Our beer of the week coats your palate like a shag carpet--in a good way. Not like your uncle Bill's 1963 basement rec room shag carpet. Like a shag carpet of chocolatey, malty goodness. more ›

Craft Brewers Conference kicked off yesterday, capped by an opening reception at the Field Museum. But it was the after parties and later events where the big surprises were sprung on people throughout the city. One such reception at Green Mill hosted by New Holland Brewing found owner/"beervangelist" Fred Bueltmann putting a formidable hand on my shoulder and stating, "we've got some new stuff for you to sample.". New Holland's spirits more than meet the standards of high quality of their beers. But owner and distiller Brett VanderKamp may have exceeded even his expectations with a spirit he calls "hopquila." VanderKamp described it thus:"I distilled some barley grain and then added a lot of hops." more ›

It just seemed fitting that we make a New Holland beer this week's selection, given all the time we spent writing about the brewery this week. We're going back to the sure thing that is their High Gravity series. Both Night Tripper and Pilgrim's Dole are previous "BotW" selections. Joining those high gravity selections today is Black Tulip. This is a sweet-malted Trippel-style ale brewed with Belgian ale yeast and beet sugar. Beet sugar is a common ingredient for brewmaster John Haggerty and it gives the yeast a little something to snack on during fermentation, creating more alcohol and giving the beer a denser consistency. more ›

Sometimes we come across a beer that not only puts hair on our chest, it removes said curlicues. Such is the case with this week's "BotW" selection. more ›