Welcome to Zeke's Sweet Hops! I am a little obsessed with Beer and have found so many others here who also share this ailment turned cool hobby.
Source: https://www.pinterest.pt/goldensaintbeer/ with a little Zeke design on top.
Today, you will venture with me into one of my favourite breweries and we can discuss the crowdfunding of the upgrade to Beer Tokens to make it so that you can stake and earn. Grab a pint and lets hit one of the best IPA brewers I know.
Redline Brewhouse http://www.redlinebrewhouse.com/ is a little known brewery even here in Ontario. I have reviewed their Clutch American Pale Ale a few times because I love it so much but more on that later. There is actually a Redline Brewery in Michigan https://www.therealredline.com/ which is only a few hours drive but they are apparently unaffiliated even though they share some similar branding and themes.
I had never been to this place because it is approximately 2.5 hours by car away from my place in a town I rarely have cause to stop at. So, when I noticed it was on the way to the cottage, and I would be in need of many many beers to fuel the weekend, I had to stop in and discover the origin of some of my favourite summer beer.
It was a neat and big place with some cool open concept design despite being located in a strip mall of sorts. A nice retail section, visible brewing area and a great looking bar all wrapped up under a very high ceiling. There were not that many people here as it was in the middle of a Friday afternoon. I would have like to see it packed with other Clutch lovers.
Looking at this awesome line up, I REALLY wanted to stop in for a flight. It was meant to be a pit stop though and half way to the cottage with kids in the car is not a good time for a session ;)
I also love when they make room and play with Barrel Aged anything. Makes for some really interesting flavours and tasty variations.
The fridges were my main target so lets explore.
They have a nice golden ale for pedestrian beer drinkers which I have no use for. They also have an India Pale Lager which, to me is a bullshit bastardization. Dumping a bunch of hops in a lager and branding it as a trendy/edgy IPL doesn't make it an India pale anything. More power to them if the hipsters enjoy it though. I didn't pause too long at this cooler.
The second cooler was a little closer to that I was looking for. It housed the awesome green cans of Clutch APA which I enjoy in the summer time. It is a little light on the alcohol and still VERY tasty and hoppy for a lighter beer. It shared quarters with Check Engine Amber http://www.redlinebrewhouse.com/the-beers/check-engine/ which looks like almost a dark ale. I was perfectly prepared to grab a half case of each for the cottage and be very happy.
Then, it happened......I came upon a third fridge which appeared to house some playground or one-off smaller run beers. I like these generally for the variety and change in taste. Discovering an Imperial IPA is a treat for sure and they had one called Peel Out Double/Imperial IPA http://www.redlinebrewhouse.com/the-beers/peel-out/ So I have more variety than I had planned!
Waitasec! There is another IPA and it is called Air Ride IPA http://www.redlinebrewhouse.com/the-beers/air-ride-ipa/ which seemed right up my alley. Wet-hopped (boiling it in with the malt) AND dry-hopped (added afterwards) would make for a much hoppier beer than I have come to know with Clutch. Damn straight I am getting some of this and I wont even have to get any of the amber!
Hold the presses! There is a brand new run JUST added to the fridge and it is another IPA!! Closed Circuit IPA http://www.redlinebrewhouse.com/the-beers/closed-circuit/ has my favourite hop (Mosaic) though a lower IBU rating and a bit more alcohol content. Unbelievable! I have somehow timed it perfectly and will be showing up with the envy of selection and taste at the cottage for sure.
This is the famous picture I posed a couple weeks ago so proudly. https://steemit.com/beersaturday/@zekepickleman/beersaturday-cottage-brews-mbvefbse @rynow observed that the can holders were rather interesting and colourful. I really like these plastic 6-pack holders because they are reusable and recyclable. Plus they take up little space and I have one under the drivers seat of each vehicle in case I would like to pick up some pints and not have to use another holder.
This was the action shot that was supposed to go on my @actifit post https://steemit.com/actifit/@zekepickleman/actifit-zekepickleman-20190720t034822448z but apparently I was too hammered to do it properly. One of my faves while sitting at the campfire was fantastic......perfect.
Here is one of my patented pour shots with the Air Ride IPA. It turned out to be my favourite of the batch. The double hopping made it incredibly tasty and the lower alcohol (than the IIPA and Closed Circuit) was nice too. I would buy this one over Clutch if it was next to it on the shelf and that is a bold statement. It may be the last Air Ride I ever have seeing as it doesn't make it to these parts. I may have to go back.
All in all, my first trip to this brewery ended up being a huge victory in the realm of cottage beer drinking and IPA exploration. One of each of these made it hope with me for the fridge but didn't last long. I just wanted to give them a fair shake in moderation as I have one or 2 a night as opposed to 12 at the cottage when you are into quantity rather than quality. This weekend had plenty of both.
BEER TOKENS!
https://steemit.com/beersaturday/@detlev/112-weeks-of-beersaturday-and-crowdsale-for-beer
In other news, @detlev and our crew are crowdfunding the Beer Token upgrade to make it stakable. There are enough beer lovers across STEEM to make it a huge movement and being able to stake Beer Tokens to passively and actively earn them will be perfect for me and many others. I took the opportunity to buy another 24-pack of beer tokens to start to help.
Please consider making a beer post, joining us on the #beersaturday post, and buying some Beer Tokens to add to your virtual fridge for sharing, and making it drinkable and stakable.
Cheers!