Favorite Beer?

[Clear Dragon]

My favorites change over time, but I currently tend to drink Emund Fitzgerald Porter and Dos Equis Amber Lager.

 

[Gomez]

Here is a short list of my favorites.

Bass Pale Ale
Newcastle
Carta Blanca
Shiner Bock
Red Stripe
Sapporo
Kirin Ichiban

 

[WizarDru]

Not in North America... Keith's bests them by 9 years.

http://www.keiths.ca/man.html

Actually, they don't. They're older, but the Lower Water Street brewery hasn't been continually operated since 1820. In fact, I think it's only a museum, now, since it was reopened in 2000. The main Yeungling brewery from 1829 is still active, and still producing beer in the same building (although they now have a bunch more from buying out competitors).

Keith's is definitely older, though...just the brewery isn't the oldest continually operated. There may be another in NA, but not Keith's, afaik.

 

[derelictjay]

This is sacrilegious from a guy from Texas, but I'm not really into beer. But if I had to choose, my money always goes for a Shiner Bach from the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, Texas. And I've had many foreign beers and just cannot get a taste for it, especially those from south of the border (Mexico), and I have several friends who can't get enough of Dos Equis and Tecate, bleh.

 

[billd91]

The microbrewery's re-emergence is a relatively new phenomenom. However that is not entirely what I was referring to, the US was once covered with a multitude of small regional breweries which have slowly been gobbled up by the bigger companies (AB, Miller, Coors).

And let's not forget the effect of Prohibition on the brewing industry. Many shifted over to root beers (helping to explain the diversity of root beers and cream soda's in the US as well) and some never recovered.

Fortunately, one of the trends in recent conglomeration has been to take moderately successful mid-sized breweries and leave the main character of their brews intact rather than just plunder the company. So at least recently, conglomeration isn't necessarily the same dirty word it was earlier in the century.
And it means that now, a friend of mine who used to get mid-size brewery beers shipped to him to Connecticut from Wisconsin can now find relatively decent, well-distributed beer just about anywhere he goes.

On the subject of beer diversity, Wisconsin may be a bit different from some regions of the country since we're such notorious beer drinkers, but any trip to a decent grocery store around here will expose you to a tremendous range of delicious domestic beers as well as imports.

 

[Aeolius]

1948 Studebaker Champion Businessman's Coupe. with a straight 6.

Waahhh! My dream car is a '51 Champion, though I have yet to own one.

I'd be too dangerous to homebrew. I'd try a batch of pomegranate ale, then on to some I'd brew just for the chance to name them...Gilligan's Ale: Coconut with a hint of Ginger, Orca: the Killer Ale, etc. etc.

 

[Smokingmonkee]

My favourites in no particular order are:

St. Ambroise Oatmeal Stout
Grolsch
Hoegaarden
Red Maple
Blanche de Chambly
Warthog Cream Ale
Griffon Blond

 

[Krieg]

Really? That's surprising to me: I think Sam Adams is pretty bland. 'Course, like I said, I'm not much of a lager drinker; aren't most of their beers lagers?

Samuel Adams White Ale is a wheat ale in the Belgian Wit bier mold.

They also make a Boston Ale.

More recently Boston Brewery has started experimenting with some high end brews....Sam Adams Triple Bock, Chocolate Bock, Utopias and Millenium are all definitely worth trying. We're talking non-carbonated & 50 proof here, so it is definitely a non-traditional brew.

Personal tastes aside Boston Brewery has been a dominant force in international beer competitions over the past decade.

(Don't ask me why I am acting as the Sam Adams spokesman as it is far from my personal favorite. lol )

Two relatively lesser known breweries that I really enjoy:

AleSmith Brewing Co., San Diego
http://www.alesmith.com/

Three Floyds Brewing Co., Munster, IN
http://www.threefloyds.com/

 

[barsoomcore]

Is that the place where you can get a tray of about half a dozen small glasses of the different beers they make? If so, preach brother preach. That was some DAMN fine beer.

Indeed it is. Best patio in Vancouver (and that's going some -- Vancouver ain't got much culture, but we got patios), great (if a little overpriced) food, and fine, FINE beer.

Any ENWorlders come up to Vancouver, I'll show you and you can judge for yourselves.

 

[diaglo]

Waahhh! My dream car is a '51 Champion, though I have yet to own one.

whose talking dream car. the '48 champion is what i drove in high school.