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Toppling Goliath Brewing Company: Fire, Skulls & Money

Toppling Goliath Brewing Company: Fire, Skulls and Money

Hops: Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy, Nelson

ABV: 7.2%

IBU: 50

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 4.29/5

Send fire, skulls and money… that shit has hit the Windowsill!

As a connoisseur of craft beer, I know that sometimes a can, bottle or glass isn’t always good enough to hold that glorious nectar. None of the vessels do a good enough job of keeping my beer cold for long periods of time. Sometimes, they need help. With that in mind, take a look at the container on my sill today. It’s the Hopsulator by BruMate, and it’s a really cool product. It can be used in several different ways: It’s meant to hold 16 oz beer cans (with the special screw top), but you can put 12 oz cans in it (with the booster). It’s also stainless steel, so you can pour your liquids directly in it… hot or cold. I use it just about every day for my coffee, and I sometimes pour my beer in it. Just switch tops, and it’s a drink on the go (coffee for the car, beer for the beach). Awesome product!

Hopsulator
The Hopsulator and its many accessories. Keep everything cold! (Martin Stezano/Beers on Windowsills)

What beer did I pour in my Hopsulator? One of the best IPAs I’ve had all year. The Fire, Skulls and Money from Iowa’s Toppling Goliath Brewing Company was unreal. Incredibly juicy, amazingly hoppy (Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy and Nelson), and with haze for days. You can see some of that amazing color shining through the dark bottle in the sun, right? Unfortunately, I took this one to the beach, so I couldn’t open it to show you guys the full pour color, but trust ya boy when I say it’s incredible.

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Rock Art Brewery: 20th Anniversary Double IPA

Rock Art Brewery: 20th Anniversary Double IPA

ABV: 8.0%

IBU: 80

Availability: Limited

@untappd says: 4.03/5

Still coming strong with that VT Beer on the Windowsill!

This past June, I took a trip to Vermont. Part of that trip involved a stop at Morrisville, VT’s Rock Art Brewery. As you can see by the photos, it’s a beautiful brewery. Although the company was founded in 1997, their current facility is only seven years old. The taproom, which was womanned by a really cool lady whose name escapes me, had amazing beers. Everything was super clean, and there was art displayed all over the place. The best part? The whole place is solar powered. The folks in Vermont know how to do green!

Now for the brew. I was unable to nail down the hop recipe for the 20th Anniversary DIPA, but it’s one of the juiciest, haziest Double IPAs I’ve ever had. Really crisp and clean, with amazing hoppiness and a nice, dry finish. I had it at the taproom (see the 2 oz glass on the great big, round sill?) and brought home a can for later. So good! Perfect for a 20th anniversary brew… or any anniversary, for that matter!  If you’re in the area, go to Rock Art!

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Simple Roots Brewing Company: Elderflower Saison

Simple Roots Brewing Company: Elderflower Saison

Special Ingredients: Elderflowers

ABV: 5.3%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.7/5

Saison season is not over yet!

Have you guys seen Breaking Bad? You know, the one about the science teacher that decides to make meth on the side? Well, Simple Roots Brewing Company is kind of like that… except without the meth. It was opened in 2014 by former high school science teacher Dan Ukolowicz and his wife, Kara Pawlusiak. There’s lots more to tell about this Vermont-based brewery, so I hope to get their beers back on my Windowsill soon!

I’ve really gotten into saisons lately, and I really enjoyed this one from Simple Roots, too. It’s a little bit tart, crisp and light, and infused with dried elderflower for a very unique flavor. As the can says, this one is definitely good to drink on rocking chair, under the shade of a tree and with family and friends. Pull up a picnic table, because I really enjoyed the Elderflower Saison!

More great saisons await on my Instagram, so head over there now!

