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SingleCut Beersmiths: Weird & Gilly

SingleCut Beersmiths: Weird & Gilly

ABV: 6.6%

IBU: 88

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 4.1/5

“Now Ziggy played guitar / Jamming good with Weird and Gilly on the Windowsill. – David Bowie… kinda.

If you know SingleCut Beersmiths, you know their brand is, more or less, designed around classic rock. If you know your David Bowie, you know where Weird & Gilly comes from. Ziggy Stardust is a song written from the perspective of the Spiders from Mars, the backup band for fictitious singer Ziggy Stardust (Bowie’s alter ego for the album). In real life, “Weird” is bassist Trevor Bolder and “Gilly” is drummer Woody Woodmansey. SingleCut keeps the it rocking, and I love them for that.

Now let’s talk about the brew. The Weird & Gilly label says “Some Cat from Japan asked us to make an IPA that was juicy, and nothing else.” The first part is another Ziggy Stardust lyric reference, but did SingleCut get the job done? YES. The soft, tangy malt backbone lays out and really lets the hoppy citrus, pine resin and tropical fruit aromas and flavors shine bright. So many flavors. So delicious! So juicy!

Be sure to follow us on Instagram for more great SingleCut beers!

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Half Full Brewery: Emil (Without Rhyme or Reason Release #5)

Half Full Brewery: Emil (Without Rhyme or Reason Release #5)

Hops: Motueka (dry-hop), Simcoe (dry-hop), Citra lupulin powder

Grains: Canadian 2-Row, Wheat (raw and malted), Flaked Oats

ABV: 7.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Limited (in-house only)

@untappd says: 3.98/5

“I found a reason for me / to change who I used to be / A reason for all that I do / and the reason is Half Full on my Windowsill!” – Hoobastank… sort of.

Let’s talk about Emil Christian Hansen! Why? Because he’s the inspiration behind the name of today’s beer, Half Full Brewery’s Emil. Hansen, a Danish mycologist and fermentation physiologist (that title has quite the mouthfeel, eh?), is best known as the first person to isolate a pure cell of yeast, which he did while working for Carlsberg in 1883. The yeast he created from this cell is the yeast from which all yeasts used in lager beers are derived. It was reading about Hansen that originally inspired McLain, Half Full’s head brewer, to enter the winemaking business and, ultimately, bring us this beer.

The Emil is, as you can see, the fifth can release in Half Full’s Without Rhyme or Reason series. It’s a double dry-hopped IPA brewed with Canadian 2-Row, wheat (raw and malted), flaked oats and a touch of lactose sugar. It’s then double dry-hopped with Simcoe and Motueka hops. The finishing touch is Citra lupulin powder. The end result is a hazy, citrusy and delicious IPA that I really loved having on the Windowsill.

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Thomas Hooker Brewery: Super Duper Double Citra

Thomas Hooker Brewery: Super Duper Double Citra

Hops: Citra

ABV: 8.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Limited

@untappd says: 4.21/5

Are those rubber chickens in your hula hoop pants, or are you just happy to see today’s Windowsill beer?

In case you haven’t noticed, the label on this beer from Bloomfield, Connecticut’s Thomas Hooker Brewery is inspired by one of my favorite childhood gameshows—Double Dare. You remember the show, right? Host Marc Summers would ask one of the teams a question. They could dare the other team to answer it. The other team could double dare them back. The final option? Physical challenge, y’all!

Today’s physical challenge was drinking this incredibly delicious brew. You don’t have to dig through a nose full of slime to figure out where this beer gets its name. It’s a double IPA brewed exclusively with Citra hops. Despite the heavy ABV, it’s a silky smooth brew that goes down nice and easy. Let it warm up a bit to get those tropical flavors of grapefruit, melon, passion fruit and lychee from the Citra hops. Super tropical, super delicious, not overly bitter. So good, you’ll want to sit in a giant bowl of spaghetti and catch oversized, sauced up meatballs with my teeth just to drink a Super Duper Double Citra!

Make sure to like this amazing brew on Instagram, and follow us!

