I'm currently writing an article about the craft beer scene here in Cleveland, Ohio. Before I moved here, I had no idea such a thing existed, and after spending the past 4 months immersed in it, I'm pretty much hooked. So, that being said, what are some of your favorite beers? I'm trying to find new things to try out, and figured this community might have some good ideas.
So far, I've been a fan of pretty much every IPA and Stout that I've tried, but I'm open to trying nearly anything, though fruity beers haven't been anything I've cared for with the sole exception of Dogfish Head's Aprihop.
I don't know about Cleveland, Ohio but here in Fort Collins, Colorado we have a metric ****load of beers to sample from. I personally am not a fan of many IPAs or Stouts. But my favorite beers are: Odell's 5 Barrel Pale Ale and 90 Shilling Ale; New Belgium's Fat Tire Amber Ale, 1554 Black Ale, and Sunshine Wheat; Bristol's Laughing Lab Scottish Ale. Oh, and my all-time favorite, New Belgium's Abbey Grand Cru. That **** is like silk on your tongue.
Banana Beer, Peanut Butter Beer, a Raspberry Hefeweizen are my top 3 weird brews. I love Negra Modelo's Christmas seasonal brew...it's amazing. My usual beer is any sort of malty and toasty ale.
However, lately, I've been getting into the lighter brews like some blonds and lagers. Great to drink out of a fat wine glass so you can keep it nice and cold and appreciate the head on it.
Banana Beer, Peanut Butter Beer, a Raspberry Hefeweizen are my top 3 weird brews. I love Negra Modelo's Christmas seasonal brew...it's amazing. My usual beer is any sort of malty and toasty ale.
However, lately, I've been getting into the lighter brews like some blonds and lagers. Great to drink out of a fat wine glass so you can keep it nice and cold and appreciate the head on it.
Cheers!
Peanut butter beer? What's that one called/who makes it? I know we have a peanut butter cup coffee porter out here that I haven't gotten a chance to try yet, but I hadn't heard of anyone else doing something similar.
I'm currently writing an article about the craft beer scene here in Cleveland, Ohio. Before I moved here, I had no idea such a thing existed, and after spending the past 4 months immersed in it, I'm pretty much hooked. So, that being said, what are some of your favorite beers? I'm trying to find new things to try out, and figured this community might have some good ideas.
Basically, you'll want to go to the Advanced Search option in the Water Cooler Talk Forum, type in extremeicon as user and "beer" as the keyword. Extremeicon used to be a mod and our resident beer enthusiast. And while your tastes might not sync up exactly, I learned a great deal from him.
extremeicon inspired me to basically do what quickly became a beer exploration over the past 2-3 months. Several hundred dollars poorer, but boy am I happier from doing so.
My top five beers: Rochefort 10, Westvleteren 12 (which can only be bought in Belgium. I would recommend sticking with the Rochefort 10, it tastes better anyway), Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock, Rodenbach Grand Cru, and Samuel Smith Imperial Stout.
I would recommend checking out Westmalle Dubbel, Westmalle Tripel, and Rochefort 10 if you get the chance. They're Belgian abbey ales, and delicious.
Also, anything named Hofbrau is a safe bet.
So far, I've been a fan of pretty much every IPA and Stout that I've tried,
My favorite stout is Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout. I would highly recommend that. They also make an Oatmeal Stout which is excellent.
Guinness makes an Extra Stout and a Foreign Extra Stout in addition to their Draught Stout, if you haven't tried those. I find their Extra Stout is the best. Their Foreign Extra Stout to me is way too hopped, but this is the US so that's probably to be expected.
If you've never had a milk stout, I would recommend trying one. I'm not a big fan of sweet stouts, they're too light in body for my tastes, but they are popular.
As for IPAs, I assume you've had Dogfish Head's 60 and 90 minute. Would recommend those and Sierra Nevada's IPAs as pretty much the baseline for US-style IPA. One thing I would not recommend is the Stone Brewing company. I find their beers to be boring and one-dimensional.
I don't go for the US ridiculous-hopped IPAs. My favorite IPAs are Samuel Adam's Latitude 48 IPA, and of the British ones I've had, Samuel Adam's India Ale. These are ones I feel get the balance right as opposed to going nuts with the hops.
