I concur with you on their milk stout. I have a Left Hand "Good Juju" glass in one of my kitchen cabinets. Can't remember the beer but it looks cool.

It's a ginger beer. Decent stuff but not for everyone. Now I want that glass. I've started collecting pint glasses in the past few years.

This reminds me.

I'm heading to Estes Park this summer with my fiance and my folks and I know a handful of the realmsers are in that neck of the woods. All are beer people. Any good breweries we should check out? (really anything in the area that is worth a visit, especially if it's off the beaten path)

Left Hand is about 30 miles from there as it's in Longmont. Hands down the best commercial brewery in the state. My friend who often leads my beer excursions mentioned that Rock Cut brewery in Estes is pretty good as well. He makes it a point to travel for such things.

If you plan to come to Colorado Springs, I can give you no shortage of options. If you're going to Denver, gfish is the man to talk to.

Huh. We have their Milk Stout in our fridge right now, actually. I also recently tried the Shiner Cold-Brew Coffee Ale - somewhat surprisingly good! Definitely not a beer I'd want all the time (very heavy coffee flavor) but I appreciated it.
Key for Moscow Mules, though.

Took a class trip that went through there in 8th grade, and I remember having a pretty dynamite cookie sandwich with buttercream frosting. Don't remember from where though. Also didn't really sample much beer.

If you're interested in new microbreweries, we just opened one in my city. My brother-in-law is one of the partners on it. Prairie Pride, out of Grand Island, NE.

Their primary focus is IPA's, but they have some amazing coffee and milk stouts. I hate IPA's, and I'll set up a flight of random beers of theirs on a Friday night, and not be disappointed. And you can order from the local pizza joint and get free delivery there.

They're spreading their product all over the state, so I'm hoping they manage to push out of Nebraska.

Ugh one thing I've noticed after moving to Chicago is so many of the breweries around here seem to be much more IPA-heavy than back in Texas. Visited one little one that literally had like 8/10 beers as some type of Pale Ale... blech. I don't mind certain PAs (although generally I like APAs more than IPAs) but getting a flight of 5 of them is just way too much.

The vast vast majority of IPA / Pale ale focused breweries are not good. They just go the crap out of it and it tastes boy. Surprise surprise.

Good IPAs are very good. Most aren't.

That aside, of I'm in the area, I'll visit it.

Not to take away anything from the beer talk, but is anyone going to Dallas FanExpo this weekend?

I hear you both, I really do. My friends always have a new IPA they love, and I think it smells and tastes like skunk piss. One sip, and I'm asking someone else to drink it.

For whatever reason, I really like the ones they have here. I have theorized that it's because it's always a very smooth and highly-filtrated beer, and my friends nod that this is probably the case, but I don't actually know if that's true.

Suffice to say, I still hold that all other IPA's I've had are garbage drainage, and I have no doubts that the next IPA I'm asked to try will get compared to skunk urine again.

This is all true. Even if I don't plan to go back to a particular brewery, I'm always glad I went.

Hah, same wavelength sir. I was musing aloud that most IPAs taste like skunk piss this morning. Luckily only a couple of my friends are really into them. Since I have the most diverse palate of the group I get designated as the garbage disposal. Anyone who doesn't like any of their stuff gives it to me and it's my duty to get our money's worth.

I just don't understand the IPA craze. Everyone and everywhere seems to make them. Thankfully most places in my area only make one or two as part of their flagship set of beers.

If I'm going to drink an IPA, Goose Island has a decent commercial offering as does Stone brewery.

Thanks for the tips about CO, guys. Really looking forward to the trip and Pa Roy will be most please with my scouting of local breweries... if he hasn't already done so himself.

I used to be all about IPAs but got burnt out with the rush the occured over the last few years. Some are fantastic (my uncle who has been home-brewing for damn near 40 years now has maybe the best) but most are standard to bad.

I've been exploring more basic lagers. So-Cal has seen a nice boom of local brews in the last few years (drought be damned!) so it's been nice to have a lot of local options. This has been one of my favorites recently: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/1011/210494/

Really haven't had many Angel City brews that I didn't like... except for maybe this guy: http://angelcitybrewery.com/beer/srirachelada/

I have several Estes recommendations. Hell, if you would like I would be glad to drive up and hang out for an afternoon (depending on when you hit it). I'll shoot you some recommendations when I can post from a legit computer farther than by phone.

I think it's because a lot of microbreweries know that they sell, and they figure they can make their pet project beers, but they need IPAs to put food on the table.

That is indeed why.

I go to a few local breweries enough that I've had conversations with some of the people who run them. IPAs sell. You'll never see a Brewer have an IPA be their passion project beer, but you've gotta have at least one.