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Last week, I told you all about my favorite canned beer, Yeungling Lager. A very drinkable middle-of-the-road brew in terms of flavor, it delivers better-than-mass-market taste at a mass-market price. So, as promised, this week I will be reviewing my favorite beer of all time. The downside is, unless you like in the Triangle area of North Carolina (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill), you are unlikely to find this beer yet. The upside is that I have spoken with the CFO of the brewery, and they are in talks for opening a few more regional brewing centers in the U.S. and, if you can believe it, South Asia (India) and they should be going international sometime in the next year. So, now that I have piqued everyone's interest, lets introduce you to the best beer ever made.

The beer that gets me going wild is Shotgun Betty, a wheat beer brewed by the Lone Rider Beer Company. Their website is http://www.loneriderbeer.com/ and currently, it is only availible in bars and pubs in the Triangle area, or directly from the brewery at 8816 Gulf Ct. Suite 100, Raleigh, NC 27617. You can get 1/4 kegs, 1/2 kegs, or whole kegs, or you can get it in 1 gallon growlers. The beer itself is quite unlike any beer I have ever had. Even other wheat beers, like classic german Hefeweissens or Blue Moon or beers like that do not even come close. The beer itself is very quenching, not harsh or overly hoppy or malty. It's somewhat cloudy, but not as cloudy as most wheats, and I wouldn't even dream of putting an orange wedge in this one. It is far better straight up, and chilled well. The beer itself has notes of bananas and cloves in the flavor, and is a bit sweet without being cloying or sickly-sweet. Its a dangerous beer in that you really want to drink a LOT of it. Its the first they took to market, and has been selling very well locally. The CFO told me that by the second weekend it went on sale at a popular pub in Chapel Hill, they kicked the keg twice, which the pub had said was unprecedented. Once they tried it, people literally kept coming back for more, something I do frequently. At my monthly rotating Poker game it has become the house beer, and all of my friends that have tried it now get it regularly for any events (cook outs, parties, etc) they have.

Shotgun Betty is their flagship beer, but Lone Rider also has several other brews they currently sell, and are developing even more. DeadEye Jack was their other charter beer, launched at the same time as Shotgun Betty, and is a dark Porter. I have had quite a few glasses of this one too, and it's a good dark beer, with a deep-roasted malty flavor, with chocolate and coffee notes. Sweet Josie Brown Ale was their third beer to hit the market, and it's a good malty brown ale, not unlike Killians Irish Red or Honey Brown. Sweet and drinkable, a bit of hops but not too much, it's a good beer to have with a dinner. Peacemaker Pale Ale is their newest beer, a very hoppy Pale Ale. It reminded very much of an India Pale Ale (IPA) which compares very favorably to something like Harpoon IPA or any of the other nationally availible bottled IPAs.

This is all a reminder for all of the beerophiles out there that the best beers are always made by your local craft brewer. The grocery store stuff is good in a pinch, but you will always get the best beer from places where you can drive up to the brewery and get them to fill up a growler for you straight from the tanks. Let the heathens get drunk on that Budweiser-Coors-Miller crap, find something local to your community that you can ONLY get locally, and you'll usually be pleasantly surprised by both the quality of the beer, and the relationship with the brewery you can develop.

Next week, I'll turn a 180 and let you all know about the WORST beer I have ever had. I still throw up a bit in my mouth when I think about it. And just a reminder, if you haven't read my last article, please feel free to pop back and read it. Good day, and happy drinking!