What will interest you, since it's spring and will soon be summer, wet-hopped/fresh-hopped IPAs will be on the market, and they taste different from dry-hopped ones. You should be able to find Sierra Nevada Northern/Southern Hemisphere or Founder's Harvest soon. You'll probably like them.
but I'm open to trying nearly anything, though fruity beers haven't been anything I've cared for with the sole exception of Dogfish Head's Aprihop.
I'm not a big fan either, but I would recommend trying a fruit lambic. Lambic is a wild-fermented wheat ale made in Belgium, that's often flavored with fruit. I would recommend kriek, particularly one of the krieks listed here that is not sweetened with syrup but instead fermented with real fruit. I've only had Boon Kriek but it's pretty tasty. The syrup-flavored stuff like Lindemans ends up tasting like an Italian soda that happens to be alcoholic, but Boon Kriek was a good beer, and I really don't like lambic.
Also, you probably should just get Hoegaarden out of the way now. That's just one you're going to have to drink at one point if you're getting into beer.
Recently had Flying Dog's "The Fear" Pumpkin Ale on tap, which was essentially a pumpkin nitro stout. I haven't been a big fan of the pumpkin beers I've had, nor had I found any beer from the US that ever wowed me, so I guess it's fitting that beer impressed me. I thought it was fantastic. Not usually a fan of sweet beers, but man, that was like drinking a pumpkin milkshake in the best way.
Drifter Pale Ale (by far my favorite beer)
Terrapin Hopsecutioner IPA
Rogue Dead Guy Ale
Blackened Voodoo Lager
and I dont know where in Ohio you live, but I do believe there are a few World of Beer establishments that have HUNDREDS of beers available for consumption
If you're ever out in California, there's a small brewery called the American River Brewing Company that opened up in just the past couple years a bit outside Sacramento. Their Coloma Brown is already probably my favourite beer that I've ever had.
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Currently drinking Goose Island Bourbon County Stout. Not a fan. Much like Founder's Breakfast Stout, I find the flavor to be very one dimensional. It basically tastes like chocolate glaze, except it's chocolate glaze that costs over $20 for a four pack.
Really, the only breweries that are American that have wowed me so far are Jolly Pumpkin from Michigan, and Flying Dog with their pumpkin nitro. Everything else has been average at best. I would recommend checking out Jolly Pumpkin in your research. They seem to make Belgian Sour Ales that compare very favorably to the ones from Belgium, and while (and this is weird) more expensive than the imports, I'll applaud them for producing good beer.
Apparently their La Roja and Luciernaga are the ones to try. I would, contrary to their name, not recommend their pumpkin ale. It's not bad, it's actually pretty admirable, but they tried to make a pumpkin sour ale and while they get an A for effort, the flavors just don't compliment.
I would really recommend Flanders Red Ale in general as a type of beer you should try. You'll probably be able to find something by Rodenbach, either their regular or their Grand Cru (go for the Grand Cru) somewhere in your area. It's really delicious.
Also, if you find Castelain Biere de Garde, go for it. I had had Jenlain and Dupont Saison and wasn't a big fan of either, but was very impressed by them. Who knew the French could brew beer?
They're very strange, often for the sake of being strange. It's up to your individual tastes to see whether you appreciate the novelty or not. It's rather lost on me. Quite a few people are fans though. Again, it comes down to what you enjoy.
That being said, their 60 Minute, 90 Minute, and Punkin are worth trying. I can't guarantee you'll like them, but they're solid examples of their respective types of beer. I remember trying Stone's Ruination and thinking that it wasn't anywhere near as good as the 90 Minute.
I'm currently writing an article about the craft beer scene here in Cleveland, Ohio. Before I moved here, I had no idea such a thing existed, and after spending the past 4 months immersed in it, I'm pretty much hooked. So, that being said, what are some of your favorite beers? I'm trying to find new things to try out, and figured this community might have some good ideas.
So far, I've been a fan of pretty much every IPA and Stout that I've tried, but I'm open to trying nearly anything, though fruity beers haven't been anything I've cared for with the sole exception of Dogfish Head's Aprihop.
Not sure how readily available they are in Ohio, but if you enjoy hop forward IPAs, get the west coast IPAs. Stone IPA is really solid and more available than most. Other classic IPAs from San Diego are Green Flash's "West Coast IPA", Ballast Point's "Sculpin," and you won't find them outside of San Diego but all of Alpine Brewery's IPAs are worth the trip.
Outside of San Diego County, I really like Lagunitas IPA and Russian River Brewing's Pliny the Elder is also very solid.
