Beer. Not shit beer. Good beer.

[sonnyboy11]

Are you flying into Charlotte ? A Taste of Carolina is a great bar inside the airport and if you go to Noda district there's two breweries, bottle shop and few awesome places to eat and I have only been to Highland Brewery and a great bar called the Thirsty Monk. Also there is a total wines in Charlotte that had a lot of stuff I haven't seen before and great prices.

I've hit that Total Wine up before. Yea it is pretty cool there. I get into Charlotte really early on a Friday red eye and have to jet straight up to Hendersonville. Helping my dad with his campaign for congressman. But definitely going to peel away with my brother and probably some of our cousins for a brewery jaunt the following day.

[gazercmh]

My favorite brewery in Asheville by far was Wicked Weed. They have some really nice hoppy beers and a lot of sours, too. It's a huge place, with a big bar upstairs and then the "Funkitorium" downstairs. Plus a large patio. The food was good not great, but the beer selection was terrific.

Right next to Wicked Weed was a pricey bourbon bar that I'm told almost always has Sexual Chocolate on tap. It was on when we were there and it was expensive for a pour, but worth it.

On the other end of the spectrum is Burial, a little place with a one-barrel system. The owner/brewer works as an attorney to pay the bills and did a lot of research on brewing before opening the place. The beer list changes all the time because the batches are so small and he is always making new recipes, but if the Chocolate Donut Stout is on, I highly recommend it. The brewery setting is cool, with an old jukebox full of 45s, some thrift-store accoutrements and whatnot.

If you go through Black Mountain on your way there, the Pigsah brewery is a really cool setting. It's like going to someone's farm but with a bunch of beers on tap. There's a meadow and creek out back and you can take your beers out and walk around a bit. It definitely is different than any brewery in SoCal. (The beers were only average, though, and they don't have food.)

Here's a map that my brother and I put together before our trip there in May. He lives in Greensboro. We didn't hit every place on it, but most.

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/ed...U.kef0yEkgzu78

[sonnyboy11]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Y'all are the bees knees.

[sonnyboy11]

Hopefully not a repost but came across this today on Fark

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/s...netary-brewing

Interesting way to raise money. I went ahead and contributed for the Brewdog/Stone collab.

[bemerritt]

Hopefully not a repost but came across this today on Fark

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/s...netary-brewing

Interesting way to raise money. I went ahead and contributed for the Brewdog/Stone collab.

Very interesting on the Stone collabs, trying to decide which one I want. Probably the Super Arrogant.

[unit300021]

Damn. I would love to contribute for this but I'm moving up to the bay in a few weeks and have no idea when I would be able to get to Stone to pick it up.

[gazercmh]

Stone has taken a lot of criticism for the fund-raising campaign. They lowered prices of things after a lot of complaints.

The collaboration bottles were originally $50 and now they're $30 and you get a $10 gift card good at Stone stores/bistros. So it's not a bad deal if you live close to a Stone location.

But their collaboration brews are almost always disappointing.

The w00tstout is a rare exception and is pretty good, so I'm thinking about buying one of that. But I don't know when I'll be able to open a magnum of 13% beer. Today they announced an AleSmith collaboration. I'll probably buy that one because I'm an AleSmith fanboy, but I wish they'd tell us what the style is...

[sonnyboy11]

I was mulling over that Alesmith one too. Out of curiosity, what is the chief complaint about what they're doing with this initiative? Just the pricing?

[getbetter]

Stone is really successful and asking for money? I'm assuming but to me, Stone has been talking about a brewery in Europe for at least four years now and at the same time; opened a tasting room in Pasadena, a resturant in liberty station as well the whole fiasco of a east side of the country location at the same time they could've afforded this European brewery. Also all the "prizes" for donating kinda suck.

[sonnyboy11]

Well, ok. But in fairness, they're offering something in return for your money. If they were just asking for money from me, I'd probably pass. But 1.5 liters of specialty beer at $30 doesn't seem outrageous.

[getbetter]

Beer Magnums are great for dinners or gatherings but just remember 1.5 liters is 50.7 ounces or almost 2 $15 bombers.

I'm indifferent to the whole thing. Mainly because I feel like I'll never have a opportunity to check out this *Berlin* brewery or have been a huge Stone beer fan...Thinking about this if I can get their Coffee IPA again I would get excited about donating some money. Then again I have had better Coffee IPAs.

[sonnyboy11]

Plus

-Choose from 50% off in our Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens restaurant (up to $50 value) OR 40%-50% off on merchandise at our Stone Company Store (up to $200 value!). Your call.

-$10 Gift Card to any BrewDog location that won’t expire for ten years.

-$10 Gift Card to Stone that won’t expire for a ten years either.

I happen to like visiting the Escondido Stone so that works well for me. I like the beer garden probably more than I like most their beer. Not trying to justify it if you really have a problem with the cost. But, to me, $30 seems reasonable.

[getbetter]

That's a pretty good deal and I'm not trying to detour anyone from donating.I just remember seeing/reading about the whole collaborate for a Berlin brewery and being kinda just shocked right as I got to Sierra Nevada brewery for the first time two weekends and many many beers ago.

