The Cradle of LiBEERty: Baahston - Part 3

Things got off to a great start on Sunday afternoon at our first stop, Mystic. For some reason, I thought I'd had some of its beers before, but a quick scan of my Untappd credentials indicated that, nope, I hadn't. Perhaps I was familiar with the name. Either way, I was glad to be here.

Into the Mystic.

Mystic came onto the scene in 2009. Taking its name from the nearby Mystic River, its actual logo and name is also inspired by the "mystic knot," a symbol synonymous with infinity. The brewery made its mark by embracing difficult-to-brew yet traditional styles such as saisons, gruits, and wild ales, and also by employing antiquated techniques like square fermenters and native fermentation cultures. As a matter of fact, the brewery prides itself on being the first brewery to win a GABF gold medal for a beer brewed with an American indigenous yeast strain. Turns out the Mystic folks enjoy gallivanting around New England to collect native yeast for its R&D endeavors. Pretty cool, eh?

But enough geekery. Let's dive right into the beer.

Pour me my breakfast, Dolores!

A solid crowd was already beginning to assemble around opening time. Due to its dog-friendly policy, many patrons had their four-legged friends in tow. This is always fine by me, because Brewslut and I both love dogs. We parked ourselves over in the far right-hand corner of the bar area and perused the beer selection, which featured eight offerings of varied styles.

I opened with DDH Saturation, a double dry-hopped variation of its hoppy pale ale, Saturation. Boasting Mosaic pellets and lupulin powder, these are freshly layered on top of Amarillo, Citra and yet more Mosaic hops for an explosion of citrus and tropical fruit flavors and aromas. This was a nice introduction to the brewery, although I quickly discovered that Mystic was all about the aforementioned farmhouse-style ales.

While we were enjoying our initial beers, we struck up a conversation with a regular customer named Justin, who was sitting next to us at the bar. I can't remember how we got sucked into the vortex, but it turned out to be a fantastic back-and-forth about our lives, beer travels, working in the industry, and a little bit of background about Mystic. Coincidentally, I'd just mentioned to Brewslut that morning that we hadn't yet had one of those encounters we love so much where we get lost in a conversation with someone at the bar. Better late than never, right?

Pleeps was busy posing for Brewslut.

Justin urged me to dive into the saisons, saying they were highlight of Mystic's portfolio. He suggested starting with, Saison Dutronc, which I ordered next. The beer itself is a modern version of Mystic's flagship saison, Saison Renaud. It's essentially the same base recipe with a few tweaks to give it more shelf life since they now package it in cans. This was a complex, semi-dry and slightly fruity saison with a good bit of funk. All of the hallmarks of the style were present, making it an enjoyable quaff. (OK, that just sounds dirty... kind of like British slang for "afternoon delight.")

From there, we moved on to Luminous Ruins, a dry-hopped sour farmhouse Ale that straddles the line between sour ale and saison. It opens with a bit of lemony pucker before segueing into spicy/fruity territory. Hints of apple, pepper and a tinge of oak appear in the flavor, with a toasty malt backbone emerging as it warmed it.

Justin wouldn't let us leave without trying a beer called Chien Andalusia, a saison brewed in collaboration with one of Vermont's finest, Foam Brewers. He was kind enough to buy a can to share with us. This was another fine saison, although I preferred the Saison Dutronc a bit more, if only for its spot-on classic farmhouse flair.

Look out below!

Next up was a visit to Idle Hands Craft Ales, a Belgian and German-inspired brewery situated in Malden, MA, in the greater Boston area. This was one of a handful of Boston-area breweries that I hadn't been familiar with prior to organizing the trip's itinerary. The name and logo reminded me of Tired Hands, and the beer list looked interesting so I felt a visit was necessary. Sadly, I don't have much recollection of this place. Even checking some photos on Google Images didn't really jog my memory too much. The place is cool and I remember having no issues with the beers, but for some reason I just must have been in that hazy zone. Rare for this time of day, I know; but hey, what can you do?

Once we settled in a perused the beer selection, I settled on Double Crossroader, a toasted oak-aged version of its American Stout amped up by an addition of real maple syrup. This one featured pleasant aromas of toasted coconut, maple, and fudge with hints of burnt sugar, coffee and vanilla in the finish.

Brewslut kept things sour with a pour of a beer called Kill Your Idles, part of Idle Hands' rotating sour fruit beer series. We swapped sips of each others' beers, but for some reason (again with the brain fog), I can't recall which variation we had. I'm pretty sure it was the mixed berry version featuring strawberry and raspberry. Regardless, it was quite tasty!

That darn Pleeps is two-fisting again!

We seemed to enjoy the beers here, because a third shared beer was on the table. The beer, a NEIPA called Four Seam, turned in a cloudy performance with soft bitterness and massive hop character reminiscent of citrus, mango, guava and ripe melon. Despite not remembering much about our visit, the beer was enjoyable. Perhaps we were too excited to get to our next stop on the agenda.

With that said, Night Shift turned out to be the highlight of the day for us. To be honest, this didn't come as a surprise to us, as we'd enjoyed its beers for many years and had a great time during our last visit to the brewery. Known for great beers all across the board, Night Shift is definitely one of our favorite New England breweries. Particularly, its stouts are some of the best we've had in our travels. No small words there, as we rarely visit a brewery and don't try at least one stout. Plus their owl-hop logo is pretty badass, so they've got that going for them as well.

Front bar at Night Shift.

We kicked off our lengthy visit with a pour of The 87, a bright hop bomb with a simple malt bill and refreshing blend of citrusy hops. This tasty DIPA is named after Night Shift's mailing address of 87 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA. It was a great way to start our session.

Following The 87, we dove into some Bourbon Barrel-Aged El Lechedor. This yearly release is a horchata-style (i.e. Mexican) milk stout aged in bourbon barrels with poblano peppers, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla beans. God damn, was this delicious! Featuring rich notes of chocolate, vanilla cream and cinnamon rolls, this colossal stout finishes on the piquant side with a dash of pepper and some bourbon warmth. I might favor NEBCO's Mexican Stout Trooper, which we had a few days prior, but this was definitely a close second. These Mexican stouts are liquid works of art, because the heavy-handed use of one of the many ingredients can lead to an unbalanced mess. I've had plenty of cinnamon bombs and equally as many pepper bombs in my travels. This was neither. In a word: delicious!

Then came Stout's Honor, a decadent "salted caramel" Imperial Stout brewed with cacao nibs and coconut. Cacaobunga! Brewslut was pretty infatuated with this one, and I must concur that this was something special. There's something about the combination of sweet and salty that makes my tastebuds perk up. Again, this was a very balanced beer despite its inherent sweetness. I mean, it has to be sweet if it's got caramel, cacao nibs and coconut. The coconut cut through a little bit, offering a nice toasty contrast to the sweetness of the caramel. But the hint of salt pulled everything together. We liked this one so much that we took home a 4-pack of pounder cans, because that's what everybody needs... 16-ounces of an over 12% ABV Imperial Stout in one sitting. OK, make it two.

Back bar at Night Shift.

By this time, things started to get a bit silly. In the middle of our session, I bowed out to visit the restroom (as one tends to do frequently when drinking all day). On my way, I noticed a reserved table with a bunch of tasty-looking food. On the table was a sign, which read: "Reserved for INSERT NAME HERE 1 to 3 p.m." It was well past 3 p.m. and there was nobody surrounding the table. So, my pretty-close-to-being-drunk logic chimed in, urging me to grab a snack for me and the wife. On the way back to the table, I grabbed a few delicious-looking Rice Krispie treats occupying the table that I assumed were left behind, and the good folks at Night Shift hadn't had time to clean up yet.