And if you haven't come across it, check out beeradvocate if you're ever unsure about a beer's style or how good it is. I find their ratings to be fairly reliable overall and have saved me from some bad buys when shopping or at the pub.
@highroller I picked up the Rochefort 10, Westvalle Dubbel, and Boon Kriek today, as well as a local brew called White Rajah that came highly recommended. My fianced grabbed Founder's Porter, Sam Smith's Oatmeal and Chocolate stouts, and a Left Hand Milk Stout...yeah, she loves her dark beer. I'll let you know what I think of them as I drink them.
@Macius I've had a few of Dogfish Head's beers. Punkin is pretty solid, I tried Midas Touch and wasn't impressed, but Theobroma was pretty good. I looked for the 60 and 90 minute IPAs today, but they were both sold out.
@everyone else Thanks for the suggestions, I've got them all written down, and I'll be trying all the ones that I can find as I get the cash to do so.
Most exciting news of the day? My beer store is getting 2 kegs of Founders KBS, as well as quite a few bottles next Monday. Looks like I'll be heading up there for a few hours!
Sounds like a nice beer run! Let me know what you think.
Your fiance likes dark beer? Definitely sounds like better half material to me!
If she likes dark beers like porter, my favorite porter from England is Fuller's London Porter. There's also Meantime Porter, but that's particularly robust and rich. She'd also probably like Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock.
Keep in mind: I can't guarantee you'll like all of these beers, but I think they're all worth trying if you're looking to gain a greater understanding of beer. Although, I hope the Kriek goes over well. That one surprised me, in large part because I had lambic that wasn't fruit flavored and the fact that they made it drinkable is quite impressive indeed.
Incidentally, there's also an American style of beer called Black IPA/American Black Ale/Cascadian Dark that you might like. I don't know enough about this style of beer to give you recommendations, but your local beer store can probably give you recommendations.
Also, did your beer store have Westmalle Tripel as well as the Dubbel? Strongly recommend the Tripel.
I think I've seen a couple of the Black IPA's floating around, though I haven't had one yet. I've enjoyed the Rye IPA's that I've had though, and would be interested in checking out the black ones to see how they are.
My beer store does have the Tripel, though I found out that the grocery store that I go to has it cheaper than the beer place did, which surprised me to say the least.
I'll pass along the porter recommendations to her, and I'm pretty sure she's had the doppelbock before. If you get a chance, try the Great Lakes Brewery Edmund Fitzgerald, it's been pretty consistantly rated one of the best porters in the world. Actually, try pretty much anything from that brewery, it's all been amazing. Most of the local breweries here are pretty fantastic, but outside of Great Lakes, they don't have large distribution ranges yet.
I'll pass along the porter recommendations to her, and I'm pretty sure she's had the doppelbock before. If you get a chance, try the Great Lakes Brewery Edmund Fitzgerald, it's been pretty consistantly rated one of the best porters in the world. Actually, try pretty much anything from that brewery, it's all been amazing. Most of the local breweries here are pretty fantastic, but outside of Great Lakes, they don't have large distribution ranges yet.
It's funny you say that, that's my friend's favorite porter. Unfortunately, they don't ship it to my state. Yeah, Great Lakes is supposed to be quite good.
Though, I wouldn't pay much attention to beer ratings.
I'm from Ontario Canada, and I have to say we have some pretty fantastic craft beer...
Wellington Brewery, (Canada's oldest independent microbrewery) started right in my hometown, Guelph. The Brick Brewery is just 40 minutes away in Waterloo as well.
Both own between 10-15 brands and i haven't found one i haven't loved as of yet. For reference, i like my beer just in the middle: honey lager and pilsners are good but I too dislike fruity tones and i can't stand Guinness (feels like im eating a meal).
You should come up sometime! It's close enough for a day or two trip if your from Ohio. Hell, you could even round it off by visiting Niagara wine country.
If you like hops, my favorite among the nationally distributed breweries is Green Flash. Their imperial IPA is absolutely tremendous, and the Palate Wrecker is probably the best beer I've ever had.
They try WAY too hard, but they and Stone are pretty much the gold standard for craft brewed ales. I like the Aprihop, and the Burton Baton is pretty good. Some of their limited release stuff is absolutely fantastic. I had the 75 minute IPA on cask once, and it was amazing.
