Beer Forum

traveling through this week and i'm curious if anyone can rec. any local brewpubs/beerstores worth visiting. i see that the springfield brewpub has ashton lewis(byo's mr wizard) as head brewer and i figure to hit them up.

that much huh? well thats about how much i've found except for some excellent beers from goose island(sofie and matilda) that arent available in LA and some boulevard smokestack series beers. thats what i get for posting in the wrong section anyway.

Sorry, just saw your post. You've figured it out though. Springfield Brewing is it for brew pubs - ok beer and ok food. Boulevard's Smokestack Series and just about all Goose Island beers are good.

thanks brewtat. i wasnt really expecting much response. i did get a 750 bottle of springfields anniver. sour cherry stout. i also found schlafly's oktoberfest and pumpkin ale that were bottled last week! the pumpkin ale is great but at 8% - i'm gonna let it age a little(im not crazy about real cloves).i thought that the oktoberfest is still a little harsh which may lager out but i also get some astringency and some metallic flavor. it was just one bottle and hopefully a fluke. i got the last of the smokestack series beers that i hadnt found in dallas when i found the dark truth and the tank 7. i loved the tank 7 with its lemony aroma and dry spicy finish. i also got a 2008 goose island bourbon county stout and a founders old carmudgean(sp?) mixed in with some o'fallons hemp rye amber and both founders and schlafly's dry-hopped pale ales. finish that off with my first taste of sn's new tumbler and throw away the diamond bears pale and i guess i did okay in the area.

positiverpr wrote:i thought that the oktoberfest is still a little harsh which may lager out but i also get some astringency and some metallic flavor. it was just one bottle and hopefully a fluke.

It doesn't have those flaws on tap around here, though I haven't had their bottled version this year. My money's on a fluke.

went back and had 2 more and it was something with that first bottle. no metallic flavor and minimal astringency but i still think another month or so of lagering would smooth out the esters. i wonder when they brew this and what lager yeast they use? its a good beer but like alot of oktoberfests it seems a little sweet. i'm curious about the caramel malt composition of this one.

positiverpr wrote: i wonder when they brew this and what lager yeast they use? its a good beer but like alot of oktoberfests it seems a little sweet. i'm curious about the caramel malt composition of this one.

Stephen Hale (head brewer)'s email is listed on their contact page, you could shoot him an email and ask.