West Michigan = the SEC of breweries?

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Fri Jul 28, 2017 2:14 am

And no, I'm not referring to rampant cheating, fraud, and overall scandalous behavior. West Michigan breweries rank #1 and #2 respectively according to the 2017 "best beers of America" list done by the American Homebrewers Association.

Top Breweries
1. Bell’s Brewery, Inc., Comstock, Mich.
2. Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich.
3. Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, Calif.
4. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, Calif. and Mills River, N.C.
5. Stone Brewing, Escondido, Calif., Richmond, Va., and Berlin, Germany
6. Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, Calif.
7. Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Ore.
8. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Del.
9. Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma, Calif. and Chicago, Ill.
10. Ballast Point Brewing, San Diego, Calif.

Top Beers
1. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale
2. Russian River Pliny the Elder
3. Founders Breakfast Stout
4. Three Floyds Zombie Dust
5. Bell’s Hopslam
T6. Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)
T6. The Alchemist Heady Topper
T8. Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA
T8. Sierra Nevada Celebration
10. Ballast Point Sculpin IPA

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/ ... a-results/

Although I gotta say, on the whole, these lists are shit. We've got smaller outfits that would blow breweries like Great Lakes and Goose Island out of the water, like Perrin, Shorts, Dark Horse, Keweenaw, Old Nation, and countless others. And as good as Founders is, it probably wouldn't even crack my personal top 5 of Michigan breweries. Because that's how we roll in the U&MW...

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 3:06 pm

There are some very fine craft breweries in Michigan, no doubt. And those lists are indeed shit. Among the top breweries on that list that I have tried and been totally unimpressd with: Desshutes, Dogshit Head and Lagunitas. Zombie Dust is the most over-hyped over-rated craft beer in the solar system.

We have two local breweries that are as good as any on that list.

Wolfman · Post by **Wolfman** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 4:41 pm

Enough already with all these breweries. The pendulum of brewery world has swung from the plethora of neighborhood breweries in my grandfather's time to the almost monopoly of Anheuser-Busch/Miller and now back to more than my grandfather's time. It's nice to have options, but going to a bar with 100 different taps is a bit over the top.

Shlomart Ben Yisrael · Fri Jul 28, 2017 6:54 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote: 1. Bell’s Two Hearted Ale

Fuckin' based drink right there.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 7:05 pm

My current refrigerator selection consists of:

1. Dogfish Head 60 minute IPA
2. Ommegang white wheat ale
3 Three Heads Brewery The Kind IPA
4. Sananac White Ale

By this winter it will be a completely different list.

atmdad · Post by **atmdad** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 9:24 pm

Ehhh,

I am sure several on that list have limited production barrel aged stuff. That is what I am interested in. I am a short walking distance from the Lost Abbey Confessional. It more than meets my needs.

atmdad · Post by **atmdad** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 9:31 pm

Bri,

Have a 750ml of Ommegang - Three Philosophers in my beer fridge now. Surprised to see something like that make it out here. Drank two last weekend, very tasty.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 9:31 pm

Bought a 12 of Moosehead the other day, partly because I ran into a pyramid of it in big Y and partly because I hadn't had it in about 30 years. Reminds me of Heineken. That's not a particularly good thing. It's not horrible. I won't pour it down the sink, but I won't buy it again. Think I will go back to my recent IPA binge. I am currently trying to find some Heady Topper which I have heard described as the best IPA in the universe.

atmdad · Post by **atmdad** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 9:38 pm

Smack, in a well stocked store look for the barrel aged varietys. Mix it up and splurge on a pricey strong ale or barley wine (they run 10-14%). I've seen pictures of your beer gut, I'm sure you would enjoy one.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 10:37 pm

Wolfman wrote:Enough already with all these breweries. The pendulum of brewery world has swung from the plethora of neighborhood breweries in my grandfather's time to the almost monopoly of Anheuser-Busch/Miller and now back to more than my grandfather's time. It's nice to have options, but going to a bar with 100 different taps is a bit over the top.

I kinda feel the complete opposite. Might as well drink what you like and enjoy. If 10,000 different breweries can survive in the US then great. If a 1000 different distillers can survive then great.

The only thing I can't stand is _______ snob that thinks what they drink is the best and everything else is below them. And those that disagree don't have a good palette, etc. Just drink what you like and leave the other stuff for other people.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Fri Jul 28, 2017 11:50 pm

What lefty said. If rice-piss light floats your boat, good for you. Hell, I will even drink one if it's hot enough, they are cold enough and someone else is buying, but if I gotta spend my own money, I can usually find something good on sale at BIG Y for not much over a buck a bottle.

atmdad · Post by **atmdad** » Sat Jul 29, 2017 12:28 am

my apologies if I came across as beer snob douche. i agree, drink what floats your boat. was just trying to say don't be afraid to expand your palette, you might find something really tasty out there. step out of your comfort zone.