Nope. Not the case.

When I returned to our table, someone from a neighboring table got up and moved a bunch of the food to another table. No, they were not amused. Oh well. The moral of this story is: Clean off your table when you're done using it; otherwise, a semi-drunk guy is gonna walk by and bogart some of your snacks. I mean, c'mon. I don't know about you readers, but I'm like a stoned teenager when I'm drinking. I always want to shove some tasty grub in my face.

By now, we were on a roll with the Imperial Stouts, and two others - Dynasty and Darkling - followed suit. The former is a straight-up traditional Imperial Stout featuring notes of chocolate, molasses, and stone fruit. The latter is Night Shift's annually-released bourbon barrel-aged Imperial Stout. The 2019 version was aged in bourbon barrels and Short Path apple brandy barrels. Needless to say there was a lot going on with Darkling. Both were enjoyable, although we preferred the previous two Imperial Stouts over these.

On the way out, we were feeling pretty good, and we decided to grab a pour of World Tour, a Brut IPA brewed in collaboration with Boston Brew Tours. Dry and fruity with plenty of effervescence, this was a solid offering, although I'm generally not a big fan of the style. Still, it didn't match up to the stouts we'd been drinking for the last 90 minutes. Before vacating the premises, we scoped out the merch and each bought a shirt and some beer to go. In addition to the aforementioned 4-pack of Stout's Honor, we grabbed a 4-pack of Night Fever, a delicious coffee stout. Until next time, Night Shift!

Down the Road, our next stop, was much bigger than I'd anticipated. Boasting a 300-seat taproom, the space also houses an impressive collection of pinball machines and other arcade games. It doesn't look like much on the outside. See?

Check out this brewery... it's just down the road.

Inside is another story. The tasting room area is sparse with modern decor and a psychedelic bent that gives visitors the impression of being on a spaceship. The cacophony of all the pinball machines enhances the trippy vibe. The bar is also pretty impressive and sprawled all the way along the far wall opposite of the main entrance. Outside the tasting room, I was surprised to learn that they distribute throughout Massachusetts as well as into Rhode Island and Connecticut. Good for them!

Trippin' balls... PINballs, that is!

I wasn't sure what to expect, so we opted for flights. Sometimes you just don't want to get stuck with a sub par beer and have to force it down your gullet. Here's the run-down on my sampler flight:

• Seventh Star IPA - fruity IPA brewed with Idaho Experimental #7 hops. This new experimental hop variety elicits melon, grape and strawberry. The addition of Azacca hops add a splash of tropical fruit. The beer takes its name from the Seventh Sister of the Pleiades. Gotta keep that cosmic theme intact, right?
• Mariah Cherry - I see what you're doing there, guys! This beer is a spring wheat ale brewed with cherries. But can it hit all the high notes? 
• Feyborn Berliner Weisse - traditional kettle-soured wheat beer featuring blackberries. This one opens with a bit of pucker and segues into an earthy blackberry vibe with a hint of wheat bread in the finish. 
• Folktour - "Hot Cocoa Porter" brewed in collaboration with City Brew Tours. Dark malts and sweet chocolate meld into a cocoa-esque flavor with a hint of vanilla.

Our vantage point from the bar at Down the Road.

Nothing really jumped out to me and beckoned me to stick around for seconds, although nothing was really flawed either. I did, however, appreciate the brewery's outside-the-box thinking and willingness to experiment. The execution was just a little off-kilter, perhaps. Still, the place is cool and worth a stop. Pleeps seemed to be having a gay old time, though.

"What's in here?!"

Pleeps is gettin' a little lopsided...

Pleeps is hurtin'!

Our next stop, Trillium, was a hard sell for Brewslut. To be honest, I kind of jumped off the Trillium train a while back after it seemed like every IPA I tried from this super-hyped brewery tasted the same or at least very similar with only slight flavor nuances. Brewslut was always pretty vocal with her disdain for its hoppy beers, while I was typically on the fence, always willing to give the benefit of the doubt. So I drug her to Trillium with the intention of at the very least "crossing it off our brewery list." Another notch in my lipstick case, as it were.

Turns out we had a splendid time. Joey finished his session and joined us for dinner and drinks, all of which was awesome. I must admit that I had preconceived notions of rampant elitism likely to occur in the form of douchebaggery or hipster-ish behavior during our visit, but that wasn't the case. As a matter of fact, our server was friendly, extremely polite, and on the ball! And you know what? The beers were great. Expensive as all hell, but great nonetheless. It turned out to be a fantastic experience.

Outside Trillium.

Beer-wise, I opted for Day & Night, a blonde barleywine infused with Barrington cold brewed coffee. Nuanced floral, fruity, and spicy due to the nature of the lighter roasted coffee blend, this complex beer boasts notes of almond toffee, graham crackers, coffee, berries, and a pinch of vanilla.

Brewslut went with a cherry gose called Double Seesaw. The Seesaw Series allows the brewers at Trillium to experiment with different fruit and brewing techniques within the structure of the Gose style. Each Seesaw has a unique fruit addition to pair with balanced tartness, a touch of salt, and refreshing drinkability. Surprisingly, she loved it. This variant is generously fruited with sour and tart cherries to bring to life aromas of stone fruit, berry preserves, and cherry pie.

After two non-hoppy beers, we had to delve into a bit of humulus lupulus. Enter Sunrise Valley, a double IPA brewed in collaboration with Garage Project and featuring Rakau and Nelson Sauvin from Freestyle Hop Farms in New Zealand. The beer's moniker pays homage to the part of the world where these hops were grown. Dank and citrusy with aromas of grapefruit rind and bright tropical fruit, this beer was actually quite clean and balanced compared to some of the muddled, hazy offerings we've had in the past.

The food was solid as well. I had a Brewer's Bowl (been loving these recently at local places like Millworks and EverGrain), which featured an assortment of barley, farro, seeds, greens, and seasonal veggies. I most likely added tofu into the mix, but I'm uncertain. Either way, just pile my food into a single bowl. Right Patton? 'Cuz that's how I want my luuuuuunch... or dinner, in this particular instance.

As we were looking for the car following our visit to Trillium, I'd noticed another brewery just down the street that looked interesting. However, it seemed as though there was some discrepancy with where we parked. This happens from time to time in congested metropolitan areas where you have to drive around in circles and take side streets to find suitable parking. Add alcohol to the equation, and sometimes you just get turned around. It doesn't happen to Brewslut too often, but me? I'm definitely what you'd call "directionally challenged." I can read a map just fine, but I have absolutely no sense of direction whatsoever. I get lost in hotels, parking garages... just about anywhere for that matter.

After we found the car, we popped into the brewery in question: Hopsters. Turns out is was pretty much a waste of time. Still, we crossed another one off our list, right? This place looked like a legit place. The beers sounded amazing on the chalkboard. The decor was interesting. The chalk art was quality. The beer? Let's find out.

Beer selection at Hopsters.

The pair of beers we tried - The Yard and Newtonian - sounded great on paper but were uninspired and lacking depth of character. The Yard, a milkshake IPA brewed with lactose and vanilla and double dry-hopped with Denali and Mosaic missed the mark of the style and was kind of thin. Honestly, it came across as a sweet, fruity IPA with a thin body. Certainly not up to "milkshake" snuff. Newtonian, a NE-style DIPA was described as a "double dry-hopped juice bomb" promising a burst of mango pineapple. Eh? With this place setting up shop in such close proximity to Trillium, one can't help but wonder if they are trying to cash in on the popularity of their neighbors. Plus their prices were out of control... $18 for two beers. Fuckin' Boston. One and done. See ya!

