A Beer for Every Occasion: Opening Day

Every week The Hop Hub will choose an event, a setting, or a state of mind and try and fine the perfect local beer to go with it. This week: Red Sox Opening Day.

So today is Opening Day in Major League Baseball, which means that at 1:00 PM EST the  Boston Red Sox will begin their quest to not come in last place in the A.L. East by handing the ball to John Lester in Yankee Stadium. Now, it’s entirely possible that Lester will return to his pre-beer and fried chicken days and re-assume his place as the staff’s ace this spring.  What’s Opening Day for if not hope?  Either way, I think I’m going to need a beer.

Luckily, I’m not the only one to blatantly pander to some vague notion of the sports-lovin’ Bostonian.  Indeed, a handful of local breweries have been churning out Sox-themed beers in anticipation of the upcoming season.  So let’s take a look at two IPAs to be our Major League Maror and remind us of the bitterness of last season’s Bobby Valentine helmed debacle (semi-obcure, week-late passover jokes anyone?).

Wachusett Green Monstah IPA

The best beer in the country named after a piece of baseball stadium architecture (don’t check if there are any others, I didn’t), it pours a deep amber with a small eggshell-white head.  The aroma alludes to strong pine and grapefruit flavors, which are fully realized in the taste along with a sweet toffee backbone and a nice dry, resin-y finish.  This is a really nice IPA from the folks out in Central Mass.  Plus the significant piney hop flavor can remind you of Trot Nixon’s pine-tar covered helmet circa-2005.

Review a Brew: Heady Topper – Can or No Can?

As close to crawling inside a can as I’ll get…

If you’ve been reading this blog, you know the strong feelings I have for Heady Topper, the Double IPA from The Alchemist in Waterbury, VT.  The two of us have had a borderline-romantic relationship as I’ve sipped and savored my way through the stash I picked up at their cannery two weeks ago.  But it hasn’t been all rainbows and roses (despite any flowery hop-notes in the flavor profile).  No, like any good partner, Heady has challenged my pre-existing beliefs about beer.  You see, when I started learning more and more about craft beer a few years ago, I came across one steadfast rule: always pour your beer.  Always.  So much of a beer’s flavor is in the aroma and, I was told, waiting to be released with a hearty pour and a thick head.  Moreover, I learned, you should really have the proper type of glassware.  Tall and thin glasses for bubbly hefeweizens, bulbous snifters for pungent IPAs, etc.

But, lo and behold, plastered in big, bold letters across the top of every can of Heady Topper is the command, DRINK FROM THE CAN!  So I trusted the brewers (they sure as hell know their beer a lot better than I do) and kept my first couple Headys in their cans and far away from my glassware cabinet.  And I can’t argue with the results.  Heady from the can was extraordinary.  But I eventually became curious.  Wouldn’t it benefit from a bit of aroma-inducing head?  Would different flavors emerge?  What the hell color is this beer anyway?

So I decided to do a side-by-side comparison.  I poured a little over half of a can into one of my favorite tulip glasses and kept the rest safely inside.  Here’s what I found.  

Review a Brew: Hill Farmstead Abner and Edward (with a guest review from Audrey)

Like I mentioned in my last post, I plan on spreading all of my Vermont related content over a couple of pieces.  To start us off, let’s talk Hill Farmstead.  The small brewery, located in Greensboro, VT (unfortunately we weren’t able to make it up there) has grown quite the reputation in the craft beer community, and as they don’t distribute out of state, I was on the lookout for their beer from the moment we got to Vermont.  I finally struck gold when we got to the Farmhouse Tap and Grill in Burlington saw that they had their pale ale, Edward and their Double IPA, Abner on tap (named after ancestors of the family, apparently).  We headed to their downstairs bar, grabbed a spot in front of the fireplace, and ordered one of each.

Abner (left) and Edward (right) at Farmhouse Grill and Tap in Burlington

Now, I somehow convinced my girlfriend that taking notes and reviewing beer was way more fun than just cozy-ing up by the fire and drinking it (still not sure how I managed that), so below you’ll find my thoughts on Abner followed by Audrey’s on Edward in an Official Hop Hub Featured Review.  If she asks, that’s totally a big deal.  

Who Needs The Beach? Spending Spring Break Drinking Beer in Vermont

While I created this blog to focus specifically on craft beer in Boston, the beer culture here has really come to involve New England as a whole.  So when my girlfriend suggested we spend a couple of nights drinking beer and eating cheese at a bed and breakfast in Vergennes, Vermont (a special shout-out to the Strong House Inn and Mary’s delicious banana pancakes), I jumped at the opportunity.  I don’t think too many boyfriends could get away with spending their Spring Break driving around snowy Vermont looking for rare IPAs, but I guess I’m one of the lucky ones, so a big thanks to her (and look out for her upcoming guest review)!

