2026 Firestone Walker Invitational

As a beer nerd, attending the Firestone Walker Invitational Beer Fest has been on my bucket list for a while, and finally this year the stars aligned for me to be in central California at the time of the event! This was the 13th year of FWIBF and it absolutely lived up to the hype.

The day was full of incredible beer, delicious food, fun live music, and relaxing vibes, all for a good cause! Proceeds from the festival benefit Paso Robles Pioneer Day, a local nonprofit dedicated to preserving the unique history and culture of Paso Robles.

The event is incredibly well organized with an app for attendees to download ahead of time with the participating breweries, tap lists, food menus, live music schedule, frequently asked questions, and the ever so important map! On the app attendees were also able to vote for the People’s Choice Award winner which was presented to Everywhere Beer Co. in Orange, CA this year. I was able to visit their taproom in their first year open and was very impressed.

Paso Robles Event Center is the home of the fest and there is plenty of shade, misters, and seating areas to keep folks comfortable. Plus, breweries and sponsors got creative with their offerings to keep things cool and fun as well. Cocktails at beer fest? Beer slushees? Jello shots? Yes yes and yes please!

Overall FWIBF did not just feel like another run of the mill beer fest—there is intentionality and unique touches that set this event apart.

On top of the festival itself, Firestone Walker makes a weekend out of the event. On Friday they organize a block party the day before the fest that is open to the general public with live music, barbeque, FW beers, and guest taps. Then on Sunday the weekend rounds out with Brews and Brekky at the taproom with guest beers and a special brunch menu. The Papas Con Chorizo Pizza I had at brunch alongside a pour of Anna from Hill Farmstead was perfection!

My Top Beers

The 2026 fest featured over 70 breweries from around the world, and what makes this fest even more special is that the brewers/owners themselves are present pouring the beers for attendees, not just volunteers or bartenders. You’ve got the experts onsite sharing their passion and knowledge which was amazing! Here were my top pours:

Blessed Purr collaboration brew from Horus Aged Ales in Oceanside, CA and Anchorage Brewing in Anchorage, AK

Blessed Purr is a bourbon barrel aged blend of double oaked and triple oaked Imperial Stouts with Democratic Republic of Congo vanilla beans, Madagascar vanilla beans, raw coconut, and toasted coconut added. Yes I did in fact start a beer festival with a 21.66% ABV Imperial Stout. Yes it was my absolute favorite beer of the day! This is an insanely great beer from two of the absolute best Stout producers in the country.

Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty, Little Ball of Fur, Happy Kitty, Sleepy Kitty, Purr Purr Purr from Horus Aged Ales in Oceanside, CA

This crazy beer is an Imperial Stout aged in Pappy Van Winkle 20 year bourbon barrels, then William Larue Weller bourbon barrels, and finished in Blanton's bourbon barrels with Democratic Republic of Congo vanilla beans added. I just continue to be amazed by the insanely good beers Kyle is creating!

Samuel from Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, VT

Samuel is a Farmhouse Ale with buckwheat, spelt, and Vermont wildflower honey aged in wine barrels and then bottle conditioned. Although I’ve had Samuel many times, it’s not a beer you pass up when it is available! Always an absolute gem.

Smoke & Stories from Fidens Brewing in Albany, NY

Smoke & Stories is a quadruple dry-hopped Double IPA brewed with Citra, Nelson, Superdelic Cryo, Egger's Special, Motueka and Motueka Hop Kief hops. This was a classic Fidens banger—silky smooth, packed with flavor.

Just One Thing…Nelson! from Green Cheek Beer Company in Orange, CA

This is an all-Nelson double dry hopped Imperial IPA with hand selected 2022 Nelson Sauvin. I love an all Nelson IPA so this was a delight! Green Cheek had a fun set up at the fest as well that was absolutely poppin’. I also loved that they had some of their hop partners pouring cans for folks in the line so you were able to try more than one of their beers while just waiting once. They also had slushees and sliders!

Hana Select Lager from Bierstadt Lagerhaus in Denver, CO

Hana Select Lager is a Czech Pale Lager brewed for International Women’s Month with 19th century Hana Valley malt and Czech Saaz hops. Bierstadt obviously crushes the Lager game but this was even better than their standard Helles or Slow Pour Pils in my opinion. A little bit unique, a lot bit great.

Delia from Birrificio Italiano in Limido Comasco, Lombardia Italy

Delia is a bottom-fermented Italian Pilsner with floor-malted barley and German hops. An Italian Pilsner straight out of Italy unsurprisingly slapped. The foam and slight bitterness were exactly right. Pleasantly surprised!

