Category:

Beer of the Week: Four Quarters Ghosts In The Sky

8/16/2019

Pete
I was able to catch up on all the stuff I've had in the last 2 weeks. Quite a few good ones, only a couple great ones. The best of the bunch: Four Quarters Ghosts In The Sky.
Description: This is basically the definition of a New England IPA. No bitterness, tropical fruit dominating the flavor, a bit of creaminess, and relatively easy to drink despite its high alcohol percentage.
What you should know: Four Quarters is up near Burlington, VT, but their beers are also available in MA. They have a list of places to get it on their website.
Recommendations: Take a trip up to Burlington. I wish I had made it to the brewery, and it's definitely on my list for next time I'm up there, but you must at least bring their stuff home. It's available all around Burlington.

Beer of the Week: Ommegang Rare Vos

8/9/2019

Pete
I had 19 new beers this week. Sheesh. Unfortunately, one of the 3rd party tools I use to do reviews has been down, so I can't add them on here. Because of that, I'll choose another old favorite that I also had this week: Ommegang Rare Vos.
Description: This beer is just a celebration of Belgium. If you want to know what a Belgian beer tastes like, this is it, plain and simple.
What you should know: This beer has had its style change on the bottle over the years from "Belgian-style Ale" to "Amber Ale". I'm not really sure why they changed it, but don't expect this to be anything like any ambers you've had before.
Recommendations: This beer, unlike many posted on here, is widely available. Have it by itself or with some mussels and frites.

Beer of the Week: Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

8/1/2019

Pete
I had some old favorites this week, and a couple new ones, including King Julius, a top 10 rated beer on Untappd. Despite that juggernaut, I had to go with an old favorite that I haven't had in 6 years: Breckenridge Vanilla Porter.
Description: Usually with porters you wouldn't want to have too many, but this is fairly light in body, with all the roasty flavor you want in a porter, and just the right amount of vanilla to make it obvious, but not overpowering.
What you should know: In a world where beers are getting stronger and stronger so more flavor can be packed into them, this is a refreshing change of pace. At 4.7%, you could have a bunch of these and still hold a conversation.
Recommendations: This beer, unlike many posted on here, is widely available. Just go out and get yourself some, and have it with both dinner and dessert.

Beer of the Week: Tree House SImple Life

7/24/2019

Pete
A few new ones this week, but nothing really stood out. I did have some from my fridge, and that was prime selection. The best one: Tree House Simple Life. It's been 6 whole weeks since I posted a Tree House beer of the week. Honestly, I could post one probably half the weeks I've done this. Everything they make is that good.
Description: Outrageously dark stout. It's an attempt to replicate s'mores, and it hits on that. It smells extremely marshmallow-y. There's some of that in the flavor as well, but it's dominated by dark chocolate. There's also a subtle spiciness to it that you could interpret as graham crackers (though I didn't as I was drinking it). Overall, just a deep dark dessert that reminds you of a campfire favorite.
What you should know: The Tree House bottles tend to be expensive ($12-$13 usually), but they're almost always worth at least having one. I'd suggest splitting this with a friend, as the richness can become a chore by the end of the bottle if you solo it, not to mention the 9.8% alcohol that can weigh on you.
Recommendations: See my previous Tree House beer of the week post.

Beer of the Week: Une Année Le Seul XIII (Guava)

7/18/2019

Pete
As usual, plenty of options this week. Among other stops, I had 4 new beers at Trillium. All were amazing as expected, but none quite as good as Une Année Le Seul XIII (Guava).
Description: Two consecutive sours taking beer of the week. Smelling this one, you'd think it was a fruit beer. So. Much. Guava. Going down, it's quite sour, but as you put the glass down, a little sweetness and all that guava come rushing to meet your taste buds. Perfect balance of sour and sweet.
What you should know: This wasn't cheap, but it was worth it. I paid $32 for this 750mL bottle in the bar (basically 2 beer normal beers worth). I would absolutely do it again. This was the first time I had seen this brewery in Boston (at Alcove), though I've seen their Hubbard's Cave brand before (Tip Tap Room). I'll be asking if they have any of these stashed away next time I'm at Tip Tap. I'm hoping they become regularly available in the area.
Recommendations: If you happen to find one of these wine-bottle sized beers from Une Année, ignore the price, grab a friend or 2, and prepare to be blown away.

