The holidays, over the years, have changed. This may be true for you as well. As a toddler most of us have followed family traditions. My late sister and I would wait for my father to get home from his shift at the fire department to open up gifts and snack on homemade Italian cookies. Then we would go from one family member’s house to another. In my younger adult years, I was still rushing to get from one family or friend’s house to another, often getting home very late. There never seemed to be enough quality time spent with anyone. In more recent years most holidays aren’t celebrated as grandly. This time of the year is difficult for those of us who have suffered a loss of a loved one. Since most of my family has now passed, I have fewer people to celebrate with, but thankfully I have some chosen family. Gathering around to eat and drink over laughter and love is a custom that hasn’t changed.
The last two months of the year being ones of overindulgence for most, it definitely makes us want to participate in dry January. At the very least, it guilts most of us into making a list of resolutions aimed at making us healthier. Before we do this, maybe we should try and enjoy the remaining days of 2025. As I reflect on how I have spent this past year, I am reminded that my best days were spent enjoying the company of friends and family. I have some favorites, as we all do. I do have a disclaimer – not all my pints were of beer!
Let’s talk about Unity Park on Franklin St in Bristol. It is one of my top ten favorite places to be. It houses local businesses that include a coffee shop, plant-based restaurant, pizza place, kombucha producer, and a distillery. This is also the location of Pivotal Brewing, who just celebrated their fourth year. Some of the finest pints I have had here and no doubt will continue to have. If I had to narrow it down and tell you my favorite beer, I can’t – but I always have a draft of their flagship, Celestial Plume. This 6.5% ABV hazy is an easy drinkable NEIPA with a 33 IBU. It has notes of citrus, pineapple and papaya. This is full-flavored from front-end sip to the last with tropical fruits, stone fruit, melon, and citrus.
When it comes to cocktails, I prefer simple and classic. I don’t need anything fruity and adorned with a cocktail umbrella. My go-to is always a gin and tonic, and not with just any gin, I like gin with notes of juniper berries. This is the berry responsible for the piney and resinous taste and without this berry the spirit is not, and should not be, labeled as gin. Hands down the best local gin to make this loved OG is from O’Brien and Brough. Made with their Lime Rock Gin this is the perfect drink to sip while cozying up to a friend at the bar. Located behind Pivotal Brewing in a space that is comfortable, non pretentious with warm vibes. O’Brien and Brough was the Motif winner this year in the drink awards for favorite gin and deservingly so.
Sometimes, it is good to change things up a bit. If you are a fan of the grape you have to visit Verde Vineyards. They have some of the best wine available in RI. Its location is off a dirt road in Johnston that overlooks Moswansicut Lake. I first sampled wine at the vineyard a few years ago, poured by the owner and winemaker, Giacomo “Jim” Verde. His instruction on the art of drinking wine was truly an experience, both teacher and entertainer. I learned how to engage all of my senses to truly appreciate wine. I encountered the five s’s: See, swirl, sniff, sip, and savor. After each tasting I have had since then, I fall head-over-grape over one. If you go back and forget what bottle you bought, don’t worry. Ian Hillman will remember as he did for me. Hillman is the vintner at Verde and has been for the past twelve years. The master sommelier responsible for the magic that goes into each bottle. I suppose you are still wondering what my favorite one is… All of them. Since it would be unfair not to talk about one, I asked Hillman what his thoughts were. “My favorite Verde Vineyard wine is our Petite Pearl, which is both the name of the wine and the grape from which it is made. This fruit-forward, structured, medium body red wine has a beautiful purple hue, aromas and tastes of plum, blackberry, mulberry, black tea, and mocha. I love it for its balance along with the rich dark-berry flavors, layering with a gentle earthiness and a smooth, lingering finish that feels both elegant and approachable. What makes Verde’s wines stand out among local producers is the vineyard’s small-batch craftsmanship, allowing each bottle to express a true sense of place.”
Hello, all of you cerevisaphiles. You feel all IPA’s taste the same. Amirite? This is sometimes true even with a refined palate. Since I am the mistress of beer writing, who has a particular palate for piney, resinous endings, I am going to share two of these IPAs that fit that flavor profile and are my 2025, and forever, top choices.
