Brew(d)

• March 1, 2021
• 3 years

White Russian

Name: White Russian

Brewery: Lefthand Brewing Co. (Longmont, Colorado)

Style: White nitro stout with coffee + vanilla

Rating: 3.9/5

Review: It’s been a hot minute since I’ve reviewed any beer, so bear with me.

This beer was very tasty, but it almost wasn’t beer to me. I should admit that I have little experience with drinking White Russian cocktails. One of my best friends, Evyn, introduced me to them in Cuba, of all places. That was four years ago. I may have gone another three years before drinking a White Russian again — and that was when my friend Danylo decided he’d make them for me and all of my roommates to celebrate their graduation in May 2020. I will say: I am quite fond of the beverage, given the limited experience.

This beer is perplexing in that it’s a stout, but it’s got the color of a much lighter beer. Like a wheat beer. It is so creamy that you just forget that you’re drinking beer. You do taste the coffee and vanilla. Honestly, I’d give this a higher ranking if it were just more versatile. It’s THICK. You wouldn’t drink it in summertime. But the last night of February? Sure.

Brew(d)

• March 29, 2020
• 4 years

Hibiscus Wheat

Name: Hibiscus Wheat

Brewery: Yonkers Brewing Co.

Style: Wheat Beer

Rating: 4.3/5

Review: I don’t know if I’m proud or ashamed to say that at this point, I’ve drank a lot of beer. A lot of styles of beer. And frankly, it’s gotten almost a little old. I’m finally disinclined to try new things, because I can usually peg the beers I’m going to like and the which ones I won’t care for instantly. “Life is too short,” I recently told my friend, “to drink shitty beer.” Therefore, I’ve been kind of seeking comfort and assurance from beers I already know and love. But I grabbed this beer thinking, “Eh, I’ll probably like it well enough,” and knowing my sister, who is not a huge beer drinker, would like it far better than an IPA. Well, I took a sip of this and paused. “Dang. That’s interesting. That’s something I haven’t had before.” I don’t even know what hibiscus really is, nor can I really describe its flavor, but this was refreshing and tasty and just different. There is still a reason to try new beer!

Brew(d)

• March 26, 2020
• 4 years

Hop Rising

Name: Hop Rising Tropical Double IPA

Brewery: Squatters (Park City, Utah)

Style: American Imperial IPA

Rating: 4/5

Review: During this pandemic, you need something strong. And this is 9%, so it really helps you tune out your family and/or panicked thoughts. Not overly hoppy, definitely tropical (as it boasts, whatever “tropical” means), and probably dangerous, as I could have easily downed a second or third and then have been in TROUBLE. Go try one for yourself.

Brew(d)

• September 30, 2019
• 5 years

Southern Pecan

Name: Southern Pecan Brown Nut Ale

Brewery: Lazy Magnolia Brewing Company (Mississippi)

Style: English Brown Ale

Rating: 3.1 / 5

Review: I spent the last week and a half traveling from Charleston to Atlanta, visiting friends and family. For years, I have received Snapchats from my best friend at Clemson of “The Wall of Beer.” Naturally, now that I was finally visiting her at Clemson, she had to take me. And it’s exactly what it sounds like: a wall of tantalizing craft beers. But it’s not in some magical place — it’s in a Quik Mart.

Since I am far too biased toward Colorado beers, I made an effort to select beers only from southern brewing companies. Pecans are my favorite nut (although I can’t decide how to pronounce their name — PEE-cans? Peh-cahns? It changes every time. I’m leaning toward pee-cans), and I’ve always been a dark beer fan, so I gave this one a shot.

While I did enjoy the beer, I definitely jumped the gun on the dark beer train. It’s still too hot — at least in South Carolina — to be drinking a brown or a stout. So after a few sips, I was already craving some fruity IPA or a lager. This one is still worth the try, though, especially if you like Ska’s Buster Nut Brown. It’s not terribly heavy, and as fall progresses, will be increasingly satisfying.