O’Connor Brewing Company | Proper Lager

It’s always impressive when a brewery breaks away from their most popular beer. For years, O’Connor Brewing Co. was known for its El Guapo, an Agave IPA that you’d find at just about every supermarket and Mexican restaurant. The brewery had some nice beers here and there, but most got overshadowed by El Guapo. O’Connor finally broke through the mold last year when it released Proper Lager, a new flagship Helles-style lager that ranked #4 on Paste’s 102 of the Best Craft Lagers, Blind-Tasted and Ranked. Read More

Off Color Brewing | Chicago Craft Gin Week is a Real Thing

Every once in a while, a truly insane beer comes around and delights the masses. Chicago Craft Gin Week Is A Real Thing (CCGWIART) from Off Color Brewing is one of these beers—if the masses love a sour, that is. Off Color brews up some of the best beers in the Windy City, from their experimental Miller High Life collaboration, Eek!, to the delicious dessert that is Dino S’mores Russian Imperial Stout. With CCGWIART, the brewery has yet another unconventional (yet delectable) feather in its cap. Read More

ManRock Brewing Co. | Get Him A Hoppy Bag

The year 1984 brought some of our favorite classics to the big screen. Ghostbusters, The Terminator, Footloose, Sixteen Candles, Gremlins, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Revenge of the Nerds, and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom made their appearance, but none resonated with audiences quite as much as The Karate Kid. Featuring a story line of a teenager navigating adolescence and dealing with bullies, The Karate Kid became the fifth highest grossing film that year.

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HOMES Brewery | Cat Person & Peaked

Over the past three years, HOMES Brewery out of Ann Arbor, Michigan, has quickly become one of the most buzzed-about breweries in the country. Two shining examples of their proficiency with hoppy beers can be found in Cat Person and Peaked.

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Slice Beer Company | Turbo Nectar Hazy Double IPA

Slice Beer Company opened their doors in the fall of 2019. The brewery is led by two guys that are well known in the Northern California beer scene, Zack Frasher and Russ Yeager. Frasher was previously the head brewer for Moonraker Brewery and Russ was the marketing director and beer program manager for Old Town Pizza.

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Stoudts Brewing Company | Gearshifter IPA

A trip down the beer aisle will often set your heart aflutter and provide a flash of inspiration, but a recent sighting of Stoudts Gearshifter IPA incited more of a sinking feeling. With the impending retirement of the legendary Carol Stoudt, this six-pack was less about joy or reverie and more about quiet reflection.

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First Magnitude Brewing | Ursa American IPA

It’s not often that I find myself traveling back to my old college town of Gainesville, FL but when I do I make it a point of stopping into at least one of the breweries on each trip. First there was Swamp Head, but then First Magnitude Brewing Company came onto the scene in 2012 and the Gainesville brewery scene continues to grow. I was delighted at my first stop in First Magnitude’s tasting room: It was just so versatile and inviting! There is a large warehouse-style brewing area where they have some picnic tables, an intimate (and air-conditioned) indoor tasting room and bar and a spacious outdoor area where kids can play and their parents can sit and catch up under the shade. I sat down with Ursa, their flagship IPA, and took in the surroundings.

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Stickmen Brewing Company | S.M.A.C. Triple IPA

It’s been well established that Portland is a bustling beer mecca. Good beer is so easily accessible; often one can walk three blocks in any direction and accidentally run … Read More

Saugatuck Brewing | Peanut Butter Porter

Maybe it’s the nostalgia of the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich we all enjoyed growing up. Or perhaps it’s because peanut butter and beer is an incredible combination- when executed correctly. Whatever it is, I can’t stop thinking about Saugatuck Brewing Co. Peanut Butter Porter.

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Brazos Valley Brewing Company | Slippin’ Into Darkness Russian Imperial Stout with Coconut

There is a myriad of possibilities when it comes to making use of coconut. You can put a lime in one and drink ‘em both up, or even bang two empty halves together whilst galloping the length and breadth of the land in search of knights who will join you in your court at Camelot. However, if you’re a brewery, you can do what the clever folks at Brazos Valley Brewing Company in Brenham, TX did and add coconut to an already delicious Russian Imperial Stout. Not since the Samoa Girl Scout cookie has coconut made something as delicious as Slippin’ Into Darkness with coconut.
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Brewbies Oceanside 2020 | Event Recap

February 8 marked the much anticipated Brewbies Festival at Bagby Beer in Oceanside, CA. For 11 years, the Brewbies organization has worked to bring breweries and the public together in support of breast cancer awareness. Working with the Keep a Breast Foundation, the festival has donated more than $540,000 to breast cancer research to date.

