-
Top Beers of 2021
I have got to keep this simple, or it won’t get done…so here goes. There were 14 total beers that I rated 4.5 or higher in Untappd in 2021. And though that’s far from a perfect way to sort out my favorite beers last year, it happens to include a wide enough range of styles…
-
Wheatland Spring Farm + Brewery, Virginia
Highway 15 winds along the first gasp of the Appalachians as it travels southbound from Maryland into Virginia. In years of living northwest of DC, I can’t tell you how many times I driven around its curves and dips between Frederick and Warrenton. Rarely have I stopped along the way, unless it’s to fly out…
-
Top 12 (OK, 13) Beers of the Year, 2020
The tale of 2020 can be told through the beers we drank along the way–and they give us a specific sense of where we were a year ago, and how much they helped us retain both a kind of normalcy as well as keeping us connected with the hospitality industry, which took it on the…
-
Cushwa Brewing Company, Williamsport
While preparing for the latest marathon–another story to be sure, during covid times–I passed by Cushwa Brewing Company in Williamsport, Maryland, on my way back and forth to the Potomac River and the C&O Canal Tow Path that snakes alongside it. While their taproom remained partially closed through the spring, they opened up in the…
-
Lion’s Tail Brewing Co, Neenah
A tale of two years…and two visits one year apart to a fantastic brewery in the clutch of historic Neenah, Wisconsin. With 20 tours at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual pilot-fest, AirVenture, under my belt, the cancellation of the aviation pilgrimage in 2020 stung hard. And I still had an airline ticket to use–and as…
-
Tröegs Brewery, Hershey
The aromas of chocolate filled the air, but we were there for the beer. My husband, as a Brit, takes Hershey’s chocolate as an affront to his senses, but we both remarked upon how well the company has apparently invested in the town as we drove through it on our way to find the Tröegs…
-
Antietam Brewery, Hagerstown
Well, it took us long enough to make it to our first local taproom–but I’d sampled the Hager-Weiss Hefeweissen from Antietam Brewery in Hagerstown, Maryland, in six-pack form in December, so I knew we had a winner on our doorstep. The brewery used to be in town, but grew beyond its meagre space a couple…
-
BrewDog DogTap
Every decent road trip requires at least one worthy pause–and we didn’t have one on the way out to Iowa from Maryland for Christmas 2019, because of certain circumstances. So we needed a good one for the trip back. I’d bought a share in BrewDog a couple of years ago during the second Equity For…
-
Cobbett’s Christmas Stash
Stephen was making one of his “boomerang” trips, a quick dash across the pond to satisfy the powers that be that he was in correct standing vis-à-vis his visa. So with a week in Dorking and Bristol to kill, he needed at least one errand–besides picking up the Christmas pudding and the mincemeat for our…
-
A Round of Christmas Ales (& Others)
For 2019, with the full range of American craft beers within reach, I determined to taste a representative lineup of the Christmas and other seasonal ales and stouts put forth on the East Coast. Unlike the disappointment of pumpkin ales, the festive holiday brews by and large satisfied and delighted me. My favorite amongst them?…