Beer of the Week: Channel Marker Siren w/Guava, Strawberry & Lactose

7/11/2019

Pete
Once again, plenty of options this week, but my favorite by far was: Channel Marker Siren w/Guava, Strawberry & Lactose.
Description: This past Saturday was a hot one in Boston, and I was in a house with no A/C. Something refreshing was much needed, and this came through big time. Strawberry is obvious as you start to drink it, and it goes down with a huge burst of the guava. A touch of creaminess and a slightly salty edge at the end really make this a complex incredible sour.
What you should know: This was the first time I've seen anything from Channel Marker. They opened in early 2019 in Beverly, MA, and I haven't made it out there yet. Fortunately, this was available (along with an IPA that I haven't tried yet but is in my fridge) at Shubie's in Marblehead, MA. It's unclear how much distribution they do, but I was lucky enough to find it. They have a bunch of different variations on this 'Siren' series, but I can't imagine any of them are bad based on this one.
Recommendations: This is worth going out of your way for, so do it. Maybe give them a follow on various social medias and try to find out if you can get their stuff, or just head on up to the brewery. There's a few other breweries in the area too, so make a day of it.

Beer of the Week: Battery Steele Flume^3

7/5/2019

Pete
Had my bachelor party in Portland, ME this past weekend, so I had plenty of amazing beers. The best of the bunch: Battery Steele Flume^3
Description: Just so much mango. An absolute juice bomb.
What you should know: At 9.5%, I was expecting this to be sweet, but it really wasn't. This is an amped of version of Flume, which is one of the few beers I've ordered multiple times in a row at a bar. You should also know that Battery Steele is starting to distribute into Massachusetts, which is really nice for me.
Recommendations: Even if you can get this in Boston or somewhere else, take a drive up to Portland. I'll have a full write-up of everywhere I went in Portland next week along with some recommendations, but consider this an early warning that this will be on the "must go" list. They don't have a ton of options available in the taproom, so it won't be a huge time sink, an even bigger plus given how many different places you'll want to go.

Beer of the Week: Finback Cats Are Forever

6/26/2019

Pete
Have to do this on a Wednesday, because I'll be drinking heavily the next few days. I had numerous frosty beverages this week, and no shortage of good options for the BOTW, but I have to go with: Finback Cats Are Forever.
Description: An imperial IPA whose most notable feature is its super creamy texture. It has some citrus flavor in the background and is a little sweeter than most IPA's (since it's 9%, hard to hide that much malt), but has a nice peppery flavor from the hops that really rounds everything together.
What you should know: At 9%, this baby is dangerous. I was feeling pretty good after one of these, but I'm just building up my tolerance for the weekend, so that's fine. Finback's IPA's are all over the place, from their flagship, which is on the bitter side, to this one, creamy and citrusy, to some very different ones, like Yellow Cake. Note that although they're wildly different, they're all delicious.
Recommendations: Finback is a Brooklyn brewery that's pretty widely available in Boston, though I really don't know what their distribution is like outside of that. I'm a big fan. Their sours are good, their IPA's are great, and their stouts are even better. It's not stout season though, so go ahead and try out some IPA's.

Beer of the Week: Springdale No Fuzz

6/21/2019

Pete
Another incredible week of beers for me, and this is the best of the bunch: Springdale No Fuzz.
Description: This sour is super smooth (probably because it's a lager). A touch of briny-ness and a subtle citrus flavor really balance the sourness, as it's pretty darn sour (which I love).
What you should know: As you can tell from the photo, this is aged on nectarines, giving it the fruitiness it needs to balance the sour. I had this on tap, but it's available in bottles. I'll be choosing Springdale first in the near future when I'm itching for a sour.
Recommendations: Jack's Abby and Springdale make some good stuff. You can expect everything from them to be pretty smooth and drinkable, since they're all lagers, and the Springdale stuff I've had so far has been really good. I'd recommend just getting your hands on some of the Springdale offerings, many of which are available on tap in Boston, but don't forget about Jack's Abby. Hoponius Union is highly underrated.

Beer of the Week: Tree House Seven

6/14/2019

Pete
I've been slacking, but I've had some incredible beers in the last few weeks, so you know this one will be good. The beer: Tree House Seven.
Description: This may actually be better than Haze. It smells strongly of mango with some lemon in there also. The flavor backs it up, with some other tropical fruit flavors mixed in (maybe pineapple?). It has a somewhat creamy texture, making this basically a fruit smoothie. It is an explosion of flavor.
What you should know: This is a new beer from TH, brewed for their 7th anniversary. I haven't seen many new IPA's from them recently (other than just amped up versions of beers they already make), so I was incredibly impressed that they just brewed up a new one that's so damn good. I try not to do the same brewery so often, but it's really hard to avoid posting Tree House stuff.
Recommendations: I'm just going to copy/paste my previous Tree House recommendation here, as it's still entirely accurate (though I think I may have gone a week or so without a Tree House beer in my fridge before my most recent trip):
If you live in the Boston or Worcester areas (or Western Mass.), you should make regular trips to Tree House, and find a crew who will do the same, so you can get a variety of their stuff. I honestly can't remember the last time I haven't had a Tree House in my fridge. If you don't live in those areas, this is worth making plans to go. If you ever do a road trip to Boston (it's also less than 3 hours from NYC), make sure you stop here on the way/way back and stock up. All your friends will thank you, if you can stomach giving up any of the beers you bought.