One group of beers that has become very popular amongst craft beer conisseurs recently is sour beers. Sour beers undergo part/all of their fermentation with strains of wild yeast or bacteria, which impart a tart, acidic sour flavor to the final beer. This flavor is considered “off” in most beer styles, many homebrewers have an experience with […]
Category: Beer Review
Stillwater Classique
Starting a brewery is a major investment. Beyond great recipes and ingredients you need a place to brew, ferment, bottle/can/keg and store your beer. The costs associated with this process has led to an increase in contract brewing, where the brewery exists as a brand, but they pay to brew at an existing location. This means less investment for the contract brewer […]
Pretty Things Grampus
The craft beer market can be a little trendy. A particular beer or beer style can gain popularity and lead to a host of imitations and clones. The shelves of any good beer store are currently saturated with hop-bomb double IPAs, barrel-aged Imperial Stouts and sour beers. A few brewers coined the “session IPA” term […]
Trillium Farmhouse Ale
It seems like a new brewery opens in New England every month, to the point that you can easily lose track of all the local beers. This rapid expansion of craft beer has created a competitive marketplace, where the brewers are vying for tap lines, shelf space and customer dollars. Local breweries have taken different tactics to stand […]
Big Elm 413 Farmhouse Ale
The roots of Big Elm Brewing Company started when husband and wife team, Bill and Christine, met while working at Victory Brewing Company in PA. From there they moved to MA and opened their own brewpub, Pittsfield Brew Works. While they loved the brewing part of the business, the restaurant wasn’t really a fit. Although they initially had […]
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 […]
Hoppy Boston 