Hoppy Easter

Hoppy Easter everyone! I hope the best for everyone of all religions and dominations have a wonderful and Hoppy Easter today. I am just about to make breakfast using the hop shoots that are popping up and growing, but first wanted to get this fun little IPA article posted.

(Hoppy Easter – IPAs [2020])

As you can see above, my cascade hops are already springing up pretty quickly. (You can find images on our Instagram here: The Beer Thrillers – Instagram.) I will be cutting these early shoots to make breakfast this morning, possibly doing a Hop Shoots Omelet, I’ve done this in years past.

(That’ll probably be an article for tomorrow then. I’m not a big foodie or great cooker, so fingers crossed it’ll go well.)

In the meantime, lets take a look at five great Central PA IPAs, of this season. Enjoy!

Five Great Hoppy Central PA IPAs

Green Machine – Boneshire Brew Works

Beer: Green Machine
Brewery: Boneshire Brew Works
Style: IPA – American
ABV: 7.2%
IBU: 75
Untappd Description: Green Machine! Green Machine! Green Machine! This hop fueled juggernaut smashes your senses with its not-so-delicate bouquet of floral notes, tropical fruits, and pine. Drink up IPA lovers, drink up.

Global Average Untappd Rating: 3.80 (as of 4.9.23)
My Untappd Rating: 4.25

This is one of my favorite IPAs and why I lead off with this one. Its a year round flagship at Boneshire Brew Works, and it is absolutely delicious. If you get the chance to stop in at either of their locations, you have to try it.

Lollihop by Troegs Independent Craft Brewing

Beer: Lollihop
Brewery: Troegs Independent Craft Brewing
Style: IPA – Imperial / Double
ABV: 8.2%
IBU: N/A
Untappd Description:

We Taste: pear, citrus, hint of Melon.

When we make our annual pilgrimage to the hop-growing hotbed of Yakima Valley, we’re like kids in a candy store. We eyeball the hops on the lines, crush them in our hands and rub them til their oil fill the air. LolliHop brings together three of our favorites. Dry-hopping with Citra and Mosaic layers in notes of orange, grapefruit, and melon, while Azacca in the kettle adds hints of papaya and pineapple. Locally harvested rustic pale malt provides the backbone, and wheat and oats make this beer silky smooth with a touch of haze.

Global Average Untappd Rating: 4.03 (as of 4.9.23)
My Untappd Rating: 3.75

A fan favorite this time of year here in Central PA. Living five minutes from the brewery certainly has its perks. This is one of Drew (of Knights of Nostalgia)’s favorites from Troegs, and his favorites in general. Personally I can’t wait for Nimble Giant season which will be right around the corner.

Silent Disco by Funk Brewing

Beer: Silent Disco
Brewery: Funk Brewing
Style: IPA – New England / Hazy
ABV: 6.1%
IBU: 62
Untappd Description: A bowlful of tropical juicy flavors.

Global Average Untappd Rating: 3.89 (as of 4.9.23)
My Untappd Rating: 4.25

This is a fun New England IPA. It might not be their most notable, but its certainly one of their stellar flagship IPAs. They have many other IPAs that are very good as well like Citrus IPA, Double Citrus IPA, Pipe Dream, and Prop, and even a Double Disco. We have previously reviewed their seasonal IPA – Royal Rumble. (As well as another beer from them – Griddle.)

Broken Heels by New Trail Brewing Company

(Broken Heels by New Trail Brewing Company)

Beer: Broken Heels
Brewery: New Trail Brewing Company
Style: IPA – New England / Hazy
ABV: 7%
IBU: N/A
Untappd Description:

A Hazy IPA hopped intrepidly with hand-selected Citra and Mosaic, leading to High Aromatics of luminous Citrus, rich Conifer, and refreshing Tropicals. This beer packs a full mouthfeel with low bitterness that is soft on the palette. Broken Heels is available all day everyday, and reminds us that no adventure is without its risks.
Pack The Essentials.

Global Average Untappd Rating: 3.94 (as of 4.9.23)
My Untappd Rating: 4.25

Albeit this is a little bit north of Central PA (Harrisburg wise), but its everywhere here. Sheetz, WaWa’s, Rutters, you name it, you can find it in their beer coolers. While I do love hammering some of the tall boys of these, I do typically prefer the Double Broken Heels, a good four pack of the Double Broken Heels will have you feeling all kinds of good.

