Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater lighting and speaker enclosures

Feeling a little dehydrated this morning, but last night we visited our local brewpub - The Main Street Brewery in Corona. Very small operation (I think he has a 5 barrel setup), and some of his specialty brews are odd tasting, but good quality and consistency with the standard offerings.

Oh, and that Full Sail is a good beer. Lots of excellent small breweries in N.Cal. We have a few down here. One that absolutely is a must try is the Stone Brewing Co. in the San Diego area. Their pale ale is absolutely perfect - at least the last time I tried it, it was. Might be able to find it in your neck of the woods.

I have sisters in Sandy Eggo and Temecula and have had some Stone beers in bottles. I thought they were fine, but not remarkable. We don't get them up here. I have no doubt that the draught versions are superior

I really enjoyed the times I've been to Karl Strauss operations - excellent, clean beers with character. Traditional German styles are much more difficult (and expensive) to produce than British ales. I also had a couple of transcendent experiences at the San Marcos brewery. Finally, I fondly recall a bottle of Cream Ale from a brewery in Riverside that was clean and luscious - a practically perfect beer (at least for that day!).

If you see any Deschutes beers in your local store and have not had a chance to try them, by all means do so - those guys in Bend can really nail a style, and the consistency of the bottled product (at least here) is spectacular.

I love the Hefe-Weizen microbrewed at my local Humperdinks pub. A real Bavarian style.

Btw, why do those AV interior magazines always emphasize how to "hide" the speakers and AV gears, rather than how to truly incorporate them into the decor design?

tom, while in sandy a few years ago, had an opportunity to visit one of karl's pubs, and do have to agree about tasty beers. after a sampler a buddy and i chose our favorites, and enjoyed. but, what blew us away, in your fine state where one cannot even fart in public, there was beer to go. now we're not talking a 12 oz or 16 oz bottles, they were jugs. here is mass, we can burp, fart, smoke in some places, but have not seen beer to go like there. maybe it's heading east as you folks are the "trend setters"."

Dan - I was in Boston (and also parts west) a couple times 5-6 years ago. What struck me was the lack of "samplers" even at craft breweries. Somebody explained to me that it was illegal to have more than one beverage in front of you at the same time. Baffling. The draught gallons-to-go at Strauss are nice, but make me tend to drink a bit too much.

Sushi - It's rare to find a true, Bavarian Hefeweizen. The American palate (and wallet) does not seem to respond favorably to that lovely, rich, clovey Weiheinstephan yeast strain. I love it. I don't much favor the dumbed-down american wheat beers (like Widmer).

Craft beer overall was more fun for me 10-15 years ago; many small breweries have succumbed to market forces by making more mainstream beers or literally selling out. But it is a great blessing to have good beer widely available.

Are any of you (especially our Canadian friends) familiar with the beers of Unibroue? They make fantastic, Belgian-style beer in Quebec. Just great. Love their Fin du Monde ("The end of the world") - strong, spicy, rich, effervescent. I should probably start a beer thread somewhere more appropriate....

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Somebody explained to me that it was illegal to have more than one beverage in front of you at the same time.

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Wow... Does that mean that, in Boston, you cannot have glasses of white and red wines simultaneously in front of you in, say, a fully formal French dinner setup? What a bizarre ordinance.

I've tried Fin Du Monde. If I remember correctly it came in a larger bottle and was like 8 or 9%?
It was pretty good. Definatly not for those who don't only like the 'light' beer taste.

That's great news.. My brother-n-law lives in Bend.. We go up there once or twice a year.. I've seen those Deschutes in the markets around town, but never seemed to be in the mood to pick some up.. I'll definitely give it a go next time I'm in town..

Masa, things are apparently tough in Massachusetts, but you may be safe with the two glasses of wine. Maybe the real problem is mentioned in this summary at #31, but also note #s 27 and 38.