Dark Watchers collaboration brew from Alvarado Street Brewery in Monterey, CA and Brujos Brewing in Portland, OR

Dark Watchers is a Hazy Triple IPA. Alvarado Street had a fun set-up at the fest pouring out of a car they had to get there on a trailer. Definitely a banger!

Poetica 3 from Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, VT

Poetica 3 is a Czech-inspired Pilsner brewed with a single decoction mash process, Czech Saaz hops, fermented with Czech and German lager yeast in a French oak puncheon. I was lucky enough to have a pour of this tasty beer at their taproom at the end of 2025, so when I saw it on tap at the fest I knew it would be a perfect, refreshing beer.

Achromatic Vibes (2025) collaboration brew from Side Project Brewing in St. Louis, MO and WeldWerks Brewing in Greeley, CO

Achromatic Vibes 2025 is a non-barrel aged Imperial Stout finished on raw and toasted coconut chips and a blend of vanilla beans. This was a solid offering from two great breweries. A coconut Stout will always be one of my favorites!

15 Years Cuvée from Oxbow Brewing Company in Newcastle, ME

15 Years Cuvée is a barrel-aged Farmhouse Ale blended to celebrate Oxbow's 15th anniversary. The blend incorporates threads of barrel-aged batches of all five of their original farmhouse ales: Arboreal, FPA, Noel, Oxtoberfest & Space Cowboy. Oxbow is always great in my eyes, and I can’t wait to visit some of their spaces when I am up in Maine next month! Their Portland taproom with Duckfat fries is chef’s kiss.

My Top Bites

FWIBF also partners with area restaurants and there were 20 different food vendors providing delicious bites to pair with the brews. My favorites were:

Benny’s Pizza Palace and Social Club in San Luis Obispo: Detroit-style Pizza

Pizza and beer? Say less. This sample of pizza was absolutely delicious! As a Michigander I always love a Detroit-style pie, and this one was a great rendition.

Street Side Ale House in Paso Robles and Atascadero: Street Mac

This rotini pasta with house-made pepper jack cream, pepperoncini, bacon, toasted rosemary, and parmesan definitely had a kick, but was packed with delicious flavor! It was a great grab while waiting in the Green Cheek line!

Della’s Wood-Fired Pizza in Paso Robles: Mortadella Sandwich with whipped ricotta and pistachio pesto

The bread on this sandwich was particularly great! Perfect snag to get some substance between pours.

I am bummed I missed the Watermelon & Citrus Shrimp Ceviche from Union & Vine in Atascadero as well!

Cheers to such an amazing fest and weekend of events! The next festival I am attending is Hill Farmstead’s Festival of Farmhouse Ales next month and I can’t wait!

Check back to see my top beers! Cheers —Alexis

March and April 2026

March and April included visits to Asheville, Durham for the Rare and Vintage Beer Tasting, Atlanta for the Little Beer Festival, a quick stop in Greenville, a fun weekend at Wild Hartsville, a couple of bottle shares, and a lot of time in Charlotte supporting local! I visited STIR, Plot Twist, STK, Frenchy’s, Yume, Petty Thieves, Burial x 4, Que Onda, Margeux’s, Kit’s, Edge City, Vaulted Oak, The Craic, HopFly, ESO, Fonta Flora, State of Confusion, Printshop, Salud, and Keepsake over the past two months.

During all of this I tried 181 beers in March and April, and in no particular order, here were the best:

Fairy Ring + Excelsior + Colossal Something from Fidens Brewing in Albany, NY

Three Hazy powerhouses from the fine folks at Fidens! Fairy Ring is an Imperial IPA, Excelsior is a Double IPA triple dry-hopped with Nelson, Peacharine, Riwaka, Nectaron, Motueka Hop Kief, and Rakau Hop Kief. Colossal Something is a Quadruple Dry-Hopped Quadruple IPA brewed with Citra, Waimea, Superdelic, Nelson, Rakau and Riwaka hops.

Luxe from Two Tides Brewing in Savannah, GA

Two Tides came into town for Burial’s Primavera Celebration and graced us with this delicious Imperial Stout during the off-topic panel conversation. It was aged 32 months in 12 year Willet Family Estate PurpleTop bourbon barrels and has roasted pecans, caramel, chocolate and sea salt. Banger!