Inside Hopsters.

We closed out the night at a local spot near Joey's apartment called The Bebop, an apt name for a drinking establishment on the campus of a renowned music school. This place features live music 7 nights a week, which is something any working musician should likely appreciate. There was a jazz combo playing there the night we stopped by. We were joined by Joey and four of his Berklee friends: Connor (who you may remember from Part 1), two female vocal majors (one from London and the other from South Africa), and a drummer dude from France. Since tuition at Berklee is ri-God-damn-diculous, I decided to buy a round for the youngsters. Having just learned about our love for beer, each of the group allowed me to choose his or her beer. As for me, I went with Nite Lite from Night Shift, an unfiltered, unpasteurized, all natural, craft light lager. Brewslut had just purchased a tank top during our visit to Night Shift, the front of which depicts this beer's logo, a throw-back to Lite-Brite. Remember that, nostalgic children of the 80s? I had one! Speaking of the 80s, sometimes I love being the "old guy" of the group. I like to impart some worldly wisdom on the younglings. They probably thought I was an old dickhead. That's why I bought them a round. You always seem cooler when you buy a round of drinks. 

I also enjoyed a pour of Road 2 Ruin from Two Roads, which I'd had back when we visited the brewery on the way home from Drinksgiving 2016. This is a moderately hoppy IPA brewed with seven American hop varieties for an array of pine, citrus, and floral notes. Meanwhile, the French drummer dude bought a round of tequila shots for the group. Ouch! I'd gone on record in the past during my more youthful days and called tequila "liquid ass." Well, I'm afraid not much has changed since then. Even with my refined palate, I had trouble enjoying this shot. I think I'll stick with bourbon as my new liquor of choice when not drinking beer. 

Well folks, that's about it! Since 99% of breweries are closed on Mondays, we decided to get up early and just punch in the coordinates for the homestead. We headed home from Boston, which is about six-and-a-half hours. Not bad! So that's a wrap. Tune in next time as we travel southward to Virginia for my annual beer-soaked birthday weekend jaunt to a random cabin with Deuane and Carolyn. Until next time...

The Cradle of LiBEERty: Baahston - Part 2

Our first full day in Boston began with a visit to a familiar brewery: Aeronaut. We arrived fairly early, and the place was only just starting to fill up in the front area where the bar is situated. With a floor plan that seems to sprawl the distance of a city block, the brewery is quite spacious. We set up shop in the back room, which coincidentally houses a few "free-play" (no quarters needed!) classic arcade games. I'm always good for a game of Ms. Pac-Man or Dig Dug. Thankfully, there was no hipster douchebag serenading his special lady-friend with an acoustic guitar this time.

Hello Aeronaut.

Keeping things light and airy, I began the day with a pour of Citra Galaxy, a soft session IPA with notes of tangerine, orange and peach. At 4.6% ABV, this seemed like a pretty good place to start. The mouthfeel was pretty solid for a lighter beer, and the fruity, citrusy hops came through enough for this to be enjoyable overall.

Hops dominate the charts at Aeronaut.

As we sipped our beers and partook in some people watching, the place was starting to fill up with St. Patty's people (I need to create a name for these fair weather drinkers). Fortunately, it was too early for anyone to start acting like a dick bag. I decided to take a quick stroll around the premises to take some photos. Since the brewery is situated in an old warehouse, there's lots of antiquated devices strewn about in a decorative fashion to provide some eclectic ambiance. Case in point:

What can this strange device be?

I hadn't seen one of those in quite some time. It's kind of like stumbling across an old pay phone booth in a random part of a big city. I returned to my seat and it was time to select another beer. This time, I went to the other side of the spectrum with 4 Years with Dr. Nandu, Aeronaut's 4th anniversary DIPA hopped with Citra and Galaxy.

This beer looked identical to the Citra Galaxy I'd just drank. It did, however, have a more viscous body and pronounced hop character albeit a tad muddled. I wasn't as wowed with Aeronaut this time around; that's not to say that I didn't enjoy our beers, though. They were pretty solid. I just didn't experience any depth of character with my beer choices this time. Perhaps I should have strayed from the hazy IPAs, which was tough considering 9 of the 13 available beers could be considered "hoppy." I should have tried the Smoked Porter. Fail. Maybe next time.

Adios, Aeronaut!

When we arrived at our next destination, Remnant, we had stumbled into a block party of sorts out in the courtyard of the small shopping plaza where the brewery was situated. Turns out this is called the Bow Market community. The weather was cooperating nicely and the temperature was warmer than usual for mid-March, especially in New England. All of the shops and eateries had their doors and windows open, allowing patrons to browse freely among the plaza. Unique beers and craft coffee served daily.There was actually a guy manning a greeter stand near the entrance to the courtyard, so I asked if we could walk around with beer. Of course the answer was yes; I was just being responsible. Go figure! He also happened to mention there was a record store up on the second level, so naturally I had to check that out. It was mostly new indie music, so I didn't leave with anything to add to the collection. Still, it's always fun to browse for a bit.

We headed back down to Remnant and ventured into the crowded tasting room. The main room (where the bar and adjacent coffee bar was located) was pretty full, so we dipped in the back room to check it out. I was able to snag two seats overlooking the brewhouse, which was down below ground level. This served as a pretty cool view during our visit. Turns out there was a back bar as well; we just couldn't see it because the narrow back room was jam-packed with people.

Pleeps like wheezin' the juu-uice!

After a quick look at the beer list, I decided to go with Dream Pop, a soft, smooth pale ale brewed with juicy Mandarina and Mosaic hops. The silky mouthfeel comes from the use of oats in the grain bill. As the name implies, Mandarina hops impart a Mandarin orange flavor, while Mosaic shakes things up a bit due to the complex nature of the hop. Think bright summer melon and summer fruit salad.

The other beer we tried, Lightform, is a farmhouse style gose. This tart wheat ale features coriander, sea salt, and - wait for it! - peach purée fermented with a saison yeast blend for a hint of funk. Another peach beer for the win! The beers here were solid, although we just couldn't get comfortable on the small barstools amid dozens of people constantly wading through the brewery. We did grab a pair of coffees on the way out, which kept us company on our quarter-mile walk back to the car.

And we were off to another familiar destination. Since our last visit a few years ago, it seems that Lamplighter has become one of the hip craft breweries in Boston. The previous night's wait in line outside of Cheeky Monkey primed me for another equal wait outside Lamplighter. The main different, though, was that I already knew the beer was good here, so waiting in line didn't really phase me this time. They have since added a back room area, likely for overflow caused by their recent explosion. Based on our previous visit, we knew what to expect: wild ales, sour beers, and plenty of funk. The back room was packed to the gills, but we found a quiet corner where we hung out for the duration of our visit.

...oh my!

After scoping out the beer list, one concoction jumped out at me immediately: Princesa Peach. There goes me and my infatuation with peaches again! A collaboration with UX Brew based out of São Paulo, Brazil, this effervescent Brut IPA is brewed with peaches and treated with an amylase enzyme to eliminate residual sugar. Brewed to mimic a Bellini cocktail, this semi-dry IPA boasts hints of nectarine, juicy peach, and mango.

Pleeps loves two-pawing it.

Brewslut settled on Black Pearl, a dense oyster Stout brewed in collaboration with MA-based Medusa Brewing Co. and Island Creek Oysters. Steeped in the hot wort before fermentation, oyster shells impart a mineral-like, briny quality amid more traditional notes of espresso and cocoa. I wasn't a huge fan of the flavor, although the texture was spot-on.

