Surly Blakkr @ Mill City Tavern, Minneapolis Airport

I was in the midst of flight delay on the way home from Minneapolis and stopped in at the Mill City Tavern in Terminal G.  Really nice restaurant with solid options for food and tons of great local beer.

Blakkr is a Double Black IPA, a style I haven't really seen around.  Black IPAs awfully similar to hoppy porters and generally a style that I quite like.  I wasn't totally sold on a 10% Double Black IPA, but like I said, there was a flight delay, and I wasn't getting home until midnight.  Not to mention that I had been delayed and only arrived in Minneapolis at 2am in advance of an 8am meeting.  And I was staring down the barrel of a board meeting at 8am the next morning, then a flight to Toronto the next evening for another 8am meeting.  A pretty trying week!

I liked the beer quite a bit.

Trip to Hill Farmstead April 2015

Last weekend my wife and I made a trip to one of our favorite places in America, Vermont.  My primary desire was to replenish my stores of Hill Farmstead Brewery.  This brewery is widely considered the best in America, and some would say the best in the world.  Sean Hill, the brewer, is not a specialist, he makes world class hoppy ales in addition to sour, dark, farmhouse and everything in between.  He is committed to a sustainable business that can support itself and although he has grown rapidly, there is a target size for the company that he does not want to exceed.  This goal allows him to focus on doing the best possible work he can, which results in amazing beer.  He utilizes growlers so that he can ensure that his beers remain fresh. I much prefer to support a "local" brewery than one of the large conglomerates.  Also, Sean goes to great lengths to respect his community and helps support other local businesses.  He takes great pride in working in a remote area, and although you have to actually go to the brewery to buy his beer, he avoids wasting resources on things like distribution to stores.

The brewery

My haul

Edward - Flagship Pale Ale

Single Hop Pale Ale - Mosaic

Society & Solitude #5 Double IPA

Recent New England IPAs: Gray Sail Captain's Daughter, Lawsons Sip of Sunshine, and Trillium A Street IPA

Gray Sail Brewery out of Westerly, RI is a relatively new brewer who has struck quite a hit with their Double IPA, Captain's Daughter.  Pretty hoppy, but still drinkable.  Only available in MA/RI, as far as I know, but I enjoyed it!

Sean Lawson of Vermont's Lawson's Finest Liquids most famous beer is Double Sunshine, his double IPA produced in extremely limited batches.  When Mr. Lawson decided that he needed to scale the business a bit, he set up an agreement with Two Roads Brewing on Connecticut to brew his modified Double Sunshine recipe as Sip of Sunshine.  Originally packaged and sold only in kegs and 22oz bombers, the transition to 4 packs makes a ton of sense, especially in light of local competition in Vermont and the superior QPR of 16 oz cans.  This is brewed monthly in CT and then distributed in both CT and VT.  Great beer, comparable to Heady Topper in my opinion.

Trillium Brewery, in my view, is Boston's response to the Vermont beer scene's relentless quality.  While Boston and the vicinity has a number of good breweries, none are truly great, especially when it comes to producing the renowned IPAs that are coming out of Vermont.  I have had a number of great beers from Trillium, including Melcher St IPA, Congress St IPA, and Fort Point Pale, which drinks more like an IPA.  Unfortunately, A Street, does not live up to the others or its $10 price tag.  Still a good beer, but nothing special.  

Victory Brewing: DirtWolf Double IPA

Victory Brewing out of Philly has a penchant for awesome hoppy beers. Some that I have loved in the past include Hop Wallop and Hop Devil. When I heard that they were releasing a new Double IPA, I was certainly intrigued. For all Hop Wallop fans, Victory is temporarily putting that beer on hold in favor of DirtWolf, but don't worry you will not be disappointed. I call/visit my local beer store every week on delivery day, and I made sure to pick up a 4 pack, at $10.99 as soon as it became available.

Typically, I try to limit beer consumption to the weekend, but sometimes you are just jonesing for a beer in the middle of the week, and that was the case. The Red Sox happened to be in the playoffs, which is just another excuse to drink a delicious beer. So, I popped open the first bottle and poured it in my trusty tulip (see above). My wife, who is not a beer fan, immediately commented on the aromas. Tons of juicy hops, including Mosaic, which is one of my favorite varieties that has been gaining popularity of late. Color is hazy, and light brown, standard IPA. Taste is ALL hops, there is a solid backbone of malt, but there is little balance. Hops on the finish as well.

