de Garde Brewing | The Sixth Peach Wild Ale

Millions of peaches, peaches for me. I get my peaches up in Georgia. I really want your peaches, want to shake your tree. Heck, even The Allman Bros. entitled a whole album “Eat a Peach.” Peaches have been a musical muse for so many, so it comes as no surprise that the delicious stone fruit would inspire countless beer makers in equal measure. de Garde Brewing in Tillamook, OR, a fine maker of all things sour, also cannot resist the allure of experimenting with the what has somehow become the emoji placeholder for the butt. The Sixth Peach is one result, and a beer worthy of its own song.

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Highland Park Brewery | Timbo Pils

Beer trends are a flat circle, or something like that. After years of being inundated with the thickest, juiciest, chewiest IPAs, it seems the pendulum might be swinging back towards the newest trends of the 1850s. Pilsners, hoppy Lagers, and other “cleaner” beers, like baggy pants and oversized sweater vests, are suddenly fashionable again, but what happens when you combine styles old and new? Highland Park Brewery Timbo Pils is here to show you the best of both worlds.

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Cantillon | Kriek 100% Lambic Bio

Cantillon has been the standard-bearer for the Gueuze and Lambic styles since 1900–before the Theodore Roosevelt administration. In fact, search their brewery on Google Maps and you’ll find it labeled as “Musée Bruxellois de la Gueuze” and to this day each bottle is a seminal exhibit for sour lovers. A bottle of Cantillon is a DeLorean trip back in time and it’s the commitment to preserving the old ways that ensures the quality today. One of the oldest experiments with Lambics was the addition of cherries to the mix and Cantillon’s Kriek 100% Lambic Bio continues to impress into this next millennium.

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29 Rising International Breweries To Get You In The Olympic Spirit

Trappist Ales, room-temperature pints, and generic lagers. Maybe you once heard your most enthusiastic beer friend explaining the origins behind the “India” in India Pale Ale and the “Russian” in Russian Imperial Stout after their 5th flight of the day. While 20 years ago this may have been the extent of international beer knowledge for the common consumer, today the gospel of craft is spreading to all corners of the world.

With the glory of the Olympics underway, we’ve decided to highlight some of the up-and-coming stars in the international craft game. You won’t see Mikkellers or Cantillons featured front and center on this list, but rather a set of breweries who are either growing in stature or proudly representing their countries as craft pioneers. Check out our 29 rising international breweries that will get you humming those John Williams Olympics theme songs. Special thanks to Miguel Rivas, @thebeertrekker, for his contributions to this article!

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Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen | Intens Rood

A decade ago, in the early days of the ISO:FT message boards, 3 Fonteinen beers were the kids wearing pink on Wednesdays and making “fetch” happen. High bounties were paid for a Hommage, Framboos, or a rare Zenne y Frontera, with airline luggage fees serving as the general mode of transportation for this precious cargo.

Thanks to a huge increase in production and distribution, 3F beers are no longer the Charizard foil cards they once were. While this provides that constant IV drip of Oude Guezes, it also means that we get a few other Lambic oddities, such as the Intens Rood. Read More

Beer Travels | Greece is the Word

After a year+ of adding significant wear and tear to our couches and trying to save countless botched home improvement efforts, it’s time to explore the world outside our homes again. With vaccination rates rising, a number of countries are opening their doors to tourists once again. Of these locales, Greece may be one of the most enticing, where exploring ruins and picturesque Mediterranean isles makes for a much more interesting trip than exploring your local Target for the 8,495th time. And while Greece isn’t necessarily a world-renowned destination for beer, there’s enough exciting things happening in Dionysus’s domain to make sure any beer lover will have their fill. Read More

Drowned Lands Brewery | Harvest Kill Sour IPA

Beers are getting stranger and stranger. While certainly with every candy bar stout and imminent explosion smoothie release a German purity law angel loses their wings, there is no denying that some of this experimentation has produced delectable results. Satiating the appetite of the voracious beer aficionado mandates that breweries put in enough ingredients to fuel a flux capacitor, but what about those of us who like to experiment, yet still want what we’re drinking to have at least a passing resemblance to the artist formerly known as “beer”? Well, let’s introduce you to The Drowned Lands and Harvest Kill, a Sour IPA that hits the balance just right. Read More