I have heard vague rumors of a moustache-dispensing vending machine in a distant laundromat, across the street from a tattoo parlor. However, this information is shaky, and time is of the essence.
Recently had Flying Dog's "The Fear" Pumpkin Ale on tap, which was essentially a pumpkin nitro stout. I haven't been a big fan of the pumpkin beers I've had, nor had I found any beer from the US that ever wowed me, so I guess it's fitting that beer impressed me. I thought it was fantastic. Not usually a fan of sweet beers, but man, that was like drinking a pumpkin milkshake in the best way.
The Fear is really good, it's just too bad that it's seasonal.
If you haven't already, I'd try their coffee stout (Kujo). Most coffee stouts go a bit too crazy on the coffee imo, but this one gets the blend right. It is winter seasonal though, so I don't know how much longer it'll be available.
Flying Dog in general does very well with IPAs, though they tend to be very hoppy even by IPA standards (which I like, but others might not). Their Snakedog IPA is my go-to beer, but the Raging ***** (Belgian-style IPA) and Double Dog (Double IPA) are also very good if you like strong IPAs.
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Drifter Pale Ale (by far my favorite beer)
Terrapin Hopsecutioner IPA
Rogue Dead Guy Ale
Blackened Voodoo Lager
I can vouch for the Dead Guy Ale, that one's quite good. I had another Rogue not too long ago that I think was a chocolate porter (?) that I remember liking too.
The Hopsecutioner was good... though I still prefer Flying Dog in terms of IPAs. Terrapin did have a red ale that I really liked, but I can't recall the name of it.
My gf also recommends Boneyard brewery, as that's what got her into IPAs, though she admits she couldn't find it outside Portland.
~
I don't know if there are any breweries around where you live, but I'd highly recommend doing a tour or two. I did one at the Flying Dog brewery recently (I live about 10-15 minutes away), and it was really nice being able to taste all the different beers one after another.
Edit: Missed you talking about good local brews. Still, if you haven't visited them I definitely would! I also need to bookmark this thread, because my beer tastes (IPAs and stouts) seem to be similar to yours.
So far, I've been a fan of pretty much every IPA and Stout that I've tried, but I'm open to trying nearly anything, though fruity beers haven't been anything I've cared for with the sole exception of Dogfish Head's Aprihop.
However, lately, I've been getting into the lighter brews like some blonds and lagers. Great to drink out of a fat wine glass so you can keep it nice and cold and appreciate the head on it.
Cheers!
Peanut butter beer? What's that one called/who makes it? I know we have a peanut butter cup coffee porter out here that I haven't gotten a chance to try yet, but I hadn't heard of anyone else doing something similar.
Basically, you'll want to go to the Advanced Search option in the Water Cooler Talk Forum, type in extremeicon as user and "beer" as the keyword. Extremeicon used to be a mod and our resident beer enthusiast. And while your tastes might not sync up exactly, I learned a great deal from him.
Here's some good places to start:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=332732
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=122550
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=185932
extremeicon inspired me to basically do what quickly became a beer exploration over the past 2-3 months. Several hundred dollars poorer, but boy am I happier from doing so.
My top five beers: Rochefort 10, Westvleteren 12 (which can only be bought in Belgium. I would recommend sticking with the Rochefort 10, it tastes better anyway), Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock, Rodenbach Grand Cru, and Samuel Smith Imperial Stout.
I would recommend checking out Westmalle Dubbel, Westmalle Tripel, and Rochefort 10 if you get the chance. They're Belgian abbey ales, and delicious.
Also, anything named Hofbrau is a safe bet.
My favorite stout is Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout. I would highly recommend that. They also make an Oatmeal Stout which is excellent.
Guinness makes an Extra Stout and a Foreign Extra Stout in addition to their Draught Stout, if you haven't tried those. I find their Extra Stout is the best. Their Foreign Extra Stout to me is way too hopped, but this is the US so that's probably to be expected.
If you've never had a milk stout, I would recommend trying one. I'm not a big fan of sweet stouts, they're too light in body for my tastes, but they are popular.
As for IPAs, I assume you've had Dogfish Head's 60 and 90 minute. Would recommend those and Sierra Nevada's IPAs as pretty much the baseline for US-style IPA. One thing I would not recommend is the Stone Brewing company. I find their beers to be boring and one-dimensional.