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Half Full Brewery: Albert (Without Rhyme or Reason Release #5.5)

Half Full Brewery: Albert (Without Rhyme or Reason Release #5.5)

Hops: Simcoe (dry-hop)

Grains: Canadian 2-Row, Wheat (raw and malted), Flaked Oats

Yeast: Hefeweizen

ABV: 7.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Extremely limited

@untappd says: Not enough ratings as of press time

Feel the reason! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, it’s Windowsill time!

Half Full Brewery is back on the Windowsill! Today, let’s talk about “Together We Can,” the brewery’s “Volunteer—Drink Beer” initiative. Once a month, they organize volunteer days where anybody can come together to volunteer at a local community organization. Afterwards, they take it back to the brewery to celebrate. Every beer that sells that day results in a $1 donation to the organization, and a portion of all sales for the whole month get donated as well. If you’re looking to support a business that gives back, Half Full’s a good place to start.

Now, the beer! If you’ve followed my Instagram, you’re familiar with the Without Rhyme or Reason series Half Full has been releasing over the last 5 months or so. The series is known for the special can releases, but the brewery also releases even more exclusive WROR beers that don’t even make it to cans. The Albert—named after Albert Einstein—is one of those. That’s why it’s the “5.5,” and not the 6. I wish they had canned this beer, because it was amazing. It’s a hazy and full-bodied IPA brewed with hefeweizen yeast and double dry-hopped with Simcoe. The Albert has some great notes of peach and banana, goes down super smooth and tastes great!

Make sure you follow us on Instagram, and give Half Full a follow, too!

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Noble Rey Brewing Company: Tactical Combat Firefighter

Noble Rey Brewing Company: Tactical Combat Firefighter

Hops:Citra, Galaxy, Amarillo

ABV: 6.2%

IBU: 70

Availability: Year-round

@untappd says: 3.61/5

The Windowsill’s on fire tonight, we’re gonna need to call the fire department!

Noble Rey Brewing Company has the distinction of being the first brewery from Dallas to grace our Windowsill. It was founded in 2012 by Chris and Kendra Rigoulout. Head brewer Tommy Miller is in charge of the recipes. In some exciting news, they recently struck a deal with Neodif, a french beverage distributor, to bring their cans overseas. The first cans were scheduled to hit the shelves at the end of February. Vive la France!

The Tactical Combat Firefighter is our first brew from Noble Rey, and it came courtesy of my good friend @dawnthegourmand. It’s brewed with three kinds of hops—Citra, Amarillo and Galaxy—and it was overall pretty good. Some good tropical upfront flavor and aroma is followed by a good bitter finish, and there’s not much more you can ask for from an IPA. Very drinkable!

Shout out to Magnificent Beard for the can art. If you’re wondering why there’s only a head, the fireman’s body is on the other side. The cans are meant to be stacked. Cool!

Our Instagram’s on fire today, so go check it out!

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Black Hog Brewing Company: Easy Rye’Da

Black Hog Brewing Company: Easy Rye'Da

Hops: Bravo, Summit, 07270, Denali, Eureka

Malts: 2-Row Pale, Aromatic, British Pale, CaraHell, Rye Malt

ABV: 5.5%

IBU: 20

Availability: Year-round

@untappd says: 3.56/5

The Windowsill is revving up for a long hog ride today!

Black Hog Brewing Company was  opened in August 2014 by brothers Jason and Tom Sobocinski. The brothers grew up in a Polish/Italian family, so they grew up with a love of food and drink—specifically a nice, juicy, roasted pig. The pig of choice for all celebrations was the Berkshire Pig, which is known for its black color. See where I’m going with this? They hooked up with their old friend, brewer Tyler Jones, and Black Hog Brewing Company was born.

The Easy Rye’Da has a name name and can art inspired by the classic 1969 motorcycle movie Easy Rider. It’s a rye IPA brewed with Bravo, Summit, 07270, Denali and Eureka hops and yes, rye malt (along with other varieties, too). As they say on the official description, this is a session beer, so you can cruise on it all day long. This one was OK for me. The Easy Rye’Da didn’t quite get my motor runnin’, but it didn’t flood my engine either. Decent!

Get it in gear and head over to our Instagram, right now! Like and follow us for more great beers!

