DM..

Is this only for the traveler of beer. Places we stopped at and tried out a brew or two. Post a review and pic? Homebrew mixes and melts we made and/or tried too??

I just liked you too. I'm a HOP HEAD too, love me some IPAs,, home brewed and commerical. Double it up!!

MtnGoat- This thread is a place to honor craft/local/home beer wherever we find it. If exotic travel is involved, so much the better. Post reviews and tales of your travels and travails.

Home brewers and their fans are most welcome. In fact, I am open to home brew bribery. :D

If you brew, travel or discover, you better post pics! :lifter

Edit to add: Anyone is welcome to comment on the FB page.

Get Vertical
 

Before winter finally draws to a close, there’s one more beer you need to sit with beside a warm fire. Aromatic as a hidden spice shop in the deepest alley of a Qatari souk, Stone’s 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale is a fitting Final Chapter in their 11-year Epic Ale series.

Notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and a hint of cloves hit the palate and the finish is rather dry. To get maximum flavor don’t chill this beer too much and feel free to let your hand warm it in the glass to release the full aroma.

This Belgian-esque brew is cellarable. In fact, that was the idea behind the whole series. If you started with the 02.02.02 in 2002 and collected the 03.03.03 through 11.11.11, and kept those safely stored, now is the time to open them all in a final grand Vertical Epic tasting. This series is exactly why you cultivate a small circle of trusted fellow beer snobs.

http://www.stonebrewing.com/verticalepic/#11

Sierra Nevada & a 1st Special Service Force glass
 

In the craft beer world a very few break out and go big time. Ok, when craft beer has about 5% of the total American beer market, big time is a relative term. But that’s not important now. Sierra Nevada, you’ve heard of their pale ale, has, to my mind, made the big time in the craft brew world. This should mean they crank out tanker truck loads of their formerly rare brews. Thankfully, the good folks in Chico, CA haven’t lost sight of the craft.

One way they keep their eyes on the craft is with some very special beers. The latest I’ve sampled is Sierra’s Estate Ale. This comes in a schooner size bottle with the neck dipped in green wax. The label is old school and is interesting to read. But, be honest, if you’re reading the label you’re only waiting for someone to find the bottle opener, and a knife to slice through the wax covering the cap.

Once inside, you sip some floral notes and are lulled into a sense of smooth security. This is an organic beer done well. Concentrate on the front palate and taste the brew master’s magic. Cascade hops provide that killer bitter finish us IPA fans crave, but this is not an India Pale Ale. Some reviewers see this beer as hoppy from start to finish. My opinion differs. To me, it starts deceptively smooth and then kicks those hops in my teeth on the finish. I like that.

This beer’s run is done. If you find it in your favorite bottle shop buy as many as you can afford. They aren’t making any more.

I just enjoyed a Liberty Ale from Anchor Steam that was great. My Ale of choice are IPA's but this American Pale is real fresh. (maybe I'm biased because I'm from New England and Liberty Ale was first brewed to celebrate the bicentennial of Paul Revere’s historic ride)

LMC

If you travel, Anchor Brewing Company has a little place in San Francisco International (SFO) in Terminal 3, near Gate F-70. Last year I had a two hour layover there and my next gate was right near there. A pint or two of Liberty Ale helped pass the time.

http://www.flysfo.com/web/page/as_airportmaps.htm click on the food & beverage tab.
http://www.anchorbrewing.com/

I rarely post here, but I maintain a Craft Beer blog that may be of interest.

http://www.thecraftbeerguru.com/

Thanks gents.

Thanks, I just went out and bought 3, 1 pint-6oz. bottles of the Liberty ( $3.99 each) and dreaming of the Fresh Crabs and beer, tucked into a brown paper bag ,and sitting at the docks eating and drinking at the SF bay.....and then getting into my rental car and " driving the Streets of SF!!! in particular that street that has the "S" turns" ( of course observing all driving laws)

LMC

This is my Favorite Brew House in the White Mountains about 1 hour from my home....check it out. the "Moat Iron Mike Pale Ale" is awesome

http://www.moatmountain.com/beer.html

Cool blog! :lifter:lifter

Drink Locally
 

Victorian IPA from Sonoran Brewing of Scottsdale, AZ.

Ok folks, THIS is the India Pale Ale you should use to introduce newbies to the style. You know the type of newbies I'm talking about. You got them off of Coors Light by having them try a hefeweizen as their first craft beer. But you've been wanting to get them off the sweet stuff, expand the palate and mold another hop head beer snob in your own image.

If you've made the same mistake as me, you've handed over a pint of your favorite 85 IBU IPA and almost had the first sip spit back into your face. Look, you just don't go from a go-kart to a Grand Prix Formula One car an not expect to hit the wall in the first turn.

Baby steps.

At 46 International Bitterness Units, Victorian IPA is a baby step. Serve it very cold and it is tamed even more. You can taste the hops, but they don't smack you across the teeth. This is exactly why this beer is the perfect next step for new craft beer lovers. This is also why Victorian probably isn't the best choice for hoppy extremists. However, when in the area you owe it to yourself to sample this excellent local brew.

Hmm.. I am traveling to Phoenix end of this week for a vacation which includes the Rim for 3 days. My plan takes me through a few brewpubs and I'll add this one to it ...thanks.

LMC

I know it isn't really a traveler beer but Sierra Nevada's Torpedo Extra IPA has got me all kinds of excited right now.

Torpedo is many magnitudes better than their pale ale. Try Celebration when the next winter swings around, and, for sure, Narwhal; far and away SN's best beer.

Cheers!

Is Narwhal a seasonal? I haven't seen that one.