March 2023

March was a packed beer month with a few days in Hendersonville and Asheville, NC and then a week in Greenville, SC—check out my Greenville beer and travel guide here. I tried 198 different beers in March, a lot of which were consumed while watching March Madness, at Altered States festival from The Eighth State Brewing Company (check out my recap here) and at bottle shares.

In no particular order here are the best beers I had in March:

JFK2LAX: SFO Layover collaboration brew from Monkish Brewing in Torrance, CA and Other Half Brewing in New York, NY

This is a Triple IPA with Citra, Simcoe and Motueka hops. I am a huge fan of the JFK2LAX series and this edition was a delight! I rated this a 4.75 on Untappd because it was so ridiculously good.

Damage: Batch 100 from Root and Branch Brewing in Copiague, NY

This is a multi-oat/wheat Triple IPA from one of the best IPA breweries in the country. Root + Branch crushed this brew and I am very happy to have one more can of it in my fridge. It is extremely smooth and flavorful.

The Morbid Comfort of a Welcome Regression from Burial Beer in Asheville, NC

The Morbid Comfort of a Welcome Regression is a Triple Dry Hopped Triple IPA with Simcoe, Vic Secret and Eclipse hops. Anytime Burial drops a new Triple IPA I am excited but this one was superb. It has that classic Burial hint of sweetness without being overly boozy.

Triple Vegan from Fidens Brewing in Colonie, NY

Triple Vegan is a Triple IPA with Citra, Galaxy and Nelson hops. As you may know, it is the triple version of their iconic brew The Vegan. Coincidentally I just had the original brew, The Vegan, yesterday and it pales in comparison to Triple Vegan. This is rich in flavor and incredibly easy to drink.

Hyperbolic from The Eighth State Brewing Company in Greenville, SC

Hyperbolic is an Apple Brandy Barrel Aged Imperial Stout aged 1 year and 11 months in a Laird's Apple Barrel with toasted coconut, cassia bark, and Madagascar vanilla. It was tough for me to choose just one Eighth State Stout to include on this month’s top beers list, but Hyperbolic soared above the rest. Apple Brandy Barrels are always my favorite! I enjoyed this at their Altered States festival.

Fostering Divine Culture collaboration brew from Resident Culture Brewing Company in Charlotte, NC and Divine Barrel Brewing in Charlotte, NC

Fostering Divine Culture is an Imperial Stout aged in Laird’s Applejack barrels for 22 months then conditioned on rum barrel chips, wild Thai banana, toasted coconut, and vanilla. This was brewed in celebration of Divine Barrel’s 5th Anniversary. I enjoyed it at Community Tap in Greenville and I snagged a bottle at Resident Culture’s taproom once it dropped!

One Thousand Years from The Veil Brewing Company in Richmond, VA

From The Veil: “One Thousand Years was the 1000th batch of beer ever brewed at The Veil back in early 2019. The recipe is an amped-up recipe inspired equally by Pallbearer, Circle of Wolves, Sleeping Forever, and one of our favorite Imperial Stout collaborations. It spent 12 months in Laird's Apple Brandy barrels and then another 12 months in Buffalo Trace bourbon barrels.” In my eyes this is basically a cuvee of The Veil’s best brews and it was absolutely phenomenal!

Sequence Collaboration Brew from Homage Brewing in Pomona, CA and Highland Park Brewery in Los Angeles, CA

Sequence is a barrel aged Saison with spent Matsumoto peaches, spent nectarines and Osmanthus flower. Eighth State was pouring this at one of their events before the festival. Sequence is refreshing, flavorful and unique.

February 2022

February brought a slue of fantastic beers! I also took trips to Greenville, SC and up to Michigan, so that led to some great beers as well. Fingers crossed we are moving towards warmer weather and more patio beers in the coming weeks!

In no particular order, here were my top beers in February 2022:

Tulip from Fidens Brewing in Colonie, NY

Tulip is a Double IPA brewed with Citra and Simcoe hops. Fidens has really fine-tuned what a Double IPA should be and Tulip is a prime example of this. Smooth, juicy, flavorful, and delicious.