I quickly finished my 4 pack, and picked up a second at the grocery store last weekend. Highly recommended, great value.  Receiving a 96 on Beeradvocate, others agree as well.

I also grabbed a Dogfish Head Bitches Brew.  Solid beer while watching the Sunday Night Football Manning v Luck matchup.

Beer Review: Stone Enjoy By 4-1-13

I was not able to find the last Stone "Enjoy By" IPA beer, and set out to ensure I was able to try this edition.  I was at a local Whole Foods and saw a bunch of bottles and was quick to grab one. I enjoyed that first bottle very much, but the next day I returned to purchase a few more and of course they were gone.  Luckily, I was in Amherst, MA later that week and Russell's Liquors had a good number of bottles on the floor.  Unfortunately my inner Jew did not allow me to buy more than one bottle at $8.45, because the first bottle was $7.49 at Whole Foods.  Either way, awesome beer!

Green Flash Palate Wrecker

Green Flash is a great West Coast brewery, and I always enjoy their offerings.  I had heard rumblings of Palate Wrecker on the Internet and had to check it out when I saw a four pack available at my local store.  Touted as an Imperial IPA, this is an absolute hop bomb that checks in at 9.5% ABV.  This beer is obviously extremely hoppy, which as regular readers of my blog know, is my favorite style of beer!  The smell and taste run the gamit of hops, piney and resiny in taste, long finish, fantastic mouthfeel.  I would give this beer an A- as it is just a little too over the top for me to give a straight A.

Recent Craft Beers

Summer is going strong, and it has been extremely warm here in the northeastern US.  I have been enjoying a number of great beers lately.  I have been purchasing primarily high quality beers, and in smaller quantities.  It is expensive, but allows me the option of trying a number of different styles and brands. 

Baxter Brewing based out of Maine is a great up and coming local brewery.  I really like that they brew their stuff in cans, and really enjoy their Stowaway IPA, kind of like an east coast version of Dales from Oskar Blues (mentioned below!)  This beer is nothing like that, and is very different from any other beer I have had.  It's certainly summery, but not as light as the Narragansett Summer I so love.  It has a lot of herby-fruity flavors going on and is surprisingly bitter. 

Cambridge Brewing is one of my favorite breweries.  Their bombers come out in batches, and are based on the most popular recipes sold at the brewpub.  Red God is an Imperial Red, clocking in at 9% ABV.  I did not get the best impression from this beer, as it was pretty late and the last beer that I drank.  I enjoyed the hops, but would like to re-visit in the future.

Ahhh Dogfish Head Festina Peche, how I have missed you!  I tried this beer 2 years ago and it was one of the first "sour" beers I had ever tried.  It looks like a pale fizzy lager, but it is really nothing like that.  Incredibly light both in mouth feel and drinkability, this beer is a Berliner Weisse.  Not as sour as a geueze or lambic, but still tart enough to scratch that sour itch.  This beer is fantastic in the summer and fairly priced at $10/4pk.

Maine Brewing Company is another great brewery out of Maine.  I have almost all of their offerings multiple times and really enjoy what they put out.  The specialize in hoppy beers with the Peeper, Zoe, and Lunch IPA highlighting hops.  Mo is between Peeper and Lunch although leanign to the citrusy lunch side, rather than the leafy peeper.  This beer is expensive at 7$ for 500ml, and I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up frequently, if it were available and priced at $5, but c'est la vie.

Deviant Dale's is the sup'd up version of Dale's Pale Ale.  Like Dale's is really an IPA mascquerading as a Pale Ale.  Deviant Dale's is certainly a Double IPA.  It is extremly aggressive in hops, and went well with the spicy pork sausage stirfry behind it.  Beautiful color and fine head make for a delicious hop bomb.  $14/4pk of 16 oz cans is reasonable.

An old favorite of mine, Pretty Things Jack D'or is one of the best and most accessible saisons brewed in New England.  $6 for a fresh bomber of this farmhousey, spicy "saison americane" is a real bargain.  It is not incredibly high in ABV like some of it's american saison brethren, which is a favorable aspect in my opinion!

Enjoy summer folks!

Troegs Nugget Nectar is Here!!!

Tröegs Nugget Nectar is one of my absolute favorite beers.  It is not an IPA, but rather an American Amber or Imperial Amber Ale.  Either way, this beer is INCREDIBLY hoppy.  I sprang for a case last year in my excitement, and might do the same, especially after seeing CraftBeerCellar's recent tweet!  Either way, get your hands on this beer as it is spectacular right now, being fresh from brewing.

in other news, Sierra Nevada in cans (mmmmmmmmmmmmm)

Craft Beer Update

I have been trying and tasting a number of new beers lately, as usual.  This time I made sure to document each one of them and I will give you a quick writeup/opinion/comment on each one.  So without further ado...



