Tag: brewery tour

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Hop Culture Best of Brewery Tour # 2 – Deep Fried Beers

I am not one for Best of the Year lists, more of a in the moment person so I am grateful for outlets like Hop Culture that go in on the whole look back at a whole year thing. You can read their list HERE and my second choice from the list is Deep Fried Beers in Athens, New York.

Not the most appetizing name for a shop known for their IPAs and rocketing up Empire State best of lists but let’s find a table to set our virtual taster down onto including…

Kilometer Long Stare – “Hazy Double IPA hopped with 8+ lbs / bbl of Citra and Galaxy.”

Built Different Batch 2 – “Hoppy Ale brewed with 8 lbs / bbl of lot selected Yakima Chief Citra, Freestyle Hops Nelson Sauvin, and HPA Galaxy.”

In Da Clurb, We All Fam – “Hazy DIPA hopped with 9+ lbs per bbl of Yakima Chief Citra, NZ Hops NZ Cascade, and Freestyle Hops Nelson Sauvin.”

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Hop Culture Best of Brewery Tour # 1 – Outskirts Brewing

I am not one for Best of the Year lists, more of a in the moment person so I am grateful for outlets like Hop Culture that go in on the whole look back at a whole year thing. You can read their list HERE but first a visit to the Yakima Valley and one of the breweries on the list, The Outskirts Brewing Co.

We start the flight off with an award winning pale ale….

Canyon Crusher Pale Ale – “Light, crisp American pale with notes of Citrus and tropical fruit cup. Too aromatic to be a traditional pale, but too crushable to be a traditional IPA. Hits right in the middle in the perfect way. This recipe won 1st place pale at the 2023 Fresh Hop Ale Fest and People’s Choice at Public House Pre-Harvest Party.”

Barn Raiser NW IPA – “Our flagship IPA. Big notes of Pine, Citrus and Dank (cannabis). Great beer for the IPA fan. Still very clean, but with the extra kick an IPA drinker is looking for.”

My Oh My IPA – “We hit a home run with this one, just in time for baseball season. Go M’s! A clean and clear IPA with huge aromatic notes of berry, pineapple and tropical fruit. Medium body, with a sweet  (but not malty) backbone and low bitterness.”

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Craft Beer & Brewing Best – The Big Friendly

The final brewery tour of 2024 takes us to Oklahoma and The Big Friendly brewery. They were honored for their Vanilla Oil Boom, a big imperial stout.

Time to check out a few other of their beers…

Peace Piece – “West Coast IPA made with Simcoe & Mosaic.”

Joe’s Balaton Cherry Preserves – “Made with Balaton Cherries from Michigan.”

Old Growth – “This dark lager offers a beautiful balance of flavors you’d want as we come into the fall. Light nuttiness, hints of bakers chocolate and fresh baked bread round out the flavor profile.”

Space is the Place – “A Barrel Fermented Brett Saison that has a mellow funk & complex fruit sapidity on the palate. Effervescent and delightful flavors of dried apricot & sand plum with hints of white wine grapes, agave & figs.”

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Craft Beer & Brewing Best – Ladd & Lass Brewing

Located in the University District of Seattle, Ladd & Lass Brewing was founded by wife and husband team of Jessie Quan and Nick Ladd ( hence the spelling in the name).

They were mentioned in the magazine for their Zoospaloos, a Czech- style dark lager.

Thankful for UDFB – West Coast IPA – “Brimming with some of our favorite New Zealand hops, Thankful for UDFB is a hearty celebration of the University District Food Bank and all they do for our community. Featuring Cryo Nelson Sauvin and Freestyle Peacharine, this IPA is a veritable cornucopia of ripe stone fruit, white wine grapes, and a beguiling piney note—all complemented by a pleasing bitterness and lightly bready maltiness.”

Olympic Peaks – NW IPA – “Our winter IPA is a garnet-hued celebration of the NW IPAs of yore. Expect a balanced beer showcasing hop aromas of grapefruit and piney resin set against a toasty malt backbone and crisp bitterness.”

A Minor Award – Winter Warmer – “At L&L, we have a nostalgic soft spot for the malty, heavily-hopped winter warmers of the early aughts. Harkening back to the seasonal warm fuzzies, A Minor Award is a holiday carol of nutty bread, deep caramel, and luscious toffee paired with a pleasing bitterness and citrus and pine aromatics.”

Deprived of Light – Imperial Stout – “This gnarly imperial stout may be deprived of light, but it still radiates with intense flavors of cacao, coconut, and vanilla. We took our decadent imperial stout and confectionized™ it—blasting your palate with a depth of flavor that saturates your taste buds while still managing to finish short of typical pastry stout cloyingness.”

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Craft Beer & Brewing Best – Black Lung Brewing

Black Lung Brewing in Round Lake Beach, Illinois is our first stop from the Best Beers as tabulated by Craft Beer & Brewing magazine.

The beer they were recognized for is Left Fork a Kentucky Common Ale. I was surprised by that too.

