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Location: Earth, a nice neighborhood in the Milky Way
3,845 posts, read 2,710,988 times
Reputation: 1616
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lrfox
Yes! The beer label was your "ticket" and you could present it afterwards at Doyle's down the road for a free full-size pint glass when you purchased a Sam's draft. I haven't done it in years so I don't know what it's like now. I also did Allagash. That's where I learned about Brettanomyces which was fascinating. I went to college at USM and lived in Portland afterwards, so I'm very well aware of the free flight scam. I never had Magic Hat, however.
I like the lower ABV stuff at RI. The Vienna Lager and the Heff in particular. The IPAs are good too, but I haven't loved the DIPAs. I'll have to check out the Brewers Guild passport now that we're here!
Vienna lager is right up my alley. I am a big fan of the Vienna that Vermont’s von Trapp Brewery makes. I’ll have to try the RI for comparison.
Crooked Current is the corner diner who has consistently done things the same way, very well, for years. I like Crooked Current a lot. Nichole (the owner/brewer) is always behind the counter and is super friendly and happy to talk about her beer. As a bonus, A Guy and His Pie and Ming's Kitchen are in the same building (a couple of doors down on the outside). So the bring-your-own-food options are pretty impressive.
In short, place is friendly (big regular crowd), the beer is good and they do fairly unique takes on certain styles (coconut heff, oatmeal raisin stout, neopolitan brown ale, mango habanero pale ale, etc.). But it's the same tiny brewery it was nearly a decade ago and not all that much has changed. I think they're happy with that too - they're still only open Thurs/Fri/Sat, so they're definitely going for a work-life balance rather than breaking barriers and I appreciate that (even if it means going somewhere else on Sundays).
Spot-on assessment of Crooked Current and Nichole. A friend introduced me to Crooked Current fairly early on in the brewery's existence ago and I was immediately won over by the unique flavor profiles Nicole would often bring to tried-and-true styles of beer, her infectious enthusiasm, and the embrace of "work-life balance" you cited. At the time, I asked her what was next for the brewery and she responded, "I'm truly happy right where I am here and now. I just love brewing my beer, sharing it with my customers, and being a part of the brewing community here in Rhode Island. I don't need to grow to fill some huge space to consider myself successful. As long as I can pay my bills and make a living, I'll be good!" I thought it was a refreshing attitude then and I believe it still is today.
Somehow I have never been to that brewery. Their beers sound a little adventurous. Any mainstays there or are they all flights of fancy?
I think they have a mainstay (or two), but the the adventurous stuff is their bread and butter. They release many of them once or twice per year. If adjuncts are not your thing, you may not like it much.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ormari
Vienna lager is right up my alley. I am a big fan of the Vienna that Vermont’s von Trapp Brewery makes. I’ll have to try the RI for comparison.
I'm curious to hear your take! Von Trapp (and maybe Schilling in New Hampshire) are my favorite "old world" style breweries in New England. I like Ragged Island, but I don't think theirs is in the same league as Von Trapp.
Spot-on assessment of Crooked Current and Nichole. A friend introduced me to Crooked Current fairly early on in the brewery's existence ago and I was immediately won over by the unique flavor profiles Nicole would often bring to tried-and-true styles of beer, her infectious enthusiasm, and the embrace of "work-life balance" you cited. At the time, I asked her what was next for the brewery and she responded, "I'm truly happy right where I am here and now. I just love brewing my beer, sharing it with my customers, and being a part of the brewing community here in Rhode Island. I don't need to grow to fill some huge space to consider myself successful. As long as I can pay my bills and make a living, I'll be good!" I thought it was a refreshing attitude then and I believe it still is today.
I agree. It's why I like going. We spent a couple of years during the pandemic "chasing whales" and trying to get the newest limited releases from the "best" breweries. While there was some fun in trying all of the hyped stuff, that's the antithesis of the culture that got me into craft beer and breweries to begin with. As the pandemic slips further into the rearview, I'm again appreciating places like Crooked Current more and more.
Location: Earth, a nice neighborhood in the Milky Way
3,845 posts, read 2,710,988 times
Reputation: 1616
Quote:
Originally Posted by lrfox
I think they have a mainstay (or two), but the the adventurous stuff is their bread and butter. They release many of them once or twice per year. If adjuncts are not your thing, you may not like it much.
I'm curious to hear your take! Von Trapp (and maybe Schilling in New Hampshire) are my favorite "old world" style breweries in New England. I like Ragged Island, but I don't think theirs is in the same league as Von Trapp.
Thanks for the intel on Crooked Current.
I haven’t ever had Schilling’s beer. Von Trapp is excellent all around; as far as I know, all their beers are excellent (never been there, so I’ve only had what they can). I even kind of like their Kölsch, and I am generally not a fan of the style.
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