Berkshire Brewing Company - Goodnight Irene - I had mentioned tasting this at BBC's brewery before and it tastes just as excellent bottled.  For $3.99 with a portion of profits going to charity, the value can't be beat.  BBC specializes in English style ales, but this is an attempt at a West Coast (American) hop-forward IPA.  It is well executed, like the Franklin County Land Trust Preservation Ale.  I do, unfortunately, believe that the hops have faded, ever so slightly.



Full Sail Brewing - Elevation DIPA - This brewery is not one that I am particularly familiar with, although I have heard good things about their lagers which come in stubby Red Stripe bottles.  This Imperial IPA may be past best drank by date, as it is bottled in 2011.  I didn't see that while at the store picking it up, but hops had faded significantly, so I do not feel a review would truly represent the beer.  It looked nice though!



Sierra Nevada - Bigfoot (2012) - Fresh Bigfoot is one of my favorite barleywines.  The hops are right in your face, but taste fresh and delicious.  Don't get me wrong, I love a good aged malty alcohol laden barleywine, but this beer is superb fresh from being bottled!



Pretty Things - Lovely Saint Winefrede - Pretty Things of MA's newest brew is called a Euro Dark Lager, which is certainly not one of my most commonly sampled styles.  This beer really delivers though, the dark, roasted qualities, mix with a hoppy finish, and present a complex but extremely drinkable brew.  Pretty Things never misses, and I recommend picking up a bomber if you have access! (Whatup Stephen Colbert)



Ommegang - Hennepin - I have had this excellent saison many times before, but have not mentioned here on the interwebs.  It is one of my favorite, easily accessible, American saisons, it is in the mid 7% ABV so it packs a punch, but it is definitely a great thirst quenching beer.  I detect a lot more citrusy lemony zest than in other saisons, which is the only thing holding me back from saying this is a perfect saison.



Slumbrew - Porter Square Porter - named after Somerville/Cambridge's Porter square this local porter is one of my absolute favorite new beers.  Smuttynose' Robust Porter is still the best value on the market, but Slumbrew's offering is certainly superior, if not much more expensive.  They use local chocolatier Taza's cacao nibs to impart even more chocolatey flavor with the dark malts.  Excellent desert or cold weather beer.



Sixpoint - Resin DIPA - I had been looking forward to this beer a lot after enjoying all of Sixpoint's other offerings including Autumnation and Diesel.  This left a little to be desired.  I really enjoyed the Red Bull cans that the beer came in, and as a hop-head, the ~9% ABV hop loaded beer tickled my senses.  My issues were that I had expected a west coast style IPA, which is a lot lighter, as you can see this beer is dark and the malts are definitely present.  Maybe my hopes were too high, but I was slightly disappointed with this brew.



Peak Organic - Simcoe Spring Ale - I am a sucker for beers that display the hop type, especially if that hop happens to be Nugget, Simcoe, or Citra!  This is certainly a pale ale, not an IPA, but the delicious Simcoe hops still shine through.  I believe this is fresh as it is the first I have seen or heard of this beer, so that may be a factor.  It is nothing like an IPA or DIPA, so make sure to temper your expectations, but this is a solid offering from Maine's Peak Organic.

Recent Beers: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout & Founders Double Trouble

This winter has been pretty weak for the area, very negligible snowfall and mild temperatures.  This is great for me, as I am no huge fan of snow and the accompanying shoveling, slipping on ice, and all that goes with it.  I feel bad for the snowboarding and skiing enthusiasts who are wildly unsatisfied by the lack of fresh powder.  When it's snowing, there's nothing I like better than an Imperial Stout.  You don't mind the additional ABV, because you are not going to be driving anywhere.  With that in mind, I have been picking up 4 packs of more complex, heavier beers.  I like this format a lot, since you get multiple bottles, which is better than a single bomber, but not 6 beers which may be harder to go through with the vast breadth of great craft beer available.

Founder's Brewing: Double Trouble

Michigan based Founders is absolutely one of my favorite breweries.  Everything that they brew and sell is pure quality.  There regular offerings are above market average and their seasonal and special brews are world class.  Double Trouble is no exception.  Often compared with Bell's Hopslam, another Michigan based DIPA.  The 9.70% ABV smacks you in the face, this beer smells and tastes boozy.  The other main factor, not surprisingly for a DIPA, is the hops.  I am not sure what varieties Founders uses, but there are multitudes of hop notes in the scent, taste, and long finish of the beer.  It is a citrusy hops note, rather than the piney notes sometimes favored in IPAs.  The high ABV and intense hops make this beer difficult to be called "drinkable" but it is so darn delicious.  $12.99 / 4 Pack.

