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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!

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BAD SONS Beer Company: Lupefied

BAD SONS Beer Co.: Lupefied

Wet Hop: Ctz, Centennial, Citra, Simcoe

Dry Hop: Lupulin powder from Mosaic, Simcoe, and Citra

ABV: 8.8%

IBU: 86

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.66/5

Don’t get Funkdafied or Stupified right now. It’s time to get Lupefied on the Windowsill!

Have you guys gotten your butts down to Derby, Connecticut to visit BAD SONS Beer Company yet? If not, this Saturday might be a good day to right that wrong. They’re throwing a St. Patty’s Day Cask & Nitro party. There will be limited release beers on hand, like Nitro Stout, Cask Stout, Cask Bock, Nitro Brown and Scotch Ale. Those delectable treats will only be available on St. Patty’s day, so head down there! It lasts from noon until 10PM!

If you do go, make sure you pick up a 4-pack of today’s Windowsill brew, the Lupefied. It’s an Imperial/Double IPA loaded with a sick amount of hops. Head brewer Mark daSilva stuffed as much CTZ, Centennial, Citra and Simcoe hops as he could into this beer. However, it’s in the dry hop where this DIPA really gets its oomph, with added lupulin powder from Mosaic, Simcoe and Citra hops as well! The Lupefied is hoppy, fruity, tart and really quite good. Plus… BAD SONS’ can art is on point as always.

Check this one out on Instagram, too. Make sure you like and follow!

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Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery: Pure Brewed Organic Lager

Samuel Smith's Old Brewery: Pure Brewed Organic Lager

Malts: Organic Malted Barley

ABV: 5.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.48/5

It’s Friday, so you know what that means! Lost Photo time!

This is the first time we’ve had Yorkshire’s Samuel Smith’s Old Brewery on the Windowsill in a while, and it’s nice to have our old friend back. The brewery prides itself in its organic beers, and the fact that they’ve been using the same brewing techniques for 250+ years. Their water even comes from the same well they dug in 1758. Old!

There’s something nice about a simple old timey lager, and the Pure Brewed Organic Lager is about as simple as it gets. Ingredients? Water, organic malted barley, yeast and organic hops. Four things, all organic, combining for a nice, crisp lager? It’s not the best beer I’ve ever tasted, but it was decent. And vegan! According to their site, the best temperature to drink the Pure Brewed is 44°F (7°C).

Find more of our awesome beer photos on Instagram, now!

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Pipeworks Brewing Company: Lizard King

Pipeworks Brewing Company: Lizard King

Hops: Mosaic

ABV: 6.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Year-round

@untappd says: 4.04/5

In the land of the Windowsills, the lizard can is king!

The great Jim Morrison once wrote: “I am the Lizard King, I can do anything” in a poem named “The Celebration of the Lizard.” Although the verse was written in the point of view of a fictional author, fans of The Doors—possibly because the 60s were a hell of a time for drugs—assumed Morrison was anointing himself King of those little reptilian creatures, and the nickname stuck.

Pipeworks Brewing Company‘s Lizard King is an American Pale Ale hopped exclusively with Mosaic. It’s light, crisp and really delicious, with lots of incredible tropical, piney and citrusy goodness. One sip, and I really did feel like I could do anything! Is the Lizard King named after the great Jim Morrison? I wasn’t sure until I took a look at the description. A pale that “gets our mojo risin’?” Even Mr. Mojo Risin’ himself, Jim Morrison, could figure this one out, and he’s been dead since 1971. Also, how many nicknames can one man have?

Are you a lion in the street and roaming? Roam over to our Instagram to check this beer out!

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Oliver Brewing Company (with Stillwater Artisanal): Whipped 2.0

Oliver Brewing Company with Stillwater Artisanal: Whipped 2.0

Hops: Citra, Simcoe

ABV: 8.0%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Limited

@untapped says: 3.91/5

Are you ready to watch the Windowsill whip? Great! There will be no nae naes, though.

Maryland’s Oliver Brewing Company and Stillwater Artisanal—a gypsy brewery based in Brooklyn, NY—have collaborated on many beers. Although Oliver started in 1993, and Stillwater is just a baby (2010), the two seem to work really well together. This is the first time I’ve had the pleasure of hosting one of them on my Windowsill, but it won’t be the last.