We did review this previously here: Beer Review: Broken Heels. Here’s a brief quick excerpt:

This is like drinking hoppy juicy dank orange juice. It is so full of citrus fruit juicy hop taste and is just so easy to drink. You get a flourish of hop notes as soon as you start sipping, you get citrus, you get the tropical fruits, you get practically no bitterness, you just get a smooth drink. The pilsner malts and the flaked oats gives this a really smooth and tasty brew and just makes it like a wonderful NEIPA that drinks easy. After one sip of this you can quickly see why New Trails Brewing Co. is known for their outstanding IPAs.

Beer Review: Broken Heels (New Trail Brewing Co.)

We have reviewed a few other New Trail Beers in the past, and I know I can sometimes get a bit cynical of their IPAs tasting the same, but at the end of the day, their IPAs are absolutely wonderful even if they are all very similar. (You can find our review of Icicle here – Beer Review: Icicle.)

Annville iPA by Rotunda Brewing Company

Beer: Annville iPA
Brewery: Rotunda Brewing Company
Style: IPA – New England / Hazy
ABV: 7.8%
IBU: 110
Untappd Description: (Blank)

Global Average Untappd Rating: 3.90 (as of 4.9.23)
My Untappd Rating: 4.00

This is the highest IBU on the list. But thats nothing to hold against this (or to prop it up either I suppose). No Central PA IPA list would be complete without this wonderful IPA on it (so, it might be five on my list, but its not the least, or the last, this list is in no order). This is a delicious, juicy IPA, very tasty, and you can find it at Rotunda Brewing Company’s main brewery in Annville, or their brewpub in Hershey, or at a lot of different bars in the Hershey, Harrisburg, Hummelstown, Palmyra, Annville, Lebanon area.

We’ve reviewed a couple from them, such as: Juicy Fruit sWheat Tart, Irish Car Bomb Nitro Stout, Chewbacca, and Mango Guyabano sWheat Tart. Please check them out.

Hoppiest of Easters

Just want to wish everyone one last time, the Hoppiest of Easters. If you are looking for more great IPA and beer review and related articles from us, please be sure to check these out:

• The Last Beer Standing (Winner of our 2022 Best Flagship Beer Tournament)
• What is Craft Beer?
• Beer Review: The Death of Civilization in Slow Motion I (Ghost 907) (Adroit Theory)
• Beer Review: Mangolorian (Brewery Fire)
• Beer Review: Peace Among Worlds (Cushwa Brewing Company)
• Hoppy Easter – IPAs (2020)
• IPA Archives
• Beer Review Archives

Thank You For Reading

I hope everyone has a wonderful day. I’m off to make breakfast for Amy and Scarlet (well, she’s not gonna be eating, but all the same), and myself. Later we are getting my older three girls, and will have a wonderful Easter day. I hope the same for all of you.

We are currently starting to work on creating maps of all the breweries in each state, starting geographically with Maine. So be on the lookout for these great resources to soon be popping up on the blog. Hoping to get a state done every 2 – 4 days. (Some will be quicker and easier than others, but 50 states, plus Washington D.C., will certainly take some time!)

We just got the Maine map done, you can see that here: Map of Maine Breweries.

Currently right now we are in the Finals of our Battle of the Breweries (2023). You can check out the final four breweries left in the Finals Fatal Four Way here and vote:

• The Battle of the Breweries (2023) – Finals Fatal Four Way (Voting Page)
• The Battle of the Breweries (2023) – Conference Finals (Results Page)

In the upcoming two weeks I am going to do a more thorough look at the full tournament, breaking down the votes and how well each conference winner did. I will also do a full write up on each of the breweries in the Finals Fatal Four Way too, where I will list what articles we’ve done about them, and my visits to each of those places.

Thank you everyone for reading and please like, share, follow, subscribe, all that good stuff you see at the end of every YouTube video.

Cheers All!

-B. Kline

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you! You can also reach out to us at our direct e-mail address: thebeerthrillers@gmail.com

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So We Find Ourselves Here Again

So, we find ourselves yet again here at another Wednesday (well, technically its 11:45PM on Tuesday night and I am writing this up to start it up to finish early in the morning on Wednesday before I go to work) – and so – that means its time for another Star Wars beer review.

I debated which one to pick for this week’s episode. I was going to originally do Tall Tales Brewery’s ‘Wookies and Cream’ that we just recently had our on trip through Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia. (Which you can read in the following: Big 3 Day Weekend, Big 3 Day Weekend: Friday Recap, Big 3 Day Weekend: Saturday Recap, Big 3 Day Weekend: Sunday Recap). But I decided on this… primarily though so I could get my Legos out again for a fun little photoshoot.