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River Roost Brewery: Glimpse

River Roost Brewing: Glimpse

ABV: 7.8%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 4.33/5

Wanna see what’s on the Windowsill? Why not get a glimpse…

River Roost Brewery was opened in 2016 by Mark Babson, a former brewer and quality technician in the industry. Since then, the White River Junction-based beer maker has been garnering quite a reputation for quality brewing. How did I find them? I had to pee. Yep. I was driving up to Vermont, about an hour from my destination, and I had to pee. I popped “brewery” into my GPS and found River Roost. Good thing I did, because I picked up today’s brew in the process. And I peed!

The Glimpse is definitely one of the better DIPAs I’ve had in quite some time. I was unable to find out the hop recipe before posting, but whatever the mix, it’s juicy, hazy, resinous and amazing. Of course, I could tell it was gonna be good from the tropical aromas that zoomed into my nostrils when I opened the can. Find these guys, and drink their delightful brews!

Check out the rest of the beers from my Vermont trip on Instagram!

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Aspetuck Brew Lab: Symbiosis Saison

Aspetuck Brew Lab: Symbiosis Saison

Hops: Mandarina Bavaria, Lemon Drop

ABV: 6.7%

IBU: 27

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.6/5

Going back to the lab on the Windowsill today. Get your white scientist coat!

Why is the now three-year-old brewery named Aspetuck Brew Lab? The word means “river originating at the high place” in the language of the Algonquin people—a group of Native Americans from New England, Canada and some of the plains states. The water that the brew lab uses for its beers comes from the Aspetuck watershed and Aspetuck River in the hills of Redding and Easton, Connecticut. It’s one of the cleanest rivers in the Nutmeg State, which makes for some pretty tasty beer.

The Symbiosis saison is a fruity, bright farmhouse ale brewed with oats, wheat and rye, fermented with Belgian yeast and then dry-hopped with Mandarina Bavaria and Lemon Drop hops. That melding of the two styles (the farmhouse ale and the hoppyness) created a pretty nice beer. Didn’t blow me out of the water, but it was pretty good. The Symbiosis is worthy of the 3.6 rating from untappd.

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Finch Beer Company: Sungasm

Finch Beer Company: Sungasm

ABV: 4.5%

IBU: 40

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.5/5

You ever have a sungasm? I’m having one on the Windowsill today!

I love me some Chicago beer, but this was the first time I’ve ever had anything from Finch Beer Company. After a couple of years of turmoil and upheaval, the company is back in full swing. What happened? Well, original founder Ben Finch was voted out of the business by his investors in 2016. Why? Well, rather than focus on beer quality, Finch had some ideas that were a little too pie in the sky for the money peeps behind the company. He made two separate plans for a state-of-the-art brewery that fell through. Also, apparently he wasn’t very well-liked by others in the industry. Anyway, I’m obviously not going fully into all the facts, but push came to shove and Finch is out of Finch. The brand has been trying to rehabilitate ever since.

The Sungasm is a really tasty Belgian Pale Ale. It’s got that fruity quality that the Belgian yeast provides, and a tropical goodness from the mix of hops. It’s also light on the ABV, which makes it the perfect summertime drink. The Sungasm was so good, I ended up having multiples! Thanks to my friends Victor and Jess for this beer, and the lovely glass on the sill today!

Check out more delicious beer on my Instagram page!

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Fat Orange Cat Brew Co.: FOC Less Monster

Fat Orange Cat Brew Co.: FOC Less Monster

Hops: Citra, Ahtanum

ABV: 8.0%

IBU: 48

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.91/5

Let’s see what’s on the Windowsill, right meow!

Fat Orange Cat Brew Co. is a small, seasonal farm brewery located in East Hampton, CT. Seasonal, you ask? Yep, it’s only open 9 months of the year, closing during January, February and March. I love the name of this place! It’s inspired by “Brewmaster Billy,” a former portly pet of owners Sheila Mullen and Mike Klucznik, who are married. Check out their website for more info about the brewery, including a photo of the brewery’s namesake.

