Gnarly Barley Brewing | FestBier

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, we are not talking about Christmas yet, but simply referring to the release of Oktoberfest style offerings from all around the country. Every year it seems as though the releases start earlier and earlier in August, yes August! An Oktoberfest style lager can be enjoyed year-round, but there’s something about sipping on these seasonal offerings when the air turns a bit crispy!

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Amalgam Brewing | Bloom Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout

It has been said for many years that humans have five basic senses. Those senses being Sight, Sound, Touch, Smell and Taste. Some scientists believe that we have even more than the five basic senses that we have been taught. We’re not confirming or denying that there could be more than the basic senses, but we can confirm that we were given Smell and Taste as a gift for the beer we’re going to be talking about today!

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New Terrain Brewing Co. | Mirage Sour IPA

A mirage is an optical effect that is sometimes seen at sea, in the desert, or over a hot pavement, that may have the appearance of a pool of water or a mirror in which distant objects are seen inverted, and that is caused by the bending of reflection of rays of light by a layer of heated air of varying density. That’s the literal definition of a mirage from Merriam-Webster. We will be talking about a mirage today as well, just not the literal kind.

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Pulpit Rock Brewing | EIGHT Imperial Stout

Some may find it hard to believe that eight years have already come and gone for Pulpit Rock Brewing. Having recently showcased their high-gravity program in the Barrel Room Spotlight, it’s no secret that they’ve really honed in on mastering all things big and malty. Pulpit’s 8th Anniversary was celebrated on August 19th and featured live music, food vendors, and eight brand new craft beverages to honor the special occasion. For this showcase, we take a look at their headliner EIGHT, Pulpit Rock’s first Barrel-Aged release of 2023 and one that not only pushed the boundaries of their program, but also looked to support a local Iowa organization. Read More

Seedstock Brewery | Marzen

Coming off a gold medal at the Great American Beer Fest (GABF), Seedstock Brewery’s Marzen epitomizes the clean yet robust character of this malty style. The win also feels particularly sweet for the McIlvenna family, which purchased the brewery just two years ago. Read More

Prison City Brewing | DDH Riot In Vermont New England IPA

Auburn is a small city of 30,000 year-round residents located in the heart of the Finger Lakes Region of New York. It also happens to the home of the state’s longest running prison facility. While other big cities were dubbed “Salt City,” “Flour City,” “Nickel City,” and so on, Auburn has long carried the moniker of “Prison City.”

With the brewery’s original location a mere two blocks from the prison, the name just fit for one of the first local breweries to open within the city in nearly a century.

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Weathered Souls | 2023 Whale Rider Set

Weathered Souls Brewing has been around since 2016, and since then has made waves throughout the industry. Most notably in 2020, co-owner and Head Brewer Marcus Baskerville started the Black is Beautiful initiative, a movement with the mission to bring awareness to the injustices that many people of color face daily. This open-ended collaboration has inspired the support of hundreds of breweries across the country, and this year even saw the launch of Volume 2.0 of the Black is Beautiful initiative in honor of the opening of the National Black Brewers Association (NB2A) back in May. Marcus and Weathered Souls also had another exciting ‘first’ in 2023 with their highly sought-after Whale Rider Imperial Stout. July 29th marked the date of the inaugural Whale Rider Day.

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Collaborating for a Cause | Bear: Stay Strong Alex

The Stay Strong Alex initiative continues this week with a special iteration of Esker Hart Artisan Ale’s Bear series. With his first full-production location slated to open in early 2024, Bob D’Angelo started his brewing journey nine years ago. Early support from Alex served as a huge kick start to what has now become Esker Hart, and in the wake of his unanticipated cancer diagnosis, Bob knew that he wanted to honor and dedicate this second Blend of Bear to him in support of the long road ahead. We had a chance to talk with Bob and learn more about his history with Alex as well as the beer itself and the special raffle that was set up to help raise money for the Kidd family.
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Precarious Beer Project | Bronze Thunder Twins IPA Collab

Baseball, at its core, is a wonderful game that generations of kids have played in the backyard or in dirt parking lots. For as many Hollywood stories and movies that have helped in the romanticizing of baseball, it certainly gets a lot of hate in sports conversation due to its “lack of excitement” and length of play among other reasons. Hey – there’s a pitch clock now! The love of baseball runs deep for some, though, and the experience of going to a ballgame makes for good plans damn near any night of the week during the season. Read More

Collaborating for a Cause | 2 Live Gran Kidd

In a continually impressive showing of togetherness for a shared cause, Stay Strong Alex and similar initiatives have been raising an incredible amount of money to support Alex Kidd and his family as they navigate the road ahead following his Stage IV cancer diagnosis. This week we look to Pennsylvania and Voodoo Brewing Company. Having just celebrated the 10th anniversary of its original Arch Street Brew Pub last year, these guys are no strangers to the industry. The devastating diagnosis of the satirical beer icon resonated heavily with the team in Meadville, and we had the opportunity to speak briefly with Voodoo CMO Tom Guzick to gain some insight about the most recent release in their famous Barrel Room Collection series dedicated to Alex Kidd.

