How have I never reviewed a beer from Frost Brewing? I’ve been enjoying their beers for a while, I remember buying some of their IPAs in 750 mL bomber bottles. Frost is one of the many stellar breweries from the great state of Vermont, their brewery and taproom in Hinesburg cranks out a variety of […]
Random Beer Thoughts: February 2022
One of the biggest local beer stories of the month is a mixture of sadness and hope. Anawan Brewing spent 5 years realizing their dream, and their taproom had just been featured in a glowing profile, when a devastating fire destroyed their brewery. Naturally the craft beer community has stepped up to help them rebuild. […]
Threes/Schilling Precipice
I really wanted this beer review to be about dark lagers, specifically about dark lagers conditioned in wood, and the subtle beauty of these beers. Unfortunately Josh Stylman, the CEO and co-founder of Threes Brewing, decided to go on a completely ill-informed rant about vaccines on Twitter today, and it would be irresponsible to write […]
Barewolf Quart Order
I’ve been focusing more of my reviews on underrepresented and underappreciated beer styles, as I promised at the beginning of the year. This very much includes one of my favorite beer styles, the classic British porter. Most American versions of the style seem to be mini-stouts, nearly black in color and favoring big roasted malt […]
Random Beer Thoughts: January 2022
My 2022 got off to an extra-fun start with a ruptured appendix and a hospital stint, followed by a slow-but-steady recovery, and this put a hamper on my already slow content generation, but I have finally pieced together a better-late-than-never beer thoughts and links column for January. Please ignore the fact that I am publishing […]
Stellwagen Distant Wind
One of my favorite beer styles, especially during the cold months of winter, are porters. Originally brewed in London and named for it’s popularity with street and river porters, this dark beer showcases roasted malts along with a noticeable dose of hops. Along with many other traditional British styles, porter was a staple of the […]
Lamplighter Milou
Last week I posted a ranking of the 21 best beers I reviewed in 2021 and I was a little disappointed in the style diversity in my list. I am usually pretty good about writing reviews of a wide range of beer styles, but my list ended up being about half IPAs. I am a […]
The Best Beers I Reviewed in 2021
I was intending to publish this overview of the best beers I reviewed in 2021 at the beginning of the month, but then my appendix decided to rupture and put me in the hospital for a few days, followed by a slow but steady recovery. Now I am mostly back to health and ready to […]
Random Beer Thoughts: December 2021
Here is my final thoughts/links column for 2021, or my first of 2022 depending on how you look at it, it’s been a crazy year and Hoppy Boston has taken a bit of a back seat compared to other parts of life, but I am hoping to come back strong in the new year. Thanks […]
Battery Steele Roving Jewel
There might not be a more divisive sub-style of beer than “milkshake IPAs”, a version of New England/hazy IPA that is brewed with lactose, a type of sugar that brewing yeast cannot ferment, so it adds noticeable sweetness to the beer. While lactose has been used in other beers, mostly milk/sweet stouts, the addition of […]