Drops for the week of 3/15. Couple new ones and few redrops including their OG hop water. - Impossible Bottle - In collaboration with our good friends at RAR Brewing, what we have here is a big ole hazy Double IPA hopped to the gills with Peacharine, Citra, NZ Cascade, Riwaka, Simcoe, Simcoe Hyperboost and Fresh Frozen Simcoe hops. Quite literally, all the things. What we were after was a fruity, hop bomb of a beer without using any fruit - exactly what you would expect out of a RAR x HB jam. Full distro! - Be Alert For Foul Balls - Baseball is about to be back and so is this beaut. If you see it, scoop it and crack one every time you get a chance to watch or listen to the beautiful sounds of a fresh baseball season. Also full distro! - Bae Pils - It'll be another week until this one sees distro, but including it here because it'll release next Friday at our store and taproom. The batch is on the smaller side, so seek it out before it's gone. West coast pilsners hopped with Thora, Citra and Riwaka for the win. - Regular Hop Water For The World - A freshy fresh batch of our firstborn hop water is back in line to get canned and released next week. Available full distro, but if you don't see it, ask your go-to store to bring it in. This one is an absolute gem to keep in the fridge for those moments between beers or mid-hop craving but a beer wouldn't be appropriate.
Really like Impossible Bottle so far. It's nice and dank, and doesn't has as much of the HB sweetness as I'd expect, especially at 8.5%.
Drops for the week of 3/21. Another stellar collab. This time with the OG giant, Dogfishead. Will probably be grabbing this one. Also 3 redrops and Bae Pils which was on the newsletter from last week. - Square In A Circle In A Square - If you were to write down the top 3 breweries that inspired the earliest beginnings of Hop Butcher, Dogfish Head (and its fearless leaders Sam and Mariah) would be on that list. So, when the stars aligned and dots connected, of course we jumped head first at the opportunity to do something fun with them. Chicago street food and tavern cut pizza came up in conversation and off we went - from pouring at a festival hosted by Dogfish Head in April (more on that HERE) to pairing a collab by them (aptly titled Crispy Slice) and this collab here with two different pizzas for extra added enjoyment. It's going to be an absolute dream-come-true kind of blast. Make it if you can! If you can't, partake by scooping this here side of the collaboration! Full distro. - Urbs In Horto - Hazy Double IPA, hopped with big Strata and full throttle Mosaic, named after the official city of Chicago motto: "City in a Garden." We love having this one around, so if you do too, pick it up and enjoy with us. This doesn't usually stick around for too long. Also full distro. - Grid - The freshest batch of a Citra + Mosaic-hopped go-to crusher of a pale ale is best kept fridge cold and at the ready. Full distro and made available as on the regular as possible, so if you don't see it at your go-to store, tell them to bring some in! Full distro. - Bae Pils - 5.25% West Coast Pilsner with tasting notes like island fruit, sweet citrus and resinous pine? Consider us stoked! And, just in time for this incredible Friday weather! Limited distro. - Butcher Gold - Very much like Grid, except the Mt. Hood-hopped American Lager version, we aim to make Butcher Gold at the ready for you when warmer weather, outdoor hangs and live music (and more) are top of mind. You know, that sort of vibe. Full distro! Load up. Full distro.
Nice. I picked up the HB x Mikerphone collab (Forever Gonna Start Tonight). Haven't had a chance to try it yet. Will report back when I do.
No matter how much people love it, there will always be a few Untappd reviews saying "So effing good, 10/10" and give it 4.25 stars
Drops for the week of 3/29. Couple redrops and a new one. - All Beef Frank - First launched in February of 2024, this delicious meats-inspired gem kicked off a brewery-wide obsession with the fixings of a true Chicago style hot dog, which culminated in at least eight aptly named pale ale derivatives of their own. Big Simcoe here. Big Nelson here. Scoop this one and be frank with All Beef Frank. See what we did there? Full distro. - A Deeper Dish - A true Hop Butcher OG here and an absolute smooth operator except at a monster ABV. Hopped with the best Citra we could find and choice Vic Secret from our Australian hop farmer friends, it is an absolute joy every time we have this rolling down our canning line. Big beers at smaller batches move quickly though, so don't hesitate here. Also full distro. - Aqua - A new west coaster for all y'all clear beer lovers out there. Hopped with Tangier, Mosaic and Peacharine, Adrian continues to push the limits of how deliciously hoppy and top tier a west coast IPA can get. Full distro around Chicagoland.
Haven't been drinking a ton of HB lately, so I'm catching up on some of their brews. Some thoughts on the last two collabs. Forever's Gonna Start Tonight- Solid collab with Mikerphone. Lots of Pineapple with a touch of Peach along with some hoppiness. Its a triple but there's not a lot of booziness. Nothing mind blowing, but if you're a fan of both breweries I would grab it. Square In A Circle In A Square- Collab with the OG big daddy, Dogfish Head. Was surprised how much I like this one. Lots of big Mango and Orange notes along some hop stank. Have to admit I haven't had DFH in a minute, but I would definitely recommend grabbing this one.
