any craft beer on board?

[ToAdam12]

Personally I'm a hefeweissen drinker. The closest thing I can find on the ships that I like is Blue Moon, though I'm curious to try the Thirsty Frog since I enjoy Killian's as well on occasion. I just can't get into the IPAs though. Not my style at all!

 

If you can get it around where you Live I think you would like it. It's called Milk Stout. It is a bit heavy but smooth drinking and not an IPA which I'm not gonna lie you give me a DogFish 120min IPA I could drink all day and all night

[ToAdam12]

Thank you all for your responses. I just wish the answer was yes they have a lot.

 

They do have a nice general collection. Nothing crazy, but I enjoy finding local brews when I am in port. I find that if I go to a local bar and I mean that place that looks like it could be the bar from dusk till dawn. j/p but local bars that are off the beaten path have a nice local selection. I even got a home made brew from a guy who lived atop a cliff in Rotan.

[vacruizer]

Personally I'm a hefeweissen drinker. The closest thing I can find on the ships that I like is Blue Moon, though I'm curious to try the Thirsty Frog since I enjoy Killian's as well on occasion. I just can't get into the IPAs though. Not my style at all!

 

I found the taste a bit flat on the Red Frog. Better than the usual mass market pale stuff, but nowhere near as good as a nice craft beer.

 

People either love or hate IPAs... I actually love them.

 

My new favorite is a local brewery here - Parkway Brewing Co. that does the best IPA I've ever had. Their other stuff is good, too. Very small operation, though, and not sure they are outside of VA yet.

[2blueyam]

I am in the I don't like IPA camp, so I will be trying the Red Frog on board I guess. I really miss the good craft breweries up in Wisconsin (Ale Asylum, Sprecher, New Glarus). The "local" stuff I find here in Virginia isn't very good in comparison or it is all part of the IPA rage. It doesn't look like Parkway has made it to Northern VA yet. I usually end up with an import like Boddington's or Smithwick's. Sometimes I just give up and get a Yuengling. It is at least better than the stuff from the big three.

[Ehpride]

Thank you all for your responses. I just wish the answer was yes they have a lot.

 

We all do. Bud light has its place but I like trying new and different beers, the darker the better. Thirsty frog red is good. They have Guinness as well. I consider TFR a step in the right direction.

[KruuzinAgain]

I'm assuming that the red frog is on tap, since you're given a choice of 3 different sizes, but does anyone know if any of the other beers Carnival serves are on tap?

[dougandmo]

I'm assuming that the red frog is on tap, since you're given a choice of 3 different sizes, but does anyone know if any of the other beers Carnival serves are on tap?

 

Some are draft, some are bottled. I don't remember what else is on tap though.

[BrianAlt]

My wife and I are "beer snobs", so I am very happy to see that they are serving something other than the typical light yellow water brands, which I shall not name. I've read some decent comments about the "Thirsty Red Frog" brew, which is actually brewed by Anheuser-Busch exclusively for Carnival. People have said it's similar to a Killian's Irish Red. I'll be trying it during my January cruise.

 

Killian's is brewed by Coors, another beer I avoid as much as possible.

 

Beer Snob, Beer Nerd, whatever. Give me something from the little guys any day!

 

BTW Heady Topper is awesome and DFH 120 is superb! Have a few aging in my basement right now.

[KruuzinAgain]

Killian's is brewed by Coors, another beer I avoid as much as possible.

 

Beer Snob, Beer Nerd, whatever. Give me something from the little guys any day!

 

BTW Heady Topper is awesome and DFH 120 is superb! Have a few aging in my basement right now.

 

I actually enjoy Killian's, although I'm really into stouts and porters, so the darker the better. I have been branching out into IPA's lately and do find I'm starting to enjoy them more and more. One of our local grocery stores has a bar in it that serves nothing but craft beers. They rotate the selection constantly, so it's a great place to try some new brews.

