Posted on

Spoetzl Brewery: Shiner Holiday Cheer

Spoetzl Brewery: Shiner Holiday Cheer

ABV: 5.4%

IBU: 22

Availability: Christmas Seasonal

@untappd says: 3.59/5

It’s still very cold on in the Northeast, so, I decided to deck my window sill with some leftover bows of holiday happiness today.

Spoetzl Brewery is the oldest independent brewery in Texas. Originally named “The Shiner Brewing Association,” it was founded in 1909 by German and Czech immigrants living in the tiny town of Shiner, Texas. In 1914, with their beer gaining popularity and demand skyrocketting, the owners began searching for an experienced brewmaster to take over daily operations. They found one in Bavarian-born Kosmos Spoetzl, to whom they offered partial ownership as an insentive to take the job. Spoetzl had learned the trade of brewing in Germany, but also spent nearly a decade making beer in Egypt and some time in Canada as well. A year later, Spoetzl bought the business outright. He changed the name of the location to Spoetzl Brewery, but honored the town by keeping the name of the beer the same: Shiner.

The Holiday Cheer, Shiner’s winter seasonal offering, makes you feel like it’s Christmas morning and Mom and Dad finally got you that Nintendo you’ve been begging for. Peaches, pecans and caramelized malts give it a rich body, and a sweet taste that would make the Grinch’s heart grow three sizes.

Want more holiday craft beer ideas? Check out my Instagram page for all your craft beer knowledge, now!

Posted on

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery: Beer To Drink Music To (2017)

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery: Beer to Drink Music to

ABV: 6.8%

IBU: 30

Availability: Limited (once)

@untappd says: 3.68/5

Sometimes I just have to put a beer on my window sill, put some music on and chill.

For the last three years, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery has been the official sponsor of Record Store Day, and they’ve made Beer To Drink Music To ’17 Tropical Blonde the official beer of the vinyl-inspired holiday. So what’s Record Store Day? According to their official website, it was conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate the unique culture surrounding independent record stores all over the world. It’s been going strong since 2008, and Dogfish Head is proud to be a part of it.

The Delaware-based brewery chose a very chill beer to represent a pretty chill industry, and I’m proud to have Beer To Drink Music To ’17 on my windowsill. When I think of chill, I think of the tropics, and it doesn’t get much more tropical than kiwi juice and hibiscus flowers. It’s refreshing, delicious and, at 6.8% ABV, it will chill you out fast.

Posted on

Guinness: Guinness Draught

Guinness: Guinness Draught

ABV: 4.2%

IBU: 45

Availability: Year-round

@untappd says: 3.8/5

As if there were ever a doubt… It’s St. Patrick’s Day on the window sill!

Want to pour the perfect pint of Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day? Follow these steps:

Step 1: Use an official Guinness glass with the harp on it (forgive me St. Patrick, for I have sinned on the sill today).

Step 2: Hold the glass at a 45-degree angle and pull the tap forward.

Step 3: Gradually turn the glass upright and fill it to the harp logo.

Step 4: Leave it alone and wait for the cascading nitrogen bubbles to settle. This might take a few minutes, so please be patient, no matter how badly you want to take a sip.

Step 5: Go back to the tap, glass upright, and top it off.

Step 6: Take a sip and let the rich, creamy, velvety goodness fill your soul. Now you’re drinking Guinness like the Irish! Happy St. Paddy’s Day, lads and lasses.

Head over to Instagram for more great craft beer on Windowsills!

Posted on

Atwater Brewery: Vanilla Java Porter

Atwater Brewery: Vanilla Java Porter

ABV: 5.0%

IBU: 13

Availability: Year-round

@untappd says: 3.83/5

We’ve had a few stouts on the window sill, but not yet their great granddaddy, the porter. It’s time to remedy that.

The porter is among the oldest styles of beer in the world, having been invented somewhere in the 1700s. It became very popular with the transportation workers of Central London during the industrial revolution, which is where it got its catchy name. The original recipe called for three different styles: an aged or sour old ale, a brown or pale new ale and a milder ale. As I alluded to earlier, the porter is the direct ancestor to the stout, which was typically made by making porters that were stronger and more robust than the typical recipe called for. In fact, the original heavier porters were often called “Stout Porters.”

