Best beer that you can find in a store with a good-sized but not huge beer selection?

Sierra Nevada

buy local

i thought this was going to be about a gas station type scenario, not the kind of place that's going to stock Dogfish.

sierra nevada is a fine, upstanding answer

also, Newcastle, which I used to think was excellente but now I know better, but damn, it still drinks smooth, ya know? Stella works if you're determined not to slum. I will also continue to rep for Sam Adams Light.

gas stations choices: rolling rock, pbr, high life

The store I go to is actually a convenience store in the ghetto - (yes, I live in the ghetto, but it's the only affordable housing near my school) - and they have a fairly decent selection. My Kroger also carries Dogfish. How much is a 6 pack of Sierra Nevada, by the way?

actually, scratch rolling rock. It's just on the wrong side of that thin yellow line between watery-domestic and blargh.

Budweiser.

oh we know all about you. :)

What, it's an answer.

bud is as drinkable as something like pbr, sure, but it's so much more expensive!

xp And you can get it everywhere. Except maybe in a Coors town or something, I don't know about those places.

It's a dollar a bottle in Crown Heights, does it get cheaper than that?

Becks works too, in a pinch.

gas station choices for me: high life, leinie's red, sierra nevada.

yeah if u happen to be in WI/Upper MI get Leinie's

I think Rock Hardy had it right.

You can get Budweiser in Coors town, but you cannot get Coors in Bud town (went on a photoshoot for Coors in St Louis and had to have Coors shipped in because we couldnt find it anywhere)

http://www.plga.com/images/awardimgs/imgs_awards04/award15.jpg

all function, no form. A big ugly smoke-belching industrial-revolution machine of an alcoholic beverage.

corona + lime

Sierra Nevada

-- Rock Hardy, Thursday, April 17, 2008 4:08 PM (41 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

also v good

leinie's isn't everywhere? i guess i take it for granted.

if it's a mass produced beer what difference does it make? get what's on sale.

uh cause some mass produced beers taste good and some mass produced beers taste like crap?

i'm guessing if someone is asking for beer recommendations before running to the packie their palate isn't as advanced as yours so obviously is.

uh, if they're talking about Dogfish Head, they obv. care more about taste than price.

There's an otherwise kinda crappy Kroger in Raleigh that has Dead Guy.

Sierra Nevada is like the TGIFridays of beer... Ok, if that's all you got.

Seems like porters are showing up more often. Usually, unless I can find exactly what I want, I'm good with High Life or PBR or Original Coors or whatever.

The World Beer Festival in Raleigh has upped it's ticket price to $40 for 4 hours of all-you-can-drink. It used to be $25. You can drink overpriced microbrews in the bars around here for less than $10/hour.

Sierra Nevada is like the TGIFridays of beer... Ok, if that's all you got.

Motherfucker, I will stab your heart with a keg tap if you set foot in the state of California.

Sierra Nevada =/= T.G.I.Friday's. This analogy is just anal.

H.A.R.D.M.A.N.

Sierra Nevada has all the consistency from bottle to bottle and year to year of the big guys, 10x the flavor, and is resistant to the recent trend of brewers trying out out-bitter each other.

Sierra Nevada is like the TGIFridays of beer... Ok, if that's all you got.

No seriously, this is total bullshit. Sierra is an excellent beer, and the only reason I don't drink it more often is the illusion of endless variety that my liquor store seems to provide. More often than not, the random microbrew I pick is not as good as Sierra.

F.U.C.K.S.I.E.R.R.A.N.E.V.A.D.A.H.A.T.E.R.S.

uh, if they're talking about Dogfish Head, they obv. care more about taste than price.

uh, considering the dude says the place doesn't have a huge selection and yet they have "so much that I've never heard of" i'm sticking with the underdeveloped palate.

An ice-cold Sierra Nevada green label on a scorching hot day is one of joys of Southern California life.

I mean, if you don't like it, don't like it...but you ain't gotta hate.

BLAM, have you been to the brewery in Chico? Always a couple of styles available at the brewpub that they don't bottle.

but if he just wanted a cheap alcohol delivery mechanism he wouldn't be asking for good beer recommendations!

xp

Stella Artois, however, is a mediocre beer that women drink because of the name.

Consistent, lots of flavor? Not terribly expensive, and better than the mass-produced cheap shit? Sounds like TGIMFFridays!

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

and so overpriced. also, in my very limited experience every beer in Italy tastes like Stella (good on hot summer days, but pretty boring).

I'd like to take Laurel to Hopleaf and watch her ask for a Budweiser.

stella is gortesque

Anyway, all I meant was it's kinda middling and doesn't get me particularly excited. That goes for lots of beers, which was my original "if they don't have exactly what I want" point. I also still think Heineken is secretly non-alcoholic.

