Baseball season has officially started and I am a huge Red Sox fan so you can expect a number of reviews highlighting bars in shouting distance of Fenway Park. Fenway Park has done a solid job expanding their craft beer selection, but at $9.75 a pop I try to limit my beer consumption at the actual game. […]
Author: ryanbrawn
Idle Hands D’aison
One of the reasons I decided to review a series of saisons this spring is the diversity of flavor profiles that fall under the saison umbrella. Since the saison style originated in farmhouses in Belgium and France there was never any attempt to conform to a particular recipe or list of ingredients. In a couple of weeks I […]
Backlash Chaos
Today I’m talking a little break from my streak of saisons and reviewing a double IPA. Backlash Brewing company has made a name for themselves with bold beers and big attitude, along with one of the most bad-ass logos in local craft beer. In addition to their arsenal of year-round releases, they brew runs of one-off beers that […]
Victory Swing Saison
While saisons tend to be light bodied and easy to drink, many can be deceptively high in alcohol. Many times a saison will go down easily (and a little too quickly), and I will look up the ABV and be shocked to find it’s 7-9%. I’m not one to complain about alcohol, it’s fine as long as […]
Boulevard Tank 7 Saison
Each year new statistics are released that outline the rise in popularity and market share of craft beer. Many big brewers who initially dismissed craft beer as a “fad” are now taking notice as the growth of the craft beer industry cuts into their bottom line. This market shift has led to the implementation of a couple of strategies used by […]
Ommegang Glimmerglass
Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, NY has recently gained publicity due to their series of beers inspired by the hit HBO series Game of Thrones. Before this popular collaboration Ommegang was know predominantly for their wide range of year-round and seasonal Belgian style ales. Since I am spending the Spring focusing the blog on a Belgian style […]
Mystic Mary of the Gael
To start the Hoppy Boston Spring of saisons I decided to review one of my favorites, Mystic Mary of the Gael. It is fitting to begin a run of saison reviews with Mystic, since their brewery specializes in the style. Mystic’s beers showcase the versatility of the saison style. Each of their flagship and seasonal beers is […]
The Perfect Beer for Spring
One of the great things about craft beer is the wide variety of flavor profiles you can find. This is especially advantageous in places like New England, where different styles of beer enhance the changing of the seasons. Summer has light, drinkable beers like kolsch and wheat ales. The cooler fall temperatures lead to malt-forward marzen lagers and brown […]
(Relatively minor) Stock-up Run, CBC Newton April 2014
I was running some Saturday errands in Newton Centre this morning, and of course that meant a stop into Craft Beer Cellar. My lovely wife reminded me that we still have a lot of beer in the fridge and I said I just needed to grab the new Trillium bottles…and maybe one or two other […]
Mayflower Spring Hop
The flagship beers of Mayflower Brewing Company in Plymouth, MA are all very traditional British styles. They even have straightforward style-descriptive names. In the age of flashy labels and crazy, occasionally offensive beer names, this is actually kind of refreshing. Mayflower takes a few more liberties with their seasonal beers, making beers that complement the drastically […]
Hoppy Boston 