Castle & Cairn

After a decade plus of extreme brewing, consumer palates seem to have began to fatigue even as the desire for lifestyle alignment and elevated experience have remained strong. While total beer sales in the US saw a 3% drop in the last year, the "Domestic Super Premium" segment is one of the few categories seeing consistent growth. Consumers seem to be returning to "beer flavored beer" while still wanting to feel connected to the brand, setting the stage for a new wave of storytellers and celebrity marketers to move brews in huge quantities. Not to be left behind, the heritage brewers are crafting new offerings or updating marketing on premium favorites like Michelob Ultra, Heineken Silver, and Corona Premier which set the blueprint for the category. In general these beers have similar characteristics: Calories : 90-110, traditionally within the light beer segment. This seems to be the consumer's mental best fit range, comfortably below that of sodas and RTDs, a...

First released in 1997 by New Holland Brewing out of Holland, Michigan, Dragon's Milk has been a favorite of beer enthusiasts for decades, introducing many to the Imperial Stout style. While New Holland has grown to more than 400 employees, it's craft roots are as strong as ever and they continue to put new and interesting product on shelves nationwide. In this post, we'll explore the history of Dragon's Milk and how New Holland has deftly elbowed it's way back into my fridge. Dragons Milk - The Flagship Black as midnight, the original Dragon's Milk is a high-gravity imperial stout aged in first-use bourbon barrels for three months. The malt bill includes significant proportions of Munich malt, chocolate malt, and roasted barley which leaves enough residual sugar to help cut down any abrasiveness from higher final alcohol content or tannin extraction from the barrel. Barrels used are recently emptied of bourbon or "wet" which means that there is plent...

Fall is in the air, and that means we have yet another year of Kirkland's Vintage Ale! Brewed proudly by  Deschutes (pronounced "Da-Shootz") in Bend, Oregon, this Bourbon Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout spends nine months in the wood, picking up what the whiskey left behind (mostly vanillin and tannins). Bottled over the summer, this particular beer is from Lot B. Neither Costco nor the packaging give us much additional detail beyond the ABV and style. I remember finding  last year 's edition to be solid but nothing to write home about, fairly dry but a pleasant pour. The use of the work "vintage" to me implies that some changes may be made year-to-year but we'll have to see if our taste buds can help us validate. How does the 2025 vintage fair? 💅Style: Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout 🛒Sourced: $7.99 Costco, GA  for a 22oz bottle. $2 cheaper than the 2024 edition! 💥Hops:   Not Mentioned sadly. Other ingredients include chocolate malt, milled oats and Dutc...

A bit of Oktoberfest History Started in 1810 as a public celebration for the wedding of Crown Price Ludwig (later King), the first Oktoberfest took place on October 12th just outside of gates of Munich. It featured horse racing, food, and huge amounts of beer, drawing large crowds and becoming enshrined in annual tradition. Early Oktoberfest beers resembled dark lagers such as dunkels, but over time the focus shifted with Spaten Brewery's introduction of Märzenbier (Märzen - meaning brewed in March, and then stored over the summer). Spaten continued to innovate and introduced what we know as the first beer specifically branded as "Oktoberfest" in 1872, a continued evolution of the Märzen style. In the late 1970s, Paulaner introduced the Festbier style which gained prevalence as changing tastes shifted to these bright pale Munich lagers with Nobel hops. In general, Märzen is a malty German amber lager with clean, rich, toasty and bready malt flavor, minimal bitterness, and...

While the sad truth is that beer just simply isn't health food, it doesn't have to be dessert level calories. At the same time, keeping those frosty carbs down doesn't mean that you have to put flavor out to sea. It is worth mentioning that the key mechanism driving the calories in a beer is alcohol by volume. Each gram of ethanol contains around 7 calories per gram, almost double that  of other carbohydrates and protein. Other residual sugars do still contribute to the beer as any sugars not converted to alcohol remain from the original malt bill. Big beautiful beers often have both high ABV and residual sugar levels, but some "smaller" beers still manage to have good flavor.  I've pulled together my list of brews that pack decent flavor without blowing up your diet.  Low Calorie Beers with Alcohol Guinness - Crushing the myth that dark beers are higher in calories, Guinness has an iconic creamy feel due to the nitrogenating widget in each can. With 125 cal...

