Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
New Image Brewing strikes the right balance in their beer / mead hybrid, Quarantiki. And that is why they are the first featured breweries this month. They have combined with the honeyed folks at Four Fires Meadery to create this braggot that has a couple of cocktails worth of ingredients like pineapple, pomegranate, coconut, orange zest, coffee and honey in this 12% ABV tiki inspired drink.
Ten Mile Creek Brewery is a six barrel brewery located in the historic Last Chance Walking Mall in Helena, Montana. The brewery opened in October of 2015 and is close by to the The Hawthorn Bottle Shop.
Here is what I would select for a taster tray…
Queen City Pale Ale – “Queen City is our award-winning, light bodied, hop forward pale ale. The Queen City Pale Ale is brewed with Amarillo and Chinook hops. It has a piney character with a subtle grapefruit aroma. The combination of Montana grown 2-row, rye and crystal malt create a golden colored ale with a dry, crisp finish.”
Aiteall Irish Dry Stout – “this jet black beer has a huge roasty flavor from the high percentage of roasted barley. The lighter body lends a hand in making it very drinkable.”
Torpor Belgian Strong Ale – “A dark, complex, very strong Belgian ale with a delicious blend of malt richness, dark fruit flavors, and spicy elements. Complex, rich, smooth and dangerous.”
Tree Knocker IPA – ” part of our Sasquatch series Tree Knocker is named for the call of the illusive Sasquatch. Our IPA has a crisp, floral citrus taste with a bitter finish. We use three different base malts including Montana grown malted barley along with three hop additions of Chinook, Cascade, and Citra. We end by dry hopping with an abundant amount of Citra and Cascade.”
I wish that Function Brewing was functioning normally. Having to navigate an online ordering and contactless purchasing world is weird.
Here is what I would order to-go from their online store if I was in Bloomington…
Archimedes Pale Ale, Digit Red Ale, Equidistant IPA – notice a math trend? I really like breweries that have a theme to their names.
Anyway, here are a couple more fun sounding beers…
Bernoulli Saison and then one or both of their American Porter’s, Hypotenuse or Hyperbolic.
The 3rd and final roll of the roulette wheel is at Banger Brewing. And here is the poker hand of a taster tray that I would try.
Haze and Loathing IPA – “Loaded up with a ridiculous amount of hops including Azacca, Simcoe, Cashmere and Ekuanot, Haze & Loathing packs a huge punch of pineapple and mango.”
Coppertale Marzen – “An elegant, malty amber beer with a clean and toasty malt flavor. Restrained, bitterness and a rich, but dry finish e Courage’s another sip. Prost!”
Belphegor Belgian Golden Strong – “Complex fruity flavors quickly lead into a spicy, dry finish. “
Black Eye P.A. – “This extremely malty beer has a punch not only from its malt character, but its in your face hops presence. Black Eye P.A. has over three pounds of hops per barrel. All of you hop heads are going to love this one. Imperial Black IPA with Chocolate and Victory grains, hopped with Apollo and Cascade hops.”
I looked through the Best of listed from Craft Beer & Brewing magazines lists and today I am highlighting a brewery from St. Louis, MO, Civil Life Brewing Co.
I like the Be Civil tagline, it puts you in a good mood from the get-go. Here are the beers that I would want in a first taster tray….
#CarlBock Lager – “Crafted as an authentic Munich Helles, increased to Bock alcoholic strength, #Carlbock is a nice malty and hoppy golden lager, with lightly toasted notes, a hint of spice, and a crisp finish.”
Festival Mild – “a delicious English-style dark mild ale. Malty, toasty, nutty, caramelly, with hints of coffee, chocolate, black cherry and plum, with an earthy, herbal, and citrusy hop balance. This is a stronger version of Mild, as traditionally brewed in Hampshire for special occasions.”
Black Lager – “It’s a crisp, clean, cold-fermented lager but darkly coloured with a discreet, fragrant roasty essence. Perfumey noble hops. Grainy and just a little toasty, with hints of coffee and chocolate. Light body and carbonation. Smooth and delicious, finishing with a nice dry snap.”
Altbier – “It has a subtle fruity-floral-winey taste like Kölsch, but is redder and hoppier, with a bit more malt complexity.”
I looked through the Best of listed from Craft Beer & Brewing magazines lists (organized by barrel size) and plucked out three breweries to highlight this month, starting us off is Hop Butcher for the World.
Hailing from Darien, Illinois and taking their name from poet Carl Sandburg this brewery which is lauded in the less than 15K barrels category has very distinctive branding.
Here are the beers that I would try first and the hops in each beer for this hop-centric brewery…
Supreme Being Pilsner – Saaz, Select & Monroe
New Oklahoma Pale Ale – Barbe Rouge & Mosaic
Lush Terrain IPA – Mosaic, Wai-iti, Motueka, Waimea & Moutere
Blazed Orange DIPA – Citra & Strata
The second Portland stop is right on the…
This Montavilla area brewer and blender focuses on (4) styles: IPA’s, funky farmhouse, mixed-culture and bourbon forward stouts.
Here is what I would put in my taster tray:
Triticale Mass, dry-hopped farmhouse ale
Jens Bailed grisette
Brut Punch tart and refreshing IPA DDH w/Comet, Idaho 7, Simcoe and Sabro hops
Casimir The Great, imperial stout aged in whiskey barrels
Portland has not blazed out of the NBA gates to start the season but a brewery that has gotten a lot of buzz is Ruse Brewing. Founded by Shaun Kallis and Devin Benware they are deep into the yeast having “custom Brett strains called Stargazer and Suburban Brett”
Here are the beers that I would put into a first taster tray…
Evertide Helles Lager, Phantom Shore Citra Extra Pale Ale, Dreamscape Blended Saison, Dream Language Vienna Lager and Stages of Sundown Imperial Stout.
Alighting in Richmond, Kentucky, we find Dreaming Creek Brewery. Founded by co-owners — Michael Bradley, Taryn Edington, Charley Hamilton and Darrin Wilson who started with a bar first and then branched into brewing.
And here are the beers that I would sample first…
1792 – Kentucky Common
Wilderness Road– Amber Ale
Play for Souls – Belgian Pale Ale
London Fog – Strong Bitter
Natural Bridge – IPA
It seemed kind of a given that given the name of this brewery and the fact that the brewery tour them is Hillbilly Elegy that I would start with Somewhere in Particular Brewing Company. Also, love the fact that the name is super cool and also an acronym for what you do inside.
Here are the Ohio brewed beers that I would try first…
Liquid Weekend Table Beer – sessionable lager
Peppin the Short – West Coast IPA
Very Berry Bity City – blackberry sour
Harry Porter – the original SIP flagship beer