The Real of Absolute Nothingness from Burial Beer in Asheville, NC + The Fabrication of a Most Diabolical Empire collaboration brew with Xul Brewing in Knoxville, TN

The Realm of Absolute Nothingness is an Imperial Stout aged on select French Broad Chocolate cocoa nibs, Madagascar vanilla beans, and macaroon coconut. The Fabrication of a Most Diabolical Empire is an Imperial IPA mashed with oats and wheat, double dry-hopped with Coleman Farms' Citra, Galaxy, Nectaron, and Rakau, and finished with Citra Cryo & Hyperboost. This Xul collab was also thanks to their Primavera celebration and one of my favorite IPAs I have had in a hot minute.

No Sleep + A Deal With The Devil Triple Oaked Batch 11 from Anchorage Brewing in Anchorage, AK

Anchorage! Always blessed when a month includes a pour of their insanely great beers! No Sleep is a blend of several vintages of double oaked Barleywine and Imperial Stouts aged in a variety of bourbon barrels then fnished in Klatch coffee, Vermont maple syrup and Madagascar vanilla beans. This version of A Deal With The Devil is a triple oaked Barleywine aged 25 months in a mix of Willett, Woodford reserve double oaked bourbon barrels, and cognac barrels.

EBK Until They Kill Me Ghost Edition + Ghost Dead and Gone from Adroit Theory in Purcellville, VA

Adroit Theory is quietly crushing it up in the DC metro area. I loved my visit there a couple of summers ago, and was thrilled to see them on the list at Wild Hartsville. They had several great beers that day, but my two favorites were EBK Until They Kill Me Ghost Edition, a special version of their flagship IPA that is double dry-hopped with Citra, Riwaka, Nelson Sauvin, and Motueka hops and Ghost Dead and Gone, a Triple IPA double dry-hopped with Citra and Mosaic.

GSO Barrel Select 2025 + Ammo Can: Nahvi Bravo from Forgotten Road Ales in Graham, NC

I had the pleasure of attending two festivals in a month that Ben from Forgotten Road was pouring at, so of course there were some stellar Stouts. My two favorites were GSO Barrel Select 2025 which is an Imperial Stout aged in Cognac barrels that aged 14 year bourbon. This was a special release for their Greensboro Taproom's 3rd anniversary. I still need to make it to this taproom! I also loved Ammo Can: Nahvi Bravo, an Imperial Stout aged for 15 months in a 8 year 1792 Sweet Wheat Bourbon Barrel with banana, vanilla and cinnamon.

Coconut Crab from The Answer in Richmond, VA

Coconut Crab is an Imperial Stout with toasted coconut that was one of the VIP pours at Wild Hartsville. So, so good.

Schwemme from Schilling Beer Co. in Littleton, NH

Schwemme was my favorite pour at Little Beer! It is a low ABV sessionable take on the pale German lager tradition. Thankfully I just snagged a can of this locally so I can enjoy it again!

Fusion Chamber: Coconut 2026 from Little Cottage Brewery in Avondale Estates, GA

I was really excited to finally visit Little Cottage and loved this Imperial Stout with coconut. Have you heard I like coconut Stouts? lollllll

For LC from Side Project Brewing in St. Louis, MO + For MD Blend 2 collaboration brew with WeldWerks Brewing Co. in Greeley, CO

Dark beers from Side Project would easily be on my marry list of FMK. LOVE them so much and so thankful that my friend now visits there for work and can get the hook up. For LC is a Double Barrel-aged Imperial Stout with Mexican vanilla beans, cocoa nibs, cinnamon sticks and ancho chilis aged in Blanton's and Weller 12 barrels, then blended and aged a second time on Willett Rye and Artifact Honey Bourbon Barrels, with more vanilla added. MD Blend 2 blends the techniques of each brewery’s most recognizable Stout: Medianoche and Derivation. It is an Imperial Stout aged in 15-year-old Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond bourbon barrels and seven-year-old Weller bourbon barrels with Madagascar vanilla beans and dark, robust maple syrup added.

Yodel: Rakau from Freak Folk Bier in Waterbury, VT + Jasper collaboration brew with Fidens

Freak Folk never misses! Yodel: Rakau is the seventh installment in their Yodel single hop series. Jasper is a fun take on this Fidens classic brewed with Citra hops. Can’t wait to get back up there in July!

From The Pinnacle + Populus from Brujos Brewing in Portland, OR + Green Warlocks collaboration brew with Other Half Brewing in Brooklyn, NY

From the Pinnacle is a triple dry-hopped Triple Hazy IPA. Populus is a double dry hopped Hazy IPA with Nelson, Citra and Mosaic. Green Warlocks is an Imperial IPA brewed by OH. This is the most Brujos I have had in while and it was a good reminder of how fantastic they are!

