The Peoples Pint! Pied Piper IPA

By Eric Cioffi

Pied Piper IPA is brewed by The People’s Pint Restaurant & Brewery in Greenfield, Massachusetts. Located along the Mohawk Trail, Greenfield is a quintessential New England hamlet.  Known for its picturesque and vibrant downtown, Greenfield is the center of life in the northern Pioneer Valley.

The brewer describes this beer as “big American hops balanced by a smooth malt character, while floral and citrus hop flavor and aroma dominate a well-balanced, drinkable India Pale Ale.  One sip and it is music to your ears-you will follow this India Pale Ale anywhere.  We brew this IPA with a wall of Cascade hops – come climb it if you dare!”

I dared. My tasting was poured from a 22 oz. bomber bottle into a tulip style beer glass. In the glass it was a dull hazy copper color with a weak off-white head.  From the description I expected a burst of floral hop aroma.  However, I was disappointed with the underwhelming hop essence.  The medium body was what you would expect for an IPA and it was well carbonated.  The beer had a touch of sweetness with hints of caramel and burnt sugar, which was balanced by the hop bitterness.  There was no noticeable citrus or pine. This malt/hop sweet/bitter balance achieved by this beer was very good though the lack of citrus and pine hop flora makes for only a mediocre beer.

India Pale Ale | 5.7% ABV

Rating: 70

Snow In July?

Snow In a Pint Glass

By Eric Cioffi

Snow White Stout comes from the eclectic Night Shift Brewery in Everett Massachusetts. Night Shift Brewing was founded in 2011 by three friends who shared a deep interest in craft beer. The beers produced by this nanobrewery are wholly unique with complex and interesting flavors.  Everything is brewed, fermented, and bottled in-house at the Everett, MA facility. This summer seasonal defies standard expectations of what a stout should be and what one expects from a summer beer.



“When the warm weather hits, we bring out the Snow. Confusing? Indeed, and so is this beer. White Stout starts with fresh Ethiopia Harrar coffee beans from J.P. Licks added right before bottling. With zero chocolate malts in the mash, Snow looks like a pilsner. With heaps of wheat and oatmeal, it sips like a creamy stout. With fresh coffee beans added, it smells like a cup of espresso. And with a fairly low ABV, it  drinks like a session beer. You’ll be totally perplexed by this beer, and you’ll like it.”

That is quite a description and it piqued my interest. I did not know what to expect. It is indeed an interesting beer; very light in color and body, slightly cloudy, with a thin creamy head. However, the aroma was not so nice. It does not smell like espresso, it reminded me of wilted lettuce and nearly put me off. While there is no bitterness to speak of, an interesting peppery note certainly lingers.  I did not like the first sip but it improved as I finished the pint.  I can’t say I really enjoyed this beer and I would not seek it out again.

American Stout | 4.5% ABV
Rating: 25

Having a Late Lunch

By Eric Cioffi

Lunch IPA is a delicious offering from the  Maine Beer Company in Freeport, ME. The brewpub is near the headquarters of L.L. Bean and I plan to drop in next time I am there.  This beer was highly recommended by the knowledgeable staff at  the Craft Beer Cellar in Winchester…and it did not disappoint.

It pours golden orange and slightly cloudy. Its understated aroma belies a hop wallop. While not overpowering, the hops are still center stage.  Crisp for an Ale with a strong citrus finish, this IPA is a keeper.



American IPA |  7.0% ABV
Rating: 98

Bitter Rival

By Eric Cioffi


Also known as “Liquid Brutality”, this ale is fom The Tap Brewery in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Bitter Rival is billed as an East Coast IPA concocted for the Lupulin¹extremists with generous measures of Amarillo, Chinook, and Columbus hops.  Golden, unfiltered and unrelenting. If you don’t like em’ bitter and tongue-scrappingly hoppy,  stay away.

Bitter Rival, an homage, to the Boston Bruins age-old rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens. “The name Bitter Rival was literally a last minute idea conjured up on the day of release at the pub which was the day the NHL lockout ended.”