Pleeps is lit up at Lamplighter!

We didn't feel like standing all day, so we decided it was time to move on to the next attraction. Besides, it was fast approaching dinner time, and we craved sustenance. Luckily, our next stop has excellent food to match its world-class beers.

When we visited Minnesota last summer, I was surprised that two of the "old guard" breweries still produced what I'd call the best beers I drank during our two-day visit to the Twin Cities. The first was Masala Mama from Minneapolis Town Hall, and the other was a 2017 vintage of Surly Darkness. While there was plenty of great beer to be had by all the hipster magnet breweries and up-and-comers, the fact these two old school breweries - in my humble opinion - provide the benchmark for all others to follow. And let me tell you, people... these dinosaurs can still hang with the fresh-faced new kids on the block. The same can be said of Cambridge, the oldest brewpub in the greater Boston area. It's always a pleasure to visit this world-class place, and this time would be no different.

When we arrived, I was beyond giddy (i.e. at half-mast) to see one of my favorite barleywines of all time on tap: Blunderbuss! It had been several years since I had enjoyed a pour of this masterpiece, but its flavor was still fresh in my mind. The fact that I still regarded this as a favorite of the style says a lot to me, because I've had beers on a Friday that I have no recollection of having drunk by the time it's Sunday. Yeah, this is beer is that good. But more on Blunderbuss in a bit.

We kicked off with a pair of delicious beers. The first was Silly Hats Only, a light, refreshing tart Berliner Weisse kettle-soured with Lactobacillus. A process that seems pretty run-of-the-mill these days, CBC was actually one of a small handful of breweries involved in the development of this type of sour beer production almost 15 years ago. This sucker was bone dry with a pleasant amount of pucker on the palate.

The other beer, Dance Band on the Titanic, was pretty f'n epic! Described as a "wild sour ale with mangoes and peaches," this mouthwatering wild ale spent eighteen months in neutral oak wine barrels and was initially fermented with a wild yeast culture already residing in the barrels. The base beer provided plenty of tartness and funk (courtesy of the Brett), but the true magic didn't happen until they blended in mango and peach juice. The result is an intense yet insanely drinkable balance of sweet fruit and funky Brett. To quote the beer description: "Like a dance band on a sinking ship, this beer goes down easy while playing pleasantly on your palate." This beer was unbelievably good and a highlight of the trip.

Which brings me to Blunderbuss! People, this beer is special. It's a rare breed. You simply can't fathom how excited I was to see this beer on the board. Double-mashed with nearly a ton of malt, five different hops, and cold-aged several months with French Limousine* oak, Blunderbuss boasts a complex array of caramel, dried fruit, vanilla, oak, toffee, and spicy hops with a pleasant alcohol warmth in the finish.

*NERD ALERT: Woods from the following regions in western France are usually called Limousin: Deux-Sevres, Vienne, Hautes de Vienne,the northern part of the Correze,the Creuze,the eastern part of the Charente and the southern part of the Indre. These regions tends to produce oak with wide grains. These woods are more tannic than the tight-grained woods and are most popular with brandy makers.

Pleeps' first Blunderbuss did not disappoint!

Afterward, we went to check out Lord Hobo, but it was pretty packed there, and the beer prices were ri-god-damn-diculous! I think the cheapest pour was $8.50 but most beers were between $9 and $12... and not even pints! Fuck that hoodwink! So we went back to Cambridge and pretty much polished off the rest of the line-up.

Upon our return, we enjoyed Non Stop Ecstatic Screaming. What an evocative name for a beer brewed with cinnamon, vanilla, Pasilla Negro chili peppers, candy cap mushrooms, cacao, and coffee from Lighthouse Roasters (an iconic old-school Seattle company employing an antique cast-iron roaster). Its initial ecstatic energy of “pastry” goodness – notes of coffee, chocolate, and maple, hints of spice from chiles and cinnamon - blends into the fuzz/background noise and the insistent bumping beat of its classic base beer style - soft, lingering roasted malts and fruity English yeast.

I decided on something more straight-forward for my next beer: Can I Buy a Vowel, a straight-up, no frills Czech-style pilsner. I always enjoy a crisp, refreshing, mildly hoppy Bohemian pilsner, and this one hit the mark. Czech-style pilsners differ from its German counterpart in that the malt character is more toasty and biscuity. German pilsners tend to have more of a mineral-like finish and livelier hop bite. Overall, this was a fine interpretation of the style. Well done!

We closed out with a pair of NE-style IPAs - Ella Sings the Brews and The Fog that Surrounds - the latter actually DIPA (and with a name derived from Phish lyrics to boot!) that were tasty, although I think I enjoyed all of the other beers more than these.

And the old guard takes the trophy again! I was so glad to experience Blunderbuss again. I've often cited this as one of my top three barleywines of all time, which is quite a feat because I hadn't had it in several years. Here's another photo just because it's so awesome:

After finishing up at Cambridge, we decided to head over to Meadhall, one of Cambridge's beer drinking institutions. Surprisingly, the crowd was light compared to the shit show that was Lord Hobo. Fine by me. We were able to grab seats and the large, wrap-around bar and just chill for the rest of the night and reflect back on our favorite beers of the trip thus far. Speaking of beers, here's what we enjoyed at Meadhall:

Charms & Hexes - Banded Brewing - sour ale with blood oranges

We'd visited Banded Brewing once before (known as Banded Horn) during my birthday trip back in 2016, which happened during my blog hiatus. I didn't make the connection when I ordered the beer because I remembered the "horn" part of the name rather than the "banded" part. Still, this was a nice effervescent sour ale with a juicy citrusy backbone.

Night Fever - Night Shift - stout with coffee and chocolate

Brewslut fell in love with this beer, and for good reason: it's pretty damn delicious! Even though we'd be visiting there the following day, she wanted this beer. Fair enough. More on Night Shift coming up in the third and final installment of this blog series.

Cultivé - Allagash - wheat beer aged on peaches

Yup, more peaches! Over the years, I've come to adore this brewery. I love everything about it: the beer, the people, the brewery itself. It's also one of only a handful of breweries I follow on Instagram. Every time I visit, it's an amazing experience. So I felt inclined to try this beer I'd never had; a wheat beer aged on peaches that had previously spent time with Farm to Face, another tart peach beer from Allagash. This delicate beer presents notes of ripe peach, nectarine, tangy lemon, and spicy tropical notes.

And with that, the evening had concluded. Join us next time for the wrap-up of our Boston Blitz. Until next time...

Top 10 New Breweries Visited in 2018

I know, I know... it's already April! But each year, we visit a lot of breweries, many of which are first-time visits for us. Following in last year's footsteps, we thought we'd continue to offer a year-end review of some of our favorites. Here’s a list of our Top 10 “new-to-us” breweries we had the pleasure of visiting in 2018. How did we come to the final list? While we’ve utilized no specific equation in determining the final Top 10 list, we did take the following into consideration: beer quality, atmosphere, service, gut instinct, and general awesomeness. With that said, we present to you the Pour Travelers’ Top 10 New Breweries Visited in 2018 (in alphabetical order):

1. Abolitionist Ale Works - Charles Town, WV - First visited March 2018

This visit marked only the second brewery we've ever visited in the state of West Virginia. Deuane had raved about it prior to our trip, so I was anxious to check it out. It obviously didn't disappoint! Upon perusing the beer menu, I quickly realized there was much to try. In lieu of worn-out, pedestrian beer styles, Abolitionist offers a handful of varied farmhouse-style and wild ales, Belgian styles, and barrel-aged treats. My first experience with Pale the Funky (Black & Blue), a wine barrel-aged farmhouse ale with Brett and finished with blackberries and blueberries, sucked me into the vortex. Let's Gose, a straight-up German-style tart wheat beer was on point and delicious.

