Spencer Trappist Ale

Vices

/

Beer

Spencer Trappist Ale

What most people know about Trappist Ale is that it is brewed by monks in Europe. The nine monasteries that brew the delicious beer are were all in Europe until monks at St. Joseph's Abbey in Massachusets threw their hat in the ring with Spencer Trappist Ale. What they came up with for America's first Trappist beer is a 6.5% Belgian style pale ale with some fruity, yeasty characteristics. And despite being new to brewing such a historically revered beer style, the monks have managed to make something that tastes like it could come straight from one of the well established European monasteries.

Vices
/
Beer

Monocacy H.L. Rex Pale Ale

The newest contender in the race for a great, sessionable pale ale comes from the folks at Monocacy Brewing in Frederick, Maryland and it's named H.L. Rex Pale Ale. This 3.7% brew is a perfect fit on a hot summer day, allowing plenty of repeated samples without the potential of a bad crash. What separates it from the growing number of session beers on the market is not only a great hop experience in aroma and taste, but also the attentive design that marks each bottle. Another worthy adversary as the dog days of summer roll on.

Buy Now / $10

Like / 17 Tweet / 13 Stash / 103
Vices
/
Beer

Terrapin Guano Loco Beer

You might not think of the phrase "fiesta in your glass" when it comes to beer, but that is exactly what the brewers at Terrapin Brewing had in mind when they created Guano Loco. This unique offering is a Chili Pepper Brownie Ale, giving you a rush of chocolaty sweetness with some cinnamon and mild chili pepper spice on the finish. Guano Loco means "batshit crazy", but Volume 23 in Terrapin's Side Project Series isn't as wacky as the name suggests. It is, however, one of the better chocolate, chili pepper beers we've tasted.

Buy Now / $10

Like / 46 Tweet / 23 Stash / 116
Vices
/
Beer

Prairie Funky Gold Mosaic Beer

It seems like the brewers at Prairie Artisan Ales in Oklahoma turn everything they touch into gold — including one of their latest creations, Funky Gold Mosaic. This sour ale is dry-hopped with loads of Mosaic hops — which is probably the hottest hop strand since Citra — making this tart, refreshing beer an incredibly unique offering. But it's the undeniable balance that really make this beer shine, as the fantastic hop aromas and sour bite mingle like friends at a summer backyard barbecue.

Buy Now / $12

Like / 34 Tweet / 22 Stash / 108
Vices
/
Beer

Beachwood Greenshift Double IPA

Tired of hops yet? Yeah, we didn't think so. And when it comes to hopped up beers, it's tough to beat Beachwood Brewing. Greenshift Double IPA is the latest in a long line of hoppy, delicious beers to come out of their highly regarded brewery, and it might be the best. Brewed to celebrate their third anniversary, Greenshift has just about everything you'd want in a Double IPA, tons of hop varities, 10% ABV, and over 100 IBU as well. It's enough to make you pack up and head straight for the West Coast on a spontaneous vacation.

Buy Now / $10

Like / 89 Tweet / 15 Stash / 111

Featured Gear Question

New Balance Neon Lights 574

There's nothing quite like a classic — and few shoe silhouettes say classic the way the 574 does, with a legacy that dates all the way back to 1988. Though plenty of new colorways have been introduced since the original gray, black, and white, none stand out like the New Balance Neon Lights 574. Available in several bold color combinations accentuated by bright neon highlights, these shoes feature glow-in-the-dark technology that illuminates them at night. Combining luminous accent colors with the cushioning of an ENCAP midsole, they're the ideal blend of time-tested wearability and unique, exciting style.

Buy Now / $80

Like / 2 Tweet / 10 Stash / 72

Vices
/
Beer

Founders Dissenter Beer

Already well known for their stable of consistently great beers, Founders Brewing continues to impress with their Backstage Series as well, a limited edition release of something special. The latest Backstage release is Dissenter Imperial India Pale Lager, which just happens to be the first lager that Founders has brewed in twelve years. Dissenter may be a lager, but it isn't shy when it comes to hop influence, boasting a variety of citrus-forward hops and weighing in at 8.7% and 70 IBUs. You can find it in bottles starting on August 1st, but chances are it won't stick around very long.

