A microbrewer based in Delaware, apparently.
Told ya. 
The tastings are going to be an eye-opener for you. Don’t expect to like every beer you try. Sturgeon’s Law applies to beer, too. But the gems you find that you like make it all worthwhile. If the Apricot Ale tastes good to you, try to find Buffalo Bill’s Orange Blossom ale. Lovely stuff.
I’m pretty sure that “Craft Beer” is a fairly common designator in Australia for beers from places that are bigger than a “boutique” or “micro-” brewery, but not generally available “On Tap” at most bars.
Certainly, when I worked in the liquor business, there was definitely a distinction between “microbreweries”, “craft beers”, and the big selling stuff.
Ja, I don’t care for it either. And I don’t care for overly hopped beers either, but the market’s seemed to have decided that that’s what Americans want (much like the wine market’s decided that Americans want dry dry dry wines), hence the saturation of overly bitter IPAs. Me, I like malt. Bring on the malty sweetness. If I want bitter, I’ll look somewhere else.
But that’s how Surly likes to characterize it, so I thought I’d pass it on. If you like really hoppy beers, Surly might be right for you. I think their Bender is OK, but that’s about it. The others are just too hoppy for me; I’m not interested.
I haven’t had the pleasure of trying out any of these Canadian and American micro brews I’ve never heard of (I’ll make sure to do so next time I’m over) but you can’t go wrong with the Belgians.
Also I’ve noticed that a lot of you are saying that it isn’t difficult to find these beers in the US. In my opinion the best thing about going to a bar in Belgium or the Netherlands is that most of the time they will have quite a selection available; it’s like you sit down and go: ok, let’s see what beers they have here. If you really feel like special beers, most places have special beer cafes that have huge selections and will always have something you haven’t seen before. Even the supermarkets carry Duvel, Gulden Draek, multiple Chimays, Westmalle’s, Leffes and La Trappe’s.
Chimey Grand Reserve - it’s pricey at about $10 a bottle, but they’re large bottles sold individually and with an alcohol content of around 10% one gets me more buzzed than a 6 pack of Newcastle.
Between the two of us, we might make a balanced beer. I’m one of those who loves chewing on hops. I generally loathe malty beers. There are exceptions, of course. Optimator springs to mind first. But given a choice, 99 times out of 100 I’m going to go for something where the brewer wasn’t afraid of a few IBUs.
Nice! My husband and I do some homebrewing, **silenus **- we should get together.
We once made a nice beer from wild hops my father in law picked. Went down the the brewstore, said, “we have hops!” and asked the guys there what else they might recommend to put a beer together. They cracked us some grains, pointed us at some yeast and malt, and off we went. Turned out as a light, American-style pilsner, not unlike a Bud Light or so but with more flavor. We thought it was pretty good result for the first time going off recipe - before that, we’d only brewed with kits.
I don’t think we’ve made a beer since, sadly. Now, we’re all about the cider, it seems. Can’t make it fast enough.
I’ve made more than a few ciders myself. The wife is just itching for us to get moved into a larger house so I can set up my equipment again and get back to brewing. She looks at all the ribbons on the walls and bemoans the fact that she has never tasted anything I’ve brewed, because I stopped just before we first met.
Humulus lupulus forever!
Do you have a link or anything? I can’t find anything called Rockford on Ratebeer.com (there’s only two beers that have Rockford anywhere in their name or their breweries name.) I want to know what this beer is exactly.
Rockford Brewing in Delaware closed in 1998.
Genny Cream? Green Death! Screamers! It’ll make ya’ regular! How’s that above-ground pool in the backyard of your house in Cheektowaga working out for you? Get any good calls this week down at the fire hall? Hey, quit farting!
Seriously, Genny Cream is really an underappreciated and unique beer from a large regional brewery, but even in the area where it’s most popular, it has a blue-collar old-man reputation. It’s your grandfather’s beer, in the same vein as Ballantine and Schlitz.
On a recent TV commercial Sam Adams mentioned that they currently make up 0.9% of the American beer market.
Sam Adams is definitely a craft brewer, not a micro.
elmwood, I agree about the Genny. Not bad at all, for what it is. I like Ballentine too, and I really wish I could find a few bottles of the reformulated Schlitz around here, so I could see if it’s what I remember from my youth.
There’s plenty of malt out there, so far as I could find. There probably is a good deal more hops-based brews, but it’s not difficult to find at least twenty varieties of porters and stouts, in particular, at a well-stocked liquor store. For example, here’s just the Midwest list of my local beer store. (And it really is a standard-sized Chicago neighborhood liquor store. It’s not a Binny’s or a BevMo.) I counted at least 40 malt-based beers on that list.
Now, part of this is regional. The Western US beers are going to be a lot more hops-based, as the great hop growing region of America is in the Pacific Northwest. So when I look at the Western region list, it is a lot more hop dominated. Still, you can find a good bit of variety, I would think.
Personally, I like both. When the weather gets cold, cloudy, or rainy, I’m apt to pick up something malty. I love a good porter or dry stout. When it’s warm, give me the hops or the wheat. I’d get bored if all I drank were malty or hoppy beers year round. By the time one season ends, I’m pretty much burnt out on that style anyway and ready for a switcheroo.
Well, I guess that explains the “bargain bucket.”
Another suggestion, because I see that Jungle Jim’s is hosting one soon, is a beerfest. For a flat entrance fee, you get a limited number of samplings from a wide variety of vendors. Yeah, the samples are usually on the petite size, around 4 ounces or so, but they are enought to get a decent feel, and you can experience a really good variety in one night without making too significant an investment.
True. My local supermarket carries Chimay (all three varieties) & Spaten among many others.
Can’t stand Coors. But I do like Blue Moon quite a bit.
We are going to want an update tomorrow after the beer tasting.
One other piece of advice: Don’t be afraid to admit you didn’t like a generally well-regarded beer.