Wicked Weed | Oblivion

ABV: 8.7% | IBU: negligible

We use a lot of colors when we talk about beer. This beer is amber. That beer is black. This one is straw. That one is brown. These are all quite common. Yet, for all of my beer-drinking life, I have only infrequently come across the color red. Maybe it’s my geography. Some of the world’s best-known and most highly acclaimed beers come out of Belgium, among them a variety of reds. Rodenbach’s Grand Cru, Duchesse de Bourgogne from Brewery Verhaeghe, and New Belgium’s La Folie are just a few examples.

In spite of (and thanks to) my geography, I’ve been fortunate enough to come across a delectable sour red ale from one of North Carolina’s finest breweries, the Asheville-based Wicked Weed Brewing Company. They call it Oblivion, and they give it a little story. Read More

Evil Twin Brewing | Ashtray Heart

ABV: 8.9%

I miss smoking in bars. My clothes and hair don’t reek every night, and the lack of clouds of noxious oxygen thieves in bars dulling taste and smell might have done more to promote the rise of craft beer than any other external factor – but the romance of the dive bar is largely sustained by the haze that lingers around dim light bulbs. There was a certain je ne sais quoi that many establishments lost once they cleaned up (while others revealed even worse smells that the smoke was hiding). In my eternal hunt to recapture this hazy atmosphere, I stumbled into one of my favorite dive bars in Brooklyn (low lights, great bartender, amazing jukebox, check-check-check), and discovered Evil Twin’s Ashtray Heart. With one sip, I found the gritty but smooth feeling I was missing, with none of smoking’s greatly-enhanced chance of lung cancer.

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4 Noses Brewing Co. | Bareback Blonde Ale and Make My Day Session IPA

4 Noses Brewing Company’s mission is to be a socially responsible brewery of extraordinary passion and creativity, constantly crafting unique and classic styles. Hosted in their comfortable yet elegant tap room, they strive to serve only the freshest ales and lagers, in addition to their constantly changing barrel-aged beers.

4 Noses taproom is mad gorgeous. Their ales and lagers embody creativity and passion for brewing. While most would implore you not to take their word for it and to explore on your own; we wholeheartedly want you to take our word for it (because we won’t steer you wrong) AND to visit their taproom at your earliest convenience. You will not be bummed. We promise.

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Uinta Brewing Company | Anniversary Barley Wine Ale

10.4% ABV

There’s a common misconception that you can’t get strong beer in Utah. In reality, you can get strong beer in Utah; you just have to jump through a hoop or two to get it. So when you finally do drive the ten miles to the state owned liquor store, at a time that it’s actually open, when you’re willing to pay the ridiculous prices for room temperature beer, you know the secret handshake you have to give the clerk, and you walk out of the place with a couple of mix and match six packs of beers like Uinta Brewing Company‘s 10.4% ABV Anniversary Barley Wine Ale, you tend to want to save a bottle or two to enjoy on a random week night. Well, my friends, tonight is one of those nights. Read More

Upland Brewing Co. | Blackberry Lambic

It is open season in Bloomington, IN. Open sour season that is with the recent release of Upland Brewing Co.’s highly regarded sours. A sour ale from almost every fruit imaginable, Upland has created some of the most sought after sour beers in the country—and I got my hands on one! Read More

Comrade Brewing Company | Hop Chops

ABV: 9.5%

Ever since I started hosting trivia at Comrade Brewing Company (Wednesday nights at 7pm, y’all!), Comrade has consistently brewed some fantastic beer. Each week they seem to be putting out a brand new beer for all those beer lovers of northwest-ish Aurora. (Or is it southeast-ish Denver?) They love trying new things and mixing up the ever-rotating tap list, but if there is one thing that Comrade Brewing Company is consistently awesome at it’s hops. Read More

Destihl Brewery | Here Gose Nothin’ (Wild Sour Series)

ABV: 5%
IBU: 12

Ahh, the Gose (goes). Or is it Gose (go-say)? It’s actually Gose (go-suh), preferably pronounced with a nice German gutteral G. An old style originating from Leipzig, Germany, the gose is named after the river Gose in Lower Saxony. Light, tart and refreshing, this style is the only one brewed with salted water, and traditionally contains coriander. Seeing goses hit the shelves and appear on draft is as much a sign of Spring as budding flowers and bright green leaves on trees. This style also makes for an excellent shower beer. Read More

DC Brau-Oskar Blues Collaboration | Smells Like Freedom

The last Thursday in February came and went in Washington, D.C., just as it did elsewhere across the rest of the United States. But Feb. 26, 2015, was a notable date among the residents of the District for one particular number: 71.

This was the day Initiative 71, which legalized the possession of certain amounts of personal marijuana, was implemented by the city. Whatever regulatory views individuals residents of the District actually hold, this initiative’s implementation furthered support of “home rule,” which is the concept that D.C. residents should govern their own affairs, without full federal interaction. Read More

Uinta Brewing | Bristlecone Brown Ale

ABV 4%
25 IBU

One day, Uinta Brewery (you-INN-tah, to be perfectly clear on pronunciation), nestled between the Salt Lake City metro area and The Great Salt Lake itself, brewed a toasty, warm and earthen brown ale. It was delicious, and they christened it “Bristlecone” after the mighty, ancient alpine tree.

