With the pandemic shutting down or severely limiting the capacity of taprooms many breweries are finding creative ways to get the beers they brew into the hands of their customers. Some traditional methods continue, like distribution to liquor stores and limited draft sales at restaurants. Beer-to-go at the breweries has continued with carside/no-contact pickups encouraged. […]
I love imperial stouts aged in bourbon barrels, and apparently I am not the only one, it seems like every brewery that has space for barrel aging starts by putting a big stout into bourbon barrels. While many of these beers are amazing, the number one thing I love about craft beer is the variety, […]
I mentioned in my recent Beer Thoughts/Links column that many new breweries were still pushing forward with plans to open despite the pandemic. It is a testament to the amount of time and work that goes into opening a brewery, plus the amount of red tape that needs to be navigated, so prospective brewery owners […]
This is usually my favorite week of the year. Every year on the weekend before Thanksgiving I take a trip to Vermont with my college buddies, we’ve been doing this trip since we were in school and it now involves a stop at Hill Farmstead. Later in the week I would be headed up to […]
I have a pretty solid collection of glassware from local breweries. I have a glass from nearly every brewery that I visit on a regular basis, glasses from many places that I have visited and regularly buy their beer in distribution, plus a few other impulse buys and random additions to the collection. I know […]
Sometimes it can be really difficult to separate the art from the artist. Despite a life spent loving epic fantasy, from Tolkien and Lewis to Martin, Jordan and Sanderson, I didn’t get into the whole Harry Potter craze when the books first came out. I was probably just a little too old and it didn’t […]
Flying Dreams Brewing Company was founded by owner/brewer Dave Richardson, who spent years honing his craft at the Gardner Ale House. They launched a production brewery in Worcester in 2015 and also sold beer to go, but the space lacked a taproom, which quickly became a necessity for a local brewery. As they were searching […]
With everything happening in the country this year it is no surprise that discussions on inclusion, opportunity, diversity and social justice are taking place across many industries and platforms. I know these discussions are happening in biotech and pharma, an industry where I work as my “real job”, and another place where certain minority groups […]
I’ve visited more breweries in Maine than any state other than Massachusetts, and it isn’t even close. While Massachusetts is home now, I spent the first 22 years of my life in Vacationland and during normal times I make frequent trips up north to visit friends, family and for alumni events at my alma mater. […]
For a while it seemed like the Oktoberfest/marzen style was losing a lot of steam in American craft beer. Pumpkin beers were all the rage and wet-hopped beers were appealing to hop-heads, so many breweries were passing the idea of brewing Oktoberfests as their fall seasonals. Fortunately for all of us who love the marzen […]
Hoppy Boston 