Post Your Local Craft Breweries Here!

[Montsta]

What craft breweries are near you, or which ones have you been to that you feel are worth mentioning? There are A LOT of great beers out there being made by some really creative brewmasters, that are often too small to get much beyond regional distribution, so if you aren't from that area, you may not have heard of them.

Then there are bigger ones like the Stone Brewing Mothership in SoCal that have huge nationwide distribution, but still kick ass and are certainly worth a mention.

My wife and I spent our birthdays last year (our bdays are a day apart in October) and we did basically a brewery tour and spent seven days driving down from Northern Cali to SoCal and stopped at 28 different breweries along the way.

It was friggin awesome.

[Montsta]

So I'll start.

Altamont Beer Works

Livermore, CA

This place is the most trendy brewery for locals to go to. They fill growlers here for $10 and will even fill a growler from a different brewery, so long as you buy one of their branded neoprene sleeves to go over it. They don't do pints here, except on Thursdays, which is keep the pint glass night. They've told me the pint restriction has something to do with their landlord not wanting the place to be a "bar" per se. They do flights for $6-$7, and you usually get five or six flavors. They rotate in their seasonals and substitute the core beers as needed throughout the year on their flights. They also have a pretty awesome barbecue food truck that stays outside on the weekends.

What To Try There:

Hella Hoppy, DIPA

I really enjoy one of their flagship beers, Hella Hoppy IIPA. This beer comes in at a massive 9%, and you certainly taste it as it is LOADED with massive amounts of various local hops. Paying homage to the Northern California region by using the term "Hella" makes me a bit biased into loving this beer just a little more. If you are a hop-head, this is the beer for you.

Mac Drizzle, Imperial Dark Ale

Another beer that pays homage to the region, the late great rapper Mac Dre, Mac Drizzle is a robust 9.2% Dark Ale that drinks more like a triple IPA in my opinion. It is a pretty heavy beer that's got a delicious malt flavor that kind of masks a tropical taste underneath. This beer is seasonal, and while you can sometimes find it at various times of the year, it is typically released on the dates of Mac Dre's birthday, and the day he died. (July and November)

Berry White, Wheat Cream Ale

Can't get enough of this beer, baaaby (See what I did there). This is a wheat cream ale that friggin rocks. This beer is also seasonal, but at just 4.7%, is a great summertime libation out by the pool or at a BBQ. My wife loves wheat beer, so this is her favorite from Altamont. I'd say the only true drawback to this beer is that I feel like it hasn't tasted EXACTLY the same each time I've had it. Now, it could just be me, but I feel like there is a little bit too much taste fluctuation for this to be distributed right now. Maybe it's something with the berries in the brewing process or maybe they use different berries from a different farm or something, but it's been just a little bit different to me on various occasions. All were very good, but again, you need to be consistent.

[OnlyPantherFaninMaine]

Maine:

 

Some of the more famous/nationally distributed include Sea Dog, Allagash Brewing Co, and Shipyard Brewery. 

 

I also enjoy Geary's, Sebago Brewing Co and Rising Tide Brewing Company.

 

Still lots I have yet to try but the beer business in Maine has come a long way in a short time.

[Montsta]

Maine:

Some of the more famous/nationally distributed include Sea Dog, Allagash Brewing Co, and Shipyard Brewery.

I also enjoy Geary's, Sebago Brewing Co and Rising Tide Brewing Company.

Still lots I have yet to try but the beer business in Maine has come a long way in a short time.

Does Sea Dog make a blueberry beer with a dog on it in a poncho? My wife loves that beer.

[OnlyPantherFaninMaine]

Does Sea Dog make a blueberry beer with a dog on it in a poncho? My wife loves that beer.

 

Yes they do. That beer is money on a hot day. 

[Kettle]

Foothills and Natty Greens are my closest. I prefer foothills of the two. They always have some good stuff that is frequently changing in addition to the staples you can find at the grocery stores. People's Porter, hoppyum and torch pilsner. Natty is weak on the abv for the most part with few over 6%.

[Toker Smurf]

Virginia

Parkway (my favorite & only a 5 min walk)

Roanoke Railhouse

Sunken City

Flying Mouse

Star City

Maybe my favorite IPA

[TheJason]

So I'll start.

Altamont Beer Works

Livermore, CA

This place is the most trendy brewery for locals to go to. They fill growlers here for $10 and will even fill a growler from a different brewery, so long as you buy one of their branded neoprene sleeves to go over it. They don't do pints here, except on Thursdays, which is keep the pint glass night. They've told me the pint restriction has something to do with their landlord not wanting the place to be a "bar" per se. They do flights for $6-$7, and you usually get five or six flavors. They rotate in their seasonals and substitute the core beers as needed throughout the year on their flights. They also have a pretty awesome barbecue food truck that stays outside on the weekends.