Beverly Farmhouse Ale, a wild ale brewed with local cascade hops and fermented with wild WV yeast then keg conditioned with pear juice, really intrigued me on paper, so I tried it. It delivered! This was one of those rare beers where I swear I could taste the stuff floating around in the WV air. Shenandoah Saison, the house Saison, ain't no slouch either. This variation was aged for eight months in a wine barrel with local plums. You could really taste the plum skins in this one!

But my favorite of all was perhaps West by Quad. This Belgian-style Quad aged in French oak bourbon barrels was strong and alluring. The bourbon character wasn't overly boozy, but instead offered a nice, round vanilla-chocolate flavor. I really enjoyed this one!

2. The Answer - Richmond, VA - First visited October 2018

When we went to Richmond, I thought The Veil was going to take the cake. Turns out I was wrong. It doesn't happen often, but this time my projections were a bit off. The Answer kicked our freakin' ass! Not only do they pour some of the finest stouts I've ever put in my face, they also served the most amazing ice cream sandwiches of all time. I mean, EPIC ice cream sandwiches. Like, think of the "be all, end all" ice cream sandwich you've had in your lifetime. Then multiply that by like 47. But we're not talking about ice cream sandwiches; we're talking about beer. The Answer seems to do everything right. Aside from the stouts, they also had some delicious, well-crafted IPAs that exploded with tropical fruit. Tart fruit beers? Check. They even do signature frozen "beer slushies" that you should at least try once for the novelty of it. The food - heavy on the Asian flair - is pretty bangin' too. This place was so awesome, that we visited twice in two days. So that's gotta tell you something!

3. Chestnut Hill - Philadelphia, PA - First visited April 2018

Chestnut Hill's brewery is situated in a delightful little market tucked away from the main street called Market at the Fairway. Our visit occurred shortly after the brewery's first anniversary. I know this because we had it's One Year Anniversary Ale - yes, that was the name of the beer - on tap during our visit. But the beer of the day had to be Motra, a fantastic West Coast-style IPA hopped with Mosaic and Citra. The body, texture and appearance of this beer was textbook West Coast IPA. I commented to Brewslut that it reminded me of a Pizza Port IPA; not a particular IPA, but rather a dead ringer for something that might have been brewed by Pizza Port. I've since gone on record and professed that Pizza Port makes the best West Coast-style IPAs in the country, and lord knows I've had quite a lot of them over the years (thanks to many trips to San Diego). Motra, in my opinion, is one of the finest Wet Coast IPAs I've had to date - not only on the East Coast, but outside of San Diego! For that reason alone, Chestnut Hill made the cut. The brewery and adjacent market are both downright cute, too!

4. Funk Factory - Madison, WI - First visited August 2018

Focused on exploring the traditional production of Lambic and Lambic-derived beers, Funk Factory actually refers to itself as a "Geuzeria." The first beer to serenade me on our first of three visits over two days was Cherry Meerts. I typically get sucked into anything with cherry in it, so this was the perfect place for me to start. If you're not familiar, "Meerts" is a near-extinct beer style that falls under the "lambic" umbrella; a low alcohol table beer traditionally made from the second runnings of a lambic's turbid mash. Funk Factory has a dozen or so variations on this theme. The Arnold Palmer Meerts (named after the popular iced tea-lemonade hybrid) was one of the most unique beers I've ever tasted. I was also able to try both the Peach and Lemongrass Ginger Kombucha variations of Meerts, which were equally as tasty as the others. In an increasingly over-saturated craft beer market, it is important to stand out as much as possible. Well folks, Funk Factory has definitely carved out its own little niche.

5. Lucky Hare - Hector, NY - First visited April 2018

I feel I needed to include at least one brewery from our insanely fun trip to the Fingerlakes with a group that usually isn't in tow with us for beer treks. Several things contributed to Lucky Hare making the cut: the staff, my company, the dog-friendly atmosphere, and of course the beer. There may have been a few new places we'd visited with better beer, but like a good stew it takes more than one ingredient to stand out. Plus the first beer I tried was named Ned Ryerson, a rye IPA brewed with local NY hops and named after an annoying character in the classic Bill Murray movie, Groundhog Day. Pop culture reference for the win! Their two "falcon" beers, Falcon Punch and Millennial Falcon (nice Star Wars reference there) proved to be a great pair of IPAs to try side by side. The former is a lovely golden-bodied East Coast IPA with a citrusy kick, while the latter is a hazy, softer though imperial version of Falcon Punch. Uppers and Downers, a dark lager with coffee, sealed the deal and proved a great "after dinner" beer following the hop assault from my earlier beers.

6. Masthead - Cleveland, OH - First visited August 2018

The first stop of our Great Taste Caper '18 set the bar extremely high. Yes indeed, Masthead set the tone for the rest of the trip, and I used it as the benchmark for all of the other breweries we visited during the week-long excursion. It appeared to me that this place was just crushing it; the beers were amazing, the place was packed, the atmosphere was on-point, and the staff knew what they were talking about. We even bumped into a guy who recognized the Selin's Grove logo on my shirt, and we got to talking. This always elevates the experience for me (unless the person is a douchebag, which obviously detracts from my enjoyment). Thankfully this guy was cool. The first beer of the trip, Ten Minute DIPA, wowed me from the first sip. I'm pretty jaded when it comes to IPAs, but this sucker delivered. We closed out with Raspberry Espresso Torte, a thick, luscious Imperial Stout brewed with raspberries, locally roasted Six Shooter coffee, and lactose. This served as the proverbial icing on the cake of an amazing visit to Masthead and a well-deserved first stop of our Great Taste Caper '18.

7. One Trick Pony - Lansing, IL - First visited August 2018

Conversely with Masthead, One Trick Pony was our last brewery of the Great Taste Caper '18. Things got off to a very nice start with my first beer, Georgia Grande, a Hefeweizen-style ale infused with fresh ginger root and peaches. I seldom gravitate to a hefe (especially for my initial beer... you know, first impressions...) but this beer was refreshingly tart with a ton of juicy peach character and a subtle spicy note in the finish. Leathercoated Mind, an IPA hopped with El Dorado and Mosaic, brought on the tropical fruit and a bit of summer melon, and I soon found myself wanting to extend our visit despite the grueling 9-hour drive we had in store for us the following day. Well, I'm glad I decided to get one more beer, because I saved the best for last. Enter Cocoa Butter Kisses. I simply had to have it. I mean, there was no way an Imperial Stout aged in Buffalo Trace barrels brewed with cinnamon, vanilla, and cocoa wasn't going into my belly. Fucking hell, this beer was amazing! It was one of the most well-executed imperial stouts I've ever had in my life. The ingredients were perfectly balanced. The bourbon warmth was present but not boozy or overbearing. And it was soooo insanely drinkable. I wanted to bathe in it. I can go on and on, but you get the picture. For this beer alone, One Trick Pony made the grade.

