Carillon Brewing | Coriander Ale

I don’t have a pretty photo of Carillon Brewing Company‘s Coriander Ale to show you. Carillon’s beers and, more importantly, the brewing techniques used to craft them, are from a time when the appearance of beer was only just beginning to matter with the emergence of pale malts and clear glassware. Their anachronistic visual appearance—often a bit murky—is part of the authenticity of enjoying a flight of beers inside Carillon’s reproduction 1850s barn brewery on the grounds of Carillon Historical Park, a living history museum by the banks of the Great Miami River in Dayton, OH.

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Seven Stills Brewery & Distillery | 747 Belgian Strong Golden Ale

This year was supposed to be the year of me trying new things—I was going to take a break from my IPA and sour obsession, find new beer loves and explore my palate. Well, sometimes old habits die hard. If there is one style of beer I shy away from the most, it’s anything in the Belgian realm, but this beer from Seven Stills Brewery & Distillery definitely gave me something to talk about!

So maybe we’re halfway through the year and I still have yet to discover my next new beer love but can I get a pat on the back for drinking a golden strong ale from Seven Stills Brewery & Distillery?! Baby steps, you guys. Read More

Scorched Earth Brewing Company | Barrel 76 Red Flanders

Somehow, suburban Chicago’s Scorched Earth Brewing barreling program remains off the radar for most beer drinkers, which leaves this writer befuddled. Certainly those in the Chicago region with a nose for barrel-aged beers should make it a high priority to seek all forms of Scorched Earth brewing alchemy. One of the brewery’s latest releases, Barrel 76, is a Flanders red ale aged in French oak wine barrels with Montmorency cherries and Madagascar vanilla beans. Traditional, yet innovative. Sophisticated, yet rustic. Tart, yet a bit sweet. The beer serves as an example for what craft brewing is all about.

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Sly Fox Brewing | Alex’s Lemon Wheat Ale

Let us start at the very beginning — with a lemonade stand.

The story starts with a little girl named Alexandra “Alex” Scott. Just before her first birthday, Alex’s parents were given the diagnosis that Alex had neuroblastoma, a type of childhood cancer.

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Haymarket Brewing | Pink Sock Monkey Raspberry Wheat

Haymarket Brewing in Chicago (and now also in Michigan) owes its name to one of the most notable moments in labor history: The Haymarket Affair. But, this is no time for a history lesson, this is a time to get to know a brewery renowned for creating beer intended for drinking, not sipping; for enjoying after a hard day’s work, not kept in cellars. And Pink Sock Monkey Raspberry Wheat Ale is one of those beers.

Haymarket commits itself to workers — no matter the color of the collar — and Pink Sock Monkey Raspberry Wheat reminds us all that artisans and craftspeople enjoy a long legacy of cherished American professions, from blacksmith to brewer. Haymarket deftly weaves its way through the craft beer world by creating beers that simultaneously exude refinement and also approachability. Yes, those are often overused buzz words, but in this case they are perfect descriptors.

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Elevation Beer Co. | Pomegranate Acide

In Elevation Beer Company’s parking lot, there are often more mountain bikes than vehicles. Elevation is in Poncha Springs, Colorado, a tiny town just outside the small town of Salida in the heart of Colorado’s most mountainous region. From whitewater rafting to bagging 14ers to riding the endless trails at wrecking-ball speed, it’s all celebrated here with great craft beer. Naturally.

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Fremont Brewing | The Lamb

A handful of weeks back, on a quintessential Seattle spring evening, dozens of Fremont Brewing’s most loyal and ardent patrons gathered at the brewery’s Frelard facility location in celebration of the Heron Hunting Club’s annual event. The event, which is rightfully hailed as one of the best in Seattle’s craft scene, is a chance for Fremont fanatics to mingle with the brewery’s staff, experience incredible bites from famed Seattle chefs, and perhaps most importantly, stock up favorite Fremont beers that the brewery releases from their cellars for the occasion. As one of the lucky fans that was in attendance for the Heron Hunting Club get together, I was not going to let this rare shopping opportunity slip away. I left with a plethora of beers that, to this day, has me giddy – one of those brews being The Lamb, a 2016 saison that was the first brew from Fremont’s Fermentation Lab series.

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Fort George Brewery | From Astoria With Love

Love can be complicated, but those complications are usually worth one’s while. Fort George Brewery managed to capture love in a can with From Astoria With Love, their Russian Imperial Stout. I knew I had to get this beer from Oregon back to my home in Florida. Luckily, the airport in Portland had a couple of cans left, so now is a good time to share this bliss with you.

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Crow Hop Brewing | Rado’s Red Sweet Cherry Sour

The Colorado brewery scene is one with its ups and downs, ebbs and flows. Some breweries see their star shine brightly, then quickly fizzle out and shut their doors nearly as soon as they opened. Others, like Crow Hop Brewing in Loveland, CO, find increased success year after year and eventually need to move locations to accommodate the greater fanfare.

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Left Hand Brewing Company | Saison au Miel

A beer series usually provides intrigue, and it provides brewers with a chance to be creative, experiment, tell a story and have some fun. Like the brewer, let’s have some fun and figure out the intention of the first installment of the Left Hand Brewing Company Les Quatre Saison Series: Saison au Miel.

