With the end of another year in sight, The HOP presents a very special 2023 edition of our annual beer in review! The boys (and their livers) put in work again in 2023, having featured a total of 67 beers from 42 breweries this year, including visits to 17 states and 4 countries. If you’re keeping score at home, that brings The HOP grand total to 448 beers over the past 157 episodes, including beer from nearly 200 breweries across 31 U.S. states, as well as Washington D.C. and 5 other countries. This week, after an obligatory shot of whiskey, Stephen & Gabe crack open an “event beer” worth ..read more

The boys are staying sober this week which means a return to our THROWBACK THURSDAY series! Enjoy this trip down memory lane and we’ll be back with a brand new episode next week. Originally posted 12/23/2021 Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s that wonderful time of the year when breweries everywhere pull out all the stops to deliver festive, holiday brews. As Santa loads his sleigh, Stephen & Gabe set out on a mission to break down a variety of Christmas ales from around the country. A holiday beer can be many things, proven once again this year as we sample everything from IPA to Belgian Ale, from milk sto ..read more

Merry friggin’ whatever everybody! Sleigh bells are ringin’, snow is a’glistenin’ and, as usual, The HOP boys are rockin’ around the Christmas tree with beer in their hands. It’s a jam-packed episode this week as Stephen & Gabe travel the world to explore all that the Christmas Ale can be. First up, we’ll welcome two new breweries to the show. Gabe heads to the Midwest for a stop at Great Lakes Brewing while Stephen samples one of the world’s most iconic Christmas beers, coming to us out of Watou, Belgium and Brouwerij Sint Bernardus. Then, a pair of HOP alumni breweries returns to the sho ..read more

The boys are staying sober this week which means a return to our THROWBACK THURSDAY series! Enjoy this trip down memory lane and we’ll be back with a brand new episode next week. Originally posted 8/27/2020 This week, the boys head back to the great state of Massachusetts to profile a young brewery with a unique business model. Loophole Brewing was born out of a desire to lessen the financial strain and barrier to entry for New England’s upcoming craft brewers. Their three-pronged approach to business allows them to brew their own beers, offer an extensive contract brewing service and, (most e ..read more

The boys are staying sober this week which means a return to our THROWBACK THURSDAY series! Enjoy this trip down memory lane and we’ll be back with a brand new episode next week. Originally posted 11/26/2020 In a very special Thanksgiving episode, Stephen & Gabe journey through several takes on the Black is Beautiful beer initiative! Created this summer by San Antonio’s Weathered Souls Brewing Company, Black is Beautiful has quickly exploded into a global movement raising awareness for racial injustice. With the base recipe and label design freely available online, breweries are encouraged ..read more

The HOP boys are splitting up this week, criss-crossing the country for a multi-brewery episode! Stephen heads east to the Empire State, checking out the “beer balanced by science” offered at Equilibrium Brewing. An independently-owned operation out of Middletown, NY, Equilibrium was dreamed up by a group of MIT students that fell in love with craft beer. As it turns out, engineers make great brewers, (and we highly recommend peeping their Instagram for some of the prettiest beer pics we’ve ever seen!) Meanwhile, Gabe’s off to Denver, CO for a visit to Great Divide Brewing. Founded by Brian Du ..read more

The boys are staying sober this week which means a return to our THROWBACK THURSDAY series! Enjoy this trip down memory lane and we’ll be back with a brand new episode next week. Originally posted 7/22/2021 Like many of us, Alfred Rotimi developed a passion for beer in college. He quickly took to home brewing on the side while studying neuroscience in the post-baccalaureate program at Tufts University . . . no big deal! Apparently beer is more fun than psychology, and in 2017 Joyhound Beer Company was born. Stephen & Gabe head down to Baltimore to sample their two original beers, including ..read more

The HOP is back in California this week, heading down to the San Diego area for a stop at Booze Brothers Brewing Company! Booze Brothers was founded by David & Donny Firth, (the titular brothers,) in 2008, beginning as a garage hobby and growing quickly into 3 taprooms and an impressive beer lineup. Focused on delivering innovative takes on classic beer styles, the company continues to expand its reach, now distributing to much of the west coast. If that wasn’t enough, they also operate two event spaces as well as a sibling pizza company, aptly named Pizza Bros! Join our honorary “booze br ..read more

The boys are staying sober this week which means a return to our THROWBACK THURSDAY series! Enjoy this trip down memory lane and we’ll be back with a brand new episode next week. Originally posted 11/12/2020 This week, Stephen & Gabe head up to the Hudson Valley for a hoppy round of beers from Industrial Arts Brewing Company. Founded by Ithaca Beer Co.’s Jeff O’Neil in 2016, Industrial Arts embraces the interplay between art and science, creation and innovation. With a commitment to local ingredients, quality product and sustainability from the farm to the glass, this growing operation rep ..read more

Every year around Halloween, The HOP jumps at the opportunity to highlight one of the spookiest and most polarizing beer styles out there — the pumpkin beer! Love it or hate it, as American coffee shops roll out the Pumpkin Spice Latte, American breweries hit the shelves, eager to offer a fresh take on the classic flavor of Fall. The pumpkin beer can be almost anything from lager to ale, wheat ale to stout, high ABV, low ABV or boasting a cinnamon-sugar rim. In a jam-packed episode, Stephen & Gabe hit four different breweries to cover as much pumpkin terrain as possible and have a bit of s ..read more