But let’s create a taster tray with a few other of their beers that caught my eye…

Pancho & Lefty Mexican Lager – “Adjunct international lager with Pilsner grains, flaked Maize and noble Saaz Hops! A wonderful, dry beer that is delightful all year round.”

Mind of Peace Saison – “Strumming series saison infused with Sage, Green Tea, Mint and Rosemary mash water. Then Double Dry Hopped with Hallertau Blanc and Fuggle hops.”

Curb Check Carrot IPA – “Curb Check is a 7.0% hazy ipa with cascade, mosaic, and galaxy hops. Along with puréed carrots, spices Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans and Malto-dextrin sugar. All coming together to create a uniquely spiced beer for the holidays!”

Tame the Chaos DIPA – “Citra and Mosaic hops give
you that dank, yet punchy aroma, paired with a sharp bitterness and balanced malt backbone! This is our first journey into the west coast style, double ipa. We brewed it to remind us of a
simpler time. We hope you find comfort in the raised bitterness and enormous hops aromatics!”

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Brewery + Airport # 3 – Southwest Florida International

Our final destination in this little airport beer crawl is at the Southwest Florida International Airport. Now I do not recommend straying into actual Florida with the alligators and the DeSantis roaming around, there are some spirited stops ( Jose Cuervo, Dewars and Bacardi) as well as a new addition in Fort Meyers Brewing.

Let’s see what we can drink from FMB at RSW…You can start with their airport specific On Time lager.

Solstice Lager – “American lager with refreshing notes of candied lemon”

Goliath Grouper DIPA – ” notes of passion fruit, white grape, and strawberry”

Bramble Jamble – “sour ale brewed with blackberry and black currant”

Kegnog – “brewed with seasonal spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg”

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Brewery + Aiport # 2 – Milwaukee

Beer at airports cannot all be great and varied choices like in Portland or Denver, sometimes you have to settle for one place or maybe just one beer.

Such is the case for Mitchell Airport serving Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. You can go to the Miller Brewing restaurant and bar or you can head to Baron’s Beer Garden where you can quaff a Spotted Cow from New Glarus along with a small handful of other craft choices.

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Brewery + Airport Tour # 1 – Nashville

We start our holiday travel journey at BNA, he awkward acronym for Nashville’s airport where you have a lot of choices from Fat Bottom Brewing, Little Harpeth Brewing, TailGate Brewery, Tennessee Brew Works and Yazoo Brewing Company.

Let’s pick a beer from each to help after making it past security…

From Fat Bottom, we will get their Ruby American Red Ale with a malt forward taste and a restrained hop presence then move on to Little Harpeth for their Chicken Scratch pilsner made from malted barley and locally grown corn. Next is TailGate where we will taste their Lager Projekt: Vienna Lager with layers of toasty malt with a slight sweetness and nuttiness.

At TBW we will check out Dubbelneck “a full-bodied Abbey ale that showcases complex flavors derived from the malted barley and Belgian yeast including caramel, toffee, dark cherry, and subtle notes of nutmeg.” Lastly we reach Yazoo for a bit of Tennessee brewing history and their Gerst Amber “with mostly German malts and a hint of flaked maize, remaining as true as possible to the original Gerst recipe.”

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GABF Medal Winning Brewery Tour # 3 – Olfactory Brewing

Off to San Francisco for our last GABF winning brewery, Olfactory Brewing and Blending. They won gold for Proverbial Fork a mixed- culture Brett beer.

Here are some fine choices to get to know this Bay Area brewery:

Tsunduku Rice Lager – “decocted and naturally conditioned local pilsner malt and jasmine rice. Hopped in abundance with Sterling, Loral and Saaz.”

Mind Fuzz Fuzzy IPA – “Brewed pilsner malt, oats, and wheat and hopped with Simcoe Cryo, Mosaic, Nelson and Motueka.”

Manic Pendulum Batch # 2 – “Mixed fermentation Saison aged for over a year in oak and blended in stainless with an abundance of Citra hops.

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GABF Medal Winning Brewery Tour # 2 – Structures Brewing

During GABF month, I like to feature breweries that you may not have heard about but that recently won medals at the festival. In that spirit, let’s head to Bellingham in Washington State to Structures Brewing and take a look at their beer menu.

Junior – “A beautiful small pale ale brewed with Amarillo and Simcoe. By far one of our favorite pale ales around the brewery!!!”

Strata Citra Fuzz – “Our Flagship IPA brewed with our favorite blend of malts and oats, double dry hopped with Citra, Strata and Simcoe!  Showcasing aromas of tropical fruits, bursting with notes of guava and pink grapefruit with a healthy dose of pine, a soft body, creamy mouthfeel and subdued bitterness on the finish. “

Motueka Fuzz – “Our Flagship IPA brewed with our favorite blend of malts and oats, double dry hopped with Citra, Amarillo and Motueka! Showcasing aromas of tropical fruits, bursting with notes of lime zest, clementines and orange creamsicle, a soft body, creamy mouthfeel and subdued bitterness on the finish.”