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Funkwerks | Pineapple Provincial

Here in Colorado, it’s the beginning of the season for patio sitting, flip flop wearing, and summer time imbibing. The abundance of sunshine has got me in vacation mode and not just any kind of vacation mode—the kind where you sink your toes in the sand and smell the salt in the air. Sadly, I won’t be embarking on such a vacation anytime soon but Funkwerk’s Pineapple Provincial, paired with a tiny umbrella, will take you on a tropical vacation one delicious sip at at time.

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Great Divide Brewing Company | Heyday Modern IPA

As an employee owner of New Belgium and a lover of craft beer, I am always on the lookout for high-quality brews. One place I often look, and am rewarded by, is fellow longtime Colorado craft brewer, Great Divide Brewing Company. Today, I’m lucky enough to enjoy their Heyday Modern IPA. Heyday is a new offering from Great Divide that riffs on current IPA styles to create a modified IPA experience they’re dubbing, “Modern IPA,” and it’s a beer that has me thinking of summertime. Read More

Sixpoint Brewery | Righteous Barrel-Aged Rye Ale

Spring came very late this year, which delayed my normal drinking schedule a bit. By Easter, I’ve typically transitioned to pilsners, session IPAs and goses, but this year’s cooler temperatures had me settling back into my winter routine. It may have been fate when Sixpoint Brewery‘s Righteous Barrel-Aged Rye found its way into my fridge, and it was a welcome sight during this unseasonably cool, rainy spring.
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Rogue Ales | Cold Brew IPA

Coffee and beer is hardly a revolutionary coupling. As is the case with most hackneyed combinations, however, there’s a reason these two are so often paired together — albeit usually in the context of a stout or porter, whose malty flavors and thick, creamy mouthfeel play well with the roasted bitterness of coffee beans.

Rogue Ales’ Cold Brew IPA aims to do something different, even in the less-common realm of coffee-infused IPAs and pale ales. The can boasts of a “hop punch,” an intriguing claim given the array of coffee beers I’ve had over the years, most of which treat hoppiness as an afterthought. Thanks to a generous hop mix that includes Liberty, Rebel, Freedom and Simcoe, the Newport, Oregon-based brewery manages to deliver.
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Bear Republic Brewing Co. | Racer 500 Indy Pale Ale

With my wife being from Indianapolis, I know that when the calendar turns to May; it’s Indianapolis 500 month. To celebrate the event, Bear Republic Brewing Co., known for its Racer 5 IPA and other racing-inspired beers, has released Racer 500 Indy Pale Ale. The beer is only be available at the brewpub and the state of Indiana.

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Burial + Other Half | One For Me Helles Lager

Somehow I’ve managed to go years without reviewing a single thing from Burial Beer Company, one of the better-known, Asheville-based brewers in North Carolina. Today we make an end to that with One For Me, Burial’s collaboration Helles Lager brewed with Other Half Brewing out of New York. Read More

Great Lakes Brewing Company | Holy Moses Raspberry White Ale

Last January, I waxed nostalgic a bit. Great Lakes Brewing Company decided to re-introduce Holy Moses White Ale as a constant, everyday staple in the beer fridge at the local, and not-so-local, supermarket. I quivered with anticipation when I heard the news, and then I balked at their seasonal May release. It was a beer that would add raspberries to its refreshing citrus undertones, and at the time I did not think I would be ready for that transition. After GLBC’s foray into Holy Mimosas after the Holy Moses release earlier this year and after trying to make them myself—I used mango juice—the idea that there would be another form of Holy Moses to grace our shelves and our bellies was more exciting than the initial reveal. Now, Great Lakes Brewing Company and Holy Moses Raspberry White Ale has arrived, just in time for the warmer weather—FINALLY.

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Bell’s Brewery | Hopsoulution Ale

Springtime is here and, for me, that can only mean one thing: sitting on my sunporch and drinking some fantastic IPAs. Thankfully, I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan (AKA Beer City, USA), which means I’m generally near the birthplace of some of the best made IPAs in the world. Michigan breweries know their IPAs, and Bell’s Brewery has blessed us with one helluva new brew in their recently released double IPA, Hopsoulution Ale.
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Banded Oak Brewing | Atomga Barrel-Aged Brazilian Stout

Banded Oak Brewing Barrel-Aged Atomga comes with an intriguing backstory: it was brewed to celebrate the release of the band Atomga’s album, “AGA” and the recipe resulted from a collaboration with Bodebrown, a Brazilian brewery.

But, a great story means nothing if the beer is subpar. So, rather than provide an article filled with interviews and storytelling, I decided as a writer to concentrate solely on the beer.

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Firestone Walker | Mocha Merlin: Who Says Winter Has to End?

Firestone Walker Brewing Company, California’s Central Coast brewing behemoth, has become a frequent visitor to the Colorado craft beer scene. With hazy memories of tasters at past beer festivals, I eyed a can of Mocha Merlin with hesitant hope.

Sure, the hearty coffee-infused stout is a beer intended for the cold season — a great beer to warm you up as you sip from your chalice in the (Game of Thrones’) Winterfell Great Hall — but why must winter ever end? Recent posts on various “beer check-in” websites show that the beer continues to be enjoyed, even as the weather turns more summer-like each day.

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