New Brew Thursday: 'Bigger Peach' from Tree House Brewery

 Aside from walking their picturesque grounds and picking up my cans, one of my favorite things about visiting Tree House is their draft offerings. Not only because of how good Tree House is on draft but because they are constantly adding offerings that add variations to their classics. Whether it is adding guava or pineapple, adding oreo or marshmallow these are the things that make visiting Tree House all the better. Now, with them adding dried fruit to their IPAs and other additives you can take those rare delicacies home and there is no finer example of this than ‘Bigger Peach.’ A variation of ‘Very Hazy’ with you guessed it… Peach.  

‘Bigger Peach’ pours into the glass with a soft orange color and a nice white head. The sweet notes of peach hit you right away and hit you with wave after wave of their sugary sweetness with the slightest of hints of candied orange on the very back end. The taste? Exceptional. While I am a little biased as ‘Very Hazy’ is one of my absolute favorites ‘Bigger Peach’ takes the peach flavor of the Haze line-up and cranks it to 11. The sweetness of the peaches hits you right away but then gives way to a slight bitterness that lingers ever-so slightly on the middle of the tongue. With a thick mouthfeel it coats the entire palate with sweet peach and a soft bitterness. Clocking in at a dangerous 8.6% ABV you’ll be 90% though the glass before it you start to feel it.

‘Bigger Peach’ is a dangerously delicious beer, and you NEED to try it.

Rhode Trip: Grey Sail Brewing

(The next 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) 

In my last post, I discussed venturing out of our immediate location to visit new/different breweries and that in visiting those breweries we can be greeted with something truly amazing. This past weekend I made the trip to Grey Sail Brewing down in Westerly and while I have been there before, it is a brewery that I love visiting and if you have not been there, you should.

         
                                    

Grey Sail Brewing is a two-building operation, one building hosts the brewery with can, bottle, growler, and merchandise sales and the other hosts the taproom. While the brewery is in a standard warehouse, the taproom is an old Westerly mansion with the beer garden in the side yard. I have always stated that the best breweries remind you of drinking at a friend’s house and I have to say that drinking at Grey Sail is like drinking at your rich friend’s house. The space inside the house is really quaint, it is where the service bar is along with a few rooms with tables for indoor drinking. However, it is the outdoor beer garden that is truly a thing of beauty. It has several tables under a tree providing ample shade, along with more picnic tables underneath a long overhang. Both areas over look a vibrant lawn and beautiful water fountain that convey a sense of peace and calm. Near the picnic tables is a wood-fired pizza oven that pumps out some of the best wood-fired pizza you have ever had.

The Beer? Fantastic! I first grabbed a flight of a few of their offerings along with one of my favorite Grey Sail beers and they were all great. ‘Hazy Ho’ was light with a nice juicy hop, ‘Hazy Day’ the unfiltered Belgian had a nice malty taste with a lingering finish, and ‘Adrift’ was hoppy with a lingering bitter finish but ‘Captain’s Daughter’ stole the show. ‘Captain’s Daughter’ has been a staple in the Rhode Island beer community for years and has been prominently featured on draft lists across the state and it has served as my ‘Go-To’ Double IPA for years. I know this beer, I love this beer, and it is awesome both on tap and from a can. However, having fresh ‘Captain’s Daughter’ from the brewery is a life changing experience. The juiciness from the mosaic hop plays beautifully with the citra hop and leads perfectly into the piney flavor from the chinook hop and has a nice long finish. If you like ‘Captain’s Daughter’ you owe it to yourself to visit the brewery and try it fresh. Additionally, for those who may not like craft beer, they have mixed cocktails and hard seltzers from the distillery next door that are also phenomenal.

While Westerly is well off the beaten path for many of us, it is an absolute must visit to thoroughly enjoy the Rhode Island craft beer scene.

Grey Sail Brewing is located at 63 Canal St. Westerly, RI 02891. For more information about their offerings and the brewery click HERE.

Part one: Long Live Beerworks

Part two: Buttonwoods Brewery

Part three: LineSider Brewing Company

Part four: Taproot Brewing Company

Part five: Community Bruin (CLOSED)

Part six: Shaidzon Beer Company

Part seven: Moniker Brewery

Part eight: Six Pack Brewing

Part nine: Lops Brewing

Rhode Trip: Lops Brewing

(The next 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) 

Now I have written about my “Rhode Islander quirks” before, but one of the big ones is complaining about driving anywhere that is more than 15 minutes away. Now I have gotten better as the years have gone on and now it really only applies when traveling inside the state but it is still one of my, and many other peoples, quirks. This quirk exists because here in the Ocean State we are cursed with so many good options within five to ten minutes of our immediate location and it is often hard to venture out (insert TLC ‘Waterfalls’ joke here). However, it is when we venture out that we find new and equally amazing places. None more so than Lops Brewing. Located in Woonsocket it is more than 15 minutes from where I live but it was worth the trip.

