New Brewery in Salem, NH

 Finding a good home brew store - a place that has not only top-quality grains, hops, and products, but also helpful and knowledgable staff - can be difficult.  To compound the degree of difficulty, many home brews stores are located in or around Boston, which is a trip that almost has to be planned in advance, kind of like a brew day.

It was my soon-to-be wife’s aunt who told me about a new home brew store opening up in Salem, NH called Border Brew Supply, run by Joe Ruotolo.  Two years later, Ruotolo is stepping into the brewing game, filling a void in the Merrimack Valley in his store off Route 97 in Salem.  

Brewery Ommegang Game of Thrones

Our latest DigBoston article is live at their site.  We wrote about Brewery Ommegang's Game of Thrones Blonde Ale.  I'll direct you there, but while you're at our site, check out the archive and past articles.  We'll be back live soon.  Make sure you're following us on Twitter and reading our reviews whether they're here or on DigBoston.

A Response

(Editor’s Note: As I’ve been alluding to at the top of the recent posts, I’m getting married at the end of next month.  In addition to last minute wedding minutiae and meetings, there’s the whole actual job-thing.  So my days are pretty packed and getting around to writing beer posts - while ideal - has been difficult.  Stick with us.  We’ll be back.)

This post “15 Things Craft Beer Fans Think (But No One Says)” from the Drink section at First We Feast went the beer-version of viral last week, which is to say about three dozen people read it, commented on how apropos it was to the current beer conversation, and re-tweet

Biere de Garde at Blue Lobster
in Hampton, NH.

ed it to their followers.  The post generated some buzz on the website in the comments section (though, unfortunately, much of it centered around the race issue).

I feel obligated to put my thoughts on a few of them.

#2: Beer geeks spend all their time hunting white whales - instead of drinking beer in their backyards.

Now, to clarify, I’m assuming the writers Chris Schonberger, Joshua M. Berstein and Chris O’Leary meant backyards as in “the area in which people live” rather than “the physical space in the back of our houses.”  However, reading it the latter way is also appropriate.  Stop trolling the internet for trades when you can pop a beer open, sit and drink in the sun.

You don't know what you don't know - Lightning Brewery

Welcome to our archives.  We're doing our best to update our site as regularly as possible.  There are many things on the horizon, but as I plan my wedding, we're digging into the crates.  After all, our loyal followers haven't been here forever.  Here are some glimpses into where we've come from.

Originally published June 2012:  Ryan visited Lightning Brewery in North County, San Diego.

Last weekend I stopped by Lightning Brewery up in North County San Diego for one primary reason, I wanted to broaden my horizons.  I feel pretty comfortable talking about beer, understanding the intricacies of the brewing process, and ultimately forming an educated opinion about the particular beer I'm drinking. This of course is a classic case of "you don't know what you don't know," thus taking me to my venture to Lightning.

Acknowledging that I don't know as much as I think I do about beer is the obvious first step in curing the issue.

Saisons: The Better Light Beer

Welcome to our archives.  We're doing our best to update our site as regularly as possible.  There are many things on the horizon, but as I plan my wedding, we're digging into the crates.  After all, our loyal followers haven't been here forever.  Here are some glimpses into where we've come from.

Originally published 9/19/12:  Clay wrote about saisons.

A lot of people out there enjoy beer a lot, and are starting to realize that there are better things out there than Bud Lite and Miller Lite, but they aren't hop heads.  It seems like the craft beer industry is full of big hop flavored beers, and these newbies to the industry aren't sure where to go.  I think Blue Moon and Shock Top have created a nice alternative for these people, offering a beer with good flavor and none of the hop bitterness.  I have nothing wrong with these beers, even though they are made by the big guys, but they aren't the only beers out there for you.  (Though if you're looking for an unbelievable Belgian White that's good for the masses, go with Allagash White.)

I have found time and time again, that my answer to the question "what do you recommend that isn't hoppy," is "try the Saison."  This is a style that most newcomers have never heard of, and its not necessarily available everywhere you go, but they are definitely catching on.  I don't usually have to explain what it is before they try it, but it is essentially a Belgian style light beer.  It was originally created in the French speaking region of Belgium, brewed for the summertime for the field workers.  Saison is literally translated as "seasonal" in French.  It was supposed to be refreshing and low in alcohol.

Brew Review: Jack's Abby Hoponuis Union

Hoponius Union is a must have.  An excellent
lager from Jack's Abby.

Welcome to our archives.  We're doing our best to update our site as regularly as possible.  There are many things on the horizon, but as I plan my wedding, we're digging into the crates.  After all, our loyal followers haven't been here forever.  Here are some glimpses into where we've come from.

Originally published 9/21/12:  I reviewed Jack's Abby Hoponius Union India Pale Lager.

When I started my 365 local beers in 365 days project, I began looking even deeper into local breweries.  I knew that there were local breweries I hadn't tried before due to lack of knowledge or convenience.  Boston is such a great area for craft beer.  Actually, Massachusetts and New England are great areas for craft beer.  Unfortunately, distribution restraints or incapabilities get in the way.  Hey, it happens.  However, it's my goal (and I'll do this for you, reader) to get these beers in my stomach and let you know.