Undertone: French Butter Pear from Casey Brewing and Blending in Glenwood Springs, CO

Love a good excuse to open a Casey bottle! This is an oat Farmhouse Ale aged with organic French Butter Pears. I will continue to die on the hill that pear Farmhouse Ales are underrated.

Works of Love: Keeping Together collaboration brew from Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, VT and Keeping Together Beer in Santa Fe, NM

I am very excited to visit Averie’s new taproom (hopefully in 2027!) and really enjoyed this collab she did with Hill. This is a Farmhouse Ale with Vermont wildflower honey that was open-fermented in a wooden foudre and bottle aged.

Barrel Aged Sky Summoner collaboration brew from The Veil Brewing in Richmond, VA and Horus Aged Ales in Oceanside, CA

I need a visit to Richmond to restock my Veil bottle supply soon! This was a great pour at Rare and Vintage that is the barrel aged version of this collab that was a blend of each brewery’s house Stout conditioned on Wild Thai banana, toasted coconut, and whole vanilla beans from Uganda, Tahiti, and The Congo. It was then aged on Blis Maple Bourbon, Laird’s Apple Brandy, and Willett Family Reserve barrels for 16 months. It is not an overly sweet Stout like it might read, the barrels balance everything out nicely and create a fantastic brew.

Hypnagogic collaboration brew from Phase Three Brewing in Lake Zurich, IL + Mortalis Brewing in Avon, NY

This Imperial Stout was aged for over two years in Heaven Hill and Henry McKenna barrels then conditioned on raw and toasted coconut, wild Thai bananas, and Saigon cinnamon. I am always delighted to try anything from Phase Three and this was stellar!

The Surrealist Society 2025 No. 11 from Dssolvr in Asheville, NC

Barrel aged Imperial Stout aged for two years in Elijah Craig bourbon barrels, then aged secondary on toasted pecans, cinnamon, cooperative coffee dark roast, and maple syrup. This was my first pour at Rare and Vintage and the perfect breakfast-style Stout to start the day! Would love to try some others from this series!

Loggin’ collaboration brew from Cellarest Brewing in Asheville, NC and Whaley Farm Brewery in Old Fort, NC

Loggin’ is a Czech Pilsner aged in oak puncheons. I had this both on tap at the brewery and at home in a can and loved it both times. Perfectly crushable yet still full of flavor!

Check back next month for my top beers of may!
Cheers—Alexis

My Top Beers of 2025

In 2025 I tried 1,255 beers. The breweries I had the most beers from were Burial (92), Freak Folk (43) and Hill Farmstead (41). I visited 122 new breweries, bringing my total breweries visited up to 1,505. In no particular order, here were the best beers I had over the past year:

• Pliny the Younger 2025 Triple IPA from Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, CA

• Samuel Batch 1, 2, and 3 Saison + Poetica 3 Czech Pilsner + Works of Love: Anchorage Brewing 2016 Saison + Art Batch 6 Saison from Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, VT

• Framboos 2014 Lambic + 3 Fonteinen x Hill Farmstead Resonance Blend 1 Lambic from Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen in Belgium

• Dat Phuc Imperial Stout + Don’t Be A Khack Imperial IPA from CLAG Brewing Company in Sandusky, OH

• Eunoia Batch 18: Coconut Imperial Stout + Pixel Point Hazy IPA from Phase Three Brewing Company in Lake Zurich, IL

• Triple Jasper Triple IPA + Triple Farmer Triple IPA from Fidens Brewing Company in Albany, NY

• Lunar Handshake Czech Dark Lager from Lesser-Known Beer Co in Winston-Salem, NC

• Abiding Cycles Saison + Eye of the Needle Saison from Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Captiola, CA

• Yodel: Riwaka Imperial IPA + Signet: Gin Saison + Pronghorn Helles Lager + Cult of Billy: The Resurrection Imperial IPA + Torso Imperial IPA + Staglore Wild Ale from Freak Folk Bier in Waterbury, VT

• Bitty Zwickelbier from Burial Beer in Asheville, NC in collaboration with Lesser-Known Beer Co

• A Deal With The Devil Triple Oaked Batch 15 Barleywine + Some Kind Of Something Imperial Stout from Anchorage Brewing in Anchorage, AK

• TEN Imperial Stout from Pulpit Rock Brewing Company in Decorah, IA

• Saint Lamvinus 2010 from Brasserie Cantillon in Belgium

• Hand of Glory 2018 Barleywine from Holy Mountain Brewing in Seattle, WA

• The Blend Imperial Stout from Side Project Brewing in Saint Louis, MO in collaboration with Toppling Goliath Brewing

What were your top beers of the year? Let me know in the comments!