I do wish I had the Duel Aboard the Death Star II set, but sadly I don’t. It is one I’m looking to get soon. So this smaller Cantina set that they released, and the Desert Skiff with Sarlacc set will have to do for the photoshoot unfortunately.

Star Wars Wednesday

Since December 29th (2021), when the first episode of ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ premiered, I have been doing a Star Wars themed beer every Wednesday to review. Starting with BoBull Fett by Bolero Snort, which included us driving all the way out to New Jersey to pick it up that day.

You can read the past Star Wars Wednesday Beer Reviews here:

• Beer Review: BoBull Fett (Bolero Snort Brewery)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Tatooine Tart (RAR Brewing)
• Mead Review: The Meadalorian (Space Time Mead and Cider Works)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: RAWRGWAWGGR (RAR Brewing)

“Thank The Maker” (please hear that in Anthony Daniels’ C-3PO voice) that plenty of brewers seem to be nerds and Star Wars geeks too, so there is no shortage of Star Wars themed beers. You can check out the end of this article to see the full multitude of nerdy beers we’ve reviewed, as well as some book reviews, and other articles also.

And as per tradition with some past articles, I will present here a few YouTube video tie-ins with the show for everyone’s interest (and if there is anyone out there that cares about the show and wants to know a bit more about them). These videos are not mine, but I think some might find them worth the small time spent to watch them.

The Book of Boba Fett

I’m not going to go too heavy into thoughts and opinions and comments I want to make on ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ this week. (Or for this beer review anyway.) I started this article rather late on Tuesday. Had a friend over, had dinner, spent some time, and had some beer (Double Nugget Nectar and F*ck 2021 as Well), then after my friend left, I cracked a can of this for the review. Typically I write these articles up for the most part on Tuesday nights, wake up early (like 4-5AM) to watch the episode (it always drops at 3AM EST on Disney+), and then finish up afterwards.

And yes, I just finished watching the episode. But… I don’t really want to go into it, because I do kinda want to watch it again before making some comments on here, instead of just my gut reaction thoughts on it.

So lets move on and get to the beer review:

Beer Review

Beer: Let the Haze Flow Through You
Brewery: Black Flag Brewing Co.
Collaborator: Pherm Brewing
Style: IPA – New England / Hazy
ABV: 7.1%
IBU: 35
Untappd Description: This Citra, Mosaic, Amarillo, Idaho 7 hopped hazy IPA is a collab with our good friends Pherm Brewing! Soft grassy melon is complimented by the oat heavy body and Idaho 7 dankness. Expect a cloud of haze to carry you home on this one!

Lets start with some background information on Black Flag Brewing Co. They are firstly a top tier brewery in Columbia MD that is a blast to visit and have been quickly moved up to the top of my list. They also lean in heavy on the nerd brand and do a lot of nerdy themed beers and beer names. According to Untappd they are a micro brewery and have 443 unique beers with over 160,000 ratings (as of 1.26.22) and have a global average rating of 3.87.

Their collaborators on this beer is Pherm Brewing. According to Untappd they are a microbrewery from Gambrils MD. They have 93 unique beers and just over 15,000 ratings and a global average rating of 3.95 (as of 1.26.22). Their Untappd description reads: Pherm Brewing Company was founded by friends based on their love of art, live music, and quality beer. We are beyond excited to have you all out for a beer and to enjoy our unique event space. Our Intent Is For Your Delight!

First had this on a trip to Columbia MD a while back and stopping in at the Black Flag brewery as part of a flight. Picked up a four pack of it to go. Glad to be able to try it out of the can as well.

Right from cracking open the can, this is a citrusy, juicy smelling beer. This is a wonderful smelling New England IPA. Soft aromas, no hop bitterness on the nose, you get gentle soft notes of citrus, melon, rind, and a bit of tangerine.

Appearance is a pretty slightly less than bright orange New England IPA look. Hazy, turbulent, but not sediment heavy. While definitely not see through, it’s nothing like a frothing storm, just cloudy and a bit hazy (with… a side of force lightening?). Also just look at that great head in those photos. Big soft pillowy cloudy head.

