Goose Island Reserve Matilda is the best American Belgian-style beer out there. When you are craving something high-end this one is impossible to beat. Not aggressively hoppy, its just perfectly balanced and bold. One of the few Belgians out there that doesn’t get overwhelming after two or three, even if the high-alcohol content means you shouldn’t go much past that.
Yeah, the $10 a liter was at Disney World, the happiest and most marked-up place on earth 
A six pack of longnecks here in the real world costs something like eight dollars.
You better don’t walk down any dark alleys tonight, buddy . . .
On the topic - bah! American and your fancy beers that never makes it on this side of the pond! :<
Anyhow, give me a Frydenlund bayer with a slice of Tangentens’ marinated chicken pizza and . . . uh, I’m sorry, I lost my train of thought.
Or a Hoegaarden das, Hoegaarden Grand Cru or a Hoegaarden Verbuden Vrucht . . . Goddamnit, Belgium, you’ll be first against the wall when the non-alcoholic revolution comes!
Just enjoyed a Tommyknocker nut brown ale the other day, which I was pleasantly surprised with.
Ahh ok understand. Could we agree on I&G having a smooth oaky long lasting finish?
My current favorite is Yuengling Black & Tan. Although I have a serious love for Dos Equis, Negro Modelo, Shiner Bock, and Killian’s.
You can tour the Yuengling brewery in Tampa, too, but yeah, it’s pretty much not going to have underground anything in Tampa. 
There are many IPAs out there that don’t blast your tongue with raw hop flavor. The problem is, there are also many that do.
When a lot of people think of hops (both drinkers and brewers) only one version frequently comes to mind: Bittering Hops. Bittering Hops are pretty much just that: bitter. They don’t have much subtlety in flavoring, so if a beer with all bittering hops has a low IBU rating it can still assault your senses. For a perfect example of this, check out Sam Adams Boston Lager. At a paltry 30 IBU or so, it is one of the most vilely bitter beers out there. They pretty much limit themselves to cheaper malts and Bittering hops, making for something that at least has more character than an MBC option, but pales by comparison to a lot of other beers.
For really good IPAs I suggest either Dogfish Head’s 90 Minute IPA (at 90 IBU’s) or Flying Dog’s Snake Dog IPA. Both use complex malts and a blend of hops including aromatic and floral, both of which at bittering but at the same time add complexity so that you aren’t assaulted by bitterness.
Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA (at 60 IBU’s) might be a little more up your alley due to the lower IBU rating, but I find it to be a bit “lowest common denominator”. Not bad by any stretch, but it lacks the complexity the others have.
As far as my beer of choice, I really don’t have one. I tend to favor Scotch Ales, Bocks, and IPAs as styles, and tend to avoid Belgian Wits and German Weiss beers. But just about anything else I’ll drink. I’ve enjoyed much of what Founders Brewery, Dogfish Head, Flying Dog, and Rogue have put out. (Rogue Dead Guy is available all over Chicago area. A very good bar beer.) Goose Island’s mainstays are a solid choice, and their reserves are excellent. Great Lakes brewery in Cleveland had a solid output. Sprecher in Milwaukee has a wonderful selection of mainstays as well as a good seasonal rotation. New Glarus brewery in New Glarus, Wisconsin is probably the best microbrewery most people have never heard of. Left Hand, Tommyknockers, Lagunitas, and Centennial all have solid offerings as well. Left Hand’s milk stout is great for those that like that style.
Alas, I must correct this well meaning but clearly incorrect statement. The Berkshire Brewing Company’s “Drayman’s Porter” holds that distinction.
With respect to Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale: As good as it can get when it comes in a bottle, it is sublime on tap.
And it with not a little bit of embarrassment that I must admit - I have never had a Yeungling. I completely forgot to pick some up when I was in Philly a year ago. However, I now have relatives there that will be coming home for the holidays, and this oversight will be rectified.
