Random musings

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Tim
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Re: Random musings

Post by Tim »

Is North Carolina considered southeast? Have you never been to Asheville and done a beer tour?

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JL21
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Re: Random musings

Post by JL21 »

Tim wrote:Is North Carolina considered southeast? Have you never been to Asheville and done a beer tour?
It is, and I've never done the Asheville thing. I have had a few decent NC beers, though. There are always exceptions. Richmond, VA is kind of borderline southeast and it has a very active beer scene, including one of my favorite breweries in the mid-Atlantic.
Arthur Dent wrote:Hmmm. I hadn't noticed this trend. We certainly have a lot of good beer here in Texas. Maybe it's more the southeast that's a beer desert? I don't know the territory that well, but it seems like good beer takes off from semi-random centers where a trend starts to build on itself than places based on climate.
It's admittedly anecdotal and not based on anything objective. TX, for instance... it wouldn't surprise me at all if there were a lot of exceptions in Texas. Between Austin being Austin, and Texas having been settled by a lot of Germans (I believe?), it makes sense that it would have good beer. Similarly, Cigar City in FL is well known and has a great reputation. And California is one of the best beer scenes in the US.

What I'm basing all of this on:

-My brother is in South Carolina and has been especially into the craft scene lately. And almost everything I've had has been mediocre.

-Sweetwater is another one, out of GA, that has a great reputation in some circles but I've always found it unimpressive.

-And frankly, I can't even name a beer based out of Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas... maybe there are good ones there but I haven't seen much, if any.

-Then you have Kentucky and Tennessee, which are bourbon-heavy. They may have some good beers but I don't know of them.

-When I've spent time in Florida, it always blows me away at how few decent beers I can find on tap.

And it all makes some common sense, too. When it's hot a lot of the year, people don't want complex IPAs or stouts or porters or anything heavy on any level. So instead you end up with these mediocre piss-consistency lagers or beer flavored sessionable wine coolers.

AWvsCBsteeeerike3
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Re: Random musings

Post by AWvsCBsteeeerike3 »

There are a couple breweries popping up in Arkansas. I can't remember their names. Diamond Bear has been around for a while and I think it's...not good. A buddy of mine works at Lost Forty which is actually not too bad. Can't name many of their beers but my favorite is Daydrinker. It's okay.

Not much of a fancy beer fella, so my opinion doesn't mean much. But, I can't imagine the beers around here would hold up well compared to other breweries throughout the US.

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lukethedrifter
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Re: Random musings

Post by lukethedrifter »

Back in the day when the craft beer movement was nascent, a place in Nashville opened up that boasted of over 100 different beers. 90 of them were [expletive] beers like Carling Black Label and Red White and Blue.

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Tim
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Re: Random musings

Post by Tim »

AWvsCBsteeeerike3 wrote:There are a couple breweries popping up in Arkansas. I can't remember their names. Diamond Bear has been around for a while and I think it's...not good. A buddy of mine works at Lost Forty which is actually not too bad. Can't name many of their beers but my favorite is Daydrinker. It's okay.

Not much of a fancy beer fella, so my opinion doesn't mean much. But, I can't imagine the beers around here would hold up well compared to other breweries throughout the US.
Diamond Bear was the only one around when I was there. I really liked the Southern Blonde, but nothing else.

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go birds
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Re: Random musings

Post by go birds »

I'm about over the craft beer movement.

Seems anywhere you go these days the only options on tap you have are local breweries and most of them simply are not very good. I feel like everyone just chokes them down because HEY NASHVILLE. Yazoo brewery is about the only tolerable craft that drink on a regular basis.

The market is over saturated with expensive overrated beers. sometimes i just want a bud light damnit.

To JL's point though...i believe hes spot on. The only craft beer i find myself actually loving and buying on a regular basis is Bell's...which is based out of michigan.

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JL21
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Re: Random musings

Post by JL21 »

One of the reasons I've come to drink Manhattans with my meals when I go out to eat is because the DC craft scene is mostly crap. My beer choices are frequently 5 mediocre local craft beers (none of the few good ones) or Yuengling. Occasionally, I hit the jackpot and find a bar that has Natty Boh but that's few and far between because DC is too far up its own ass to drink Natty Boh. They'd rather drink bad craft beer than drink a really great Dad beer.

The irony of that is that DC has quite a few great bars that cater to craft beer dorks (like me), with amazing selections on tap. But the average restaurant beer selection is very meh.

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JL21
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Re: Random musings

Post by JL21 »

Also, you guys shouldn't sleep on the other half of my post... Gravy, fried chicken, and BBQ in the north is almost universally [expletive] garbage. "Hey, we made some meat on a grill and drowned it in ketchup! Isn't it great?!?" No. No it is not.

AWvsCBsteeeerike3
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Re: Random musings

Post by AWvsCBsteeeerike3 »

Don't have much experience with northern bbq. I will say we took a little trip to up near Pittsburgh the other month, and drove all the way taking about a week to go there and back and now that you mention it, I can't recall seeing a single BBQ shack up north. Drive 15 hours southeast, south (without hitting the ocean), or southwest and you can't go an exit without seeing something (except Florida).

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MrCrowesGarden
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Re: Random musings

Post by MrCrowesGarden »

Hasbro's latest PR stunt to boost Monopoly sales is to replace one of the tokens (thimble) with another piece to be announced.

Saw people online saying "they got rid of the thimble! Never playing again!"

Uh... if you have Monopoly at home, you can still be the thimble. And what American household--especially one that wants to play Monopoly-- doesn't already have the game?

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