Category: Brewery Tour

A concise brewery bio

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Vinepair’s Best New U.S. Brewery Tour – Casa Humilde Cerveceria

The beverage website, Vinepair was featured a few months back as the basis for the best breweries currently and now here we are again for the best NEW U.S. breweries as the content for the July brewery tour posts.

Second in line is Casa Humilde Cerveceria based in Forest Park in Illinois.

And let’s dive straight into what a taster tray could be made up of in their taproom…

Marina Premium Lager – “Your new everyday refreshing lager. Soft hop character, light body and clean and crisp.”

Alba Mexican-style Amber Lager – “Copper color with mild maltiness. Pleasantly toasty with a crisp finish.”

Media Naranja Pale Ale – “this citrus forward pale ale is brewed with Mosaic and Citra hops along with orange peel.”

Piñata Hazy Pineapple IPA – “brewed with Bru-1 and Citra hops for a nice tropical flavor profile. We then add pineapple to this already great combination of hops.”

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Vinepair’s Best New U.S. Brewery Tour – Blue Jay Brewing.

The beverage website, Vinepair was featured a few months back as the basis for the best breweries currently and now here we are again for the best NEW U.S. breweries as the content for the July brewery tour posts.

The first stop on the itinerary is Blue Jay Brewing in Missouri…..

…and here is my taster tray selection:

Little Birds Jamaican-Style Lager – “Brewed with Pilsner malt, Cassava Starch, and Hops from the Hallertau region. Prominent malt, light in body with a low ester-derived fruitiness from the Cassava with a lasting finish.”

Time Wizard German-Style Edel Hell – “This Helles style lager was brewed with Pilsner and Spitz malt and hopped with 100% Hallertau Hersbrucker whole leaf hops from our friends at Seitz Farm in Wolnzach, Bavaria. Balanced and approachable. Malty, floral, peppery and herbal.”

Queens Gold Session Cold IPA – “Brewed in collaboration with “The ExBeerience” in honor of Queen Latifah and the 90’s ladies of Hip Hop to celebrate Juneteenth. This beer was cereal mashed with long grain rice and pilsner malt, hopped in the kettle with Southern Passion and bounces with Citra and Mosaic in the dryhop.”

Monarchs Munich Style Dark Lager – “Decoction mashed for a rich malt complexity. Dark Munich malts bring hints of chocolate and caramel, without being roasty or overly sweet, balanced by Noble, Spalt, Tettnang and Hallertau hops.”

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Belfast Brewery # 3 – Boundary Brewing

Our last stop in Belfast is at Boundary Brewing. This brewery uses art on its labels in such an arresting way. Combined with beer names that are quite original, it makes for a can to admire the outside and the contents inside too.

Here are my choices for a taster tray…

Shameless Lager – “our classic Lager, brewed with traditional German malts and noble Czech hops.”

Potentially Quite Exciting Steam Beer – “crispy and refreshing! With toasty caramel malt and plenty of Northern Brewer hops to provide some rustic hop character!”

A Little Bit Brave IPA – “a juicy, hop-saturated delight, packed with Amarillo, Citra, and Strata hops. It’s dripping with zesty orange, ripe mango, and lush tropicality!”

Imbongo Tropical IPA – “It’s absolutely jam packed with all of the juicy, tropical and stone fruit goodness.”

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Belfast Brewery # 2 – Bullhouse Brew Co.

Our second stop in Belfast also starts with the letter B, it is Bullhouse Brew Co. on another B, Balmoral Road.

Here are the core beers in their range….

Road Trippin’ Extra Pale – “Showcasing our love of Citra.”

Suds Juicy Pale – “A hazy, pillowy-soft Juicy Pale brewed with oats, fermented on our house blend.”

Rolling Papers Hazy IPA – “Multiple dry-hop additions combine with the fruity esters of our house blend to give you something hazy”

Frank the Tank Hazy IPA – “An all Mosaic hazy IPA.”

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Belfast Brewery # 1 – Out of Office Brewery

Our Belfast beer itinerary starts at the office, well, sort of. Out of Office Brewery at the Ulster Sports Club on High Street.

Here are a few cheekily named beers to sample…

Pencil Pusher – Session IPA – 4% – “Mellow andsessionable IPA using west coast hops, which bring a gentle grapefruit profile and a piney resinous bite”

Karl from IT – Gooseberry + Blackcurrrant Kettle Sour – 4.3% ABV

Dark Mode – Craft Stout – 5.1% ABV

NSFW – NE IPA – 6.2% – “Juicy and hazy New England style IPA with intense and unique fruity notes including melon, berry, citrus-lime and papaya. Complimented with a dry hop charge of Simcoe and Citra”

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Irish Brewery # 3 – Kinnegar Brewing

I have had a few Kinnegar Brewing beers while here In Ireland. Besides loving the frivolity of their labels, I have quite enjoyed the beers from Limerick to Galway. The Kolsch, Limeburner and the hazy IPA, Scraggy Bay was cool but my favorite was Rustbucket, a Rye IPA.

