OT: Whatcha Drinkin

[drganon]

I was talking about the regular cherry cola. The black cherry is pretty good but IIRC no caffeine. I don't drink that stuff unless it has caffeine, it's like non-alcoholic beer, what's the point.

Yeah, I realized too late after posting, "He's talking about the other stuff, isn't he?" I said to myself mentally. That stuff is also good. As for caffeine, I wouldn't be able to get through the work day without it.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

I have been really big on caffeine-free lemon tea as late.

Ever since I cut caffeine 100% out of my diet, I have been looking for a "placebo" to coffee in the morning.

 

[CalUK]

Is there any NC brands (craft beer) that are sold worldwide? Any I could look for here? We have started to get more US beer here over the years, and I have liked quite a few of them (Mainly things like Brooklyn Lager, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, and a few others). We've got a good craft beer scene going over here, but would be cool to try some from NC (and from other parts of the US).

 

[garnetpalmetto]

Is there any NC brands (craft beer) that are sold worldwide? Any I could look for here? We have started to get more US beer here over the years, and I have liked quite a few of them (Mainly things like Brooklyn Lager, Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada, and a few others). We've got a good craft beer scene going over here, but would be cool to try some from NC (and from other parts of the US).

I don't know of any that distribute to Europe yet. Sierra Nevada and Oskar Blues might count but even though they have brewing facilities here in NC now, I'm reluctant to consider them NC breweries since they aren't headquartered here. Probably the ones with the biggest likelihood of finding over there are the old guard, led by Highland Brewing Company but again, I don't think they distribute to Europe yet, at least not that I've seen. I'm not sure of the legality of such but I suppose if you were to ask nicely, a couple of the resident beer snobs (myself and Dave) could potentially put together a NC sampler pack were you to work something out with us in the way of covering acquisition/shipping costs...

 

[raynman]

I don't know of any that distribute to Europe yet. Sierra Nevada and Oskar Blues might count but even though they have brewing facilities here in NC now, I'm reluctant to consider them NC breweries since they aren't headquartered here. Probably the ones with the biggest likelihood of finding over there are the old guard, led by Highland Brewing Company but again, I don't think they distribute to Europe yet, at least not that I've seen. I'm not sure of the legality of such but I suppose if you were to ask nicely, a couple of the resident beer snobs (myself and Dave) could potentially put together a NC sampler pack were you to work something out with us in the way of covering acquisition/shipping costs...

Don't know if things have changed but I found this thread that explains how to send beer to Europe:

Shipping to Europe

 

[CalUK]

Thanks for info. The Highland beer looks interesting, I like the sound of the IPA (big fan of these). I am going to a Beer festival at the end of this week in my local town, so I'll just keep an eye out for it.

I actually managed to get Sierra Nevada Torpedo (the Pale Ale was available too) the other week in one of local supermarkets. I noticed it said something like "brewed in California and North Carolina" on the front so wasn't sure where my particular bottle was made, but the beer was quite good.

 

[RodTheBawd]

Thanks for info. The Highland beer looks interesting, I like the sound of the IPA (big fan of these). I am going to a Beer festival at the end of this week in my local town, so I'll just keep an eye out for it.

I actually managed to get Sierra Nevada Torpedo (the Pale Ale was available too) the other week in one of local supermarkets. I noticed it said something like "brewed in California and North Carolina" on the front so wasn't sure where my particular bottle was made, but the beer was quite good.

The beer snobs aren't fans, but I really like Highland's Black Mocha Stout. IPAs seem to be everyone's intro to "craft beer", I just can't handle them anymore.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

i went to asheville this past weekend and drank a lot of beers

it was good

 

[garnetpalmetto]

The beer snobs aren't fans, but I really like Highland's Black Mocha Stout. IPAs seem to be everyone's intro to "craft beer", I just can't handle them anymore.

It depends on the hops for me and I'm pleased to see that there's a return to more sessionable IPAs rather than the hop bombs that were in fashion a couple years ago. IPAs are seldom my go-to when I just want a beer, but there are some pretty good IPAs to be had from NC craft breweries. Offhand NoDa's Hop Drop and Roll gets a good bit of love from the national beer scene and won a World Beer Cup Gold Award. I'm not a fan personally (I got a distinct sweat sock flavor when I had it - either a Brett infection or the hops weren't stored properly/were old). Fullsteam's Rocket Science IPA is also pretty solid.

i went to asheville this past weekend and drank a lot of beers

it was good

Which breweries did you visit? Last time we went up we went to Asheville Brewing Company, Catawba, Green Man, Highland, Hi-Wire, Lookout, Pisgah, Twin Leaf, Wedge, and Wicked Weed. Didn't do Burial which I've heard great things about.

 

[CalUK]

I have remained a fan of IPA for a few years now. You get loads of the old fashioned traditional ale here, I like some of it but I really prefer newer style craft IPA, Dark Lager, Pale Ales etc.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

foothills hoppyum is my favorite ipa

breweries/bars i visited this time:

asheville brewing company, green man (jack of the hill) , thirsty monk (bottom floor), wicked weed funkatorium

last time i went for my bacherlor party and we hit up like 16 breweries in a couple days

this time was much more laid back and most of the drinking was done at the cabin we rented

 

[CalUK]

My top two IPAs are Brewdog Punk IPA and Joker IPA (both brewed in Scotland), and I like another Brewdog beer Five AM Saint (Red Ale). I quite like Brooklyn Lager, its becoming more common in the pubs these days. I'm quite interested in trying more US beers, hopefully more will start appearing here.