From the pour, this IPA screams hops–no floral or citrus notes, just boldfaced bitter. I just finished a Ballast Point Sculpin and the Bitter Rival is shocking in comparison. First sip was jagged compared to the Sculpin. This is not for the timid. Very bitter and strong. At 8.5% ABV it is a beer with a backbone. Very good.

American Imperial IPA | 8.5 % ABV
Rating: 78

¹Lupulin is the glandular powder separated from the strobiles of the Humulus lupulus (hops) plant. It has sedative effects on the body and mind and stimulates sleep. This powder is separated by beating or rubbing the strobiles of hops, and then sifting them. The sifting is necessary to remove the broken bracts and other vegetable parts. About 10 per cent of lupulin is thus obtained from the dried hops. The powder is bright brownish-yellow and become resinous. Lupulin is chemically related to THC.

Green Flash West Coast IPA

By Eric Cioffi

Like the name implies this is a West Coast style IPA. It features huge citrus and pine notes. It is hoppy with a bitter back end. This IPA pours a hazy medium amber with a white frothy head that lasts the whole pint. It is crisp with lots of effervescence and carbonation.

Aroma is tropical citrus and lightly fresh pine. Malt plays a nice supporting role and adds just a touch of balancing sweetness. I have been drinking a variety of IPAs lately and this one is excellent.

Brewer’s Description

A menagerie of hops is layered throughout the brewing process: Simcoe for unique fruitiness and grapefruit zest, Columbus for strong hop pungency, Centennial for pine and citrus notes and Cascade for floral aroma. A multi-dimensional hop experience.

American IPA |  7.30% ABV
Rating: 85

Peak Organic Summer Session Ale

By Eric Cioffi

From Peak Organic Brewing Company in Maine this is my new favorite wheat beer, which I discovered while dining at Brine Oyster Bar and Chop House in my recently adopted hometown of Newburyport. The oysters are amazing and they have a great selection of craft beers in bottles and on tap. 

The Peak was nicely poured in a tall weizen glass. The  brewer describes it as a traditional Summer Wheat married to a West Coast pale ale. It pours a clear brilliant golden yellow with a solid head. Aromas are lemony citrus and grassy herbal.  Light bodied and just enough hops to be dry, refreshing, and crisp. Clean wheat and pale malt flavors nicely balance the 61 IBUs of Amarrillo Hops.

It paired perfectly with these briny bivalves from Maine; Cape Cod; and Washington State:

  

Brewer Description

Traditional summer wheat married to a West Coast pale ale.  Locally grown wheat provides a complex mouthfeel and Amarillo^® dry hopping gives a citrusy aroma.

American Wheat | 5.0% ABV
Rating: 75

Lagunitas Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Wheat Ale

By Eric Cioffi

Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ Ale hails from Lagunitas Brewing Company in coastal Petaluma, CA about 45 minutes north of the Golden Gate. One of the largest brewhouses on the West Coast, Lagunitas is the second fastest growing brewery in the U.S.

Hold on to your taste buds because this ale will blow you away! It is brewed with the four Cs of hops: Cascade, Columbus, Chinook, and Centennial, which creates a wheat beer that rivals your favorite IPA for full-blown hoppy goodness. It pours a clear golden yellow with a dense, white head that dissipates slowly leaving a sheet of fine bubbled lacing. The aroma is big and bold with the usual tropical and citrus notes from a highly hopped beer. Grapefruit dominates. The beer is light to medium in body and has a crisp smooth finish. When you finally part the hop sea you get to the tangy wheat you would expect from an American Pale Wheat.I love this beer. This is not a session beer at 7.5% ABV. It is a fantastic beer to enjoy on the deck on a hot summer night.

