I know I just said I had an uncomplicated Other Half beer two days ago, but this one is even less so! It's Big Citra Vibes DDH IPA, with straight-ahead fruitiness ("lychee and orange", they say), and not much of an undercurrent of anything else, though it is very fresh-tasting. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
December 3, 2025 at 2:08 AM
Tonight it's a Blizzard of Hops Winter IPA from Tröegs Independent Brewing (Hershey PA). Despite the name, it's not a stereotypical hop bomb, but rather I feel like the malt and the hops do a good job of working together as equals. Another good but inexpensive one from Tröegs. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
December 2, 2025 at 12:56 AM
I have a Parquet Floors DDH IPA from Other Half Brewing Co. (Brooklyn, NY). It's a good NEIPA, but it is very light on both ends: at the front is mostly grapefruit, the center is pretty creamy, and the grassiness at the back end is mild. One of OH's most uncomplicated brews. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
December 1, 2025 at 2:36 AM
I’ve opened a Wee Heavy from Belhaven Brewery (Dunbar, Scotland). They call it “a rich, dense, complex beer, with notes of dried fruit and candied peel; it’s like Christmas cake in a glass.” True, but the malt comes through nicely as well. Very good "quiet snowy evening" beer. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 30, 2025 at 1:32 AM
I’m having a Pitcher Of Nectar American IPA from Tilted Barn Brewery (Exeter, RI). It "features Nectaron (and Dolcita) hops, Nectar yeast, honey malt, and is lightly fruited with nectarines and peaches”. The best word to use here is “pleasant”, because it is undeniably that. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 28, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Here's Prospect IIPA from Foley Brothers Brewing (Brandon VT), and it keeps up with Vermont’s sometimes-penchant for making not-New-England IPAs. It has the requisite bitterness for a West-Coaster, but I’d say it’s a little maltier than some. It’s 9%, so it’s not messing around. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 26, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Go-to classic right here with KBS, The Original Imperial Stout from Founders Brewing Co. (Grand Rapids MI). Vanilla, butterscotch, caramel, bourbon, coffee, it’s like you name it, it’s in there. I gotta go clean my bathroom, and this is definitely going to make that less awful. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 26, 2025 at 1:47 AM
Here's Winter Woods IPA from True North Ale Co. (Ipswich MA). This captures the spruce tips’ flavor really well, and it’s fragrant in other ways, too, like a Christmas wreath. I've long appreciated the few beers with pine intentionally added, but this is an especially nice job. #BskyBeer #BeerSky
November 25, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Tonight's dinner beer is a Good Good Things DIPA (LongLive Beerworks; Boston MA). We have a tropical vibe for the fruity component, and as is typical of LongLive, we have a prominent herbal/vegetal cellulosic foundation that is not unlike cardstock, and I say that in a good way! #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 24, 2025 at 1:01 AM
I've got a Window Seat Coconut Almond Porter from Baxter Brewing Co. (Lewiston ME), a new brewery to me. It's a solid porter, and the other flavors are not overbearing. But with a flavor combo like this, you can end up a little suntan lotiony, and there is a bit of that here. #BskyBeer #BeerSky
November 23, 2025 at 2:34 AM
I've got a Gingerbread Stout from Hardywood Park Craft Brewery (Richmond VA) this evening. Definitely tastes like gingerbread, it's a stout, and it's 9.2% ABV. This is a handoff to the fullback right up the middle. If you're in the mood for that kind of thing, you'll be happy. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 21, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Tonight I've got a La Fin du Monde from Unibroue in Chambly, Quebec. It's booming with banana and clove, and I would call it a very good prototype go-to Belgian. Also a little punchy at 9% ABV. Beer Advocate seems to agree with me, as this gets a 96 (world-class) rating there. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 20, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Another hyperlocal Salem, MA brew that I've never seen down here around Boston: Hair of the Dog Rye Stout from Couch Dog Brewing Co. The rye lends a certain mineraliness to it but also a subtle sweetness. Otherwise it's a straight-ahead stout that did nicely as my dinner carb. #BskyBeer #BeerSky
