8 ms·

I remember getting Anchor Steam in California nearly 20 years ago, having been told about it by a relative as something to try. And having been happy to try a d

I remember getting Anchor Steam in California nearly 20 years ago, having been told about it by a relative as something to try. And having been happy to try a different tasting beer. The other California one I liked was Sierra Nevada pale ale. I feel like that was a much more innocent time. Now no matter where you are, there's a pile of competing craft beers, trying to out do one another across different dimensions (though mostly hops), it's hard to keep track. At the same time, good beer seems to mean a lot less now, because of how spoiled we all are.

eyelidlessness 3y ago
> trying to out do one another across different dimensions (though mostly hops) In places with younger craft markets, it's like an even split between hops and extreme naming/label graphics. Here in Seattle, beer names are like Obscure Mythology Reference and you might enjoy the Wikipedia hole it starts you on while you imbibe. The first craft brew I remember seeing visiting my original home state, Virginia, was literally named Raging Bitch with a fierce looking dog baring its teeth and blood-like splatters of red ink. It was actually a pretty decent stout IIRC.
- pjm331 3y ago
  Raging Bitch is made by Flying Dog brewery whose art is done by Ralph Steadman - well known for his collaborations with Hunter S Thompson. I started drinking it because of that fact after reading Fear and Loathing for the first time in college. It’s also nice and strong - 9% iirc
  - eyelidlessness 3y ago
    Ah, I had no idea about the artist! It came to mind because it’s pretty representative of the general theme I noticed, but also because the art was definitely striking in its own right.
  - girvo 3y ago
    > It’s also nice and strong - 9% iirc As all good stouts should be, in my humble opinion! My all time favourite beer is the BrewDog, Nogne and Mikkeller collaboration stout: the Black Tokyo Horizon. It's 17.2%!
    - xarope 3y ago
      17.2%?!? That led me down the rabbit hole to find out beers with very high alcohol content. Apparently Brewmeister Snake Venom, at ABV 67.5%, is the highest.
      - genocidicbunny 3y ago
        67.5% just sounds..bad. I'd be hard pressed to find a liquor that's easily drinkable at that ABV. Something like Utopias by Sam Adams is 28%, and even at that point, you drink it more like a liquor than a beer.
      - kodt 3y ago
        Yes those super high ones are usually freeze concentrated (partially frozen, then ice is removed which removes water, what is left is stronger) multiple times to reach such high ABVs. The highest you will see actually fermented is usually around 18-20%, but there are specialty yeasts that can get up to 25%. Then you can get even higher with extended aging in spirit barrels where some ABV is picked up by absorbing residual spirit as well as evaporation increasing the strength. Sam Adams Utopias for example comes in at 28%
        phillc73 3y ago
        Brewing high ABV beers is actually quite the challenge, especially once it gets above about 10%. The grain to strike water ratio changes so much that lautering often gets “stuck” due to the thick consistency of the grain bed.
        eyelidlessness 3y ago
        It’s pretty easy to get into the ~15% range with the right yeast (champagne yeast is the best starting point) and attention to sugar conversion (I wish I could remember the details here but I haven’t brewed for about a decade) and importantly for beer, good ventilation. I had a barleywine that should have been in this range ferment for about 12 hours and it clogged the airlock, exploded the carboy, and generally ruined everyone’s day. But not the way it was supposed to ruin anyone’s day.
  - lamp_book 3y ago
    I love Steadman’s art but refuse to buy Flying Dog beer since their owner is a giant asswipe (don’t remember the details just something to do with mistreating employees). Steadman also did the art for Anthony Bourdain’s cookbook - highly recommend that though. edit: HST’s story on the Kentucky Derby features Steadman prominently and it’s my favorite of his after/along with Fear and Loathing and Hell’s Angels. It’s probably the most gonzo of the three as well. edit: Corrected Flying Dog from BrewDog
    - ginnungagap 3y ago
      As far as I know there is no relationship between BrewDog and Flying Dog despite the names
      - lamp_book 3y ago
        Oh whoops I meant Flying Dog.
        _puk 3y ago
        I think you can quite correctly substitute Flying Dog for Brew Dog in the "owner is an asswipe and I won't buy anything from him" stakes: 'BrewDog, the fast-expanding craft beer firm, has apologised to former employees who accused the company and its co-founder James Watt of fostering a “culture of fear” in which workers were bullied and “treated like objects”.' [0] 0: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/10/brewdog-staff-craft-beer-firm-letter https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/10/brewdog-sta...
        smcl 3y ago
