This is a weekly series in which we feature beers from Craft Shack that are particularly rare, fantastic, or both.
One of our missions at Hop Culture is to make the craft beer movement — the culture, the beer, the knowledge — more accessible to everyone. For drinkers living outside of the major beer cities, or simply on the opposite coast from their favorite brewery, much of beer journalism is an exercise in unfulfillable coveting. If a beer isn’t distributed to your local beer store or bar, you aren’t drinking it. Not anymore.
For the price of shipping, drinkers living across America can get the nation’s best beer delivered straight to their door. So for those wanting to sample the best of the craft beer revolution, look no further. Here are the five best bottles of beer available online this week.
Cascade Blueberry Ale, Cascade Brewing
Description: This NW style sour ale blends wheat and blond ales that were oak aged in barrels for six months, then aged another four months on fresh blueberries. Huge herbal notes of dense blueberries in the nose give way to hints of oak and a dusty floral note. Rich earthy notes of dark fruit on the palate lead to a tart finish that dries out to a base note of blueberry skins.
ABV: 7.3%
BA Score: 92
Buy Online: $25
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Old Conundrum On Wood, FiftyFifty Brewing Co.
Description: Barleywine aged in a combination of brandy and rye barrels for 225 days.
ABV: 9.8% ABV
BA Score: 88
Buy Online: $23
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Wise Guise, The Rare Barrel
Description: Red sour beer aged in oak barrels with raspberry.
Fermented With: Saison yeast, English ale yeast, three types of Brett, three types of bacteria
ABV: 5.60%
BA Score: 91
Buy Online: $24
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Leo V. Ursus Fortem, Firestone Walker
Description: Fortem is a new-age imperial IPA that blends newer hop varieties from the Pacific Northwest and Hallertau, Germany along with pale malt, wheat malt and flaked oats for a full body and rounded mouthfeel. Fortem has been left unfiltered for a full hop impact.
ABV: 8.2% ABV
BA Score: 92
Buy Online: $16 (4-pk)
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Booming Rollers, Modern Times Beer
Description: This spring seasonal showcases the juicy awesomeness of Citra hops. These new wave American hops impart a remarkable aroma and flavor, which has been amplified with the dark stone fruit character of New Zealand-grown Motueka hops. Some Centennial is thrown in to balance the tropical fruit party, and the malt body is just assertive enough to support Booming Rollers’ snappy bitterness.
ABV: 6.8% ABV
BA Score: 93