Stella is some bullshit. Who drinks it, besides other people's girlfriends?

speaking of italy, i only recently realized that Miller owns Peroni.

Consistent, lots of flavor? Not terribly expensive, and better than the mass-produced cheap shit? Sounds like TGIMFFridays!

It cannot be BETTER than mass-produced cheap shit, and BE cheap shit at the same time. TGIFridays = cheap shit. Therefore, your analogy is a weak one.

And I've not made my pilgrimage to the Chico SN Brewery. Eagerly anticipating the day, though.

I have to go, this thread is making me crave a beer and I can't go out tonight.

TGIFridays doesn't have a dollar menu, Richie Rich.

italian beer is garbage

TGIFridays doesn't have a dollar menu, Richie Rich.

Your argument makes no sense. I am no arguing about the EXPENSE of the beer or its analogue. I am arguing about the quality. And, in my opinion, the following statements are true:

1. Sierra Nevada is a beer that is produced in relatively large quantities. It cannot be called a micro-brew by any stretch of that term.
2. TGIFriday's is a restaurant that is an international chain.
3. In the broad qualitative spectrum of beer quality, Sierra Nevada ranks higher than 50%, in that it is better than 50% of the restaurants out there.
4. In the broad qualitative spectrum of restaurant quality, TGIFriday's ranks lower than 50%, in that it is worse than 50% of the restaurants out there.
5. Ergo, on their respective qualities as compared to other similar entities, TGIFriday's is not equivalent to Sierra Nevada.

Now if you're just creating a "junk drawer" qualitative spectrum with "blow-jobs" at one end, and "getting stabbed in the neck while a wild dog gnaws on your nuts" and the other, I would venture to say that Sierra Nevada STILL outranks TGIFriday's in ABSOLUTE value.

But that's just me.

If we ever bro down, I won't drink your Sierra Nevada. Fair enough?

I think Sierra is better than most microbrew pale ales I've had. Just because it's mass produced doesn't mean it's not delicious.

for it doesn't compare to the microbrews i like, but if i'm in a bar and they don't have Bell's 2-<3ed or one of the local ones, then i'll get sierra.

just drink beck's as default, you dumbasses. it is a solid pilsner that conforms to the Reinheitsgebot thing, and it will never steer you wrong. NEVER

also, Newcastle, which I used to think was excellente but now I know better, but damn, it still drinks smooth, ya know? Stella works if you're determined not to slum.

Stella is slumming.

US/UK divide

Always found Newcastle to be kind of nast.

Bud is my cheap beer of choice.

Budweiser tastes like ashtrays

Are you saying it tastes like making out?

Any beer in cans tastes like ashtrays. Drink Bud in bottles and you will see.

Old Milwuakee 16 oz. cans aka RED ROCKETS

$.99 quarts of Blatz

30 packs of High Life cans for $10

Hamm's Genuine Draft

faux-micro Point

40s of Stroh's

Huber Bock purchased in Wisconsin after a late night mad dash drive from Minneapolis due to Minnesota's insane blue laws

No, seriously, every time I've ever drank Budweiser it's been out of the bottle, and I always find it disagreeable. Weird, flattish aftertaste. Gross-ish.

For financial reasons I've lately been drinking Beck's straight from the can, and it's entirely satisfactory. I mean, I have semi-pretensions to being some sort of beer geek, so I think I'm speaking with somewhat of an educated palate. I would drink gallons of PBR before I would delve into Bud

My drinking lately:
-Stone IPA
-Stone Barleywine Style Ale ($4.99 for a biiiiig bottle at 11% abv)
-Riverhorse IPA
-Brooklyn Lager (standby)
-Troegenator
-Bluepoint Blueberry Ale
-Mackeson
-Rogue Dead Guy Ale

Sierra Nevada is fine, but not outstanding.

I've warmed up to budweiser over the past two or three years.

but really, budweiser is only for drinking when yer on a serious budget (like i am this week; hello $3 forty.)

$.99 22oz. cans of Tecate con limon

In order of preference:

Negra Modelo
Harp
Red Stripe

I also like Corona w/ lime for a day time beer, especially with cilantro-heavy tacos.

Yeah, Negra Modelo is a good back-up beer.

one of the best things about my dj gig is they pay me in free sierra nevada on tap

i like stella but i'm not a beer person. it makes you kinda fattey. sierra nevada is quality but i'm not crazy about it.

I had a STELLAR IPA last night. Out of Colorado somewhere - Maharaja Imperial IPA from The Avery Brewery. So, so tasty.