Cellador Ales | Deadcrush Rustic Wild Ale

With Firestone Walker launching their new society to much hullabaloo and memes, many are asking “Why should you spend your hard-earned COVID relief check on an expensive collection of beers from one brewery?” This question becomes especially poignant when you realize that, instead of investing these funds at the local bottle shop where you are choosing what prizes you will go home with, you are at the mercy of the brewer spinning their “wheel of chance” for what you receive. With so many good beers so readily available, and an abundance of trust issues built up from watching too much “Survivor,” how do you decide when it’s worth it to drop a large lump sum for vague promises of future delights? Cellador Ales might have the answer.
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Sour Series: Modern Times | New Atlantis with Blackberry and Black Currant in Gin Barrels

If you remember your first sip of a sour beer, the first question that popped into your mind was probably “Who would ever choose to drink this??” As shocking as your first sip of beer as a young drinker, even more so may be the pucker or funk that arrives when you’re expecting bitter and malty. Finding those gateway sours that can gently lead beer-drinking ponies into the farmhouse fields of glory can be difficult, but luckily Modern Times Beer is here with their New Atlantis series. Read More

2020 New York Best in Beer Year-End Honors

If there was one thing 2020 gave us plenty of, other than anxiety, it was the chance to focus on our local beer scenes. Without travel, and with many states relaxing shipping laws, we had plenty of time to contemplate the state of the world and social distance with our favorite brews. New York was the early focal point of the pandemic, enacting changes swifter than most other states, forcing breweries to adapt to the new NY normal. Much like how the vine has to struggle to produce the best grapes, NY breweries persevered and produced some incredible products this year, expanding their catalogs, increasing distribution and pushing boundaries. This list will highlight some of the best beers, breweries and stories to come out of NY last year. So, without further ado, we present the 2020 New York Best in Beer Year-End Honors.

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Suarez Family Brewery | Saunter English Mild

The paradox of a dark beer somehow also being light it hard for many to digest. Most commonly, people think of the world’s most famous stout, Guinness, as a heavy beer, despite it’s 4.2% alcohol and calorie count similar to Mass-Produced Swill Lite. A nice light Witbier is great when the summer sun is shining on you, but what about on those blustery winter days where snow and freezing rain make you want to build a blanket fort and watch 10hrs straight of Lord of the Rings? Suarez Family Brewery may have the solution for you in Saunter, an English Mild Ale that is the flavorful light winter warmer you need.

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Shmaltz & Moustache Light Up the Holidays with ‘Golden Jelly Doughnut Pastry Ale’ & ‘She’brew #RBG IPA’

Shmaltz Brewing Company’s favorite beer-drinking season of the year is here: Hanukkah! Shmaltz Brewing officially turns 24 this Hanukkah and celebrates with the national release of a brand new Golden Jelly Doughnut Pastry Ale brewed with 600 pounds per batch of real purees of raspberry and cherry with a generous slathering of pure vanilla. This Hanukkah Beer, a glorious homage to the beloved Sufganiyot dessert, is all new for 2020 and is now available in 12-ounce can 4-Packs, limited draft through their East Coast wholesalers, and through Brew Pipeline nationally.

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Strong BA Series | Bottle Logic Fundamental Observation

We all remember the first time we waited in an exceptionally long line for an exceptionally small pour of a notable beer. On a sunny SoCal day in May 2015, at The Bruery’s 7th Anniversary party, a beer from local upstart Bottle Logic Brewing named Fundamental Observation showed up like Lindsay Lohan as the new queen bee of The Plastics. An explosion of vanilla followed by the soft cuddle of high-end bourbon barrels, this beer was a delicious needle in the four hours of unlimited tastings haystack. With the next public release of this beer came a block-spanning line, providing a delicious 8oz reward for an hour of your time, and the first memory of waiting in extended anticipation for a single draught of excellence. Read More