Lops Brewing is located on the first floor of a multi-story building that might actually have some apartments above it. It also has an outdoor patio. While we went back in late March and were greeted by a small snow squall it was still very nice and dog friendly, so Mr. Bradley had fun as well. Inside is a slightly narrow tap room with several tables and a service bar with incredibly friendly staff. Classified as a Nano Brewery, a concept I am learning more and more about, it has that perfect feel of a small local bar with a nice warm feeling to it.

Now all of the positive aesthetics do not mean anything if the beer is not good. But here, the beer is fantastic. While I cannot remember specific tasting notes on all of them, all of the IPAs were fantastic with the session IPA being one of my favorites. However, the big standout and I mean BIG standout was ‘Breakroom Snack’ their peanut butter and jelly porter. While peanut butter stouts/porters are quickly rising up my power rankings I have always found that PB&J stouts and porters are a bit off, but not this one. With the perfect peanut butter taste up front that perfectly transitions into a nice sweetness that rounds things out and doesn’t linger too long it was an absolute treat.

While I do not get to Woonsocket often, I can now safely say that each time I go there I will be stopping at Lops.

Lops Brewing is located at 122 North Main St. Unit 1A Woonsocket, RI 02895. For more information about their offerings and the brewery click HERE

Part one: Long Live Beerworks

Part two: Buttonwoods Brewery

Part three: LineSider Brewing Company

Part four: Taproot Brewing Company

Part five: Community Bruin (CLOSED)

Part six: Shaidzon Beer Company

Part seven: Moniker Brewery

Part eight: Six Pack Brewing

Brewery Trip! Dorchester Brewing Company

Back in 2016 when I was doing bar prep and getting ready to move out of Boston I had heard of a new brewery opening in Dorchester. While I did not visit back then, I was able to back in April during our Boston trip and while I had always heard good things about the brewery they COMPLETELY blew away my expectations.

Dorchester Brewing Company sits near a busy intersection on Massachusetts Ave. in Dorchester. While I would not go strolling around too far past this area it is in a relatively good section of Dorchester. The taproom inside is quite nice but the two stars of the show are the outdoor patio and the rooftop deck. While I was not able to check out the roof deck the patio was awesome.

The draft list was exquisite. They had a variety of styles on their tap list which I am always a fan of, however, it was their IPAs that instantly called my name. My flight had three and while all were fantastic it was their imperial pilsner that won the day. It was crisp, clean, and would be the perfect beer on a hot summer day. Additionally, I was able to grab a sip of my girlfriend’s (now fiancée, not a big deal but sort of a big deal) Russian Imperial stout that was perfectly textbook and absolutely delicious. The food was also amazing. While we had other dinner plans and just split an order of loaded fries they were awesome as well.

Dorchester Brewing Company is one of the best breweries in the city bar none, and you had better believe that the next time we visit Boston we will be back.

New Brew Thursday: 'Lazarus' from Proclamation Ale Company

For as long as I have enjoyed craft beer I have always been a fan of “weird beer.” Meaning that, anytime I see a new style, or a style with odd/unique ingredients I generally have to give it a try.  Now I say “generally” because to me, not every brewery has earned the right to go rogue because I have been burned before and have had my fair share of drain pours. However, when I come across a brewery I trust, I am always down to try something weird. Proclamation in Warwick has ALWAYS been a brewery I trust and they are constantly pushing the boundaries. This was undoubtedly true when they brewed ‘Lazarus’ a bourbon barrel aged sour porter.

‘Lazarus’ pours into the glass a dark brown with a small and light brown head. It has notes of chocolate and sour cherries that both delight and confuse the nose. The taste is as awesome as it is confusing, as delightful as it is complex. ‘Lazarus’ has a light mouthfeel and an initial taste of dark chocolate that then fades and changes to a long and lingering sourness that sticks to the tongue long after the beer is gone. There is a subtle hint of the bourbon barrel which I am always a fan of as well. Despite clocking in at 9.5% ABV it is not overly boozy and with the long and lingering sourness it is the perfect nighttime sipping beer.

‘Lazarus’ is not something everyone will love but if you enjoy stouts, sours, and weird beer it is a must try.