Where did my 100 Beers 30 days Challenge for Charity start? Right here at Stone Brewery’s beloved festival, Oakquinox! My quest for 100 Barrel-Aged and Oak-Influenced beers began with these first sips:

As a HUGE fan of Avery Brewing’s Barrel-Aged Series (I have had them all thankfully!), I made a direct beeline to taste the latest three in their production at Oakquinox. Good thing I moved quickly, because they were not to last… BEER #45 Immitis, BA Series #9 (aged in Zinfandel barrels), 9.87% ABV:  A lovely [...]

Interesting beers from the gorgeous and wine-rich Piemonte of Italy. If you have had these, I would love to hear your thoughts: BEER #36 Loverbeer Madamin, 6.2% ABV: This beer falls somewhere between an Oud Bruin and their own classification of “oak amber.” Meaning “young lady” in Piemontese dialect, the Madamin is fermented and matured [...]

One of the treats of my CBC 2012 was hanging with the New Belgium crew at Toronado and tasting through several of their acclaimed Lips of Faith series: BEER #28 Kick (Collaboration with Elysian), 8.5% ABV: This tart ale, made with pumpkins and cranberries, gave me pause before I dove in. As one who is [...]

A few rather interesting, off the beaten path beers for my challenge! BEER #25 Arbor Demetrius Barrel Aged Sour Double IPA, 7.5% ABV: Yes, folks you read that correctly! A Sour IPA. And admittedly, I was more than skeptical when I first gazed upon the curious label of the 750ml bottle. But with a shrug [...]