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Hanging Hills Brewing Company: Irregular Hartbeat

Hops: Galaxy

ABV: 8.4%

IBU: N/A

Availability: “Almost never”

@untappd says: 3.87/5

Is that a murmur in my chest, or am I just happy to have this beer on my Windowsill?

I love a brewery with a clear cut mission statement. Hanging Hills Brewing Company upholds the following values in order to make the best beer possible: purest ingredients, traditional techniques, attention to detail, creativity, community, commitment to environment, and gratitude. How do they make great beer? With “ingenuity and a dogged pursuit of quality. Like what you hear? Head up to Hartford today!

I’ve been looking for another good Hanging Hills brew for my Windowsill for a couple of weeks now, and man did I make a good choice! The Irregular Hartbeat (Hanging Hills is always showing the love for Hartford, CT) is a Galaxied up version of their other brew, named Hartbeat. While the Hartbeat is made with Mosaic and Citra, the Irregular Hartbeat is all Galaxy, all the time. It’s bright, juicy and hoppy. Made my heart skip a beat!

Check this one out on Instagram. Don’t forget to like and follow!

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Gun Hill Brewing Company: Live From Jacobi

Gun Hill Brewing Company: Live from Jacobi

ABV: 7.4%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.9/5

Coming to you live from the Windowsill today!

Although it was once a booming brew town, the Bronx went suds-less for 50 years before Gun Hill Brewing Company opened its taps in 2014. Owners Kieran Farrell and Dave Lopez have ties to the borough; Farrel is born and bred there, and Lopez went to school there. They operate as a New York state farm brewery, which means they’re allowed to sell pints and growlers on-site without additional permits. In return, all they have to do is source a certain cut of their ingredients from their home state. Pretty sweet deal!

Now let’s chat about the Live from Jacobi. It’s a “both coasts IPA.” I’ve also read it described as a “tribute from an East Coast brewery to a West Coast style IPA.” What does it all mean? The beer is good. The hop aromas get you right in the nostrils when you pop the tab, and the flavors are tropical, piney and citrusy. The backbone is light an bready, too. Solid beer that I really enjoyed!

Check this one out on Instagram, now!

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Connecticut Valley Brewing Company: I’m in Love with the Simcoe

Connecticut Valley Brewing Company: I'm in Love with the Simcoe

Hops: Simcoe

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.9/5

I’m feeling in love on the Windowsill today!

Connecticut Valley Brewing Company was established in 2012 by the husband and wife team of Steve and Lori Palauskas. As I mentioned in my review of The New Frontier, they’re really into their home state’s massive aviation history (after all, Steve spent 25 years in the industry). Their logo features the F4U Corsair, which is the official plane of Connecticut and first flew during WWII. Head down to their South Windsor, CT taproom to check out more of their tasty brews!

While I might not call O.T. Genasis the songbird of our generation, his blazing hit “I’m In Love with the Coco” has been playing in my head since I took my first gander at the label of today’s Windowsill brew. As the name suggests, I’m in Love with the Simcoe is a single-hop NEIPA that features the talented and versatile Simcoe hop. The beer is light and lemony, but still has a lot of resin and citrus going on. Will you fall in love with the Simcoe? I did!

Fall in love with our Instagram, right now!

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Karmic Daaru Company: Citrus Suraj

Karmic Daaru Company: Citrus Suraj

Hops: Idaho-7, Calypso, Lemondrop

ABV: 8.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.89/5

What better to see through the Windowsill than a nice citrusy sun?

Karmic Daaru Company was founded in 2016 by South Windsor Connecticut’s Akshar Patel, who started the company while he was still in school. The company has seen its fair share of success in its early going and Patel continues to plan its long-term strategy, as he expands to other states. I really hope he keeps Karmic Daaru running, because his beers are delicious, and I need them for my Windowsill!

The Citrus Suraj (meaning sun) is just the second beer Akshar has brewed and distributed under the Karmic Daaru banner. It’s a really solid dry-hopped Double IPA made with a blend of Idaho-7, Calypso and Lemondrop hops. Really bright, tropical and tasty. Karmic Daaru is 2-for-2 so far, as far as I’m concerned. Shout out to Doug Fortin for the Citrus Suraj label work. He also did the artwork for their first beer, the Space Komet Sitra. So good!

Check this post out on Instagram, now!