The trend for many modern breweries is to rotate between a wide variety of beers, retiring or changing recipes that don’t work (or don’t sell well) and constantly introducing new beers to keep draft lists fresh and exciting. Many breweries make anniversary beers as part of this rotation, usually a new beer to celebrate each […]
I’ve noticed a trend where many breweries are “refreshing” their branding, changing their logos and the artwork on cans/bottles/tap handles. I think the increased competition in the market and the number of craft beer fans who are constantly chasing something new and different are major factors in the decision to change branding. New artwork can […]
There are a number of places that every New England beer fan should visit, and I’ve done a decent job knocking some of them off of my list. I do pretty well in Massachusetts and Maine (where I have family so trips are frequent), I have occasional stops in New Hampshire and Rhode Island and […]
There is an interesting trend that has been developing for a while where breweries who brew a popular IPA are making multiple versions with tweaks to the recipe. The “double dry-hopped” and “dry-hopped with XXX” beers are pretty minor changes to the beer all things considered, but add a little variety to a breweries offerings. […]
I make 3-4 trips a year up to Maine, usually centered around visits with family in the mid-coast region. While the family needs take precedence over everything else I usually try to work in some beer related fun, usually stops at breweries or restaurants with good beer selections, or even just a quick trip into […]
My “real” job is as a research scientist in biotech, working on finding new treatments for cancer. The entire biotech industry seems to be centered in the Boston area these days, especially in Cambridge, so it was little surprise that this has been the location of my first two jobs after finishing my post-doc. There […]
I was really excited when Barrel House Z launched, I loved the idea of a brewery focused on a wide variety of barrel aged beers. I feel like this is an under-explored area, there are a ton of bourbon barrel aged stouts but there are so many other potential combinations of beer style and barrel variety. […]
I am researching a new article on my favorite NEIPAs in every state in New England (the “research” is pretty tough, find and drink a bunch of new-to-me beers). I am overflowing with ideas from some states, especially Massachusetts and Maine, but I am struggling a little with a few of the states that I visit infrequently. […]
One of the most interesting developments in the early part of the year has been mid-sized and larger breweries jumping on the New England IPA bandwagon. Breweries like Sam Adams, Sierra Nevada and New Belgium have introduced hazy and low bitterness hop-forward ales and began distribution across the country. This is a big change for the style, most of the breweries […]
Breweries can find themselves in a tough position when they brew a “flagship” beer for a while and then decide to change the recipe. The need to change the recipe can happen for a number of reasons, a new brewer who wants to make a mark, changing tastes of a customer base, issues with availability of […]
Hoppy Boston 