I don't go for the US ridiculous-hopped IPAs. My favorite IPAs are Samuel Adam's Latitude 48 IPA, and of the British ones I've had, Samuel Adam's India Ale. These are ones I feel get the balance right as opposed to going nuts with the hops.
What will interest you, since it's spring and will soon be summer, wet-hopped/fresh-hopped IPAs will be on the market, and they taste different from dry-hopped ones. You should be able to find Sierra Nevada Northern/Southern Hemisphere or Founder's Harvest soon. You'll probably like them.
I'm not a big fan either, but I would recommend trying a fruit lambic. Lambic is a wild-fermented wheat ale made in Belgium, that's often flavored with fruit. I would recommend kriek, particularly one of the krieks listed here that is not sweetened with syrup but instead fermented with real fruit. I've only had Boon Kriek but it's pretty tasty. The syrup-flavored stuff like Lindemans ends up tasting like an Italian soda that happens to be alcoholic, but Boon Kriek was a good beer, and I really don't like lambic.
Also, you probably should just get Hoegaarden out of the way now. That's just one you're going to have to drink at one point if you're getting into beer.
Recently had Flying Dog's "The Fear" Pumpkin Ale on tap, which was essentially a pumpkin nitro stout. I haven't been a big fan of the pumpkin beers I've had, nor had I found any beer from the US that ever wowed me, so I guess it's fitting that beer impressed me. I thought it was fantastic. Not usually a fan of sweet beers, but man, that was like drinking a pumpkin milkshake in the best way.
[Clan Flamingo]
Terrapin Hopsecutioner IPA
Rogue Dead Guy Ale
Blackened Voodoo Lager
and I dont know where in Ohio you live, but I do believe there are a few World of Beer establishments that have HUNDREDS of beers available for consumption
Body Count: GRRRUUUUUUUUUUU
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Really, the only breweries that are American that have wowed me so far are Jolly Pumpkin from Michigan, and Flying Dog with their pumpkin nitro. Everything else has been average at best. I would recommend checking out Jolly Pumpkin in your research. They seem to make Belgian Sour Ales that compare very favorably to the ones from Belgium, and while (and this is weird) more expensive than the imports, I'll applaud them for producing good beer.
Apparently their La Roja and Luciernaga are the ones to try. I would, contrary to their name, not recommend their pumpkin ale. It's not bad, it's actually pretty admirable, but they tried to make a pumpkin sour ale and while they get an A for effort, the flavors just don't compliment.
I would really recommend Flanders Red Ale in general as a type of beer you should try. You'll probably be able to find something by Rodenbach, either their regular or their Grand Cru (go for the Grand Cru) somewhere in your area. It's really delicious.
Also, if you find Castelain Biere de Garde, go for it. I had had Jenlain and Dupont Saison and wasn't a big fan of either, but was very impressed by them. Who knew the French could brew beer?
Two Brothers
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Monk's Cafe (does Philly count as the midwest? These guys definitely cross state lines).
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In fact, that beer is actually their private label brewed in Brouwerij van Steenberge in Belgium. So yes, they REALLY cross state lines.
540 Peasant cube- Gold EditionSomething SpicyWeird.
They're very strange, often for the sake of being strange. It's up to your individual tastes to see whether you appreciate the novelty or not. It's rather lost on me. Quite a few people are fans though. Again, it comes down to what you enjoy.
That being said, their 60 Minute, 90 Minute, and Punkin are worth trying. I can't guarantee you'll like them, but they're solid examples of their respective types of beer. I remember trying Stone's Ruination and thinking that it wasn't anywhere near as good as the 90 Minute.
Not sure how readily available they are in Ohio, but if you enjoy hop forward IPAs, get the west coast IPAs. Stone IPA is really solid and more available than most. Other classic IPAs from San Diego are Green Flash's "West Coast IPA", Ballast Point's "Sculpin," and you won't find them outside of San Diego but all of Alpine Brewery's IPAs are worth the trip.
Outside of San Diego County, I really like Lagunitas IPA and Russian River Brewing's Pliny the Elder is also very solid.
And if you haven't come across it, check out beeradvocate if you're ever unsure about a beer's style or how good it is. I find their ratings to be fairly reliable overall and have saved me from some bad buys when shopping or at the pub.
Cheers!
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RGMarhault Elsdragon (A Touch of Rampage)RG
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RWAgrus Kos, Bumbat Drinkin' BadassRW
RDiaochan, Hateful BeautyR
@Macius I've had a few of Dogfish Head's beers. Punkin is pretty solid, I tried Midas Touch and wasn't impressed, but Theobroma was pretty good. I looked for the 60 and 90 minute IPAs today, but they were both sold out.
