99 Bottles

Review: Boulevard/Sierra Nevada Terra Incognita

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:21:05 GMT

Complexity can be good or bad for a beer. Two weeks ago I reviewed a messy IPA. Aged in Chardonnay barrels and with no sense of balance, Nebraska Brewing Company's Hop God Reserve Series was a lesson in bigger not...

Craft beer, the great democracy: A review of SAVOR 2013

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:24:35 GMT

The following is a guest post from John Karalis, who attended Savor 2013, the craft beer and food experience held in New York City on June 14 and 15. Karalis is co-founder of the Celtics website RedsArmy.com. A seven-course...

Bauer Wine & Spirits Big Beer Tasting benefits The One Fund

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 14:07:22 GMT

Bauer Wine & Spirits is the rare Newbury Street business geared toward residents rather than tourists (the antique jeweler Small Pleasures is another, but we're getting off track). A friend who lives in the area raves about Bauer's selection and...

Clown Shoes tap takeover at Jacob Wirth

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:53:34 GMT

Clown Shoes Beer will debut "Crunkle Sam", a barleywine dry-hopped with Citra, during a tap takeover at Jacob Wirth in Boston on Thursday night (June 13) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Along with the new beer four others will...

Six Father's Day beer gift ideas

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 21:01:19 GMT

If you listen to the radio or watch television, you know that all dads love grillin', golfin', nappin', and watchin' sports. The man in your life naturally loves all of these things, but with Father's Day approaching you should also...

Review: Nebraska Hop God Reserve Series

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 11:01:15 GMT

From a new IPA to an old one, Nebraska Brewing Company sells a $20-plus bottle of Hop God IPA aged for six months in Chardonnay barrels. Like it or not, pricy beers are establishing a foothold in the market. The...

Goose Island brewer says AB InBev merger working out just fine

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:31:17 GMT

When the Brewers Association released its list of the top 50 craft breweries in the country for 2012, Chicago's Goose Island wasn't on it. Goose Island isn't categorized as craft, according to the association, because it's now owned by Anheuser-Busch...

Review: AleSmith Brewing Company IPA

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 11:06:34 GMT

It's been too long since I've reviewed an IPA, so this week you're getting two of them. The first is young and grassy, and it's one of my new favorites. It was recommended by the beer buyer at Social Wines...

Jack's Abby/Lawson's Finest Liquids Smoked Maple Lager collaboration

Tue, 28 May 2013 13:02:10 GMT

Framingham's Jack's Abby Brewing and Warren, Vermont's Lawson's Finest Liquids are two of the most respected breweries in New England. Jack's Abby puts hoppy twists on traditional German lagers. Founded by the three Hendler brothers, it's a much larger operation...

Review: Two White Birch Brewing summer beers

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:59:14 GMT

White Birch Brewing founder Bill Herlicka started making his own beer in 1994. He spent 15 years brewing for himself before going commercial, honing his craft making Belgian dubbels, tripels, and quads before moving on to imperial stouts, baryleywines,...

Taste of Faneuil Hall Thursday night

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:11:55 GMT

The first annual "Taste of Faneuil Hall" -- a food and craft beer festival to benefit Boston Children's Hospital -- takes place Thurs., May 23 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event features food from nearby restaurants and beer...

Local brewers make 'Ales for ALS'

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:47:15 GMT

Dozens of brewers across the country are participating in a campaign to raise money for ALS awareness. Several Massachusetts breweries are involved, including Cambridge Brewing Co., Harpoon Brewery, Wormtown Brewery, and Samuel Adams. As part of the program, participant brewers...

Heady Topper to Boston? Maybe not

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:09:41 GMT

Last July, The Alchemist in Waterbury, Vt. announced plans to double the production of its most popular beer, the double-IPA Heady Topper. Since then, Heady Topper has risen to the No. 1 beer in the world on Beer Advocate....

Review: Hof ten Dormaal Barrel-Aged Project Dark Ale

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:30:39 GMT

Part of the fun of writing about beer is coming across bottles I've never had. A "brief" trip to the exceptionally well-stocked Craft Beer Cellar in Belmont last week turned into an hour-plus of staring at unfamiliar labels. Kind of...

2nd Annual Lager Cask Fundraiser for One Mission

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:18:19 GMT

Framingham's Jack's Abby Brewing is holding a fundraiser on May 24 and 25 to benefit One Mission, a childhood cancer foundation dedicated to enhancing the lives of pediatric cancer patients and their families. The 2d annual lager cask fundraiser will...

Review: Night Shift Brewing Snow

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:27:58 GMT

A trip to Everett's Night Shift Brewing, and to Idle Hands Craft Ales one door down, defies convention. Nestled in a neighborhood of loading docks and auto repair shops are two tiny tasting rooms pouring fresh, local beer. The breweries...

Review: Hoppin' Frog Barrel-Aged Outta Kilter

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:38:49 GMT

Barrel-aged beers are nothing new. The technique of aging stouts and porters and scotch ales in bourbon barrels was so cool for awhile it became passe. Everyone did it, soaking their brews in sweet, charred wood to bring out bourbon...

Cambridge Brewing Company 24th anniversary party

Fri, 03 May 2013 22:21:50 GMT

Cambridge Brewing Company in Kendall Square is hosting a 24th anniversary bash tomorrow (Saturday, May 4). The party runs from noon until 1 a.m. and features 24 beers on tap. Two brand new beers, Mellow Gold and Shadows and Light,...

Review: Wormtown Mass Whole Hefeweizen

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:25:27 GMT

It's a busy time of year here at 99 Bottles, with spring beers and summer beers mingling and vying for attention like middle-schoolers at the local carnival. Regrettably, my focus has stopped off somewhere between South Station and Penn Station,...

Watch: The Alchemist's John Kimmich answers your Heady Topper questions

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 19:15:54 GMT

In case you haven't heard, The Alchemist's Heady Topper is now the No.1 ranked beer in the world. You can read plenty about the beer and about Waterbury, Vt., the town from which it comes, in my Globe Magazine story...

Harpoon hosting 'Brewed for Boston' nights

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 10:40:24 GMT

Harpoon Brewery is offering a couple of fun nights to benefit victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. Like most Bostonians, Harpoon's employees were affected by the tragedy and "felt compelled to do something," in the words of PR director...

Review: Widmer Brothers Alchemy Ale

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:05:30 GMT

There's a lot of craft beer out there, from relative giants like Lagunitas and Stone to the three-barrel nanobrewery down the street. Portland, Oregon's Widmer Brothers Brewing falls somewhere in the middle. You can spot their taps in many New...

Boston Beer trademarks 'Boston Strong' 26.2 Brew to benefit marathon charities

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:35:52 GMT

(Left to right) BAA president Joann Flaminio, Boston Beer CEO Jim Koch, and marathon winner Bill Rodgers. Boston Beer Company, maker of Samuel Adams, has filed a trademark for Boston Strong 26.2 Brew in the beer category. The trademark would...

Review: Notch Left of the Dial IPA

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:21:32 GMT

We all heal differently. I wasn't ready to write about beer last week. I knew dozens of people who were in and out of the site of Monday's Boston Marathon bombings, and between work and my personal life, I was...

Breweries combine to raise money for Boston Marathon victims

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:48:58 GMT

This is a sad week in Boston. There are a couple of beer reviews in the 99 Bottles queue, but they can wait until next week. In the meantime, Framingham's Jack's Abby is organizing a fundraiser Wednesday to benefit the...