August and September 2025

August and September were two months packed with travel and delicious beers for me. Prior to a big road trip I shared beers with friends 3 times and visited Boone and Winston-Salem. Then Mosaic and I headed out to: Nashville, St. Louis, Kansas City, Colorado Springs, Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park, Fort Collins, Greeley, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Big Sky, Bozeman, Helena, Missoula, Glacier National Park, Teddy Roosevelt National Park, Rapid City, Black Hills, Badlands National Park, Sioux Falls, Lincoln, Omaha, Des Moines, Cincinnati, and Knoxville!

Throughout these journeys and shares I tried 313 beers over the past two months, and these were the best of the best. Normally I would spend time describing each beer, but frankly I am tired and there were too many good beers over the last 2 months, so this edition has a few less details but a lot more beers for you to seek out:

Samuel Batch 1, 2, and 3 + 15th Anniversary: Festbier from Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, VT

Metaform (Strawberry) from HOMES Brewery in Ann Arbor, MI

Amidst A Metaphorical Psychobabble from Burial Beer in Asheville, NC

Buckley Select #8 from Transient Artisan Ales in Bridgman, MI

A Voice To Say from Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Capitola, CA

Yodel: NZ Cascade + Yodel: Peacharine + Signet: 2024 + Zygote + Everything Is A Lie + History of Dogs: For Gus + Dethroner from Freak Folk Bier in Waterbury, VT

VSOJ 2024 + Lumberstruck 2025 from Revolution Brewing in Chicago, IL

names.mean.nothing.b2 + the world we’re in is broken from nebuleus in Portland, OR

Extra Cowboy Grass from Lesser-Known Beer Co in Winston-Salem, NC

Ong Ba Bi from CLAG Brewing Company in Sandusky, OH

Orca (Anniversary III) from Root + Branch Brewing in Copiague, NY

Quad Orchid from Fidens Brewing in Albany, NY

Cassis Du Fermier (Batch 4) + Sound Cycle Vol. 2 + Abricot Du Fermier (Blend 7) + Barrel Aged Coffee Shop Vibes (2020) from Side Project Brewing in Saint Louis, MO

Premiant from Alma Mader Brewing in Kansas City, MO

Coconut and Coffee Barrel Aged Cuvee from Fremont Brewing in Seattle, WA

Nelson Nelson Nelson + Partially Barrel-Aged Coconut Killa from Boiler Brewing Co. in Lincoln, NE

Unshaven collaboration from Bearded Brewer Artisan Ales in Omaha, NE and RaR Brewing in Cambridge, MD

Zen Scientist + Full Time Travis + Condor from Lua Brewing in Des Moines, IA

All Pixel Everything collaboration from Phase Three Brewing Company in Lake Zurich, IL and Other Half Brewing in New York, NY

Les Fleurs Du Mal from Xul Beer Company in Knoxville, TN

Triple Citra Daydream from Other Half Brewing in New York, NY

Check back next month for my top beers of October! Cheers —Alexis

August and September 2024

First and foremost, my heart is broken for the communities of Western North Carolina and beyond that have been devastated by Hurricane Helene. Here is a good list of spots to donate funds and a list of spots to donate goods to help recovery efforts. Here is my PorchDrinking article on how you can help breweries + their teams and what their level of impact from the storm is. Thank you for supporting these communities that I love and adore in this catastrophic time.

This edition of my top beers is two months combined because I was traveling at the start of last month. August and September brought an international trip to Finland, Sweden and Norway, a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia in Roanoke and Smith Mountain Lake, and three bottle shares with friends—but also covid and a flu/stomach bug so a couple of weeks with no beers tried.

Over the past two months I tried 125 different beers, and here were the best of the best—all of which I rated a 4.5 or 5 on Untappd, meaning I believe them to be extraordinary:

Triple Vegan and The Vegan from Fidens Brewing in Albany, NY

The Vegan is an Imperial IPA with Citra in the whirlpool and dry hopped with Galaxy and Nelson. Triple Vegan is, as you might expect, the triple version of this beer—a Triple IPA with Citra, Galaxy and Nelson hops. I’m sure both of these have been in my top beer lists before, but having them side-by-side in August was a treat!

