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DC Breweries Tour Recap

This past Saturday, despite a continuous deluge of wintry mix in the Washington area, a car full of good friends drove across our nation’s capital to see five different breweries: DC Brau, Atlas Brew Works, Chocolate City, Right Proper, and Bluejacket. A testament to the success of craft beer right now, the longest drive between breweries was 15 minutes. The fun breweries paired with almost everyone being a bit sleepy and hungover made for a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Atlas Brew Works, Bluejacket, Breweries, Chocolate City, DC Brau Brewing Co., Right Proper Brewing Co.
Saturday, 14 December: DC Breweries Tour

Come one, come all to the finest craft beer breweries that the District of Columbia has to offer! On Saturday, 14 December, a group of us will be making stops at five breweries whose addresses contain Washington, DC (apologies to those in VA and MD!). Most of these breweries are new, and only offer growler hours to the public on Saturdays. So, barring another snowpocalypse, we thought it would be a good idea to stock … Read entire article »
Filed under: Atlas Brew Works, Bluejacket, Chocolate City, DC Brau Brewing Co., The Beer Circle, Three Stars Brewing Co.
Marina Market – Online Store Review

Marina Market, located in Poulsgo, Washington, opened in 1988 with a goal to bring Dutch, Scandinavian, and other European foods to the Western Puget Sound. I stumbled across this company on a list of online beer stores and decided to check them out. What immediately caught my attention was Berserker from Midnight Sun. I had been looking for that beer a number of years but never had any luck. Checking their inventory against my “To … Read entire article »
Filed under: Coronado Brewing Company, Gigantic Brewing, Hair of the Dog, Marina Market, Midnight Sun Brewing, Shmaltz Brewing Company, Sound Brewery
Video Review: Stone Crime

About four months ago Greg had the idea that sparked a movement: A chili stout tasting. The movement wasn’t necessarily one of social importance, but more a movement of beers from the cellars of Paige, Greg, and Russ to make the tasting happen. After a delightful, two day event that including amazing beers including Barrel Aged Abraxas, Prairie Bomb!, and Red Wine Barrel Aged Mexican Cake, we ended with Stone’s Crime. Crime’s base is bourbon … Read entire article »
Filed under: American Strong Ale, Beer, Blend, Stone Brewing Co.
Aviator Brewing Company

In late October I had an opportunity to check out a few local breweries in the greater Raleigh area. Before I left for my trip, I scoured around to see which ones I could visit. One of the closest to where I was staying was Aviator Brewing Company – a brewery I had never come across before. Having only “gotten off the ground” in 2008, it was relatively young in comparison to most of the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Aviator Brewing Co.
Novice Homebrewer: My First Cider – Tasting & Bottling

Roughly two weeks ago, I wrote about a sudden inspiration to attempt to brew my own hard cider. I worked with what I had available to me – a couple of Mr. Beer fermenters and a spare growler I had laying around – very much winging the whole thing. After a relatively easy “brew day”, the concoction bubbled away rather furiously for a little over a week before finally settling down. As fermentation slowed, the airlock … Read entire article »
Filed under: Brew It Yourself
CraftShack – Online Store Review

CraftShack is the online-branding of Windy City Liquor of El Cajon, California. They have a large and varied selection as my order shows. I picked up Almanac’s Heirloom Pumpkin, Evil Dead Red and Decadence 2013 from AleSmith, Deschutes‘ Chasin Freshies, Dieu du Ciel!‘s La’Herbe, Gigantic‘s Hellion, Hoppin Frog‘s Frog Hops, Lost Coast‘s The Wedge, New Belgium‘s Trip Segal Ranch, Prairie‘s Funky Galaxy, Robinsons’ The Trooper, and Woodchuck‘s Dry Hop CraftShack … Read entire article »
Filed under: AleSmith Brewing Company, CraftShack, Deschutes Brewery, Dieu du Ciel, Gigantic Brewing, Hoppin' Frog Brewery, Lost Coast, New Belgium Brewing Co., Prairie Artisan Ales, Robinsons Brewery
Novice Homebrewer: My First Cider – The Adventure Begins

I’m not the best homebrewer. Those familiar with my attempt at a “Liver Lascerator Lager” in college recall the results: an overly-aggressive attempt at bottle priming to boost the ABV resulted in disaster – an overly-sweet, under-alcoholic mess. Think of a Miller Lite with a tablespoon of sugar added, and you’ll have a decent idea for the taste. As such, my first attempt at brewing a beer didn’t go so well, and I haven’t attempted it … Read entire article »
Filed under: Brew It Yourself
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