Dear Jim Koch,

[Z³]

Not American, but I really like Unibroue.

They make some fucking tasty beer, and IIRC the brew master is Steve Thibault, a former guitar player for cryptopsy.
Making this objectively the most metal brewing company.

[Eater of Clowns]

Yuengling is probably the 2nd best cheap shit beer in america, just behind Rainier.

I don't care much for Harpoon, but Stone makes some drinkable beers. Arrogant Bastard actually qualifies as good IMO.

And ITA about Dogfish. They're hit and miss and more misses than hits but the ones they get right are pretty good. I really like the Pangaea.

Admittedly, I'm not much of an IPA fan, I tend to go for lagers or alts with the occasional porter or stout thrown in on the rare occasions when I feel like chewing my beer. I've never understood the american breweries' obsession with just over-hopping every ale they make as much as possible. IMO, it kills the balance of flavors and leaves a crap aftertaste.

If you're willing to shell out the money for some of the higher-end american beers, you should do yourself a favor and start dabbling in some of the high-end european beers as well.

RCH's recommendations:

Reisdorf (their kolsch is awesome)
Bosteels' Tripel Karmeliet (one of my favorites)
Gouden Carolus (I came)
Peroni (nice crisp italian lager)
Harviestoun's Old Engine Oil (black lager, better than any american porter I've had)

Yeah, not being an IPA fan or hop enthusiast would pretty much turn you off to Stone, haha.  I agree overhopping is a serious problem in most American beers.  A lot do it, not a lot do it right, which is why I admire the three I listed above.  The thing about extreme brewing that's been trending is that it takes skill to pull off and not just the guts to do it, so there's a lot of fail going around.

Now I know you're the chef, so do you primarily look for a beer that's good for both pairing and drinking or more for a casual drinking kind of thing?  Because you named stouts, porters, and IPAs as not high on your favorites and those are three that, no matter what anyone told me, I would never drink with a meal.  I'll see if I can find any of those recommendations at my locale.  Right now I'm working through a Weihenstephan sampler pack, it comes with an absolutely gorgeous Hefeweizen glass.

LMNO, unfortunately I'm not on good enough terms with my beer guy.  Thing is that presently, I could go to any of three major liquor stores in my area and find someone I've been friends with for years working there, but none of them have anything to do with the ordering or anything.  If I see one of the managers around I'll have to corner them about special orders.  And hey, my girlfriend and I are always looking for good beer bars in Boston when I go up there, do you have any suggestions?

I'm happy winter is here because I get to go crazy on stouts and porters again this year.  Last year I went berserk because I was unemployed and I gained about ten pounds just from drinking the heavy stuff (that's a significant gain for me).  It's just that I've got no damn body heat and a dark mean beer seems to do wonders for warming me up.

Not American, but I really like Unibroue.

They make some fucking tasty beer, and IIRC the brew master is Steve Thibault, a former guitar player for cryptopsy.
Making this objectively the most metal brewing company.

I mixed a six pack of each of their offerings I could find.  It was all very good and I'd do it again.  And now I have an answer as to why their labels have lightning bolts and big black fucking horses and shit on them. 

[Z³]

Not American, but I really like Unibroue.

They make some fucking tasty beer, and IIRC the brew master is Steve Thibault, a former guitar player for cryptopsy.
Making this objectively the most metal brewing company.

I mixed a six pack of each of their offerings I could find.  It was all very good and I'd do it again.  And now I have an answer as to why their labels have lightning bolts and big black fucking horses and shit on them.  

There is more to it than that, actually. I guess the labels all relate to events from Quebecois history, stuff I dont really know about, but I intend to do a little bit more digging on the subject.

One company that has done an excellent job of putting a story behind their products is Unibroue. Their labels and artwork are steeped in Quebecois history and the accompanying stories include such interesting tales as a deal with the devil for a flying canoe, or a mysterious black horse enlisted in the construction of a cathedral. Unibroue's head rep in Ontario is Stephen Thibault, who knows a fair bit about both Unibroue and brewing history in general. Stephen is an adept storyteller as I learned at a Unibroue brewer's dinner, but it obviously helps that he has a portfolio of excellent beers to talk about. (Speaking of stories – have you seen the new Unibroue tap handles??? These are sure to be conversation starters.)

