Firestone Walker Brewing Company of California is best known for their hop-forward beers. They are one of the key breweries that contributed to the explosion in popularity of the “West Coast” IPA, defined by its burst of hop aroma and aggressive bitterness. Firestone Walker makes a full series of beers beyond IPAs including Opal, a dry-hopped […]
Tag: saison
Two Roads Workers Comp Saison
Since the end of Prohibition it has been up to individual states to make laws regulating the production, distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages. As a result there are different laws in every state, and most of the sales go through large distributors that act as middle men between the breweries and bars/beer stores. I […]
Allagash Saison
I have learned a lot about the saison style by sampling many of the local versions over the last few months. The diversity of flavor profiles and ingredients used in saisons is remarkable, it’s reinforced my love of the style. I think the blank canvas of the style allows for unmatched creativity, which is probably […]
Night Shift Grove
When it comes to beer styles I try to be an equal opportunity consumer, but I definitely gravitate towards some and shy away from others. One style that I typically avoid is fruit flavored beers as too many use an overpowering amount of fruit to mask the flavor of the beer. The exception I tend to make […]
Enlightenment Ales Rite of Spring
One issue that many small craft breweries face is how to grow. Any successful brewery starts by making great beer and building a loyal customer base. Once demand starts to exceed supply the brewery needs to find ways to increase capacity and distribution. Enlightenment Ales started as a small specialty brewery in Lowell, MA. As demand rose, they found […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Hoppy Boston 