The Kick Box - On Hip!

And this....

 

And this...

 

This is Sweet Berry Wine by Aslin Beer Company out of Herndon, Va -- a triple IPA brewed with berries coming in at a whopping 12.8% ABV

Can't say I am loving this, though it is certainly different.

Boozy and kinda sweet. It will knock you on your ass if you're not careful.

As you can see from the background, I have been enjoying myself tonight.

 

Ending the night with some Tree House Doppelganger. Tree House makes some of the greatest, smoothest beers on planet earth.

 

Those NE IPAs look like cider.

I finally had one. I'm afraid to admit where it was from. It was Sam Adams LOL. Their Boston lager was always gross, so I'm guessing their IPA isn't legit, but it was definitely different than the West Coast style I'm used to

 

I have not had the Sam Adams NEIPA, but I've heard it's not bad.

 

It wasn't bad...but I don't have anything to compare it to.

 

Yeah, NEIPAs are generally (but not always) less bitter and more juicy and tropical than West Coast IPAs. They usually have a fuller body, too. I like both styles, but NE-style is definitely my favorite.

 

Hard to find NE IPAs out here.

Did see a documentary on how New Hampshire was like the US's best state for IPAs. When I was living there, I couldn't name beers other than Bud, Coors, Miller and, like, Pabst Blue Ribbon. But apparently, it's one of beer's Meccas

 

What state are you in? Even a lot of non New England breweries are starting to make this style of beer. California especially has some great breweries that are doing NE-style IPAs.

New Hampshire has some good breweries, but it seems like Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine are closer to the top of the list now. Even New York is putting out some great stuff with breweries like Hudson Valley, Other Half, Equilibrium, Suarez Family and others.

 

The good news is that those domestic disaster beers are losing popularity, and shelf space at grocery stores all across the country. The bad news is that many of those beer giants are buying out popular micro brews. I hate those companies, and I'd rather just boycott Anheuser Busch because they stole the Budweiser name from the Czech town of Budweis; they brew a much better Budweiser than the one we're all used to. So it's hard to keep tabs on whether or not you're buying from a legitimate micro brewery, or a beer corporation.

 

Can you recommend some? I'm in CA

 

Interesting you say that. One of the people working at Total Wine told me the exact same thing. They can't beat the little guy, so they're buying him.

Sucks, but...as long as they don't mess with the recipes.

 

Troegs Troergenator . 8.5% winter beer I found on the shelf, I frosted them for the coldness..

 

Nice, I'm thrilled that one of my reviews helped inform someone.
(Just be aware... my Untappd rating was 3.5/5)

 

Hey there!
Feliz Cinco de Mayo!!!

In other news... I missed my muthafuckin Untappd badge, because I didn't realize it was for beers from a Mexican brewery.
My bad though, it was in the Untappd tweet about it, I just jumped the gun and thought it was "any beer".

That being said, I did go with something that had some kind of Mexican flavor for at least one of my beers for the night.
Namely...

Cerveza #1:

(Alc. 8%)
(Flying Fish - Pescado Dorado)

Smell: Saffron boldly steps forward with a funky attitude. Traces of apricot wind through the oaky body, presented on a slight cracker background. A memory of pear mentions itself in the outro.

Taste: Funky saffron tempered with apricot, presented on an oaky body. Soft agave notes harmonize with the cracker backbone before signing out on memories of pear.

Overall, a bit of an odd duck... or fish, if you will. The tequila notes are more subtle than I expected, although the oak comes through clearly (but nowhere near overwhelming). If I made a TL;DR version of it's taste, I'd go with funky/oaky. Easily enjoyable brew!


(No pic, cuz apparently there isn't a plethora of naked women riding flying fish. oh well.)

 

My best suggestion would be to get some true NE beers shipped out to you.
Or come out to the East Coast.
Which is a MUCH better proposition, since you can grab some true NE pizza (NY/NJ) at the same time.

:drool:

 

Ok, finally got past my celebratory cerveza.
Moving along to the next brew, which I'm almost done with...

Beer #2:

(Alc. 6%)
(Stillwater - Nu-Tropic)

Smells: Apricot and sweet grapefruit (also known as mango) presented on a bready/biscuity body, holding hands with a kinda snarky passionfruit. Just a touch of pepper notes in the undercurrent.

Tastes: Mango, with passionfruit in tow, leads the way. A soft bitter hop edge sneaks along, borne by distant pepper heat and an almost forgettable biscuit backbeat.
(Untappd (4.25/5): Mango, w/passionfruit in tow, leads the way. Slight bitter hops and faded pepper heat. An almost forgettable biscuit backbeat. Juicy treat.)

Overall, this is a really enjoyable brew. Closer to carbonated (slightly pithy) juice than beer. Closer to carbonated Five Alive than beer, actually!


OH!
And a pic of relative information!

Here's ya's go: