Craft Beer Anyone?

[Bucki1968]

I am a huge craft beer guy. I love to try all the various micro-brews from around the country. We have quite a few good ones in the Tampa area but I was just wondering what everyone else liked. I am a big IPA , pale ale guy. Any suggestions?

[DaveP043]

20 minutes ago, Bucki1968 said:

I am a huge craft beer guy. I love to try all the various micro-brews from around the country. We have quite a few good ones in the Tampa area but I was just wondering what everyone else liked. I am a big IPA , pale ale guy. Any suggestions?

Our club has recently put Monumental IPA from Troeg's in PA on tap, try that if you can find it.  I currently have Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA on tap at home, another good one.  Also, @jsgolfer is a rather experienced beer geek, I'm sure he'll have a suggestion or two.

[David in FL]

51 minutes ago, Bucki1968 said:

I am a huge craft beer guy. I love to try all the various micro-brews from around the country. We have quite a few good ones in the Tampa area but I was just wondering what everyone else liked. I am a big IPA , pale ale guy. Any suggestions?

If you haven't already, you might want to try World of Beer.  There are several in and around Tampa.  

They have a huge, ever changing selection of craft, domestic, and foreign beers.  They even have an app that keeps track of the ones you've tried and tells you the ones they're currently serving that you haven't tried yet.

 

[jsgolfer]

1 hour ago, Bucki1968 said:

I am a huge craft beer guy. I love to try all the various micro-brews from around the country. We have quite a few good ones in the Tampa area but I was just wondering what everyone else liked. I am a big IPA , pale ale guy. Any suggestions?

 

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

Our club has recently put Monumental IPA from Troeg's in PA on tap, try that if you can find it.  I currently have Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA on tap at home, another good one.  Also, @jsgolfer is a rather experienced beer geek, I'm sure he'll have a suggestion or two.

The Troeg's beer is the Perpetual which is very good and the Monumental is from Port City Brewery in Alexandria.  Port City has a Maniacal Double IPA which is really good and Troeg's has the Nugget Nectar which is very good.

World of Beer is always a great place to find local drafts.  We have several in Northern VA.

For Florida beers:  Cigar City Brewery's (Tampa) Jai Alai IPA is very good.  Swamp Ape Double IPA from Florida Beer Company was OK, wouldn't recommend that one.  There were a couple others I tried but they didn't resonate with me, so unfortunately I don't remember what I had.  I'm pretty sure I just drank Jai Alai wherever I went (they seemed to have this on all of the golf courses I played. 

I could write a lengthy piece on the different beers I've tried around the Country.  Everywhere I go I try to find the best local IPA's I can and then hopefully when I find a great one, they sell it near me. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Club Rat]

1 hour ago, Bucki1968 said:

Any suggestions?

Many areas around the country will have beer festivals. I would assume Tampa area would have them.

They are usually combined with great food from local eateries.

It's a good way to sample many products, many are local but often several out of town craft distributors participate.

 

[Bucki1968]

23 hours ago, David in FL said:

If you haven't already, you might want to try World of Beer.  There are several in and around Tampa.  

They have a huge, ever changing selection of craft, domestic, and foreign beers.  They even have an app that keeps track of the ones you've tried and tells you the ones they're currently serving that you haven't tried yet.

 

Read more  

Yes I am a frequent visitor to WOB. I have a brick in there with my name on it.

21 hours ago, jsgolfer said:

 

The Troeg's beer is the Perpetual which is very good and the Monumental is from Port City Brewery in Alexandria.  Port City has a Maniacal Double IPA which is really good and Troeg's has the Nugget Nectar which is very good.

World of Beer is always a great place to find local drafts.  We have several in Northern VA.

For Florida beers:  Cigar City Brewery's (Tampa) Jai Alai IPA is very good.  Swamp Ape Double IPA from Florida Beer Company was OK, wouldn't recommend that one.  There were a couple others I tried but they didn't resonate with me, so unfortunately I don't remember what I had.  I'm pretty sure I just drank Jai Alai wherever I went (they seemed to have this on all of the golf courses I played. 