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Sat Jul 29, 2017 1:29 am

atmdad wrote:my apologies if I came across as beer snob douche. i agree, drink what floats your boat. was just trying to say don't be afraid to expand your palette, you might find something really tasty out there. step out of your comfort zone.

This. If you never try anything new you have no clue what you might enjoy. Generally I am going to drink spirits over beer since I don't have to pee all night, but I still will drink my fare share of beer as I haven't come close to trying them all and who knows if one I really enjoy is out there.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Sat Jul 29, 2017 1:39 am

I just ordered three bottles of this (2013 variety) online directly from the winery:

It won't get here until November, but definitely worth the wait.
It has no bubbles, but no carbs either.

I love beer but for some reason it makes me feel like crap anymore if I drink more than one or two.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Sat Jul 29, 2017 2:05 am

my spreadsheets AFU. I thought lefty was a tea-totaler.

Moving Sale · Post by **Moving Sale** » Sat Jul 29, 2017 3:16 am

18 million wineries of note near Paso and Firestone still gets a nod in the beer section? Can anyone say wealth of riches?

Left Seater · Post by **Left Seater** » Sat Jul 29, 2017 12:59 pm

smackaholic wrote:my spreadsheets AFU. I thought lefty was a tea-totaler.

Yup. You prolly made an assumption. I have had drinks with many members of this Board over the years. What I don't tolerate is driving after drinking. Blind ref, OU Skull and others have seen me prepay cab drivers for rides back to a hotel after drinking just a couple of drinks. Unnecessary now with Uber. I will also point out folks to bar tenders that need a ride home. Most bars have a no questions asked policy and will gladly pay for a cab vs the potential of a lawsuit.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Tue Aug 01, 2017 3:59 pm

Left Seater wrote:The only thing I can't stand is _______ snob that thinks what they drink is the best and everything else is below them. And those that disagree don't have a good palette, etc. Just drink what you like and leave the other stuff for other people.

Agree with this. As much as I enjoy craft beer, I'm not beneath a Miller Lite or PBR once in a while. It's all about time, place, & situation. Unlike holic, I actually enjoy Moosehead.

Goobs, what are some good Wisco-based beers you can recommend? There's a couple huge specialty beer stores around here. If they are worth their salt I can probably find them.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Tue Aug 01, 2017 4:04 pm

If you're in the Chicago area, you should be able to find Ale Asylum. Their flagship beer is Hopalicious (APA), their best beer is Velveteen Habit (IPA), and all of their beer is extremely well-made. The brew master (Dean Coffey) is respected throughout the industry.

I'll have to do a little research. Most Wisky micros are still confined to the state. Michigan obviously has a much more mature craft beer scene.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Tue Aug 01, 2017 4:04 pm

Wolfman wrote:Enough already with all these breweries. The pendulum of brewery world has swung from the plethora of neighborhood breweries in my grandfather's time to the almost monopoly of Anheuser-Busch/Miller and now back to more than my grandfather's time. It's nice to have options, but going to a bar with 100 different taps is a bit over the top.

I'd imagine you're the sort of guy that orders the same beer everywhere you go, so why do you care if there's a "plethora" of options?

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Tue Aug 01, 2017 4:06 pm

Goober McTuber wrote:If you're in the Chicago area, you should be able to find Ale Asylum. Their flagship beer is Hopalicious (APA), their best beer is Velveteen Habit (IPA), and all of their beer is extremely well-made. The brew master (Dean Coffey) is respected throughout the industry.

I'll have to do a little research. Most Wisky micros are still confined to the state. Michigan obviously has a much more mature craft beer scene.

I'm in Grand Rapids.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Tue Aug 01, 2017 5:51 pm

Sorry, for some reason I thought you were in Chicagoland. I don't know of any Wisky microbrewers selling in Michigan.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Tue Aug 01, 2017 5:58 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:I'm in Grand Rapids.

T & P.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Wed Aug 02, 2017 1:26 am

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:
Left Seater wrote:The only thing I can't stand is _______ snob that thinks what they drink is the best and everything else is below them. And those that disagree don't have a good palette, etc. Just drink what you like and leave the other stuff for other people.
Agree with this. As much as I enjoy craft beer, I'm not beneath a Miller Lite or PBR once in a while. It's all about time, place, & situation. Unlike holic, I actually enjoy Moosehead.