Buy Now / $12

Like / 17 Tweet / 18 Stash / 123
Vices
/
Beer

The Alchemist Focal Banger IPA

You might be familiar with The Alchemist Brewery thanks to their world class IPA, Heady Topper. It's known as one of the best in a crowded bunch, so imagine the excitement this year when The Alchemist announced they would be canning their second beer, Focal Banger. It's another IPA, and another fantastic brew, loaded with two of the most aromatic and flavorful hop varieties on the market today — Citra and Mosaic. Even if the hop choices don't matter to you, the fact that The Alchemist has another IPA in cans should be enough to sway you to drive to Vermont and search until you find a can.

Buy Now / $25

Like / 157 Tweet / 28 Stash / 176
Vices
/
Beer

Port Brewing SPA Beer

The craft brewing industry is so saturated with hops, so it should come as no surprise that the hops are getting amped up in other styles as well. The style getting that treatment most often is the Pale Ale, and SPA (Summer Pale Ale) from Port Brewing is the latest to hit store shelves. SPA is a West Coast-style pale ale, using four different hop strands — all with their own impressive aromatic and flavorful strengths. It's a hopped up, fresh, and clean brew that is ready to hit the beach with you this summer.

Buy Now / $8

Like / 16 Tweet / 19 Stash / 78
Vices
/
Beer

Stone RuinTen IPA

Stone Brewing could easily be described as the godfathers of the American IPA. And one of the IPAs that started it all was Ruination. On the 10th anniversary of Ruination back in 2012, Stone upped the ante by releasing RuinTen IPA — an aggressive, in your face double IPA derived from the same recipe, but on steroids. Now released on an annual basis, RuinTen is set to hit shelves across the country — boasting a 10.8% ABV and 110 IBUs of hoppy joy. As Stone says, it's a stage dive into a mosh pit of hops.

Buy Now / $10

Like / 55 Tweet / 22 Stash / 141

Vices
/
Beer

Firestone Walker Stickee Monkee Beer

When it comes to Belgian history, it's their unrivaled ability to make fantastic beer that stands out to many of us here in the United States. And Firestone Walker Brewing — unrivaled in some of their own ways — have a fantastic take on the Belgian Quadrupel with Stickee Monkee. The brewers not only created their own version of the style, but they've tweaked it enough to create a new category: Central Coast Quad. The huge 13.4% beer is brewed with Belgian candi sugars and then aged up to 14 months in bourbon barrels from Woodford Reserve, Elijah Craig and Four Roses. This perfect storm of booze, sweetness, and malt was just bottled for the first time, and is another sweet success for Firestone Walker.

Buy Now / $17

Like / 60 Tweet / 23 Stash / 151
Vices
/
Beer

New Belgium Brewing Gratzer Beer

In a continuing attempt to remain on the cutting edge, craft brewers are digging up long dead recipes and brewing them anew for the thirsty masses. The latest example is Gratzer, a collaboration brew from 3 Floyds and New Belgium Brewing. Gratzer is a Polish style that uses generous amounts of smoked wheat, and this collab also includes Midnight Wheat malt, which gives the beer a mild sweetness. It's a mild mix of smoke and sweet and pours as black as night — the perfect setting for the also recently unearthed zombies that grace the bottles — which are available now until September.

Buy Now / $10

Like / 79 Tweet / 18 Stash / 164
Vices
/
Beer

Sixpoint Rad Beer

There are tons of beers on the market that are often cited as having a citrus aroma or even flavor from time to time. But Sixpoint RAD has taken that idea to a completely different level. RAD doesn't just smell like a beer that has some citrus aromas, but instead is actually a fruit juice / beer hybrid. The easy drinking 3.2% ABV beer was inspired by a German scientist in the 20's who made a 50-50 blend of beer and lemon soda to allow thirsty cyclists to have their beer while not totally causing dehydration. Sixpoint has even placed RAD into a new drink category they are calling 'Cycliquids.' It's a unique drink packaged in 16oz. cans that is ready to join you poolside on a hot summer day.