The FOC Less Monster is the first beer I’ve ever had from FOC—a delicious New England style IPA brewed with Citra and Ahtanum hops. At 8%, it packs a solid punch, but it wasn’t very bitter at all. Really tasty and refreshing beer, and I love the can art!

Check out more awesome brews on my Instagram, now!

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Two Brothers Artisan Brewing: In the Flesh Pomegranate

Two Brothers Artisan Brewing: In the Flesh Pomegranate

ABV: 4.1%

IBU: 7

Availability: Brewed once

@untappd says: 3.93/5

Jim and Jason Ebel followed their dreams to start Two Brothers Artisan Brewing back in 1996, and they’ve been making creative brews ever since. Aside from the beer, the best part of their brewery is their commitment to “craft with a conscience.” They use green, renewable energy at all of their restaurants and tap houses, and all of their packaging is made from recycled—and recyclable—materials. They also have a rooftop garden where they grow a lot of the ingredients used in their recipes, and whatever they can’t grow, they source locally. Love that Colorado craft life!

The In the Flesh Pomegranate is part of Jason And Jim’s American Sour series. They strive to provide “drinkable fruit sours that offer the perfect balance between sweet and tar.” If you can think of a fruit, Two Brothers has turned it into an In The Flesh release, or they’re going to eventually. The Pomegranate is made with real pomegranate, and I found it achieved the goals the series set forth. A little sweet, a little tart and very refreshing!

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Dogfish Head Craft Brewery: Olde School Barleywine (2017)

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery: Olde School

ABV: 15%

IBU: 85

Availability: Part of their “rarities” release series

@untappd says: 4.03/5

We’re going olde school on the Windowsill today!

Ever wonder just what exactly a barleywine is? Contrary to its name, it’s not a wine. Wine is made with fermented juice. Barleywine is made with fermented grain—typically barley—which makes it a beer…a very strong beer. They are typically anywhere from 8% to 12% ABV, although they can be more, as you’ll find out in a minute. It’s that high-alcohol content, which is similar to wine, that earned this ale its name. The style has been around in name since Ancient Greece (although with a different recipe), but today’s version of the style uses hops as a preservative. @anchorbrewing is credited with introducing the style to American audiences, which they did with their Old Foghorn in 1976. Drink it a little warmer than your typical beer to get all that good flavor!

The Olde School is a pretty unique barleywine from Delaware’s Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. It’s fermented using figs and dates. The recipe came from a an old English cellarman’s manual Dogfish’s founder Sam Calagione found that suggested adding dates and figs to casks to re-carbonate them. Calagione recommends aging this beer, to let the hops recede a bit and push those fruity flavors forward. I found this brew to be pretty delicious. Very sweet. Very fruity. Very strong! I just wish I’d bought more than one so I could age a bottle.

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Founders Brewing Company: Dankwood (2018)

Founders Brewing Company: Dankwood

Hops: Chinook, Mosaic, Simcoe

Malts: Caramalt, Roasted Barley

ABV: 12.2%

IBU: 65

Availability: May to June

@untappd says: 3.93/5

There’s a big slab of dank on the Windowsill today!

I can’t stress it enough. I love Founders Brewing Company’s barrel-aged series. The brewery currently has over 20,000 filled barrels waiting to be released. They’re stored in former mines below the streets of Grand Rapids, as well as at an off-site storage facility named the Barrel House, which boasts more than two-square acres of refrigerated space… wowsers! The Dankwood was this year’s third BA release—after KBS and Backwoods Bastard and followed by Barrel Runner and the soon-to-be-released Curmudgeon’s Better Half. It did not disappoint.

Unlike some of the other barrel-aged releases for this year, the Dankwood is all-new for 2018. Founders took their beloved—and previously Windowsilled—ReDANKulous red IPA and stuck it in bourbon barrels. The result is a somewhat sweet, malty, boozy and complex bottle of deliciousness I really enjoyed. Also, I dropped the bottle from the top shelf of my fridge onto my tile floor, and it didn’t break. So… dank!

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