Here are some others to sample…

Low Tide Low Alcohol Pale Ale – “Low-alcohol rather than no-alcohol, Low Tide is a traditionally-brewed one per cent pale ale, created to make life with less alcohol enjoyable, even for beer lovers.”

Black Rabbit Black Lager – “Fermentation with a lager yeast promises a lovely clean, refreshing profile that’s then beautifully complemented by the familiar dark colour and roasted flavours of a traditional Irish stout.”

Devil’s Backbone Red Ale – a “full bodied and full flavoured like a mellow autumnal day with a hint of chocolate thrown in.”

Thumper DIPA – “Chewy malt with resinous pine and citrus flavours.”

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Irish Brewery # 2 – Galway Hooker Craft Brewing Co.

Just to make things clear from the outset, a hooker is a type of seafaring vessel in this Galway brewery name. Galway Hooker Craft Brewing Co. is based in Oranmore just outside of the city.

Time to dive into some beers from this West Coast brewery….

Organic Irish Pilsner – “Clean, crisp, and refreshing, this style shows off its floral and spicy hop aroma and subtle bitterness on a slightly bready, malt base. A unique brew, it was made by beer lovers for beer lovers.”

Irish Pale Ale – “A fresh and zingy Pale Ale with a floral aroma. We’ve been crafting beer since 2006, and we’ve enjoyed every moment. We’re very proud of our Irish Pale Ale which has all the hoppy bitterness of a classic pale ale married to the solid drinkability of a good draught lager.”

It’s Complicated Export Helles – “Medium-bodied and complex, this brew offers a harmonious blend of flavors that keep you coming back for more. Enjoy the layers of taste in every glass.”

Galway Girl Hazy IPA – “This beer has been brewed with Irish lager malt and a generous helping of oats and wheat for a soft, fluffy base. The hops are the star of the show here, though, with plenty of tropical, citrus, and pine notes coming From the Idaho7 and Mosaic, with a little bit of dank from the Strata.”

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Irish Brewery # 1 – Priory Brewing

Our trip to Ireland and we start in the Tallaght outside Dublin at Priory Brewing where the taproom is situated within the brewery and they are doing the tank bar style like Benny Boy here in Los Angeles. The market they are located in will be open later this year.

Their plan is for “flagship brews, seasonal specialities, and experimental small-batch releases – everything from hoppy IPAs to rich stouts, crisp lagers, and creative sours, all served at their freshest.”

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Vinepair Brewery to Watch # 3 – Slow Body Beer Company

We conclude the VinePair breweries to watch tour in Arizon with the Slow Body Beer Company. The Tucson based brewery focuses on lagers and session beers.

Bloom Dry-Hopped Blonde Ale – described as “smooth citrus flowerrs.

Pils German-Style Pilsner – described as “floral and tight”

Green Things West Coast IPA – “dank, dank, dank”

Body Double American Porter – described as “malty and buoyant”

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Vinepair Brewery to Watch # 2 – Pivotal Brewing Company

The second stop recommended by the Vinepair website is in Rhode Island, Bristol specifically and Pivotal Brewing.

Time to order up a taster flight…

PIVO-tal – “Pivo-tal Czech-style Pilsner. An homage to the Czech word for beer–pivo–this pale golden lager was brewed with 100% Czech Pilsner malt, lending nuanced flavors of bread dough and malt sweetness. We used an exceptional lot of Hallertau Blanc hops, and a generous amount of Czech Saaz to create a soft and floral nose that blends beautifully with the subtle sourdough aromas created by our house lager yeast. Pivo-tal was lagered for over 7 weeks to showcase the expression of the Czech yeast strain and naturally carbonated for a silky and smooth mouthfeel.”

Midnight Bryter – “This Czech-style dark lager is a showcase of some of our favorite European malts, brewed with a blend of Munich, Caramunich, Vienna and Pilsner. Midnight Bryter pours a light black hue with ruby at the edges of the glass and a latte-colored head. It’s bright with flavors of mocha, dark chocolate candy bar and has layered aromas of dark caramel, espresso roast, and doughy bread. The finish has the refreshing spiciness of Czech Saaz and subtle floral notes of French Strisselspalt hops. Like most of our lagers, Midnight Bryter was lagered for 6 weeks at near-freezing temperatures and naturally carbonated through our spunding process for a clean and fully-mature lager profile.”

Hello Again, My Name is Pivotal DIPA – “Our latest hazy Double IPA release is a celebration of our favorite hop lots right now. This DIPA was brewed and dry hopped with Nelson Sauvin from family-owned Garston Hops in New Zealand, Citra, Citra Cryo and experimental hop HBC 1019. This DDH DIPA pours a slight neon yellow color with opaque haze and aromas of creamsicle soda, tangy gooseberry and a hint o’ cannabis. The body is smooth and creamy with tropical notes of guava, lychee and cantaloupe. Maybe the coolest thing we’ve noticed with this beer is that the flavors and aromas change and evolve throughout the experience of drinking a glass.”