Goobs, what are some good Wisco-based beers you can recommend? There's a couple huge specialty beer stores around here. If they are worth their salt I can probably find them.

Mgooo, after working about halfway through the 12 of Moosehead, I have decided I was a little harsh on it. Certainly better than Heineken, as is most anything, really. Still won't go out of my way to by it though, but won't turn my nose up to one handed to me. Kind of surprised VT doesn't get any love on that list. Those hippies up there have lots of really good breweries. Heady Topper by The Alchemist Brewery has been compared favorably by some to Pliny the Elder. Someone on beeradvocate dubbed it the best beer in the world. I am gonna have to hunt some down on my next run up to BTV.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Wed Aug 02, 2017 1:37 am

Goober McTuber wrote:
MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:I'm in Grand Rapids.
T & P.

For what? We've got a nice downtown, 45 minute drive to the big lake, many terrific breweries, there's stuff to do yet it's not over-crowded. Lots of stuffy conservitard/jesus freaks. That's the main downfall.

I mean, it's no Madison, but few places can reach that level of paradise.

Dinsdale · Post by **Dinsdale** » Wed Aug 02, 2017 1:41 am

What a shit list.

Maybe "best beers from breweries that make several million cases a year"?

Deschutes was once great... then they got huge. Not the best brewery in Bend, even, much less Oregon.

What a travesty.

Screw_Michigan · Post by **Screw_Michigan** » Sat Aug 05, 2017 7:15 pm

Sucks to be a Sconnie--

Second rate beers
Second rate chicks
Second rate hockey

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Sun Aug 06, 2017 8:59 pm

Screw_Michigan wrote:Sucks to be a Sconnie--

Second rate beers
Second rate chicks
Second rate hockey

Three strikes and you're out. You don't even live in Michigan.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Mon Nov 06, 2017 1:17 am

I stumbled upon some bell's 2 hearted and figured I'd buy a 6 and see what all you flyover tards are raving about.

My first impression, was, yeah, there's some hops in there, but I'm not really getting much else. Just finished my 3rd bottle and I must say it is growing on me. Definitely more going on than just the hops. Kinda citrusy.

I'd buy it again, but, never have seen it in Ct. I am in Virginia Beach for a long weekend to burn off some vacation days that are about to evaporate and found this at the Navy base quicky mart.

Oh, and rack the hell out of AGW. CB and I went boogie boarding today. Water temp at Sandbridge, according to the interwebs was 67 degrees. I thought it was warmer than that, but that could be because the air temp was about the same. I lived here for 4.5 years about 30 years ago and don't ever remember going swimming in November.

Dr_Phibes · Post by **Dr_Phibes** » Mon Nov 06, 2017 4:47 am

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:
Top Breweries
1. Bell’s Brewery, Inc., Comstock, Mich.
2. Founders Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, Mich.
3. Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, Calif.
4. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, Calif. and Mills River, N.C.
5. Stone Brewing, Escondido, Calif., Richmond, Va., and Berlin, Germany
6. Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, Calif.
7. Deschutes Brewery, Bend, Ore.
8. Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, Del.
9. Lagunitas Brewing Company, Petaluma, Calif. and Chicago, Ill.
10. Ballast Point Brewing, San Diego, Calif.

No doubt these beers are rated by the corresponding amount of skulls on the can. How many are 'session ales' with alcohol content above 7%?

Their flagship beer is Hopalicious (APA)

Lovely, sounds like throwing up in reverse. Plastering the fact (with pride) that hops are a cheap preservative and the main ingredient in your beer gives me an artisan-al headache.. errr sorry, skullache for the IPA craft crowd.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Mon Nov 06, 2017 4:53 am

I haven't seen a session above 4.7% or so, but I appreciate your exaggeration for comedic effect. Haha.

If this list was truly accurate, there'd be a few more Michigan breweries present in the top 10. Most anything from Short's, Perrin, and Dark Horse, are all better than most of the dreck I've sampled from the rest of that sorry ass top 10.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Mon Nov 06, 2017 4:56 am

Petoskey Brewing, Block Brewing, Old Nation, Odd Side Ales, Grand Armory, among others, also got screwed. Frankly, I can't see any reason why Michigan beers wouldn't occupy every spot in the top 10.

Dr_Phibes · Post by **Dr_Phibes** » Mon Nov 06, 2017 5:08 am

I'd imagine the state of small brewing is desperate everywhere in North America, take a microbrew in west Toronto, it'll be the same in Michigan.
Our new Boneshaker IPA is now slightly stronger than our sixteen other IPA's on tap.

