This month has been a bit crazy personally due to the birth of my second child, so my monthly list of links and random thoughts is probably a little more haphazard and missing some important pieces, so I apologize in advance. As always, I welcome recommendations of articles to feature here, feel free to forward them along!
In case you missed it: I did a “scientific” study on the shelf life of New England Style IPAs (spoiler, it’s very limited). I clearly wasn’t the only person to have this idea. Over a similar timeframe Jeff Alworth of Beervana tracked the changes of Sierra Nevada’s Hazy Little Thing over 90 days. The Sierra Nevada beer is a totally different animal from a Trillium IPA, and it is clear from the results.
There are a ton of new breweries opening in Massachusetts this year, and the Mass Brew Brothers have a run down. It is really hard to keep track of the changing beer scene in the state, and their website is always an amazing resource if you are looking for a new place to try.
The Brewer’s Guild has officially recognized hazy/juicy IPA as it’s own style, helping to legitimize the popular but controversial beer sub-style. I wish they had recognized the name as New England style IPA, but that is a minor quibble. Bryan Roth has an informative article on why this news is important.
Norm “The Beer Nut” Miller has a recap of the Freshman Brewers event, where the newest breweries in the state get together to share their products with local beer fans. This is definitely an event I need to attend in the near future.
After the initial auction attempt stalled out, a bank managed to find a deal to sell Smuttynose. It looks like the new owners are committed to keeping the core brand and updating the business to compete in the current market. It will be really interesting to see how this works out, I know I will keep close tabs on the situation.
Greater Good has opened their new brewery and taproom in Worcester. Looks like more big and boozy beers to come from the All-Imperial brewery.
I am not really into beer trading, but I know many of my readers are. Beer Shippers wants to make it easier to send beer in the mail, with special packages designed to safely ship beer cans.
Allagash has announced the lineup for this years saison day celebration. April is the perfect time to hold events that honor this delicious style.
Good Beer Hunting’s Fervent Few series continues with a look at the future of distribution and the traditional three tier model.
Two Week Notice Brewery was open very briefly last summer before shutting down due to a disagreement between the owners on the direction of the brewery. It looks like a settlement has been agreed upon and the brewery will re-open this summer.
Allagash is now selling Curieux, their stellar bourbon-barrel aged tripel, in 4 packs of 12 oz bottles. I love Curieux, but a 750 mL bottle of a beer this boozy is a pretty big commitment, so I will definitely drink more of the beer now that a small bottle is an option. I would love to see more breweries make this change with their big beers.
The ownership group behind Armsby Abbey, widely considered one of the best beer bars in the state, are opening a new place in Hudson. As a resident of the MetroWest I could not be more excited about this development.
Local craft-centric distributor Craft Collective is will host a pop-up beer barn every Sunday from May-October at the SoWa Power Station. They have a strong line-up of breweries, so I imagine this will be a popular hangout.
Down The Road is expanding their lineup of beers and expanding distribution into Rhode Island.
The Notch blog has the story behind their new session Irish Stout. I love low ABV stouts, but I doubt I’ll get a chance to try this batch, hopefully they brew will the beer again.
Weymouth is becoming a craft beer hotspot, with two new breweries opening soon.
In another flagrant attempt at clickbait, Thrillist names the 33 hottest IPAs in the US. Needless to say I clicked, and then I am sharing, so it worked. Lots of local representation on the list for what it’s worth.
That’s it for March, looking forward to another fun month ahead. Cheers!
Hoppy Boston 
