What case of beer to buy from the Penna Beverage store?

[givemecarbs]

Well i've been sent on a last minute mission to buy a case of rolling rock for someone from a local beer distributer in the Montgomeryville area, so, since rolling rock is cheap I might as well pick up a case of something for me also. I would rather not go too much above 25.00 a case or so. Any ideas? I'm considering hard cider as well as beer so I am pretty much open to anything.

[Dave H]

If you have access to them, any of the Bell's Brewing products are excellent. Their Two Hearted Ale is an outstanding IPA, and their Stouts are great as well. Only drawback--NOT cheap; but well worth it!

[crazyspice]

When we lived in Kalamazoo, we went to Bell's frequently. I agree their beer is excellent!

[HavertownHound]

I'd stick to something local... yards and phily brewing were already mentioned. Another alternative is Sly Fox which makes great beers in cans, and their cases run about $26. Try the Pikeland Pils, the Phoenix Pale Ale or the Dunkel Lager (all very good)

[GBak504]

Dundee..makes a sampler pack that hits at about 22-25 a case...I think 6 varieties within...ale..pale ale..brown..lager..etc.. They;re nice, theyre easy drinking...quite a nice easy mix for all palates.

[Mr Siegal]

If you want something that is great and seasonal, i.e. winter/holiday beers, check out the Victory HopWollop and Sierra Nevada Celebration. Both are about thirty bucks in PA distributors and both are great for this time of year. Troeg's Mad Elf is really good this year, less fruity that other years in my opinion, but it will set you back about double your budget. It is well worth the splurge though. It is the definition of holidays around my house.

[FriedClamFanatic]

I love hard cider...the poor man's champagne. I'm partial to Hardcore or Cider Jack. Prefer ones that aren't too sweet

[mitchh]

After A/B purchased Rolling Rock and moved production out of Latrobe I will never buy Rolling Rock again.

You can probably find a good sampler from a brewery such as Stoudt's for around $25.

[steelydad]

Yeah and now Anheiser Busch is a goner also.

[PattiCakes]

Yeungling. Or, as they say at our local Chinese Restaurant: "RingRing".

[Bob Loblaw]

I take it you pronounce the chinese items on the menu perfectly.

[PattiCakes]

Sorry, it's an old family joke. We went to CinCin, in Chestnut Hill years ago for a large family event. My husband asked what kind of beer they had, and the server said "RIngring". Now my hubby has a lot of good qualities, but one of them is NOT an ear for languages or accents, so he asked the server to repeat "ringring" multilple times until it finally dawned on him that the beer was "Yeungling". Tough enough for anyone not familiar with the beer to pronounce, much less someone from another country.

[sadiefox]

My hubby bought a case of assorted beers from the Philadelphia Brewing Company. I like all of them. I think it was actually pretty cheap -- around $25.

[rabidog]

hmmm we do have some wonderful local beers... hopefully your distributor has a decent selection. for all-around beers that are very drinkable i love yards philly pale ale and philadelphia brewing company's walt wit. tho i have not found it in case form yet, yards ESA is a very tasty and malty and very easy to down amber beer... it's my favorite thing at the moment (ortlieb's and the abbaye both have it on tap so i've had a lot of it recently!). let's see... troegs has a beer called dreamweaver wheat and also the much-talked about seasonal mad elf which is (1) tasty (2) expensive and (3) incredibly strong! for another seasonal beer... weyerbacher has an incredible pumpkin ale which is also pricey and strong, and absolutely delicious! and victory's golden monkey and pils round out my list of favorite beers. :)

a lot of the local brews sell mixed cases, which is a great way for you to sample some of the local offerings. though i don't really like many of the hoppy beers, so often parts of the case get drank faster than others (can't seem to get rid of the victory hop devil...)

DOH - just saw your price range... i think that pretty much knocks out a lot of what i said... i don't know any of the prices to the dollar, but i'm guessing some of those cases can be had in the low $30s.

[givemecarbs]

Thanks rabid! Yeah I know my price range was kinda low. Hey, it's the holidays, maybe I'll spring for something on your list. And thanks for the suggestions, writing them down right now :)

[rabidog]

welcs! i'm not sure of your style, but i love malty, easy-to-drink beers so most of my list falls into that category. i know there are some people that love their hops, but if a beer makes me knit my eyebrows it's usually not the drink for me. :)

if you're ever in the city, i think i heard yards was starting up saturday tours sometime in february at their new brew place on delaware avenue right by festival pier. i can't wait to check it out... hopefully they have good case pricing.

[givemecarbs]

Sweet. Thanks! Well the best beer I ever had was a Beck's on draft at the long gone Old Heidelberg in Trenton. It was ice cold and very crispy. It might have just been that the planets were aligned that day.

[yayadave]

Those parts of sampler cases that don't go too fast usually work fine as braising liquids or in stew or chili. I know the problem.

[rabidog]

great call on the leftover beers!!!

[Bob Loblaw]

second the yards rec, but not the dreamweaver. we got a variety case of troegs a while back, liked all of them except the dreamweaver. we especially liked the rugged trail one.

i'm a sucker for the variety case, though. if i was in the OPs situation that's probably what I'd do - yards, troegs, etc. flying fish, too, assuming that counts as local.

[givemecarbs]

I tried the Yard's variety case! Sucking some of it down right now! A holiday toast and thanks to all my wonderful chowhound friends. And for those of you who celebrate it, Merry Christmas!

[crazyspice]

Merry Christmas to you too!

[rabidog]

merry christmas (a little late) to you too! oooh, just curious - what's in the yards mixed case? my local beer place doesn't carry that - at least, not that i've seen.

[givemecarbs]

Thanks rabidog! The mixed case I got has Brawler, Phila Pale Ale, IPA, and ESA.

[bucksguy14]

LOVE that Philly Pale Ale!!!!

[rabidog]

well since you brought it up again... ;) my FAVORITE thing to eat with philly pale ale is salty kalamata olive pizza! yum. i get a nice greek-style pie from george's at 2nd and girard.