When my favorite pub closed, the owners gave me three plaques from the walls. One attested to my membership in the 100 Club, having downed 100 different beers from the menu. The second was one that indicated that I was a member of the Hogshead Club, meaning I had imbibed 100 of the same beer on draft (SNPA, of course). The third was my Hall Of Fame plaque, for basically wearing out a tap handle. 
As long as they’re coming from PA, have them bring you some Genesee Cream Ale–“Genny Cream” to her friends. One of the best of the “local brews”, IMHO–that is, if it’s still as good as ever; haven’t had it for a few years. Smooth, tasty and reasonably priced.
silenus , I gotta side with the Anchor Steamers on this one. Sierra is good, Steam is better.
Blue Moon seems to be the brew of choice at my local bowling alley; personally, I’m not a fan of unfiltered beers. Heck, I don’t like pulp in my OJ, either.
I enjoy the classics, too. Newcastle Brown Ale (but only in a chilled glass) and Bass are two particular favorites.
Anyone from the Midwest know if Old Style is still good? One of my best baseball memories: Wrigley Field, hangin’ with some Canadian guy, buying each other Old Styles till we were both well and truly tanked. Good times! 
Old Style is my favorite lawnmower beer, if that means anything. To my tastes, it’s certainly better than Bud, Miller, or Coors (although not by a whole lot). If I’m in a blue collar bar in Chicago that has a limited tap selection, that’s my beer of choice. I think it’s as good if not better than the trendy Pabst Blue Ribbon, which seems to be the hipster cheap beer of choice.
Does the brewery in Chico still have that fantastic restaurant?
Old Style is still made, but not in the, ahem, old style. If you can find it, LaCrosse Lager is what the brewery calls the beer that they used to call Old Style before they sold Miller that name.
I popped in here just to rave about Spotted Cow. I’m 30 miles from the Wisconsin border. Couldn’t they break their “Only sold in Wisconsin” rule and sell it at my neighborhood store?
I forgot about Spotted Cow. They have it on tap at the Casino in Milwaukee, and it’s wonderful stuff.
Yes, I’ve had LaCrosse Lager. They sell it for about the same price at Old Style at the local liquor store. It’s quite nice for cheap beer–still tastes like the lighter American lagers, but with a little more flavor. I was never a very regular Old Style drinker in the 90s, so I really can’t remember how much different today’s Old Style is from the original Old Style, nor how close LaCrosse Lager is the the original Old Style.
Today’s Old Style really isn’t that far off the mark, but the flavor was toned down a bit to attempt to broaden the appeal. LaCrosse is exactly what it used to taste like, super light American lager but with a great deal more flavor than a Bud/Miller/Coors. I love microbrewed light lager. It’s the balancing end of the aforementioned Triple Apricot High Gravity Malted Barleywine stuff churned out by other microbreweries.
Now that Rolling Rock isn’t being brewed in Latrobe PA anymore I hope that they start churning out some distinctive microbrewed light lagers too.
I can read, I swear. :smack: Was that the beer around the world thing? I’ve always wanted to try that; I had no idea you could get freakin’ Optimator at WDW.
Tonight my a/c is broken, so I am going for something light and crisp: Hacker-Pschorr weisse. Pretty much fits the bill for the evening atmosphere. It’s a little sweet up front and crisp as it leaves. I have two other wheat beers to try this week. Weird thing is, I’m usually all over the dopplebocks and the dude is all over the wheat beers, but we seem to have swapped this week; he’s been drinking Salvator.
They used to sell outside of Wisconsin, but New Glarus couldn’t keep up with their distribution. From what I understand they’re a very small operation. They were supposed to be expanding, but I’m still waiting for them to get back into Illinois.
I mostly drink Newcastle Brown; sometimes I mix in Belhaven Scottish Ale or Belhaven St. Andrews Ale.
When I feel like I have too much money, I get Unibroue’s Maudite. It’s so strong it’s almost like drinking a 'rita. Not quite as strong as Maredsous Trippel, but more interesting.
In the rare instances where I want a lager, I generally get Spaten. Really, I’d prefer a Pabst Blue Ribbon, but there’s only one bar I know in town where I can get it, and no stores.