July and August were a wild ride! I went on a 5 week solo road trip and visited 93 breweries across 10 states, so needless to say there were a TON of great beers drank. In no particular order, here were the best beers I had over July and August:

Eternal Vigilance from Ever Grain Brewing in Camp Hill, PA

Eternal Vigilance is an Imperial IPA with Motueka, Citra and Riwaka hops. This was a delicious juice bomb that I thoroughly enjoyed. Ever Grain was a great stop in Pennsylvania en route to Washington D.C. The food and beers were delicious and I’d highly recommend checking it out if you’re ever in the area!

Vast Air from Other Half Brewing in Bloomfield, NY

Vast Air 2021 Blend is a Wild Ale spontaneously fermented in a coolship. Other Half’s Finger Lakes taproom specializes in Wild and Farmhouse Ales and they are absolutely crushing it. This was a delicious and refreshing brew on their gorgeous farm setting.

Very Special Lord Whangdoodle from The Veil Brewing in Richmond, VA

Very Special Lord Whangdoodle is an Imperial Chocolate Milk Stout aged in a blend of Bourbon, Cognac, Maple, and Apple Brandy Barrels conditioned on double hazelnuts, double truffle, double vanilla, and double coconut. This was an insanely delicious beer. The Veil’s Stouts are always impressive, but this was one of my favorite beers I have had in a long time.

Double Citra Chroma Daydream from Other Half Brewing in New York, NY

This is a Triple Dry Hopped Oat Cream Imperial IPA with Citra hops, Citra Cryo, and Citra Incognito all hand-selected and paired with a ton of oats and a hint of milk sugar. This was a creamy, juicy brew that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Broccoli’s Axe collaboration brew from Other Half Brewing in New York, NY and Fidens Brewing in Colonie, NY

Broccoli’s Axe is an Imperial IPA with Mosaic, Simcoe, Hallertau Blanc, Cascade, Citra and Galaxy. This is a collaboration based on Other Half’s Broccoli and Fidens’ Eugene’s Axe, arguably their flagship beers. It is no surprise that these two created something so fantastic!

Adieu Adieu from Monkish Brewing in Torrance, CA

Adieu Adieu is a Double Dry Hopped Triple IPA with Citra hops. Monkish is consistently great with their IPAs, but Adieu Adieu takes it to another level. This is a top beer of 2022 for me so far!

Eunoia Batch 10 from Phase Three Brewing in Lake Zurich, IL

Eunoia Batch 10 is a Barrel-Aged Neapolitan Imperial Stout with strawberry, cocoa nibs and vanilla. Eunoia is one of my favorite series of Stouts out there and I was thrilled to finally get to try it at the source! Normally I don’t love a fruity Stout but this one was a great balance.

Spotted Cow from New Glarus Brewing in New Glarus, WI

Spotted Cow is a Cask Conditioned Farmhouse Ale and the flagship beer of New Glarus (and perhaps the entire state of Wisconsin!). Spotted Cow is a classic brew but having it on tap at their taproom was even better! This is a very unique beer that is perfect for the summertime.

Conducting Business collaboration brew from BlackStack Brewing in St. Paul, MN and Orchestrated Minds Brewing in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Conducting Business is a Double Dry Hopped Imperial IPA with Amarillo, El Dorado, El Dorado Cryo, Citra and Citra Cryo hops. BlackStack and Orchestrated Minds are both superb breweries so it is no surprise that this beer was top-notch!

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

Need A Hug from Fonta Flora Brewing in Morganton, NC

Need A Hug is an Appalachian Wild Ale brewed with blueberries and elderberries. Fonta Flora makes some of the best Wild Ales and Lagers in the game and this one is at the top of the list for me. I absolutely loved how packed with flavor yet simultaneously light and refreshing it was!

Double Sunset from Other Half Brewing in New York, NY

Other Half has made many versions of this Imperial Stout, this one is made with Coava Coffee Roasters Guatemalan Nayo Ovalle Coffee, vanilla and milk sugar. This beer is absolutely phenomenal and one of my favorite Stouts so far this year. I unfortunately broke the bottle of the other version we had and will forever be full of regret because this one was a banger!

Whistlin’ from Suarez Family Brewery in Hudson, NY

Whistlin’ is a Farmhouse Saison with fresh lemongrass fermented with a mixed culture and aged in oak casks. It is both citrusy but also slightly spicy from the country beer vibes. It is light, refreshing, and extremely tasty. This was the perfect beer to enjoy on the deck in the mountains.

Charge the Channel collaboration brew from Vitamin Sea Brewing in Weymouth, MA and Trillium Brewing in Boston, MA

Vitamin Sea and Trillium are two of the best in the game when it comes to IPAs so it is no surprise this brew is delicious. Charge The Channel is an oated Double IPA with Citra, Rakau, and Galaxy hops. It is smooth, flavorful, and juicy—everything I am looking for in a DIPA.

Blade of Hercules collaboration brew from Fidens Brewing in Colonie, NY and Mortalis Brewing in Avon, NY

Fidens is the new hype brewery and honestly I am jumping on the train. This is the second beer I’ve had from them, the first being an IPA, and they were both top notch. Fidens collaborated with Mortalis, another superb brewery to create this delectable Stout. Blade of Hercules is an Imperial Stout with marshmallow, graham cracker, and cocoa nibs. It tastes like smores in a glass but in a good way, not a smoky and sticky way. I highly recommend getting your hands on some Fidens if you have not already!

July & August 2022