Anytime You Are Anywhere Always and Never Asked To Be This Way from Burial Beer in Asheville, NC

Anytime You Are Anywhere Always is a Quadruple Dream Resin IPA. Quadruple dry hopped with Citra, Citra Cryo, Nectaron, and Galaxy. This beer blew me away. I had it first in a can from my friend who snagged it while I was out of town, and was shook at how good it was. So then I went to have it on tap… three more times haha. A QIPA is not something I would normally go for—it screams overly boozy and malty. Burial’s first ever QIPA was the exact opposite of that norm. Creamy, juicy, and delicious!

Never Asked To Be This Way is a Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with 70% 13 month aged Willet Bourbon Barrel, 16% 18 month old Double Buffalo Trace and Willets Barrel, and 14% young Stout. No adjuncts, all fantastic barrel flavor.

Flora Pear from Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, VT

Flora Pear is a top beer for me, and my friends. It’s a Farmhouse Wheat barrel aged on organic dessert and Siberian pears and bottle conditioned to perfection. Seek this one out (and share it with me!).

The Same Eternity from Blindhouse Beer in Roanoke, VA

The Same Eternity is a blend of aged Mixed Culture beer and fresh, hoppy Saison. Blindhouse Beer is a gem and I loved every beer I had there—so much so that I visited twice while in town and bought a bottle of everything that had to go.

Talos from Conclave Brewing in Flemington, NJ

Talos is a Triple IPA packing a very tasty punch. Conclave Brewing is a top notch spot flying under the radar—if you haven’t checked them out yet I would definitely recommend!

Pronghorn from Freak Folk Bier in Waterbury, VT

Pronghorn is an unfiltered Bavarian-style Helles best enjoyed on a hike with a killer view. This was the perfect crusher as I reached Pulpit Rock.

Maiden collaboration brew from Track Brewing Company in Manchester, England and Fidens Brewing in Albany, NY

Maiden is an Imperial IPA with Citra (YCH 702 Trial, T90, and Cryo), Nelson, Nectaron, Peacharine, and Riwaka Sub Zero Hop Kief. When I saw a Fidens collaboration in Finland that was an obvious choice for me and it did not disappoint! This was my last beer of the trip and an absolute banger. Definitely recommend Beer Room Haka in the Kallio neighborhood.

Sunrises collaboration from Side Project Brewing in St. Louis, MO and Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Capitola, CA

This 2023 edition of Sunrises is a blend of oak-aged Lager and Saison. As a product of two of the best breweries in the country, it’s no surprise this is a delight. Light yet full of flavor with a powerful nose.

Imperial German Chocolate Cupcake Stout from Angry Chair Brewing in Tampa, FL

This is an Imperial Sweet Stout with coconut, Haitian cacao nibs, vanilla beans and lactose. It might sound like a sugar bomb, and yes sure it’s decadent, but it’s a delicious combination of flavors. Fantastic, as always, from Angry Chair!

See you next month for more delicious beers! Cheers —Alexis

The Best Breweries in the Midwest

The Midwest is full of great breweries—let’s be real there’s not much to do from November-March when you are snowed in other than brew and drink great beer. As a result there are some stellar spots spanning across these states!

The best breweries in the Midwest, in no particular order:

Phase Three Brewing Company: Lake Zurich, IL

Speciation Artisan Ales: Grand Rapids, MI

Pulpit Rock Brewing Company: Decorah, IA

Lua Brewing: Des Moines, IA

Forager Brewery: Rochester, MN

Side Project Brewing: Maplewood, MO

Jackie O’s Brewery: Athens, OH

New Glarus Brewing Company: New Glarus, WI

BlackStack Brewing: St. Paul, MN

Transient Artisan Ales: Bridgman, MI

Revolution Brewing: Chicago, IL

Drekker Brewing Company: Fargo, ND

Which of these have you been to? What are your favorites? Let me know in the comments! Cheers—Alexis

May 2022

May was a month of bottle shares and an 11 day Northern California road trip, so there was a ton of good beer consumed and new breweries visited. Check out my top beers of the past month, in no particular order:

The Maison from de Garde Brewing in Tillamook, OR at The Monk’s Kettle in San Francisco, CA

The Maison is a Spontaneous Wild Ale aged in oak barrels and blended for 3+ years. de Garde is definitely one of my favorite breweries in the country so finding them on tap in San Francisco was a treat! The Monk’s Kettle was a fantastic beer bar with great food, I highly recommend checking them out in the Mission District.

Coeur de Cuvée (Blend #8) from Side Project Brewing in Maplewood, MO

Coeur de Cuvée is a series of blends of wine barrel fermented and aged Saisons from Side Project. This eighth release contains select barrels of a Chablis-inspired Saison which was then refermented on Michigan pears before being blended in a Bière de Coupage style and conditioned for an extended period of time in bottle. This was another fantastic beer from Side Project, who never seems to disappoint.

10,000 Steps (Batch 2) from Private Press Brewing in Santa Cruz, CA at Holy Water in San Francisco, CA

10,000 Steps Batch 2 is a blend of barrel aged Imperial Stout and Barleywine brewed with maple syrup and conditioned on cacao nibs and vanilla beans. Private Press is a sought after brewery with no taproom and limited releases in the Bay Area. Seeing them on tap at Holy Water was a delight! Holy Water is a chill beer bar in the Bernal Heights neighborhood with fantastic beers.

Supplication at Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, CA

Supplication is a Brown Ale aged in Pinot Noir wine barrels for one year with sour cherries, brettanomyces yeast and lactobacillus and pedioccus bacteria. Visiting Russian River was definitely a huge goal of mine so I was pumped to make it out to Santa Rosa. I tried 8 beers at Russian River and was truly surprised to find that Supplication was my favorite.

Everything at Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Capitola and Santa Cruz, CA

I visited both Sante Adairius locations while in Northern California—the OG taproom in Capitola and The Portal in Santa Cruz. I was insanely impressed with every single beer that I had:

Queen of the Season Foudre aged Saison; Wisdom is Learned Barrel Aged Saison with peaches; The Gift of Comfort Barrel aged Blonde ale with rose hips and Meyer Lemon; Landscapes #3 Oak aged Saison dry hopped with Kohia Nelson; Anais House Saison; Cellarman Oak aged Saison in collaboration with Triple Rock; Tomorrow, Today IPA with Citra, Simcoe and Mosaic

Everything at Moksa Brewing in Rocklin, CA

Visiting Moksa was also extremely exciting for me, so it was tough not to drink the entire menu as I loved everything. My two favorites at Moksa were Smells Like C.R.E.A.M. Spirit, an Imperial Stout with port barrel aged maple syrup, vanilla beans and coffee in collaboration with @mikerphonebrewing and One Million Blueberries Imperial Sour Ale with blueberries and vanilla.

Hypnotized Minds Volume 2 Collaboration beer from Xul Beer Co. in Knoxville, TN, BlackStack Brewing in St. Paul, MN and Orchestrated Minds Brewing in Fort Lauderdale, FL at Resident Culture Brewing Company in Charlotte, NC

Hypnotized Minds is a Double Dry Hopped Triple IPA with Azacca, Citra & Simcoe hops. In celebration of CLT Beer Week Resident Culture hosted a tap takeover with a few guest taps, one of which was this fantastic Xul, BlackStack, Orchestrated Minds juice bomb!

Home Sour Home 2022 at The Rare Barrel in Berkeley, CA

Home Sour Home 2022 is a Golden Sour aged in oak barrels with peach, cinnamon and vanilla bean. Everything at The Rare Barrel was superb, but Home Sour Home was particularly delicious! This beer has a great balance of tartness and sweetness, making it easy drinking and phenomenal.

Schmoojee Hydra collaboration brew from Imprint Beer Co. in Hartfield, PA and Mortalis Brewing in Avon, NY

Schmoojee Hydra is a heavily fruited sour with mango, pineapple, passionfruit, banana, coconut and marshmallow. Mortalis and Imprint are two of the best in the game for Fruited Sours so it is no surprise that this was delicious. It was light and refreshing while also being thiccc and fruity at the same time.

Check back next month for my top beers of June 2022!
Cheers —ALexis

January 2022

January brought a plethora of fantastic beers—from bottle shares, to a Charleston trip, to a Southern California trip visiting some of the top breweries in the country, there was no shortage of delicious brews. In no particular order, here are the best beers I had in January 2022:

Everything at Monkish Brewing in Torrance and Anaheim, CA

Is this cheating? Yes. Too bad. Everything Monkish brews is incredibly delicious and I was so thrilled to have the opportunity to visit both of their taprooms on my SoCal trip! I had the following beers and I would recommend them all:

• Conscience Be Free: Double Dry Hopped Double IPA with Galaxy, Nelson Sauvin, and Simcoe

• Foggier Window: Double Dry Hopped Double IPA with Citra, Nelson Sauvin, and Galaxy