Your Cranksgiving is coming up, is everything cranberry IPA with a hint of smashed pennies in your mouth? Think it's over-priced? It certainly is, but explain it away by claiming your beer is a 'sipper', not meant for six-at-a-go.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Mon Nov 06, 2017 5:23 am

Dr_Phibes wrote:I'd imagine the state of small brewing is desperate everywhere in North America, take a microbrew in west Toronto, it'll be the same in Michigan.
Our new Boneshaker IPA is now slightly stronger than our sixteen other IPA's on tap.

Your Cranksgiving is coming up, is everything cranberry IPA with a hint of smashed pennies in your mouth? Think it's over-priced? It certainly is, but explain it away by claiming your beer is a 'sipper', not meant for six-at-a-go.

Yeah, but the difference is, ours are actually...

..what's the word I'm looking for?

Oh yeah...good.

How did I fail to mention Keweenaw Brewing? Forgotten about, tucked way up there in Houghton. Very traditional flavors, but just solid, and every draft beer is capped at $3. Just beware, the town is full of Indian students attending Michigan Tech, so if you sit at the bar, be ready to huff a consistent waft of curry and B.O.

smackaholic · Post by **smackaholic** » Mon Nov 06, 2017 11:52 am

The micro beer homerism here really is comical.

Guess what douchebags, last I checked, brewers are able to import incredients. Hell, they can even import the water if they need to. This means brewers, no matter where they are, are capable of making good beer and shit beer. Some are certainly better than others. Some places such as Portland have larger numbers of them. I suspect the number of legit micro-brewers is well into the hundreds, probably thousands. And I am sure they all make good beer. If they don't, they'll be gone soon enough.

A free market is cool like that, comrade Phibes. :wink:

BTW, rack comrade's skulls blast.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:50 pm

Dr_Phibes wrote:
Goober McTuber wrote:
Their flagship beer is Hopalicious (APA)
Lovely, sounds like throwing up in reverse. Plastering the fact (with pride) that hops are a cheap preservative and the main ingredient in your beer gives me an artisan-al headache.. errr sorry, skullache for the IPA craft crowd.

I guess if you're full of shit, you might as well talk out of your ass. The brewery is known for producing extremely well-balanced beers. That means adding a proper measure of malt to your IPAs/APAs. Cranberries? Beer is made with 4 ingredients: grain, hops, yeast and water.

You seem like more of a wine-cooler guy.

Screw_Michigan · Post by **Screw_Michigan** » Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:51 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:Petoskey Brewing, Block Brewing, Old Nation, Odd Side Ales, Grand Armory, among others, also got screwed. Frankly, I can't see any reason why Michigan beers wouldn't occupy every spot in the top 10.

Ballast Point and Firestone Walker are excellent.

Goober McTuber · Post by **Goober McTuber** » Mon Nov 06, 2017 2:57 pm

smackaholic wrote:The micro beer homerism here really is comical.

Guess what douchebags, last I checked, brewers are able to import incredients. Hell, they can even import the water if they need to. This means brewers, no matter where they are, are capable of making good beer and shit beer. Some are certainly better than others. Some places such as Portland have larger numbers of them. I suspect the number of legit micro-brewers is well into the hundreds, probably thousands. And I am sure they all make good beer.

I'm pretty sure they don't. There is a ton of shitty microbrewed beer on the market. Because everybody and their brother wants to be a microbrewer.

To me, micro beer homerism makes sense in that you're getting beer at its freshest when you're buying a local product. Has nothing to do with local ingredients. The really good microbrewers here that I've talked to make annual sabbaticals to the U&L to contract for hops.

MsCJ · Post by **MsCJ** » Mon Nov 06, 2017 4:06 pm

I think you're getting some microbreweries confused with some nanobreweries.

Bells has some size and some distribution outside the region, as does every other brewery on the top 10 list. Every region has great nanobreweries but it's not reasonable for people outside those regions to have ever come across them.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Mon Nov 06, 2017 4:38 pm

smackaholic wrote:The micro beer homerism here really is comical.

Guess what douchebags, last I checked, brewers are able to import incredients. Hell, they can even import the water if they need to. This means brewers, no matter where they are, are capable of making good beer and shit beer. Some are certainly better than others. Some places such as Portland have larger numbers of them. I suspect the number of legit micro-brewers is well into the hundreds, probably thousands. And I am sure they all make good beer. If they don't, they'll be gone soon enough.

A free market is cool like that, comrade Phibes. :wink:

BTW, rack comrade's skulls blast.

Wait...how in the world did I forget Arcadia, Atwater, Elk, New Holland, Right Brain, and Kuhnhenn???