Never Gonnagetit³ from The Veil Brewing in Richmond, VA

This is the triple fruited version the Veil’s mixed berry gose with raspberry, boysenberry, and blackberry. Anything mixed berry is always going to be a win from my perspective and this was delicious. Shout out to Salud Beer Shop for hosting a Veil tap takeover so we can have their RVA goodness in CLT.

Ana from Fair Isle Brewing in Seattle, WA

Ana is a tropical Saison refermented on Ananasnaya Kiwi fruit from Red Cedar Farm in Poulsbo, WA. In my opinion, Saisons are always best enjoyed on a beautiful day sitting outside (preferably also with a cheese board). I have been hyping Fair Isle up since I visited their taproom in July and Ana reminded me of just how good their beers are. If you haven’t jumped on this train yet I highly recommend it!

I Once Left My Mind In A Bed-Stuy Juice Bar Collab from Burial Beer Co. in Asheville, NC and Other Half Brewing in New York, NY

This killer collaboration is mashed with oats and candi sugar, whirlpooled with Incognito hops, and triple dry-hopped with Mosaic, El Dorado, Blanc, Motueka and Riwaka hops. It is another banger from the folks at Burial and Other Half, which should come as no surprise.

All Is Not Lost from Petty Thieves Brewing in Charlotte, NC

All Is Not Lost is a Saison brewed with ceylon tea and lemon peel before being refermented on Asian pear puree. Petty Thieves always has a wide array of beers to choose from but I’ve found their Saisons to be my favorites. All Is Not Lost was superb—the pear flavor was not too overpowering but the perfect balance of fruity and refreshing.

Stress Dream collab from The Eighth State Brewing Company in Greenville, SC and Fidens Brewing in Colonie, NY

Pictured left, Stress Dream is an Imperial Stout with Monteblanco Passion Fruit Washed Coffee Beans from @methodicalcoffee , Toasted Coconut, Strawberry, Papua New Guinea Vanilla, Peruvian Cocoa Nibs, and Caramel. When two of the best in the game team up your expectations are pretty high, but Eighth State & Fidens did not disappoint. I am excited to open the bottle of this that I got soon too!

Crunchtime from HopFly Brewing in Charlotte, NC

Crunchtime is an American Lager from one of Charlotte’s newest breweries, HopFly Brewing. They opened in March 2020 in Rocky Mount, NC and just expanded to CLT last week. If you haven’t already checked out their new space in South End get on it! They do each style of beer well, but I found Crunchtime to be well-rounded and refreshing—perfect for their rooftop patio space.

Dots on the Wall from Birds Fly South Ale Project in Greenville, SC

Dots on the Wall is a Farmhouse Style Table Beer. Did you ever think a Table Beer would make a top beers list? I certainly didn’t, but Dots on the Wall has flipped that idea on its head. This was a fantastic, easy-drinking beer that still had plenty of flavor.

Hopnosis from Firestone Walker in Paso Robles, CA

Hopnosis is a West Coast IPA with Mosaic Cryo hops. This was a superb West Coast IPA from the folks at Firestone Walker who have been honing in on this style of beer for over 15 years. Learn more about Hopnosis in my PorchDrinking Beer Feature linked here!

Curtains Closed from High Branch Brewing in Concord, NC

Curtains Closed is a Hazy Double IPA with oats and Sabro, Citra, Azacca, and Centennial hops. High Branch is best known for their IPAs and Curtains Closed was perhaps the best one that I have had from them.

Ghost Big Sherb from HOMES Brewing in Ann Arbor, MI

Ghost Big Sherb is a Smoothie Sour with milk sugar and double fruited with blackberry, black currant, and plum, then aged on vanilla bean. HOMES always makes delicious beers, particularly their Sours. It was fruity without being overly sweet or thick, and I thoroughly enjoyed every sip.

Check back next month to see my top beers of March 2022! Cheers—Alexis

June 2021

June absolutely flew by but it was still packed with some delicious beers! We took two trips to Atlanta, a quick stop in Greenville, and hosted our first fully vaccinated bottle share. In no particular order, here were my top beers in June 2021:

Check out my guide to Atlanta here!

Emergency Chute from Variant Brewing Co in Roswell, GA

Emergency Chute is an Imperial New England IPA. It is brewed with Vic Secret, Simcoe, and Citra hops resulting in a smooth and juicy flavor. This was my first visit to Variant and first time trying any of their beers. I was super impressed!

Self-Reliance: Strata from Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, VT

Self Reliance is Hill Farmstead’s Farmhouse IPA series. This version is brewed exclusively with Strata hops. It was brewed in March 2020, conditioned in puncheons for four months, and then double dry-hopped. Every beer in this series has been fantastic!

The Time Between Dog and Wolf from Resident Culture Brewing in Charlotte, NC

The Time Between Dog and Wolf is an Imperial Pastry Stout. It was Bourbon Barrel Aged for 14 months in Willett Bourbon barrels that previously housed dark, robust maple syrup from High Low Farm in Woodstock, VT and single origin coffee beans from Finca La Laja in Veracruz, Mexico sourced by Pure Intentions Coffee. It is rich, flavorful, and thick. Best served with Ashworth Cookies.

Dot Matrix collaboration from The Eighth State Brewing Company in Greenville, SC and BlackStack Brewing in St. Paul, MN

Dot Matrix is a Mixed Fermentation Gose with malted wheat, passionfruit, raspberry, guava, grapefruit and black truffle sea salt. This collab is tart, fruity, and delicious. These breweries have been two of my favorites for quite a while now, but I am continually impressed by the beers they produce.

Vary from Halfway Crooks in Atlanta, GA

Vary is a Czech Pilsner with Saaz hops and Czech yeast. This is the malty version of another one of their Czech Pilsner’s, Var. Don’t let the term malt scare you here, it is still clean and crisp as you want a Pilsner to be. Halfway Crooks absolutely crushes the Lager game so it’s no surprise that they are on the list. It was difficult to choose which Halfway Crooks beer to add here out of the 6 beers from them I got to try this month!

Check back next month to see my top beers of July!
Cheers —Alexis

The Best Craft Beer Bars

Obviously I love exploring breweries, but craft beer bars are always fun to hang out at as well. I love getting to try hard to find or obscure beers from breweries across the world!

My favorite craft beer bars each offer a little something different, but they all have delicious and unique beers! Check out my top picks globally below:

The Avenue Pub in New Orleans

The Avenue Pub

Located in New Orleans, Louisiana this craft beer haven is open 24/7 365 days of the year! The Avenue has a fantastic tap list at both their main bar downstairs and their balcony bar upstairs.

The balcony is one of the best parts of The Avenue, it is a fantastic place to kick back and watch the streetcars roll by and soak up some Louisiana sunshine. Their location right on Saint Charles Avenue makes it a prime spot to watch parades during Mardi Gras season, but beware of beads flying into your beer!

The Avenue also has a full food menu that is typical bar food. The cheese fries are fantastic, especially after a beer or two. If you’re local to New Orleans their Mug Club is a fun feature to earn discounts on beers and get invited to special events.

Polly and her team do a fantastic job at The Avenue so be sure to show them some love the next time you’re in The Big Easy! Take note that The Avenue is 21 and up only.

Check out all of my New Orleans recommendations here!

Salud Beer Shop in Charlotte

Salud Beer Shop

This Charlotte, North Carolina beer bar and bottle shop opened its doors in 2012 and has been crushing the game ever since. Located in the NoDa neighborhood, they’ve got 16 taps and a plethora of cans and bottles for consumption both on and offsite.

Salud’s owners Jason and Dairelyn Glunt host frequent events such as tap takeovers, porch parties, and special releases in the bottle shop. They’ve also got natural wines, meads, and a food menu featuring Neapolitan-style pizzas.

Salud also won the top spot for Best Beer Bar from USA Today in 2019 and 2020 so don’t just take my word for how great they are! Be sure to check out their brewery upstairs too, Salud Cerveceria.

Liquiderie Bottle Shop in Paris

Liquiderie Bottle Shop

Liquiderie is located in Paris, France. It is a tiny little spot with a just a few bar stools, but it is full of some incredible beers. They’ve got three beers on taps and a slue of cans and bottles for sale to drink in-house or take to-go.

They’ve also got a small food menu for snacks. Liquiderie’s staff is super nice and friendly so don’t be afraid to ask questions or just hang out!

This cute little spot is located right in the heart of the Folic-Mericourt neighborhood.

The rest of my Paris recommendations are located here!

