Event Recap | Tip Top Tours Visits South Slope Breweries

Craft beer is all about new experiences. The craft beer industry has taken a goods / commodities based enterprise and evolved it into an experience based business model. This is evident in brewery hosted events, taprooms/bier gardens and beers unbound by categories. This influence has extended past the brewers and imbibers to the retailers who are dreaming up new and innovative ideas to draw their customers into the door and encourage them to return many times thereafter.  Read More

Conquest Brewing Co. | Artemis Blonde

ABV: 4.2% | IBU: 25

I am home from work at 10:00pm tonight, a little late at night but that is the schedule I am on right now. I want to … Read More

Oskar Blues Brewery Acquires Cigar City Brewing

Shut down the rumor mill, folks. It is official. One of Florida’s leading breweries, Cigar City Brewing, has been been acquired by Oskar Blues Brewery. This comes only a month after rumors of a deal with AB InBev, and a year after the 2015 AB InBev merger rumor was squashed. I am sure we will still hear rumors of AB InBev buying Cigar City Brewing on some random beer blog, though. Read More

The Unknown Brewing Co. | Dirty Commie Heathen

ABV: 12.4%

Unknown Brewing Co. is brewing some great beers out of their Charlotte-based brewery located on 1327 S. Mint Street. Right now, they are excited about one thing. Unknown Brewing Co. has recently released their Dirty Commie Heathen and, according to Head Brewer Brad Shell, it is even better than last year. Read More

Event Recap | Terrapin Beer Co. Hop Harvest

The 2015 Hop Harvest at Terrapin Beer Company was fantastic. The festival was full of splendid brews, wonderful local merchants, delicious food and a whole lot of friends from Terrapin!  Read More

Funky Buddha Brewery | Sweet Potato Casserole Strong Ale

ABV: 7.9% | IBU: 30

I am so happy to bring to you a VERY seasonally appropriate beer showcase thanks, in no small part, to Funky Buddha Brewery out of Oakland Park, FL, but mostly to our very own Jess Baker who brought enough home to share! I introduce to you, Funky Buddha’s highly celebrated Sweet Potato Casserole Strong Ale. Read More

Literary Beer Collection | Halloween Edition

I am excited to bring you a second edition of the Literary Beers series. Can we call it a series now that there is more than one? Meh, who is counting… I lost count long ago.

This edition of Literary Beers will focus on stories/brews that are centered around Halloween.  I have scoured retail shelves and library catalogs to find you the most intriguing and haunting of literary brewing collaborations. So, light a candle and grab a pumpkin ale because this is about to get real!

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Terrapin Beer Co. | Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout

ABV 6% | IBU 30

In anticipation of Terrapin Beer Co.’s upcoming Hop Harvest Festival, today’s beer showcase will feature the seasonally appropriate Moo-Hoo Chocolate Milk Stout. Admittedly, that is partly because I already consumed my bottle of their newest release, The Walking Dead Blood Orange IPA, but Moo-Hoo is well deserving of a write up. To some, Moo-Hoo will be a welcomed relief from the surge of IPAs over the summer and the ongoing flood of pumpkin-themed brews. It is a chocolatey marvel that comes out but once a year. Read More

Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales | Choc Lobster

ABV: 5.6% | IBU: 40 | Draft Only

There are few breweries that cause every American beer enthusiast to pause when their name is uttered. Dogfish Head has a foundation based on being one of those breweries that, when mentioned, everyone holds their breath in anticipation of hearing what is said next. Some amazing beers have come out of there, and I am not talking about exceptional IPAs or Brown ales. What I mean are collaborations with world renowned rock bands, a stout made from ingredients from each of the world’s continents, their Ancient Ales Series, and so much more. Maybe that is why I wasn’t taken aback when I found out, back in 2012, that they had brewed a beer with lobsters and cocoa. Read More

The Unknown Brewing Co. | Hospitali–Tea Southern Amber Ale

ABV 5.4%

Have you seen the news lately? Summer refuses to relinquish its reign over the east coast. Personally, that just means more opportunities to pop the top on The Unknown Brewing Co.’s Hospitali–Tea Southern Amber Ale!