Drops for the week of 4/5. New one and few redrops. - Arid Grit - A hazy Double IPA creation from our guy Aidan. Look at that hop lineup...and finished off with Nelson Sauvin hop juice? Yes please. Sliced lemon, lush berry and candied grape are the tasting notes you'll find on the back of this can and we are most definitely here for it. Do not miss. Full distro. - I Want To Believe - A 7.5% OG here. Love this artwork, love this beer. Stoked to have this X-Files poster-inspired banger back in the mix and will never forget 7-8-9 years ago yelling "Scully" and "Mulder" on canning day while canning this beer out of Miskatonic's place. Also full distro. - Secret Snacks - Our west coast collab with the fine folks at Crafted is back and better than ever. Peep that hop and brew gas line-up! Full distro!
Thought it was ok when I stopped at Mikerphone Wednesday. I liked their G5 collab a bit better actually
Not strictly a HB thing, but Burial Beer in NC was shipping a collab bundle with a couple HB beers, and since 1) I was extremely excited to see they ship to IL and 2) I was curious about the HB collabs, I grabbed the bundle. The 12% abv quad IPA with HB was surprisingly mellow; HB's usual sweetness melds really well with an IPA at that ABV for some reason, and the hop mix was nice. Good West Coast IPA collab from these two as well.
I did see them post this on IG. HB shared Burial's story about the packages being in the shipping store.
I used to get excited about 4/20 beers, but last year's version tasted like eating a bag of weed. Yeah, they're going for a "dank" vibe, and I love beers with some dank hops like CTZ and Strata, but that wasn't it. Aqua on the other hand is awesome, I look forward to seeing more Tangier. Also Tangier is a hop that's being used in Pliny and Blind Pig these days, so I'm excited to see more of it. https://full-pour.com/beer-hop-harvest-selection/
Yeah, IG like @audis4gasm said. They caught me while I was bored in a meeting, prime time to make a stupid financial decision!
Drops for the week of 4/12. All redrops. - Mo Onions - A touch of Kielbasa King but with extra (the Mo) onions, friends. Mosaic, Nelson Sauvin & Simcoe hops flourish here on a slightly elevated bed of 8% hazy Double IPA. The last time we released this beau, we were distro-only and did not yet have a taproom! The time sure does fly. Full distro. - Sweet Home - 6.5% ABV Citra, El Dorado & Motueka-hopped hazy IPA with a hoppy Chicago flag label on the can wrap? We'll take this every single time if we see it in a fridge or a cooler or a shelf or a..well, you get the point. Full distro on this juicy king. - Inscription Rock - West Coast IPA off our Lincoln rig for the win. 7.0%, clear and beautifully hopped with Mosaic, Krush and Riwaka hops, do not miss out on this hoppy, beer-flavored refresher. Can you believe this beer has been in our holster for nearly 3 years now? Man, time is flying. Also full distro.
Didn't see a weekly email for drops for the week of 4/19. But looks like there were some per the HB web site. Not sure if these are distro and/or taproom only. Cosmic Bowl Unwind Your Mind Euchre Musc Drops for the week of 4/26. New one, a redrop, and a hop water. - Maxwell & Coney Go To A Ballgame - Last time, the dynamic Hop Butcher x Wandering Monsters duo hit the road. This time, they're taking in a ballgame. A ballgame hopped with all kinds of Citra, Mosaic and Nelson Bliss-hopped incredible-ness. It's never a dull moment - when the HB and WM crew connect OR when Maxwell and Coney reach full hang state. Full distro. - The Jewels - The OG, but back in its freshest form. Choice Mosaic and Vic Secret-hopped juice. Won't last long (it never does), so if you see it, nab it. Full distro. - Juicy Orange Hop Water For The World - Like Rage Against The Machine, we're coming back around again on Juicy Orange HWFTW because whooweee it was so darn delicious the last time. Full distro!
Drops for the week of 5/3. All redrops this week but couple of my all time favorites, Snorkel Squad (double), and Alemerica The Beautiful. Triple Grid is good, but I'm over these Triple IPAs. Wish HB released Almerica closer to July 4th as they once did. Think it goes down better when the temps are well into the 80's. - Double Snorkel Squad - All Citra hops, 8% ABV the juicy, citrus-y hazy Double IPA you know and love. This one rocks full distro style, but usually moves at a decent clip. If you see it, scoop it. Those citra hops are to die for. - Triple Grid - It's Double Grid, but with even more Grid. Clocking in at 10.5%, we recommend relishing and enjoying over time these here hops. Full distro. - Alemerica the Beautiful - This one has become a bit of a summer favorite for us (and you), so we decided to bring it back a little closer to Memorial Day and we'll see if we can keep this one around for you until around Labor Day - ish. Still, if you see it, scoop it and make sure you have a go-to cold one ready for that mid-summer fireworks extravaganza. Full distro.
