About to have a glass of my irsh red ale homebrew.

1. Oskar Blues Imperial Red
2. Bells Hopslam
3. 21st Amendment Fireside chat.

all on draft in the snow!

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-..._7254199_n.jpg

I've been meaning to get by there. I didn't know they were doing small batch stuff, just the big releases. I will be stewarding a big state beer competition there on the 5th of February if you get bored.

I'd really like to homebrew but I've already got more hobbies than time or money to pursue them.

Sweet, I'll try and make it.

once you get set up its not bad. I stick to extract kits and have a keg setup, so for each batch I only invest about 3 hours of time, most of it on the front end during the boil. Its also pretty cheap once you have all you equipment. I have about 300 in all my equipment and ingredient kits cost between 30-50 bucks for 5 gallons of GOOD beer.

One of my friends on Washington state has a full from raw grains setup. It's cool as heck. 50lb bags of barley stacked up :)

yea thats cool too see and stuff but I dont have time for all that; I like cars too much.

Not beer...
 

...but celebrating because the ex finally moved into an apartment and got all of her "stuff" outta my house!

So I'm not in any way against rare, hard to get micro brews, but can wet get a list of good beer going thats easier to get a hold of? I'm talking like Blue Moon, Sierra Nevada, and Sam Adam's variations and seasonal brews.

I imagine there's reasonably rare stuff in Blacksburg and Roanoke. Heck, I found a great burger + beer bar in Harrisonburg that had some pretty good stuff.

It really depends on what kind of beer stores you have around.

Sierra Nevada makes good stuff. Sam Adams I've never liked much.

what do you like?

Sierra Nevada makes great beer, I also was never a big fan of Sam Adams. I am drinking the last of my Stoudt's OctoberFest right now. As far as October fest beers, I vote Spaten as #1.

If you can't find a good place to get good beer in your area, try:

www.ratebeer.com - go to places, I think it should be self-explanatory from there. You can thank me later.

EDIT: Here's on to start you out in Blacksburg:

http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/virgin...cellar/537.htm

I am watching "How Beer Saved the World" on the history channel right now. What a great documentary. Filled with facts that I never knew, like how our national anthem derived from a drinking song that was used as a sobriety test. Totally worth watching.

Probably not going to help at the beer competition. :cry: Got more work to do in Atlanta next weekend before they raise the lake levels in the Springtime. Responsibility is a bitch sometimes. Sorry, EJL.

oh well, I may go help them drink some anyhow :D

oh I forgot to mention that there was a bottle of Sam Adams Utopias just sitting on a shelf with all the other beers at my local beer store. I picked it up to examine and saw the price tag.

Thanks guys. I also like Sierra Nevada stuff over Adam's. Some of my top beers are Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Blue Moon Abby Ale, New Castle, Shock Top, Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy, Rouge Hazelnut Brown Nectar, and this one I tried at the bar a week ago called Jefferson's Reserve Bourbon Barrel Stout. I think these are all pretty much everywhere- except the bourbon barrel stout. I think thats more local. My tastes are still a little unrefined because I've only been of drinking age for about a year.

maybe take shock top (ie lame mass-market michelob belgian white wanna-be) and newcastle off your list for a while and focus more on the jefferson's reserve (which is from kentucky).

a lot of the big beer companies are trying to play the "microbrew game" by leaving their names off the front of the bottle but dont fall for it.

winter's bourbon cask ale? anheuser busch.


that's not to say that if you really LIKE the beer that you shouldn't buy it, but just be aware when you're looking for craft/micro brews what is and what isn't. there's a difference between mass market distribution (sierra nevada) and mass market production (shocktop et al)

and it said.....?

I'd like to get a hold of a bottle of Utopias. Most expensive bottle I've ever bought was a Drei Fonteinen Millenium Gueuze and I paid 85 Euro for it. Can't even tell you if it was worth it, it's sitting in Virginia waiting on my return from Afghanistan to drink it.

it was either 125 or 175. I forget. ScottFW would know--he took a picture.