Brewer’s Description
“From our earliest days of striving to make consistently good beer, and instead making beer that ranged from vile, to barely drinkable, to wonderful, to elegant, to questionable-at-best. From being castigated by our West Marin neighbors to finally suffering an ‘eviction’ by our West Marin septic system. From landing in the welcoming arms of Petaluma, and actually getting our beer into bottles, onto the streets, and into the hands of sympathetic beer geeks, to steadily losing less money each month. From all this and more, Lagunitas Brewing Company is emerging as a battle-tested brewery capable of making great beer out of goat’s milk, brambles, and asphalt on the surface of the Moon, if need be.  A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ is way smooth and silky with a nice wheaty-esque-ish-ness. Just the little sumpin’ sumpin’ we all need to kick Summer into full swing! Ingredients: Hops, Malt, Hops, Hops, Yeast, Hops, Water, and Hops. A truly unique style featuring a strong hop finish on a silky body. A filtered pale wheat ale that is great for both IPA and wheat beer fans.”

American Pale Wheat Ale |  7.5% ABV
Rating: 88

Leviathan Imperial IPA

By Eric Cioffi

During a recent visit to Brine, an Oyster Bar and Chop House in my newly adopted hometown of Newburyport, MA, I sampled a pair of local craft beers. I already reviewed Peak Organic Summer Session Ale, which was fantastic. The other beer I tried was Harpoon’s Leviathan Imperial IPA.

India Pale Ales were developed in the late 18th and early 19th centuries as a way to keep beers fresh on the long voyage from London to Calcutta. By adding generous amounts of two preservatives, alcohol and hops, brewers could make pale ale that would survive the four-month journey and remain drinkable upon arrival.

While subject to brewer interpretation, an Imperial IPA has double the hops and a higher ABV vs. a regular IPA. An Imperial IPA requires a malt backbone strong enough to support the massive amount of hops required to brew this beer.

Harpoon’s version is a 90 IBU Double IPA with a mix of American hops including Chinook, Centennial, Simcoe, and Amarillo. Harpoon also uses loads of pale malt fortified with caramel malt to provide a sweet malt backbone against the intense hop character.

While I love Harpoon IPA, this interpretation of an Imperial IPA misses the mark for me. In the glass, a beautiful dark copper contrasted nicely with a frothy white head. I expected an aroma bursting with floral and tropical citrus notes; however, it was merely one dimensional and lacked the intense hop aroma found in other Imperial IPAs.

According to Beer Judge Certification standards for Imperial IPAs, hop flavor should be strong and complex with high to absurdly high hop bitterness with just enough malt backbone to support the strong hop character. Malt flavor should be low to medium, and generally clean with some caramel or toasty flavors at low levels.  The magic is in the balance between the bitterness of the hops and the sweetness of the malt.  For my tastes this balance has swung to far in favor of malt sweetness.  Yes the beer is bitter.  The hops are certainly present.  However the malt overshadows the hops. In my opinion, a Double IPA should showcase the hops this one does not. I think I would enjoy this beer in the winter where the 10% ABV and malty sweetness would be more appropriate.

Imperial IPA | 10% ABV
Rating: 65

Class Is In Session

By Eric Cioffi


What is a session beer and why do we want to drink them?
The origin of the term “session” is hazy but the concept is simple. A session beer allows one to consume several glasses over a few hours without reaching inappropriate levels of intoxication. It has been suggested the term originated, like many concepts in modern beer culture, in Great Britain. During World War I, the British Government imposed restrictions on alcohol consumption legislating two allowable drinking periods where workers could legally partake. The men would find a beer they could enjoy within these government mandated four hour sessions without getting too drunk or hung over. Long enjoyed in England as milds or bitters, these session style ales (i.e., those containing less than 5% ABV) have enjoyed a renaissance in the craft beer circles.

In America, we have witnessed explosive growth in the craft beer industry over the last 12 years. It is a great time to be a craft beer enthusiast with so many choices, varieties, and styles available. Just like anything outside the mainstream, craft brewing attracts those looking for an experience beyond the usual, something with more character and flavor than mass-produced beers. The American “bigger is better” mentality has created a groundswell in the craft beer industry toward bigger, bolder flavors and higher alcohol content. The trend toward increasingly higher ABV beer has paralleled developments in the food world. As people seek bold new flavors and taste experiences, craft brewers have followed suit with a plethora of beers with increasingly complex and challenging profiles. However, while these beers have presence and character, the high ABV makes these beers ill-suited for session drinking.

