The New Prog Beer Snob Thread

**notallwhowander** · 07-11-2017

I had a trip to St. Louis this weekend.

Of the local brews I tried (and my testing was only haphazard and inconclusive, I assure you) the clear winner was Bastard Brothers' American Wheat. I fine wheat with a nutty, toasted aftertaste. I had it on draft, and found it delicious.

The runner up was Urban Chestnut's Schnickelfritz. Now I must be honest, I had this on draft at BB's Jazz, Blues, & Soup, and the ambience of that club elevated my estimation of all things. Still, I really enjoyed it, and I could quantify my beer buzz as a "One Schnickelfritz" buzz, a "Two Schnickelfritz" buzz, a "Three Schnickelfritz" buzz, etc. Which is, you must grant me, perfect beer logic.

Oh, and succumbing to the peer pressure of my colleagues, I took a tour of the Budweiser brewery. Of that, the highlights included the magnificent red brick architecture and petting an actual Clydesdale.

**polmico** · 07-11-2017

Originally Posted by notallwhowander

Oh, and succumbing to the peer pressure of my colleagues, I took a tour of the Budweiser brewery. Of that, the highlights included the magnificent red brick architecture and petting an actual Clydesdale.

There is something cool about seeing big breweries in operation (especially after spending so much time sitting in small breweries), so I certainly shan't scoff at your decision. I've been to two big breweries: Guinness in Dublin and Sierra Nevada outside of Asheville. Both were beautiful buildings full of the history of beer production and their individual brands. Fun times!

I'll be heading out to the Asheville area this weekend and have a couple stops planned. Burial Brewing Co. in Asheville tops the list. Everything I've had from them has been excellent. And while I'm not a particular fan of New Belgium, it might be cool (for reasons stated above) to check out their Asheville site.

**Shadowfax** · 07-11-2017

Here is a small score from a recent trip to Stowe Vermont

**moecurlythanu** · 07-11-2017

Originally Posted by notallwhowander

Oh, and succumbing to the peer pressure of my colleagues, I took a tour of the Budweiser brewery. Of that, the highlights included the magnificent red brick architecture and petting an actual Clydesdale.

As long as you didn't sample the wares, we'll give you a pass.

**notallwhowander** · 07-11-2017

Originally Posted by moecurlythanu

As long as you didn't sample the wares, we'll give you a pass.

Well, it was that or walk out with a free beer token in my pocket. (I'm sure you can see the dilemma.) However, their taproom had a number of selections from the greater AB InBev conglomerate. I chose Elysian's Superfuzz - Blood Orange Pale Ale. I couldn't taste the blood orange over the hops, but it was a passable Sierra Nevada clone.

Know what was playing in the taproom at that time? Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World." It is difficult to express my ambivalence of drinking a co-opted microbrew while listening to ol' Neil sing about the downside of our capitalist society. I suppose Budweiser can afford someone with taste to choose their music.

Lastly, the brewery tour guides were girls who looked like they were still in high school, or just out. Considering their script included a lot of beer drinking jokes, it was kind of creepy.

Did I mention I got to pet a real live Clydesdale?

**Jerjo** · 07-11-2017

I chose Elysian's Superfuzz - Blood Orange Pale Ale

I can accept this. I have petted Clydesdales and other giant horses. It's an awesome experience.

**MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER** · 07-11-2017

Originally Posted by Shadowfax

Here is a small score from a recent trip to Stowe Vermont

WOW... nice haul!

our trip to Alaska yielded 22 different brews brought back... I'll post pix of the booty later

**Lopez** · 07-11-2017

Originally Posted by Shadowfax

Here is a small score from a recent trip to Stowe Vermont

How long did you have to wait in line for the Heady Topper?

**Lopez** · 07-11-2017

Originally Posted by polmico

There is something cool about seeing big breweries in operation

Definitely. I've been to four big breweries since I've been old enough to drink: the original Narragansett Brewery in Cranston, RI; the Bud breweries in Merrimack, NH, and Tampa, FL; and the Olgerdin brewery in Reykjavik, Iceland. Except for Olgerdin, which was fairly new and modern, the others were/are quite cool architecturally. The most amazing thing about the big operations is how few people you see on the brewery floors. I've seen more people working at the Troegs craft brewery in Hershey, PA, than at both Bud breweries put together.

**Shadowfax** · 07-11-2017

Originally Posted by Lopez

How long did you have to wait in line for the Heady Topper?

It was actually a few months ago. We stay within walking distance to the new brewery. No lines then and endless samples of Focal Banger, Heady, and Crusher while you watch them canning. Crusher Luscious and Sterk are all from Alchemist

**Jerjo** · 07-11-2017

When I was in college there was a bus trip to the Twin Cities for some business majors. Me and a friend of mine went. The first and only stop on day one was at the old Hamm's brewery. We got the full tour plus talked a lot to some of their marketing and accounting people. Then we went up to the taproom at the top. It looked like an old school small town bar, all dark wood paneling with a small bar. Tour guide got behind the bar and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, the taps are open. Because you're the last tour of the day, you have 45 minutes." He said this to college students. My friend and I got down about 8 or 9 because we were in a frat and in prime drinking condition. Our professors thought the whole group did an admirable job of draining the keg. We ended up on Hennepin Ave in downtown Minneapolis, which was notorious in the 70s, staggering from bar to bar, talking to hookers and strippers, it's a wonder we had any brain cells left.

