Beer

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I'm in Seattle for work, and my GF is flying up Friday to spend the weekend here.

What relatively easy-to-find local brews (on tap in most bars/restaurants with bars) should be checked out?

In general, ambers and IPAs are preferred.

I'm not looking for 'the best", but out of the local-ish beers that are normally available in Seattle, which ones are worth a try?
 
I think I'm finally over the ulta-hazy NEIPA craze. Either that or breweries are just going too crazy with their formulations. The last few new ones I've had all were pretty meh. Nice to go back to a traditional bitter IPA.
 
I think I've maybe had 10 different NEIPAs, they are about as interesting as a normal IPA to me, which is not at all, unless they're properly balanced or use interesting ingredients. It feels to me that every idiot with a brewing kettle just adds too much hops to an otherwise bland as hell brew and calls it an IPA. The good and interesting ones are so few and far between nowadays that I've basically given up on IPA as a beer style.
 
I think I've maybe had 10 different NEIPAs, they are about as interesting as a normal IPA to me, which is not at all, unless they're properly balanced or use interesting ingredients. It feels to me that every idiot with a brewing kettle just adds too much hops to their beers and calls it an IPA.

I was very into them for a while. A lot of great variations on hops used for both brewing and dryhopping. Got to try some very interesting combinations. Then all the breweries turned to going more and more crazy and making them too complicated. Looking at a few of the recent ones I had.

Brewed using pineapple sage and double dry hopped with Mosaic, Denali, and Lemon Drop.
Brewed and dry hopped with all Mosaic hops. It has an apricot and peach aroma with a bright juicy hop flavor. This beer is brewed with wheat.
DDH sour double NEIPA brewed with Pilsner, oats, lactose, and double dry hopped with Citra / Cryo Mosaic and Simcoe hops.

I still have a few staples that I really like, and intend on bringing those to Ringmeet if I can get my hands on them in August. @Adunaphel, I'll message your the names/descriptions ahead of time so they can be included on your super nifty tasting menu. How far in advance do you need that?
 
Sadly, my favourite NEIPA was a single batch brew that sold out months ago. It's a "double milkshake IPA" with vanilla, called "My Milkshake Brings All the Geeks to the Yard"
I still have a few staples that I really like, and intend on bringing those to Ringmeet if I can get my hands on them in August. @Adunaphel, I'll message your the names/descriptions ahead of time so they can be included on your super nifty tasting menu. How far in advance do you need that?
A couple days before I leave, I just print them at home.
 
Had an milkshake IPA fermented with tangerine, blood orange and vanilla a little while ago. It was ok, but again, way too complicated. If I wanted that flavor profile, I would've just bought a creamsicle.
 
I tried this beer from the Philippines called Red Horse and it's actually pretty good. Another one I tried there is the San Miguel Pale Pilsen and it also has good flavor.

Cannot wait to go back there.
 
Good G-d, Brits - your beer is terrible! Damn near impossible to find a good pint in London, it seems - at least as far as my taste buds are concerned.

The way I find good beer in a new city is with the Untapped venue search. Open up the map and then click around the verified (yellow) pins until you find one categorized as a “beer bar”. Typically those will have better selections since they care enough about beer to pay Untappd for being verified. Also I’ve had pretty good luck at verified breweries too. After a 5 minute search, I‘d look into the following if I were in London on one of my solo weekend trips based solely on their beer lists.
http://untp.beer/m0X0v
http://untp.beer/a3996a662e
http://untp.beer/5mjrO
http://untp.beer/9a547b01a8
 
I think I’m going to take a break from new beers for a while. Stick with the tried and tested. At an increasing rate, I’m getting more and more totally undrinkable garbage instead of good beer when I go out. All the breweries around here are just experimenting with more complicated and more exotic flavors that in the end all fall flat on their face. Every brewery now just has 10 different ultra dank NEIPAs each with 7 different hops and 5 different fruit and milkshake this and double dry hop that and frankly, I’m sick of it. It was a fun trend when it started 2 years ago, but now all the breweries are just trying to outdo each other in terms of craziness and they all just need to chill. The 2 closest breweries to me that I used to be a regular at have even abandoned their classic but simple staples that made them successful in the first place in order to have the extra tap or two of exotic whatever-the-hell. Dear Breweries, you don’t have to stop, but please go back to the basics at least once in a while. I just want a nice simple classic piney, hoppy, bitter west coast IPA.
 
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Never was a fan of IPAs as the flavor is too “veggie” so to speak and it reminds me too much of work as I’ve done quite a few hop farms.

Despite this, I’ve pretty much stuck with pilsners, lager, wheat, and darks. Boring? Maybe. Homie don’t care.
 
If you think Michigan has too many New England IPAs, think about what it's like in New England. I used to like going up to Burlington VT and Portland ME for a weekend to go brewery hopping but last time I did that I couldn't find any beer I liked. NEIPAs taste like nasty orange juice to me, not beer.
 
Something I’ve noticed during this shitty pandemic, why the hell is german beer specifically so much cheaper than American made stuff? I’m not counting Budweiser or Miller/Coors. I can Get Paulaner of all types and Hacker Pschorr for at least $2 less than a domestic of the same style. Did somebody get really good trade deals or are these brands about as good as Budweiser or Miller?

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For example. Paulaner is $6 for 4 half liter cans, while the Goose Island is $8-9...
 
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