        BrewDog is a sad one for me. It was nice to see a brewery in the region I'm from (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) becoming a worldwide success. But their "punk" aesthetic is a bit cringe for a big corporate company, and the owner turning out to be a dick is a real turn-off and the beer isn't good enough for me to overlook it. There's another brewery in the area that I've been meaning to try out (likely impossible to find in Czech Republic), they've leaned into their Aberdeen identity pretty hard which is cool but idk what their beer is like https://www.fiercebeer.com https://www.fiercebeer.com
- mikestew 3y ago
  I was just thinking that this weekend in the Seattle area as we wandered the aisles for six for the wife. It’s either an attempt to put the scariest-looking skull(s) on the label, or $SOMETHING $SEXUAL_REFERENCE $FARM_ANIMAL (e. g., Ass-Kickin’ Horny Goat Stout).
  - bee_rider 3y ago
    Sounds pretty good TBH, does the drawing of the goat have bloodshot eyes and maybe yellowed and/or missing teeth? Because I’d give that a try.
  - bamfly 3y ago
    > It’s either an attempt to put the scariest-looking skull(s) on the label One of the people behind Liquid Death water was on NPR some weeks back, and basically their entire deal, as told by him, was just taking canned water and applying craft beer branding. Not to knock it, evidently it worked and, as far as the product and concept, was all they needed. Just thought it was funny—yeah, why not put an edgy name and skulls all over water?
    - starkparker 3y ago
      That was CEO Mike Cessario, who's ex-Netflix. And it was Monster he was aping more than craft beer. (It was Kai Ryssdal who compares it to Arrogant Bastard beer.) https://www.marketplace.org/2023/01/25/liquid-death-is-an-entertainment-machine-with-a-water-brand-attached/ https://www.marketplace.org/2023/01/25/liquid-death-is-an-en...
    - 13of40 3y ago
      The only reason I haven't bought one of those at Whole Foods is I don't want to deal with the cops seeing it in the cup holder in my car. Much better to buy the plastiboard container that says "Just Water" on the side[1] and fill it with vodka. (I am kidding.) [1]https://dg6qn11ynnp6a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/19120240/JustWater-Water-Social.jpg https://dg6qn11ynnp6a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018...
    - ProfessorLayton 3y ago
- ojbyrne 3y ago
  Pretty sure it’s an IPA. Sigh
  - eyelidlessness 3y ago
    You are correct
    - eyelidlessness 3y ago
      I’m my defense I remembered the artwork then I bought their stout whenever I visited until I couldn’t find it anymore
      - ojbyrne 3y ago
        I did not sigh at your mistake, I sighed at the over-prevalence of IPAs.
- Tao3300 3y ago
  Flying Dog's Raging Bitch has a special place in my heart. It was the beer in my fridge many years ago on the day I got laid off. Got to drink that and watch the Women's World Cup instead of being at my awful job.
civilitty 3y ago
Thankfully we’re starting to see a larger variety down here in Southern California. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the quality and availability of sours and stouts in the last few years
jehb 3y ago
Sierra Nevada here on the east coast is brewed in Mills River, NC, just outside Asheville. I guess there must be some economic reason (abundant skilled brewer labor force?) for locating their east coast operations in a place that was already one of the most thriving local brewing scenes on this side of the country, but it just felt redundant to me.
- boilerupnc 3y ago
  One of the big reasons was the water [0] interns of both availability, quality and abundance. > Water quality was one of the critical factors in the company’s choice of WNC from about 200 sites across the eastern U.S. […] it also learned there was some high-quality water to be found in aquifers throughout the region — primarily around Black Mountain. [0] https://www.blueridgenow.com/story/news/2012/07/23/sierra-nevada-finds-rich-water-source/28295741007/ https://www.blueridgenow.com/story/news/2012/07/23/sierra-ne...
jmspring 3y ago
Anchor Steam was my goto beer for a long time. I really miss Anchor Porter - I found a 6-pack of it back in 2003 while living in Helsinki (I was missing home/California). I ponied up the 18 euros (then) for the 6 pack and drank it like it was a rare gift - it was the last one they had.
smallerdemon 3y ago
And crazy sour ales. I would welcome the return of some imperial stout and porter efforts from these guys.
mbg721 3y ago
I'm a little bummed that Anchor Steam isn't going to be sold near me (Ohio) anymore, specifically because it was one of the few microbrews I could always find that wasn't over-the-top hoppy or wheaty or sour or chocolate-syrupy. But at least the all-IPA all-the-time trend seems to have died down, and I do see local breweries with more pilsners and Kölsches.
- coldpie 3y ago
  Yeah, pilsners seem to be the new hotness, and I couldn't be happier about it :) (I've also very recently discovered how good NA/very-low-ABV beers are today, but that's a topic for a different thread.)
- johnny_and1 3y ago
  Just a comment from someone living around Köln, those are not true kölsch beers since they cannot see the Kölner Dom from their brewery. I find it quite fascinating that americans like kölsch. The first time, and only time, I saw kölsch outside of Germany was in Mountain View at some beer auction style tap bar in 2016. It was quite popular since it had a high price. I might assume it was due to the similarity with local/large batch beer.