For me, the Vanilla Java Porter from Atwater Brewery was a bit of a miss. The vanilla and coffee aromas really came through when I poured it into the glass, but the flavor didn’t really back that up enough for me. I’m used to the more intense flavor of a stout, so this was a bit watered down for me.

Check out more craft beer—both winners and non-winners—on our Instagram now!

Posted on

Rock Art Brewery: Limited Access

Rock Art Brewery: Limited Access

Hops: Galaxy

ABV: 7.5%

IBU: 75

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.95/5

If the windowsill is rockin’ don’t bother knockin’. Just put a delicious double IPA from Rock Art Brewery on it

Did you ever hear about the time a tiny Vermont micro-bewery took on one of the titans of the energy drink industry and lived to tell the tale? In September of 2009, Hansen Natural (since renamed Monster Beverage Corporation) sent the Rock Art Brewery a cease and desist order. Why? Because the Vermont-based brewery had a barley wine named the Vermonster. According to Hansen Natural, that name was encroaching on the Monster Energy Drink brand. Yep. Apparently, no other drinks could have the word “monster” in their name. Rather than give in, Rock Art Brewery fought back, and so did many local Vermont stores, who boycotted Hansen products in solidarity. The boycott, and the bad PR caused by the entire affair, caused Hansen to drop the cease and desist order. Flawless victory. Rock Art still makes the Vermonster today, and Monster is now the official drink of NASCAR, so I guess everybody won in the end, but the little guy took a stand, and that’s what’s important.

As for the Limited Access double IPA, I can’t recommend it enough. At 7.5% alcohol, it’s a bit of a kick in the pants, but it’s citrusy, tropical, refreshing and delicious with a well-balanced finish that will leave you wanting another.

Go to our Instagram for more Vermont greats!

Posted on

Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company: Cranberry Ginger Shandy

Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company: Cranberry Ginger Shandy

ABV: 4.3%

IBU: 11

Availability: Seasonal, winter

@untappd says: 3.36/5

Shandy makes the windowsill dandy!

Here on the East Coast, we’re currently suffering through some fairly brutal winter weather. A week ago, it was nice enough that we could have gone to the beach. Just because winter is back for one last scare, doesn’t mean we can’t start getting in the spring and summer feel with a nice shandy. What’s a shandy, you ask? Legend has it that it was invented by a German man named Franz Kugler after a bicycle race in Munich in 1922. Kugler’s tavern was overrun with thirsty cyclists threatening to drink him out of house and home. To make his beer last, he began cutting it with lemonade and soda. The shandy was born.

The style is one of Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company‘s specialties, and they brew several flavors of it throughout the year. The Wisconsin-based brewery really knows what it’s doing, and they should; they’ve been in operation for 150 years. As for the Cranberry Ginger Shandy, Leinenkugel’s winter seasonal brew, it left me wanting more. Sure, it was sweet and refreshing, and good for a lazy afternoon, but there wasn’t enough flavor for me. It’s nice, but I wouldn’t rush out to buy one every winter.

Head over to our Instagram for more great craft beer!

Posted on

Newburgh Brewing Company: MegaBoss IPA

Newburgh Brewing Company: MegaBoss IPA

Hops: Whole Leaf Delta, Simcoe, Amarillo, Sorachi Ace, Lemon Drop, Apollo, Cascade, Centennial

Malts: Pilsner Malt, Malted Wheat

Yeast: Newburgh Ale Yeast

ABV: 7.0%

IBU: 45

Availability: Year-round

@untappd says: 3.81/5

If you think my window sill’s been very hops-centric of late, I’m sorry. It’s getting even hoppier today!

Quick! I need you to name as many varieties of hops as you can, right off the top of your dome. Did you name eight different ones? If you did, you’re a better beer connoisseur than I am.

Why did I just make you show me how much more you know about beer than I do? Because the MegaBoss IPA, made by Newburgh, NY’s Newburgh Brewing Company, is brewed with 8 different kinds of hops: Whole Leaf Delta, Simcoe, Amarillo, Sorachi Ace, Lemon Drop, Apollo, Cascade and Centennial hops. That combination, along with the aroma of pineapple and tropical fruit was so crisp, floral and tasty that even my wife, who typically really doesn’t like IPAs, thought it was delightful. If the MegaBoss can convince my wife, can you imagine what it can do for you?

Check out this boss brew on our Instagram, now.