8. MobCraft - Milwaukee, WI - First visited August 2018

When we first stepped into MobCraft, touted as "the world's first crowdsourced brewery," I knew we'd be back for a second visit the following day. I loved the concept of this brewery, not to mention the board was chock-full of some 20-odd tempting beers; so many that I simply couldn't try everything I wanted to try in one sitting. After my first sampler flight, I knew we had a winner. Batshit Crazy, a coffee brown ale, was memorable not only for its awesome name but also for its intense coffee flavor and supple mouthfeel. Our bartender during our first visit was awesome. I always appreciate a talkative and attentive server who is happy to answer questions. Turns out I had a lot during our visit. Two beers really wowed me the following day. The first, Nuance, is a Farmhouse Ale brewed in collaboration with 1840 Brewing Company. This beer was fermented and aged in fresh wine barrels for four months, conditioned with Brettanomyces Bruxelles and blended with apricots and peaches. Can you say "Yum?!" The other, Sour Support, is a barrel-aged blended sour with raspberries and ginger. Damn, another beer with ginger for the win. This place was definitely worth of dual visits.

9. Surly - Minneapolis, MN - First visited August 2018

I mean, DUH! We visited Surley three times over the span of 48 hours, so that should tell you something. This place had been on my "brewery bucket list" since I had my first sip of Furious back in the day. I was so excited to finally have this beer fresh from the source. But even more amazing was experiencing vintage 2017 Darkness on tap. Children, this was a near-religious experience for me! Pleeps still dreams about this more than 9 months later. Brewslut couldn't get enough of the Lime Lager. She seldom orders the same beer twice in one visit, but this beer was an exception to her rule. Surly is like the Twin Cities' version of Disneyland, except instead of an annoying mouse and his chums, you have some of the best beer brewed on the planet. Everything about Surly's facility screams "destination brewery," from its world-class beers to modern facility, to its food and landscape. If I lived in the Twin Cities, this would definitely serve as my "happy place." (Feel free to refer back to my previous blog, which includes tons of pictures.) We'll be back, Surly... I'm not sure when, but we will be back!

10. Wolf's Ridge - Columbus, OH - First visited November 2018

So many great things happened at Wolf's Ridge during our visit. I sampled "seacuterie" (essentially charcuterie for pescetarians) for the first time. Yes folks, they had me at pickled herring. I learned what a "puncheon" is. What is it? It's basically a really big wine barrel that holds one-third of a "tun," which is the English unit of liquid volume used for measuring wine, oil, or honey. I also enjoyed my favorite beer of the Great Taste Caper '18: Terre Du Sauvage Green, an otherworldly farmhouse-style saison fermented and conditioned in oak with a mixed culture of Brettanomyces and saison yeast. Dry-hopping with whole cone Ekuanot hops elicits delicate ripe melon and a punch of citrusy lemon-lime notes. Tart and complex yet fruity with zesty citrus and juicy tropical fruit, this beer was an absolute joy to drink. All in all, this place is a diamond in the rough. The beer, the food, the service, the vibe... all A+.

Once again, this year's list proved to be a difficult undertaking. Here are a few "honorable mentions" that came oh-so-close to making the final ten.

The Bottlehouse - Lakewood, OH - First visited August 2018

Everything here was killer! Vox Maris, a blended strong ale with dark candi syrup and sour cherries aged in bourbon barrels, proved tart and amazingly complex, and was far and away my favorite.  Pina Sour, a sour pineapple saison aged in wine barrels with Brettanomyces, was another stand-out. I'm also glad we worked up our appetite for a late-night snack, because the cheese plate we devoured was one of the best we've ever encountered.

Lakefront - Milwaukee, WI - First visited August 2018

It pains me that Lakefront didn't make it, because I had wanted to visit for soooo long! Still, this brewery is an institution and craft beer pioneer, so needless to say it was a pleasure to visit such an historic brewery. The tour at Lakefront is one of the most fun you'll ever take - you better prepare to sing, too - and the people here are just genuinely nice and friendly. I mean, it is Wisconsin! From its classic Lakefront Pils and most decorated beer, Eastside Dark (a Bavarian dark lager) to more experimental beers from its Beer in Progress Series, Lakefront is no joke. I mean, they've been in business since 1987, so they must be doing something right. Hooray for the old guard!

Root Down - Phoenixville, PA - First visited January 2018

What do you get when you combine craft beer with 90's hip hop, graffiti, and cheesy vintage kung fu movies? A pretty dope-ass brewery, yo! Root Down is housed in an old Hires root beer factory, so the place is huge. With an awesome roster of IPAs including Flux, Flying Guillotine, and its flagship GABF gold metal-winning Bine, Root Down also boasts a solid Keller Pils (not easy to brew) that I enjoyed during our visit. I mean, you know a place is legit when they win Midsize Brewpub & Brewer of the year at GABF, which they did in 2018. Yup. Good things are a-brewin' at Root Down!

Town Hall - Minneapolis, MN - First visited August 2018

Another one that just missed the final list, Town Hall is another one of the old guard that keeps all the new kids on their toes. Masala Mama on cask is still a force to be reckoned with, and it was one of my Top 5 beers of the Great Taste Caper '18. That alone was worth my long-awaited visit. The fact that they are located in the same town as Surly blows my mind. I mean, a world-class brewery AND Brewpub a few miles from each other? Damn, son!

Urban Growler - St. Paul, MN - First visited August 2018

Urban Growler, the first woman-owned microbrewery in Minnesota, churns out some fresh-faced, forward-thinking beers. In addition to year-round and seasonal specialty beers, its Plow to Pint series focuses on local ingredients and farmers, and the Hayloft series features experimental, small-batch beers. Two beers I sampled turned out to be two of the most memorable beers of our Great Taste Caper '18. Kentucky Common, a toasty copper-colored ale, takes a bourbon recipe and modifies it for beer. Sticky Rice, a wheat beer brewed with Jasmine rice, ginger, fresh mango, and organic coconut, is based on the type of rice served in Thai restaurants. The latter was easily one of the most unique beers I'd ever tried, so kudos to Urban Growler for that!

Väsen - Richmond, VA - First visited October 2018

This Scandinavian-inspired brewery is making its mark with unique sours, fruit beers, and Belgian-esque ales. A Smoked Blood Peach Sour? Um, yes please (even though I'd never heard of a blood peach). The Barrel-Aged Grapefruit Tripel, an Abbey-style ale aged for 4 months in Chardonnay barrels with grapefruit, was a complex flavor explosion of subtle fruitiness, citrus, white grape, clove and black pepper. Väsen really stood out from the usual Richmond suspects and turned out to be one of the most memorable visits of our weekend.

So, just how many "new-to-us" breweries did we visit in 2018?

110.

Not too shabby, eh? This total includes the new Yards facility as well as different locations for Hardywood, Hofbrauhaus, and Hardywood.

I'd say see you in 2019 but we're already four months deep! Until next time...

The Cradle of LiBEERty: Baahston - Part 1

Earlier this year, Brewslut and I discovered an opportunity to do a bit of traveling in mid-March when we realized she had a Friday and Monday off at school. We'd originally decided to take advantage of the long weekend and get back to Asheville, NC, for a long-awaited return visit. As it turns out, we switched gears and opted to head in the opposite direction, setting our GPS coordinates to Boston, Mass. While we'd visited Boston a few times throughout the last decade, I still hadn't had the opportunity to visit my "band kid" Joey, who's currently enrolled at the prestigious Berklee School of Music. Once he offered to have us stay at his apartment (with the added selling point of a Queen-sized bed), it was a no-brainer.

Well, perhaps it wasn't a "no-brainer," as Brewslut kindly reminded me that the weekend in question fell over St. Patrick's Day.

Yeah? So what?

She then enlightened me to the fact that Boston hosts one of the - if not THE - largest St. Patty's Day parades in the country. Suddenly, this image popped into my noggin:

Dumb drunk bitches... they're everywhere on St. Patty's Day!

