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

A feels-like 110° day in Boston, and yes it did! I'm in the AC now with another Vermont beer I don't see here, Black IPA from Kraemer & Kin in St. Albans, close to the Canadian border. It fills the flavor space really well, like a stronger porter (7% ABV) that's nice and hoppy. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

I thought I'd try this before we get 100° in Boston later this week: Night Windows Robust Porter from Small Change Beer Co. (Somerville MA). You're met with a chocolatey flavor first, then some smoky and stony character in the aftertaste. But that chocolate flavor hangs around. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Tonight it's Society & Solitude #6 from Hill Farmstead Brewery (Greensboro Bend VT). This brewery is one of the best because of the depth of flavor you get in its NEIPAs (and other types). This one has a musty freshness to it, if that makes any sense. You have to process it. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Another VT beer I don't see down here in Boston: Project Object DIPA from River Roost Brewery in White River Junction. The fruit is in the pineapple/tropical zone, and there's a good zappy yeasty bite at the end. Quite poundable for 8% ABV as well. It's a terrific summer beer. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

This evening's beer is Spectra DIPA from Four Quarters Brewing (Winooski VT), one I got up there that I don't see down here. It's distinctive in that it has a certain spiciness I haven't run across before, almost with an apple-pie kind of slant to it. I think it's pretty good! #BskyBeer #BeerSky

I was up in Vermont the last couple days, and one beer I brought back is Double Manilita DIPA from Hill Farmstead Brewery (Greensboro Bend, VT). This is a Tier-A NEIPA with a lot of depth and freshness. The most noticeable quality of the Manilita hops is a straw-like bitterness. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Here's a Rockin' The Gold Tooth Cream Ale from Hot Plate Brewing Co. (Pittsfield, Mass.) There's some lagerishness to it, but it's crisper and lighter than a lager overall. Subtle but not uninteresting flavor. Cream ales are aptly called "lawnmower beer", and this fits that bill. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Back from Chicago and now have a Hard Stop DIPA, a collaboration between Mast Landing (Westbrook ME) and Widowmaker (Braintree MA). It's pretty orange juicy on the front half, but the belly of it has a good earthiness to it that lingers around for a bit, so overall a decent NEIPA. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

My daughter and I visited Adams Street Brewery in Chicago today and split a flight: Da Drizzy Sour Dats Da Joose N.E. Hazy IPA Steam Engine Kentucky Common Der Reisende Export Stout Our favorite was Der Reisende, a hopped 7.5% stout with unforced chocolate and coffee flavors. #BeerSky #BskyBeer

Now we move on to Dank 7, again from Boulevard Brewing Co. (Kansas City, MO). It's a "Belgian-Style IPA" with seven kinds of hops in it. Combining these two genres leads to an interesting result here: if I had to name the most dominant flavor, I think I would say eucalyptus! #BskyBeer #BeerSky