Beer thread

[jamesdeluxe]

My wife, son, and I are in Vermont to use our Indy Passes one last time for the season. While here, we made a point of visiting the pub/main facility for Long Trail -- one of the OG brands in New England craft beer -- in Bridgewater Corners, 15 minutes down the road from Killington. Take note of the word "retail" in the sign:

Founded in 1989 and still very much tied to the state’s outdoor identity, the name is inspired by the 270+ mile Long Trail that runs the spine of the Green Mountains. You can ski at Saskadena Six, Middlebury, Okemo, Killington, or Pico (between 10 and 40 minutes of the pub) and use Long Trail as your consistent après base, which is exactly how the place feels designed to be used.

The brewery built its brand around hiking, skiing, and the state's no-nonsense outdoorsy ethos. The all-Vermont-all-the-time vibe carries into the beer lineup, mostly classic styles including their flagship Long Trail Ale, a German-style altbier. We had two of their standbys: Blackbeary Wheat and Riverside Lager:

There's a big deck along the Ottauquechee River for warmer months:

I should've bought a set of these glasses with northeastern topographic highlights:

As a part-time connoisseur of smooth marketing, what really stands out for me is how much the place leans into its brand beyond the beer. The merchandising on display is extensive and very visible -- cases of beer along with racks of apparel, hats, glassware, stickers, and trail-themed gear, all built around their “Take a Hike” aesthetic.

I love the old-school logo and visuals. None of the annoyingly loud graphics and high-falutin' language (velvety, pillowy, silky, supple, resinous, dank, jammy, juicy, nectarous, succulent) that so many craft beer purveyors use and abuse:

A peek inside the laboratory:

You'll never forget which part of the country you're in at Long Trail: Northeast represent!

 

[Sbooker]

^^
Very cool. You need one of those beer glasses.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

^^
Very cool. You need one of those beer glasses.

The water where we live is very hard/mineralised so you can't clean glasses like that in the dishwasher because the graphics dissolve. I "lost" a few beloved Franziskaner glasses that way. I'll have to content myself with the photo.

 

[Sbooker]

The water where we live is very hard/mineralised so you can't clean glasses like that in the dishwasher because the graphics dissolve. I "lost" a few beloved Franziskaner glasses that way. I'll have to content myself with the photo.

Interesting. My beer glasses are washed with boiling water only. Perhaps a myth but my now passed father-in-law told me decades ago that detergent makes the beer go flat.
All the graphics are in top shape. That being said I only use them twice a week and I have over 100 so they get little use really.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Perhaps a myth but my now passed father-in-law told me decades ago that detergent makes the beer go flat.

And removes the critically important dank and pillowy qualities! Sorry, that's the last time I'll trot out that joke.

I have over 100

You really are a beer enthusiast!

 

[Sbooker]

And removes the critically important dank and pillowy qualities! Sorry, that's the last time I'll trot out that joke.


You really are a beer enthusiast!

I collect souvenir beer glasses. I have very few plain ones.

 

[ChrisC]

While here, we made a point of visiting the pub/main facility for Long Trail -- one of the OG brands in New England craft beer -- in Bridgewater Corners, 15 minutes down the road from Killington. Take note of the word "retail" in the sign:

I like everything about Long Trail - except its beer?

Just not a fan of its Ale - more like I prefer others more. OGs: Magic Hat, Harpoon, Alchemist, Shipyard

 

[jamesdeluxe]

OGs: Magic Hat

Our waiter at the Long Trail pub told us that Magic Hat has gone to hops heaven. It was acquired by a company named Filco (?) a while back and they ended MH's production. The last style standing was their beloved #9 (too bad as I recall liking it).

Harpoon

He also mentioned that Long Trail had been acquired by Harpoon's parent company four-ish years ago and it's now brewed in Harpoon's Windsor VT facility. The pub near Killington is still run independently by Long Trail.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

An article about the new alcohol-free Guinness:

Guinness v alcohol-free Guinness 0: We held a blind taste test to see if we could spot the fake

As sales of booze-free drinks surge, we blind tested Guinness and Guinness 0 to see if our tasters could tell them apart

www.theguardian.com

I've yet to try one of these AF beers but many people claim that technology has advanced to the point where most of the time you can't tell the difference.

 

[Sbooker]

The craft beer scene in Europe has grown exponentially in the last five years. I’ve had some good ones. This is a ‘smoked IPA’ and is very good.
The little brewery gave me a souvenir glass too.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

How many glasses do you expect to bring home?

 

[Sbooker]

How many glasses do you expect to bring home?

3.
I also got 2 from the two breweries in Cham.

 

[tseeb]

I have some photos from this year that I'm finally posting after taking care of things outside before it got too warm. Yesterday was 105 at nearby wunderground station and my weather station got to 107. Today, which was supposed to be cooler, my weather station got to 100 about noon.