Brooklyn Brewery: Black Chocolate Stout

Brooklyn Brewery's Russian Imperial Stout has been one of my favorites for the past few years.  The value is incredible, at only $7.49 / 4 pack.  There are not many Imperial Stouts that are affordable AND high quality, with many notable iterations running well over $10/22 oz bomber.  Brooklyn's BCS is able to hang with these beers, although could possibly be considered a little less complex.  As a common theme, the first thing you notice on this beer is the alcohol.  10.00% ABV makes this beer a one - and - done night for me.  It is not surprisingly very chocolatey, both in smell and taste.  The mouthfeel is very silky and carbonation is lower than most beers, but this is true to style.  This is one of my favorite blizzard beers, sipping on the dark chocolatey elixir as it warms up allowing the high ABV complexity to shine, while the white snow falls outside.

In addition, I am still loving the fresh Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye, what an excellent beer at the perfect price.  I am looking forward to Sierra Nevada in cans, which is extremely favorable in my mind!

New England Brewing: Ghandi-Bot Beer Review

Since moving to Connecticut, a few months back, this is the single beer that I have been hoping to try.  Brewed in New Haven County, CT, 45 minutes south, it is a bit hard to find, as it is such a desired commodity.  I was finally able to secure a 4 pack at Table and Vine in West Springfield, MA, for a fair price at $11.99, I also made sure to grab a sixer of New England Brewing's Sea Hag IPA at $7.99 too.

First off, I want to say that I love that this DIPA comes in a can.  The Alchemist's Heady Topper is the only other excellent DIPA that can say the same, as far as I know. All of New England Brewing's offerings come in cans, except for the Imperial Stout Trooper that comes in ~$20 750ml bottles.  The bright orange and interesting artwork make for an interesting looking can.  The name Ghandi-Bot is a great one too!

The beer pours a large, foamy head.  The color is a hazy orange, an excellent looking beer.  The smell is noticeable as soon as it is poured out.  The glorious American hops are just bursting out of the glass.  The hops are definitely American, with grapefruit, orange and pineapple smells all noticeable.

The first sip is that of sweet sweet hops, but with a strong malty background.  Although the beer is 8.80% ABV, which is fairly high, you can not tell from tasting it.  This is not a "balanced" IPA in any sense of the word balanced.  (check out local Berkshire Brewing's Lost Sailor, if that's what you are looking for!)

Amazing beer, best East Coast IPA/DIPA I have ever had.  Not as good as Pliny!

Mixed 12 Packs: Sierra Nevada Beercamp & Sam Adams Latitude 48

This one time at beercamp... Sierra Nevada hosts an annual "beercamp" where they brew a bunch of beers and this year they are releasing a "Best of Beercamp" mixed 12 pack. This is huge news in and of itself, because I have never seen a mixed Sierra Nevada 12 pack, before. I like mixed 12s, because you get a bunch of beer, which is obviously great, but it allows you to buy only a couple of each beers at a reasonable price per bottle, great for craft beer newbies. This mixed pack includes a Double IPA, (previously known as (Ghidorah) a Weizenbock, a Black IPA and a California Common. (like Anchor Steam) I have heard that this mixed pack will be ~$20, which is higher than normal, but is definitely worth it for 3 DIPAs, and other beers which are produced in much smaller quantities than their standard lineup.


Samuel Adams has also come out with its out mixed 12 pack, based on their Latitude 48 IPA. The original Latitude 48 IPA is a solid IPA that has been around for the past 18 months, featuring 5 hop varieties all grown on the 48th Parallel, thus the name. This mixed 12 pack will include 2 of the original Latitude 48 as well as 2 "single hop" IPAs, using solely each of the different hops. They are as follows: Ahtanum, Zeus, and Simcoe, Hattertau Mittlefrueh and East Kent Goldings. The first three are from the Yakima region of the Pacific Northwest, and the final two are not typically highlighted in American IPAs. I am looking forward to Simcoe and Zeus most, but the other 3 should definitely be enlightening. This will run about $15, much more affordable than the Mikkeller "Single Hop IPAs" at $6/12 oz bottle. Check out more info @ TheBostonGlobe.