Being The Blockchain Beerologist definitely has its perks, including but not limited to getting paid to tour breweries and sample new beers! When I am not globetrotting and chugging pints, my fridge looks like a colourful mosaic of regional craft beer I enjoy sharing with the #beersaturday alliance of #beer bloggers on #hive.
This week, I am battling back to somewhat of a normal schedule, not fending off adventure too well, and discovering new regional craft beer to share with legions of followers!
Shorty of the Week
I love to have a few short craft beers rolling around in the fridge for when a full pint is just a few sips too much. They are often one-off brews not available regularly like this one from Black Swan Brewing. A nice session IPA that is very tasty for a 3.8% ABV beer brewed a couple miles from my house. Photobomb courtesy of Sir Stripy Face.
My buddies @davedickeyyall, @ganjafarmer, @partytrout and maybe even @solominer may enjoy the weekend pack this shorty was part of. A few IPAs and a couple varieties of pre-roles purchased at Spiritleaf They are also clients of ours and that webpage is a platform we have built to boost SEO, as does Hive with the backlinks!
Something in the Water
I LOVE when I visit the beer shelves in town, scan through the ridiculous colours in the craft beer section and a new label catches my eye. This is not only a new IPA to sample. It is also a new-to-me brewery Something in the Water Brewerythrough which I will discover with their flagship IPA, which is how I do. Looking a little closer, I can see they have 2 different locations. One a couple miles from my home in Toronto, and the other in my hometown! In addition to that, the beer is inspired by a hazy creek in a town 20 minutes up the road from here. Here we go!
Hazy Maitland IPA definitely appears as advertised. The Muddy Maitland river might be as foggy as this beer but there were definitely no frogs to catch. A solid 6.5% ABV and my preferred IPA hop Mosaic, I was wondering where all the fruit body came from. Bergamot is one I have not heard of much and it known for its citrus and predominantly orange like character. A little extra sugar in the brew makes for the higher abv and the fruit taking on a more pineapple flavour which made this beer a very pleasant surprise.
I will have to try this one again as it has all the flavour, style and potential for year round availability in these parts to vie for my coveted top 10 list. Good stuff!
More Flying Monkeys Insanity
Folks that join me in the Hive Pub regularly will know of my love and fascination for Flying Monkeys Brewery. To me, they were one of the OGs of regional IPA and punk rock in their dedication to product management in the form of bold and impactful labels and brands. Besides that, they are a bity off their rocker when it comes to the lengths they will go to experiment and constantly push the boundaries of strong beer to places nobody has gone, and potentially should never go. At least to the lawnmower beer and German Purity Law purists. Not hard to see this one on a noisy shelf and I am a pretty easy sell.
Psychedelic Puzzle Factory is, and get ready for this, your standard Bumbleberry Custard Double IPA. It is wet and dry hopped with my preferred Mosaic and Idaho7 hops for the DIPA model but you can barely tell with all the rest that is going on. Lactose, Vanilla Beans, Blackberry Purée, Blueberry Purée, Hibiscus Tea are all swirled into the mash and it comes out more like a strong fruit punch with teeth than a beer. Though I wouldn't mix more than one of these into a session, it was definitely enjoyable and impactful, grabbing my attention with every swig to peer again at the surprising clarity and sunset like hue of the beer.
I fling my exclusive seal of approval around rather inclusively because of my almost unhealthy love of beer. This time it is a tip of the proverbial hat and raise of the blockchain toast to Flying Monkeys for always being weird, pushing the boundaries as a general strategy, and producing such colourful brews that spice up any beer blog.
#BEERSaturday!
This week for #BeerSaturday, I would like to invite and old friend @sketch.and.jam who is a fellow stringed instrument player and may be more into mushrooms than beer? Take a few pictures, tag #beersaturday and raise a glass with us on Hive!
Cheers to our global family of beer-drinkers!!
I am honoured to curate for:
