August & September started off with 2 weeks in Charlotte before heading out for a 6 week adventure! I spent time in Michigan and Washington before heading back to CLT at the end of September. In this time I tried 232 different beers via a couple of bottle shares and visiting a lot of different breweries in my travels.

In no particular order, here were the best beers I had over the past two months:

Magos Del Subterraneo collaboration brew from Brujos Brewing in Portland, OR and Troon Brewing in Hopewell, NJ

This is an Imperial IPA with raw Oregon honey and is double dry hopped with Nelson CGX, Nelson, Motueka CGX, Motueka and Citra hops. This is a superb beer. I was lucky enough to have it twice in August and I gave it a 5 on Untappd both times. The honey was a fantastic addition!

No Sleep Means Insomnia from Monkish Brewing in Torrance, CA

No Sleep Means Insomnia is a Triple IPA with Motueka & Citra hops. Monkish Triples are just unbeatable. I had a few great ones over the past two months so it was hard to select just one for the list, but this one stood out for it’s superb flavor.

Lorraine from Fair Isle Brewing in Seattle, WA

Lorraine is a Farmhouse Ale with Gewürztraminer grapes and Syrah pomace. Fair Isle is one of my favorite breweries in the country so I was extremely excited to get to visit their taproom again. I had several beers during my visit (and grabbed a few to-go bottles too!) and Lorraine was spectacular!

Chainsaw from Root and Branch Brewing in Copiague, NY

Chainsaw is a Triple IPA with wildflower honey and dry hopped with Cashmere, Citra and Simcoe hops. This is the second IPA with honey on the list so perhaps this is how my taste buds are leaning as of late. Another killer brew from R&B.

Edge of the Dessert from Great Notion Brewing in Portland, OR

This is a Smoothie Sour with pineapple, mango and cheesecake. It’s been a little while since I have had a Great Notion Sour and this was a great reminder of how delicious they are. We’ve been getting some Great Notion distribution in Charlotte so I had debated whether or not to visit the Ballard taproom in Seattle, but I am so glad I did! Great brews and chill vibes.

MMXXI Chardonnay from Floodland Brewing in Seattle, WA

Description from the brewery: “This 2021 harvest beer was made through a native fermentation of Chardonnay grapes from French Creek Vineyard on the slopes of the Yakima River. The grapes from were destemmed and crushed and kept in contact with the skins for some time before being pressed and then blended with well aged spelt saison as well as saison brewed with wheat and oats. This beer was refermented to condition in the bottle with raw honey from Cougar Canyon Apiary, harvest on Rattlesnake Point 10/01/2021.”

Floodland! I was very excited to see Ridgewood Bottle and Tap had this hard-to-find brewery on tap while I was in Seattle. Stellar brew, as expected.