New Belgium Brewing Company – Blue Paddle

Blue Paddle – New Belgium Brewing Company, Fort Collins, CO

ABV: 4.6%

IBU: 33

Available: WA, OR, CA, NV, ID, MT, WY, AZ, CO, NM, TX, KS, NE, SD, ND, … Read More

Aviator Brewing Company – Hogwild India Pale Ale

ABV: 6.7%

IBU: a lot (per their website)

Last weekend I went home and, because my parents were in Denver (jealous!), the fridge was pretty empty food wise. Lucky for me there was plenty of beer though! There was the usual Yuengling, some Great Lakes, and then I saw it: Aviator Brewing Company’s Devils Tramping Ground Tripel. Unfortunately, that’s not what I’m reviewing tonight. However, I am showcasing another Aviator beer, their Hogwild India Pale Ale. Read More

Highland Brewing Company Kashmir IPA

Highland Brewing Company Kashmir IPA

(6.0% ABV, 60 IBU)

Ashveille, North Carolina has been put on the national craft beer map as of late with the expansion of large western brewing operations to the east coast. Asheville (and the surrounding area) now calls itself home to New Belgium, Oskar Blues, and Sierra Nevada. However, it is Asheville’s own Highland Brewing Company, who have been brewing in this area since the first craft beer boom in the mid-90s, that gets the spotlight in today’s review with their Kashmir IPA.

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Boulevard Brewing Co – Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale

Boulevard Brewing Company – Tank 7 Farmhouse Ale

ABV: 8.5%

IBU: 38

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Lore Brewing Company | Derby Brown Ale

ABV: 5% | IBU: 40

WARNING: Cheesy horse racing references and puns abound in this review. There are also two allusions to How Stella Got Her Groove Back. I apologize in advance.

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Backlash Beer Co’s Salute Epitomizes Boston Spirit

Although this may not be obvious all the time, the reason why I started writing here is not because I love the Boston beer scene and think it is special and you should be aware of it, though I do. It is because I think Boston, the city, is special, and I humbly hoped I could transmit a little bit of that emotion through my beer writing.

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Stone Espresso Imperial Russian Stout 2013 Odd Year Release

Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

North Coast Brewing  – Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout

ABV: 9%

IBU: 75

I consider this to be THE Russian Imperial Stout. The Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout brand image is a drawing of Rasputin, the infamous Mad Monk, with a phrase in Russian encircling it – A sincere friend is not born instantly. I beg to differ with this sentiment as I found a quick liquid ‘friend’ in this dark, dry stout from just a few gulps. I’m telling you, on these Colorado cold evenings, this brew can hypnotize you with its healing powers of warmth.  Much like Rasputin and his mysteries of healing magic, many are unsure how this ale makes you feel different after just a few pulls, but it really does evoke a sense of liquid sorcery in every sip.

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River Horse Belgian Freeze

River Horse Belgian Freeze

ABV: 8%

Adult kickball leagues are great. The nostalgic feel of playing kickball in my backyard with my cousins is nice, but when you add beer to that, it’s fantastic. Last Thursday, I had the privilege of substituting in a kickball league in Cincinnati and was pleasantly surprised when I was offered some unique beers by a fellow teammate. One beer I particularly enjoyed was called River Horse Belgian Freeze, brewed and sold only in New Jersey. Therefore, if you ever find yourself visiting Jersey, I highly recommend you buy some of these beers to ease yourself into the experience of some Jersey Shore-esque behavior that seemed to have taken over the state.  Read More

Dogfish Head – Immort Ale

Dogfish Head – Immort Ale

ABV: 11.00%

With a smoked peaty richness and a subtle sweet maple finish Immort Ale is bound to warm even the coldest of hearts in … Read More

The Fort Collins Brewery’s Hoptitude Imperial Extra Pale Ale

ABV: 7.5%   IBUs: 54

With the Spring weather being so bi-polar lately, I wasn’t sure that I would be able to ride my bike to Fort Collins Brewery to meet with marketing director Charles Stanley and chat beer. I sucked it up, threw on a scarf, and braved the wind. I was going to have a beer after all, The Fort Collins Brewery was releasing their most recent seasonal, Hoptitude Imperial Extra Pale Ale. Read More

Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA

Sierra Nevada Ruthless Rye IPA

Key Facts:

