When you hear the names of popular New World hop varieties like Galaxy, Citra, Mosaic, and Nelson Sauvin it immediately brings to mind hop-bomb, hazy bodied New England style IPAs, the beer substyle that these hops are most associated with. Breweries like Jack’s Abby are trying to show that the intense citrus and tropical fruit […]
My ability to take trips to breweries feels like it has ground to a complete halt, aside from an occasional stop during a vacation. Life is just crazy right now between work and family commitments, even when I try to plan a brewery visit something usually comes up. Last Friday I was planning on using […]
There has never been a better time to be a beer lover. With over 7000 breweries in operation in the US, with each cranking out rotating selections of beer, we have nearly limitless options across a wide range of styles and flavor profiles. Some beer drinkers are taking full advantage of their freedom of choice, […]
New local contract brewery FAB Brewing has gotten off to a very interesting start. Ben Holmes was one of the co-founders of Aeronaut Brewing in Somerville, but had left the brewery to start his own venture with a focus on beer, art, and political activism. After he saw a Trump supporter pop a “baby Trump” […]
Every year on Black Friday there is a major set of barrel-aged beer releases from one of the biggest former-craft breweries in the country. Some people still go crazy for those beers (although many languish on store shelves), but I have started a new post-Thanksgiving tradition. Every year we go to visit my parents in […]
My life has reached a new level of crazy and busy. It has been a long time since I could plan my weekends around beer releases and brewery trips, but now I feel like I routinely miss beers that I want to try that are available in distribution. I usually buy a bunch of beers […]
Welcome to the first Hoppy Boston beer thoughts/links article for 2020! For those of you who are new, this is a monthly feature where I link to articles covering everything that is going on in the local (and occasionally national) beer scene, providing commentary where appropriate. As always, feel free to send along anything that […]
In an increasingly competitive craft beer market it can be advantageous for a newer brewery to establish a niche, a particular subgroup of beer styles that they specialize in and can be immediately identifiable with their brand. The issue is, as the brewery grows this niche can be limiting, but stepping outside can confuse customers […]
This Fall I was up at my alma mater for a big college rugby team reunion, which featured some extended social time featuring the current team and over 75 alumni from across decades of rugby. It was a great time with old friends and new ones. Being back on campus I noticed a few things […]
It has been a rough few months for Backlash Brewing. In October there were published reports that the landlord who owns their Roxbury brewery and taproom was trying to find another brewery to take over the space. In late December I started hearing rumors that Backlash had closed the taproom, multiple people I know had […]