Oooh boy…. the haze does flow through you on this bad boy. With just a hint of crackling evil and talk of unlimited power, this New England IPA is completely on point and delicious too. It is juicy, it is fruity, it is soft, and it is delicious. This is enough to turn anyone to the Dark Side and get them force choking people and force lightening your number two’s son. (Especially if it came with a kick ass dark cloak and robe.) Immediate notes of citrus hit you as you take your first sips of this, followed by notes of melon, rind, and a wee bit of tangerine. Some soft notes of slight earthy hops, a small bit of grass and pine, give it a soft balance around all the fruit tastes. Big time fan of Black Flag’s IPAs, and this is proof why. Just tremendous flavor and a very robust and full IPA. Knocking the New England style right out of the Death Star on this one. This is worth having clones of your body left over on Exegol for a stupid future storyline involving your clone kid’s daughter that was hidden from you and trained by Luke… oh…. I went off on a tangent there…. my apologies…. Moving along….. This is very soft, tasty, nothing bitter, nothing cloying, a really good mouthfeel, and a wonderful smelling beer. The carbonation, the head on the beer, the lacing on the glass, and the look of the beer are all great. Big taste and big flavor, nothing off putting, nothing off the flavor profile, and no horrific aftertaste. Just a great brew all around.

My Untappd Rating: ****
Global Average Untappd Rating: 3.98 (as of 1.26.22)

So Your a Nerd Huh?

So…. your a nerd huh and love to read about nerd and pop culture themed beer reviews do you? Well, we got the beer reviews for you then. Check them out here:

Star Wars:

• Beer Review: The Pandalorian (Tattered Flag)
• Beer Review: Wookie Monster (Fourscore Beer Co)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Blue Milk (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: Tatooine Tart (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Out of Order: RAWRGWAWGGR (RAR Brewing)
• Revenge of the Fifth / Cinco de Mayo
• May the Fourth Be With You
• Beer Review: This is Nut the Fluff You’re Looking For (Fourscore Beer Co)
• Beer Review: This is the Way (Broken Goblet Brewing)
• Beer Review: This is the Whey (Bolero Snort Brewery)
• Beer Review: Java the Stout (Jackie O’s Brewery)
• Beer Review: The Mangolorian (Brewery Fire)
• Beer Review: BoBull Fett (Bolero Snort Brewery)
• Mead Review: The Meadalorian (Space Time Mead and Cider Works)
• Beer Review: Let the Haze Flow Through You (Black Flag Brewing Co)
• Book Review: The Jedi Path and The Book of the Sith (Daniel Wallace)
• Book Review: Guardians of the Whills (Greg Rucka)

Rick and Morty:

• Beer Review: Peace Among Worlds (Cushwa Brewing Company)

Space Balls:

• Beer Review: Moon of Vega (Equilibrium Brewery)

Game of Thrones:

• Beer Review: Game of Thrones: My Watch Has Ended (Omnegang Brewery)

The Simpsons:

• Beer Review: I Voted for Kodos (Second Sin Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: I Voted for Kang (Second Sin Brewing Company)

Back to the Future:

• Beer Review: Back to Reality (Three 3s Brewing Co)

Scrooged:

• Beer Review: Scrooge IPA (Iron Hill Brewing)

A Christmas Story:

• Beer Review: The Soft Electric Glow of Sex (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out! (Eight and Sand Beer Co)

Pro Wrestling:

• Beer Review: Broken Skull – Stone Cold Steve Austin’s IPA (El Segundo Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Macho Man (Couch Brewery)

Matrix:

• Matrix Monday

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

• Beer Review: Terpenes in Time (BAREBottle Brewing Co)

Seinfeld:

• Beer Review: Jon Voight’s Car (RAR Brewing)
• Beer Review: Airing of Grievances (Black Flag Brewing Company)

Other:

• Beer Review: Super Villain (Urban Village Brewing Company)
• Beer Review: Pixels (Seminar Brewing)
• Beer Review: Villeinage (Elder Pine Brewing and Blending)
• Beer Review: Intergalactic Deals (Levante Brewing)
• Beer Review: Galactic Space Circus (Creature Comforts Brewing Co)

Book of Fett Man

So whats everyone’s thoughts on the show so far? Five episodes down, and only two to go. Are you enjoying it? Living up to expectations? Big fan or disappointed? Let me know in the comments or on our social media platforms!

Mara’s Birthday

I’d like to close with a quick shoutout to my youngest daughter turning 9 years old today. Mara Ariel was born in a blizzard but with a warm heart that has been a love-bug and a social butterfly ever since. Named after Mara Jade from the old Star Wars EU canon (first Hand of the Emperor, and later Luke’s wife). You can actually see her in the background of the photo on my beer review for Sunburst by Boneshire.