I could write a lengthy piece on the different beers I've tried around the Country.  Everywhere I go I try to find the best local IPA's I can and then hopefully when I find a great one, they sell it near me. 

 

 

 

 

 

I am going to stop by Total Wine and see if they have Perpetual or the Monumental. I have had Maniacal Double  (I think). As a matter of fact, I had a few too many. I had a couple Resins (IIPA) from Six Points the other day that were pretty good. I also like Sculpin IPA from Ballast Point. I just put this out to get some other good suggestions from around the USA that I might like to try. I appreciate the advice.

[David in FL]

4 minutes ago, Bucki1968 said:

Yes I am a frequent visitor to WOB. I have a brick in there with my name on it.

Me too.  Unfortunately, they closed the one closest to me.  I don't get there near as much any more.  I'm never gonna get my 500 now!  

 

 

 

[jsgolfer]

1 hour ago, Bucki1968 said:

Yes I am a frequent visitor to WOB. I have a brick in there with my name on it.

I am going to stop by Total Wine and see if they have Perpetual or the Monumental. I have had Maniacal Double  (I think). As a matter of fact, I had a few too many. I had a couple Resins (IIPA) from Six Points the other day that were pretty good. I also like Sculpin IPA from Ballast Point. I just put this out to get some other good suggestions from around the USA that I might like to try. I appreciate the advice.

Read more  

Puff and Resin from Six Points are both very good, Sculpin and Grapefruit Sculpin are also very good, along with their Big Eye.  Deschuttes Fresh Squeezed is a favorite of mine, they have this all the time now at the Yardhouse.  And I had a Tropicannon from Heavy Seas the other day which was also really good.

If you ever run across Hop JuJu or Head Hunter from Fat Head's those are two of my favorite beers from Ohio.  Great Lakes Chillwave is also up at the top of the mountain, along with their Lake Eerie Monster.  Bell's Hopslam and Two Hearted are awesome beers.

Pliny the Younger and Elder are top choices, along with Heady Topper and Focal Banger by The Alchemist are fantastic, although you can't get either unless you're in California or Vermont respectively.  At least I haven't found them anywhere else. 

Flying Dog in Frederick Maryland make some good beers.  Firestone Walker's union Jack IPA is also very good. 

If you're ever in VA Beach, the Hoptopus from Reaver Beach is a very good DIPA.  The El Guapo from O'Connor Brewery and Smartmouth Rule G are also good and from the same area.

So many beers, so little time.  

Cheers 

[Let it Fly]

Recently had Space Dust IPA by Elysian Brewing Co. out of Seattle and loved it.  Have seen it on tap at a few different bars here in New England, but gotta be careful b/c they'll sneak up on you at 8.2%.

Not much help to you in Tampa, but a brewery called Tree House is exploding here in MA these days...to the point that it's become a regular "first question" from people I've met at various work conferences around the midwest & southeast.

[saevel25]

4 hours ago, Let it Fly said:

Recently had Space Dust IPA by Elysian Brewing Co. out of Seattle and loved it.  Have seen it on tap at a few different bars here in New England, but gotta be careful b/c they'll sneak up on you at 8.2%.

That is a really good one.

As for breweries, 

Rhinegeist, DuClaw, Hop n Frog 

[Buckeyebowman]

Last time I was out I had an Elliot Ness Amber Ale from Great Lakes Brewery in Cleveland. I loved it. It won't remind you of an IPA, it had much too much sweet malt flavor in it for that, but an altogether delicious drink!

For my taste, too many American craft brewers equate IPA's with just dumping a ton of hops in the vat! The best IPA I've ever tasted was from the Burton Brewing Co. from Burton on Trent, UK. It was called Burton Empire IPA. That stuff was otherwordly!

[Elmer]

This weekend I had a Night Shift Brewing- Whirlpool pale ale, it was excellent.

I second anything from Alchemist as a top choice.
Excellent stuff!