 

[Anton Dubinchuk]

dogfish head 90 min is a yes ipa


also ballast point grapefruit sculpin is delightful

 

[Roboturner913]

IPA is disgusting. I could just go lick a pine tree if I wanted that taste and I wouldn't have to pay $7.

I'm partial to British Pale Ales, but nobody makes them anymore and the ones we do get like Bass have been changed over the last couple years to the point of being unrecognizable.

Brooklyn Lager is pretty good but I had one last night and I swear it used to be smoother. I think they use more hops now, it tastes more like a Sam Adams. Sigh. I miss beer with malts.

 

[garnetpalmetto]

foothills hoppyum is my favorite ipa

breweries/bars i visited this time:

asheville brewing company, green man (jack of the hill) , thirsty monk (bottom floor), wicked weed funkatorium

last time i went for my bacherlor party and we hit up like 16 breweries in a couple days

this time was much more laid back and most of the drinking was done at the cabin we rented

We didn't do Funkatorium last time and that's one I also want to go to. I've become a fan of sours (thanks to Westbrook's Gose) and the couple sours we had when we had dinner at Wicked Weed were fantastic.

IPA is disgusting. I could just go lick a pine tree if I wanted that taste and I wouldn't have to pay $7.

I'm partial to British Pale Ales, but nobody makes them anymore and the ones we do get like Bass have been changed over the last couple years to the point of being unrecognizable.

It depends on the hops profile. I had a Conshohocken IPA the other night that was more citric and had a pretty nice orange/grapefruit flavor. I'm not a huge fan of overdoing piney hops either, though. Dank hops or citrus hops I like.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

i love the taste of hops

maybe i am weird

i also like the taste of pine trees though

 

[RodTheBawd]

The hops overload combined with my increasingly ****** GI tract have made most IPAs a non-starter for me. I used to guzzle Hog Wild, now I can barely get through a can. Went from hating anything dark, to only wanting dark (relatively).

 

[DaveG]

To me there's definitely room for both profiles. Highland's IPA was a perfect example of a more English style one that has more of an earthy tone then the typical American IPA and I loved it as a change of pace for that reason. Not sure what it's like right now since I know they recently changed head brewers, one of the girls that worked for Stone is out there now.

And agreed about Bass, they changed the **** out of that over the past 5 years to the point that it's unrecognizable anymore. You tend to get that a lot among beers that are bought by the big boys (Molson-Coors, AB Inbev)

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

Protein shake, just about to go to the gym.

Is it just me, or do they make anyone else feel kinda tingly like 15-20 minutes after you drink them?

 

[Wolfpuck]

Ballast Point Sculpin

I'm not usually an IPA fan, but this one really does it for me.

 

[Carolinas Identity*]

p

b

mother****ing

r

 

[DaveG]

Ballast Point Sculpin

I'm not usually an IPA fan, but this one really does it for me.

Tried the Habanero version yet? I finally found that one last night at Sam's, breaking in to it some time later this week.

 

[Wolfpuck]

Tried the Habanero version yet? I finally found that one last night at Sam's, breaking in to it some time later this week.

I haven't seen that one. I've only seen the regular Sculpin and the Grapefruit Sculpin at Total Wine.

 

[StormCast]

Tried the Habanero version yet? I finally found that one last night at Sam's, breaking in to it some time later this week.

Went to the new Brier Creek Beer Garden recently which opened two weeks ago (word of mouth and almost a stealth opening).

Good selection overall. Literally 95% of beer on tap in NC-based and decent national selection in bottles. They had the Triangle Habanero Pale Ale but didn't try it.

Did try Gizmo Blue Saison in the first round of flights and pleasantly surprised. I typically wouldn't order a blueberry beer but it was well done and subtle. Good farmhouse-style ale.

It's a relatively small place and the food selection is quirky (poutine or a pint of bacon, for example) but only ok from what I sampled. A few decent size flat screens but doesn't have the total feel of a sports bar.

 

[Finnish Jerk Train]

Went to the new Brier Creek Beer Garden recently which opened two weeks ago (word of mouth and almost a stealth opening).

Good selection overall. Literally 95% of beer on tap in NC-based and decent national selection in bottles. They had the Triangle Habanero Pale Ale but didn't try it.

Did try Gizmo Blue Saison in the first round of flights and pleasantly surprised. I typically wouldn't order a blueberry beer but it was well done and subtle. Good farmhouse-style ale.

It's a relatively small place and the food selection is quirky (poutine or a pint of bacon, for example) but only ok from what I sampled. A few decent size flat screens but doesn't have the total feel of a sports bar.

Well crap, I missed out. I was just happy the Total Wine had a decent beer selection when I lived there. Then again, I probably would have spent way too much if I had a beer garden in walking distance.