Twice a year a group of my college buddies get together for a day/night away. There are a few of us who are routinely part of the group and a whole bunch more who make it on occasion. The fall trip is always the same, centered around the wild game supper in Bradford, VT. The […]
After being one of the most adamant holdouts in the local beer community Allagash Brewing Company has now released a few of their staple beers in cans, conceding to the market that favors easy portability. It was no surprise that one of the first beers Allagash canned for widespread distribution was their flagship Allagash White, […]
Last week I wrote an article about the saison style, why I love the style and why I am so disappointed that it doesn’t sell very well, leading some significant local breweries to cut back their production. I am going to keep harping on saisons this spring, and if the articles are ignored by all […]
Last month I wrote an article about breaking away from the craft beer hype culture, the subculture that worships a few select breweries and ignores the rest, even many that make amazing beer. I focused most of the article on the fetish breweries, asking people caught in the hype cycles to try branching out and […]
The Gardner Ale House is a local staple, a classic brewpub serving food and homemade beers to the surrounding community. My wife and I got married in Gardner, and many of our trips out to the venue for various planning sessions were accompanied by lunch and a beer at the Ale House. We even considered […]
A couple of my articles to lead things off: I ran a little experiment to find out How Hard is it To Name a New Beer? I got a number of comments praising some of my potential name choices, but would have liked to see more readers chime in with their own suggestions. I also […]
As the end of March rapidly approaches I am ready to finish up the porters, stouts and other dark and malty beers in my fridge and move onto some saisons, maibocks and other great spring offerings. I’ve been busy with non-beer review posts recently so I have a little backlog of beers to review in […]
I’ve had a number of conversations recently about the craft beer hype cycle, where certain breweries and beer styles get an inordinate amount of attention on social media, beer rating sites and in trading circles. The hype around these breweries results in long lines and big money for these select establishments, while other breweries that […]
Yesterday was St Patrick’s Day, always a fun holiday for beer fans. While there is nothing wrong with a pint or two of Guinness or even a green colored lager, there are plenty of other appropriate beer options for those celebrating the “holiday”. I tend to lean towards stouts, in mid-March there is still plenty […]
There is constant discussion on beer-related social media about beer names. Some names are childish, misogynistic or disgusting in other ways. Other names (and artwork) are blatant violations of intellectual property. Then you run into the issue of repeated names, where multiple breweries have beers with the exact same name. Many breweries complain that it […]