November 19, 2025 at 1:34 AM
I've got Mad Elf from Tröegs in Hershey, PA. Belgian yeast and a blend of cherries, honey, chocolate malt, and spices. It’s balanced very thoughtfully and maximizes the 11% ABV vehicle. Tröegs is one of my favorites nationally because their quality/price ratio is so outstanding. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 16, 2025 at 11:52 PM
I was up in Salem today, home of East Regiment Beer Co. I grabbed an East Reggie Ryce, which I have never even seen around Boston. It has that lager character for sure, but a little crisper (rice) and a little sharper (rye). It goes down quickly. 😄 A very cool hyperlocal brew. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 16, 2025 at 1:24 AM
I've opened a Sow & Gather Foeder-Fermented IPA (Drowned Lands Brewery; Warwick NY). A foeder is a big oaken vat. The earthy undercurrent stands strong against the tropical fruit, so you've got a nicely developed flavor profile here. This brewery typically does not disappoint. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 15, 2025 at 2:14 AM
A little wet outside, but I did some grilling anyway, and with that, a classic I haven't had for a while: Orval Trappist Ale from ... well, Orval, in Belgium. Quite a punchy yeasty flavor that echoes through sectors of your head. Juuust a teeny bit of foam on this one as well. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 14, 2025 at 1:06 AM
OK, my post-singing-lesson beer this evening is a Son of Sapping Mammoth IPA from Maine Beer Co. (Freeport, ME), which I'd never tried. It’s a very nice IPA, not overly bitter, and what makes it interesting is that the malt character peeks through a little bit more than usual. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 12, 2025 at 2:25 AM
Made a turkey meatloaf recipe my daughter sent me, and it was good! Not only that, I have a Torque Hazy DIPA from Industrial Arts Brewing (Beacon, NY). Zippy pineapple and grapefruit up front, but not super creamy or complex. It's straightforwardly nice and refreshing, though. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 11, 2025 at 1:35 AM
I've got a Hen & Chickens DIPA from Devil's Purse Brewing Co. (South Dennis, MA). Right on the Cape! The fruit has a good core and depth to it, in a melon/earthy mode with some candied orange peel. There's a little booziness at the end, so I wasn't surprised that it's 8% ABV. #BskyBeer #BeerSky
November 10, 2025 at 1:06 AM
Tonight's pre-burrito beer was Fresh To Death DDH NEIPA, from Aurora Brewing Co. (King Ferry, NY), with just Citra and Mosaic hops. But it's very aptly named, because the fruitiness is *piercingly* fresh. I said "wow" out loud when I took my first sip. It is THAT distinctive. #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 9, 2025 at 12:44 AM
What a totally delightful holiday brew this is! It's Chestnut Praline Imperial Ale from Southern Tier Brewing Co. (Lakewood, N.Y.) This would be uncannily good on a quiet evening sitting by the fire. You can count on Southern Tier to hit it like this on a variety of things. #BskyBeer #BeerSky
November 8, 2025 at 1:55 AM
This is my 3rd beer from Bissell Brothers (Portland, ME), and their slant on NEIPAs is bringing out an interesting quality of the grain itself as another dimension of it. Reciprocal DDH IPA has an aftertaste that goes corn-like, and then kind of musty. They do this theme well! #BeerSky #BskyBeer
November 7, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Tonight's brew is a CBS from Founders (Grand Rapids, Mich.), which they call a "bold imperial stout featuring chocolate and coffee that has aged in bourbon barrels with maple syrup", and as such, you know there ain't gonna be much to complain about. I definitely enjoyed it. #BskyBeer #BeerSky
November 6, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Eek - 2 or 3 days without a beer! But I'm back with a Hypercube DIPA from Spyglass Brewing Co. in Nashua, NH, which to me is a top-tier brewer of NEIPAs. This one has a strong earthy/grassy character, and the fruity part comes off very fresh. That there is an NEIPA done right. #BskyBeer #BeerSky
November 4, 2025 at 11:42 PM