I've got a Tropic of Cambridge IPA with Pineapple from Lamplighter Brewing Co. in, well, Cambridge. Yes, there's pineapple up front, but its base is more like a straight pale ale, with an unexpectedly malty, almost lagery aftertaste. You'd never guess that it's somehow 8% ABV. #BskyBeer #BeerSky

I have a Westerly Winds Double Dry-Hopped IPA from Other Half in Brooklyn. I thought they meant this was a West-Coaster, but not at all. Very much a creamy New Englander, but distinguished by a good mustiness and slight sourness, like the fermentation is still alive a little bit. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

My dinner beer was a Cloudwalker New England DIPA from Tuckerman Brewing in Conway, NH. So I think it's a respectable NEIPA flavor-wise, but that flavor profile (the word "coppery" comes to mind) is very level and uniform. Is this "good balance" or ... is this just monotone? #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Going local tonight with Greenhouse Hazy IPA (Lamplighter Brewing Co., Cambridge MA). It's really aptly named because after the usual NEIPA fruity start, the aftertaste turns green and fresh, but earthy/nutty as well, like baby sprouts. That's a unique flavor, and it's good! #BskyBeer #BeerSky

Another interesting Belgian: it's a Martha Quad Strong Dark Ale from The Brew Society (Heule, Belgium). Strong indeed at 12% ABV, but despite its dark color it manages to be curiously easygoing in flavor. Nice dark maltiness, the syrupiness is minimal, and OK, yeah, it's boozy. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

I had managed up to now to have somehow never tried Duchesse de Bourgogne from Brouwerij Verhaege (Vichte, Belgium). It's a good standard-bearer for real Belgian sour ale. You have cherryish fruit flavor, and the sourness is like mild vinegar, which doesn't put me off at all. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

A couple of friends of mine teamed up to homebrew what is effectively a sour ale with tamarind. It's not bad at all! This is definitely not a fruit you will commonly see added to beer (if ever), but it works surprisingly well, as tangy and flinty/smoky flavors both come through. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

I just grilled up some chicken, and with that a Weights & Measures Barleywine Ale from Exhibit 'A' Brewing Co., who used to be in Framingham but just moved to Williamsburg, Mass. I felt like they did a nice job with this because it came off as fresh, flavorful, and not clunky. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Tonight it's a collaboration between Long Live Beerworks (Providence RI), who are great, and Fallside Brewing (Cohoes NY), who I'd never heard of, called Skin With Blood & Bone DIPA. It's a solid-as-hell archetype of what an NEIPA should be. Very good fruit-cream-earth balance. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

I've got Cave Bear Barleywine-Style Ale from Great North Aleworks (Manchester NH). Right away I got the feeling I was tasting a piece of hard candy from 1795, like horehound and molasses flavor or something. I'm not crazy about the candified aspect, but it's interesting and good. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Finally closing out the Foam Brewers (Hinesburg VT) 10th Anniversary 8-pack with Dead Flowers Single IPA. It's about as light as a proper NEIPA can get. The fruit is so light it's almost lemony, and the backdrop is like mild straw, though a sneaky spiciness lurks in there, too. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Here's Dreams On Dreams DIPA from Kettlehead Brewing Company (New Haven CT). On my first sip I was like, "They MUST have added fruit flavor to this." And they did: "natural peach and passionfruit flavors." It's a pleasant beverage, all right, but the fruit seems a bit forced. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

The Foam 10th Anniversary continues with Steam-Style Ale. This comes off as a slightly darker version of lager, so not super-duper light and crisp, and we've allowed some flavor to get in there. But still unobtrusive at 4.9%, so it worked pretty well with my chicken nuggets 😆 #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Foam Brewers' (Hinesburg VT) 10th Anniversary continues with Triple IPA! This thing is solid as hell, with peach and, ummm, maybe guava, leading the way, but creamy, boozy, and just a beverage you want around. I had it with my bulgogi burger, and I couldna done much better. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Went down to Untold Brewing in Scituate, MA today with some friends and tried a flight of two NEIPAs and a sour, all pretty good. I also brought home East by Northwest, which they tout as a West-Coast IPA, and I think they largely get it right. Crisp and bitter with a lot of body. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Good Friday-night brew here: Aaron barleywine-style ale aged in bourbon barrels from Hill Farmstead (Greensboro Bend, VT). It's caramelly and syrupy like a Wee Heavy, but it somehow never really gets heavy. And there's dark fruit like cherry and prune. That's pretty darn good! #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Foam 10th Anniversary strikes again with Vermont IPA! This is about as close as IPAs here get to West Coastishness. Yes, it's unfiltered (with chunks suspended in it), but the bitter-leaning flavor profile is more reminiscent of West than East, and you don't see that here a lot. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