Indulgent Beer Series | Hill Farmstead Samuel

Everyone has their own definition of indulgent. It could be a decadent chocolate cake that pushes the boundaries of your sweet tooth and your waistband. It might be a 5-star spa day or a vending machine that distributes gold bars. There may be no clearer measure of an indulgent purchase, however, than seeing the facial expression of a beer non-connoisseur when you tell them you have spent $50+ on a single bottle of beer. Hill Farmstead Samuel becomes the latest release to stress-test the wallet, especially in the midst of a pandemic that is making us reevaluate our financial priorities. Read More

Halloween Beer Treat | Interboro Spirits and Ales Parks and Wreck

Who gets overly excited when the bulk candy starts showing up in stores pre-Halloween? Having a Scrooge McDuck-sized supply of two-piece Starburst snack packs to brighten up your day every 10 minutes for a few months is just swell. It seems these days that the number of trick-or-treat candy options at your supermarket mirrors the plentiful supply of candy-inspired sours at your local bottle shop. There’s been a rise in kettle Sours, fruited Pilsner malts, and juice box beers that would make Ecto Cooler’s Slimer aghast with their color and ingredient list. One recent entry into the fruity fray is Interboro Spirits and Ales Parks and Wreck. Read More

Societe Brewing Company | The Thief

“There must be some kind of way out of here, said the joker to The Thief.” Obviously Bob Dylan was forecasting a future conversation between the Steve Miller song and the Barrel-Aged Blonde Ale concocted by Societe Brewing Company. While you might be forgiven for thinking ol’ Robert Zimmerman was out of his gourd when putting pen to paper on this exchange, there’s nothing crazy about enjoying Societe’s The Thief.

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Cantillon | Lambic d’Aunis

One of the hardest decisions for the dedicated craft enthusiast has to be how long to cellar a prized bottle. How do you ensure that you see your beautiful bottles reach their final form? The balance of power between #drinkfresh and amassing a cellar so massive it would make the Sun King blush is a wobbly tight rope, indeed. Too often you find yourself paralyzed to open those most revered bottles, worrying that with a particular Cantillon or Side Project or Hill Farmstead we’ll never cross paths again. Or worse, you fear the chiding from fellow Ahabs for not inviting them along to take down the white whale.

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The Bruery and ‘Top Chef’ Winner Collaborate on New Beers

Fresh off a win from the Food Network’s “Tournament of Champions” this spring, Los Angeles chef and restaurateur Brooke Williamson is teaming up yet again with the creative minds at The Bruery for a second round of collaborations. Their previous collaboration included two beers; Girl Grey, which featured the cool character of a Belgian-style Ale with sweet ribbons of almond flavors balanced by the piquant qualities of Earl Grey tea, and Kyuri Dragon, a refreshing, bright, tropical collaboration featuring The Bruery’s oak-aged Sour Blonde Ale with cucumbers, dragon fruit, rambutan, kaffir lime leaf and lychee. Those beers were such a hit that the pair just had to team up again to create another palate-pleasing collaboration designed to pair seamlessly with food. Read More

De Struise Brouwers | Pannepot Special Reserva

“But, what do you drink?” This is the question I asked the bartender at one of the many estimable pubs I wandered into the first time I visited Bruges. Taking a pilgrimage to the holy land of beer to guzzle some Westvleteren long before it was shipped to American shores, I spent my days soaking in highly-touted Trappist ales and Belgian standards, but was looking for something a little more “Bad Sandy.” The Belgians, masters of brewing, had to have their version of “craft” local beers that didn’t travel outside of the land of waffles and moules frites.

The bartender returned with a slight smirk accompanying the bottles set before me: This was my first introduction to De Struise Brouwers and Pannepot. Read More

Ultimate 6er | Board Games to Combat Boredom

Year 2020 A.D: Society has found itself desperately in search of new forms of “entertainment.” Stuck in our living spaces with little variety in scenery or human contact, we’ve completed push-up challenges, donned our finest pillow-dresses and allowed ourselves to be entertained by a mulleted tiger murderer, all in desperate attempts to relieve our boredom. While I’ve plundered the depths of Netflix as a good quarantiner should, I’ve also managed to find both mental stimulation and escape through the world of board games. 

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