• Sticky Traffic: Double Dry Hopped Double IPA with Nelson Sauvin, Citra, Mosaic, and Galaxy

• Biggie Biggie Biggie: Triple IPA with Galaxy and El Dorado

• One Tree: Triple IPA with Strata and Idaho 7

• M 9.5: Saison aged in oak barrels for 18 months and conditioned on spent Blenheim apricots

Nelson!!! (It’s What We Like Here!) at Green Cheek Beer Co. in Costa Mesa, CA

Nelson!!! (It’s What We Like Here!) is a West Coast IPA with hand selected—you guessed it—Nelson Sauvin hops from Freestyle Farm in New Zealand. I generally always choose a Hazy IPA over a West Coast IPA but I decided to branch out while on the West Coast because that’s where they are done best. This was easily the best West Coast IPA I’ve ever had. Shout out to Green Cheek for truly crushing the game.

Luxurious Luxury Volume 10 Collab from The Veil Brewing in Richmond, VA and Evil Twin BRewing in New York, NY

Luxurious Luxury Volume 10 is a Pastry Sour with blackberry, pear, marshmallow and vanilla salt. This latest installment in The Veil and Evil Twin’s collaboration series was absolutely epic. The flavors were exploding and I thoroughly enjoyed every sip.

Double Lightning at Resident Culture Brewing Company in Charlotte, NC

Double Lightning is a Hazy Double IPA with Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy hops. This is the double version of their Flagship Beer, Lightning Drops. I was incredibly impressed with the quality of Double Lightning and look forward to hopefully seeing more of it released.

Study Break, Intrepid Orchid (2022), and Memory Systems at Bottle Logic Brewing in Anaheim, CA

Bottle Logic crushes the Stout game so I of course ordered each one they had on the menu when I visited and they were all delicious!

• Study Break: Imperial Stout with lactose, caramel malts, cacao nibs and peanuts

• Intrepid Orchid 2022: Bourbon Barrel-Aged English Style Vanilla Barleywine with Madagascar vanilla

• Memory Systems 2022: Bourbon Barrel Aged Cinnamon Bun Stout—Imperial Stout aged in a braid of Old Fitzgerald, Heaven Hill, and Elijah Craig barrels and conditioned with a four-day marshmallow steep and a recirculation through Madagascar vanilla beans, Vietnamese cinnamon, and cassia bark

Tomorrow Today from Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Capitola, CA and La Ruche from Side Project Brewing in St. Louis, MO

Tomorrow Today is a West Coast IPA with Simcoe, Citra, and Mosaic hops. Sante Adairius has long been on my list of breweries I’d love to try so I was absolutely stoked to get to taste some of the draft beer while in SoCal.

La Ruche is a Saison fermented using a blend of local microflora and a traditional Saison yeast. Orange Blossom honey was added for refermentation in a Missouri Oak Foedre and then it was aged to maturity before being naturally conditioned in the bottle. Side Project is always a top-notch brewery and this beer was exceptional.

I enjoyed both of these at Windsor Homebrew Supply in Anaheim. They have a killer tap list and bottle/can selection alongside their homebrew supplies.

Eternal Forever at Pure Brewing in San Diego, CA

Eternal Forever is a blend of Single and Double Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stouts with Cacao & Wild Thai Banana. Pure released this in celebration of their 6th Anniversary and I luckily was in town for the release. I actually had this beer twice while I was in San Diego, at Pure Balboa Park and at Pure Carlsbad, because it was just so good. The banana flavor was epic.

Fros’e Sour Blackberry Puff at Kings Brewing Company in Rancho Cucamonga, CA

Pictured left, this is a Fros'e with blackberry, blueberry, cherry, grape, double vanilla & double marshmallow. Kings is best known for their thiccc Fruited Sours and this brew was the best of the three I had on tap. The fruit combination was fantastic!

Rosé de Gambrinus from Cantillon in Brussels, Belgium

This is a blend of Lambics and raspberries from the famed Cantillon in Belgium. Every brew they create is great and this was a light, fruity, and tart sipper.

Pliny The Elder from Russian River Brewing Company in Russian River, CA

Pliny the Elder is a Double West Coast IPA with Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ, and Simcoe hops. This is probably the best known West Coast IPA in the country and deemed a classic. I’ve had Pliny several times before but I couldn’t pass up the chance to have it on draft on the West Coast at Mostra Coffee’s 4s location. It is always delightful—clean, crisp, and delicious.

Check back next month to see what my top beers of February will be! CHeers —ALexis