That's exactly why we started a tasting group called "The Yeastie Boys" over 15 years ago. We pool our resources and sample many different brews so we each don't end up with five schwag beers.

That's a good idea...I belong to a wine club, but never thought of applying that to beer. One of my friends who cultures yeast for a local brewery calls himself "Yeastie Boy"...actually has cards made up and all.

I must recommend Shiner Bock that seems to be a local favorite here in Texas!

Since moving to southern California I have become quite a Belgian beer fan (and am considering organizing a DO around said beer next month). However, I must agree with everyone who has mentioned Shiner Bock!!! It's not a complicated beer nor a fancy one. But, if I'm looking to kick back with a nice, simple, refreshing beer, I'll take a Shiner whenever it's available!

I'd love to be able to do that, unfortunately, most of my friends either don't drink, or think that Michelob is high end beer.

Simple problem. Simple solution. You need new friends. The current ones are holding you back. :D

I had to try it for the name...and Smuttynose IPA turned out to be a pretty good beer.

Darn it. There was a Smuttynose brewhouse in MHT and I passed it up. Have to go back.

Harpoon IPA^ ^ ^

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My current favs:
Oak Aged Arrogant ....... - Stone Brewing Company (CA)
Watermelon Wheat - 21st Ammendment (San Francisco) - sounds odd, but excellent!
My own homebrew:p

Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada or Brooklyn Lager!

Sam Adams Period....

Repeating What I Said Earlier
 

I'll say once again what I said earlier, again crediting the originator of the line, Portland, Oregon journalist Fred Eckhardt.

"What's the best beer? The one in front of me!"

Every winter I go on a Sam Adams Winter Lager kick - love that stuff!

Definately one of my favorites. ^

Michelob is one that I can definately live without.

Those wordings can be deceptive to be honest. :D I have to admit when I first saw the term "Deutsch", I was under the impression that it was Dutch and not German. :o

Being no Beer geographic origin expert myself, may I ask which particular region of the Pacific it is from? :)

I used to like Rolling Rock because it was a clean, simple taste but refreshing. It was bought out by a larger brewing house (forget which one) and maybe it's my imagination, but I can detect a different taste which makes it seem more like every other mass-produced beer, in other words, it's still drinkable but nothing special anymore.

There's a New Orleans beer I used to like but I don't even know if they make it anymore, esp. post-Katrina. Dixie or something? :D I'm so knowledgable. lol

I do like Sam Adams' wheat ale.

Not for their taste. But do love their TV commercials. :)

Anchor Steam.

After Rolling Rock was purchased by Anheuser-Busch, A-B closed the Latrobe, Pennsylvania brewery and moved production of the beer to Newark, New Jersey about a year ago. The Latrobe plant has been taken over by Boston Beer Co. and will be used for making Samuel Adams beers.

Dixie's brewery on Tulane Ave. was still a wrecked shell, damaged more by looting than by flooding, when I visited NOLA earlier this year; the Dixie beers are being contract brewed in Wisconsin until production can resume in New Orleans.

I'll put in my vote for Troegs Pale Ale (Harrisburg, PA) and Pyramid Apricot Weizen (Seattle, WA).

What we need to have one of our Belgian friends arrange is a FT DO in Belgium, with dual focus on beers and on travel strategies.

THAT would be a fun trip!

Jaxx, maybe?

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summer beer
 

My favorite beer overall is Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. During the summer when seasonal flavors come out I enjoy:
-Anchor Summer
-Samuel Adams Summer Ale
-Blue Moon White

I've seen a lot of good microbrews mentioned. Two larger breweries that I enjoy are Yuengling and Berghoff by Huber Brewing Co. (Incidentally, the first and second oldest breweries in the U.S.). Both produce very drinkable (and very affordable) beers.

Big Yuengling fan! Living in PHL, that's what i grew up with.

Definitely true. Pizza Port is fantastic and worth the wait. From stone, my favorite has to be the Oaked Arrogant ....... (preferable on tap). Oh, and another to add to the west coast list...Green Flash Extra Pale Ale.

Jax has been gone....at least from New Orleans....since the 70s. Although for a while, a version of it was brewed in Texas. Don't know if it still is. I certainly haven't seen it anywhere for a long, long time.

Like (similar tasting) Dixie, it used to be dirt-cheap and people either loved it or hated it.

I happened to like it.

Wirelessly posted (Nokia N97 / Palm TX: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows 98; PalmSource/Palm-D050; Blazer/4.3) 16;320x448)

Discuss......

microbrew?
Ballast Point out here in SAN
Stone Brewing out here in SAN
Deschutes up in Oregon
Anderson Valley Brewing up in Napa

but there are literally thousands, I think it's impossible to pick a clear winner.

Wirelessly posted (Nokia N97 / Palm TX: Mozilla/5.0 (SymbianOS/9.4; Series60/5.0 NokiaN97-3/10.2.012; Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1; en-us) AppleWebKit/525 (KHTML, like Gecko) WicKed/7.1.12344)

microbrews dont count me thinks

Why not? For reasons I've stated before I dispute the premise that there is a single best beer in the United States any more than there's a single best wine in Argentina, but if there is such a beast it more likely than not comes from a small and artisanal brewery, not a large operation.

i think then it's important to make that distinction. i know you can get some of our local brews around the country, but they're still small production, 50k cases or less. to me that should be enough to include them in any discussion of quality beers (aside from their obvious superiority to mass produced beers)

As I write this, I am enjoying a Dogfish Head 90 Minute Imperial IPA. This beer has too much of everything. Too much hops, too much malt, too much alcohol. But somehow they get it to balance out into a magnificent brew. Highly recommended.

I find Sam Adams to be the most drinkable of the readily-available American beers.

However, there's a German proverb that, in my opinion, sums up domestic beers in America quite nicely:

"Among the blind, the one-eyed man is king."

There's also a popular saying in English about American beer that I could post here, but doing so would probably get me banned... :D

Anchor Steam for my dollar, though Alaskan Amber is a close second.

Any Sam Adams except the White Ale for me.... I just love how the seasonal beers perfectly fit the moods of the season. Nothing better than a Sam Summer on a hot summer day.

Another beer on the list that I am ashamed to admit is the Boston Beer Works Blueberry Beer.