Not in my fridge, but got some Alpine Hoppy Birthday last night. It was very good. First time for me, so I'll definitely be on the lookout for this beer in the future.

Sounds yummy!

It's been hotter than heck all week. Yesterday we sat at The Craft Bar in PCB and tried a bunch of light and fruity beers to ward off the effects of the temps.

Green Bench Sunshine IPA
Steigl Grapefruit Radler
Freigeist Rhubarb Gose
Brew Bus You're My Baby Blue Wheat
Dogfish Head Festina Peche
Ommegang Hop House Belgian Style Ale
Victory Kirsch Gose
Two Brothers Red Eye Porter (okay, couldn't finish on a fruity note)

Yesterday was a warm day, so I went to my local Safeway looking for a summer-type beer.

Instead, I walked out with a 6-pack of Sierra Nevada's 2015 Oktoberfest. A really good iteration of a German festival beer.

I also saw Sam Adams Octoberfest on the shelves.

In my experience BeerAdvocate scores tend to be more conservative/realistic than RateBeer scores, so a 98 on BA is quite impressive, and in my opinion, justified.

Unfortunately, Alpine is not as widely distributed as I'd prefer, but I'll take it when I can get it.

I wouldn't be surprised if bud light lime had a 95 on ratebeer

I'll have to try and find the Sierra Nevada O'fest. Haven't tried it yet.

I was not a big fan of the Sam Adams version tried in previous years...

Stocked up on a bunch of Left Coast beers last time at Whole Foods:

-Stone Ruination 2.0 (they're selling it in 6-packs, albeit it for $22...a bit pricey, but still better than a draft price at any bar, particularly in NYC)
-Green Flash Soul Style IPA (I am a big fan of their IPAs usually - they're heavy and hoppy, in particular Palate Wrecker)...this was a bit light for me despite the 6.5% ABV (which ain't that light). Subtle citrus overtones but would rather go with Flying Dog Bloodline or Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin as alternatives
-Stone RuinTen (they released the 10-year Ruination from last year! Now I can match it to my RuinTen glass :D)
-Points Unknown IPA (collaboration between Stone and a couple other breweries)

I'm semi-glad I don't live in San Diego, as I fear I would end up de facto living at Stone's brewery...

mmmmm..

that beer is in my top 5-7. my favorite beer of all time is this one though:

(Ayinger Brau-Weisse)
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/39/132/

Many of those are very good.

Personally I am entirely happy that I am not living in Santa Rosa; it keeps me from being a regular at RRBC, an alcoholic, and probably a diabetic as well.

For me, a great long weekend would be a San Diego brewery tour-- Stone (actually in Escondido), Ballast Point, Alesmith, Port/Lost Abbey, et al.-- I'll have to do that one of these days.

It is a spoiled life we live down here. ;)

http://brewerytoursofsandiego.com

I also recommend doing this if you are in SD. A free hop-on hop-off bus hitting the best beer bars. http://sddrinkabout.blogspot.com/?m=0

Thanks skunker! Good info that may come in handy when planning a future west coast escape.

Stocked up for a warm weekend with some cold Labatt Black Ice.

Clearly I have not ventured out enough on FT - what a fantastic thread!! :D

Currently I have quite the mix:
Driftwood Fat Tug IPA *errr, no, just consumed
Salt Spring Island Golden Ale
Salt Spring Island Extra Special Bitter
Old Abbey Ales Belgian IPA
Steel & Oak Rye Lager
Old Yale Brewing Knotty Blond Ale

All Vancouver or at the very least, southern BC brews. If it wasn't that I was going out of town Monday I'd say it was time for a restocking!!

Just had some Knee Deep Batch 138 and I'm having a Stone Go To IPA right now. Empty calories, yeah yeah, sure sure. Awfully good though.

Currently have / recently had-

-Beer'd Riff Double IPA - picked this up last weekend at Beer'd, which is a tiny microbrewery in Stonington, CT. Enjoyed the deep flavor with a hint of fruit, not overly hoppy for a DIPA.

-Flagship Brewing American Pale Ale - local craft spot from The Rock (Staten Island), haven't seen them before so must be relatively new. Liked the flavors on this, with a bit more liveliness than some other pale ales I've had (e.g. Cisco Brewing, whose Whale's Tale Pale Ale is as pale as it gets)

-Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest - they did a one-time collaboration with a German-based brewery to develop a fall lager, and it turned out really well. Very full flavors without losing the lightness of the lager.

-w00tStout - a collaboration between Stone and some other breweries. It's a 13%+ ABV that was aged in bourbon barrels for a year...I think I'm likely to put this one in a wine fridge and age it for a while, as I can only imagine it will be even more interesting if I wait it out for a while.