Buy Now / $10

Like / 118 Tweet / 30 Stash / 188
Vices
/
Beer

Perennial Barrel-Aged Abraxas Beer

In the craft beer industry today, there aren't very many brewers that aren't doing some sort of barrel-aged beer. But not many of them do it very well. Perennial Artisan Ales in St. Louis however, is making one of the best we've ever tried in Barrel-Aged Abraxas. The barrel-aged version of the already tasty Abraxas Imperial Stout is aged twelve months in Rittenhouse Rye barrels with cacao nibs, vanilla beans, ancho chiles and cinnamon sticks. It's as good as it sounds, but is only released annually, making it a highly sought after bottle.

Buy Now / $30

Like / 56 Tweet / 25 Stash / 159
Vices
/
Beer

Three Floyds Dreadnaught IPA

These days, it's hard to go into a bar without seeing a long list of IPAs vying for your attention. But one that has been around for a while, and continues to be one of the best, is Dreadnaught IPA from Three Floyds Brewing. Dreadnaught is a huge double IPA that clocks in at 9.5 ABV with 100 IBUs, but despite those impressive and possibly intimidating numbers, it somehow manages to stay balanced, thanks to a huge malt body. It's a double IPA that is still a leader in its class despite more and more intense, hoppy competition.

Buy Now / $11

Like / 49 Tweet / 19 Stash / 137
Vices
/
Beer

Half Acre Daisy Cutter Beer

It's not as easy as you think for a brewer to pack a ton of flavor into a lower alcohol beer. But Daisy Cutter Pale Ale from Half Acre Beer Company in Chicago does just that. Daisy Cutter is a pale ale in IPA clothing — with a bitter but pleasing hop bite jammed into a 5.2% ABV package. This aggressively hopped Pale Ale manages to give off the grapefruit and floral hop notes of a double IPA, but somehow pulls off a light, easy to drink pale ale. A confoundingly complex beer that is a true craft classic.

Buy Now / $10

Like / 32 Tweet / 28 Stash / 155
Vices
/
Beer

Fat Head's Trail Head Beer

The warmer it gets outside, the more active many of us are. And the more active many of us are, the bigger thirst we work up. Fat Head's Trail Head Pale Ale — already a silver medal winner at Great American Beer Festival — is ready and waiting for you after your trail ride, or if you are just sitting on the porch waiting for the riders to return home. Brewed with whole flower Simcoe and Citra hops, Trail Head is a hoppy pale ale, but won't dominate your palette with bitterness. Available for the first time in cans, a portion of the proceeds from every pint go directly to supporting the rehab of trails in Cleveland, Ohio parks.

Buy Now / $10

Like / 97 Tweet / 33 Stash / 137
Vices
/
Beer

Crooked Stave Surette Saison

With the large amounts of new breweries opening across the US these days, it's tough to keep tabs on which ones are worth your time. Crooked Stave in Denver, Colorado is more than worthy, and beers like Surette Saison are part of the reason. Surette is a provision saison, meaning that the style of beer was historically brewed with higher alcohol content for longer storage and aging. Surette carries a slightly higher 6.2% ABV, but with the perfect mix of mild herbal spice, tartness and refreshing impact on your palette, you'll hardly notice the alcohol. A ideal treat as the temperature rises outdoors.

Buy Now / $7

Like / 24 Tweet / 14 Stash / 100
Vices
/
Beer

Bell's Two Hearted Ale

When we think about classic Midwestern IPAs, the first thing that comes to mind is the always incredible Two Hearted Ale from Bell's Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan. This fragrant, delicious IPA is a must have for all hop lovers — and now for the first time is available in 16 oz. cans. The can design features a local artist's illustration from a label that was previously retired when Two Hearted was just a young, wide eyed beer in the late 90's. Who says you can't teach an old beer new tricks?

Buy Now / $10

Like / 201 Tweet / 33 Stash / 172
Vices
/
Beer

Rhinegeist Truth IPA

When the folks at Rhinegeist Brewing in Cincinnati, Ohio set out to make a traditional West Coast IPA, they didn't want to just create a beer that locals would love, but one that everyone who got their hands on would appreciate. Truth IPA isn't available all over the country just yet, but is now available in cans and is exceeding expectations with every sip. The clean, crisp IPA takes things next level with it's resiny hop bite and balanced finish. Truth is, one of the best West Coast IPAs is now brewed in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Buy Now / $10

Like / 424 Tweet / 37 Stash / 221

More Stuff