Begyle Brewing Company – Flannel Pajamas Stout

ABV: 5.4%

It happened. It has officially gotten cold. My heat has been on. Friends in the suburbs have mentioned snow. Hibernation is impending. Time to stay in, marathon through Netflix and jump into flannel pajamas. Better yet, DRINK Flannel Pajamas stout. That’s right, the smooth, warm and inviting brew by one of Chicago’s newest breweries Begyle Brewing is sure to be a hit.

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Fat Bottom Brewing | Black Betty IPA

IBU: 56 | ABV: 4.4%

This time last year, the only beer I consumed for about two weeks straight was Fat Bottom‘s Black Betty IPA. It’s the first brewery to even exist in East Nashville (which literally just means that it’s the first brewery in Nashville that’s across the river from the heart of downtown), and for some reason that made this place a VERY big deal.

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Great Divide- Yeti Imperial Stout

Great Divide, Denver, CO
Yeti- Imperial Stout (Perennial)
9.5 % ABV
75 IBU

With Halloween recently ended, I thought it was prevalent to include a costume idea for next year. Whether is be a fictional superhero, our favorite movie character, or the most elusive monster in American culture, our ambitions know no bounds. Moreover, who wouldn’t want to spot a seven-foot Sasquatch walking around. Read More

Préambule – Brasserie Thiriez and Akim T

ABV: 5.8%

I have to be honest. I bought Préambule based on the label. I thought the bubbles were neat. And while you shouldn’t judge a beer by its label, I did pretty well this time around. But I wouldn’t have been as surprised by this provocative little beer if I had bothered to read what was written instead of fawning over the nice packaging.  Read More

Caldera Brewing Company – India Pale Ale

ABV: 6.1%

IBU’s: 94

Being the only hophead in the house, I volunteered to act as the guinea pig for Caldera’s India Pale Ale, one of the beers from my dad’s most recent Craft Beer Club shipment. On this gloomy fall day, the bright can in and of itself was just the pick me up I needed, not to mention the beer inside. Read More

Shipyard Brewing Co. | Pumpkinhead

It seems like everyone has gotten in on the pumpkin game these days. Once fall hits, pumpkin fever infects us all and we just want more of it! Luckily, I think I have found the cure to the sickness. Well, I shouldn’t say cure, because once it’s gone, it leaves you craving for this orange and blue aluminum can to come charging back for more. Read More

Portland Fresh Hop Festival Review

Few things get me more excited than fresh hop season in Oregon.  When I moved to Portland in 2010, I went to many of the medium to large-size summer … Read More

Victory Brewing Company – Dirt Wolf D.I.P.A.

Today we’re joined by Vin, founder of Bier Battered.com, a fantastic new startup beer site.  He’s guest blogging for us and sharing his showcase of Victory Brewing Company Dirt Wolf … Read More

Weyerbacher – Heresy Russian Imperial Stout

ABV 8.00%

Being a sports fan in Philadelphia right now SUCKS. Whether you are a Foles fan or if you hate Vick, there really isn’t much going on down on … Read More

New Belgium Brewing | Accumulation White IPA

New Belgium Accumulation White IPA

ABV: 6.2%

IBU: 70

When thinking of Winter seasonals, one usually gravitates towards stouts, porters, and Christmas-y spiced ales.  However, New Belgium sees your traditional winter seasonals and raises you a White IPA.

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Ska Brewing – Hoperation Ivy #23 Wet Hop IPA

Ska Brewing – Hoperation Ivy #23 Wet Hop IPA
ABV:?
IBU:?

Ska Brewing boasts a limited release every fall in the form of a harvest, wet hop IPA. It’s moniker – a word play on their love of ska and the ska-punk band, Operation Ivy. If you are not familiar, they are recommended if you like Rancid, Against All Authority and Common Rider. This year they have opted for an “all-Colorado” batch of Hoperation Ivy in which they commandeer fresh Colorado hops from High Wire Hop Farms in Paonia, and grain from Colorado Malting Company in Alamosa. This harvest IPA is a real treat. Big on hops but well balanced with malty sweetness. Bright, lively flavors of pine, spices, citrus, wildflowers, and spruce are rested on a substructure of creamy, smooth malts.