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White Rabbit Brewery | Dark Ale

ABV: 4.9% | IBU: 27

Australia is in many ways a few steps behind the U.S. Weed legalization, even for medicinal purposes, is a foreign concept, clotheslines and sunshine are preferred over dryers, and chunky heeled shoes straight out of Clarissa Explains it All litter the streets. I worried that beer quality would follow suit. I pictured a land where the craft beer movement had not infiltrated, and the macro beers of the 90’s flowed freely, just at much higher prices. I was right about the prices ($11 for a pint?!), but I was wrong about the beer. Although Melbourne sits at the base of some of the most celebrated wine country in the world, amongst the bountiful grapes I have discovered many spunky little craft breweries busy quenching the thirst of Aussie hop heads like myself.

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Red Rock Brewery | Elephino

8% ABV

The evolution of a hophead: You drink pils and lagers until your beer geek friend offers up a Uinta Cutthroat or Squatters Full Suspension (not hoppy by today’s standards). You take the first sip and ….. BOOM! Flashback to Keystone’s Bitter Beer Face campaign from the 90’s. Then you avoid the crazy ‘bitter beers’ for years, maybe even a decade, only to try one when there are no tame options. Read More

Peticolas Brewing Co.| The DUKE

ABV: 12% | IBU: 35

They say Texans are crazy and indeed we are. For one the weather in Texas can be quite temperamental, going from incredible warm sunny days and then dropping to freezing temps on another.

Luckily for us, the weather has been in our favor lately. So good, that it’s allowed for nights on the patio accompanied by great friends, a craft beer in hand and Cards Against Humanity mayhem. Causing for one heck of a hilarious and memorable game night! Read More

Green Bench Brewing Co. | St. Petersburg, Florida

Come have a seat at St. Petersburg, Florida’s Green Bench Brewing Co., where you’ll feel like a local among the large warehouse taproom, friendly bartenders and large outdoor space for playing bocce, listening to music or catching an outdoor movie.

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Squatters Brewery | Wellied Irish Style Stout

ABV: 4%  IBU: 15

Step aside, fiery shots of Irish whiskey; move away, dastardly rounds of Irish car bombs! If you find yourself in search of some easier drinking this St. Patty’s Day, Squatters Wellied Irish Style Stout is the perfect solution, especially if you or some friends want to partake in traditional Irish-style imbibing with a lower risk factor. For a jet-black style, this beer drinks light and easy, and with only 4% alcohol by volume, the decision is probably less likely to backfire on you the next morning.

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Kannah Creek Brewing Co. | Crossed Irons

ABV: 5.2%
IBU: 30

If you’re an experienced fan of craft beer, I bet there are a few seasonal beer releases you look forward to every year. Maybe you’re waiting for a big and burly barrel-aged stout, a strong holiday ale, or perhaps a super-hoppy triple IPA that people wait hours to taste. While I love many of these beers, today I’d like to suggest an understated spring release from Colorado’s Kannah Creek Brewing Company, Crossed Irons. Granted, an Irish Red isn’t the type of brew that usually has people lining up around the block, but how about one that supports a good cause? Read More

Broken Compass Brewing Company | Coconut Porter

ABV: 6.5%  IBU: 27

When thinking of craft beers, coconut usually isn’t the first ingredient that comes to mind. Unless you’re sipping on Broken Compass Brewing Company’s flagship Coconut Porter, then … Read More

Evil Twin/Other Half Brewing | Beat It, Nerd!

ABV: 6.66%

While I was taking on Shredder as Donatello, and then later waiting in line for a chance at the original Pac-Man, I found myself accurately dubbed both gaming AND beer nerd in the dark, cavernous room on 24th street known as Barcade. Although positioned as a provider of hard-to-find arcade treasures, its extensive and ever changing craft beer list also brings in the highly obsessed brewery-type-folk looking to get their local fix.

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Jupiter, The Bringer of Jollity | Bell’s Brewing Co.

Bell’s Brewing Co.

Jupiter – The Bringer of Jollity

Imperial Brown Ale

ABV: 8.0%

On February 22, I gladly welcomed the fourth Bell’s Brewing Planet Series, Jupiter, into Cincinnati, … Read More

Portside Distillery and Brewery | 216

ABV: 5.7%

For many readers and imbibers, Cleveland may not be the city that first pops up in a conversation about craft beer. Granted, it is not of Denver’s or Portland’s magnitude when it comes to the industry. Despite that, Cleveland and its surrounding environs have blossomed over the past decade when it comes to the quantity and quality of the beer the region produces. You have Great Lakes Brewing Company in greater Cleveland, Thirsty Dog in Akron, and I have also name-dropped a few other places on this wonderful website. Today, I shall provide you with another more recent addition to the beer scene in this fair city: Portside Distillery and Brewery. Their main beer is aptly labeled 216, after the area code familiar to those living in Cleveland.

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Perennial Artisan Ales | Abraxas

ABV: 10% IBU: 80

Abraxas from Perennial Artisan Ales here in St. Louis is 750 milliliters of cult following. The release day this past year included a parking … Read More