And with that my anxiety kicked into high gear.

I had forgotten that Boston is a mecca for drunks, and a large cross-section of these people happen to be Irish (or at least they claim to be Irish for one day a year). I'll admit that I love parades about as much as I do prostate exams. Granted, I've never had a prostate exam, so I can only imagine. Perhaps it's because I was subjected to participating in parades throughout high school due to my involvement with the marching band. So parades can eat a bowl of dicks. Same goes for fireworks and any other number of activities involving large groups of people that amused me when I was five years old. Now that I'm older, I've come to despise the inconvenience and impending traffic nightmare caused as a result of these activities. Worst of all, the majority of people who celebrate this "holiday" are generally people looking for an excuse to wear lame green attire, act like dipshits, and get completely shellacked. Save for the lame green attire, don't most folks carry on like that on a daily basis, anyway?

And with that, I equated going to Boston during the St. Patty's Day parade like going to State College during Penn State's game against... well, whoever is their rival these days. Except worse. Much worse. Certainly way worse than any prostate exam administered by Bill Cosby with a scorching case of "INSERT FAVORITE STD" here. To illustrate my point further, I'd like to direct you to Exhibit B:

This is NOT my wife!

A picture speaks a thousand words, right? Well, this one only speaks in drunken gibberish and slurred run-on sentences.

But I digress.

Despite my reservations, we were off for a 4-day retreat to New England, home of the hazy juice bomb, brah! Shortly before we set sail, I was relieved to find that we wouldn't be staying near the parade, nor would we be visiting any breweries on the parade route. Praise Jeebus!

Perhaps this would be a good segue into something a bit more uplifting. As I was planning our route to Boston, I was ecstatic to learn that we'd be passing right through Woodbridge, CT, home of New England Brewing Company. I'd enjoyed NEBCO's beers for many years, but alas the brewery had always eluded me. Well folks, we were about to cross this one off our ever-growing brewery list.

NEBCO, yo!

When we arrived at NEBCO, I had totally forgotten about one of its most amazing beers, Fuzzy Baby Ducks. As if they needed another outstanding offering in its arsenal of top-notch beers. How could I forget about this absolute gem of a beer? Fuzzy Baby Ducks - and how can you not love that name, by the way - began life through NEBCO's single hopped beer club. Using Citra hops exclusively, this little IPA packs a huge punch of mango, papaya, and citrus fruit. It's bright, juicy and cute as a button. Bring on the ducks, I say!

Pleeps posing with Fuzzy Baby Ducks.

While we're on the subject of delicious IPAs, it was time to revisit another NEBCO favorite, the infamous G-Bot. It's fantastic flavor aside, this beer has also gained infamy due to its original name, Gandhi Bot. This sought-after Double IPA packs in a whole mess of hops in order to churn out a bombastic citrus taste full of orange peel, mildly dank whiffs of pine, and a deceptively easy-flowing flavor. There's just enough haze in this one to satisfy the "Hops Heads" while it's not to bitter/crazy for first-timers to enjoy this fruity brew.

Since I'm a sucker for coconut porters, I gravitated to a beer called Coconut Joy next. After a few hoppy beers, I crave something dark and malty. This particular porter is brewed with toasted coconut, cocoa nibs and vanilla for a bittersweet finish with plenty of coconut zing. It set the stage nicely for our next beer, Coffee Breath. An Imperial Coffee Oat Milk Stout (ICOMS for short), Coffee Breath is big on coffee flavor and aroma thanks to its malt bill featuring five different roasts along with roasted barley and tons of oats. A pinch of lactose sugar gives the beer a rich and creamy texture, while a blend of Dominican and Sumatran coffee from One World Roasters brings it all together. In NEBCO's words: "Imagine a fudgey chocolate brownie dipped in a smooth, locally roasted cup of joe."

Aside from that, what a great, evocatively named beer this is. After three cups of coffee, one definitely develops what could be described as "coffee breath." I mean, it's not like it's a bad thing like onion breath or cigarette breath, right? With so many beers available, I had to make a decision between this and another coffee stout, so I asked one of the servers for a recommendation. Based on her description of the two, it was obvious that I'd be ordering Coffee Breath, a higher ABV, more viscous, coffee-forward stout compared to the smaller, more carbonated Kewl Beans.

Decisions... decisions... decisions!

The pièce de résistance came at the end of our visit. I knew I'd be saving the best for last with a pour of Mexican Cake Imperial Stout Trooper. This beer is about as cock diesel as it gets! I've long been privy to the awesomeness that is NEBCO's Imperial Stout Trooper, a wickedly good Russian Imperial Stout with a name that pays homage to that wacky group of white metal uniform-wearing Imperial sheep who answer to Darth Vader. Talk about geeking out! Whoever's idea it was to combine beer and Star Wars struck gold with this concoction. Sadly, NEBCO was forced to change the beer's original label ten years ago due to a cease and desist order from one Mr. George Lucas (yes, the same George Lucas who also thought it was a good idea to make Greedo shoot first), thus forcing the brewery to create a new label. Here's the original, in case you've never seen it:

NEBCO responded with a righteous "F you" to Lucas and Co. by not only displaying the cease and desist letter in its tasting room, but also tweaking the label - complete with Groucho Marx disguise - to the following:

Eat that, you billionaire who subjected fans to the red-headed stepchild of the Star Wars franchise, Jar-Jar Binks. Hell, not just Jar-Jar, but the entire series of prequels. Well, at least the first two; Sith was pretty badass.

OK... let's just turn the Bantha around and get back to the beer. This beer was special; so special it might just be THE beer of the trip. This Mexican cake version is easily right up there with the best of them - Westbrook, Abraxas, Hunahpu's, etc.). This beauty was balanced to perfection! Not too cinnamon-forward, not too spicy, not too chocolatey. Simply put: amazing! Pleeps agrees, don't you, buddy?

Pleeps can have his cake and drink it, too!

We forgot our growler and NEBCO doesn't have a crowler filler. D'oh! We wouldn't be taking home any fuzzy little ducklings with us, unfortunately. Still, they had a decent amount of take-out beer available, including a new-to-me DIPA called Corialis as well as BBA Imperial Stout Trooper. I loaded up and we went on our merry way.

NEBCO's bitchin' "Sea Hag" El Camino!

Since we were in such close proximity to Tree House, we decided to just swing by and grab a case of mixed cans. Tree House is very particular with its beer sales, and it turns out that they don't even do draft sales on Fridays. So we figured we'd pop in, grab some cans, and be on our merry way. We arrived to find a more-impressive-than-anticipated brewery. Talk about the house that Julius built! It's staggering to think that these guys started out in a garage just a few years ago. As we approached the parking lot, we noticed a long line of patrons winding through the courtyard and into the parking lot. Turns out the wait was over an hour, so we basically just looped the parking lot and left. The scene reminded me of a string of sad Cold War-era Russians standing in line to get their toilet paper ration for the month. You know what I say to that? F that hoodwink!

Our next stop brought us back to Framingham, home of Jack's Abby and its off-shoot wood-aging program called Springdale. Situated in the same building as Jack's Abby, Springdale features nothing but sour beers and barrel-aged creations. They even have a few offerings tapped straight from the barrel, much like Cascade Barrel Room in Portland, OR. When I discovered this place on Brewery Maps, I hadn't yet made the connection that it was affiliated with Jack's Abby. Regardless, I like Jack's Abby quite a bit, so it was an easy decision to include this new-to-us place on our itinerary. 

Nuthin' but wood, baby!

