Beeriety is now on indefinite hiatus. Since we began the site in 2008 we’ve had a lot of fun and learned a lot about beer, but it’s time for the team to take a break and work on some other projects. Thanks to everyone who has kept up with us over the years. It’s been a real pleasure.
Cheers,
The Beeriety Team
The Great American Beer Festival, the second largest beer festival in the world took place last month and I had the good fortune of attending this year’s festivities. Celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, the GABF tickets sold out in record time, clocking in with 49,000 attendees. There were 466 breweries at the festival, serving 2,375 different beers, and 238 medals were awarded, including 18 to breweries entering the competition for the first time. In a word, it was EPIC.
About the beer: Ah yes, the crisp air of the fall season can only mean two things for beer lovers: 1. Pumpkin flavored everything & 2. Oktoberfest style beers! Being a native New Englander means being lucky enough to experience all four seasons, but it also comes with the unapologetic love for all of the Sam Adams seasonal varietals. And what’s not to love about a new beer for every season?
About this beer: Boulevard is a regional craft brewery located in Kansas City, Missouri. They were virtually unknown to me until this year’s American Craft Beer Fest. I didn’t get a chance to try the quad and was incredibly excited to get my hands on it. It clocks in at a healthy 10.5% ABV and is supposed to have hints of dates with a “sweet malt smell.”
About the beer: Dopplebocks are dark and strong lagers that are traditionally enjoyed in the winter months. There’s still no reason why you can’t enjoy them any time of year though so last week I cracked open a bottle I had in my small beer cellar. The one I went with, Smuttynose S’Muttonator is a great example of this traditional style, but with an American twist.
In a Nutshell: Smuttynose S’muttonator is a great American take on a classic German style.
Review: Smuttynose has long been a favorite New England brewery of mine. While they are mostly known for more conservative fair like pale ales, when they do bolder styles in their Big Beer series they never disappoint. The S’Muttonator is no different. It’s a big, bold, nutty beer that tastes great. While dopplebocks are meant to be strong beers, both in their flavor and alcohol, I’ve often found many of them a bit too sweet to really get into. The S’muttonator does a nice job balancing out the sweeter qualities with just a kiss of hops, making it a beer I think anyone could enjoy.
Rating: 4 out of 5
(Photo by Dan Larson)
About: Craft beer isn’t exactly the first thing one thinks when one thinks of New Jersey. There are however a number of fine craft breweries in the Garden State. Today we’re going to take a look at a brew from River Horse Brewing Co. out of Lambertville, NJ.
About the beer:
For a guy who knows an appreciates craft beer I admittedly know very little about barleywines. For the most part barleywines have always been selected for me or given as gifts, with this week’s Beer of the Week selection being no exception. Over the weekend a selection of the Beeriety crew had the opportunity to pop open an Old Boardhead Barleywine by Full Sail brewery. The 22 oz., which was gifted to us by friend of Beeriety Meg Whyte, had been aging since 2009 when she had resided in Portland, OR. Since it was a rare treat for the east coast Beeriety team you can bet expectations were high, given the aging and anticipation of trying this new (to us) barleywine variation.
About the beer: Great Divide Brewing Co. has to be one of my favorite breweries. Based out of Denver, CO, it’s rare to find a beer that’s bad from them (only once have I really disliked one of their brews). Today we’re doing the little dance with their Rumble Oak Aged India Pale Ale. They claim the beer is a, “gently aged on French and American oak resulting in a wonderful balance of bitterness, caramel sweetness, vanilla, and undertones of pine and citrus.”
In a nutshell: All I can say is, it’s not bad.
Review: When you first take a sniff, you definitely get some really nice, hoppy smells that are balanced out by the woody undertone brought in by oak barrels. In my ever so humble opinion, I don’t think the smell really matches what you’d expect in taste. You definitely get the barrel flavor in there, but it almost overtakes the hops, to the point of not being able to taste them much at all. I know that barrel aging a beer like an IPA helps round out the flavor and mellow out the beer as a whole, but I feel like this isn’t the best attempt at producing a fantastic result. It doesn’t taste as great as some of their other beers (my favorite being the Titan IPA), but it’s way better than their Double Wit. I don’t get much of the vanilla, pine or citrus from the taste, though the caramel and bitterness come in just fine. And as I sit in my 80 degree apartment drinking this, I realize it’s not the most refreshing option to beat the summer heat. This would probably be really great in the fall time.
