Schlafly to Release 12-Pack Focused Around Individual Hops

Schlafly Beer is getting ready to release a new variety pack that features relatively new hops in a SMaSH (single malt & single hop) format to showcase the unique characteristics of the hops. The Hop Trial SMaSH Pack will be available everywhere Schlafly Beer is available starting July 4th.

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Wicked Weed Brewing | Pernicious IPA

ABV: 7.3% | IBU: 70

Asheville, NC is a hip southern mountain town sought out by many beer fans. I was fortunate enough to make a brief pilgrimage there on a recent road trip across the country. The town hosts many excellent breweries, just some of which include Asheville Brewing Company, Green Man, Burial Beer Company and Wicked Weed. I only had time to visit one, but made a great selection in choosing Wicked Weed.

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Petoskey Brewing Company | Cranium Crush Waffle Cone Raspberry Cream Ale

7.0% ABV

The Sunday evening before Memorial Day brought rain, but it let up when I was feeling most productive. When the clouds broke and the western skies opened, I walked to the laundromat, washed, and exchanged a dollar for dryer quarters. Read More

Iron Spike Brewing Company | Locomotive Lager

ABV: 6%

For a brewing landscape as diverse as American craft beer, there appears to be only two camps which breweries occupy when it comes to location: remote, rustic, farmhouse-style outfits steeped in terrior, or urban and suburban operations in refurbished warehouses or corrugated steel garages hidden amongst industrial parks.

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I’m on a Boat… In South Carolina

It’s officially summer, and with the change of the seasons comes all of the exciting outdoor activities that keep us busy when the weather is beautiful. The lowcountry of South Carolina has a plethora of options when it comes to fun in the sun. In our region of the country, summer activities mostly take place in the water. We decided to gather 5 locally crafted brews and take them for a ride.

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Urban Chestnut Brewing Company | The Class of 2011

Beers are like years. There are a lot of them in the past, more are coming, and some are better than others.

There are four specific years that stand out in the annals of St. Louis’ rich beer history. 1852 is perhaps the most important, as it is the year Anheuser Busch was founded. In 1991, we saw St. Louis enter the world of locally owned craft beer with the establishment of the Schlafly Brewing Company. And in 2008, well, that’s a year that most St. Louis beer lovers would rather forget… it’s the year AB allowed itself to be bought and owned by Inbev. That was a sad year. Read More

Odell Brewing Co. | Drumroll American Pale Ale

ABV: 5.3% | IBU: 42

It’s been more than two years since Odell Brewing Co. has released a new year-round beer. I assume that’s because the brewery prefers to achieve near-perfection with a beer before putting it in customers’ hands. Having just tried their newest release, Drumroll American Pale Ale, I’m 100% on board with that strategy. Read More

Victory Brewing Company | Kirsch Gose

ABV: 4.7%

Over the past few summers, goses and Berliner-weisses have been popping up like crazy. Since I have a deep-seated love of all things sour, I’ve been loving the … Read More

Brewery Showcase | 4 Noses Brewing Company (Broomfield, CO)

Located nearly smack dab between Denver and Boulder, right off of the US 36 corridor drag, you can find yourself at 4 Noses Brewing Company in Broomfield, Colorado. 4 Noses Brewing Company jumped onto the Colorado beer scene in May of 2014 with their tastefully modern taproom and brewery. Shortly thereafter, they were already making waves with their incredible selection of beer.

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Transient Artisan Ales | Pentameter Batch #2

Breweries are opening in and around Chicago with frequency, but few of them are making sour and wild ales the main focus of their efforts. Since its inception, Chris Betts of … Read More

Epic Brewing Company | Sour Brainless on Peaches

ABV 7.4%

A few years back, Epic Brewing Company did the unthinkable. They took classic beers from their standard lineup and messed with ’em! They released a handful of ‘wild’ versions of their fruit beers that we all know so well. The already natural funky flavors in the beer must have sparked the imagination of a creative brewer.

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Right Brain Brewery | Concrete Dinosaur

ABV 7.2%

Often when I have friends who travel outside of Chicago they’ll text me when they wander into a local brewery and ask if I want them to pick me up any beer. Every time the answer is ‘yes’ and that allows me to try beers from all over the country without having to leave the Second City.

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Brewery Showcase | WeldWerks Brewing (Greeley, CO)

Greeley, CO looks and feels much like any of the other needle pinned micro communities that dot a map of the U.S.—so much so, that its slogan reads, “An All-America City”. With its deep roots in agriculture, livestock, and community, Greeley has developed a equally misguided stigma that has become hard to shake. But make no mistake, Greeley is no mere cowtown, at least not when it comes to beer.

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Unknown Brewing Co. | Kitten Snuggles Imperial Farmhouse Ale

ABV: 9.0%

Kitten Snuggles is Unknown Brewing Company’s unofficial interpretation of what would happen if the internet brewed a beer. Inspired by cute and adorable kittens in a coffee shop in Portland, Oregon, this Farmhouse style ale is sure to appeal to even the most adamant dog lovers.  Read More

Wicked Weed Brewing | Recurrant

Funk fans, rejoice! Wicked Weed Brewing Recurrant is back and now part of their sour line up.

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New Glarus Brewing Co. | Spotted Cow

ABV: 4.9%

It’s been said that the best things in life are worth working for – a new job, your dream car, that perfect house. The work put in makes the end goal that much more rewarding. While the motto normally applies to loftier, greater goals, the same can be said for New Glarus Brewing Co.’s Spotted Cow. Only available in Wisconsin, Spotted Cow has been a favorite of mine since I began making college visits to my brother Mark when he attended Marquette University almost 10 years ago and continues on today (except now it’s little brother Matt holding it down in The Good Land).

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Silver City Brewery | Copper Mountain Maibock

I’m not one to hide it. I am a huge, huge fan of Silver City Brewery.

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Scorched Earth Brewing | Hickster

ABV: 4.8% | IBU: 14

After pinballing through Chicago Craft Beer Week, my liver was in need of some time off. I obliged for about a week before the amazing weather we’ve been having eroded my willpower. However, I compromised, and vowed to drink only beers that were less than 5% ABV. It’s more fitting for 80 degree weather anyway and, frankly, I’m a little worn out on 7%+ IPAs. Thankfully, CCBW reintroduced all the beer styles I haven’t visited in awhile, which granted me plenty of options. One of these stuck out, and I’m pretty sure it will be a consistent 6-pack in my fridge this summer — Scorched Earth’s Hickster.

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Great Lakes Brewing Company | Steady Rollin’ Session IPA

Image courtesy of Great Lakes Brewing Company. Label artwork by Darren Booth.

I fell in love with a beer last summer. It was during Burning River Fest; Great Lakes Brewing Company had just released a new brew to the attendees of the festival. I enjoyed that beer immensely back then, and I waited patiently for it to make its inevitable return the following year. That following year is now, and make a return that beer did: Steady Rollin’ Session IPA has now been on the market this spring in sampler packs and hopefully can sneak into your cooler for retreats out on the water or at the park this summer.

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Bier Factory | XXA IPA

ABV: 6.7% | EBU: 65

I took four years of French in high school. I was an AP student, as in Advanced Placement. Oh yeah, really serious about it. So serious that 15 years later, I remember how to say hello, goodbye and count to 10. The fact that I’m living in the French-speaking part of Switzerland is in fact clearing out some deeply recessed cobwebs of learning in my brain. But judging by the label text, this tasty XXA IPA from Bier Factory is brewed in the GERMAN-speaking side of Switzerland. Damn. Read More