Preview | Burns Family Artisan Ales Celebrates One-Year Anniversary

A lot can happen in a year. Whether we adopt the  “new year, new me” mentality every January, or simply opt for a new order at the coffee shop, it’s … Read More

New Glarus Brewing | Dancing Man Wheat

As summer comes to an end, I would like to look back on some of the fond memories of 2019. While the birth of my son, Alexander, has to rank as one of the top moments of my summer, a close second has to be my discovery of my new summer beer, Dancing Man Wheat–a Hefeweizen from New Glarus Brewery out of New Glarus, Wisconsin.

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Fiction Beer Company | Electrum Bronze

Last year, the Brewers Association introduced Juicy or Hazy Pale Ale category at the 2018 Great American Beer Festival, becoming the first national competition to recognize the category. It was one of the highest entered categories of 2018, with 132 entries from across the United States. Only three breweries won medals, Fiction Beer Company in Denver, Colorado was among the winners, earning a Bronze Medal for Madame Psychosis.

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Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery | Coconut Quad

Compared to every other season, autumn always conjures up particular styles of beer. Pumpkin beers, Märzens, and Ambers match drinkers’ palates like the changing shades of leaves. As the summer winds down during peaks of sweltering humidity, you wouldn’t think there could be a beer over 10% fitting for the season. Thankfully, us Virginians have access to a beer that perfectly represents the twilight of summer with Lickinghole Creek’s Coconut Quad.

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Boiler Brewing Co. | Koo Koo for Coconut

The Old Federal Building (now known as The Grand Manse) is an impressive building that sits in downtown Lincoln, NE. Inside, there is beautiful woodwork and even a stately courtroom with the original judge’s bench. But you want to go straight down to the basement, the belly of the building, to the former boiler room.

Founded in 2015, Boiler Brewing Company has turned this space into a cozy and relaxing taproom that focuses on small-batch brews with a tap list that is anything but “small.” With pours starting at 4 oz, you can try a whole slew of beers that pique your interest. One beer you should try is Koo Koo for Coconut, an oatmeal milk stout they starting brewing back in April of 2016. Read More

Brewery Vivant | Pumpkin Tart

Buckle up for spooky season. Ghosts and ghouls, sweaters and chai, crunchy leaves under your feet. You know the drill.

For the beer world, this time of year bears one of the industry’s most polarizing styles: Pumpkin Ale. To some, they’re as comforting and scrumptious as a slice of pie. To the rest, they taste like a scarecrow farted in their snifter. It seems the trick to making a successful pumpkin beer is using the gourd in pure form or in conjunction with other styles/ingredients. With Pumpkin Tart, a blended Farmhouse Ale brewed with real pumpkin and spices, Brewery Vivant checks both these boxes.

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Modern Times Beer | Blanc On Blanc On Blanc On Blanc

In a craft beer market that’s ever-growing and becoming harder and harder to stand out from the competition, Modern Times continues to find ways to push the envelope and garner massive interest. It definitely helps attract customers when you have creative, out-of-the-ordinary beer names and one-of-a-kind label/can art. Modern Times isn’t the only brewery out there that can come up with clever names and awesome art; however, not all of those breweries can back up those aspects with a high quality beer—over and over again. One of their beers that checks the box on all of those categories is Blanc On Blanc On Blanc On Blanc. Read More

West Side Brewing | Porter

The crisp fall air will be here before we know it and many will begin to indulge in the great seasonal beers of fall. This typically means Oktoberfest and pumpkin beers but there’s a style that may be even more fitting for fall – the porter.

While it may not be bursting with fall spices or be the official beer of a German festival, the porter fits into just about any situation you can imagine. It complements meals of any kind just as well as it would pair with dessert. Then consider drinking it while grilling out or around a bonfire. It is a style that is flavorful, approachable and ties into the fall season as well as any beer style. And just in time for the change in season, the West Side Brewing Porter gets its annual release.

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Tommyknocker Brewery | Drift Blonde Ale

Any avid mountain-trekker will tell you that there are few things as satisfying as a post-hike beer. Some seasoned veterans even stow a cold one in their pack to crack open on the summit in celebration of a job well done. But if that isn’t for you, fear not! A good beer is never far in Colorado, even if you do find yourself perched on top of a Mount Bierstadt.

Tommyknocker Brewery & Pub, which sits just off the highway in Idaho Springs, Colorado, is a well-known (and well-loved) craft beer haven, and it’s the perfect rest-stop for anyone with sore feet and a big thirst. Its collection of brews ranges from rich, nutty Stouts to tropical IPA’s and ciders. But after a long day on the trails, the thought of drinking something too heavy or hoppy will have your stomach turning real quick. Instead, you’ll want to start with something as easy-drinking and refreshing as Tommyknocker’s Drift Blonde Ale. Read More

New Glory Craft Brewery | Hopaway Beach

There are not many breweries in the Sacramento, CA area that have a better track record of brewing IPAs than New Glory Craft Brewery. When you check the “about us” section of their website, the first sentence reads: “We reject the mainstream concept of ‘flagship’ or core beers.” A quick look at their current tap list includes 24 beers; 15 of them are either a Pale Ale, IPA, Double IPA or Milkshake IPA. I’m not sure how many different IPAs and hop-forward beers they’ve turned out since 2014, but it’s safe to say they’ve worked every angle of the style.