Rating: 3 out of 5
Its been just about two months since I returned to Boston from my glorious beer adventures, and writing for Beeriety has given me a great space to process everything I experienced. So in my final “Beer, There, and Everywhere” post, I wanted to share the things from my trip that have been most significant since coming back to the Boston beer community.
1. A Community of Respect and Passion
It is obvious to most that the craft beer industry hosts a particularly incredible community of people, but I was so impressed with the level of respect and passion that brewers, beer drinkers, and everyone in between embodied. Competition between breweries (if there is any) is completely friendly, and more often than not you hear of collaboration and sharing amongst brewers. It is a group of people who genuinely love what they do, and want to share that with their peers, and support others in doing the same. This is like nothing else I’ve seen, and it is a beautiful, albeit small, collection of people.
2. Keeping it Simple
On every brewery tour I attended, the first question from the guides was “what are the four ingredients required to make beer?” And without fail, the answer is always water, malted barley, hops, and the ever-important yeast. It is a small and wonderful reminder of the simplicity of the drink that so many millions of people enjoy, and a testament to the talent of craft brewers across the US and the world. An easily forgotten, but in my opinion crucial tenet that makes craft brewing so amazing.
3. Something for Everyone
In visiting so many different breweries, brewpubs, and beer bars, I saw an immense amount of diversity that was both incredible and occasionally overwhelming. Whether bitter, malty, hoppy, spicy, citrus, light, clean, dark, heavy, creamy, roasted, grassy, high-alcohol or low, there is a little something for everyone, even those most skeptical of what beer has to offer. Craft beer is a drink for all, it knows no bounds or limits, and this, culturally speaking, is nothing short of phenomenal.
In all likelihood, nothing I’ve listed above is new or surprising, but these were the things that I found to most impressive during my travels. The history, the culture, the people, the opportunity, and the beer are what make me love the craft beer industry so immensely. Experiencing this across the US in 8 states, 14 cities, and 22 different breweries only helped my love to grow exponentially. So now I’ll move on to Denver, in hopes of becoming even more immersed in the world of brewing and craft beer. I encourage everyone to become more involved in this wonderful community; start homebrewing, go to a craft beer event, visit a brewery, join a craft beer club, or simply fill your glass with a tasty beer that was created with great dedication and skill.
About The Beer: 
The Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project have taken the east coast by storm, and they don’t seem to be letting up any time soon. Helmed by husband and wife team, Dann Paquette and Martha Holley-Paquette, Pretty Things has gained attention in part because of their status in the growing “gypsy brewing” movement, and in larger part because of their phenomenally creative beers. However, the genius behind Pretty Things lies not only in the beers they produce, but in their whimsical-yet-frank approach to the beer industry. Their labels are adorned with vested Rabbits and mustachioed Barleycorns, they’re steeped in lore and fun and poetry. According to their site:
These beers are for fun, not for display! Our beers are not precious jewels, they are happy peasants! Their motto is ‘Good Time Artisanal Beers’: hold them to it!
Pretty Things’ flagship beer, Jack D’Or – “Jack of Gold”, a character who embodies “the soul of beer” - has become a Boston staple. And for good reason. Labeled a “Saison Americain” this brew blends classic saison elements with a healthy dose of hops and a splash of champagne yeast to make a sublimely unique and very “pretty” beer.
In a nutshell: A perfect beer for the summer, but Pretty Things’ Jack D’Or gets a gold star from us at any time of year.
Review: This beer pours as gold and tastes as playfully delicious as the name and the label would lead you to believe. There’s a bitter edge to Jack D’Or, but that bitterness is elegantly balanced by a host of other sensations. There’s an edge of sweetness, a smack of pepper, a tart bite, and a champagne dryness. All these flavors mix and play – you can almost imagine them dancing around in your mouth, each moving to the center, then back to the periphery, blending seamlessly with one another as they cross and flow. As it warms up to room temperature (porch temperature, backyard temperature, or just bar temperature) the flavor mellows, and some of that bitter quality dissipates, giving more room to the sweeter tones. This beer is delicate, imaginative, and well worth the time of any true lover of beer.
Rating: 5 out of 5