[gazercmh]

Yeah, Zack's right about the criticism. The broad-stroke criticism is that Stone is seen as a huge brewery with deep pockets and now it's panhandling. Of course, sonnyboy is right that you get something out of it, and I agree that $30 for a 1.5 liter bottle plus a $10 gift card is a good deal, even though you will have to wait a few years for the beer.

But some of the other "prizes" are a bit absurd. I'm not seeing it on the site now, but there was a really expensive one where the prize was getting to stay at Greg Koch's apartment for a weekend and have a special beer dinner. It kind of reeked of self-importance, that people would want to shell out tons of money for the honor of spending time with them. Poor form.

[sames44]

“It’s not even that they can necessarily ‘easily afford it,’ it’s that they have access to funding sources that a startup wouldn’t, like bank loans and venture capital investments. They want all the benefit of that while keeping all of their profits privatized and in their hands. It goes against the spirit of Kickstarter and IndieGoGo.” article about the Stone campaign here http://www.pastemagazine.com/article...nes-crowd.html

[shakermaker113]

it cuts out the middle man though. a bank or a professional investor would charge interest on the loan, the cost of which will ultimately be passed on tot end customer via higher product prices. this model eliminates that, and even gives those willing to make an upfront investment a better deal. it rewards loyal customers rather than some arbitrary rich guy.

[getbetter]

If my memory serves me right it was seven million dollars to make the San Diego Brewery.These bigger breweries are just growing to sizes that are new to craft beer fanatics and it's that whole growing process that is more sensitive than anything. I feel like half the fun of visiting Lost Abbey is to image since I was not 21 when Stone was there. To image what it must of been like in the late 90's in that building. I got a call from my Uncle today, who is thrilled about the possibility about Stone having a brewery in Columbus.Yet he doesn't know Fat Heads Brewery or I might be wrong still doesn't even know what Hoppin' Frog is even though he has lived there for over a decade in a small town in Ohio.If Stone Brewery does its job in Columbus as it did to me I hope and image that he will know those breweries in a few years as I learned about Craftman Brewery at 21 and started to explore craft beer by my tastebuds. So if there's a 25 million dollar Stone brewery happening in Europe it's American Craft Beer invasion and of course I'm being tongue in cheek.

[gazercmh]

If your Ohio uncle lives near Columbus, he should check out Columbus Brewing Co. They make a great IPA and their Bodhi DIPA is good, too.

If he lives near Athens, he should go to Jackie O's. They make great beers across a bunch of styles, including sours. And their food is really good, too.

[unit300021]

Yup. The Verticals were made to age. 12 has aged nicely.

Got it today and I have to agree it was very nicely aged. The liquor store didn't show the prices of any beers so when I got it, it was marked up to around 9 dollars which I thought was to much After drinking it though it was worth it. I am planning on getting another one and storing it for another year or so to see what it tastes like then.

[Drinkey McDrinkerstein]

$9 is retail for that series by the way

[unit300021]

$9 is retail for that series by the way

Seriously? I've always gotten it for like 6 bucks from a couple different places. I guess they marked it down then.

[getbetter]

funny

[santasutt]

Larry will get you there after two and the ride is a happy hoppy one.

[getbetter]

Any chance you're going to fyf and bring some of that,?

[santasutt]

Not coming to LA until November.

Going to Riotfest Chicago?

[guedita]

San Diegoans: Cellarmaker is coming to you on August 29th:

Friday, August 29th - Tim and Connor will be hosting a Cellarmaker event at Hamilton’s Tavern. We are bringing all of the beers listed above along with the Marin/Cellarmaker “Honey Badger” Double IPA collab and a Firkin of “Coffee and Cigarettes” conditioned on Glazed Donuts and a keg of “Mad Nibs.” We’ll also be celebrating our new collaboration with Monkey Paw called “Cellar Monkey.” The collab beer is an IPA brewed with Passionfruit Puree as well as Simcoe, Galaxy, Nelson, Citra, and Amarillo hops. Cosimo at Monkey Paw is an amazing brewer and our brew day was a blast. Come hang with us in San Diego on 8/29!

Other beers that will be there: Southern Dobis Pale Ale, Cray Cray IPA, Permanent Daylight IPA, Tiny Dankster Pale Ale, Coffee and Cigarettes” Lightly Smoked Coffee Porter – This time using Blue Bottle’s “Giant Steps Blend” freshly roasted the day before going into the beer, Dank Williams DIPA

[gazercmh]

Thanks for the tip!

[footixy]

Any of you guys know much about Sudwerk out of Davis? A local pub is having a tap takeover by them tonight before the Future Islands show

[zimmy1222]

greetings beer geeks,

I have a buddy that's going to a wedding in Santa Monica in a few weeks, staying in orange county and has a couple days to do a little exploring. Wanted to see what everyone's 3 favorite spots were to get a great beer. Just saw Beachwood BBQ in Long Beach and that's definitely the kind of place I'm looking to recommend- bars, beer gardens, tap rooms and breweries apply too.

Also, wondered if anyone was able to get Firestone's last batch of Vintage DDBA, and if anyone's tried it- I don't want to miss out if it's phenomenal like always.

And, hitting up Cellarmaker this weekend for the first time. Can't wait for that.

[getbetter]

The Bruery is awesome brewery in OC.


I like Cellarmaker a lot .