Bent Paddle Brewing Co. | Lollygagger Pale Ale

In Minnesota, the phrase “heading up north to the cabin” and its many variations are uttered constantly between June and September. Most families pack up and drive to a cabin two to five hours away from the Twin Cities. My family takes this concept just a bit further, though – eight hours north farther, into Canada. While on our way, we pass through Duluth, Minnesota, the home of Bent Paddle Brewing Company. My retired parents now spend May through September in Northwestern Ontario and a six-pack or two of Bent Paddle’s Lollygagger Pale Ale is always in the fridge while my siblings and I visit during the last week of July.

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Surly Brewing Co. | Abrasive Ale

As the hunt continues for the haziest and fruitiest New England IPA, it was nice to crack open Surly Brewing’s 2017 batch of Abrasive. A double IPA that says no to haze and fruit, but instead hits you with hops and malt. You know, the way an IPA used to be. 

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Angel City Brewery | Zero Flocs Given

Here in Los Angeles, I tend to get a bit of season-envy this time of year. My friends in the Midwest and East Coast are bragging about sweater weather, while I’m still cranking the AC in my car and wearing flip-flops on the weekends. Having nearly 300 days of sunny weather is great, but sometimes I like a bit of cloudy weather. Angel City Brewery likes things a little cloudy, too. Hence their new Zero Flocs Given Hazy IPA.
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Creature Comforts Brewing Co. | Table Beer

There has been a steady rise in the popularity of the bière de table in the last several years and if you have difficulty pronouncing it like I did, the English translation is table beer. This Belgium-style beer is designed and brewed for easy drinking. It’s a very balanced and simple recipe designed to cleanse the palate in between bites at the dinner table. With its low alcohol level, you can casually drink this throughout the day.

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Little Fish Brewing | Sunfish

Little Fish Brewing sits at the western tip of Athens, Ohio, a small college town in the southwest region of the state. It’s at the very edge of town, with the county fairgrounds and a small state park separating it from the city proper and its compact and cozy downtown. The location geographically represents the philosophical space Little Fish occupies as a brewery, straddling the culture of the college town and the wilds of the southeastern Ohio Appalachian foothills. Little Fish Brewing Sunfish Saison serves as a shining example of the brewery’s dedication to conserving the resources found within that unique, beautiful location.

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Shipyard Brewing Co. | Pumpkinhead & Spiced Rimmer

Maine’s Shipyard Brewing Company wants you to call it a comeback. The brewery has a bold goal for its seasonal, 20-year-old pumpkin beer: Grow sales, despite consumers experiencing pumpkin burnout. (Maple, right? That’s the new, trendy flavor of fall 2017?) Read More

Brewery Ommegang | Hennepin Farmhouse Saison

Within the craft beer culture, there is this quest to get your hands on the next great beer. To search and find those rare tappings or trendy styles requires strategy. This never-ending adventure to figuratively and literally quench that thirst, in itself, is enjoyable and opens a door for you to make new friends, memories and drink some phenomenal beers. This has helped drive the growth of the booming industry and encourages positive creativity among brewers. Although once I have tasted and checked a specific beer in on Untappd, the short-termed memory fades into the abyss and I am immediately on to the next one. That is why I like to take a step back every once in a while, revisit my roots and remind myself of why I even wandered down this trail in the first place. Read More

Burgeon Beer Company | Hitched on Haze

A wedding is all in the details, but what about a beer specifically brewed for a wedding? If you are like me, there is a good chance that beer was going to be a top priority at your wedding. After all, there is no better way to celebrate your recent nuptials than by sharing some phenomenal beer with family and friends.
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Perrin Brewing Co. | Malted Milk Ball Imperial Porter

As a kid, I absolutely loved Whoppers. I’d beg my parents to let me get them every chance I could, and if they gave in, I’d have a small box gone in about 10 minutes. I can still remember the way they melt in your mouth, and am now pretty sure I’m going to the store to get a box. Wait. It turns out, there’s something even better.

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Coppertail Brewing Co. | Oktoberfest

Although I love all styles of beer, I do look forward to this time of year when Oktoberfest is celebrated through festivals, beers and good times. I picked up a bottle of Coppertail Brewing’s Oktoberfest to try and this one was a great way to end this Oktoberfest with a bang.

