Sierra Nevada & Rahr
 

Sierra Nevada is one of my favorites.

Also I have to give a plug to another of my favorite local to me brews - Rahr; definitely give it a try if you find yourself around Fort Worth, TX.

Along with Sweetwater's beers mentioned above, I like Terrapin Brewing's selections, they are based in Athens GA. and have a great RYE Pale Ale
I dont think they have a brewing operation in Athens yet but are contract brewed. Nonetheless give them a try when in the Athens/Atlanta area

In Virginia Old Dominion Brewing Co. makes Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale, lager also. It's very "hoppy" in flavor. Millennium is another of their brews.....very rich and smooth.

As a ex NYer I enjoy Saranac B & T
But for me now it is Alaskan Amber from Juneau. They also put out a great
summer ale.
If you ever get a chance to fly Alaska we serve quite a bit of it.

The best beer region is Belgium, period. The American micros do a good job, but just like old school American wine, they lack finesse in their taste and just try to kill everything with Crystal malt and hops.

Favorite Micro Brews in US
 

Here are a few of my favorites:

Sierra Nevada - Chico, CA
Anchor Brewing - San Francisco
North Coast Brewing Co. - Mendocino, CA
Bells (Kalamazoo Brewing) - Kalamazoo, MI
Atwater Brewing Co. - Detroit, MI
Schlafly Brewing Co. - St. Louis, MO
Goose Island - Chicago
Harpoon Brewing Co. - Boston

For those of you in the Pacific Northwest, I'd recommend checking out Hair of the Dog Brewing Company beers based in PDX. I've loved everything of theirs that I've tried. Similar to the Dogfish Head IPAs, the Hair of the Dog Fred is one of the most balanced IPAs I've ever tasted...and I don't normally like an IPA. You can smell the hops off the beer, but it's not a hop bomb -- the balance is fantastic.

What are the best craft beers?
 

Several threads discuss beers, but I cannot find one that lists the best local brews around the world. Because there are thousands I suggest limiting the list to those that are available on tap, including the location. That means listing the place of origin rather than someplace around the world that has the same beer:

Starting with a handful of my favorites:

San Francisco, CA Anchor Steam http://www.anchorbrewing.com/index.htm

London, England Greene King Royal London http://www.greeneking.co.uk/capital-ale-trail/

Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia Tinkoff http://www.tinkoff.ru/index.php?id=13141

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Devassa Given that Devassa means slut in English is Paris Hilton the appropriate spokesperson. They think so. http://www.devassa.com.br/

Nebraska Brewing Company, Papillon, Nebraska http://www.nebraskabrewingco.com/brews.asp (this proves that fine beer can come from seriously remote places. It probably lives because of large capacity clients from the nearby Offut Air Force base

Mare Nostrum, near Menton, France http://www.marenostrum-france.com/mnblog/?cat=71 yes, the French can make beer! I've included only one but there are a comprehensive list of French artisanal beers too, with an index by region (just click on the map-french only
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/yves.bou...ions/carte.htm

The World Cup and beer seem to be closely linked. So here's a list of South Africa brewpubs:

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/breweri...tory-0-182.htm

I have left out those magnificent concentrations of excellent beer in germany and Belgium, not to mention most of the world;

But I cannot fail to include my favorites from the land of Pilsen:

First must be Budweiser, the one and only. The brewery is almost broke but it's is still there. The beer is not the best in the world but all beer lovers must have it at least once, out of principal.

http://budweiser-budvar.cz/produkty/...any-lezak.html

Novomeststy Pivovar, Prague http://www.npivovar.cz/en/index.php

It is new (1991) and excellent although they're inordinately proud that there was a beer producing license here in 1434.


Please add to the list.

Russian River Brewing Company, Santa Rosa CA

Pliny the Elder being my favorite

I think the best in Austin that fits the parameters you describe is Live Oak Brewing Company:

http://www.liveoakbrewing.com/

I had a Live Oak Liberation last night at the Flying Saucer that was quite tasty, but I also like their Pilz and their Amber Lager.

By the way, this thread is timely in that May 17th begins American Craft Beer Week:

http://www.americancraftbeerweek.org/

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

I really like Three Floyds Brewing.

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/26/9478

Best Craft Beers?
 

What type? Stouts, Porters, Pale Ales? IPA's, Sour's, etc... There are many, many great beers out there in each of these and other categories.

My favorite, like work2fly is Pliny the Elder.

OP - I'd give Greene King beers a miss - that's like saying that Sam Adams is the best the U.S. has to offer. They're fairly much at the bottom of the food chain as far as UK cask beer quality goes. If you want mass-produced and easy to find in London then Fullers is the way to go, although there are literally hundreds of better beers in Britain from smaller breweries, a good selection of which you'll find in London at any given time.

Here in southern Cali, I like Stone Brewing's lineup. Especially Arrogant Ba*stard (cant believe the FT system actually blocks this!) and their IPA. They also come out with some pretty unique limited time / seasonal stuff. I could spend days just sitting around their place in Escondido and sipping away.

http://www.stonebrew.com/home.asp#

Yes, I love Arrogant Bastard too!