Halfway around the sun and Seven Question Beer Sunday is still going strong. Thanks a ton and a big cheers to all who read and support my blog! Here’s to 26 more weeks of SQBS!
Today’s submission is from two local, beer reviewing, crazy kheds from central Massachusetts. I bring to you Billy and Greg from @hotter_upper_beer_review.
To paraphrase, the “hotter upper” is a cocktail. Seems this term spilled over to their beer reviewing world in December of 2020 and it stuck. Their mission? To bring friends closer together, while educating themselves on the types of beers they enjoy. Sounds logical to me! Their Instagram page has a few beer reviews with the latest being of The Substance from Bissel Brothers. So if beer reviews are your thing, go check them out. Their answers to my seven questions are both fun to read and thoughtful…hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Speaking of Massachusetts…next weekend is the start of Mass Beer Week, courtesy of the Mass Brewers Guild. I will be posting one Massachusetts beer, every day, from March 6th thru March 13th to celebrate this annual event. What will you be doing to pay homage to Massachusetts beers?
Cheers 
Ed-
GotHops.blog
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- What is your name and location?
Billy and Greg from Central, MA. - What is your day job?
(B) Physical Education Teacher/Personal Trainer
(G) Supply Chain operations - Where can we find you on the socials including Untapp’d?
Instagram= @The_Hotter_Upper_Beer_Review - Want to plug your side hustle?
The Hotter Upper is our side hustle. Simply put, we started this to just have some fun and wanted to combine our normal shenanigans with something we always do- drink beer and comment on how it tastes. Even though going to the beer store is our adult version of Chuck E Cheese, sometimes the choices and endless possibilities can be overwhelming. So we set out to unclutter everyone’s beer aisle. We have an unorthodox way of choosing the beers we purchase and consume and we want to act as a common man/woman’s compass- combining some humor, with real-life connections to each beer. There are thousands of people who have more experience and expertise when it comes to the science and makeup of beers, but we just want people to know if the beer is good and what it is like (an average beer drinker’s type of review).
1 – Ever have Black Tuesday from The Bruery? If yes, what did you think?
(B) Negative… but we love looking for unique beers and at that alcohol percentage, this creation might have to be on our review list!
2 – Most memorable beer or brewery moment?
(B) I struggle choosing one (just as I struggle picking out a beer each time I swim through the sea of cans in the beer aisle)
First memory- sneaking a few sips of a bud light from the old school silver can… hating it and thinking I was drunk. Might be why I refuse to drink Bud Light to this day.
First craft beer memory- I was always a light beer or bust guy until I tried Wormtown Be Hoppy (a hometown brewery) and that started my Craft Beer journey.
Memorable Brewery moment- My wife and I were on vacation at Big Sky Resort in Montana. Conveniently there was a beer tasting event at the resort and we sampled some amazing beers from that area, specifically beers from Road House Brewery. We loved it so much we drove through Yellowstone to visit the brewery in Jackson Hole. The head brewer told us to stop at Grand Teton Brewing in Victor, ID on our way back so we did. This small middle of nowhere town was just like you see in old western movies. And the small brewery produced some great beer. Two top breweries/moments in a 12 hour span! I REALLY hope Road House distributes to MA soon.
(G) To this day, the Duff brewery is my all-time favorite (jokes). In all seriousness, my most memorable beer experience was probably when my Dad let me try a sip of his Coors Light for the first time and I remember how awful I thought it tasted. It was probably skunked, but we won’t go there. Favorite recent brewery experience was visiting the Cisco pop-up in Boston’s Seaport back in October. Not a brewery visit per se, but given everything going on with COVID, it was nice to just sit outside in the sun and have a couple [Cisco Grapefruit] Gripahs with friends.
3 – Are born on dates on a can important to you and why?
(B) Absolutely! Humans carry Driver’s License and ID cards with them at all times and beers should be no different. The buyer needs to know when each beer was born so they can assure themselves they are not getting an old beer whose taste has been altered or “skunked” in any way. Imagine tasting a beer for the first time and thinking it was horrible only to find out years later it was old and you actually liked the beer
4 – What is your favorite non-beer related hobby?
(B) Spending time and doing things with my wife and son and extended family, working out and staying active, and traveling. My wife and I have had a bucket list of visiting all 50 states together; this has been a great way to explore new breweries all over the place, although COVID has certainly slowed us down!
(G) I also enjoy working out, spending time with my family, cooking, photography, writing, fishing, and recently, hunting.
5 – Worst adjunct in any beer you have consumed and why?
(B) Chili Pepper or any type of hot spice. I want my libation to be refreshing and not leave me sweating or in pain from a spicy kick.
(G) Many out there are going to roll their eyes at this, but I’m just NOT a Blueberry or Pumpkin guy. Yes you heard that right, Blueberry and Pumpkin are on Uncle Greggles naughty list. That just means more for all of you, right?
6 – What is your opinion of a milkshake IPA?
(B) While this is not a frequent craving, I will yearn for one of these when the time is right and there is a certain time and place for this style. In my opinion, this is more of a one-and-done beer (no mixing before or after and using it to coat the stomach and relax). We have a video review coming out soon of a Peach Double Milkshake IPA from Ten Bends Beer without giving anything away the sight of the word “lactose” and “peach puree” raised my gag meter but the actual taste was unique and enjoyable.
(G) How can you not love a little milk sugar and fruit in your IPA? It’s truly incredible how creative breweries are getting with their different concoctions. What a glorious time to be a beer fan!
7 – What is your favorite hop (or hops) and why?
(B) I assume this is what it is like being asked to choose a favorite child. I can’t choose a favorite hop- I think the entire process makes the beer what it is and unique. In other words, it’s not one hop that makes me enjoy a beer, it’s the combination of hops, adjuncts, the looks/aesthetics of the can, the writeup of the can, and what the brewery paints in your head before consumption, heck even the people you are with. A certain hop does not automatically make a beer taste good, there are a number of (outside) factors that go into it… and this is perhaps something that makes us a little unique when we review beers.
If you wanted to see me internally struggle and squirm to choose one hop, I would go with Citra…it just seems to always stand out with my current kick of finding a dumb, juicy beer.
As of late, I’ve been interested in seeking out beers with lupulin. While this might not be a hop per se, this concentrated powder acts as the essence of hops in its purest form and in my opinion makes a beer something I am looking for- unique.
(G) ^ What he said.
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Look for these future responses from the following for SQBS soon…
Part 27
Mike, owner, and brewer at @smallchange, and Rob @sdbeertour
Part 28
Will @pittsburghbrewguy
Part 29
Katie Stinchon
Executive Director of the MA Brewers Guild
@MABrewersGuild
#MABeerWeek March 6-13
Part 30
Keith from @beerselfie and @thatonebeergirl
Part 31
Colleen from @travelikealocalma
www.travelikealocal.com
Part 32 – Could be you?
If you want to be featured, send me a DM or reach out to me via email at [email protected]. Feel free to comment at the very bottom if you want to see more!
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Thanks for reading and have a great day!
Ed-