eyelidlessness 3y ago

> trying to out do one another across different dimensions (though mostly hops) In places with younger craft markets, it's like an even split between hops and extreme naming/label graphics. Here in Seattle, beer names are like Obscure Mythology Reference and you might enjoy the Wikipedia hole it starts you on while you imbibe. The first craft brew I remember seeing visiting my original home state, Virginia, was literally named Raging Bitch with a fierce looking dog baring its teeth and blood-like splatters of red ink. It was actually a pretty decent stout IIRC.

pjm331 3y ago
Raging Bitch is made by Flying Dog brewery whose art is done by Ralph Steadman - well known for his collaborations with Hunter S Thompson. I started drinking it because of that fact after reading Fear and Loathing for the first time in college. It’s also nice and strong - 9% iirc
- eyelidlessness 3y ago
  Ah, I had no idea about the artist! It came to mind because it’s pretty representative of the general theme I noticed, but also because the art was definitely striking in its own right.
- girvo 3y ago
  > It’s also nice and strong - 9% iirc As all good stouts should be, in my humble opinion! My all time favourite beer is the BrewDog, Nogne and Mikkeller collaboration stout: the Black Tokyo Horizon. It's 17.2%!
  - xarope 3y ago
    17.2%?!? That led me down the rabbit hole to find out beers with very high alcohol content. Apparently Brewmeister Snake Venom, at ABV 67.5%, is the highest.
    - genocidicbunny 3y ago
      67.5% just sounds..bad. I'd be hard pressed to find a liquor that's easily drinkable at that ABV. Something like Utopias by Sam Adams is 28%, and even at that point, you drink it more like a liquor than a beer.
    - kodt 3y ago
      Yes those super high ones are usually freeze concentrated (partially frozen, then ice is removed which removes water, what is left is stronger) multiple times to reach such high ABVs. The highest you will see actually fermented is usually around 18-20%, but there are specialty yeasts that can get up to 25%. Then you can get even higher with extended aging in spirit barrels where some ABV is picked up by absorbing residual spirit as well as evaporation increasing the strength. Sam Adams Utopias for example comes in at 28%
      - phillc73 3y ago
        Brewing high ABV beers is actually quite the challenge, especially once it gets above about 10%. The grain to strike water ratio changes so much that lautering often gets “stuck” due to the thick consistency of the grain bed.
        eyelidlessness 3y ago
        It’s pretty easy to get into the ~15% range with the right yeast (champagne yeast is the best starting point) and attention to sugar conversion (I wish I could remember the details here but I haven’t brewed for about a decade) and importantly for beer, good ventilation. I had a barleywine that should have been in this range ferment for about 12 hours and it clogged the airlock, exploded the carboy, and generally ruined everyone’s day. But not the way it was supposed to ruin anyone’s day.
- lamp_book 3y ago
  I love Steadman’s art but refuse to buy Flying Dog beer since their owner is a giant asswipe (don’t remember the details just something to do with mistreating employees). Steadman also did the art for Anthony Bourdain’s cookbook - highly recommend that though. edit: HST’s story on the Kentucky Derby features Steadman prominently and it’s my favorite of his after/along with Fear and Loathing and Hell’s Angels. It’s probably the most gonzo of the three as well. edit: Corrected Flying Dog from BrewDog
  - ginnungagap 3y ago
    As far as I know there is no relationship between BrewDog and Flying Dog despite the names
    - lamp_book 3y ago
      Oh whoops I meant Flying Dog.
      - _puk 3y ago
        I think you can quite correctly substitute Flying Dog for Brew Dog in the "owner is an asswipe and I won't buy anything from him" stakes: 'BrewDog, the fast-expanding craft beer firm, has apologised to former employees who accused the company and its co-founder James Watt of fostering a “culture of fear” in which workers were bullied and “treated like objects”.' [0] 0: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/10/brewdog-staff-craft-beer-firm-letter https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/10/brewdog-sta...
        smcl 3y ago
        BrewDog is a sad one for me. It was nice to see a brewery in the region I'm from (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) becoming a worldwide success. But their "punk" aesthetic is a bit cringe for a big corporate company, and the owner turning out to be a dick is a real turn-off and the beer isn't good enough for me to overlook it. There's another brewery in the area that I've been meaning to try out (likely impossible to find in Czech Republic), they've leaned into their Aberdeen identity pretty hard which is cool but idk what their beer is like https://www.fiercebeer.com https://www.fiercebeer.com
mikestew 3y ago
I was just thinking that this weekend in the Seattle area as we wandered the aisles for six for the wife. It’s either an attempt to put the scariest-looking skull(s) on the label, or $SOMETHING $SEXUAL_REFERENCE $FARM_ANIMAL (e. g., Ass-Kickin’ Horny Goat Stout).
- bee_rider 3y ago
  Sounds pretty good TBH, does the drawing of the goat have bloodshot eyes and maybe yellowed and/or missing teeth? Because I’d give that a try.
- bamfly 3y ago
  > It’s either an attempt to put the scariest-looking skull(s) on the label One of the people behind Liquid Death water was on NPR some weeks back, and basically their entire deal, as told by him, was just taking canned water and applying craft beer branding. Not to knock it, evidently it worked and, as far as the product and concept, was all they needed. Just thought it was funny—yeah, why not put an edgy name and skulls all over water?
  - starkparker 3y ago
    That was CEO Mike Cessario, who's ex-Netflix. And it was Monster he was aping more than craft beer. (It was Kai Ryssdal who compares it to Arrogant Bastard beer.) https://www.marketplace.org/2023/01/25/liquid-death-is-an-entertainment-machine-with-a-water-brand-attached/ https://www.marketplace.org/2023/01/25/liquid-death-is-an-en...
  - 13of40 3y ago
    The only reason I haven't bought one of those at Whole Foods is I don't want to deal with the cops seeing it in the cup holder in my car. Much better to buy the plastiboard container that says "Just Water" on the side[1] and fill it with vodka. (I am kidding.) [1]https://dg6qn11ynnp6a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/19120240/JustWater-Water-Social.jpg https://dg6qn11ynnp6a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2018...
  - ProfessorLayton 3y ago
ojbyrne 3y ago
Pretty sure it’s an IPA. Sigh
- eyelidlessness 3y ago
  You are correct
  - eyelidlessness 3y ago
    I’m my defense I remembered the artwork then I bought their stout whenever I visited until I couldn’t find it anymore
    - ojbyrne 3y ago
      I did not sigh at your mistake, I sighed at the over-prevalence of IPAs.
Tao3300 3y ago
Flying Dog's Raging Bitch has a special place in my heart. It was the beer in my fridge many years ago on the day I got laid off. Got to drink that and watch the Women's World Cup instead of being at my awful job.