 

@Dougandmo..........Thanks for the info! I'm glad to hear that there are some other beers on tap.:D

[theriac]

If any of you get the chance try cigar city Jai Lai, it is the closest thing to beer perfection. Another good thing to do if you're in the right tap house is have them pour a jai lai and then top it off with a milk stout. I guess I will be able to get by on this trip with Sierra Nevada because there's absolutely no way I'm ever going to drink bud, coors, or miller again after having tried the good stuff.

[ToAdam12]

Killian's is brewed by Coors, another beer I avoid as much as possible.

 

Beer Snob, Beer Nerd, whatever. Give me something from the little guys any day!

 

BTW Heady Topper is awesome and DFH 120 is superb! Have a few aging in my basement right now.

 

Dog Fish 120 is the best beer EVER. They also make a chocolate beer that is simply put is great!

 

As for the red frog ale. It is sold as Generic Red Beer. No it is not some specially brew that you can only find on Carnival. It is a Red Beer that you can create a label for a brand it and call it was ever you want. Example in Universal they sell in the Harry Potter land a Red beer that they call some random name that is "0specially" brewed for them it isn't like most things it is all marketing. I'm still gonna try it but I'm not expecting much. Never tried it but I know it's gonna be tasty and refreshing.

 

O and the best deal on beer is if you buy the Big Beer of Fosters it's a dollar more than bud light. It is a nice compromise.

[crewsweeper]

I'm assuming that the red frog is on tap, since you're given a choice of 3 different sizes, but does anyone know if any of the other beers Carnival serves are on tap?

I believe the only other beer on tap in most Carnival bars is Bud Light.

The Blue Iguana and Red Frog Rum bars on the 2.0 Lido decks may have a Caribbean or Mexican brew or two on tap (Presidente? Dos Equis?).

 

No Sam Adams on board. Though that might be considered a Midi brewery versus micro brewery. Still though within the realms of craft beer. Brewed by one brewery with each type of beer working under a completely different formula/process.

 

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is on board. It is a craft beer from a brewery that until this fall has only had one site (California) but is expanding into the East Coast more with a brewery in North Carolina.

 

Thirsty Red Frog is NOT a craft beer. And is on tap only, no bottles. It's formula and process are used in several AmBev brews and it is generic in that it's an amber lager served in many locales under different names. Want to try some before boarding? Bahama Breeze ( FLL, Tampa, Orlando, Miami, JAX) has the same thing in their Aruba Red. I'm sure there are other chains in non-port cities pouring their own label "Red" too.

 

For the beer geeks here. DO NOT Expect Carnival, or any other cruise lines to start catering to regional or non craft beer tastes. These DO NOT sell well versus Big Beer brands. And are likely to go bad by the time the barman reaches into the cooler to find one shoved into the back months ago for you.

[BrianAlt]

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a very solid pale ale. I have no problem drinking this on the cruises I've been on and I'm happy it's available.

 

Celebrity is converting it's Michael's Club into a craft beer bar. I'm sure it will be as empty as it was as a cigar bar. However, I'll be in there!

 

There have also been several craft beer cruises that go up and down the west coast (US). These have included craft beer tastings on board and excursions to breweries at each port. Sounds like a BLAST! Not sure how well they have sold.

 

If anyone is on Untappd (an app to track your beer consumption), I'm BrianAlt. Feel free to add me.

 

Ahhhh, two things I love talking about, cruising and beer! :D

[KruuzinAgain]

For the beer geeks here. DO NOT Expect Carnival, or any other cruise lines to start catering to regional or non craft beer tastes. These DO NOT sell well versus Big Beer brands. And are likely to go bad by the time the barman reaches into the cooler to find one shoved into the back months ago for you.

 

I agree. While craft beer is becoming extremely popular, it's still just a drop in the bucket when compared to the big brands.

 

As far as Sierra Nevada goes, they have a seasonal brown ale called "Tumbler" which I drank last fall and really loved it. I saw it on sale at my local grocery store for $10.99/case (normally $18.99/case). I'm still kicking myself for only buying 1 case. It was gone when I went back to get more a few days later.:eek: