Brew162 Crew

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Summer in Jersey Under 6% 6 Pack

With the unofficial kick off to the summer already in the rearview mirror, I hope you all have your beach bodies in shape. It's time to head outdoors because day drinking season is here! While I love my hazy IPA's, I usually look for something lighter and with a lower ABV to drink while poolside or down the shore. So as the warm weather starts to roll in, what will be in your cooler? Here are my picks for NJ beers to enjoy at the beach, in the yard, or wherever you hang out.

Double Nickel Brewing Co. Vienna Lager (ABV 5.3%): My OG of summer beers, its a nice malty, bready beer with a hint of sweetness. You can find it in 6 packs, but I would highly suggest picking up the variety 15 pack, which includes the Vienna Lager, IPA, Session IPA, Pilsner and Belgian Golden Ale.

Cape May Brewing Co. Follow the Gull IPA (ABV 5.5%): Brewed to celebrate Cape May's 325th Anniversary, Follow The Gull is tropical and juicy and super crushable. It will quench your thirst for joose on a hot day!

Ship Bottom Brewery Blueberry Bikini Bottom Wheat Ale (ABV 4.7%): Brewed with Jersey Blueberries, this wheat ale is light and fruity with a nice crisp finish. The blueberries add just a hint of flavor to keep this beer super drinkable.

Flying Fish Brewing Co.

Salt & Sea Session Sour Ale (ABV 4.3%): Kinda like salt water taffy in a can! Brewed with strawberry and lime, Salt & Sea is not overly sour. Because of the balance between sweet and sour, it is a great change of pace beer.

Icarus Brewing collaboration with Heavy Reel Brewing Brewing Co Bay Dreamer Session IPA (ABV 5.0%): A really crushable session IPA from Heavy Reel Brewing Co and Icarus Brewing. Pale gold hazy appearance, citrus aroma and flavors with big notes of grapefruit. Super smooth and easy drinking IPA that doesn't sell you short on taste. I'm hopeful that we will see this beer distributed a few times this summer so that you can replenish your cooler.

Tonewood Brewing Freshies Pale Ale (ABV 5.0%): 12 oz. cans are not big enough when it comes to this beer. It is so crushable and easy drinking that it goes down too fast. Light, but flavorful with a notes of citrus and pine. Get your summer hair cut, put on your favorite beer shirt and grab a Freshie!

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

2019 Baseball Predictions

After what seemed like an exceptionally long off-season, baseball is back. Although, the Mariners and Athletics kicked off the season in Japan last week, the true Opening Day gives all 30 teams in action. Last year, I previewed each team and division before the season began and predicted (not very successfully) who would win each division.
A quick look back at my predictions for 2018...
American League
East - Yankees 👎 Actual Winner - Red Sox
Central - Indians 👍
West - Astros 👍
Wild Card - Red Sox & Angels 👎 Actual Winners: Yankees & A's (still not sure how they did it with that rotation)

National League
East - Nationals 👎 Actual Winner - Braves (not even close to seeing that happen)
Central - Cubs 👎 Actual Winner - Brewers (It came down to Game 163, so I was close, plus I predicted both would make the playoffs)
West - Dodgers 👍
Wild Card - Brewers & Phillies 👎 Actual Winner - Cubs & Rockies (Phillies looked good at the start of the season, but faded down the stretch)

Not an impressive showing on my part, but hey, "You can't predict baseball Suzyn..."

But let's give it another shot anyway....

2019 Baseball Predictions

American League

East - New York Yankees - Yanks and Red Sox both have loaded lineups. The Yankees have an amazing bullpen and the Red Sox have a deep rotation. I give the edge to the Yankees because they have more options available to them if they need to go and get a guy to help with the stretch run.

Central - Cleveland Indians - They are still the best team even without doing anything to improve. The Twins will challenge, but last season this was the 2nd worst division of all time and it's not getting that much better.

West - Houston Astros - One of the best rotations and lineups in the game. They West has teams that could surprise you, but none of them will stop this juggernaut.

Wild Card Spots - Boston Red Sox & Minnesota Twins - Boston won 108 games last year and are still going to be great. I think the Twins did enough to upgrade areas of concern to make a run at the playoffs. If Buxton, Sano and others can return to 2017 levels, they should beat up on some bad AL Central teams and grab the 2nd WC spot... I do think the Rays and Angels will be in the hunt all season, but think they have too many holes to sneak in.

National League

East - Washington Nationals - The NL East is a tough division. The Mets and Phillies both got better and will make this a race. Not to mention the reigning division champs, the Braves, are still young and have lots of weapons in the minors. I think the Nats have the best rotation and a solid lineup and will be better, despite losing Bryce Harper to the Phillies.

Central - Chicago Cubs - This is the best division in baseball! There are 3 teams in this division that could easily take the title. The Cardinals are much improved, the reigning division champion, Brew Crew also got better while the Cubs really did nothing all off-season. I still believe the Cubs have one of the best rotations in baseball. A healthy Kris Bryant makes that lineup dangerous.

West - Los Angeles Dodgers - Another good division... The Dodgers have depth and can move around pieces to make up for injuries that will come along. If Kershaw regains some of his old form, Seager picks up where he left off in 2017 and the use their minor league depth to supplement the big league club, they will take the division easily.

Wild Card Spots - Philadelphia Phillies & St. Louis Cardinals - The NL is sooooooooo good! There are 9-10 teams that have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs. I expect tight races in the East and Central and 4-5 teams fighting for the WC spots. I think the Phillies and Cardinals did enough to move past the Brewers, Rockies, Braves and Mets. But don't sleep on the Pirates or the Padres this season either.

Whatever happens, I am looking forward to drinking some good brews while watching the season unfold. Besides seeing who will win the 2019 World Series, there are a lot of interesting teams and players to follow. Check out the @Brew162 Instagram to see what I am watching and of course drinking! 🍻

Thursday, December 6, 2018

Most Valuable Beer

The 2018 season was a good season for beer drinking, not so great for baseball (I'm a Yankees fan). After looking back on all of the beer scouting reports from this year, I was able to narrow it down to 3 beers that stood out in a special way. All three received 80 grades on the 20-80 scouting scale because of their special combination of aroma, flavors and mouthfeel.

The Finalists for MVB

Treehouse Brewing Julius IPA has the reputation and the pedigree and it absolutely lived up to it. Citrusy and soft on the palette, it's an orange juice concoction that hits you with so much flavor.

LIC Beer Project Pile of Crowns Imperial IPA has everything you could want inside a beer can and adds to it with 80 grade can art. Citrus up front and tropical at the end, it is so well rounded.

Brix City Brewing Jock Jams DIPA is soft and sweet just like the ESPN soundtrack for which it is named. Brewed with clementines, it is the definition of straight juice.

Narrowing down the list from over 100 beers to 3 was tough. Choosing from 3 phenomenal beers has been even harder. While Julius has the name brand, it came down to Pile of Crowns and Jock Jams. Ultimately, Pile of Crowns took the crown because of its big citrus aroma, soft and smooth mouthfeel and all star level of citrus and tropical fruit flavors. And all of that deliciousness comes in one of the best looking packages

Congratulations to the winner of the 2018 Brew162 MVB is LIC Beer Project Pile of Crowns Imperial IPA.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

2018 American League East Season Preview

If you have been following me along on Instagram, I have been posting my version of a Season Preview for each of the 30 teams. Instead or previewing the entire roster, I focused on one player or aspect of the team that I am looking forward to following throughout the season.
Here is a recap and my predictions on how the they will finish in the division.

American League East
This is the toughest to pick a winner. Both the Yankees and Red Sox have talented teams and win 100 games this year, but as a Yankee fan, I'm sure my pick is a little biased. I'm picking the Yanks to win the division because of the talent on the roster and their ability to add whatever they may need through call-ups or by making trades. The Red Sox will win the Wild Card and host the Angels in the Play In Game. The Blue Jays don't have the depth of either NY or Boston to keep in this race. The Orioles will run out of healthy starters and the Rays lack the lineup power to stay competitive.