Torst in New York City

Torst Bar

Torst is located on Manhattan Avenue in Brooklyn, NYC. With so many beer bars and breweries in The Big Apple, Torst sets itself apart with its killer tap list and unique environment.

Torst is classier than your average beer bar, with a sleek set-up and intimate atmosphere. They have 21 taps, a large list of can and bottle beer options, natural wines, and cocktails as well.

Torst also has a small food menu with snacks and a few sandwiches. They offer Happy Hour from 4-7pm every weekday.

Beer Street is another one of my favorite NYC craft beer bars with more of a dive bar atmosphere, cheaper prices, and still a fantastic tap list. Check out all of my NYC recommendations here!

The Whale in Greenville

The Whale Craft Beer Collective

The Whale has locations in Asheville, North Carolina and Greenville, South Carolina. Each location has 20 taps and a large can and bottle list to enjoy.

On tap at each spot you will also find Whale Exclusives, which are beers they collaboratively brewed with local breweries for release only at their taprooms.

The Whale is dog-friendly and also offers, wine, mead, sake, and non-alcoholic craft beverages. Be sure to stop by next time you’re in AVL or GVL!

Check out my Asheville recommendations here and my Greenville recommendations here!

The Porter Beer Bar in Atlanta

The Porter Beer Bar

Located in the heart of the Little 5 Points neighborhood of Atlanta, The Porter Beer Bar is a mecca for ATL’s craft beer nerds.

The Porter has been open since 2008, before the craft beer scene in the US really took off.

They have over fifty taps, a large selection of cans and bottles, wine, and cocktails. Be sure to bring your reading glasses with you to this beer bar—the tap list is a novel but it is worth the effort!

The Porter also has a full food menu to keep your appetite at bay while you peruse and enjoy your many drink options.

The rest of my Atlanta recommendations are located here!

The International Beer Bar in Zurich

The International Beer Bar

Located in Zurich, Switzerland, The International is a cozy little spot with indoor and outdoor seating options. They have craft Swiss, European, and global beers available.

Their staff is super friendly and they have truly delicious beers to try. They do tap-takeovers and also have cans and bottles available.

Check out my Zurich guide here!

State of Beer in Raleigh

State of Beer

State of Beer is in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is from the team at Trophy Brewing which has three taprooms as a part of their brewery as well.

State of Beer is a bottle and sandwich shop with 12 taps, a plethora of bottles and cans, small plates, salads, and sandwiches. You can also buy beer to-go here.

They have a nice outdoor patio to enjoy your beer and food on as well, it gets busy when the weather is nice. Check it out next time you’re in the area!

Pop The Top in Charlotte

Pop The Top Craft Beer Shop

Another gem in Charlotte, North Carolina, Pop the Top is located in the South End neighborhood. Ketan and his fantastic team have 24 taps, cans, and bottles for sale to consume on or off premises.

Pop The Top does not have a kitchen so they are dog-friendly and you can bring your own food. They host frequent tap takeovers and you’ll frequently find a bottle share happening as well.

They’ve also got an outdoor patio for those sunny days, board games, and TVs.

Local Option in Chicago

Local Option

Located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, Local Option is—as you might guess—where the locals go!

They have 24 taps, a few of which are usually their own beer they brew as well. The food at Local Option is delicious, so be sure to come hungry and eat up!

Their taproom has some punk-esque vibes but is still welcoming and friendly to everyone.

They partner with AJ Maka Distributors to get some amazing craft beers and meads on tap and in the bar, so be sure to stop by next time you’re in the Chicagoland area!

Check out my Chicago recommendations here!

Monk’s Cafe in Philadelphia

Monk’s Cafe

Monk’s Cafe is in downtown Philly and advertises itself as “The soul of Belgium in the heart of Philadelphia”.

They have 25 beers on tap and a bottle list, both with an emphasis on Belgian beers. The vibes are more pub-like with a full food menu and servers, but I would recommend just sitting at the bar to get the full beer nerd experience.

Monk’s Cafe also has a lot of special events, such as a special tapping of Pliny the Younger from Russian River that happens each year. Check it out next time you’re in Philly!

My guide to Philadelphia is located here!

What’s your favorite craft beer bar? Let me know in the comments!