January 2022. After having been hospitalized for covid pneumonia for two weeks, then home recovering for another 2 weeks, my wife and I went out to dinner on a Friday. I had a locally brewed IPA ("The Kind" by Three Heads Brewing). The beer was great, but being out with my wife after going through all that was heaven for me.

Several years ago I bought a six pack of beer from Ballast Point called Tongue Buckler. It was an Imperial Red Ale, and wow, it was the most bold and flavorful beer I've tasted. Not for the faint of heart. Unfortunately, I've never seen it again, I think it was a one time release.

Lots of different beers are good but I avoid pilsners and despise IPA's. I tend to like dark lagers the best. I liked the Kölsch style all over town in Cologne. Ironically, my go to beer in Germany was Franziskaner hefeweizen or possibly the dunkel version if available. I brought home a couple of the half liter glasses to have them in but they were never fresh here (go figure), so I only get them when I am at a restaurant that claims to get the kegs shipped in special.

wife and I visited London in 2008

first night we met with the tour folks and had a Guinness, which was a let down,
served in a small glass w\ no head

tasted great, just a bit let down on the size and service


most memorable, foe me , Bishops Finger, and Wells Bombadeer,

at the time CAMRA was a big deal, (CAMpaign for Real Ale) , and we made a point to hit any pub to have a fresh pulled pint of Cask Ale,

Bombadeer was what was served in most pubs, (pubs are owned by the breweries, and apparently Wells parent company owned a lot)

and it was absolutely delicious

Bishop's Finger, a Shephards Neame product was not prevalent in any pubs we visited, but the local grocer to the hotel had it in pint bottles, so I took all the expensive crap (as in you had to pay for it,) our of the hotel fridge and filled it with Bishop's Finger,

it was that good,


took 3 days to find a pub that served Old Speckled Hen (a favorite of mine) and then the cask had just been tapped and they were letting it settle,
so no OSH for me


FWIW, whilst I can find OSH here in the states and enjoy it often, Well's was bought or sold out during Covid and stopped exporting to the US, and Shephards Neame apperently stopped the year before we went to London,

A lot of memorable but the one that is probably the most memorable is the beers my son and I had in Asheville NC the evening he got out of the Marine Corps. He had just got back from a deployment about three weeks prior and didn’t have a car so I drove down to Camp Lejeune and picked him up. We spent the night in Asheville.

Some great stories, guys, keep them coming!

I’ve had a ton of “great beers” throughout my life so far, and planning on doing it for many years to come, but memorable:

16 years old, family vacation out to the east coast- The Black Rose pub in Boston Commons. Sat down with my Dad to have lunch, ordered a corned beef sandwich, Dad comes back with 2 pints of Guinness (or is it Guinnesi?). Pretty damn good beer, and a nice bonding moment with my father.

Years later, Dad is retired down in Fla, I’m here in Chicago. Our birthdays are a few days apart. I can’t remember who was playing Boston Red Sox, but a few of my friends were going to see the game. I gave them a few $ and told them to stop into The Black Rose, and grab me 2 T-shirts. I landed up with 4!
I wrapped up a bottle of Guinness in 2 T-shirts and mailed them off to Dad in Fla with instructions not to open it and to toss it in the refrigerator until further instructions.
Half way between his birthday and mine, I gave him a call, told him to sit out on the deck, and face north, then open the box. Had a great conversation with him over the phone for a while…


Dad passed away 15 years ago. I’m still here grinding it out as a Chicago cop, get promoted to Sgt. Last summer this new probationary officer is assigned to my District and my watch. He comes walking in to the station one day wearing a Black Rose shirt… “Hey kid, what’s up with that shirt?” I find out through his thick Boston accent that he used to be a bartender there.
I marched in to my Lt’s office and told him that the Kid is mine! I’m keeping him! He got assigned to my sector, a few of the days when his partner took off, he hopped in the squad with me, and I was able to teach him a few things and how to be The Police. He’s actually a pretty damn good Cop!

Packers Bears Monday night game in Champagne, IL when they were working on Soldier field circa 2002. Buddy of mine had to scalp a ticket and we end up driving the scalper in my car to the ATM with us. I notice unmarked car behind and helo above. We stop and get out at the store, Secret Service approach us and arrests the scalper and inform us they are taking down a scalping ring they'd been following on Monday night games.

SS guy is super cool and tells us to hang out in his car while he processes the guy. Tells us he has some beers under the seat we can have in a brown lunch bag. Sat there, drinking his Bud heavies. That one stands out.

He let us in a side entrance and got us unbelievable seats. I can't emphasize enough how cool this guy was. I still remember his name, he gave me his card. Asked him what they were carrying at the time and he showed me his S&W. I said Sigs would win in a fight and he agreed.

