Review: Best Damn Apple Ale
Best Damn Apple Ale joins the Anheuser-Busch line of Best Damn Products. The lineup currently also features their two hard soda’s, Best Damn Root Beer, and Best Damn Cherry Cola. More flavors are sure to follow. Before launching the Best Damn line they had to purchase the bestdamn.com site that had been owned and registered since June 2000. No details on the cost were released, but I’m guessing it was less than the price paid for stamps.com. Anheuser-Busch has been increasingly adding apples to their product line. Their other apple products include Johnny Appleseed Hard Apple Cider, Bud Light Apple Rita, Shock Top Honey Crisp Apple Wheat, and they even tested a Bud Light Apple in Georgia. Best Damn Apple Ale is brewed with 100% natural apple flavor. Read more 
Review: Shock Top Summer Grapefruit
Shock Top Summer Grapefruit was just released and it is sold in the Shock Top Summer variety pack. Each 12 pack features 3 bottles each of Shock Top Belgian White, Lemon Shandy, Honey Crisp Apple Wheat, and Summer Grapefruit. Summer Grapefruit is a Belgian style wheat ale brewed with spices, grapefruit peel and with natural grapefruit and orange flavors. Read more
Review: Shock Top Strawbanero Wheat Beer
Shock Top Strawbanero Wheat Beer was introduced in 2015 and it is sold in the Shock Top Winter variety pack. Each 12 pack features 3 bottles each of Shock Top Strawbanero Wheat, Belgian Wheat, Pretzel Wheat, and Honeycrisp Apple Wheat Beer. Shock Top Strawbanero is a Belgian style wheat ale brewed with habanero peppers, strawberries, and orange peels. After brewing natural strawberry flavor is added. The beer is left unfiltered before bottling at 5.5% Alcohol. Read more
Review: Redds Blueberry Ale
Redds Blueberry Ale will be introduced in April. I was lucky enough to get my hands on a bottle a little early. It is one of three apple ales in their Limited Pick series. The first was Redds Cranberry Ale, released in February. Redds Ginger Apple Ale arrives in September. They currently also produce 3 year round flavors including Apple, Green Apple, and Strawberry. Redds Wicked Ale is their line of higher alcohol, 8%, ales. This line has three flavors including Apple, Mango, and Black Cherry. Redds Blueberry is available in 6 packs of 12 oz. bottles, 16 oz. cans, and 4 bottles are included in their seasonal variety 12 pack. Read more
Review: Aloha Traveler Pineapple Shandy
Aloha Traveler Pineapple Shandy was just released as part of the Springtime Travelers Variety 12 pack. Each 12 pack includes 4 bottles each of Aloha Pineapple Shandy, Illusive Grapefruit Shandy, and Curious Lemon Shandy. The Travelers Beer Company is part of the Alchemy and Science Group of craft breweries formed by Alan Newman the Co-Founder of the Magic Hat Brewery. This group includes the Coney Island Brewery. They are an independently operated subsidiary of the Boston Beer Works, the makers of Samuel Adams Beer. Aloha Traveler Pineapple Shandy is a wheat ale brewed with 2 row malted barley, malted wheat, hallertau hallertau hops, and lemon peel, with pineapple juice and natural flavors added. Read more
Review: Mission Brewery Hard Root Beer
Mission Brewery Hard Root Beer was introduced in 12 ounce bottles February 2015. It is brewed at 7.5% alcohol at the Mission Brewery in San Diego California. The Mission Brewery was established in 1913 and closed during Prohibition. Dan Selis an avid home brewer re-established the brand in 2007. This is my 7th hard root beer review, and I expect more to follow. Mission describes this as a malt beverage made with natural and artificial flavors with caramel and certified color added. They are expanding distribution, but the easiest place to find Mission Hard Root Beer or any of their other beers is in California. Read more
Review: Coney Island Hard Orange Cream Ale
Coney Island Hard Orange Cream Ale was recently released along with a hard Ginger Ale. These two hard soda’s join their previously reviewed Hard Root Beer. Hard Ginger ale and root beer have been around for a couple of years, and orange appears to be the next hard soda flavor, as Miller-Coors will release Henry’s Hard Orange Soda nationwide in January. Orange Cream Ale is made with ale, natural flavors, and caramel color by the Coney Island Brewing Company, an independently operated brewery owned by the Boston Beer Company. Read more
Review: Best Damn Root Beer
Best Damn Root Beer was just released by the Best Damn Brewing Company. They also brew Best Damn Apple Ale. This division of Anheuser Busch has been working on the recipe since 2014. It is an ale that is aged on real vanilla beans during the brewing process. While market leader Not Your Fathers Root Beer currently enjoys an 80% market share, Coney Island Hard Root Beer is coming on strong with an 18% market share. Others including the previously reviewed Rowdy Root Beer, Row Hard Root Beer, Sprecher, and the soon to be reviewed Mission Hard Root Beer, control the other 2%. Read more
Review: Not Your Fathers Ginger Ale
Not Your Fathers Ginger Ale was just released in 12 Oz. six pack bottles, and cans. This is their follow-up to their very successful Not Your Fathers Root Beer which is currently the nations best selling craft beer sku. It was created at the Small Town Brewery in Wauconda Illinois and because of expected demand it is being bottled, canned, and distributed through an agreement with Pabst. NYFGA is a gruit inspired beer. Gruit is German for herbs, and is an ancient way of bittering and flavoring beer using roots, spices, flowers, and berries. Read more
Review: Jolly Traveler Winter Shandy
Jolly Traveler Winter Shandy is one of 5 shandy’s brewed by this division of The Boston Beer Company, the makers on Samuel Adams beer. Jolly Travelor is brewed with lemon peel. Pomegranate Juice, Orange, Spice, and natural flavors are then added. As the name would imply this is a winter seasonal that is arriving on store shelves now, and availability is limited. Read more