One of the most recent breweries to start distributing to the Boston area is Devil’s Purse Brewing Company out of South Dennis, MA on Cape Cod. Devil’s Purse has a similar origin to most small breweries in the US, two friends started homebrewing as a hobby and it quickly became a passion and eventually a business. Devil’s […]
Author: ryanbrawn
14th Star Valor Ale
Many breweries start with some version of a standard story, a few friends who are avid home-brewers get together, experiment with some recipes and jot down a business plan that slowly builds into the opening of the brewery. 14th Star Brewing Company in St. Albans, VT has a similar story but with a little twist, the planning started in […]
Ipswich Original Ale
My wife and I have spent the last few months house hunting. Now that the baby is pushing a year old and is moving all over the place apartment living isn’t working for us anymore, so we are ready to pack up and move to the suburbs. I guess I am officially old. It looks like […]
Trillium Free Rise Dry-Hopped with Citra
One of my favorite non-traditional beer styles are saisons brewed with substantial additions of New World hops. Some traditionalists scoff at Belgian IPAs/hoppy saisons, but I find these complex and flavorful beers to be interesting and often delicious. Traditional Belgian saison yeast strains contribute a boutique of fruity flavors and aromas to the beer via byproducts in the […]
Berkshire Brewing Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale
Hoppy Boston’s pale ale month continues with a classic local take on the style, Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale from Berkshire Brewing Company in South Deerfield, MA. Berkshire Brewing has been producing a variety of ales in western Massachusetts since 1994, and Steel Rail is their flagship beer. If you bring up BBC to most […]
Night Shift Whirlpool
Spring is here (according to the calendar, you wouldn’t know it with the snow storm in Boston today) and I am starting to turn my fridge over to favor lighter bodied and hoppier offerings. To get that process going I have selected American pale ales as the style of the month for April. The APA style can be […]
Tripel Month Wrap-Up
I am a big fan of the Belgian tripel style, it might be lighter in color but it still packs bold flavor and alcoholic punch. I was disappointed at how few examples I was able to try after naming it the style of the month for March, there are relatively few breweries making tripels. I […]
Victory Golden Monkey
My final review for tripel month is Golden Monkey from Victory Brewing Company in Pennsylvania. I came up a little short on examples this month, I think it is clear that more breweries need to give this style a shot. It is funny how a beer’s name can result in immediate preconceptions about the flavor. […]
Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion #1
IPA’s are still far and away the most popular non-macro beer style, easily outpacing the sales of their maltier counterparts. This presents a few issues for larger scale breweries with national distribution. The biggest issue is freshness. One of the best parts of an IPA is the burst of hop aroma from a fresh batch, but these aromatics begin to […]
Big Elm Tranformer IPL
Today might have been raw and chilly (and we did get some snow on Monday), but there are clear signs that we are moving into spring and warmer weather is on the way. As the temperatures start to rise I will also be transitioning my beer fridge from dark and heavy porters and stouts to lighter, more […]
Hoppy Boston 