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Creature Comforts | See The Stars Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout

ABV: 10.9%

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. experienced a milestone this month that was marked with a handful of firsts for the brewery. They bottled their first barrel aged stout, which was released at their first bottle release event that turned out to be their largest event since opening. The entire event was calculated with as much attention to the details as possible. The beer, See the Stars, was more than a year in the making. The patience, initiative and discipline to make all this happen shines through the brew it became. Read More

Bell’s Brewery | The Oracle DIPA

ABV: 10% | IBU: 90

Bell’s The Oracle DIPA is a west coast-style IPA brewed in Kalamazoo, MI. This hoptastic brew challenges the likes of Stone Brewing and Lagunitas Brewing with its hop forward dry bitter sensation that overwhelms taste buds with exuberant bliss. I would venture to say that Bell’s has succeeded in their attempt at the style and may have done better than a few indigenous brands.  Read More

BREAKING | Saint Archer Brewing Acquired by MillerCoors

It’s becoming hard to keep up with all the pieces on the chess board as more and more pawns succumb to the bigger players. It was just announced that Tenth … Read More

Creature Comforts Brewing Co. | Athena Berliner Weisse

ABV: 4.8%

Did you know that you might be drinking that Berliner Weisse all wrong? Well, that does depend on where you are when you ask that question. Here, I take a look at the distinct difference between how Americans and Europeans prefer to drink their favorite Berliner Weisse beers using Creature Comforts Brewing Company’s Athena. Read More

Festival Recap | Augusta Beerfest 2015

The 2nd Annual Augusta Beerfest was full of fun and flavor this year. There were dozens of breweries showcasing their most popular beers. Imbibers had over 100 beers to to sample and enjoy throughout each session. A few vendors were present displaying products and explaining their business concepts to the inquisitive passerby. All-in-all,  this was a successful festival that remains the only show in town for the second year running.

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Event Preview | Augusta Beerfest

Augusta Beerfest Saturday / August 15, 2015 Two Sessions: 1pm – 4pm & 6pm – 9pm Tickets: $30 Advance / $40 at the door / VIP $75 Advance

Augusta … Read More

Small Town Brewery | Not Your Father’s Root Beer

Average Reading Time: 2 Minutes

Root Beer, Pre-Prohibition style
ABV 5.9%

Want to know what the biggest thing since craft beer is? I mean, this stuff can’t stay on the shelves. People don’t even realize how cool this stuff is. Coney Island Brewing has done it, Sprecher Brewing is known for theirs, Abita does a non-alcoholic version of it, but none of them have taken off quite as ferociously as Small Town Brewery’s Not Your Father’s Root Beer.

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Ultimate 6er | The Literary Beer Collection

Brewers get their inspiration from a great deal of sources. It is by no surprise that we see beers giving the proverbial nod to great literary works and writers. Both are art forms in their own right that tend to fuel our imaginations. In my opinion, our respect for the literary imagination rivals that of any other creative art. Second only to really good beer, of course! Read More

Thomas Creek Brewery | Honeysuckle Saison

Thomas Creek Brewery of Greenville, SC has added a few new brews to their portfolio. These brews are so new that they are not yet on their official website. Among the newbies is Thomas Creek’s first and only Saison, Honeysuckle Saison ale.

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The Hourglass Brewery | Schizandra

The Hourglass Brewery (Longwood, FL) debuted their limited bottle selection May 16 with the brewery’s first bottle release of Schizandra. This is the first beer bottled by Sky Conley and Brett Mason’s brewery. Hourglass Brewery has been open and operating at capacity since they started in 2012. This year marks another milestone for Conley, Mason and the rest of the brewery family with this and many other changes at the brewery.  Read More