There are very few traditional European beer styles that haven’t been embraced by some portion of the American craft brewing community. There are even brewers in the U.S. who research old recipes that had fallen out of favor decades ago in order to inject new life into previously extinct beers. While much of the beer brewed […]
Author: ryanbrawn
Harpoon Tuscan Pool Party
Every year Harpoon Brewery flies some of it’s employees to a foreign country to soak in the sights and sample some of the local brews. These trips typically serve as inspiration for new selections in their 100 Barrel Series of small-batch artisanal beer. I’ve been a fan of this series of experimental brews since its inception, I think […]
Two Roads Route of All Evil
While I named this blog Hoppy Boston, and I do tend to center on my current home state of Massachusetts, my goal was always to cover breweries from across New England. I have lived in New England my whole life, the first 22 years in Maine and then Massachusetts, along with a two year hiatus to […]
Trillium Congress St IPA
The insanely popular Trillium Brewing Company in Boston recently re-opened after a month-long hiatus caused by licensing issues with the state. This was a big relief to local beer geeks who had missed their creative and delicious series of ales that routinely results in lines around the block at the small brewery in Fort Point. […]
Troegs Mad Elf
Some holidays have very defined food and drink standards, like turkey on Thanksgiving, champagne on New Years and obscene amounts of candy on Halloween. Food on Christmas in the U.S. seems to vary from family to family. My parents usually cook up a roast beef or pork while my in-laws enjoy lasagna Christmas Eve and turkey on Christmas Day. There is […]
Allagash Dubbel
The Belgian dubbel style, the malty and darker beer originally developed in Trappist monastaries, is not nearly as coveted by American craft beer enthusiasts as other similar styles. When it comes to Trappist styles it seems like more breweries make the bigger and boozier quadrupels and the lighter colored tripels that are amenable to higher doses of hops. […]
Bad Martha Island IPA
It is crazy to me that I’ve been reviewing beers for this blog for well over a year and there are still established local breweries that I haven’t had the opportunity to try. One such brewery is Bad Martha Farmer’s Brewery in Edgartown on scenic Martha’s Vineyard, MA. Bad Martha has been brewing beer on the Vineyard […]
Jack’s Abby Bride Maker
Most craft brewers are constantly experimenting with new beers. Some never make it past a test batch, others become one-off releases, and a few favorites become part of the regular brewery rotation. While brewers love to experiment, they can also be perfectionists. Occasionally a beer is brewed and released that is good, but not exactly […]
Long Trail “Sick Day” IPA
I have no idea how some people can drink beer while they’re sick. I’ve been fighting a nasty head-cold and I haven’t even felt like writing about beer, let alone drinking any. How can you enjoy the full sensory experience of a great beer when you can’t smell anything and your tongue is numb from cough drops? Fortunately […]
Pretty Things Bocky Bier
The final beer of Hoppy Boston’s Dopplebock Week is Bocky Bier from Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project. I’m cheating a little, this beer is technically listed as a bock but at 7.5% ABV it is right on the bock/dopplebock borderline. I was very excited to try this beer! Pretty Things is a master of extracting bold malty flavors […]
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