I'm not a huge fan of Jack's Abby Craft Lagers (Framingham, MA), but I like this one: Hoponius Union, a "West Coast-Style Hoppy Lager". Not a moniker you see much. The idea is to give a lager the same kind of crisp bitterness found in WCIPAs, and it does a decent job of that. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Another Foam Brewers 10th Anniversary selection: straight-up Pale Ale. This isn't hopped as much as an IPA, not unlike a pilsner at its core. BUT -- there's something else going on. You sense on the roof of your mouth that this beer was maybe smoked over a campfire for a minute. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

The Foam 10th-Anniversary variety pack cheats just a bit by including the classic Built To Spill DIPA. I don't mind at all! The fruit slants very light and refreshing, yet there is a sinister spicy-bitter undercurrent lurking beneath that. A touch of booziness, too, at 8% ABV. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Back to the Foam 10th-Anniversary 8-pack with Dortmunder Lager. I had never had a lager from Foam, not being a big lager person, but I like this. It's got a twinge of acidity and a minerally flavor as well. It doesn't seem like a typical German lager to me, but I dig this twist! #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Foam Brewers in Hinesburg, VT has a 10th Anniversary variety pack. This is so awesome! So let's start with Saison, and if you like the farmhouse style, this will definitely hit it for you. The flavor is classic and really robust, and it actually seems almost a little bit salty. #BskyBeer #BeerSky

I've got a Pride & Joy Belgian-Style Wit from Pivotal Brewing Company (Bristol, RI). This has a nice core flavor to it that also stays very light, so no heavy aftertaste that lingers. It has coriander and orange peel, a classic combo, but delivered in an unusually refreshing way. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Tonight I've got a Pohoda 12° Tmavé Pivo (simply Czech for "dark beer") from Schilling Beer Co. (Littleton NH). This is a nice dark lager with a twinge of bitterness. It has roasted malt and even some chocolatey character. Just 5% ABV, so it's still light even with all that. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

After my 2nd day at work and then a voice lesson, which both went well, I have Genealogy Imperial Stout brewed with with malted wheat and Vermont-roasted coffee (Hill Farmstead Brewery; Greensboro Bend, VT). Holy cow, is this stuff good! Quite complex for not being barrel-aged! #BskyBeer #BeerSky

I was in Gloucester on Thursday, and when you're up that way you have to grab some very local Tail Fin NEIPA from Coastal Mass. Brewing (Beverly MA). I like the uniqueness of this one in that its aftertaste has a curious almost rubberlike tone, and I mean that in a good way! #BeerSky #BskyBeer

I've got Triangle Slice IPA, with Krush Lupomax & Motueka hops, from Long Live (Boston MA). This has all the elements of a good Long Live NEIPA - fruit, cream, earthiness - but they've dialed it back a little bit for summer, or to go with pizza, etc. It's very good by itself, too! #BskyBeer #BeerSky

I hope everyone in the US is having a nice 4th of July. To our friends around the world: we'll fix this, we promise. I've got Surf Gods Hazy IPA (Castle Island Brewing Co., Norwood MA). It's nicely distinctive to me because at the end there's a bitter marzipan kind of flavor. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Quite warm and humid, but after sunset I'm outside with a Gorgons; Marq Rubus Grape Ale (Wunderkammer Biermanufaktur; Albany, VT), a mixed-fermentation ale soaked in crushed grapes, blackberries, and raspberries. Those attributes lend a strong sense of "realness" to this beer. #BskyBeer #BeerSky

Back to Hill Farmstead (Greensboro Bend, VT) with an Abner American DIPA. It's a New England IPA all the way, *but* the lingering bitterness is of a variety that might remind you a little of a West-Coaster. As usual with Hill Farmstead beers, a good word to describe it is "lush". #BeerSky #BskyBeer