So I found out about Jack's Abby in Framingham, MA a little while ago, but because I rarely see these beers around save for a bar or two, they're not in my consciousness.  However, I was intrigued by the fact that they do many lagers as opposed to ales.  They're harder to brew, yes, but they're also really different (please, go to an expert for brewing idiosyncrasies).

Ballast Point Brewery Tour

Welcome to our archives.  We're doing our best to update our site as regularly as possible.  There are many things on the horizon, but as I plan my wedding, we're digging into the crates.  After all, our loyal followers haven't been here forever.  Here are some glimpses into where we've come from.

Originally published 10/10/12:  Ryan went to Ballast Point. 

This week my family and I are on a staycation in the best city in the world, San Diego.  I know the word staycation is lame and you want to smack someone when they say it, but when you live in San Diego, you get a pass primarily because it truely is a vacation destination.  Now when people in Omaha say they are on a stay-cation, I think they are just too lazy to go somewhere.

That is not the case with San Diego for all the obvious reasons, the beach, the weather (which by the way only gets better in the early fall after the tourists leave), the amusements like Seaworld, Zoo, and Wild Animal Park.  I know it is now called the San Diego Zoo Safari Park, but come on, I still call Qualcomm stadium Jack Murphy, or because I am his buddy, "the Murph," so the it's the Wild Animal Park.

Now that I have convinced you not to pistol whip me, I wanted to note that San Diego also has great craft beer.  Didn't know that, well aren't you glad you kept reading?!  So I stopped by Ballast Point the other day to grab a growler that I was going to drink during the Charger game (don't bring it up) and happened to be there just as a brewery tour started (every day at 2pm and 5 pm).  Imagine, after all this time and the number of trips to Ballast Point, I haven't ever been on the tour.

The guide was Josh Neff, a mellow dude with long hair and sporting some board shorts with his backwards hat.  Very knowledgeable and very friendly.  He definitely knew his shit and represented the brand well.  I thoroughly enjoyed the tour.  For those of you who can't make it in person, here you go:

Beer of the Week: Brewmaster Jack Total Eclipse

We have featured Stonehill graduate and Northampton native Tyler Guilmette before.  He’s the brains behind Brewmaster Jack.  You can find bottles of Brewmaster Jack’s lager, double IPA, and now Total Eclipse, a chocolate rye porter, is on shelves to warm us up on the enduring New England winter.

We chatted with Guilmette about the brew.

M.O.: What was the inspiration for/story behind the porter?

Total Eclipse is a chocolate rye porter,
made by Brewmaster Jack and brewed with
quality, local ingredients.

Tyler Guilmette: I was looking to make a dark beer for the winter and to have something very different from my lager or IPA.  I was initially trying to create a stout but was also designing the recipe to work around the availability of grains from Valley Malt (I try to use as much local grain as possible in each recipe).  Andrea (the owner of Valley Malt) told me she made a chocolate rye and I thought that might be interesting in a porter.

Another Snow Day

Once again, my backyard is filled with snow after being just about fully melted.  And I thought the storm two weeks ago was the last one minus a flurry or two.  Isn't it supposed to be spring?  At this rate, we're getting out of school just in time for our annual 4th of July party, it seems.  Oh well.  Alas, I not to worry or complain about things that I have no control over.  Well, no control except for maybe that one way ticket with Mrs. Review Brews & our dog Gabby Douglas to warmer climates.

To ruminate upon craft beer for a minute: I've spent the last six months drinking New England beers (with some deviations from gifts and special offerings) and spent a good deal of time chatting with brewers and expanding my palate.  I'm glad the latter happened.  As a hophead, it's easy to reach for new and experimental IPA's.  In fact, I very much enjoy reaching for new and experimental IPA's.  But without the attempt at trying only local beers I've been able to taste Baltic Porters and Habanero Rye beers; I've had sours and blondes; Lagers and tripels and bitters; Most importantly, I've found a variety of session beers.  It's been fun.

This weekend, I get to show some of my out-of-town friends (or out of state, or in-state) some beer that has been part of my year-long experiment.  We're heading up to Burlington, Vermont with side trips to Hill Farmstead and Alchemist.  My friends are excited for these trips and so am I.

Boston Beer Week was fun, though I only made it to our event.  Boston is a hike (it took me 90 minutes to get to downtown last week) and with planning a wedding, we simply don't have the money to spend on beer events, or beer sometimes for that matter.  But we try our best to drink well when we do drink beer.  This week I'll spend cleansing my system and hydrating because I may very well be never adequately hydrated again.

Cheers.  We'll have a beer of the week up a little later.  It's a beer I hope you'll try.

Breaking News: Review Brews Won Last Night

This just in:  Boston Beer Week has a tough act to follow.  Four kegs kicked? Check.  Fun had?  Check.  Money to a great cause?  Check.  

We should do this again sometime.

Cheers & Thanks to all the breweries, bloggers, writers, drinkers, & friends (old & new) that came out to Stoddard's.