Captain’s Daughter from Grey Sail Brewing: Ah, the weekends I have spent hanging out with her. You know from the moment you pour this hazy 8.5% ABV, it’s going good, by the scent alone. I have had many conversations with Rick Welsh, head brewer of Grey Sail, about this DIPA, fifth-year-in-a-row winner in Motif’s RI Drink Awards. Welsh has mentioned that he is, “Surprised that CD keeps winning when you consider all the beers and brewers in the state. I think it stands out because it is able to walk the line between old-school and new-school hops.” IFYKYK, but I will short-story the tasting notes. It is heavily hopped with citra and mosaic that lends to the citrus and grapefruit on the front-end sip, with a bitterness that dominates to the back-end palate.
Liquid Hugs from Ragged Island Brewing. This 8% ABV DIPA pours a hazy orange with scents of citrus and orange peel. The taste is full of tropical fruit, sweet mango, and orange. The sweetness is balanced off by a slight taste of orange rind. Derek Nance, bartender at Ragged, summed up LH well to me. “Liquid hugs is super hazy, super juicy, with a GNARLY citrus-y profile! Probably the best selling DIPA that we offer. Honestly, who doesn’t love a hug, especially from one of your favorite beers!”
Why am I so bitter you may ask? My dank hop heart can also appreciate the sweetness of some IPAs. Have you had the out-of-this-world I Am PVD from Narragansett Brewing Company? It is a DIPA that pours a dark orange color with the aroma of juicy fruit. The Eclipse hops provide a sweet mandarin flavor that is perfectly balanced with Strata and Galaxy Hops. This provides fruit flavors of mango, guava, and passionfruit, which make this a total juice bomb. This could easily replace your morning glass of orange juice except it has a sneaky 8% ABV. Lee Lord, head brewer of Narragansett is dominating the local craft beer scene – how can you make a top-ten list and not include Narragansett Brewing Company? This has been my place to meet up with co-workers, friends and family. Luckily for me, I am able to walk there, which is great because there are so many, many choices of tasty taps beers. Did you know they also have wine now, too? (Alileo, a natural wine from Sicily) I think I drank one of the last available pints of Gourd Reaper pumpkin ale today. It clocks in at 6.5% and is hands-down my favorite local pumpkin craft beer. This pours a clear amber color with notes of cinnamon and malt on the nose and palate, along with spices and pumpkin. Adding the sugared rim marries the flavors making this the liquid pie dessert most consumed in my diet.
Can we have a little fun with the forbidden fruit, the apple? I generally don’t order cider when I am out. I would if any ciders from Westport’s Tapped Apple Cidery were available on tap. I had the opportunity to talk to John Wiedenheit, owner and now semi-retired wine and cidermaker. This family-owned business offers many flavors of cider that are available at their location in Westerly. My favorites are their signatures, called First Bite and Gravenstein. Both pour clear, are effervescent, full of natural apple flavor, and have 8% ABV. First bite is less sweet. Gravenstein is a single varietal and sweeter. All of the ciders are made in small batches from local apples. When I asked Wiedenheft why he thinks they are a local favorite and also winner of Motif’s 2025 fav overall cidery he replied, “That’s easy! Our ciders are awesome.”
Love me a Lager, especially from a lukr pull. Among my most favored are Ain’t Broke Czech Style Pilsner from Origin Beer Project, and Smoked Helles Smoked beer from Buttonwoods Brewery. OBP Czech Style Pils has an ABV of 5.4%. It has a pale golden hue with a thick foamy head. There is malt and floral hops on the nose. The front-end palate has a taste of crackers and sweet malt. It’s bready and has a biscuit undertone. It is truly a masterpiece with its complexity and balance of flavors. Smoked Helles from Buttonwoods brewing is a German-style Lager that uses beechwood malt. The result is a smoke flavor that is balanced with a touch of noble hops. This 5.3% ABV beauty pours a golden hue with a foamy off-white head. The scent of smoke follows through to the palate with a slightly sweet malt backbone. This unique style was crafted to perfection!
Whoever said,”Money can’t buy happiness,” lied. It can, when it buys a beer and a damn good local one at that. I hope, as the New Years eve ball drops and the clock counts down to the last moments of 2025, that you are enjoying a local craft beer. Cheers to looking forward to a heartfelt new year filled with hope, hops, and health.