stupidly tasty coconut stout there today.

Four Seasons: I never have an exceptional beer here, but the overall quality is good and I just like their pub experience. I can order something with a high confidence that I won’t get burned. They have also steadily improved.

Penn: Old school folks might have heard of them. Their packaged stuff typically sucks, but i’ll be damned if the world just doesn’t seem right when I am drinking a Penn Wiezen there and eating pieroghis and potatoe pancakes. It is a German beer hall with traditional food mostly.

I agree with PSUMike that in general Pgh is covered on all styles except AWAs.

 

[PSUMike]

Breweries you probably heard off:

Brew Gentlemen: best hops in Pgh. Really love their other styles and the breadth of styles they do well. Plus, tosh reallly liked their English Mild. Their lager game is really getting good. Their foeder stuff, especially their Table Beer has been turning out nice.

Voodoo: Their BA program is on point. Really love their Cowbell on nitro. If they could fix random can issues on their IPAs I’d be buying more.

Dancing Gnome: while their can line makes me hate humanity, I really do enjoy their beers. Super hop-forward on their styles, when they do stray they are typically really nice.

Fat Heads: Yes, they have a Cleveland brewery, but they have always had a location in Pgh. They do so many different styles and rarely do them bad. I love their food for what it is, and I love that they don’t do haze as it is really nice to do a word-class west coast IPA at my leisure.

Breweries you never heard of:

Roundabout: I have such fondness for them. You will never, ever, have a bad beer here. Top notch quality, if not at times a little too much on the safe side.

Yellow Bridge: Completely avoided them at their open and then heard rumblings of their improvement 8 months back. Really solid hop game and I see them improving rapidly. Drank a stupidly tasty coconut stout there today.

Four Seasons: I never have an exceptional beer here, but the overall quality is good and I just like their pub experience. I can order something with a high confidence that I won’t get burned. They have also steadily improved.

Penn: Old school folks might have heard of them. Their packaged stuff typically sucks, but i’ll be damned if the world just doesn’t seem right when I am drinking a Penn Wiezen there and eating pieroghis and potatoe pancakes. It is a German beer hall with traditional food mostly.

I agree with PSUMike that in general Pgh is covered on all styles except AWAs.

Been to Yellow Bridge twice and was pretty impressed the most recent time. Big Dude is the best IPA I've had in a while.

 

[KevSal]

Urban Family - Not as much under the radar as they used to be, but they're consistently putting out solid IPAs and sours.

they just put a collab with fieldwork called cloud control that’s pretty tasty, ruebens and alvarado street just released their imperial international juice that’s super good!

 

[steimie]

While the state of Michigan may be full of great breweries, the Detroit area has nothing but mediocrity. Kuhnhenn used to be great, but no more. Batch and Urbanrest are uninspired (even if the food at Batch is good). Eastern Market and Fillmore 13 are whatever they are.

Drafting Table and Ascension are the best we have. DT makes really good stouts and Ascension's hoppy stuff is supposedly top notch. Unfortunately, both of them are in outer ring suburbs and not close enough to just swing by while I'm out and about.

Luckily, Founders built a space here, there's a couple of Jolly Pumpkin pubs, and bars are getting better and better at serving top notch stuff.

 

[furley]

Green Bay:

Badger State - Buzzy Badger, Wisconsin Red, Green Chop, Dubious Ruffian. all standards that i gladly drink regularly. they throw some spaghetti at the wall with their rotation/one-off beers and surprisingly most have been good to very good. nice tap room, large event space. good dudes that run it and do a lot in the community. my favorite locally by far.

Noble Roots - Haven't had much from them but have liked the few i did drink. small space way out on the east side. seems pretty busy any time i'm in the area. worth keeping an eye on.

Hinterland - Not special but i rate it as solid. more restaurant than brewery anymore. Evergreen IPA is very tasty. love their Luna Stout. the rest range from drinkable to good. no standouts. great place to grab an expensive meal. even if flyingbison hates the wide-open beer hall feel.

Titletown - The one place everyone recommends out-of-towners should visit. on the river. in an old train depot and they pay homage to it. separate tap room across the lot from the main/original spot. beers are just meh across the board. in all my years drinking there i've had maybe 1 or 2 that really did it for me. everything tastes the same to me.

 

[danbanana]

love their Luna Stout

Underrated beer, though the proliferation of coffee stouts in the last 10 years maybe takes away from the specialness. Used to be if you wanted one of those in the Chicago area, you had Luna and FBS when it was in season.

I'll bite on this:

Off Color not only brews great beers, they brew unique things that don't fall into gimmicks. They do great, rarely done traditional styles and ****ed up takes on traditional styles and invent things and nearly every time it's the best thing on the shelf.

middlebrow is getting better and better as they expand. Like OC, their stuff is playful and fun without being "let's just add a food item to this beer!" RIP Cobrastyle, the weirdest and most complicated beer I think I've ever had.

Kinslahger in my hometown opened a few years ago before the whole lager thing got cool and do almost nothing but good beer. A recent small expansion is letting them experiment a little more but I'll take their standard pilsner and alt against anything I've had from Suarez or Dovetail. Their Origins coffee dunkel series (using single origin coffees with very different profiles) has resulted in some very fun stuff. Bonus points for offering homemade sodas and shrubs and being kid-friendly. One of the very few "neighborhood" brewery atmospheres in the Chicago area.