There's the old Schell's brewery in New Ulm MN that advertises itself as the most "scenic" brewery in the US. It's set back in the woods above the town, with peacocks and deer roaming the grounds, buildings still standing from the 1860s (they survived the Great Sioux Uprising because Mrs. Schell always fed the Sioux when they came by and when they burned the town they spared the Schell's) including the old family mansion. I took my parents there in the 90s just before my dad got cancer. We had a helluva good time.

**SteveSly** · 07-11-2017

Originally Posted by polmico

There is something cool about seeing big breweries in operation (especially after spending so much time sitting in small breweries), so I certainly shan't scoff at your decision. I've been to two big breweries: Guinness in Dublin and Sierra Nevada outside of Asheville. Both were beautiful buildings full of the history of beer production and their individual brands. Fun times!

I'll be heading out to the Asheville area this weekend and have a couple stops planned. Burial Brewing Co. in Asheville tops the list. Everything I've had from them has been excellent. And while I'm not a particular fan of New Belgium, it might be cool (for reasons stated above) to check out their Asheville site.

I have done several large brewery tours including Miller in Milwaukee and Bud in Tampa, although both of these were before the microbrew surge really hit the big time. We also had some friends in town last year and did the Bell’s big brewery tour (in Comstock MI). I really did not realize how huge the new brewery is until we took the tour (the building stretches a quarter mile long). The unique thing about Bell’s was they gave you your beer samples at the beginning of the tour so you drank while you took the tour which was kind of unique. Since I work in manufacturing I always find the production aspects of the big places interesting. Filling and bottling / canning beer is not all that different from filling / packaging pharmaceuticals.

**notallwhowander** · 07-12-2017

I am partial to a fruit beer from time to time, particularly in the summer. I got hold of Founders' Rübæus not too long ago and was thoroughly impressed.

**MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER** · 07-12-2017

I cant deal with fruity or sour beers.
The only thing I can take added to beer is Coffee, Coconut and occasionally, but not always, Chocolate

anyway... here's the pix of my 6 week Alaska road trip; 22 brewery haul

Attachment 10519

**MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER** · 07-12-2017

Attachment 10520

**Lopez** · 07-12-2017

Originally Posted by MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER

Attachment 10520

Piss-Ass (lower right corner) Porter, now there's a beer I've got to try.

**Shadowfax** · 07-12-2017

Nice score of dark beer Traveller

**Jerjo** · 07-12-2017

LP, how the hell did you get all those beers back home?

**MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER** · 07-12-2017

Originally Posted by Lopez

Piss-Ass (lower right corner) Porter, now there's a beer I've got to try.

it's Pig's Ass Porter. There's a drawing of pigs standing up at a bar with no pants on
I don't know how to post full size pix like Shadowfax in post 778 but if you click on my pix I think they become larger to see clearer

Originally Posted by Jerjo

LP, how the hell did you get all those beers back home?

I have a Sprinter Camper Van with lots of trunk space

**Lopez** · 07-12-2017

Originally Posted by MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER

it's Pig's Ass Porter. There's a drawing of pigs standing up at a bar with no pants on.

I still need to try it.

**MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER** · 07-12-2017

Originally Posted by Lopez

I still need to try it.

it's actually high quality Porter; very rich and deep

BTW, the pigs are wearing like men's dress coats from the 1700s

**polmico** · 07-19-2017

I was more impressed with the New Belgium site in Asheville than I thought I would be.

They have a beautiful site all around. Grounds are gorgeous and open with views overlooking the French Broad River. Tap room was clean, spacious and very modern looking.

On the tour, I learned they took a "brown space" (land that had been abused and contaminated by former tenants) and cleaned it up naturally--planting sustainable plants, plants that filtered out wastes (rather than trucking out waste) and using refurbing old equipment as building materials. Their commitment to sustainable continued inside the brewery with some kind of propriety system that turns steam into water used for cleaning. Neat stuff.

Equally impressed with their employee model. New Belgium is 100% employee owned. After five years, employees are sent on a field trip to Belgium. This type of employee sustainability is impressive.

Beers? Well, I'm still not a huge fan. The Fat Tire just doesn't hit my pallet right. The Black Lager is good (the 1554) and the story behind it is cool, but it's not an every day beer for me. Did not try their hoppy stuff (of course). What won me over was their sour production. I was really unfamiliar with the amount of sours they produced, and they were all tasty.

By the way, if you're a fan of Belgium whites, look for New Belgium's at the end of the summer. They gave us a taste. On par with beers like Hoegarden (if you're into that sort of thing).