Newgrass Brewing | Balloonhead Berliner Weisse

Newgrass Brewing opened its doors in July 2015 in the quaint town of Shelby, NC. They are located between Charlotte and Asheville, just off of Highway 74, making it a convenient stop when traveling between the two cities.

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Berkshire Brewing Company | Cabin Fever

New England winters can become notoriously harsh. Residents are no stranger to feet upon feet of snow throughout the season, which could start as early as October and end as late as April. Why you might ask, is winter still being discussed in the spring? We all know what happens when people can’t leave their houses and become restless. They get cabin fever, of course! You read that title and knew exactly where I was going with this, didn’t you?

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WeldWerks Brewing Co. | Juicy Bits New England-Style IPA

Juicy Bits: it’s the beer that placed Greeley, Colorado-based WeldWerks Brewing Co. on the map for craft beer lovers across the state and throughout the Mountain region. Popular among amateur beer lovers and industry insiders alike, this New England-style IPA is as refreshing and flavorful as its name claims. Since its conception in 2016, WeldWerks has refreshed the recipe and created a number of successful spin offs, but there’s something special about the original Juicy Bits recipe that keeps beer lovers coming back for more.

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Wiley Roots Brewing Co. | Next Day Vanilla

Although the weather may be warming up a bit here and there, it’s still nice to enjoy a good, dark beer every so often. Rich, sweet, and all around delicious, Next Day Vanilla from Wiley Roots Brewing Co. is one that you can’t go wrong with. This particular brew is one of six variants that has a special, interactive element that adds to the experience of enjoying this beer. Read More

Northbound Smokehouse and Brewpub | Big Jim IPA

There’s a lot to love about Northbound Smokehouse and Brewpub. Their wings are voted one of the best in the Twin Cities, their fried chicken sandwich is Food Network famous and their patio is one of the best places to bring your four-legged friend in Minnesota’s treasured patio months.

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Bold Republic Brewing | Jalapeño Cream Ale

Belton, TX is a small, quiet town about an hour north of Austin with some excellent food and beer offerings for visitors and residents. Until recently, though, it had no breweries. In 2018, that all changed. Bold Republic Brewing Company has been running strong and offering tasty craft beer ever since, even during these times of quarantines, lockdowns and social distancing.

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Odell Brewing Co | Mountain Standard

Odell Brewing Co. has been a leader in the craft beer industry for many years, and about a year ago they came out with a new version of a beer they had brewed before: Mountain Standard. In its former recipes, it was both a black and double black IPA, but this time around there was a choice to change direction. By setting sights on marrying both west and east coast style IPAs, Odell has put out a delicious, light-bodied and aromatic IPA that they are calling a “Mountain Style IPA.” (See this awesome article for more information on this trend.)

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Veil Brewing Co. | Broz Day Off³

With the obscene number of Hazy IPAs being released each month, often by lesser-known producers, it can be tricky trying to figure out which beers to buy and which ones to avoid. Unless you like selecting your IPAs based solely on the quality of the artwork on the can, or the cleverness of the pun in the beer name, it’s critical to have go to brewers who’s product you know you can trust. Brewers whose beer you know to buy up every time, sight unseen, because they’re certain to be delicious. Veil Brewing Co. in Richmond, Virginia, is that brewery for me.

So when I was out picking up supplies (read: stockpiling beer) for the mandatory COVID-19 hibernation period and came across Veil’s new Hazy IPA release, Broz Day Off³, I bought all the cans they’d sell me…and true to form, they did not disappoint. Read More

O’Connor Brewing Company | Proper Lager

It’s always impressive when a brewery breaks away from their most popular beer. For years, O’Connor Brewing Co. was known for its El Guapo, an Agave IPA that you’d find at just about every supermarket and Mexican restaurant. The brewery had some nice beers here and there, but most got overshadowed by El Guapo. O’Connor finally broke through the mold last year when it released Proper Lager, a new flagship Helles-style lager that ranked #4 on Paste’s 102 of the Best Craft Lagers, Blind-Tasted and Ranked. Read More

City Built Brewing Company | 5 Hour Stout

As Michiganders acclimate to sheltering in place, it’s important we find the right beer to hibernate with. Something dark, something sweet, something boozy. Something to lend a reprieve from the newsfeed. Lo and behold, City Built Brewing Company’s 5 Hour Stout, a pastry stout brewed with obscene amounts of coconut and vanilla. It’s thick enough to put a bear to sleep so it should do the trick for those intent on napping away the next few weeks.

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Funk Brewing | Double Citrus

Nestled about 50 miles north of Philadelphia in Emmaus, PA, Funk Brewing has been brewing unique and hop-forward brews in eastern PA since 2014. The vast majority of Funk’s portfolio consists of different varieties of IPAs from West Coast to hazy to Nordic; it’s a true hop-head’s brewery.