Ok, let’s get to the beer.  I’m going to spread all of the hoppy details across a couple of reviews and features over the next couple of days, but here are a few things that I learned.

1. It is entirely possible (and enjoyable, and recommended) to drink only beer from Vermont while traveling in the state.  Really, as much as I love beer from other parts of the country, you’re in a state that’s crazy for craft beer.  Take advantage of it.
2. The Alchemist’s Heady Topper Double IPA is every bit as good as they say it is (it currently holds the top spot on BeerAdvocate and has a 100 rating on ratebeer).  Hype has become a big factor in craft beer, and a lot of the time I think that it’s a little overblown or based more on rarity than quality.  But I have to say, popping open a fresh Heady we had picked up hours earlier at the cannery in Waterbury while sitting in front of the fireplace in our room was one of the best drinking experiences of my life.  I’ll give it a full review in a later post, but for now I’ll say this: I wouldn’t have been surprised if I had found full hop flowers stuck between my teeth after finishing the can.  

A Beer for Every Occasion: St. Patrick’s Day!

Every week The Hop Hub will choose an event, a setting, or a state of mind and try and fine the perfect local beer to go with it. This week: St. Patrick’s Day!

A lot of holidays can involve drinking beer: New Years Eve, The Fourth of July, Groundhog Day (if I’m ever sent into any Bill Murray-esque time warp, you can be damned sure there’s going to be beer involved).  But I don’t think there’s a day on the calendar more associated with drinking beer than March 17th.  But what to drink?  I love a nice, hoppy IPA or a huge Belgian quad as much as the next guy, but drinking them on St. Patrick’s Day would just feel…wrong.  So instead, here are some locally brewed beers with a decidedly Irish flavor.

First up, Sam Adams Irish Red (5.80% abv) and Harpoon Celtic Ale (5.40% abv), two Irish red ales from the staple Boston Breweries.  Irish reds are usually balanced, easy drinking ales with a nice toasted malt character, and these two are no exceptions.  The Celtic Ale has some slightly more noticeable citrus-hop notes in the finish, and I prefer it slightly more (if you can remember I drank a case during Nemo and dreamt of slightly warmer March weather).  Both are good options though.

If red ales aren’t your thing, I recommend Berkshire Brewing’s Shabadoo Black and Tan (6.30% abv).  As a disclaimer, I do understand that the term “Black and Tan” refers to the now infamous British police who fought against the IRA during the Irish War of Independence.  I won’t get into too much history here, but let’s just say you shouldn’t order a “Black and Tan” when visiting Ireland.  Despite the likely British origin and name, however, this mixture of a pale ale or lager and stout has become synonymous with Guinness, and therefore, in my mind, makes a good St. Paddy’s beverage.  Berkshire’s version, which comes bottled as a mix of their Berkshire Ale and Drayman’s Porter, is a great option that deftly balances the sharp carbonation and grassy hops of the former with the creamy roastiness of the latter.

And then there’s Guinness (4.20% abv).  So it’s from Dublin, which isn’t anywhere close to the “Boston area” (trust me, I checked a map).  But if, as they say, everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day, why can’t we extend the same comradery to this classic and accept it as one of our own?  I suppose if you really want a drink from New England, you can try and find Maine’s Gritty McDuff’s Black Fly Stout (4.10% abv) on nitro-tap (it’s the use of nitrogen instead of carbon dioxide to pressurize the beer that gives Guinness its creamy texture).  It’s a solid take on an Irish dry stout.  But really, once you’ve enjoyed a few local brews this Sunday, there’s nothing wrong with finishing your night with a Guinness or two.  Or three.  Or Five.  I mean, it is St. Patrick’s Day after all.

Sláinte.

Review a Brew: Clown Shoes Beer. Greater than the sum of its stouts?

Each week The Hop Hub will take a look at a selection of beer, grouped together by style, brewery, or reasons far more arbitrary.  This week we look at three imperial stouts from Clown Shoes Beer.

I love a good imperial stout, and the folks at Clown Shoes Beer, who brew at the Mercury Brewing facilities in Ipswich, produce great examples of the strong, roasty style.  But they don’t stop there.  They’ve also blended two of their best, their Vampire Slayer (10% abv) and their bourbon-barrel aged Porcine Unidragon (12.5% abv), to make a terrifying (but delicious) behemoth of a beer they call Angry Beast (11% abv).  This week, I decided to sit down with all three to compare, contrast, and admire their…err…monstrous label art.  Really, does anything get you in a beer-drinkin’ mood faster than a half-unicorn/half-dragon killing a vampire?  I didn’t think so. It’s like drinking an Iron Maiden album.

And on that note, let’s get started!