The Whipped 2.0 was a really interesting choice for my first from this team. It’s a double IPA brewed with over 500 lbs of pureed mangos, flaked oats, lactose (for mouthfeel) and vanilla beans. The hop profile is actually really nice, too. 130 lbs of Citra and Simcoe hops are used to give it a nice, juicy, tropical deliciousness. Top top it all off, it’s a Nitro beer! This brew combines everything, from aroma to flavor to mouthfeel. Superb effort!

Check this great collaboration brew on our Instagram, now!

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Weyerbacher Brewing Company: Sunday Molé Stout

Weyerbacher Brewing Company: Sunday Molé Stout

ABV: 11.3%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Rotating

@untappd says: 3.98/5

It might not be Sunday where you are, but it is on my Windowsill!

I love a good Mexican stout, don’t you? Chocolate, cinnamon and chilli peppers? Yes, please! I’ve always been curious though. Why do stouts amalgamate so well with the intense flavors from the peppers? It’s all about the thick body. As Bon Appetít Magazine said, the malty backbone of the stout is simply strong enough to support it all. The sweetness of the higher ABV highlights the flavor of the peppers, while the creamy body acts like a fire extinguisher, suppressing enough of the heat to make the beer comfortable to drink. It’s the best of all worlds!

The Sunday Molé stout from Pennsylvania’s Weyerbacher Brewing Company takes the Mexican stout one step further, really capturing the flavors of traditional Mexican molé poblano. Coffee, chocolate, heat and smokiness were what I needed from this brew, and those flavors were definitely playing a Ranchera on my tastebuds. This stout has it all: cocoa powder, cacao nibs; ancho, pasilla, mulato and chipotle peppers; and the cinnamon kick that brings it all together. Really liked this one!

Check out more delicious Mexican stouts on our Instagram, now!

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Founders Brewing Company: Kentucky Breakfast Stout (2017)

Founders Brewing Company: Kentucky Breakfast Stout

ABV: 11.8%

IBU: 70

Availability: Limited, new version released in 2018

@untappd says: 4.47/5

Let’s celebrate KBS Week on the Windowsill!

If you didn’t know, Founders Brewing Company is officially kicking off KBS Week today. The Kentucky Breakfast Stout is, once again, part of their barrel-aged series for 2018. This series will feature six releases throughout the year. The KBS is the first for 2018, and it releases everywhere this week. My bottle is from last year’s KBS release, which means I let it bottle condition for an extra year. Go get your bottle today!

The KBS is one of the better stouts I’ve ever had. If you’ve had the base beer, which is the Breakfast Stout, you know how good that is. Now picture that amplified to be a little beefier in alcohol content, and then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for a whole year. It’s delightfully creamy and chocolaty, and those bourbon undertones warm you up nicely on the way down. I’m happy KBS Week gave me a chance to finally pop the top on this one. So good!

Celebrate KBS Week on our Instagram, right now!

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Trinity Brewing & Evoke Fermentations: Super Juice Solution

Trinity Brewing & Evoke Fermentations: Super Juice Solution

ABV: 4.1%

IBU: N/A

Availability: Summer seasonal

@untappd says: 3.83/5

There’s a problem on the Windowsill, and there’s only one solution: Lost Photo Friday!

Trinity Brewing & Evoke Fermentations is all about finding solutions. Not just for beer-related problems, either. They also want to solve their patrons’ health problems. Starting after St. Patrick’s Day, they host a running group called Soul Runners every Monday at 5:45PM. Anyone—at any level of fitness—can come, and there are 4 and 8-mile (can we call these “Spaghetti, Spaghetti?”) trails. This is very smart business. Healthy customers live longer, and come back for more beer. Everyone wins!

When I had the Super Juice Solution over the summer, it was the first sour IPA I’d ever had. For whatever reason, the photo got lost in the BOW archives, but the beer is definitely one to be remembered. It’s soured with Lactobacillus delbrueckii yeast bacteria and uses fruity american hops for aroma and flavor. It’s a very juicy IPA that really refreshed me. And, at 4.1% ABV, your summer solution can involve more than one of these.

You have a problem, and the only solution… is Beers on Windowsills on Instagram!