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Common Ground Roots Company: Beta

Common Ground Brewing Company: Beta

Hops: Citra

ABV: 6.5%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Brewed differently each time

@untappd says: 4.05/5

It’s time to get experimental on the Windowsill.

I have to imagine that half the fun of owning a brewery is the research and development phase of production. Nearly infinite combinations of ingredients are at the brewer’s fingertips, meaning he or she can make nearly infinite flavors of any particular type of beer. With their Beta Experimental IPA program, Common Roots Brewing Company has, essentially, opened up the R&D portion of their production process to the public, by releasing slightly different versions of the IPA, as they try to perfect the recipe.

In October, the Beta was made with Amarillo hops and dry-hopping additions. In November, El Dorado, Columbus and Amarillo hops were used. In January, Citra and Columbus hops were the go to for flavoring. In February, un-malted wheat was added to yet another combination of hops. In March’s release, which is the version I picked up at my local beer distributer, all Citra hops were used.

I must say, I was a little disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, the beer was off the chain. I just wish I’d known about all the other versions too. I would have put them all on my sill and compared the flavors! The latest incarnation was crisp, floral and refreshing. The freaky label art is pretty fun too. Very cool stuff from the South Glenn Falls, NY brewery!

Check it out on Instagram, now, and you’ll feel like the Omega of your bunch!

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El Segundo Brewing Company: Steve Austin’s Broken Skull IPA

El Segundo Brewing Company: Steve Austin's Broken Skull IPA

Hops: Citra, Cascade, Chinook

ABV: 6.7%

IBU: 39

Availability: Year-round

@untappd says: 3.91/5

If you want me to open up a bottle of whoop-ass all over my Windowsill today, give me a “Hell Yeah!”

If you were a pro wrestling fan during the late 1990s, you remember the great “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. The “Texas Rattlesnake” was one of the best all-around performers in the history of the business. Since his retirement, the six-time WWE Champion has kept himself busy with some acting, some reality tv and a couple of podcasts, but it’s only fitting that the man who made crushing “Steveweisers” in the middle of the ring famous, would one day go on to release a beer with his name on it.

Austin paired up with California’s El Segundo Brewing Company a few years ago to release today’s beer, Steve Austin’s Broken Skull IPA. Austin loves himself a good IPA, and he wouldn’t release one under his name if he wasn’t sure it would whoop your ass and give you the two-finger salute when it was finished. These days, Austin 3:16 also says “I just got you drunk!” And that’s the bottom line, cuz Beers on Windowsills said so!

Check this one out on Instagram, right now!

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Chatting with Laura Dierks (Probably) from Interboro Spirits & Ales

images of beer – Interboro Spirits and Ales' Super Bad double IPA

As an up-and-coming beer connoisseur, blogger and Instagrammer, one of the things I some day wish to accomplish is to have relationships with breweries all over the country. I’ve joked with my wife that I would consider this entire endeavor a success if some day just one brewery sends me a free beer to drink, photograph and write about. While I’m not quite there yet, I did have a really pleasant experience with one of the breweries whose beer I put on the windowsill, and I think it makes for a pretty good story.

Here’s what went down. The other night, I photographed and reviewed today’s windowsill inhabitant, the Super Bad–a double IPA from Brooklyn’s Interboro Spirits & Ales. As part of my writeup, I did a brief tongue-in-cheek anti-hipster rant related to the beer’s chosen home base of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, which is basically hipster central in New York City. Continue reading “Chatting with Laura Dierks (Probably) from Interboro Spirits & Ales”

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Magic Hat Brewing Company: Electric Peel

Magic Hat Brewing Company: Electric Peel

Hops: Apollo, Centennial, Chinook

Malts: Pale, Carapils

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: 65

Availability: Year-round

@untappd says: 3.4/5

Sometimes, even my Windowsill swings and misses.

Let me first say that Magic Hat Brewing Company is an excellent brewery. Since 1994, the Vermont-based brewery has been making really good, very eclectic beers and, as they say, putting a performance into every bottle. Their beers are bold, experimental and mostly delicious. Unfortunately, the Electric Peel Grapefruit IPA was a miss for me. I think the issue is that I always think I’m going to like grapefruit, so I always buy it, but I never actually enjoy it.

Whether it’s in a beer, or the actual fruit itself, it always leaves me disappointed. The bitterness of the Electric Peel’s grapefruit, mixed with the bitterness of its hops, was just not my cup of tea. I know the next one I try from Magic Hat will be a hit, but I can’t recommend this one.

Check this one out on Instagram, now!

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The Hoppy History of the India Pale Ale

Image of beers–Lawson's Finest Liquids' Sip of Sunshine IPA

When my journey into the world of craft beers began, I didn’t really know too much about the intricacies of the beer industry. Yes, I knew I liked beer, and that I preferred “good” beer, as opposed to the swill my dad’s generation somehow pushes down its gullet (and I pushed down my gullet in college), but I didn’t really know how to differentiate between beers.

As I expanded my palate, and learned about new styles of brew, I came to find a real appreciation for one kind of beer in particular: the India Pale Ale, or IPA.

So what’s an IPA, and how is it made? Continue reading “The Hoppy History of the India Pale Ale”

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The History Behind Wachusett Brewing Company’s Green Monsta IPA

Image of beers–Wachusett Brewing Company's Green Monsta IPA

Even though this beer is a little out of left field for me, it’s still cool enough to sit on my sill.

Did I ever tell you that I hate the Red Sox?

I’ve hated the Red Sox since I first learned about baseball after moving to the United States in 1987, and I will hate the Red Sox until the day I die (there will still be beers on my window sill, don’t you worry). That being said, I kinda like Fenway Park.

Sure, it’s got a bit of an awkward layout, is a dreadful pea green color and has seats that are not comfortable if you’re any larger than your average-sized seven-year old boy or girl, but it has personality. It has character. It has a certain…je ne sais quoi that almost makes it tolerable for a Yankees fan like me that the place is always full of obnoxious Red Sox fans.

Continue reading “The History Behind Wachusett Brewing Company’s Green Monsta IPA”

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I Named My ‘Name This Beer!’ Kato the Fat Cat. What Will You Name Yours?

Image of beers–Bronx Brewery's Name this Beer IPA

A beer, by any other name, still sits nicely on a window sill.

As William Shakespeare once wrote, “What’s in a name?” While Juliet wasn’t referring to hops and barley when she posed this famous question, Name This Beer! IPA–a hazy, citrusy American IPA flavored with tangerine–really puts it to the test. In November of 2016, the Bronx Brewery, Whole Foods Market, Inc. and The Infatuation partnered up to boldly release this delicious brew without a name at all.

Why no name? You’ll notice that under the bottle there are two blank lines. That’s because they literally want their customers to name their beer. In case you aren’t keen to believe them, they say right underneath that, “For real… We want you to name this beer!”

Being a glass-half-full kind of person, I don’t see this as a nameless beer at all. To me, this beer has infinite names. Anybody can name it anything they want. Have too many clever fantasy football team names in your reserves? Name your beer Wolf Cola, and make all of your buddies laugh. Did you get overruled when the time came to name the last family pet? Why not name your beer Dolph Lundgren instead? If you’re afraid you’ll get outvoted, just buy your naming rivals their own bottle. Everybody wins.

Continue reading “I Named My ‘Name This Beer!’ Kato the Fat Cat. What Will You Name Yours?”