Thanks For Reading

Thanks for reading everyone. Hope you all enjoyed reading this review and I hope the cold months find you all staying warm. Until next time,

Cheers!

-B. Kline

As always, thank you everyone for reading! Leave your likes, comments, suggestions, questions, etc, in the comments section. Or use the Feedback – Contact Us – page, and we’ll get right back to you!

Thank you for visiting our blog. Please make sure to follow, bookmark, subscribe, and make sure to comment and leave feedback and like the blog posts you read. It will help us to better tailor the blog to you, the readers, likes and make this a better blog for everyone.

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Facebook Group, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think!

Add another fantastic out of state brewery now shipping into Pennsylvania. Just like Grist House Brewing announce statewide shipping in Pennsylvania, Aslin Beer Company also announced that they will be shipping into Pennsylvania.

Aslin Beer Company is usually listed in any “best of the region” breweries for the East Coast area. They are from Alexandria Virginia, and recently opened a second location in Herndon. They are popular for their IPAs (particularly New England IPAs). Aslin’s Untappd page: a micro brewery from Alexandria Virginia, they have 442 unique beers with a global average rating of 4.13 out of 755K+ ratings. Their description reads: “Aslin Beer Company is a northern Virginia, DC suburb, microbrewery suited to provide great beverages and a wide variety. Visit our spacious, 24-tap tasting room in Alexandria, or our Herndon location for to-go beer only.”

Their Instagram page announcement reads:

“

aslinbeerco

Hey Pennsylvania!! 👋 We are thrilled to finally bring you the whole menu of fresh, new releases! Starting now, order on our site* at Aslinbeer.com/online-ordering then click “Shipping,” & UPS will bring it right to your doorstep. Link to order is in our bio!👌
.
*You must be 21+ to order, & present a 21+ ID when your order is delivered. See details on our site regarding PA state limits for orders.
.
.
.
#Pennsylvania
#yinzer
#pennsylvaniacraftbeer
#pacraftbeer
#pabeer
#Aslin
#AslinAlexandria
#AslinHerndon
#AslinBeerCo
#VaBeer
#Herndon
#Alexandria“

To see their post you can visit their Instagram here: Aslin Beer Co Announces Shipping into PA via Instagram.

Looks like a lot of great offerings are becoming available in Pennsylvania, with many more looking to make announcements in the coming weeks, so be sure to stay tuned here to get the latest news!

Cheers!
-B. Kline

Brewery Openings, Closings, Shipment News

Be sure to check out our other articles on brewery openings:

• A Sneak Preview of Rubber Soul Brewing (Hummelstown)
• Midwest Coast Brewing Opens (Chicago)
• Rally Point – Cox Brewing Taproom Opens (Elizabethtown)
• Boneshire Brew Works to Open Second Taproom in Harrisburg (Harrisburg)
• Irv’s Pub Rebranded as Rotunda Brewing Pub (Hershey)
• Official BBQ (Pizza Boy Secondary Location) (Rutherford)
• Pilger Ruh Brewing Needs Your Help (Pottsville)
• Highway Manor Brewing Co. (Camp Hill)
• Grand Opening: Rubber Soul Brewing Company (Hummelstown)
• Tap Room Opening: Howling Henry’s Brewery (Hummelstown)
• Levity Brewing is Expanding and Adding A Second Tap Room
• Little Fish Brewing is Expanding into Dayton
• Sign of the Horse is Expanding into the Old Miscreation Brewery

Breweries Shipping in and into Pennsylvania:

• Tattered Flag Supply Drop Shipping Statewide
• Imprint Begins Shipping Statewide
• Aslin Beer Company
• Helltown Brewing Company
• The Veil Brewery
• Gristhouse Craft Brewery

Brewery Closings:

• Stoudt’s Brewing Closing
• Crystal Ball Brewing Closes
• Voodoo Brewery Lancaster Closes
• Spigot Brewing Closes
• Full Pint Brewing Closes
• Night Shift Brewing Cancels Expansion
• Mikkeller Brewing NYC Closes Permanently
• River Bend Hop Farm and Brewery Closing

Please be sure to follow us on our social media accounts – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Influence. Please be sure to also follow, like, subscribe to the blog here itself to keep updated. We love to hear from you guys, so be sure to leave a comment and let us know what you think