Kerm, you are always welcome to have some of my Sierra Nevada. My reaction earlier was based entirely on my frustration at work.

whoa they have stone in new york now?! i knew they were getting huge, but damn.

That is somewhat troubling. Fortunately, the quality has not dropped at all.

i got to go to brooklyn brewery for work today. i wanted to steal the whole warehouse!

i just picked up some blue moon 'honey moon' - a summer varietal. it supposedly has honey and orange peel in it! it is surprisingly not too sweet :)

Corona and Stella both taste like bottled ass. Sierra Nevada isn't terrible but I would never drink one if there were other options available. Kind of like going to a TGI Fridays.

In terms of what I can find at every Safeway or gas station I'd go with Alaskan IPA and any of the Full Sails at the higher end or High Life, Leinie's, or Olympia on the cheap side. Maybe Full Sail Session for late 70's nostalgia of my grandfather drinking stubbies of something or other.

No love for New Belgium's Fat Tire? Over the last year or so, it's become my go-to beer, as they sell it everywhere, it's not too hoppy, and the alcohol content is just right. It doesn't pair well with a lot of the stuff I cook, but it's great alone.

As for Sierra Nevada, I'll say I'm not really a fan of the Pale Ale, but I do enjoy their Porter, Stout, and Harvest.

I'm also seconding Negra Modelo (and on the same note, Bohemia).

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is probably my favorite beer in that style. I've tried Dogfish, Victory, Brooklyn Brewery's IPA, and various other microbrew IPAs, and I still prefer Sierra Nevada. I've never tried any of their other brews. So it probably is the best, most consistent, widely-available beer. If you're looking for something more in a pilsner style though, I'd guess Becks is probably the most reliable, widely-available option.

Ugh, I don't like Fat Tire at all. But I like hoppy beers (IPAs and the like), and I don't really like malty beers.

Stella is slumming.

Yeah, I see that. Can't argue. I was measuring on a special scale, though -- you're bringing beer to a party, and showing up with a six-pack of ashtray-assed locally brewed tallboy cans makes you look cheap, thoughtless, and alcoholic all in one sweeping gesture. But wtf, you are all those things! And here you are at the gas station, and it's looking like it's gonna be Stella or... Heineken. You better buy the Stella. If you have any love in your heart you will buy the Stella.

hurting OTM through and through on this thread. i wouldn't go as far as to say it's better the most of the microbrew pale ales in your average shop, but it's a damn fine pale ale. if i can't make a decision on something, i'm quite happy taking home sierra nevada.

in it's price range, though ($6.99-$7.99/six), i'd definitely say it's better than your average microbrew pale ale. if i'm keeping it moderately priced, i can't go wrong with SN. but it all depends on whether i want to throw down the extra couple bucks for a Victory or a Dogfish or a Stone, which are a bit better, IMO.

stella kind of sucks, i think. like heineken, i don't get the perception some have of it being better than your budweiser, say. i'd take a bottle of bud over stella/heineken any day.

btw budweiser bottles are where it's at for cheap beer, though yuengling bottles are better (though a $1 more expensive for a six).

My brother and I split the bargain beer down the middle: he likes PBR in cans and I only like Bud in bottles. And cooooold. Oh summer I <3 u, be here now.

whole foods has this organic pale ale for $5.99/six, which isn't bad. it's not all that great though.

I like the Modelo Especial, now that I think of it, and Red Stripe I can do with food but not more than one alone. Other than that...weisse beers aren't really a bodega item.

Perception is so important. Stella tastes to me like someone else bought the beer. Hey, cool. Heineken tastes to me like someone hates me.

Stella tastes to me like someone else bought the beer.

haha otm

Perhaps hard to find in the states but in Ontario you either go to the Beer Store or the LCBO and you can find this very easily there:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/26/Zywieclogo.gif

Mmmmm.

Also, if Steamwhistle is sold outside of Ontario - it's lovely!

you can find zywiec (and tyskie and okocim) in every corner store in my neighborhood.

love zywiec!
now i have to go get some for the train ride home tonight.

Nice.. good! Spread the Zywiec love! I've never tried Okocim - Tyskie is alright, but I never forget my first love.

Yeah, I like Zywiec. It's a bit sweet and not the most complex beer, but so much tastier than most American beers in the same range.

In Mexico, Bohemia was one of the best-tasting beers I've ever had but when I came back and bought it here it didn't taste that good. I guess maybe the export is a bit different?

Can anyone confirm the pronunciation of Zywiec?