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Suarez Family Brewery | Crescent

Suarez Family Brewery focuses on three broad styles including, per their website, “ales of mixed fermentation, unfiltered lagers and other crispy little beers.” The brewery specializes in making refined, humble beer, a unifying theme connecting these styles. Crescent, their “Belgian inspired refresher” is no exception. Though just a few years old, Suarez Family Brewery has demonstrated mastery that often takes decades to acquire. Read More

Karl Strauss Changing of the Barrels | Event Recap

Every year that a brewery makes a thriving success of brewing more amazing beers, it is an accomplishment not only for themselves, but also for the industry and their patrons. Karl Strauss Brewing Co in San Diego, California, celebrated its 31st anniversary with their Changing of the Barrels event. This anniversary party not only features their flagship lineup but of course also highlights some superb beers that have been sleeping in barrels, awakened specifically for this moment

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Libertine Brewing Company | Pacific Ocean Blue Gose

A beer is only as good as its water: It is the starting point and foundation from which all else grows and changes. Libertine Brewing Company wanted one of their staple beers to evoke the essence of the place they call home—the central coast of California—so they decided to use local, Pacific Coast salty sea waters to add the traditional brininess in a Gose.

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Karl Strauss & Pure Project Brewing | Murky Poetry

When it comes to beer collaborations, Karl Strauss Brewing has been killing it in the past year. With collaborations like Russian River and Alesmith, not to mention the many others, Pure Project was a welcome addition to their Collaboration Line up with Murky Poetry, a Hazy IPA.

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Against the Grain | Brown Note Brown Ale

I tend to be the type of beer drinker who plays favorites. For several years, I fell into a rut of good-beer-drinking. I knew what I liked and that’s mostly what I drank. But my eyes have been opened to the massive range of variety in today’s craft beer scene. In my home state of Kentucky, craft brewing was a little slow to take off but has really hit its stride over the past few years. Lately, I’ve been on a mission to seek out new Kentucky-brewed beers. On a recent visit to Liquor Barn in Lexington, I was perusing the aisles, trying not to get taken in by the label gimmickry that has become prevalent in craft brewing.

I failed. My eyes were immediately drawn to one particular beer, mostly because the label was, well…rather disgusting. I’m all for humor in beer labeling, but, really? Then I noticed the brewery: Louisville-based Against the Grain.

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Bootleggers Brewery | Train To Nowhere

Just when you think all IPAs have gone hazy, fluffy and double, along comes Bootlegger’s Brewery Train To Nowhere. Read More

Columbia Kettle Works | Kettleface Imperial Red Ale

Words can’t even begin to describe the amount of excitement that surges over my body when Columbia Kettle Works and St. Boniface Craft Brewing Company collaborate to release their annual Imperial Red Ale, Kettleface.

Columbia Kettle Works is located in Columbia, PA; it’s an old-style river town that borders the 464-mile Susquehanna River. Columbia Kettle Works, or CKW as it’s referred to by its regulars, was established in 2014 and has created some fantastic beers. Particularly known for their Christmas Ale, Grinch Feet, and their Belgian Tripel, Tricky Fingers, CKW usually has 10-12 different beers on tap at any given time. As a brewery that prides itself in experimenting with new styles and chooses to constantly rotate their beers, Kettle Works never seems to disappoint its audience.

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Dogfish Head | 120 Minute IPA

120 Minute IPA has been on my white whale beer list for a while, up there with Utopias and Pliny the Younger. So when I happened to find a bottle at random in a liquor store near my house, I was extremely surprised and needless to say I bought it immediately. Being I’m on the opposite side of the country from where its made, it’s a rare find for me at least.

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Rhinegeist Brewery | Calfé

This Calfé Milk Stout will lift your spirits and warm your bones. Brought to you by Rhinegeist Brewery, this brew is everything a milk stout should be: dark, roasty and creamy.

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