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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Jolly Pumpkin – Fuego del Otono

6.1% ABV

Some people drink for education, some drink for relaxation, some drink for inspiration. I have never understood the idea of drinking for any purpose other than pleasure. Sure, I write about the beers, but I only review beer that I enjoy, the beers that I want others exposed to as well. Ron Jeffries, Brew Master at Jolly Pumpkin, says, “We create beers to lighten the spirit and soothe the soul.” Preach on, brother. This is a philanthropic venture on the brewing end and a hedonist venture on the consumption end. Share the joy! And what brings more joy than beer? Well, fire. But fire and beer together. Whoa, whoa, whoa, it’s magic. Literally translated, Fuego del Otono means “fire of the fall” (or “Autumn Fire” as they call it at Jolly Pumpkin). Read More

Hair of the Dog – Adam Old Ale

Hair of the Dog Brewing – Adam Hearty Old World Ale – Batch Number 88
ABV: 10%
IBU: 50

When Alan Sprints first started Hair of the Dog, he was given the ancient recipe for Dortmunder “adambier” by fabled beer writer Fred Eckhart. The Hair of the Dog Adam Old Ale is now an American Craft Beer legend. The flavors are dark and chewy, with a big berry/spice character, and the 10% ABV definitely warms you when the weather’s chillin’.

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New Belgium – Lips of Faith Coconut Curry Hefeweizen

ABV: 8%

IBU: 14

Curry and beer sounds like a terrible idea. Curry is such a unique, robust flavor that is very unforgiving. But curry is also full of familiar … Read More

Elevation Beer Company Engel Weisse

Elevation Beer Company Engel Weisse

ABV: 2.5%

Berliner Weisse is a cloudy, sour wheat beer native to northern Germany. Historically one of the most common styles in Germany, it nearly … Read More

Bear Republic Brewing Co. – Big Bear Black Stout

ABV: 8.1%
IBU: 55

Now that it is slightly chillier outside, it finally feels socially acceptable to be drinking stouts and porters until the cows come home, which makes today’s showcase possible. Getting as excited as possible for the upcoming hockey season and already interesting football season, I mistakenly associate dark and heavy with session-able, whether it be Yeungling Black and Tan, Dogfish Indian Brown Ale or Smuttynose Baltic Porter.

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Hopworks Urban Brewery- Centennial IPX

As I sit here sweltering on an unseasonably hot Oregon day, I feel like the beer gods have smiled on me. In my hand is a HUB (Hopworks Urban Brewery) IPX Single Hop Series brewed exclusively with Centennial hops. Unlike many of the intense, resiny IPAs that I am used to drinking that test the limits of my taste buds, this one is quite refreshing and definitely the right choice for a scorcher of an afternoon. At only 6% ABV and 60 IBUs, it is also very sessionable. I wish I had more bottles!

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Stillwater Artisanal Ales and The Brewer’s Art’s Debutante

Stillwater Artisanal Ales and The Brewer’s Art’s Debutante
ABV – 6.40%
The abrupt transition from summer to fall usually brings an uncertainty to the style of a beer one craves. To drink a clean refreshing lager or to drink a warm malty brown ale or Oktoberfest? The debates conclusion seemed obvious when I considered the refreshing spicy cleanness of the Debutante Saison created by Stillwater Artisanal Ales in collaboration with the Brewers Art.

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Evil Twin Brewing – Lil’ B Imperial Porter

Evil Twin Brewing – Lil’ B Imperial Porter
ABV: 11.5%
IBU: 35
SRM: 20

Colorado has always been a place of privilege when it comes to accessing the finer selections of craft beer. With the staples being rooted in our scene now for 30 years and handfuls of breweries opening up each month, we are really epitomizing the moniker of the Napa Valley of Beer with our distribution side of things opening up as well. In the last few months, we have been blessed with Clown Shoes Beer and Epic Brewing hitting our shelves. Now, within the last few weeks, we have had an influx of infinite awesomeness with Speakeasy Ales and Lagers, Alesmith, Stillwater Artisanal and Evil Twin Brewing. I will be sipping many of these new brews on the back porch soon enough but for now I will talk candidly about an old friend, Evil Twin’s Lil’ B Imperial Porter.

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Bluegrass Brewing Co. | American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.79% | IBU: 55.2

I’m sitting at a bar in suburban Louisville waiting for my sister to get out of a bible study. This is a true story. I’ve dropped her off in hopes of finding a place to write this post, but there didn’t appear to be many laptop-friendly bars around, and the bar I’ve landed in doesn’t have any local beers (uhhhh?). Read More

Anchor Brewing – Big Leaf Maple Autumn Red

 6.0% ABV, IBU (n/a)

As a relative neophyte to the craft beer world, red beers are one area where I feel I have extremely limited knowledge of flavor spectrums and … Read More

Fullsteam Brewery – Summer Basil Farmhouse Ale

ABV: 5.4%

IBU: Unavailable but Minimal

The advent of football season and the slowly dropping mercury signals to us all that the days of summer are sadly over. Though I welcome fall, my favorite season, chock full of sweaters, pumpkin-flavored everything, and the holiest of all horse racing meets – Keeneland – I still find myself grasping onto the final remnants of all that is summery. Read More

Stone Brewing Company – RuinTen IPA

ABV: 10.8%

IBUs: 110

Our awesome founder Tristan Chan came to the great state of Ohio over Labor Day weekend for the Gentlemen of the Road Stopover in Troy, and with him he brought a suitcase full of beer. I mean, would any of us expect anything less? His only requirement was that I write up a review on the bomber (22 fluid ounces) Stone RuinTen IPA, so here I am. Read More

Hair of The Dog Brewing’s Blue Dot Double IPA

ABV: 7%
IBU: 80

Hair of the Dog is a legend in the Portland craft brewing scene. Founded by homebrewer Alan Sprints in 1993, Hair of the Dog has been barrel aging beer since the early 90s and has been regarded as a notable pioneer of many distinct styles for decades.

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Autumn’s Red Delicious… McCarthy Red Ale

McCarthy Red Ale – Emmett’s Brewing Company  ABV: 5.6%

The impending Fall is my most favorite time of year, as I most likely mentioned in my O’Fallon Pumpkin Beer post. While … Read More

Brooklyn Brewery- Black Chocolate Stout

Brooklyn Brewery- Black Chocolate Stout

ABV: 10%

IBU: 51

Best Enjoyed: October-March

The lockout has ended and hockey is back in season. This my friends, calls for a beer. Sports and beer have always had an interesting marriage, consummated in parking lots, club boxes and sometimes divorced in bathrooms and pavements. Every game day has its own traditions, and for weekday games at Broad and Pattison, the equation always includes a trip to the Perch Pub (Broad and Locust Streets, Center City Philadelphia).

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Brasserie Fantome – Pissenlit

8.00% ABV

Deep in the French-speaking Walloon region of Belgium is the village of Soy, which is home to a small brewery. The brewery itself has no bells and … Read More