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 […]
Non-alcoholic beer is a significant market, with estimated sales around 18 billion in the US in 2020. Despite this, the vast majority of non-alcoholic beers are mass-produced light lagers like O’Douls. A handful of brewers have seen the opportunity to move into the non-alcoholic space by making craft beers with a more diverse flavor profile. […]
The calendar has turned to September (seriously, what the hell happened to summer) and I am ready to dive into some fall beers. I am not a fan of pumpkin beers, to each their own they just aren’t for me, but I love some richer and more malt forward beers in the fall including brown […]
I am squeezing in one final Oktoberfest review before the month is over and I start my transition towards winter styles (hooray for porters and stouts!) In general, lager styles are gaining a lot of steam amongst craft beer drinkers. They might not have the buzz on Instagram and Untappd that hazy IPAs and pastry […]
I am going to try and knock out a few more marzen/Oktoberfest reviews in the next couple weeks, I fell a little behind in my review schedule with all of the crazy news in the local beer scene over the last few weeks. So even if a few of these Octoberfest reviews bleed into November, […]
One of the great things about drinking local beer is the amazing charitable work that so many local breweries do in their communities. It is impossible to highlight every instance of this, but I am going to make an additional effort to give props to breweries supporting good causes, especially when the causes have a […]
Vermont is known for many things, maple syrup, crazy ice cream flavors, jam bands, nature, and of course lots of quality beer. Vermont still has the most breweries per capita of any state in the country, ranging from larger operations with regional distribution to tiny startups selling pints and growlers on site. Many of the […]
I had every intention of spending September and October drinking and reviewing more malty beers, especially marzen/Oktoberfest styles, brown ales and bocks. It hasn’t panned out exactly as I planned. First, I stopped at Industrial Way in Portland, Maine at the end of August and most of the available beers were hoppy (delicious, but very […]
Seasonal beers played a major role in my transition from macro lagers to more flavorful beer, I loved how certain beer styles fit perfectly with the seasons. One of my favorites has always beer the marzen/Oktoberfest, the rich malt flavors pair perfectly with crisp fall weather. One criticism of many American Oktoberfest beers was that they could be overdone, cloyingly sweet and overly […]