Even if you're more predisposed to wine or spirits, the beer component of your wedding bar lineup is an important and sometimes complex decision. Think of the last time you went to a bar with your friends, what did they order? There is a good change no two people ordered the same thing. How can we best serve so many differing tastes without breaking the bank or going crazy? This post will walk through an outline for picking your ideal beer lineup for a wedding or party. Pick a Number Planning your lineup starts by choosing a target number of brews. Starting with a firm number makes it much easier to balance selection considerations later and your venue or provider may give you this information up front. My general rule of thumb for most menus is 3-5 options. Science tells us that humans cognitive load and working memory maxes out around 4+1 "chunks" and this provides ample satisfaction/freedom without adding too much logistical complexity (see  Hick's Law , Paradox of...

What makes a great Summer beer? At Castle & Cairn, we evaluate the perfect summer beer on three main qualities: Bright Flavors - Sunshine is summer, and we're looking for tastes like citrus, fruit, or maybe some mild tartness. Crushability  - Whether it is at the beach, by the grill, or in the pool, a great summer beer shouldn't leave you feeling terrible after a full day of refreshment. Crushability is the combination of light body, moderate ABV, and a clean finish - served cold.  Availability - The best Summer beer isn't the best summer beer if it's not in your fridge or cooler. From the rip, you can already see that these qualities will point us towards styles like Mexican Lagers, Shandies, Radlers, Session Sours, Wheat Beers, or Juicy IPAs. Will your pick be in our list below? Our Top 10 Beers of Summer List 10. Dos Equis Amber Holding up the list, Dos Equis Ambar  Especial was created to celebrate the turn of the 20th century. It is a classic Vienna-style lage...

If you've been following the news, you may know that demand for Guinness in Europe is off the charts as of the end of 2024. Gen Z has discovered that the always popular classic stout as a result of celebrity spotlight, influencer marketing by Diageo, and product fundamentals that have always been solid.  It is this last bit that we'll explore in depth today; Guinness is fairly unique on the market as far as been flagships are concerned. Guinness: Differentiating Factors Known for its dark color, many believe Guinness to be a "heavy" beer, but those who have tried it know that the opposite is actually true. Guinness differentiates itself from the competition with three main factors: Nitrogen - Guinness's Key to Creaminess  In 1959, Guinness began to use nitrogen when kegging it's beer. Nitrogen is far less soluble than carbon dioxide which allows it to be pressurized without becoming fizzy (e.g. nitrogen bubbles are smaller which helps create the sensation of ...

If there is anything I love more than a good drink, it's saving money buying that good drink! The rules for providing discounts on alcohol differ substantially between states with some allowing outright discounts or coupons and others entirely disallowing any sort of purchase incentive. Thankfully though, in my native Georgia as well as most states, a simple reimbursement approach is permissible.  Last Updated & Validated 4/17/2026 . Added a number off options for beer and multi-bev. Alcohol Rebate Site Master List The following sites are relatively stable for each manufacturer. New offers usually come out every few months. None of these are affiliate links and I provide no assurance as to the process. I have saved so much money using rebates and hope you have similar success. Best practices and general process advice will be presented at the bottom. New sites will be added as I uncover them. Beer Rebates Boston Beer Company Brands  - Angry Orchard, Dogfish head, Hard Moun...

Trends come and go: Craft Beer, Hard Seltzer, Canned Cocktails, and more. In the world of beverage, the currents are constantly shifting, but one drink has an irrevocable grip on America: Light Beer. Good old beer flavored beer may take a hit from new competition, but brands like Miller Lite and Michelob Ultra constantly sit at the top of sales volume lists, even with the fall of Bud Light and rise of Modelo's Flagship.   But which light beer is best? Let's find out. Methodology - Light Beer Ranking Taste preferences vary significantly between consumers, but across a large sample we should be able to get a somewhat representative picture of the populations preferences. For this ranking, we will combine data sourced from multiple beer rating sites with an internal Castle & Cairn house ranking to create an overall beer quality score. The starting population of beer brands will be those that are explicitly branded as "flagship light" or beers with less than 100 calor...