We decided to specialize in very cool beers at Dos Perros and are actually building a library of age-worthy beers so we can feature them down the road.

As a result, I've had the good fortune of trying some pretty groovy beers of late. Here's a few I find myself going back to.

My favorite, hands down (at least right now), is North Coast Brewery La Merle. It's a saison-style ale. Really rich and opulent but with great balance and a crisp citrus finish as well. Super, super elegant stuff.

Victory V12- Made with yeast smuggled in from Belgium some years ago. Massive stuff but still put together nicely. At a recent Victory dinner, one of the geeks busted out some he'd been holding for a few years and it had this amazing apricot flavor.

New Belgium Mothership Wit- For the life of me, I have no idea why Fat Tire, rather than this, is the flag ship for that label. Fat Tire just tastes like burnt toast and is totally one-dimensional. This stuff I could drink all day.

Dale's Pale Ale- Rich but not too big, Hops but not silly about it.

I'm also reminded how much I like Dogfish 60 minute.

Is Mothership Wit widely available? Not familiar with it.

I assume New Belgium is in your market? I know they're not in every state but are greeted like the second coming in every market they enter and it's all on the back of Fat Tire.

At any rate, I can see why Wit would not be. I can only get it 1/6th barrels rather than normal size kegs right now.

very well aquainted with this. i tend to have belgians and germans in my fridge (most often hefes and dunkels) and this is a great american representative of belgian wit bier. new belgium has a great line (fat tire may be my least favorite of what they offer).

Are they all as small as wegie?

Thanks for the post. I'd like to try some new beer and I'll look out for these.

Quick question...I haven't had the DFH 60 in quite a while. I know you serve Bell's Two Hearted at Jujube. Which do you prefer? They are similarly priced around here but I usually have Bell's.

I love the New Belgium 1554 and I get it every chance I get. Alas, they are not in VA yet.

I love them both and the only reason why I mentioned the 60 was because I hadn't had it in a while. You're right, they are quite similar. Both have some heft and hoppiness but not too much of either.

Two I forgot to mention.

Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza

and It's Alive

Both of those were outstanding.

Sam Adams' Octoberfest is very good this year.

Mothership is awesome

Much better than Fat Tire

i said belgians and germans.... not coronitas.

If you're going to have Dogfish Head...

http://www.dogfish.com/brews-spirits/the-b.../immort-ale.htm

dogfish has a very good line. black & blue, and red & white push my buttons

I like mothership quite a bit, and I really think all of new belgium's efforts are consistently good. my favorites are probably the trippel and 1554. but I think your dislike of fat tire (burnt toast) may be some freudian h8tank projection. it really is a nicely balanced beer, with a nice little hop bite against a bready malt profile. there's nothing really "belgian" about it, but I think it's a nice beer, and it's their flagship simply because it has always sold so well.

I will have to seek out the north coast saison, everything they make that I've tried is excellent.

+1

Well, judging by some of the above comments, it appears I'm not alone in my critique of Fat Tire. I'll admit that there might be a smidge of simply expecting it to be better considering how crazy hyped it was. I mean, it just hit the state a few months ago and it is freaking everywhere. However, like everything else we put on the list, my bartenders and I sat down in front of a table of beers and tried through them all. When we got to the fat tire, we all looked at each other wondering what the big deal was. All we got was bready malt. The rep fired open another to just make sure. Same story.

I also can't tell you how many people have made the same comment when they've mentioned how happy to see we're pouring the Wit instead.

Now, certainly there's always an unavoidable amount of, "I don't want to drink the beer that's everywhere" that goes into this but, to be honest, I would have been happy to put it on the list if I thought it was even nearly as good as others in it's category. But, it's just so cloying with the bread. Like I'm more thirsty after having had a sip than before.

To me it has a brutish quality and it doesn't surprise me that it has the most mass appeal. Here in the states, if a little bit is good, too much is better. This goes for over malty beers as well as those with a bloody insane amount of hops.

When I do have a beer, which has lately been a little rare, I go with a Tucher Helles Hefeweizen.

Put Deshutes Brewery, Mirror Pond Pale Ale, on your menu and you will have happy customers-- On my third bier tonight after a long day on the links followed by a long day at work with many unruly dogs and clueless owners. It is the best pale Ale I have tasted-and close behind is Bridgeport Pale Ale.

I'll have to look for those. Hopefully one of the reps I deal with has 'em.

I have found a new love Ninkasi. I have tried the Total Domination, Tricerahops and the Double red. Awesome firkin beers. If you get a chance try them.

