Sierra Nevada’s Beer Camp Across America Festival

After the unfortunate circumstances of last year’s THE Festival in Portland, nobody was really sure if another organizer would tackle the mess of craziness that is Maine’s antiquated approach to beer regulation.  But miracles happen, especially when beer is involved. Sierra Nevada just announced a 7-stop series of festivals they’re calling “The largest craft beer celebration…

Wheat is the New Hops: A Grassroots/Mikkeller Collaboration

This collab has been around for a while but I keep coming back to it because it’s just so darn succulent.  Witness: It was gone before I could take a photo of it in the glass: Shaun Hill, the philosophizer genius behind Hill Farmstead – recently profiled in the New York Times – works as Grassroots…

Perennial Artisan Ales: Saison de Lis

A gorgeous Belgian Ale brewed with Chamomile flowers. When brewers add ingredients that might seem arbitrary – like chamomile flowers – the results can veer into novelty.  That’s not the case with Saison de Lis.  Perennial Artisan Ales crafted this delicately balanced Belgian saison with a slight French sensibility.  Picture a field of chamomile stretching to the…

Allagash Tour, Part II: Beer Geeks Gone Wild!

WARNING: Rambling prologue ahead. If you want to skip to the Allagash goods, proceed to the photo of the barrel-filled Allagash Wild Room below. Prologue to Allagash Tour, Part II: Mike: India Pale Ales are the language of love in the craft beer world.  It’s the international language, and everyone speaks it. Ask a beer…

Allagash Tour, Part I

Mike:  Belgians. It can be assumed that they invented Belgian chocolate, which is absolutely delicious. And the name implies that they also invented Belgian waffles, which kick Eggos to the curb. But their best creation? Belgian beer. The carbonation, the qualities of their yeast, the flavors they produce from four or five ingredients. They are…