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Prost Brewing | Helles Lager

It’s a sunny day in Denver, and it’s hot—like, record-breaking hot. The raging misters on the patio of Prost Brewing are creating a fog that veils the normal view of the Mile High City’s skyline, obscuring one of the main perks of this taproom location but providing a necessary reprieve in this unprecedented September heat.

It’s this heatwave draping much of the American West this summer that has created a conundrum of sorts for craft beer drinkers in this part of the country. This month on the calendar denotes not just the early days of autumn, but a perhaps more important, even more special, time of year for craft connoisseurs: Oktoberfest season.

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Burning Barrel Brewing Co. | Oater Boat IPA with Strawberry

Burning Barrel Brewing Company has just recently celebrated their 1-year anniversary in the crowded Sacramento craft beer scene…and business is booming. Located in the Sacramento suburb of Rancho Cordova, just a quick drive from downtown Sacramento, Burning Barrel has made a name for themselves as specializing in fruit-forward sours and hoppy IPAs. It only made sense for them to eventually start adding fruit to some of their IPAs, and the results were terrific.

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Mikerphone Brewing | Ging and Juice

Over the past few years Mikerphone Brewing, out of Elk Grove Village, Illinois has become one of Chicagoland’s most popular and sought-after breweries. From their impressive list of hazy IPAs, to Stouts, to even beer slushies (yes, please!!), they have proven time and again that they can make any style.

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Karl Strauss Brewing Co. | Aurora Hoppyalis

Once in a while, some news story comes out talking about how the Northern Lights are visible from not-too-far away. This excites us sky geeks. For most of us in the U.S., unfortunately, the caveats are extreme (e.g. hiking three miles into un-mapped forest in the hopes that the sky is clear enough during the five-minute window when the Aurora Borealis can actually be seen). Finding a good location that’s dim enough to see this spectacle of nature is a challenge if you live in the lower 48.

On the other hand, if you live in a hot craft beer city like San Diego, it’s real easy to find quality beer. So save the skywatching for your bucket list vacation to Iceland, or if you have to lay low for a while and need to move to Alaska. We’re not here to judge; what you do in the privacy of your own back-alley gambling hall is your own business. Beer though…that’s our business. And business is booming, dammit.

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Boulevard Brewing Company | The Sixth Glass

They say you can’t go home again. I beg to differ, at least when it comes to beer. 

A big part of my introduction to craft beer, as I’m sure is the case for many of you, was sampling as many different beers from as many different styles as I could, within reason (and sometimes without). I didn’t realize this at the time, but these were my formative craft beer years: a time spent feeling out boundaries and developing personal standards and learning what I like and why. One of the most outstanding examples in my mind is The Sixth Glass, a Belgian-style Quadrupel from Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewing Co.  Read More

WeldWerks Brewing Co. | Citra Extra Extra Juicy Bits

Ah, Juicy Bits: The beer that launched a thousand hazy IPAs. WeldWerks Brewing Co.’s Juicy Bits may not have been the original New England IPA (the whole “New England” part should have given that away), but it’s consistently at the top of the list in terms of popularity and praise. Its tropical juicy hops character and creamy mouthfeel, along with its relatively wide distribution in Colorado, make it the perfect go-to for both hardcore and new-to-the-scene craft beer drinkers.

Because of the immense success of Juicy Bits, WeldWerks has had a lot of fun experimenting with that base, seeing how far they can push the limit on hops, flavor and ABV. This beer showcase highlights their most recent invention: Citra Extra Extra Juicy Bits.

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The Best BBQ Beer is Light and Smoky

The best beer to pair with a Labor Day BBQ is light and smoky. Beers like Schlenkerla’s Helles, or the historic Polish beer known as Grodziskie (“Grätzer” in Germany), can’t be beaten. They have the perfect combination of being refreshing and low-alcohol, with a smoky character to complement whatever’s cooking on the grill. Read More

Pike Brewing Company | Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale

We are in the midst of a craft beer revival in this country. The excitement and allure of the newest brewery or beer is tantalizing. However, this array of ever-expanding options can easily steal focus from the foundation of this revolution. One such brewery is Pike Brewing Company in Seattle. Pike Brewing was founded by husband and wife team Charles and Rose Ann Finkel in 1989. This October they will celebrate the brewery’s 30th anniversary.
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Revolution Brewing Adds Hazy IPA to Year-Round Lineup

One of Chicago’s most notable series of beers is getting a new year-round addition. Revolution Brewing’s Hero Series which features their iconic Anti-Hero is welcoming a hazy IPA, aptly named Hazy-Hero.

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Perrin Brewing Company | Black Ale

Here in West Michigan and throughout the state, it’s hard to believe Perrin Brewing Company hasn’t reached the level of Bell’s or Founders. The quality of their beers, from the easy-drinking No Problems Session IPA to the renowned No Rules Porter, is only topped by the killer events and festivals they throw. Nowhere is their top-notch beer crafting more apparent than in their flagship brew, Perrin Black Ale.

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