What To Try There:

Hella Hoppy, DIPA

I really enjoy one of their flagship beers, Hella Hoppy IIPA. This beer comes in at a massive 9%, and you certainly taste it as it is LOADED with massive amounts of various local hops. Paying homage to the Northern California region by using the term "Hella" makes me a bit biased into loving this beer just a little more. If you are a hop-head, this is the beer for you.

Mac Drizzle, Imperial Dark Ale

Another beer that pays homage to the region, the late great rapper Mac Dre, Mac Drizzle is a robust 9.2% Dark Ale that drinks more like a triple IPA in my opinion. It is a pretty heavy beer that's got a delicious malt flavor that kind of masks a tropical taste underneath. This beer is seasonal, and while you can sometimes find it at various times of the year, it is typically released on the dates of Mac Dre's birthday, and the day he died. (July and November)

Berry White, Wheat Cream Ale

Can't get enough of this beer, baaaby (See what I did there). This is a wheat cream ale that friggin rocks. This beer is also seasonal, but at just 4.7%, is a great summertime libation out by the pool or at a BBQ. My wife loves wheat beer, so this is her favorite from Altamont. I'd say the only true drawback to this beer is that I feel like it hasn't tasted EXACTLY the same each time I've had it. Now, it could just be me, but I feel like there is a little bit too much taste fluctuation for this to be distributed right now. Maybe it's something with the berries in the brewing process or maybe they use different berries from a different farm or something, but it's been just a little bit different to me on various occasions. All were very good, but again, you need to be consistent.

 

The Maui Waui is to date the best IPA I've ever had... 

 

I was going to post Altamont. You better damn believe I rock my Altamont A's shirt all the time.

[KissMyConverse]

Moving away from Raleigh I'm going to miss Mother Earth... Specifically Dark Cloud. That was my favorite local.

But also Big Boss Harvest time and Lonerider Shotgun Betty... One that grew on me cause they finally hired a Master Brewer was Aviator Devil's Tramping Ground....

 

BUT I did move to Nor Cal (Your stomping grounds Montsta) and even though its not longer what I'd call a micro brew its kinda cool to be able to take a brewery tour of Lagunitas. 

North Coast Brewing is my favorite local place but even they have beers you can get in NC. Brother Thelonious is where its at. 

[Montsta]

The Maui Waui is to date the best IPA I've ever had...

I was going to post Altamont. You better damn believe I rock my Altamont A's shirt all the time.

I've got one of those shirts too! I love it!

My next post will be eight bridges.

And yes, Maui Waui is an awesome frickin beer. It even smells like weed.

[Montsta]

Moving away from Raleigh I'm going to miss Mother Earth... Specifically Dark Cloud. That was my favorite local.

But also Big Boss Harvest time and Lonerider Shotgun Betty... One that grew on me cause they finally hired a Master Brewer was Aviator Devil's Tramping Ground....

BUT I did move to Nor Cal (Your stomping grounds Montsta) and even though its not longer what I'd call a micro brew its kinda cool to be able to take a brewery tour of Lagunitas.

North Coast Brewing is my favorite local place but even they have beers you can get in NC. Brother Thelonious is where its at.

Where do you live? Faction Brewing in Alameda has my favorite beer of all time, and that will be written about in my beer bracket challenge post in the favorite beer of all time thread.

[KissMyConverse]

Where do you live? Faction Brewing in Alameda has my favorite beer of all time, and that will be written about in my beer bracket challenge post in the favorite beer of all time thread.

Right in the heart of Sacramento. I live on the edge of midtown/downtown of 16th st. 

 

There are some local breweries down here but I haven't gotten a chance to try them yet. 

[VerticalThreat]

If you're in CLT for a game or otherwise, there are a ton of breweries popping up all of which have fantastic brews of every kind. NoDa Brewing Co., Sycamore Brewing, Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, Sugar Creek Brewery, Triple C Brewery...there are more but my fingers are tired. Anyway, my point is that in the past 18 months Charlotte has seemed to have become a craft brew hotspot. Every spot has its own vibe and charm. All come equipped with first class scenery (wink, wink) and Southern hospitality. Also, a cool spot I've frequented quite a bit, that's actually about 4 blocks from the stadium, is a place called "Craft". They don't brew beer but have a ridiculous selection of regional craft beers (that rotate frequently) along with a good selection of canned and bottled brews. No BL, ML, etc will be found here.

This new forum is a great idea, Jeremy. Well done.

Cheers!

[Montsta]

Right in the heart of Sacramento. I live on the edge of midtown/downtown of 16th st.

There are some local breweries down here but I haven't gotten a chance to try them yet.

Go to Sudwerk Brewing in Davis.

They have a coffee, vanilla and chocolate lager called 3 Best Friends. It's one of my favorites but it's hard to find. Even my local beer guy doesn't get it from his distributor anymore.