New Brew Thursday: 'Holy Donut' from Lone Pine Brewing

While it has been about a month since I returned from Maine, I still have a few beers from the trip. One of these beers is ‘Holy Donut’ from Lone Pine. As I was looking at breweries in the Portland area, I came across Lone Pine. Upon learning they had this beer that was not only a collaboration with The Holy Donut, one of the best donut shops around, but was also described as an Imperial Double Sour Ale with Donuts, blueberries, vanilla, and lactose I knew it was something I had to try.

‘Holy Donut’ pours into the glass as a cloudy bluish, purplish beer with a light pink head and smells exactly like a blueberry-vanilla donut. With strong notes of both blueberry and vanilla, with a subtle note of a freshly baked and glazed donut it is a sweet and fruity smelling beer. The flavor is awesome. The initial tartness of the blueberry gives way to the sweetness of the vanilla and the lactose before returning at the end for a lingering tartness that stays on the middle of your tongue. The lactose also gives the beer extra body as well, giving it a slightly thicker mouthfeel than your typical sour. Even though it is labeled as an ‘Imperial Sour’ and has an ABV of 7.5% it is extremely refreshing and quite crushable.

While I will not be coming back to Maine anytime soon, you bet that one of my first stops will be to visit Lone Pine.

Rhode Trip: Long Live Beerworks

(The first part in a multi-part series as we complete the Rhode Island Brewer’s Guild Passport to learn more about the passport and download the app click HERE)

A few weeks ago, I was able to get to Long Live Beerworks in order to get my passport stamped. While I have been to Long Live multiple times and they are one of my favorite Rhode Island Breweries, this was one of the first breweries I was able to attend as the Rhode Island COVID-19 restrictions began to loosen. While they are only open for outdoor seating it was still an amazing time.

The old location of Long Live was nice albeit a little small, however, their new location is a thing of beauty. To me, the hallmark of a great brewery is simple: “Does it feel like you are drinking at your friend’s house?” Long Live passes that test. While this visit I was outside I have been inside on multiple occasions and drinking at Long Live always feels like you are drinking at your friend’s upscale loft, especially when you are upstairs. The outside has a similar feeling of drinking on your friend’s patio, but each part has this amazing warm/friendly feeling. But enough about the aesthetics, let’s talk about the beer.

When I went, and unfortunately these offerings are no longer available, I was able to try ‘Neon Nightmare’ a sour explosion of tropical fruit. Raspberries, pineapple, tangerine, and vanilla are all present and it was absolutely exceptional. I was also able to try ‘Through These Eyes’ a double IPA that was crazy juicy, hazy, and very hoppy. The Lupin powder with the Galaxy hops gave the beer its distinct flavor with a subtle hint from the Rakau. Another awesome beer from an awesome brewery. I will definitely be back but here’s to one stamp down!  

Long Live Beerworks is located at 40R Sprague St. Providence, RI 02907. For more information about the brewery and their beer click HERE.

New Brew Thursday: 'Traitorade' Smug Brewing

While I am an avid Patriots fan, most know that my love for Tom Brady knows no bounds and his leaving for Tampa Bay was hard. However, after nearly 20 years of championship caliber football I wished him well and would be cheering for the Buccaneers this season… if there is one. Despite this, when Smug brewed ‘Traitorade’ it was too interesting to pass up, although it did hurt to say this beer’s name out loud.

‘Traitorade’ pours a super cloudy yellow into the glass with a small white head. The notes are not overly powerful, and it has a faint lemon-lime smell with a distinct sourness. However, where this beer really shines is in the flavor. It has a very pronounced lemon-lime flavor with an incredible tartness that stays in the front of your mouth. The sea salt is not overpowering and just helps to amplify the underlying flavor and the tartness. It has a light mouthfeel and finishes surprisingly clean with just a slight tartness. It reminds me of lemon-lime Gatorade which makes this not only an amazingly delicious beer but a very unique beer as well. Additionally, it is dangerously crushable at 7% ABV. Smug just brewed another batch of this so if you missed out the first time you need to get there and try this beer.

New Brew Thursday: 'Luxurious Tiles' from Trillium and Bissell Brothers

Two of my favorite breweries are Trillium and Bissell Brothers. so when they collaborated for ‘Luxurious Tiles’ I knew I had to have it. It is well documented that I love collaboration beers and both ‘Lux’ and ‘Cutting Tiles’ are two fantastic beers in their own right. With ‘Lux’ having a great lightness and taste from the mosaic hops with a soft bite from the rye and ‘Cutting Tiles’ having an amazing sweetness from the raw wildflower honey right from the start my hopes were high.

‘Luxurious Tiles’ pours a very hazy and deep yellow into the glass with a light white head. It has incredibly sweet notes that to me smell like candied oranges. This is really where the ‘Cutting Tiles’ portion of the beer shines and the taste is fantastic. A rich mouthfeel with great balance between sweetness and bitterness. The combination between the mosaic hops and the wildflower honey gives the beer an awesome juiciness and sweetness. It finishes with a soft bitterness that slightly builds. ‘Luxurious Tiles’ is definitely more ‘Cutting Tiles’ than ‘Lux’ but it is absolutely amazing

"New" Brew Thursday: 'Spruced (2020)' from Tilted Barn

It's that magical time of year again people. Days are getting a little shorter, nights a little cooler, and there's a twinkle in the air... well, two of the three are true. Around this time every year one of my favorite RI breweries Tilted Barn brews 'Spruced' one of the most unique beers you will ever have. For those who do not know, Tilted Barn is on the owner's actual family farm and they will incorporate hops and other things from their farm into their beers. For 'Spruced' Tilted Barn incorporates spruce tips from their spruce trees. Each year 'Spruced' changes depending on the spruce tips and the brewing, this is the third year I have had 'Spruced' and I have to say this is my favorite. 

'Spruced' pours a very hazy yellow into the glass with a nice white head. It has strong piney notes with a subtle note of oranges. It looks heavy but has a surprisingly light mouthfeel and clocking in at 5% ABV is surprisingly light. This years 'Spruced' has a very distinct and pronounced spruce flavor with a big piney flavor being the first and last thing that you taste. The spruce flavor lingers nicely on the tongue and builds slightly with each sip. The orange flavor is very subtle in between the spruce and fills out the palate nicely. This year's 'Spruced' is fantastic and definitely worth the trip to Exeter.