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Crooked Stave – St. Bretta (Fall)

Beer: St. Bretta (Fall)
Brewer: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 25

I hate to admit that I had never really heard of Crooked Stave until the end of this past August. I was attending a homebrewer’s competition for a local non-profit and was invited to guest judge. (Apparently my credentials at PorchDrinking and my affinity for beer were enough to give me the exclusive rights to judge.) When I arrived, I learned that I would be the only judge that night as the two brewers from “Crooked Stave” would not be able to show. Read More

Dogfish Head – American Beauty

9.0% ABV, 55 IBU

Workingman’s Dead on CD, bought for $5 from the used bin at the local record store my Freshman year of high school. For a short period of time, they were the only band that existed in my provincial teenage mindset. Read More

Samuel Adams | Fat Jack

ABV: 8.5% | IBU: 25

This small-batch, double pumpkin ale eluded me last year, so imagine my surprise when I found a bomber of it at the Kroger in little ol’ Athens, Ohio over the weekend. I was ecstatic! And I have to say, it did not disappoint. Made with 28 pounds of real pumpkin per barrel, from the moment I opened the bottle all I could think was “this is fall.”

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Mrs. O’Leary’s Chocolate Milk Stout

ABV: 7%

Chicagoan or not, we all know of The Great Chicago Fire. Recently, I mentioned breweries like Revolution and Haymarket Brewing who incorporate a bit of Chicago history in … Read More

“The Beer Diaries” Craft Beer Series Comes To Denver

For the craft beer enthusiast, simply drinking a great beer sometimes isn’t enough. Director Mike Mann and his crew at The Beer Diaries, have taken their love for craft beer to the next … Read More

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales- Fresh Hop Seizoen

This past weekend I volunteered pouring beers at the Portland Fresh Hops Festival. The event is an annual tribute to our love of lupulin-laden libations that are crafted within hours of the hop harvest. While the vast majority of breweries showcased their share of lagers and pale ales, IPAs and CDAs, there was one beer that really stood out to me. Logsdon Farmhouse Ales’ Fresh Hop Seizoen piqued the interest of my taste buds in a way that no other fresh hop beer has. After about ten 4 oz. samplers of hop-forward beers, a subtly-hopped Belgian Saison was just what the doctor ordered. The Fresh Hop Seizoen from Hood River, OR is 7.5% ABV and really opened up a new perspective on fresh-hopped beers for me.

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Mørke – Pumpernickel Porter by Beer Here

Beer Here – Mørke (Pumpernickel Porter)

ABV – 7.5% Read More

Highland Brewing Company — St. Terese’s Pale Ale

ABV:5.1% IBU: 24

Sometimes I forget that Highland Brewing is an Asheville brewery, mostly because there are so many breweries drowning the small mountain town in booze.

And then I … Read More

Ballast Point Sculpin India Pale Ale

Ballast Point Sculpin India Pale Ale

ABV: 7%

IBU: 70

My usual process of discovering a new beer to review generally involves perusing through the beer aisles of my favorite stores and picking out new, interesting brews (confession: I’m a sucker for fancy labels). I also tend to gravitate toward more local brands (which for me is the DMV area). Tonight, however, was an exception. My roommate, who has not yet developed the taste for beer (the cause is not yet lost! I will be victorious!), picked up a bottle of Ballast Point Sculpin IPA out of San Diego, CA from the Whole Foods shelf and brought it home. Another confession: I had already enjoyed a glass of red wine before delving into the Sculpin. Though I doubt this ruined my palate, I feel full-disclosure is called for.

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