civilitty 3y ago

Thankfully we’re starting to see a larger variety down here in Southern California. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the quality and availability of sours and stouts in the last few years

jehb 3y ago

Sierra Nevada here on the east coast is brewed in Mills River, NC, just outside Asheville. I guess there must be some economic reason (abundant skilled brewer labor force?) for locating their east coast operations in a place that was already one of the most thriving local brewing scenes on this side of the country, but it just felt redundant to me.

boilerupnc 3y ago
One of the big reasons was the water [0] interns of both availability, quality and abundance. > Water quality was one of the critical factors in the company’s choice of WNC from about 200 sites across the eastern U.S. […] it also learned there was some high-quality water to be found in aquifers throughout the region — primarily around Black Mountain. [0] https://www.blueridgenow.com/story/news/2012/07/23/sierra-nevada-finds-rich-water-source/28295741007/ https://www.blueridgenow.com/story/news/2012/07/23/sierra-ne...

jmspring 3y ago

Anchor Steam was my goto beer for a long time. I really miss Anchor Porter - I found a 6-pack of it back in 2003 while living in Helsinki (I was missing home/California). I ponied up the 18 euros (then) for the 6 pack and drank it like it was a rare gift - it was the last one they had.

smallerdemon 3y ago

And crazy sour ales. I would welcome the return of some imperial stout and porter efforts from these guys.

mbg721 3y ago

I'm a little bummed that Anchor Steam isn't going to be sold near me (Ohio) anymore, specifically because it was one of the few microbrews I could always find that wasn't over-the-top hoppy or wheaty or sour or chocolate-syrupy. But at least the all-IPA all-the-time trend seems to have died down, and I do see local breweries with more pilsners and Kölsches.

coldpie 3y ago
Yeah, pilsners seem to be the new hotness, and I couldn't be happier about it :) (I've also very recently discovered how good NA/very-low-ABV beers are today, but that's a topic for a different thread.)
johnny_and1 3y ago
Just a comment from someone living around Köln, those are not true kölsch beers since they cannot see the Kölner Dom from their brewery. I find it quite fascinating that americans like kölsch. The first time, and only time, I saw kölsch outside of Germany was in Mountain View at some beer auction style tap bar in 2016. It was quite popular since it had a high price. I might assume it was due to the similarity with local/large batch beer.