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HenHouse Brewing | IPA (Incredible Pale Ale)

To HenHouse, their IPA means Incredible Pale Ale, to me their IPA means Intoxicating Pleasurable Awesomesauce. Read More

Half Moon Bay Brewing Co. | Pumpkin Harvest Ale

Some of my favorite Fall things are the leaves changing colors, pumpkin spiced foods and beverages everywhere, cooler weather, and of course pumpkin beers! Half Moon Bay Brewing Co brews up their Pumpkin Harvest Ale seasonally to delight the taste buds. Read More

Christian Moerlein Brewing Company | Bay Of Bengal

Who Dey! If you don’t know what that means, then you haven’t watched the NFL in a very long time. That is the chant you’ll hear from the crowd at any Cincinnati Bengals game; as well as, what I scream every time I crack open a can of Christian Moerlein Bay Of Bengal.
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Flying Fish Brewing Co. | Exit 3 Blueberry Braggot

“As any swalwe sittynge on a berne. Therto she koude skippe and make game, As any kyde or calf folwynge his dame. Hir mouth was sweete as bragot or the meeth, Or hoord of apples leyd in hey heeth.” – The Miller’s Tale, from the Canterbury Tales.

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Beer Showcase | Strange Craft Beer Co. & Epic Brewing Strangely Epic

Once again, for the fourth year in a row, we get to try Strangely Epic, a blend of two celebrated beers from Strange Craft Beer Company and Epic Brewing. The beer was first created in 2013 for Denver’s Collaboration Fest. Crafted at both breweries and named Strangely Epic and Epically Strange (for where each beer was brewed and blended), the collaboration brews release is eagerly awaited each year.

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SweetWater Brewing Co. | Dank Tank Fresh Sticky Nugs, Hazy Imperial IPA

SweetWater Brewing Company turns the dank dial to the max with their latest Dank Tank Fresh Sticky Nugs. Let’s all take a moment and remember the first time we tried an intensely hoppy IPA. The bracing bitterness and intense aromas that felt so dominating back then are not as common today. Sure, part of that is due to acclimating to the hops but also the trend away from the classic hop varietals to more boutique and less bitter hop strains. But Fresh Sticky Nugs delivers the nostalgia in spades!

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Oskar Blues Brewery | Fugli

A few months I was searching the shelves for beers I had never tried. One in particular caught my attention, Fugli from Oskar Blues Brewery. Oskar Blues, like many breweries, frequently uses clever names that grab people’s attention. Immediately I questioned the reasoning of “Fugli” for something that was supposed to taste so delicious. I assume we all know what two words are added together that form something that by definition means “very unattractive.” Falling into the category of things I think are “fugli” are the ugly duckling from the book I read when I was a kid, the bright green house with brown trim at the end of my block, and the 2017 New York Giants offense. Read More

Pelican Brewing Company | Captain of the Coast

Fall has arrived, and I can’t say that I’m upset about it. This time of year brings out that rich, golden foliage, pumpkin-spiced everything, and the years-old sweaters that have been hiding in the back of your closet. But perhaps best of all, fall brings barrel-aged beers that are perfect for the season – as breweries finally debut their much-anticipated releases. One of the best releases to come from this fall’s barrel-aged line-up is undoubtedly Captain of the Coast, a Wee Heavy Ale aged in Dry Fly Wheat Whiskey Barrels, from my favorite coastal brewery, Pelican Brewing Company. Read More

Weyerbacher Brewing | Dallas Sucks

Like most residents of southeastern Pennsylvania, I am a Philadelphia Eagles fan. If there is one truth that any good Eagles fan holds above all others, it is the fact that the Dallas Cowboys are the scourge of the NFC East and must be destroyed. There’s definitely someone over at Weyerbacher who bleeds green because they have just released the perfect beer for tailgating at Lincoln Financial Field. They even gave it the perfect name: Dallas Sucks.
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Urban Chestnut Brewing Co. | Oachkatzlschwoaf

Sorry Smuckers, but this beer’s name has got you beat, and because of the name, I have to say—with a name like Oachkatzlschwoaf, it’s got to be good.

This Urban Chestnut Beer Co. brew is pronounced “oh-khut-zel-schvoaf” but you can call it “O-Katz.” The translation means “tail of a squirrel”… a little Bavarian humor, if you will. This malty yet well-balanced Märzen (Oktoberfest Lager) is easy to drink but difficult to pronounce.
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