[Bucki1968]

Wanted to kinda revive this thread as part of another of the interesting discussions I have with my golfing/drinking buddies. We all drink different beer and were discussing how the market has changed with the huge influx of craft beers and smaller brewers. I our area alone there must be at least 8-10 new ones that have popped up. It's actually made it more difficult to try all the different types of beers because there are just so many (and they are so seasonal). So I was looking to revive this to see (in the last 4 years or so) if any of you had any more suggestions? 

[phillyk]

51 minutes ago, Bucki1968 said:

Wanted to kinda revive this thread as part of another of the interesting discussions I have with my golfing/drinking buddies. We all drink different beer and were discussing how the market has changed with the huge influx of craft beers and smaller brewers. I our area alone there must be at least 8-10 new ones that have popped up. It's actually made it more difficult to try all the different types of beers because there are just so many (and they are so seasonal). So I was looking to revive this to see (in the last 4 years or so) if any of you had any more suggestions? 

Yeah my town had a over a dozen new breweries pop up in the last couple years, with who knows how many in Western WA. I used to be purely an IPA guy but I’ve moved on to darker stuff a bit. IPAs went too hazy/citra for me, hard to find anything else. 

[Bucki1968]

25 minutes ago, phillyk said:

Yeah my town had a over a dozen new breweries pop up in the last couple years, with who knows how many in Western WA. I used to be purely an IPA guy but I’ve moved on to darker stuff a bit. IPAs went too hazy/citra for me, hard to find anything else. 

I agree completely, hard to find a good IPA here anymore that is not a hazy, cloudy, etc. I keep buying the same ones which is why I revived this thread to see if anyone had any good recommendations. I can get some good ones if I'm willing to go to the brewer and take my growlers. Just gets to be easier go to specialty store etc.

[saevel25]

I gave up alcohol for about 6 months now. 

Before that, I liked NEIPA, Hazy IPA, Brown Ales, Red Ales, Stouts, Porters.

My favorite are like 9-12%, dark beer with big bold flavors. If you are ever near Akron, Ohio, stop in at Hoppin' Frog. The beer is expensive, but if you like pitch black beer, they got some of the best I've had. One of the few places that has not tried to go all out in the IPA world. 

[Ty_Webb]

I'm a big IPA fan. The selection around me is really good. My go tos are Montauk Wave Chaser and Goose Island IPA. Both are fairly run of the mill, but they're good and fairly easy to find. No nonsense IPAs. There are a few Belgian Trappists that I go for from time to time too. Those will knock you sideways though. Large format beers at 9-10% plus. Couple of those and it's see you tomorrow type time.

When I go to my local beer store I tend to pick up some wave chaser, some Chimay Blue and then a couple of 4 packs of IPAs I've never heard of. Most of them are silver cans with cartoonish prints on them. It's a little hit or miss. I tend not to like the citrusy ones so much. 

My all-time favorite beer is Duvel's Tripel Hop. Hard to find. The 2013 one is I think the best. Never find that anymore. Total Beverage occasionally has the latest versions, but they're a bit more citrusy than it used to be (not so bad as the citrus IPAs that are out there though).

[pganapathy]

17 hours ago, Bucki1968 said:

Wanted to kinda revive this thread as part of another of the interesting discussions I have with my golfing/drinking buddies. We all drink different beer and were discussing how the market has changed with the huge influx of craft beers and smaller brewers. I our area alone there must be at least 8-10 new ones that have popped up. It's actually made it more difficult to try all the different types of beers because there are just so many (and they are so seasonal). So I was looking to revive this to see (in the last 4 years or so) if any of you had any more suggestions? 

I live in Bangalore, India, and over the last couple of years a whole bunch of micro-breweries have opened up in town.  Opening a factory/brewery to produce alcohol is difficult and expensive, but the licence for a micro-brewery is much easier.  The only catch is you can't sell the liquor as a wholesaler/retailer.  You can only serve it in your own outlets though people can take it home in containers if they so choose.  Quite a few interesting flavours there