The undisputed champs of Boston Beer Week (scattered throughout): Bog Iron,
Wormtown, Riverwalk and Tree House.

The People We Meet at Beer Events

It’s Boston Beer Week and you know what that means: drinking beer.  Drinking pints and pints of really good craft beer.  And whatever event you chose to go to (ahem, beer bloggers tap takeover at Stoddard’s seems like a really cool event, ahem), you’ll be sure to run into some certain types of beer event patron.  So I must present ...

The Top 7 People you Run into at Beer Events:

The “What’s the highest percent alcohol beer you have?” guy:  Amazingly, this guy isn’t the worst guy at a beer event.  He’s paid his $45.  He wants to get $45 dollars worth of inebriation.  He’s going to pre-game for the event, swill down an 11% Russian Imperial Stout, then immediately find a Wee Heavy at 13% to wash it down. Can be recognized by: A simple throwback motion with every beer.  No sipping.  Chugging is his/her game.

Wormtown Brewery (Worcester, MA)

With the day of the Beer Bloggers Tap Takeover at Stoddard's Pub in Boston approaching, Review Brews will be featuring a mini-profile of the breweries that will be in attendance.  Today we feature Worcester’s Wormtown Brewery.  Make sure to join us on Tuesday, March 12.

Boston Beer Week Beer Bloggers’ Tap Takeover – Brewer Profile: Riverwalk Brewing Co.

When we got together to begin planning an event for Boston Beer Week, we talked about a number of different themes for the event.  As we talked about focusing on local brewers, it dawned on us that – with over 70 brewers in production across the Commonwealth, there were many top-notch brands that had yet to reach inside of Route 128 and the metro-Boston area.  With the locally-focused Friday Club as our venue at Stoddard’s Pub downtown, and the wholehearted support of legendary bar manager Jamie Walsh, it made sense for us to use the Boston Beer Week canvas to draw attention to some great beers new to the city.

Riverwalk Brewing Co. (Newburyport, MA)

With the day of the Beer Bloggers Tap Takeover at Stoddard's Pub in Boston approaching, Review Brews will be featuring a mini-profile of the breweries that will be in attendance.  I spoke with Steve Sanderson of Riverwalk Brewing Co.  Make sure to join us on Tuesday, March 12.

Boston Beer Week Beer Bloggers’ Tap Takeover – Brewer Profile: Riverwalk Brewing Co.

When we got together to begin planning an event for Boston Beer Week, we talked about a number of different themes for the event.  As we talked about focusing on local brewers, it dawned on us that – with over 70 brewers in production across the Commonwealth, there were many top-notch brands that had yet to reach inside of Route 128 and the metro-Boston area.  With the locally-focused Friday Club as our venue at Stoddard’s Pub downtown, and the wholehearted support of legendary bar manager Jamie Walsh, it made sense for us to use the Boston Beer Week canvas to draw attention to some great beers new to the city.

Tree House Brewing Co. (Brimfield, MA)

With the day of the Beer Bloggers Tap Takeover at Stoddard's Pub in Boston approaching, Review Brews will be featuring a mini-profile of the breweries that will be in attendance.  I spoke with Nate Lanier of Tree House Brewing Co..  Make sure to join us on Tuesday, March 12.

Boston Beer Week Beer Bloggers’ Tap Takeover – Brewer Profile: Tree House Brewing Co.

When we got together to begin planning an event for Boston Beer Week, we talked about a number of different themes for the event.  As we talked about focusing on local brewers, it dawned on us that – with over 70 brewers in production across the Commonwealth, there were many top-notch brands that had yet to reach inside of Route 128 and the metro-Boston area.  With the locally-focused Friday Club as our venue at Stoddard’s Pub downtown, and the wholehearted support of legendary bar manager Jamie Walsh, it made sense for us to use the Boston Beer Week canvas to draw attention to some great beers new to the city.

In this week leading up to the event, we are going to be running mini-profiles of each of the four brewers participating in the Beer Bloggers’ Tap Takeover.  Let’s learn more about the Brimfield’s Tree House Brewing Co.

Bog Iron Brewing (Norton, MA)

With the day of the Beer Bloggers Tap Takeover at Stoddard's Pub in Boston approaching, Review Brews will be featuring a mini-profile of the breweries that will be in attendance.  To kick off our series, Mike Loconto, our co-host for the evening, spoke with Matt Menard of Bog Iron Brewing.  Make sure to join us on Tuesday, March 12.

Boston Beer Week Beer Bloggers’ Tap Takeover – Brewer Profile: Bog Iron Brewing

When Matt and I got together to begin planning an event for Boston Beer Week, we talked about a number of different themes for the event.  As we talked about focusing on local brewers, it dawned on us that – with over 70 brewers in production across the Commonwealth, there were many top-notch brands that had yet to reach inside of Route 128 and the metro-Boston area.  With the locally-focused Friday Club as our venue at Stoddard’s Pub downtown, and the wholehearted support of legendary bar manager Jamie Walsh, it made sense for us to use the Boston Beer Week canvas to draw attention to some great beers new to the city.