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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!