T1B

Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPA showed up here. Gets wide range of reviews on the beer sites. I was decidedly underwhelmed. Thin body, sour after taste. I've had the Mirror Pond. Or is it Meh-er Pond? Do those people know how to make a decent IPA?

I seem to recall Dins disowning Deshits awhile back. I think they were bought by one of the flyover megabreweries or something like that.

That might explain why their beer is making it all the way to God's Country. I have a brewer barely a mile from my house that makes 5 or 7 ales better than anything I've yet tasted from west of the Mississippi.

He disowned them because they won't settle on producing a few good beers instead of producing 30 flavors of average.

I don't think they went all InBev up in it, but they built a huge new production facility several years ago, and it was all downhill. I remember drinking it at the brewery in Bend when that was the only place you could get it (1990-ish). Black Butt was good shit back then (if you've ever drank it in quantity, you know why I left the "E" off the end).

BSmack is confusing my take on Rogue Brewing, which produces some hideous shit (although I'll still choke it down at their main brewery, which is a Garden Spot of the Universe).

Funny you say that Goobs -- I'm pretty sure the number of decent IPAs (Mirror Pond is a Pale, not an IPA) I've had from east of the Rockies still stands at zero. I'm sure there's one out there, but why would they waste their time breaking into the Grandaddy Of All Micro Markets, where they have no chance? Haven't had a good one at a festival, either.

Bridgeport IPA is still King. Has been for ages -- because they haven't "sold out."

I have an acquaintance (friend's roommate) who works for Portland Brewing. Pretty big, and not my favorite, but he does fill up growlers (every day) staright out of the finishing tanks. Fresh beer that hasn't been filtered multiple times doesn't suck.

On that note -- there is an outfit in Bend called 10 Barrels. They made very, very good ales (great IPA). Go ahead and finish the InBev story yourself. By the time the rest of you see it, I'm sure it will be garbage.

Dinsdale wrote:Bridgeport IPA is still King. Has been for ages -- because they haven't "sold out."

That may be a fine IPA for Oregon... but, it doesn't come close to debatably one of the best IPAs on the planet .


Which just happens to be made here in the San Francisco Bay Area... (how shocking) ?



From our friends at the Russian River Brewing Company up in Sonoma County.




Pliny The Elder







Beer: Ratings & Reviews
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/863/7971/


http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/russian-ri ... lder/8936/

The State wrote:www.beeradvocate.com

Just... stop.

YHKYOA

But props to Russian River for buying advertising in BA, the joke of the industry. Ratings-for-sale is a good business model, I guess.

Dinsdale wrote:

The State wrote:www.beeradvocate.com

Just... stop.

YHKYOA

But props to Russian River for buying advertising in BA, the joke of the industry. Ratings-for-sale is a good business model, I guess.

Are we really going there ?


I gave you two... sites.


I could give you ten more... but, that would just embarrass you.



I hope you're not questioning me... when it comes to the world's view of the best IPA in the world.



yeah, I didn't think so...




the truth

World's best IPA?

That claim makes about as much sense as world's best color.

I suspect that there are a few hundred really good IPA's out there that might lay legitimate claim to the title.

Not a huge IPA fan, so I wouldn't have a clue who they are.

Dinsdale wrote:Funny you say that Goobs -- I'm pretty sure the number of decent IPAs (Mirror Pond is a Pale, not an IPA) I've had from east of the Rockies still stands at zero. I'm sure there's one out there, but why would they waste their time breaking into the Grandaddy Of All Micro Markets, where they have no chance? Haven't had a good one at a festival, either.

I know that my favorite local microbrewer took at least 7 years to have their distribution cover the entire state and the Chicago metro area. I don't believe they have any desire to distribute from sea to shining sea, so you'll never know what you're missing.

It seems that once a brewer gets large enough to distibute across a large geographic area, they start trading quality for quantity. Sierra Nevada's not bad, but IMNSHO their beers tend not to be very well-balanced. Dogfish Head's IPA's are absolute shit. Lagunitas have a burnt taste, like maybe their malts were over-roasted.

And this beer is ridiculously good:

Been trying to limit my beer intake the past couple of years but tried this one a couple of months ago and had to go back a few times for more. Very nicely drinkable. It seems somewhat less hoppy than Stone's other IPAs (which tend to be a little over the top IMO), it has just the right amount of bitterness. Also added a really nice flavor when added experimentally to my recipes for 1) chili and 2) carnitas.

Dinsdale wrote:

The State wrote:www.beeradvocate.com

Just... stop.

YHKYOA

But props to Russian River for buying advertising in BA, the joke of the industry. Ratings-for-sale is a good business model, I guess.

Yelp has proven that extortion pay-for-ratings is very good business. I don't trust any of them anymore.

That said, Piney is pretty good. Not nectar of the gods beer nirvana, but damn damn good. Not turn down a blowjob to get a bottle good, but what really is?