I assume it's something along the lines of "Zuh-VEE-etch"?

cheapish fancypants option: Summit Pale
legitimate comittment to cheap drinking: as always, i rep for Black Label

I miss being able to buy cheapo but good beer at Trader Joe's. Bizarre PA liquor laws, go fuck yourself, etc.

also, this question confuses me. every store i go into is either of the 80000000 beer variety, or it has chickenwire on the windows and sells cans and 40's.

i'm a chickenwire man, myself

Oh summer I <3 u, be here now

I can't respond. The weather here is perfect.

Yeah, JJ, same here. There aren't a lot of ways to answer this question when you basically live in Bed-Sty.

I mean at least there are always bottles but the selection......... And you have to already know what you want at the turny window.

i like red stripe, but i have a sneaking suspicion that most of the appeal is in the cool bottles.

they are undeniably seductive

however, i've had not one but two experiences with the bottom falling out on six packs of red stripe (broken glass & beer everywhere, etc.). beware!

that's called a poltergeist, though. don't fault the lager.

Can anyone confirm the pronunciation of Zywiec?

I assume it's something along the lines of "Zuh-VEE-etch"?

-- Hurting 2, Friday, April 18, 2008 4:45 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

I earned points with my Polish co-worker for pronouncing it "chivas" (with chi like shi--almost sounds like 'jebus')

Polaks need to learn how to spell shit.

http://www.basketballcoach.com/images/krzyzewsky_main.jpg

Guy above who said Bohemia is OTM

http://www.baltimoresun.com/media/photo/2006-09/25284211.jpg

There aren't a lot of ways to answer this question when you basically live in Bed-Sty.

Hmmm. I have not hung out much in your current neck of the woods, true, but popular culture has not led me to believe that there's any place in Brooklyn that is not either a Spike-Lee pressure-cooker of racial tension or a Beastie-Boys sunny souffle of Hey Look We're All Cool. I don't really know what the beer selection looks like in either place.

Carlsberg, a consumable of the Danish Court, is the only beer aptly named. It's in the air ;(

the beer selection is way better on my side of classon avenue than it is on bell_labs's side.

i have a weakness for carlsberg. not sure what that's about

i'm pretty sure coastal microbrews/beer selection has nothing on the midwest.

CONTROVERSIAL

jordan what are some of your favorite midwest microbrews beers? (I live on the coast)

Highlife to hell. Budweiser Select 4 th' lo, .79. Yəḇûsî

a Beastie-Boys sunny souffle of Hey Look We're All Cool.

waht

the pre-Israelite inhabitants of the World Bank, Danke

Bell's for sure
Ale Asylum (Madison-only, but they're killing it)
Lakefront (Milwaukee)
Lake Louis
New Glarus
Tyranena
heard great things about Surly (Minnesota), haven't gotten to try it yet

thanks. i will keep those in mind the next time i'm at some superbeerselection place or in the unlikely event that i'm in the midwest.

Other good Midwest micros: Two Brothers (IL), Three Floyds (IN), Great Lakes (OH), Goose Island (IL), New Holland (MI).

I was pretty beer-agnostic when I lived in the Midwest and always sort of ignored or took for granted Bells and various others. But the NW has made me appreciate beer a lot more so I'm kind of jonesing to check out other beers when I go back. I had a couple of Three Floyds and New Hollands when I was in Chicago over Christmas and dug them a lot. When I drive to MI this summer I think I'm going to stock up on beers if I have room.

i like red stripe, but i have a sneaking suspicion that most of the appeal is in the cool bottles.

This is how I feel about the Session; I'm a total sucker for the packaging:
http://www.thefullpint.com/main/press/full-sail-session-lager.jpg

great lakes edmund fitzgerald is pretty excellent

Session was really disappointing. also 11 oz wtf?

New Glarus is FANTASTIC, bells is great, surly is sort of a mixed bag. people seem to like it or hate it, i've been closer to the hate side so far.

great lakes is a fantastic brewery, i'm very proud that it's brewed in my hometown (cleveland)

the brewery itself is quite nice, too, and worth a visit if you're in cleveland

their beers are also fairly priced for the quality you're getting

great lakes edmund fitzgerald is pretty excellent

and yet... tragic.

I like the Burning River.

drinking an EdFitz porter on a stormy afternoon on Whitefish Point would be pretty epic

Three Floyds (IN)

I have heard this is good.

It is a lot of Floyds tho.

Pretty Boy, Patterson, and the Barber.

original post is pretty right-to-the-point; i think you probably cant find anything better than the DFH 90min in most GREAT beer stores

New Glarus is a little hit & miss for me, but it's so ubiquitous around here that I'm kinda burnt out anyway. A cold Spotted Cow can be a beautiful thing, though.

Sixer of Dead Guy Ale at that Kroger: $10.79

i bought the blue heron pale ale (from ukiah, ca) at trader joe's. i don't have the hatred of california beers some ilxors have, but i'm not loving this.