The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same

For any of you who may not know, I'm from Ohio. And as any good Ohio born beer-lover, I approve of pretty much anything that Great Lakes Brewing Company does.

Their Christmas Ale is second to none, and their Dortmunder Gold has won more medals than you can shake a stick at. In my eyes, GLBC can do no wrong.

Enter Chillwave Double IPA.

In 2013, I sat down and had a pint of Great Lakes newest Double IPA, Alchemy Hour. It had just been released and the supply was limited, so when I saw it on the board of the Thirsty Turtle in my home-town, I knew I needed to try it. It was amazing. The best IPA I'd ever had, and my favorite beer from 2013.

Fast forward to 2014. A new name was needed. (the name "Alchemy Hour" had already been claimed by another brewery) While "Chillwave" isn't nearly as sexy as "Alchemy Hour" the contents of the bottle remain the same. Mosaic and Nugget hops, with just a touch of sweetness from an addition of honey malt. It's so well balanced, the first one I had in 2013 opened my eyes to what a great IPA could be. (Sorry West Coasters, I'm from Ohio after all!)

Luckily we have some great local resources. AJ's Beer Warehouse and Great Lakes Brewing were doing a tasting of Chillwave and the Conway's Irish Ale last weekend, so I went and picked up a 4-pack of one of my absolute favorites. (Plus a very handy keychain bottle opener!) Great Lakes doubled the batch this year, so it should be easier to come by, I may need to stock up!

Hope you all are getting into the beers that you really dig this time of year. Seems like a lot of in-demand beers are hitting the shelves lately. What are some of your top picks? Anything I should search out for 2014? Let us know in the comments or drop me a line!

Cheers!

What a Week!

This has been a fast and furious beer week. So I thought I'd better take a minute to recap some of the things that have been going on this week.

After the BJCP Style Session on Sour Beers, we held our monthly UNYHA meeting. As always it was great. Lot's of people in attendance, lots of great homebrew and a few great commercial beers that were passed around. Special thanks to our beer hunters who brought some beer back from Wicked Weed this month. Their Milk and Cookie Stout was phenomenal!!!!

At the meeting, I got to talking with a fellow homebrewer, and he invited me over for a brew session on Friday. We put together an Imperial Stout (see, I said this month was for Imperial Stouts!) and brewed it up on his awesome custom-built brew system. Check out his set-up and more at LüBrü. We had a great time brewing and the beer hit all the numbers and smelled awesome, I can't wait to try it!

Continuing on Saturday, we ventured out to do some shopping, which was good for me because it took us close to AJ's Beer Warehouse who just so happened to be hosting a tasting by one of my favorite local breweries Abandon Brewing,

I picked up a few bottles and tried some awesome brews from Abandon, including a Belgian Quad. If you aren't familiar, a Belgian Quad and a Belgian Dark Strong are similar in most ways, and completely delicious. Dark candy, fruits, and rich malts come together in this amazing brew. I was very happy to have gotten to try it!

I'm about half-way though my growler of Abandon's Farmhouse Saison, which is fantastic, so I need to get beck to that. I hope you all are having a great beer-week. Let us know what special brews you got into, or where beer took you this week.

Cheers!

From Keuka Lake to Beer-Mas

Today while running a few errands I decided it was time to pay another visit to AJ's Beer Warehouse and pick up a few things. I love stopping in and checking out all the bottles, what's new, and talking beer.

One of the beers they had on tap I was excited to try, because I've heard good things about this brewery from friends, but haven't had the opportunity to check them out yet.

December 16th

Winter Spice Ale by Keuka Brewing Company

This beer has a nice malty flavor with a good balance of spice. Subtle enough to not overpower the brew, but definitely noticeable. A great addition to a growing number of Fingerlakes Breweries.

I'm glad I finally got a chance to try out one of their beers, now I just need to stop by the next time the wife takes me wine tasting!

Hope everyone out there had the chance to try something new tonight. Drink Local!

Cheers!

Beer-Mas December 3rd

On the third day of this Christmas count-down, I had the opportunity to check out a new bottle shop right here in Rochester, NY!

It goes by the name of AJ's Beer Warehouse and you can check them out here: https://www.facebook.com/AJsBeerWarehouse

They just opened up last week but have already gotten the shelves stocked up with a pretty fantastic selection of beers. A big part of the shop is dedicated to NY craft selections, which is awesome. Drink Local!

One of the beers that I was excited to try since I didn't get a chance to last year, was from a local brewery in the Finger Lakes area

December 3rd

Nice and Naughty Christmas Ale by Naked Dove Brewing Company

I picked up this mini-growler, which got me about 3 tulips full of this tasty treat. Great taste and fresh, definitely worth checking out if you are in the area.