I see a lot of talk of PBR going on (nothing wrong with that, also a shame you guys probably don't get any Narragansett tallboys down there), but is anyone else a craft beer geek?

I know there are a ton of beers from breweries I never get to try in New England, since they are not distributed up here (like Cigar City).

Thought I'd made a thread for those interested in craft beer, maybe we can get a group together and have a couple of high quality pints before diving into PBR. What places are around, and what brews should I keep an eye out for while in Gainesville?

Cheers.

PS, anybody else on BeerAdvocate.com?

I would be very interested in this. I usually like to try at least one new craft beer, every week or so...more if I can get to a good bar that has a nice beer list, obviously.

We actually do get Narragansett tallboys down here. Damn good beer for the price.


But yeah, I love beer. Swamphead, Gainesville's local brewery just started doing growlers, I'd be willing to run a carload of people over there on Thursday or early Friday before Fest gets into full swing.

What breweries do you not get in the Northeast? I know what we DO NOT get here, but there are so many things we do get that it would be hard to list things off to you.

We don't get...

Three Floyds
New Belgium
Bear Republic
Russian River
Bridgeport
Founders
Deschutes
Summit
Great Lakes
Boulevard
Pyramid
Goose Island
Alesmith
Port
Surly
Troegs
Dark Horse
New Glarus
Duck Rabbit
Lancaster
Schlafly


And I'm sure I'm forgetting a few others, but those are the ones that either I've had when on trips, get great reviews, or are just big craft breweries that I've heard of but never tried. We get almost everything else I could think of that I want to try, although like I said, I'm sure I'm forgetting something. And other parts of FL have different availability than Gainesville too.

I'm sure you'll get Goose Island soon, they were just bought by Anheuser.

I could potentially get most of the stuff on that list, anything you're looking for in particular?

Surly, unfortunatly still doesn't distribute outside the Twin Cities. BUT, you can order kits of their beers from Northern Brewer Supplies and make them yourself, if you're able to do that kind of thing. My friend who homebrews is currently sitting on their IPA, Furious. Should be ready in a week or two...

I had to laugh, had no idea Gansett distributed down there! 6 pack of tall boys for ~$5 around here is hard to beat when you need something cheap, with decent flavor for an adjunct.

Rhode Island is a screwy state with distribution. All the beers you mentioned don't really get shipped up in the New England area (to my knowledge) except for some Troegs, Bear Republic (can NEVER find it fresh though :/), Founders (getting harder to find), and Goose Island.

To get an idea of what we have, this bar is a pretty good representation of what breweries are distributed around these parts: http://www.dohertyseastave.com/beer.html

I'd love it if you could gt me some New Glarus. How far are you from the Wisconsin border?

Haha...I'm from Milwaukee, actually. I get back every month or so. I'll grab an assortment of stuff...New Glarus, Tyranrena, Lakefront...lots of good stuff.

I'm gonna have to pick up one of those Swamphead Gallons

Yesterday I walked home from work, and so I wanted a nice refreshing beer. Looked in the fridge, and I was shocked to discover I only have barleywines and imperial stouts on hand at the moment.

So today I went to Publix to get a six pack of something lighter, thinking probably an IPA, maybe an amber ale. Surprise, they had six packs of Starr Hill on sale, BOGO. So I got some IPA and a summer ale with ginger, coriander, and lime in it. I hope it's OK, but it was cheap enough I figured I could give it a shot.

Only had this brewery a couple of times before, but 12 bottles for $9? Hard to pass up, and I'm sure I can hand them out to guests if I find them undrinkable.

Gator Beverage has had some good stuff on clearance lately,

Two weeks ago, I grabbed a 6 pack of Sierra Nevada glissade for $5 and last week I grabbed a 12 pack of Magic Hat for $8 (expires at the end of the month).

Just read in the Alligator that there's a new brewery/bar in town, "Tall Paul's." Anyone know anything about it? It says they have 80 craft beers, 29 on draft, and wine.

My girlfriend went about a month ago and spoke highly of it, if I remember correctly she told me they also brew their own beer too.

Just looked it up again. Looks like they brew a pale ale. I'll have to check it out soon.

Alligator article: http://www.alligator.org/news/local/article_896a1be4-60c4-11e0-b9d6-001cc4c002e0.html
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/TallPaulsBrewHouse

wow, that place is right downtown. I'll have to check it out soon.