I mentioned in an earlier post that I have been on a bit of a rye beer kick recently. The subtle spicy flavor of rye can add complexity when used as a minor adjunct grain or major flavor when a more generous portion is added to the mash. American craft brewers have predominantly used rye in two styles of […]
Author: ryanbrawn
Night Shift Mainer Weisse
I am unabashedly pro-Maine. Maine is the state where I was born and raised, and where I went to college. I love the Boston area and consider it my home now, but Maine will always be a special place to me. Now that the weather has started to improve I am starting to plan some summer […]
White Birch Hop Session
My wife and I are home from the hospital with our first child and getting into the swing of things. It is definitely a huge life change, everything revolves around the little guy’s schedule. While being responsible for the life of another human being is a little terrifying, it is also a fun and exciting […]
Hoppy Boston posts might be a little less frequent in the coming weeks…
I feel like I’ve hit my stride with the blog over the past year plus, adding some diversity and posting 2-4 times a week. Over the next few weeks/months my posts might be a little more irregular, and please forgive me if the writing/grammar takes a small turn for the worse. I have a pretty good […]
Bog Iron Ryezing Son
I have mentioned multiple times that saisons are my favorite spring beer style (and one of my favorite styles overall), so it should come as no surprise that I have been drinking a bunch of them recently. I am also on a bit of a rye beer kick, the addition of rye malt adds spice and complexity that […]
Sam Adams Rebel Rouser
I love to post reviews of new beers soon after the beers are released, but unfortunately it doesn’t always work out. A good example is the Sam Adams Rebel IPA series. When they released the original Rebel IPA I intended to write a full review, but the timing didn’t work out (I tried it at […]
Ideas to Survive the “Craft Beer Bubble”
There was an article in Thrillist this week that predicted an impending burst of the “craft beer bubble”. This isn’t a new idea. Many articles/commentaries/random tweets have pointed out that the incredible growth in the number of breweries and beers being produced is probably not sustainable. Even if craft beer continues to gain a larger share of the […]
Rising Tide Maine Island Trail Ale
So I am going to break a couple of my unwritten, poorly defined and completely arbitrary blog rules with my review today. The first is that I try not to do reviews of beers from a single brewery on consecutive weeks. There are so many great local breweries, even when I visit a tap room […]
Slumbrew Seasonale Creep
Some people can drink any style of beer during any time of year. They will sip an imperial stout on a hot summer day and pound a crisp pilsner on a cold winter night. I am not one of those people. While there are some beers I’ll drink all year round, I tend to move […]
Aeronaut The Eye of Sauvin
I don’t go to breweries as much as I would like. Life is busy and I find that I buy more of my beer in bottle shops, which allows me to purchase a variety of styles from different producers all in one stop. I have made a personal goal to visit more local breweries and taprooms this […]
Hoppy Boston 