List of 6 Bucket List Beer Destinations. I've been to Bend a few times and visited some breweries there. I was in Munich in summer of 1977 and did drink some beer.

Above photo is some of the beers I bought in Canada in Feb. The one on the right is Deep Tracks Lager from Oldman River Brewing in Lundbreck, AB that was made for Castle's 60th anniversary. I think it was $15 for a six-pack to go. Story about apres along Canada's Highway 3 beer trail.

The three on the left were from a Craft Collection 12-pack that also included a Headwall Hazy Pale Ale that I drank first and did not make the photo. All were very good.

The next photo is from a 6-pack of Imperial Hazy IPA I bought at Grocery Outlet in So. Lake Tahoe for $1 or not much more a can. I didn't think I liked it that much but tried it again recently as I had a couple of cans left and found it was OK. But 19.2 ounces at 8% means it's equal to 2 1/2 twelve ounce 5% cans. I don't know that I've ever seen the Eclipse hops that are from Australia and vendor says "bursts with sweet mandarin, zesty citrus and orange peel (thank you, high backed by fresh pine."

Hazy IPA bought at nearby high-end Grocery store. It's from a brewery in San Luis Obispo that is part of Harvest Hosts and allows members in self-contained RVs to spend some $ for a night in back of their parking lot which we did the 1st Monday in May. Very nice beer 6.5% with 25 IBU.

 

[Sbooker]

Nice post. I’d love to go to Fernie for the mountain but the brewery will be a bonus.

If you’ve casually looked at cycling you’ll have heard of the Galibier pass. They make some nice brews up there.
I bought home a glass. I think it’s interesting because their ibex (I think) logo has beer ingredients as features and there are mountain reflections in his sunnies.

 

[jimk]

Couple of refreshing beers appropriate after doing yard work in 90F+ degree weather here in Virginia
Cali Squeeze Blood Orange citris wheat ale, from Paso Robles, CA, abv 5%, and Narragansett Atlantic Light lager, from NY or RI, abv 3.5%:

The Cali Squeeze tasted almost like orange flavored sparkling water. The Atlantic Light was a mild and nice lager, although any beer tastes pretty good after hot yard work

 

[EMSC]

The Cali Squeeze tasted almost like orange flavored sparkling water.

I've never had a fruit/veggie based beer that I thought tasted like anything but garbage. Not pumpkin, not blood orange, etc...

No idea if it's just my taste buds or if I've been that unlucky with the several I've tried, but I never choose any of them ever at this point. Blech.

(Not that I drink much beer anyway at this point).

 

[tseeb]

Cali Squeeze is very good and refreshing. It contains Blood Orange which adds a lot of color and fresh flavor.

 

[ChrisC]

I've never had a fruit/veggie based beer that I thought tasted like anything but garbage. Not pumpkin, not blood orange, etc...

There are not too many I've liked, but some Wheat Beers are better with fruit versions:

• Magic Hat #9. Apricot Wheat Beer. This is (was) their flagship beer, and even got some distribution outside of New England. Or maybe it just reminds me of Burlington, VT, or New England Summers. Aside: It is a bit random that a Vermont Brewery's #1 beer was apricot-based.
• Some local Maine wheat beers with blueberry. Maine in summer is as much about blueberries as it is about lobster. Seemed to mix well.

 

[Sbooker]

I’m not a huge fan of the flavoured beers either. The exception though is a couple of blood orange varieties I’ve tried in the past.

Anything with ‘radler’ in the name I avoid like the plague.

 

[tseeb]

Beers from Spain. List of their top 10 found when looking for something else.

In Cordoba the temp was over 100 degrees when we there. We did not have much time there so my wife and I did a City tour where highlight was Catedral that was converted from a Mosque and had many Arabic arches in it. My wife was not feeling well that day so she went back to rest at hotel while I crossed river on a historic bridge and returned on another. There was supposed to be a brewpub along river on my return, but it was not open and I only got photo of sign on window.

We did better in Madrid when we went to sushi restaurant across the street from our hotel the night before the eclipse and ordered Asian craft beer that surprisingly was made at brewery in Spain. It was very good.

1906 is a high-end beer made in Galicia, Spain. I brought back a bottle of 8.0% Red that was also very good. Drank it in motel across the highway from Monterey Bay where we attended a spectacular wedding that had Indian event Friday in Monterey from 6-9 PM and our son was DJ. Then wedding took over ocean-view hotel in Carmel from 4-10 PM with an after-party from 10-midnight, then the 30-somethings closed down Barmel at 2 AM. Our son returned to motel, when I did not have a clear glass to pour beer into, at 3 AM. We'd gotten back just before midnight.