Was on cadet summer cruise in 1979 aboard the Coast Guard Bargue Eagle, the tall sailing ship used to teach seamanship and sailing at the CG Academy. We pulled into Halifax and had a day in port with liberty. There was an announcement to see if any cadets were interested in playing some Canadian Naval Officers in a softball game.

Being a baseball player I signed up and a bunch of my classmates, most not baseball players, went out there in our cadet gym gear, looking like a bunch of rag tags. The Canadian team was out there in full uniforms practicing up and were ready to play. We were just looking for something fun to do and certainly weren't expecting such a serious foe, just a picnic type pick up game or something. We had to borrow gloves and bats to play as none of had that on board the Eagle.

Needless to say they destroyed us in the game, but afterward they invited us into their wardroom, where they had Moosehead beer on tap. I'd never had true Moosehead beer and it was delicious, and much more potent to the US beer I was used to. We had a great time with the Canadians and I started drinking Moosehead when I could afford it, it became my favorite beer for quite a while.

Having been born in Canada made it an even more memorable time for me. We often reminisced about how they were so serious about the game but were such wild and fun guys in the wardroom after. They were fantastic hosts. Gave us something pleasant to talk about while doing mundane tasks while underway for the rest of the summer.

Most memorable was in airport resturant in 1970 when my mom/pop picked me up upon my return stateside from a 13 month tour in South Korea ..Probably a Budwiser Long Neck Bottle but was 1st beer with my dad. ....................... drill sgt.

Me and Mrs used to frequent a wee little Irish pub in Monroe LA. The waitress there knew us well enough that we would sit down and without asking, two pints of Guinness would materialize before us. We sat and watched many live music events, the best of which being Gerry O'Bierne, and Beth Patterson. Good times.

Also memorable was drinking big 24oz microbrews with SF member asonie at The Crescent City Brewhouse in New Orleans, then stumbling about the French Quarter before a friends bachelor party. That was prolly 23 or 24 years ago... Also good times.

Mid-90's, working concrete before I got into LE, I remember finishing up a side job for a guy pouring a small pad for a hot tub. Didn't take too long, 4-ish hours start to finish, but it was a HOT summer Saturday in Eastern Washington, high 90's. Anyway, the homeowner brings us out icy cold Redhook ESBs, and damn if those weren't the best beers I've ever had. Still love ESB to this day. Had a pint can after mowing the lawn today haha!

Most memorable beer for me is Ranier Beer because of the commercial.

Raiiiiiiiii....
nieeeeerrrrrrrrrrr....
Beeeeeerrrrrrrrr....

like a motorcycle going through its gears.

Brand unknown, but wife and I sitting on stacks of boxes in our current garage in midst of moving shit and unpacking during a hot June day. She said “I’d forgotten how great a really cold beer could be!”

I was on my post college back packing tour of Europe, June of 1982. Sitting at a small outdoor cafe id the old town section of Innsbruck, Austria. I was enjoying the local brew, Adambrau, when i heard and angelic voice speaking english a couple of tables away. Was the beginning of a wonderful summer romance.

Most memorable is the two Budweisers I was allowed to slam down in between Basic Training and AIT when I was in the Army. The drill instructors marched us to within a couple hundred yards of the bar on base. They gave us 15 minutes to celebrate our graduation. We all ran over, the bartender had them stacked on the bar.
Don’t remember the taste, and can’t stomach the stuff now, but when I was 18, it was the best, most memorable beer I’ve ever had!

San Miguel beer, sitting in the Sky Club on upper MEF , Subic Bay Philippines.
I was looking out at the bay watching aircraft fly into & out of Cubi Point.
I was 19 and it was surreal.


Certainly not the best beer but it is by far the most memorable for me.

Sitting in our 30+ year old season ticket seats with Dad in Three Rivers stadium after the last game played there. They just beat up the Redskins and we sat there for another hourish just watching the crowd and soaking in the moment, reliving the memories together.

A Canadian beer in Canada. Sadly Canada has become a totally screwed up country, but they know how to do beer. Canadian beer in the States, not the same as it must be pasturized when imported. BIG MISTAKE!
Rod

I had some special edition Pauwel Kwak that was on tap at a specialty craft beer spot here. They also had New Holland Dragon's milk on tap at the same time. Those are righteous on tap.

Some of the Unibroue selections including La Fin Du Monde are also outstanding if you can get them on tap somewhere.

My craft beer intake is currently under embargo aside from yuengling flight due to dietary restrictions. We probably ought to get some of the Tampa Bay locals together for a beer night at some point.