Unfiltered unpasteurized beers?

[takadi]

What brands? Where to find them online? Where to find them locally? Where to find them nationally? What styles are good? What should I be looking for

I live in the DC area

[tbonetodd]

If you're in DC, I'd recommend Dogfish Head Brewery in Bethesda, Hook and Ladder from Silver Spring, and Gordon Biersch in DC. Dogfish Head is truly amazing. Also look for Clipper City, Fordham's, and Flying Dog now that it's made in Frederick. Prosit!

[takadi]

I love dogfish head. I bought some of their raison detre, absolutely delicious. I'm assuming they only have the unfiltered unpasteurized stuff at the brewery though right?

[franksnbeans]

Now that the weather's warming up, try some hefeweizen. Most will be unfiltered. Harpoon makes a really nice "UFO" (UnFiltered Offering) hefeweizen. I find weissbier too sweet, but some of the hefes are really nice, when not overly citric. The Harpoon is probably my favorite; a very tasty beer:
http://www.harpoonbrewery.com/index.c...

[takadi]

Can you find bottles of it at your local retail beer shop?

[franksnbeans]

Absolutely. Great on tap, but equally good in bottles. Harpoon has decent distribution, though I suppose it depends where you are.

[LStaff]

Most microbrews and craft beers are unpasteurized, but many are filtered. Without there being a statement on the bottle or contacting each individual brewery to find out, there is no way to tell. Even bottle conditioned beers are no guarantee that they haven't been filtered at some point. Any style could be good depending on your preference and the brewery that makes it.

I understand the need to avoid pasteurized beers, but not unfiltered. Is there a specific reason you are looking for these types of beer? If its for flavor reasons, go to a good local beer store or beer bar and start experimenting with breweries/brands you have never heard of.

[takadi]

There's definitely flavor, but I also feel like there are health benefits that are missing when the beer is filtered. Also, there's just me simply wanting to experiment and break outside the usual Coors and Millers and appreciate the true quality of beer.

[LStaff]

Even though many craft beers are filtered, they are usually not filtered to the extent that US industrial lagers are, thus leaving behind much of its flavor - and I'm sure whatever health benefits there is to be had. If you have ever seen the huge in-line plate filters that Coors uses, there is no wonder all flavor has been stripped out.

[TongoRad]

Just to piggyback off of LStaff's post a bit- there are different levels of filtration. In general, draft beer from your local micro will probably not be given the sterile filtration that the bottled version will have (though it's the same beer), so it's a better option for you. Better still will be a brew pub that doesn't filter at all, or Cask Conditioned Ale (I am using the term 'better' here in the context of your original request.) So, yeah, I'd recommend hitting up some beer bars and/or brewpubs and start experimenting- it'll work for you on a number of levels, mostly because fresh beer almost always is the best way to enjoy it, but also because chances are you will run into other beer folk and pick up some local tips from them.

[jtpeters]

Bell's Oberon is a popular example.

[tboom29]

Most Bell's is unfiltered I believe. And available in DC. I had 2 hearted on cask at Regional Food and Drink. Unbelievable.

[Josh]

Wow, I am jealous. I love that beer.

[Jim Dorsch]

It's nice to have some really great beers in former wastelands. I recall 25 years ago when it was not easy at all to find more than a handful of interesting beers in the east. I'd read about the great breweries starting up in the west, and dream of the day.