The best link I've found so far is this one: http://www.bartowel.com/qc.phtml
Its interesting to learn the links behind some of the labels, the stories and the history.

I'm still looking for something to confirm whether or not Steve Thibault still works there, and to what capacity . Regardless of the metal trivia aspect, it doesnt matter all that much to me. They make tasty beers.

[Triple Zero]

Reisdorf (their kolsch is awesome)

Ha, I just asked my gf who is from a village near Cologne, and she agrees it is indeed very good beer. Do you know that Kölsch beer is supposed to be served in a cylindrical slightly-shorter-than-a-longdrink glass? Also called a (surprise) "Kölsch glass".

Another good Kölsch from (nearer to where she lived) that area is Gaffel, if you ever happen to come across it.

And, more information about the Reisdorf brewery than you ever needed to know is here: http://www.bunitedint.com/portfolios/producers/reissdorf/brewery/overview.php

[East Coast Hustle]

I did actually know about the kolsch glass. The restaurant in maine I cheffed at the last couple of years had specialty glasses designed by the brewers of each of the imports that we had on tap.

trying to convince american tourists that "no, you really don't NEED to chug an entire pint of this stuff, trust me" was a chore but seemed to work as we ended up getting alot of repeat customers based just off of our beer selection (which, I have been told by several people in the industry, was definitely unique in Maine and probably the best selection of imports on tap north of NYC).

and EoC, I generally choose beers just for their stand-alone drinkability, but I also find that if I'm drinking beer with a meal I almost always prefer a lager anyway, though there are exceptions.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

sounds like tequila time to me.

I do love tequila.

I'd drink more of it if it wasn't so damned expensive.

[East Coast Hustle]

check this week's willamette weekly. they had an article about some of the better/more unusual happy hours in PDX and one of them was "beer and a shot for $6" which applied to all their tap beers and the available shots were all of the J's (jack, jaeger, jose, jameson's).

also, there was a place that does "sunday on monday" with a 2-7pm happy hour during which $9 gets you a bottomless mimosa (or just a bottomless glass of cheap champagne, if you're brave) along with $1 pancakes to soak up the cheap champagne.

[Sir Squid Diddimus]

Not American, but I really like Unibroue.

They make some fucking tasty beer, and IIRC the brew master is Steve Thibault, a former guitar player for cryptopsy.
Making this objectively the most metal brewing company.

yum

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

check this week's willamette weekly. they had an article about some of the better/more unusual happy hours in PDX and one of them was "beer and a shot for $6" which applied to all their tap beers and the available shots were all of the J's (jack, jaeger, jose, jameson's).

also, there was a place that does "sunday on monday" with a 2-7pm happy hour during which $9 gets you a bottomless mimosa (or just a bottomless glass of cheap champagne, if you're brave) along with $1 pancakes to soak up the cheap champagne.

Heh, the beer and a shot one sounds promising.... if it's in my territory I'll consider it.

Bars on my strip suck ass, except Daddy Mojo. I used to haunt Alberta but I gave it up to Pinecone. Now I mostly do Mississippi, which actually has my favorite bars.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I think the bottomless mimosa is Helzers, which is walking distance.

[East Coast Hustle]

by the way, Junior's was a spot-on recommendation.

food was good enough that we decided not to bitch about the fact that it was almost 45 minutes from the time we ordered until the time we ate (I almost went back and offered to help), and the people....oh, the people.

did you KNOW that I'd see an off-duty cop who looks like the dude from "hills have eyes" and a one-eyed girl who was not (but definitely should have been) wearing an eyepatch? Or that I'd witness a near fist-fight between an couple that looked like they were in their 80's and a couple of smug hipster girls?

I mean, wow.