As said by previous guys - I actually saw this on a menu and avoided it because Fat Tire is so mediocre. I just figured New Belgium was like Coors back in the day - everyone hyped it because you couldn't get it.

I'll have to wander down to Cafe Hollander* and give it a whirl.


* - this place is a medium walk from my house. FORTUNATELY. Last time I went there I got buzzed up very nicely.

I had a nice Rogue Chocolate Stout last night while I was watching the game. Good stuff!

Fat Tire used to be a much better bier when they were an actual micro-brewery. I started drinking their bier when they were just getting started while I was in college. It was pretty cool seeing Jeff and sampling his beers when he home brewed them... now they are the "world's biggest micro-brewer"... is there really such a thing??

maybe I like fat tire because, around here, it's never been held up as something particularly special. like, "oooh, we have fat tire now!" I could certainly see being let down if it were hyped up like that. I look at it as just a high end mass market kind of beer -- up against stuff like sam adams boston lager, stella, heineken, bass -- and I think fat tire is better than all of those (bass is about as good). sierra nevada pale ale is about the only really popular beer I would say is slightly better than fat tire. and I like fat tire for the fact that it got new belgium so big nationwide, because their product overall is better than sam adams or any other big (american) brewery that tries to make good beer.

I've always found New Belgium beers to mediocre at best, although I do like the Blue Paddle.

Seems like the only time I buy Fat tire is when my choices are Fat Tire, Amber Bock and Shock Top. I should probably just drink water with choices like that.

For a Mexican beer, I like Modelo Especial in the bottle.
Fat Tire is good out of the tap only.
Shiner is always good out of the tap.

Budweiser isn't really all that bad.

:laid off:

I'm pretty sure that's why the term "micro brewer" is being replaced with "craft brewer" to make room for the Red Hooks, New Belgiums, Sam Adams, etc of the world. I mean, they all do make good beers.

At any rate, we just finished our latest beer list expansion When we get our chight together, this will launch a more attractive pdf

I really can't say enough about the Mikkeller dude. His stuff is off the hook good and super interesting. Very worth seeking out. link

My new favorite of his is a Simcoe single hop IPA. That appears to be the latest trend. Guys are focusing on one hop source rather than the more traditional use of a variety. It really pushes that one flavor forward and in a very cool way.

Just got back from a trip up to Boston, Maine, and Canada. I tried to find at least one local brew at each stop. Here's what I tried:

Portland, Maine - Allagash White

St. Johns, Canada - Cadian Cream Ale from Pump House Brewery

Hallifax, Canada - Went to the Alexander Keith Brewery and got the sampler: Wheat, Stout, IPA, Red and Light.

Boston - Shipyard Pumpkinhead. Had it with a cinnamon rim on the glass.

I dont drink Porters very often but when I am in the mood its hard to shake. I have never had Founders version but have you tried Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter? I think its pretty good for a Porter and curious how it ranks against Founders.

Other than that, the only beer I have had lately that knocked me off my feet was Three Flloydes Alpha King. I know it has been mentioned on these boards but I have had a hard time getting past the Dogfish Head 60min. Glad I did, this stuff is awesome! I would put it right up there with the 60min and 2 Hearted Ale from Bells, and it may even be better.

Great Lakes is on par with Founder's for most of their brews, including porters.

I knew the original brewer from Great Lakes personally. He brewed for Leavenworth Washington Brewery about 10-15 years ago when the Pacific NW brew scene was really coming into it's own. He made some great stuff and did some finagling with the inventory documentation to make the owners think he wasn't using as many ingredients (money saving measures). He quit several years back and returned to Great Lakes, not sure if he is still there.

Deschutes Black Butte Porter is their best beer hands down. Great stuff. Give it a shot.

Three Floyd's GumballHead is fan-freakin'tastic, they have others that are well crafted and have built a reputation among beer lovers in Indiana which is spreading

I have re-discovered Chimay.

Damn, that beer is good.*


* - this is a tremendous understatement

Alexander Keith's IPA is really good stuff. It's not what you think of when you want IPA, but very tasty.

I have been really digging the Dogfish Head lately. The Raison D'Etre and the Indian Brown Ale are both really nice. Have some Chickory Stout chilling at home.

DFH just opened a tasting room in the town next to me. This is a very bad thing...

Adding to the Fat Tire discussion - I recently discovered the Mothership Wit and the Trippel, both are very, very tasty.

Also, Goose Island just added a Belgium called 'Matilda' - I tried it this past weekend and really liked it. However, it comes in a 4 pack with a $12 price tag