The definition of session beer may differ depending on whom you ask – for some, it’s a beer defined by strict alcohol by volume guidelines, generally referring to low alcohol beers 5 percent ABV or less (though some set the limit at 4 percent ABV). For others, the definition is more fluid, and drinkability (i.e., how easy it is to consume multiples of the beer) trumps a predetermined ABV limit.  One thing both sides agree on though is that session beers are intended for mass consumption (over several hours) without causing drunkenness. Be it a back yard barbecue, block party, or pub, the most appealing aspect of session beer is the ability to enjoy them for an extended session with friends with minimal adverse impact.

Craft beer misconceptions persist about session beer. Contrary to perception, session beer does not need to be a slap in the face or shred taste buds; instead, a session drinker wants a beer that is interesting and tasty without overwhelming the palate. A session beer coaxes you to have another and perhaps another after that but you won’t wake up wondering what you did last night or “drunk texting” friends, like you might with multiple double IPAs.


Here are three session beers I recommend you try this summer:

Brooklyn Summer Ale – English Pale Ale | 5% ABV
Probably my favorite session beer. Smooth and refreshing, light but flavorful with 5% ABV, it is sunshine in a bottle.Brooklyn Summer Ale is a modern rendition of the “Light Dinner Ales” brewed in England throughout the 1800s right up until the 1940s. A light-bodied golden beer a fresh flavor. German and American hops lend a light crisp bitterness and a citrus/floral aroma, resulting in a beer with a very sunny disposition.

Widmer Hefeweizen – American Wheat | 4.9% ABV
A naturally cloudy beer made with the highest quality wheat. It is bold, clean, and flavorful with pronounced citrus and floral aromas that define American-style Hefeweizen. Pour yourself a cool, cloudy glass, finish with a lemon and enjoy one of the best wheat beers available.

Peak Organic Summer Session Ale – American Wheat | 5% ABV
A traditional summer wheat marries a west coast pale ale. This beer is crisp, clean, and refreshing, and among my favorites. There is just enough hop goodness to satisfy anyone’s citrus and pine cravings.

Wachusett Summer Ale

By Eric Cioffi


Wachusett Brewery was founded in 1993 by three friends who shared an appreciation for craft beer. Wachusett Country Ale, the brewery’s first offering, was introduced the next year after lots of experimentation to get it just right. Summer Wheat is produced in the Westminster, Massachusetts facility where the three partners have never strayed from their plan to brew and sell the freshest, highest quality beer. Wachusett Summer Ale is an American wheat with a hint of lemon, which makes this beer light and super refreshing. It is brewed with American two row pale malt and malted wheat and hopped with Perle, German Hallertau, and Tettnang hops.

 I sampled this beer at Laurie’s 9:09 Seafood in Wakefield. Adjacent to the MBTA train tracks, the 9:09 is an interesting little restaurant with a decent dinner menu with a very good raw bar and and excellent selection of draft and bottled beers. It was a scorching 92 degrees outside and I was dying of thirst. The Wachusett Summer Wheat was immediately appealing and soon arrived in an ice-cold, frosted pint glass. It was so cool and refreshing I almost finished it in one swallow. It really hit the spot on day four of a five-day 90-degree plus heat wave. I finished it on the second swallow and ordered another to really taste for this review.

The second pint arrived cloudy and golden yellow. Its fluffy white head perched atop the golden base reminded me of a slice of lemon meringue pie. The aroma was pleasant; citrus lemony with hints of biscuit. While there were no real hop notes to speak of, the beer was cold, refreshing and drinkable.  It is an American wheat and tastes like one.  Crisp and moderately carbonated, Summer Wheat features nice floral and lemon flavors mixed with grassy wheat. The yeast profile is subdued American style, which I prefer to the piquant Belgian strains. Overall, this is a light and brightly refreshing beer and one that certainly hits the spot on a sweltering summer evening. I recommend you give it a try.

American Wheat | 4.7% ABV
Rating: 78