A while back we featured their Citrus IPA but once a year they up the ante and brew Double Citrus: a bigger, stronger version of their year-round IPA. Read More

Eudora Brewing | Le Cheval Magique

Amid the familiar IPAs, stouts, and lagers on the tap list at Eudora Brewing Company in Dayton, Ohio, sits an outlier, a Belgian charmer full of muscular grace. Le Cheval Magique is a Belgian Golden Strong Ale that balances expressive yeast character and formidable strength with deceptive drinkability. This “magic horse” is light on its hooves, but at 8.5% ABV, you’d best treat it with respect if you don’t want to get thrown from the saddle.

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Phase Three Brewing Company | Pressed

You enter the store and wait through the excruciating line, the fog of early morning clouding your eyes. You get to the counter and place your order, saying, “I’ll take a grande, nonfat, Porter with a side of vanilla.”

It may not be Starbucks, but Phase Three Brewing Company, in Lake Zurich, Illinois, is brewing a series of beers that blur the line between coffee shop and brewery. Maple. Vanilla. Chocolate. Hazelnut. Coffee. Each is incredible on its own, but when brewed into a beer, they can become amazing if approached correctly. Phase Three is remarkable, and is fighting its way into your glass.

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Off Color Brewing | Chicago Craft Gin Week is a Real Thing

Every once in a while, a truly insane beer comes around and delights the masses. Chicago Craft Gin Week Is A Real Thing (CCGWIART) from Off Color Brewing is one of these beers—if the masses love a sour, that is. Off Color brews up some of the best beers in the Windy City, from their experimental Miller High Life collaboration, Eek!, to the delicious dessert that is Dino S’mores Russian Imperial Stout. With CCGWIART, the brewery has yet another unconventional (yet delectable) feather in its cap. Read More

Big Lake Brewing | Sparti Parti

This was supposed to be a post about how the perfect March Beer was found; A bright St. Patrick’s green colored can that would help the run MSU was sure to go on in the NCAA tourney.  But then the world decided to melt down. While unfortunately you can’t obnoxiously scream “GO GREEN” “GO WHITE” with your friends, it’s still possible to enjoy Big Lake Brewing‘s Sparti Parti IPA while barricaded in your own home.

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HeadFlyer Brewing | Vanilla Bean Porter

HeadFlyer Brewing holds a special place in my heart. When it opened in April 2017 in my then neighborhood of Northeast (Nordeast) Minneapolis, the brewery instantly became one of my go-to watering holes for happy hours, celebrations and just the everyday beer. It’s one of my happy places.

Things are a lot different now than they were in 2017 in a whole host of ways. However, as they approach their third anniversary, the high quality, thoughtful and flavorful craft brew coming out of HeadFlyer remains steadfast.

So, as we face uncertainty and discomfort, I used this opportunity to turn to a beer that provides me solace — HeadFlyer’s Vanilla Bean Porter.

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Dogfish Head | Vibrant P’Ocean

Dogfish Head Brewery continues to be one of my favorite breweries in the country due to their unrelenting pursuit of brewing daring beers that challenge and excite the average beer lover. Sometimes, these beers fall flat and the flavor notes don’t mesh like they should, but most times, they create something new and inventive that makes me take notice. Their newest offering, Vibrant P’Ocean, which was done in collaboration with the nearly two centuries old Brouwerij Rodenbach, falls into the latter category. 

The new blended Sour Ale combines the mastery of both breweries in pursuit of a drinking experience that feels familiar and emblematic of two breweries separated by thousands of miles. Vibrant P’Ocean comes in at 4.7% ABV and is composed of a two-year, foeder-aged sour from Rodenbach mixed with a Dogfish Head kettle sour brewed with pilsner malt, malted wheat, elderberry, elderflower, sliced lemons and Belgian fleur-de-sel. I was lucky enough to get a few cans of this new beer from Dogfish Head recently – here are my thoughts. 

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Birds Fly South Ale Project | Rustic Sunday

What’s better on a Sunday afternoon than kicking back with a craft beer? This rye farmhouse ale by Birds Fly South will make you wish that every day was a “Rustic Sunday.” Read on to discover what makes this beer so approachable, crisp, and tart, and why it calls for soaking in every moment on laid back, lazy afternoons. Read More

ManRock Brewing Co. | Get Him A Hoppy Bag

The year 1984 brought some of our favorite classics to the big screen. Ghostbusters, The Terminator, Footloose, Sixteen Candles, Gremlins, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Revenge of the Nerds, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom made their appearance, but none resonated with audiences quite as much as The Karate Kid. Featuring a story line of a teenager navigating adolescence and dealing with bullies, The Karate Kid became the fifth highest grossing film that year.

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Lone Pine Brewing Company | Chaos Emeralds

Lone Pine Brewing Company is a not-to-be-missed brewery that quickly grew from a small hole in the wall spot to a major player in the New England craft beer scene. Lone Pine opened in Portland, ME’s East Bayside neighborhood in 2016; by 2019, they grew enough to warrant a major expansion in Gorham, ME. Lone Pine is known for its vibrant hop-forward American ales and, over the course of two years, Lone Pine has worked to create what they call the “quintessential NEIPA with boutique hops.” The offspring of that labor of love is their award-winning Chaos Emeralds Double IPA featuring Galaxy and Mosaic hops.
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