• Bottled in Chico, California
• Style: American Rye IPA
• 6.6 ABV
• Season: Winter-Spring

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The Shed Brewery Mountain Ale

The Shed Brewery Mountain Ale (via Otter Creek and Long Trail Brewing)

ABV: 7.4%

IBU: 35

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Kona Brewing Co. – Koko Brown

26.7 IBU

5.5% ABV

What I went to Jungle Jim’s looking for and what I came home with were two completely different beers. Nevertheless, I was pleased with my choice. Kona Brewing Company’s Koko Brown is an ale brewed with coconut, and I absolutely LOVE coconut! Coconut candy, coconut shrimp, coconut rum…you name it, I want it. Unfortunately, I know a lot of people who don’t enjoy it as much as I do, so I don’t get to eat it (or in this case drink it) as often as I would like. Read More

Odell Brewing – Tree Shaker Imperial Peach IPA

On a Saturday in Fort Collins, a few of us PorchDrinkers brewery hopped, visiting New Belgium, Funkwerks and Odell. Lucky for us, a new beer debuted that day (April 6) at Odell Brewing, so it was a chance for all of us to try something new. The Tree Shaker Imperial Peach IPA is just as delicious as it promises to be.

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Samuel Adams’ 26.2 Boston Brew

It’s Marathon Monday! If you don’t know what that means, you obviously do not live in Boston. I suppose it’s known as “Patriots’ Day” elsewhere[1], but ironically, in the land of the Pats, the Boston Marathon is the main event. Imagine if Macy’s Thanksgiving Day was 20 miles longer in a city 1/20th the size of New York: things get a little crazy and crowded.

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Bluegrass Brewing Company– Horse Piss

Bluegrass Brewing Company– Horse Piss Beer – 5.0% ABV

Remember Opposite Day? When good meant bad, ugly meant pretty, and happy meant sad? Opposite day paved the way for things like “not” and facetious “no-ew-oh” remarks, and eventually to the consistent sarcasm of high school and the intentional irony of adulthood. Many people say that we are living in the Age of Irony. Irony is in; it is cool. If you get it…then you get it. John Deere hats are no longer worn by farmers, sons of farmers, or those who have ever actually rode a tractor, but by those that shop at the mall at Hot Topic. We are so inundated with irony that we now have to say “literally” when we are not being ironic or sarcastic or hyperbolic. (By the way, my personal pet peeve is when someone prefaces a comment with “literally” and then says something figurative. That is not hyperbole; that is stupidity.) Bluegrass Brewing Company’s Horse Piss Beer, which I assumed to be a wittily ironic name, piqued my interest then confounded my senses, making me realize (for the second straight review) that craft brewers should heed the warning that quite a bit comes with a name. Read More

Unity Vibrations Ginger Kombucha Beer

As an Ohioan, this first week of warm weather makes me want to pop a bottle of champagne and celebrate the end of a long and cold winter (despite what the groundhog said otherwise a couple months ago). However, thanks to my brother who just came back from Grand Rapids Michigan, the brewery capital of the country, I think he may of found something even better… drum-roll please…Unity Vibrations Ginger Kombucha Beer!!!  Read More

Devil’s Backbone Vienna Lager

ABV: 4.9%

IBU: 18

As the age-old tradition goes, when the parents come to town, you have them treat you to dinner at places that are a bit (or a lot) out of your price range. I personally do not think this pasttime will ever fade, as my family loves exploring new places and sampling interesting eats, and (to be perfectly honest) I am always willing to let someone else pick up the check. As the fam visited the District this past weekend, I, of course, packed our itinerary with delicious prospects from new and old favorite restaurants. One particular gem is The Pig on 14th Street. As a member of the EatWell family, The Pig specializes in a more local, sustainable, and – when possible – farm-to-table approach to food. Beyond the merits of its laudable approach to sourcing ingredients, this place just makes a lot of very tasty, pork-filled dishes.

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Kona Brewing Long Board Island Lager

This beer makes a real “paki” which is Hawaiian for ‘splash’ as my beer cap informed me in Snapple-esque style. Okay, perhaps not quite a “splash” so much as a relaxed and steady wave would be the best descriptor for the Kona Brewing Long Board Island Lager, coming out of Hawaii. You won’t catch this balance-challenged reviewer anywhere near a surfboard, but who doesn’t love an island state of mind? And this beer certainly embraces it. Read More