What are you drinking ?

[jt]

Ok, so What Are You Brewing was a hotty, as topics go.

Now I'm 15 pints into a keg I only filled on Tuesday and wondering if anyone else has a favourite at the moment ?

It's my second brown with US-Oh05 and it's better than the forst, maybe Ikept the temps down a bit during the scorcher we had in januray

[JoKing]

You are the man Greg.

I was lucky enough to experience your range while I was in San Diego and San Francisco back in 2007. I was inspired by the experience. Your beer as well as Green Flash and Russian River changed the way I think about brewing entirely.

I have had the beers that are available in New Zealand stores, and believe that they are a fair representation of what I experienced in California. I'll admit that some there a definate degree of oxidation in the ruination and IPA that I bought over here in NZ, but it was a delight to take that trip down memory lane and taste some of what I consider as being in my top 10 best beers in the world again. In the past on this forum, I have been quite vocal about my passion for your beer. I have even tried to reproduce your "Old Guardian 2009" and your Ruination beers in my own home brewery!

I would happily distribute your beer via my website if it was possible.

Thanks for contributing to our little forum over here, and thanks for brewing such awesome beer. Keep up the hard work.

[Stu McKinlay]

Greg

Firstly: Thanks for being an active part of the wider beer community.

Secondly: Good on you for coming in to bat for your product in a place that is has such little significance to your overall sales. It’s very cool to see.

Thirdly: Fair play to you on not being happy with beers being shipped overseas without your own team overseeing the method of travel.


Now, to my opinion...
Regarding your assumption about my ‘cold’: I'm recovering from some sort of virus that has symptoms in aching muscles - please be well aware that my sensory ability wasn’t at all impaired. I’d not make a statement (negative or positive) about any beer if it was.

Further: I've also tried several other Stone beers this year...some of these were shipped via unknown sources but others were air-freighted (with your brewery's consent, I guess) so I can only assume these ones were as fresh as I could ever get them here. The darker beers were ok, without being overly memorable, but the pales in my opinion had a common 'soapy' character that I didn't enjoy at all and negated their 'drinkability'. I don't know anything about your brewery processes or ingredients so I'd never be so bold as to assume where that character came from. However, I have spoken to a few people who had drunk Stone beer fresh in San Diego and they too had come away with quite similar thoughts. These are people who know a lot more about US beer than I do.

Perhaps one day I'll make it over to your fantastic part of the world again and try the beers at source, where I am sure they are at their very best. Perhaps it’ll change my mind, possibly even rock my world. San Diego to Portland, or vice versa, does seem like an ideal road trip.

Good luck and good health.
Stu

ps. "I am a craft brewer" is absolute magic, well done. Keep fighting for the greater good.

[Martin Bridges]

Not wanting to prolong this debate too much (turning the What Am I Drinking thread into What Shouldn't I Be Drinking, for example) but if the outcome is that we get fresh Ruination out here I will be a very happy man. I've had a few bottles of Ruination over the last couple of months and all have been absolutely awesome. The Arrogant Bastard didn't rock my world, but it certainly wasn't bad.

Sometimes it sucks living in an insignificant speck....

[Reviled]

Sometimes it sucks living in an insignificant speck....

I have thought this so many times throughout my life ;oP lol, one day I will move somewhere else, and then most likely appreciate NZ a bit more ;o) haha

[Martin Bridges]

I was actually joking. The absence of Ruination is but a small price to pay for living here. It's not as if we don't have a whole bunch of amazing craft beers available!

[Steph]

While I haven't had the Arrogant Bastard, I LOVE the Ruination...

[Ally Mcg]

I had fresh AB and Ruination on my last visit to the states. Not tried them bottled either here or their but my preference was for the AB - the Ruination wasn't bad tho, the AB was just bigger and better.

[Tony]

No worries, I believe Steph has been ill the last few days also. Do you guys live close?

[Stu McKinlay]

We move in similar circles from time to time.

[666 Brewing]

I would say your not 'out on a limb' as I would agree with you...even when drinking them fresh at the brewery! Im finding a few NZ beers are heading in the same direction unfortunately. Put shedloads of hops in if you like, thats the easy bit, but finding balance and drinkability is a skill.

I thought the Imp Stout might have helped with the cold :-)

[Stu McKinlay]

I can't hold my hand steady as it is - 750ml of Imperial Stout would likely kill me. I'll take one up to Taupo... I'm going to need something to take along in my picnic lunch as I'll be a couple of hours slower than normal with the way I'm feeling.

[Sam Possenniskie (TGM)]

Emersons Pilsner; a sneaky pint of Galbraiths Bellringer; a Bob Hudson's take-away, followed by a horizontal tasting of PKB and PKB Remixed :)

Feeling like getting horizontal myself soon...