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Necromancer Brewing | Crush Hour: Strawberry Blonde

Sometimes a craft beer is about more than just what’s inside the can—or bottle—for that matter. While there are beers that have fancy labels, or tongue-twisting names, in the end it’s always going to be about what’s inside that really matters. The same thing is often said about people, it’s about what’s inside that matters the most. One such brewery and beer encompasses that mantra. Read More

22 Northmen Brewing Co. | Barrel-Aged Night Axe Imperial Stout

As you walk into the cave, the air turns cool and damp, and the sounds of the outside world fade away. The darkness envelops you, but as your eyes adjust, you begin to see the glimmer of stalactites hanging from the ceiling and the rugged texture of the cave walls. The scent of earth and minerals fills the air, creating an otherworldly atmosphere. It is an adventure into the unknown, where every step brings anticipation, wonder and in this case, beer!

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Collaborating for a Cause | For The Kidd’s

The high-production powerhouses of the industry have been far from the only ones showing support towards Alex Kidd and his family during his continuing fight with Stage IV cancer. A collaborative effort out of New Jersey, For The Kidd’s is the next feature in a growing series highlighting the incredible support provided by the craft beer community for a craft beer icon. Chris with Shore Side Brewing allowed us the opportunity to sit down and discuss a beer that he felt was more than fitting to be released for Don’t Drink Beer.

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St. Louis CITY SC Star Tim Parker Collaborates with 4 Hands Brewing Co. for Parker Pilsner

St. Louis CITY SC fans can now add a new beer to their game-day repertoire. Tim Parker, center back and all-star player for the team, has partnered with St. Louis-based 4 Hands Brewing Co. to create Parker Pilsner. This American-style pilsner made its debut at 4 Hands before St. Louis City SC returned to CITYPARK to defeat Austin FC in a stunning 6 – 3 victory! 

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Anderson Valley | Fall Hornin’ Pumpkin Ale

As the annual fall beer rollout begins, Anderson Valley Brewing Company’s Fall Hornin’ Pumpkin Ale blends all of the best flavors of the season. Fall Hornin’ is a perennial favorite at the Boonville, California, brewery and presents an enjoyable balance between malt and spice. Read More

Cerebral Brewing | Triple Mash Pappy Van Winkle Here Be Monsters

There are certain spirits in the world of barrel aged beer that elicit perked up ears, and then there are those brands that generate whiplash causing sore necks and desperate trips to the chiropractor. Pappy Van Winkle (PVW) falls squarely in the latter category, a mythical wheated bourbon whose popularity and even legend has skyrocketed in the past decade causing bottles to sell on secondary markets for 20-30x their retail prices of $120-$300. Even the used barrels from these 15-23 year aged whiskeys sell for exorbitant prices as breweries clamor to get their hands on them. Cerebral Brewing was lucky enough to land two Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year barrels, and they chose to rest a triple mash version of their Here Be Monsters Imperial Stout in those barrels. This particular single barrel expression aged for 39 months, an incredibly long time yielding an incredible creation.

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Rupee Beer | Mango Wheat Ale

When brothers Van and Sumit Sharma found themselves back in their adopted hometown of Portland, Maine, helping out at their parents’ Indian restaurant during the pandemic, as they had growing up, the two began to ponder the question of what makes a really good beer to pair with Indian and other spicy food.

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Alternate Ending Beer Co. | Bomba! Iberian Lager

There are many styles of Lager out there for you to choose from in the craft beer world, but have you ever tasted the fine flavors of an Iberian style Lager? Maybe you have, or maybe you haven’t, but if you would like to learn more about the style, please read on as we let Alternate Ending Beer Co. take us on that journey with their Iberian style Lager called Bomba!

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Burns Family Artisan Ales | Genie Logical

Rarely does a name so perfectly capture the essence of a beer as Burns Family Artisan Ales’ Genie Logical. The mixed-culture wild sour actually represents a series of beers that began with a wedding beer and proceeded down a series of 16 generations to the current one. Each generation is an outgrowth of the previous, but unique in its own way. Read More

Collaborating for a Cause | Kidd Beer

Alex Kidd and his family have been incredibly humbled by the support they continue to receive from the Beer Community. With this installment, Collaborating for a Cause is highlighting HOMES Brewery, a small but progressive program out of Ann Arbor, MI. Maybe most famously known in recent years for Smooj, their line of all natural fruited seltzers, they also boast a varied and impressive portfolio of uniquely nuanced traditional beer styles. For their ode to Alex Kidd in support of his fight with cancer, they knew they had to go big. We had the chance to chat briefly with Nick Panchamé, Head Brewer at HOMES, about this recent charitable effort and how Alex was able to inspire the amazing gesture. Enter KIDD BEER.

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