I always find belgian yeast to have more of a spice/fruit quality. If you’re getting funky cheese it’s probably the bacteria from those wild fermented belgian beers you don’t like. Or maybe strong ales that have a more complex flavor. Try a Duvel if you see it around, more of a hop forward golden belgian ale. If you taste cheese in that I cannot help you lol. 
Modern Times DDH MT6 and a Richardrunner. Modern Times is currently on a 6 year anniversary binge, and this juicy hazy IPA is the best thing they’ve ever made. Luckily they sent a half barrel to my local taphouse so I was able to get my half-growler filled.
I recently had one of those Sierra Nevada hazy IPAs, it was pretty good.
Is Sierra Nevada considered craft? They put out some pretty good stuff, I particularly enjoy the seasonal narwhal [stout].
Have you ever had Allagash White? It’s good stuff, brewed in Maine - though maybe I’m of the minority around here liking Belgian style:
No they went big brewing a few years ago I think. Not bad stuff still, but there’s a lot better out there! If you like the narwhal, try to find Stone Russian Imperial Stout this season. Buy two and drink one next season.
Edit: I am dumb. They are still independent, but not ‘craft’ which seems like hair-splitting
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New Terrain’s “against the currant”. Its a sour brewed with, you guessed it, currants. Im not usually a huge fan of fruity sours, but this one rocks. Great color too.
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Love currant. Currant lambic is my favorite.
Never had a currant lambic. Sounds nice.
I’m in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, and there’s tons of great local stuff here. Dangerous Man, if you are ever in the area, is totally worth a stop. Also Fair State Brewing Coop, Sociable Cider Werks, and Burning Brothers (gluten free brewery), just to list a few favorites.
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@JohnnyJ
The oatmeal stout is classic! My wife is a stout fiend. If you can find it, Left Hand Brewing Co. does GREAT milk stout. I find the Nitro to be best.
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Haven’t seen this one yet but I’ve got a snifter of Ghost right now
I am a really big fan of Sour brews, specifically Gose styles with luscious citrus’ and sea salt.
Some of my favorites are 17-Up by Pearl Street Brewery, which is a Lime and Lemon with Sea Salt Sour Gose.
I also rather enjoy Green Zebra which is a Watermelon and Sea Salt Gose.
Gose
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the river in Germany, see Gose (river). For the city in Japan, see Gose, Nara. For the coastal commune in Albania, see Gosë.
Traditional gose beer bottle produced in Leipzig, Germany
Gose beer, brewed in Bonn, Germany (2014)
Gose is a warm fermented[1] beer that originated in Goslar, Germany. It is usually brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat. Dominant flavours in gose include a lemon sourness, a herbal characteristic, and a strong saltiness (the result of either local water sources or added salt).[2] Gose beers typically do not have prominent hop bitterness, flavours, or aroma. The beers typically have a moderate alcohol content of 4 to 5% ABV.
Because of the use of coriander and salt, gose does not comply with the Reinheitsgebot - it is allowed an exemption on the grounds of being a regional specialty.[3] It acquires its characteristic sourness through inoculation with lactobacillus bacteria.[4]
Gose belongs to the same family of sour wheat beers which were once brewed across Northern Germany and the Low Countries. Other beers of this family are Belgian Witbier, Berliner Weisse, and Broyhan.
History
Gose was first brewed in the early 13th century[5] in the town of Goslar, from which its name derives. It became so popular in Leipzig that local breweries copied the style. By the end of the 1800s, it was considered to be local to Leipzig and there were numerous Gosenschänken (gose taverns) in the city.
Originally, gose was spontaneously fermented. A description in 1740 stated “Die Gose stellt sich selber ohne Zutuung Hefe oder Gest” (“Gose ferments itself without the addition of yeast”). Sometime in the 1880s,[ citation needed ] brewers were achieving the same effect by using a combination of top-fermenting yeast and lactic acid bacteria.
Gose was delivered, still actively fermenting, in casks to the Schänken. Casks were stored in the cellar with the tap bung closed but the shive hole left open which allows some gas to escape, so that the still-active yeast could escape. When fermentation had slowed to a point where no yeast was emerging, the gose was ready to bottle. The barrel was emptied into a tank, whence it was filled into traditional long-necked bottles. These were not closed with a cap or cork, but with a plug of yeast (flor) which naturally rose up the neck as the secondary fermentation continued.[4]
By the outbreak of World War II, the Rittergutsbrauerei Döllnitz, between Merseburg and Halle, was the last brewery producing gose. When it was nationalised and closed in 1945, gose disappeared temporarily. In 1949, the tiny Friedrich Wurzler Brauerei opened at Leipzig; Friedrich Wurzler had worked at the Döllnitz brewery and had known the techniques for brewing gose.[4] Before his death in the late 1950s, Wurzler passed the recipe to his stepson, Guido Pfnister. Brewing of gose continued in the small private brewery, though there appears to have been little demand. By the 1960s there were no more than a couple of pubs in Leipzig and possibly one in Halle that were still selling it. When Pfnister died in 1966 the brewery closed and gose production again ceased.[4]
In the 1980s, Lothar Goldhahn, then restoring the former gosenschenke “Ohne Bedenken”, decided that it was suitable that the revived pub should sell gose. After querying drinkers to ascertain its precise characteristics, Goldhahn searched for a brewery to produce it. No local brewery was willing to make such an odd beer until the Schultheiss Berliner-Weisse-Brauerei on Schönhauser Allee in East Berlin agreed. The first test brews were made in 1985 and production started in 1986.[4]
After briefly disappearing again in 1988,[6] gose has again found popularity. In and around Leipzig, there are now several specialised gose breweries again. In addition, the style continues to be brewed outside Germany, most notably in the United States.
For instance, a major American corporation, the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company (located in Mills River, North Carolina, and Chico, California) recently began making “Otra Vez.” The brewer describes it as “Gose-Style Ale” brewed with lime and agave.
Figured I would share the Wiki lol.
I also rather like Epic Brewery’s Sour IPA which is a VERY Orange Citrus Sour with a nice undertone of hops!
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I won’t lie. I’m a beer fan. i love beer! But tried a sour beer the other day and it was a hard no. Well, I SAY hard no, but I put that 6 pack where it should be. Won’t be returning for another. At least I can say I tried!
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Had a wedding up in Manchester, VT this weekend and a free day Saturday while my girlfriend tended to her bridesmaid duties. Found a local package store with a good craft beer section and stocked up on some Focal Banger and a decent variety of Burlington Beer Co, Hermit Thrush, and Frost. Good weekend overall, and the wedding was decent too I guess.
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My gf and I were planning a drive to Humboldt relatively soon. Might have to check them out, she’s not really a drinker but I love a good ale myself.