Month: September 2013

Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, Chippewa Falls, WI

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2013-09-30 13.56.54     2013-09-30 13.56.27

I stopped in at the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company, also known and Leinenkugel’s or Leinie’s in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.  I was fortunate to be able to take the tour of the brewery which proved to be a great experience in that we walked through every aspect of the brewing process.  Also, to some extent, it was like walking through time in that parts of the brewery date back to the 1800’s.  The tour is well worth the visit.  Several beer tastings are also incuded with the tour.  The beers I tasted at Leinenkugel’s were lagers which take longer to ferment than ales and often are considered more mellow than ales.  The Hoppin’ Helles was a tasty hoppy lager.  Leinenkugel’s Original is a standard, easy to drink lager that has stood the test of time.  The Red Lager is also a delicious beer with smooth caramel flavor and reddish color.  The beer serving area is located in Leinie Lodge which is a beautiful wood building that houses a rather large gift shop complete with countless logo clothing and merchandise items for sale.

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Allagash Brewing Company, Portland, ME

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I took the tour of the Allagash Brewing Company in Portland, Maine.  The tour was fun and informative.  At the time they were putting a new brewing system into service in order to expand capacity.  The tour included a peek into the barrel room where we saw a number of experimental barrel aged beers.  I’d love to be on-hand when they tapped some of those.  Their flagship beer is Allagash White, a Belgian wheat beer brewed with coriander and orange peel.  It’ light, fruity and refreshing.  It’s not my go-to style of beer but I can enjoy it for what it is.  There were several inspirational quotes throughout the brewery.  The one that’s hard to read in the picture is, “Passion: Loving beer and doing what we love.”  The tasting room also had a great chandelier I had to take a picture of.

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Atlantic Brewing Company, Bar Harbor, ME

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2013-09-22 13.43.40

I stopped in at the Atlantic Brewing Company in Bar Harbor, Maine and enjoyed a tasting session.I’m going to focus on the Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale.  I really enjoyed this beer.  The base is an amber ale which is smooth and delicious.  Wild Maine blueberries are added to the beer just enough to give a hint of blueberry flavor without being fruity or overpowering.  This is a wonderful beer.  I regret not having the opportunity to eat at the Mainely Meat BBQ which is located on the same property as Atlantic Brewing Company.  The menu looked great.

Beer: I Stop for Hops 2 I Stop for Hops 2 I Stop for Hops 2

Westbrook Brewing Company, Mount Pleasant, SC

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2013-09-05 16.02.56     2013-09-05 16.03.14

I stopped in at Westbrook Brewing Company in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.  After checking out the beers on tap I felt I needed to try something different, something outside of my comfort zone, so I tried the White Thai which is a Belgian style witbier with citrus and spice flavors.  Although this isn’t my personal favorite style, it was refreshing.  As usual, I also tried the IPA which uses a blend of hops and is very enjoyable.

Holy City Brewing, Charleston, SC

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2013-09-03 16.21.14

I stopped in at Holy City Brewing in Charleston, South Carolina and tried one of the flagship beers, the Pluff Mud Porter.  I’m sorry but I did not enjoy this beer.  It seemed thick and lacked flavor.  It tasted like mud to me.  I’m hoping I have a chance to visit Charleston again and give this or one of their other beers another try.  With a name like Holy City Brewing I really wanted this to be good.

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