 

[thebandit1]

While the state of Michigan may be full of great breweries, the Detroit area has nothing but mediocrity. Kuhnhenn used to be great, but no more. Batch and Urbanrest are uninspired (even if the food at Batch is good). Eastern Market and Fillmore 13 are whatever they are.

Drafting Table and Ascension are the best we have. DT makes really good stouts and Ascension's hoppy stuff is supposedly top notch. Unfortunately, both of them are in outer ring suburbs and not close enough to just swing by while I'm out and about.

Luckily, Founders built a space here, there's a couple of Jolly Pumpkin pubs, and bars are getting better and better at serving top notch stuff.

But what about Griffin Claw?

 

[FoudreGuy]

they just put a collab with fieldwork called cloud control that’s pretty tasty, ruebens and alvarado street just released their imperial international juice that’s super good!

We got that Alvarado/Reubens collab up here at the brewery, it was really nice.

 

[furley]

But what about Griffin Claw?

a Clarence Carter sig?

where do i send the scented oils and candles of appreciation?

 

[ccbstl]

St. Louis:

2nd Shift - They make really good beer in a boatload of styles from pils to BA stouts to funky stuff. The people there are great and they don't take themselves too seriously. The food at the taproom is killer too.

Urban Chestnut - Consistently perfect mostly German styles. Zwickel, Stammtisch, and their Oktoberfest are regular staples in my fridge. Both taproom locations have good food as well.

Civil Life - Sessionable English styles, nice little taproom they are about to expand. Their brown ales are the best I've had.

 

[Hopping Tiger]

Coors - Ten minutes from home. Great tour with free beer at the end. Secret is that you don’t have to go on the tour. Just go to the check-in for the tour, tell them you just want to go straight to the free beer, and they give a different wrist band then point you on your way.

I went there ~20 years ago and I remember two things. One, my aunt who I was with was very cool with my newly turned 21 self getting buzzed. It was the first time I legally drank in front of any family and it was so chill. And two, the only other people in the room with us was a group of 7 or 8 biker skinheads. They were very pleasant but had no shame in showing off their swastikas. Good times.

 

[jkdufresne]

Quebec Canada
--------

Here is a few of the Quebec local breweries that I recommend. I am pretty sure the other TB from Quebec would recommend the same

- Pit Caribou: First Quebec brewery to experiment with spontaneous beer. They do really go barrel-aged stuff (mostly sour/saison). Their regular stuff is also really well made.

- Harricana: In Montreal. Really good and creative stuff

Also: Auval, Dunham & Castor

 

[jmgrub]

St. Louis:

2nd Shift - They make really good beer in a boatload of styles from pils to BA stouts to funky stuff. The people there are great and they don't take themselves too seriously. The food at the taproom is killer too.

Urban Chestnut - Consistently perfect mostly German styles. Zwickel, Stammtisch, and their Oktoberfest are regular staples in my fridge. Both taproom locations have good food as well.

Civil Life - Sessionable English styles, nice little taproom they are about to expand. Their brown ales are the best I've had.

Never been to 2nd Shift, but really enjoyed my visits to Urban Chestnut (6 or so years ago) and Civil Life (last year). Civil Life is the kind of place I would go all the time if it was in my city.

 

[capnmike]

Civil Life - Sessionable English styles, nice little taproom they are about to expand. Their brown ales are the best I've had.

Been meaning to ask, so now's as good a time as any....do they package at all? Growlers?

I may have mentioned, one of my coworkers with me on that trip is a home brewer and he freaked out over their brown ale that was on at Narrow Gauge - I think he alternated 1 NG 1 Civil Life brown the whole time we were there.

 

[JulianB1]

That Civil Life brown ale was on draft at Spacebar in the DC area last time I was up that way, fantastic beer.

Been meaning to ask, so now's as good a time as any....do they package at all? Growlers?

I may have mentioned, one of my coworkers with me on that trip is a home brewer and he freaked out over their brown ale that was on at Narrow Gauge - I think he alternated 1 NG 1 Civil Life brown the whole time we were there.

The food at Narrow Gauge (Cugino's or whatever the attached Italian restaurant is called) is so good.

 

[ccbstl]

Been meaning to ask, so now's as good a time as any....do they package at all? Growlers?

I may have mentioned, one of my coworkers with me on that trip is a home brewer and he freaked out over their brown ale that was on at Narrow Gauge - I think he alternated 1 NG 1 Civil Life brown the whole time we were there.

They usually have cans available at the brewery. When they finish their expansion they should start to distro more than just kegs. I'll let you know when I go next and I can grab whatever you want.

 

[JCastle1]

Wish we had a decent brewery or taproom. My favorite semi-local brewery (from a nearby city so not exactly local) is draft only in a few select restaurants so I rarely drink it unfortunately. They don't have their own taproom yet. They only bottle their beer about every 3-4 months so I make sure to load up when they do, I just loaded up last week in fact so I'm currently happy.

 

[flyingbison]

Green Bay:


Titletown - The one place everyone recommends out-of-towners should visit. on the river. in an old train depot and they pay homage to it. separate tap room across the lot from the main/original spot. beers are just meh across the board. in all my years drinking there i've had maybe 1 or 2 that really did it for me. everything tastes the same to me.

These are the delusional ramblings of a man who smoked way too much crack. "Everything tastes the same to me" tells you everything you need to know.