@everyone else Thanks for the suggestions, I've got them all written down, and I'll be trying all the ones that I can find as I get the cash to do so.
Most exciting news of the day? My beer store is getting 2 kegs of Founders KBS, as well as quite a few bottles next Monday. Looks like I'll be heading up there for a few hours!
Your fiance likes dark beer? Definitely sounds like better half material to me!
If she likes dark beers like porter, my favorite porter from England is Fuller's London Porter. There's also Meantime Porter, but that's particularly robust and rich. She'd also probably like Ayinger Celebrator Doppelbock.
Keep in mind: I can't guarantee you'll like all of these beers, but I think they're all worth trying if you're looking to gain a greater understanding of beer. Although, I hope the Kriek goes over well. That one surprised me, in large part because I had lambic that wasn't fruit flavored and the fact that they made it drinkable is quite impressive indeed.
Incidentally, there's also an American style of beer called Black IPA/American Black Ale/Cascadian Dark that you might like. I don't know enough about this style of beer to give you recommendations, but your local beer store can probably give you recommendations.
Also, did your beer store have Westmalle Tripel as well as the Dubbel? Strongly recommend the Tripel.
My beer store does have the Tripel, though I found out that the grocery store that I go to has it cheaper than the beer place did, which surprised me to say the least.
I'll pass along the porter recommendations to her, and I'm pretty sure she's had the doppelbock before. If you get a chance, try the Great Lakes Brewery Edmund Fitzgerald, it's been pretty consistantly rated one of the best porters in the world. Actually, try pretty much anything from that brewery, it's all been amazing. Most of the local breweries here are pretty fantastic, but outside of Great Lakes, they don't have large distribution ranges yet.
It's funny you say that, that's my friend's favorite porter. Unfortunately, they don't ship it to my state. Yeah, Great Lakes is supposed to be quite good.
Though, I wouldn't pay much attention to beer ratings.
Good deal.
@OP : Pranqster is a solid brew. I think it is a from a west coast brewery, but you can find it cross country.
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I find it tasty. But it tastes like little more than sparkling apple juice.
Wellington Brewery, (Canada's oldest independent microbrewery) started right in my hometown, Guelph. The Brick Brewery is just 40 minutes away in Waterloo as well.
Both own between 10-15 brands and i haven't found one i haven't loved as of yet. For reference, i like my beer just in the middle: honey lager and pilsners are good but I too dislike fruity tones and i can't stand Guinness (feels like im eating a meal).
You should come up sometime! It's close enough for a day or two trip if your from Ohio. Hell, you could even round it off by visiting Niagara wine country.
They try WAY too hard, but they and Stone are pretty much the gold standard for craft brewed ales. I like the Aprihop, and the Burton Baton is pretty good. Some of their limited release stuff is absolutely fantastic. I had the 75 minute IPA on cask once, and it was amazing.
The Fear is really good, it's just too bad that it's seasonal.
If you haven't already, I'd try their coffee stout (Kujo). Most coffee stouts go a bit too crazy on the coffee imo, but this one gets the blend right. It is winter seasonal though, so I don't know how much longer it'll be available.
Flying Dog in general does very well with IPAs, though they tend to be very hoppy even by IPA standards (which I like, but others might not). Their Snakedog IPA is my go-to beer, but the Raging ***** (Belgian-style IPA) and Double Dog (Double IPA) are also very good if you like strong IPAs.
I can vouch for the Dead Guy Ale, that one's quite good. I had another Rogue not too long ago that I think was a chocolate porter (?) that I remember liking too.
The Hopsecutioner was good... though I still prefer Flying Dog in terms of IPAs. Terrapin did have a red ale that I really liked, but I can't recall the name of it.
My gf also recommends Boneyard brewery, as that's what got her into IPAs, though she admits she couldn't find it outside Portland.
~
I don't know if there are any breweries around where you live, but I'd highly recommend doing a tour or two. I did one at the Flying Dog brewery recently (I live about 10-15 minutes away), and it was really nice being able to taste all the different beers one after another.
Edit: Missed you talking about good local brews. Still, if you haven't visited them I definitely would! I also need to bookmark this thread, because my beer tastes (IPAs and stouts) seem to be similar to yours.