In the purest sense of serendipity, I discovered that Springdale was hosting a pop-up vinyl event at 5 p.m. on the day we were visiting. We arrived just shy of that, but the vendor was already set up and ready to peddle its wares. I managed to find a few reasonably priced titles to round out my collection, including the much sought-after self-titled release from the 70's band, Hookfoot. Go ahead, say it. "Who?" That's why we've got Wikipedia, folks!

Straight outta da wood!

Like Cascade Barrel Room and Green Flash's Cellar 3, this is definitely the place for a sampler flight. With so many unique, wood-aged creations, it's impossible to try everything without getting smaller pours. We each got a flight. Here's mine:

• What Ami?! - Collaboration with the Canadian brewery Le Saint Bock. This mixed fermentation beer blends Springdale's Amirite?! IPA with a kiwi barrel-aged sour. Dry-hopping with Amarillo creates a refreshingly acidic and tropical explosion of flavors. 
• Barrel #2028 Double Barrel Grape - 37-month-old sour golden lager aged in chardonnay barrels then racked into red wine barrels with Cabernet Franc grapes from Volante Farms. They had me at Cab Franc, my favorite style of wine!  
• Not Stirred Series: Side Rig - Cognac barrel-aged amber boasting notes of orange, caramel and cream soda to elicit the tart but sweet cocktail known as a Sidecar.
• Grain Reaper - Barleywine brewed with locally malted oats from Valley Malt in Hadley, MA, and aged for seven months in bourbon barrels.

Pleeps has taken flight!

Whoa! So many flavors to soak in with this flight, which was all over the map. I'd probably have to give the nod to Double Grape for its deep vinous quality and complexity. The Side Rig was quite good - and unique - as well, and did a fine job mimicking the cocktail after which it's named (although I've never had one before).

Pleeps looks like a giant from this angle!

We decided one final beer was in order before we had to move on. That beer turned out to be Brigadeiro, a stout brewed with Brazilian coffee, cacao, oats, and milk sugar. It was pretty tasty but I preferred the sours and barrel-aged beers, which is actually pretty rare for me. Overall, Springdale is an awesome facility. They're churning out some really creative, well-executed sours without being pretentious or "hipster-y" in the presentation. The vibe reminded me of a working class pre-Prohibition beer hall. Sampling beer straight from the barrel was a real treat as well. All in all, it was an enjoyable visit, and we actually spent a bit more time here than we had anticipated. 

Pleeps loves to monkey around.

I really wanted to hit Turtle Swamp, the next brewery on the agenda, if only for the cool name. Everyone knows I love goats, donkeys, elephants, monkeys, dogs, etc. but I also love turtles. Go figure. We factored in enough time for one beer each before heading into Boston proper to meet up with Joey for dinner.

Nice night in the swamp.

After perusing the selection, I decided on a beer called Serendipitous. As the name implies, this beer came about as a happy accident. Turns out the brewer added CaraPils malt rather than Caramel Pils malt. This resulted in a really pale ale. Turtle Swamp developed the beer a bit further in subsequent batches, but the name stuck. It was a pretty nicely-balanced pale ale overall with a kiss of citrus fruit and bitterness in the finish.

Pleeps is turtley enough for any turtle club. Turtle... turtle!

Brewslut settled on FINE (A Sour Beer), a low-ABV sour ale (as the name implies) brewed with hibiscus. While it wasn't very sour at all, it still offered a pleasant flavor. Meanwhile, we moseyed into the small back room, as there were no seats up front and it was a bit too chilly outside (although several customers were enjoying the slightly unseasonable warmth). So we parked at a barrel-turned-table to enjoy our beers. There were two couples occupying a pair of nearby tables. One of the couples had children in tow. They were enjoying a nice conversation, and the couple with children mentioned a few times how they're not like "typical" parents who let their kids ransack a place of business (i.e. a brewery). I mean, they still allowed the kids to crawl around on the floor, under tables and chairs, and move stuff around. They just let the kids do it at arm's reach. My take? Unless the kid is sitting at the table behaving herself, she's probably up to no good. It's not the responsibility of the brewery to keep your kid occupied. There's nothing to do but drink liquid that you shouldn't drink until you're 21 years old (though some would debate that). And that's the problem I have with bringing kids to a brewery. Unless they are going to act like an adult, do everyone a favor and pay a 14-year-old girl ten bucks an hour to babysit (aka bang her boyfriend in your kid's bed) for you.

Steps down from soapbox.

Of course, one could argue that drunk adults are just as bad - or even worse - than ill-behaved children running rampant through a brewery. The fact that we'd likely be encountering a myriad of drunk adults this weekend wasn't lost on me, either. Oh the irony.

Sweet garage door mural at Turtle Swamp.

By this time, we were ready for dinner. Joey suggested the nearby Pour House Bar & Grill, a place he frequents largely due to cheap bar food and a good drink selection. Sign me up! I housed my order of chicken fajitas and washed it down with a can of Cloud Candy IPA by Mighty Squirrel Brewing. I'd noticed Mighty Squirrel when I was researching breweries to visit, but it wasn't in the cards for a visit. So I was happy to find one of its offerings locally. It was a sweet, hazy IPA with notes of candied orange and tropical fruit.

We drug Joey to a brewery I'd wanted to hit that night called Backlash. Joey mentioned it was situated in a sketchy part of town rife with crackheads and frequent shootings and stabbings. When we arrived, there was a security guard at the door (which was locked) and I felt like I was going to prison for a conjugal visit. He was pleasant and funny, though, which lightened the mood a bit.

Inside, the place was stark and dimly lit but had a clean, modern flair. It was also quite large and included a loft-like area, which was actually the larger of the two public spaces. The lower level included some games, likely to keep the kiddies occupied while mommy and daddy lose their inhibitions and work up the urge to bang later that evening.

The dimly lit atmosphere wasn't indicative of the beer selection, though, which was scant with dark beers. The four beers available included two IPAs, a pilsner and a cream ale. I opted for Bad Decision Juice, a Session IPA hopped with Citra, El Dorado and Idaho 7, as I needed a moment to regain my composure. This 4.7% ABV easy drinker did just the trick. We had arrived a few minutes shy of last call, so this turned out to be a quick one-and-done visit. Plus we didn't get shanked in the parking lot. Woo hoo!

Pleeps chillin' at Backlash.

We decided to squeeze in a visit to Cheeky Monkey since it was in close proximity to Joey's apartment. Pleeps was super-excited to visit this place, but unfortunately it is situated in the meat market district and all of the drunken clowns decked out in green were on the prowl. We actually had to stand in line for about 15 minutes before we could get in. I felt like we were outside Studio 54 waiting to canoodle with Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Gloria Gaynor while snorting coke off of one of the Village Peoples' firm, white butt-cheeks. The irony was that the beers weren't worth waiting for. Still, it was good to add yet another notch onto our brewery list. One more down and about 6300 to go. Hey, that's almost 10%. We'd be doing a lot better if it was still 2016, because the number of craft breweries has doubled in the last three years. Fuckin' A!

The pickings were pretty slim, so I went with Down Undah, and IPA combining Australian Galaxy hops and an assortment of American hops. Overall, it was light with a hint of pine and floral notes, but otherwise pretty forgettable. The star of the show here was the people-watching and conversations with Joey and his Berklee cohorts, Connor and "Aussie" Phil, the latter of whom attended Ffej of July last year.

Stay tuned as we continue our jaunt through Boston and do our best to avoid all of the drunk leprechauns peppering the city over this particular weekend while still maintaining a hefty drinking schedule. Until next time...