October 2005
Pump House Scotch Ale, New Brunswick, Canada
Posted by on Monday, October 31, 2005 in - 2 comments
Pump House Brewery is located in Moncton, New Brunswick, "the hub" of the Maritime provinces. But is it the brewing hub? This remains to be seen. • While I intend to sample more of their fare, their Scotch Ale was not for me. It may well be that scotch ales in general are not for me, as this one …
Big Hop Bombs: Big A IPA 2005, Smuttynose, NH, USA
Posted by on Monday, October 31, 2005 in - 8 comments
I am looking forward to sipping this one. The brewer's notes over at the Smuttynose website say this one has 120 IBU or international brewers units and here is why: • “After being forced to smell the glove at last years' GABF by judges who declared the Big A just not big enough, Stash decided to …
Knut Travels South to Freising, Bavaria
Posted by on Saturday, October 29, 2005 in - 5 comments
Freising, Bavaria, Germany. A quiet little town dozing on a crisp Sunday morning, an excellent place for a stroll – and a few beers. Why Freising? For a beer lover, it has the obvious advantage of being the home of Weihenstephan, which claims to be the oldest brewery in the world, and that …
Really Bad Elf
Posted by on Saturday, October 29, 2005 in - 4 comments
I never cease to be amazed by the odd little rules around the drink that are laying around waiting to trip people up: • “A constitutional battle is brewing over a holiday beer that state officials are trying to ban because they say its label might entice children to drink. The state believes it …
Weyerbacher Brewing Company, Easton, PA, USA
Posted by on Wednesday, October 26, 2005 in - 4 comments
I did not see their Imperial Raspberry Stout - just the Old Heathen Imperial Stout and the Imperial Pumpkin Ale. You know, this use of the old "imperial" adjective is all the rage in the US craft brewing trade. It originally meant a honking big stout and was roughly to porter what barley wine was …
India Ale, Samuel Smith Old Brewery, North Yorkshire, England
Posted by on Tuesday, October 25, 2005 in - 2 comments
...which photo sucks less...hmmm... • Somedays I can't get a good photo of a beer for love or money. I have about 30 bad shots of this fussy dark label and finally I thought - to heck with it. I can't be driven by your incessant demands for more and better beer-based photographic art. So there …
Posted by on Monday, October 24, 2005
Finally - Useful Information Technology
Posted by on Sunday, October 23, 2005 in - 1 comment
From the ever vigilant Ale Fan comes this news of an actual practical application of information technology: • “My thanks to yesterday's Independent for a little article pointing out this wonderful service. I suspect the more enlightened of you know about it already; Wherever you are in the …
Vermont: Magic Hat Brewing, South Burlington
Posted by on Saturday, October 22, 2005 in - 7 comments
Magic Hat is one of those breweries whose stuff I like but when it comes around to doing a review folks come over and drink all the beers I have and there is nothing left to review. So I have only reviewed one to date - Revell porter out of the winter 12 pack. This time it will be different. I am …
Beer Ad Panic!
Posted by on Thursday, October 20, 2005 in - 2 comments
It must be what happens when people get ice cream headaches that never go away. They start writing studies and reports about the certain, widespread and accepted evils of beer, like this one: • “...the study found that 35 percent of the kids agreed that a Budweiser beer ad featuring a rock star …
Life Of A Bouncer
Posted by on Wednesday, October 19, 2005 in - leave a comment
Here is a really good article from the University of Washington's UW Daily Online on an evening in the life of a bar bouncer: • “There is no specific training that Opie received; only through learning from the other bouncers did he pick up on the process, including the typical protocol … read more »
I dream this dream where beer prices are falling...falling...falling...
Posted by on Tuesday, October 18, 2005
New York: Mendocino Brewing Co., Saratoga Springs
Posted by on Monday, October 17, 2005 in - 3 comments
I picked up these five a while ago from Ithaca's Finger Lake Beverage Center and I thought it was about time to put them on the reviewing stage. I have not visited the brewery which is located just to the south east of the Adirondacks about half way between the state capital of Albany and Lake …
Posted by on Sunday, October 16, 2005
The Stash Renewed
Posted by on Sunday, October 16, 2005 in - 21 comments
While in Syracuse NY for a couple of days, a brief side trip this morning to the Galeville Grocery sees the stash now renewed for another month or two. As a result, I have stories to write about Middles Ages, Mendocino of Saragota, Magic Hat, plus two new to try from each of Youngs, Ommegang and …
Where's That Danged Beer Radio?
Posted by on Saturday, October 15, 2005 - leave a comment
The good folks at Beer Radio have sent me a notice about where to find them on satellite radio in the USA: • “Well, I guess you have been trying to tune into Beer Radio on Talk Channel 148 the past few weeks and no Beer Radio right? Must have been driving you nuts? Please accept our apologies … read more »
Massachusetts: IPA, Wachusett, Westminster
Posted by on Thursday, October 13, 2005 in - 4 comments
I picked this IPA up in Worcester, Mass. the other weekend when I was on a road trip. I am a fan of northeast US IPAs. There is something in the body that just is not in the UK or Canadian version and there is a moderate sensibility that the west coast US versions just go past. • Wachusett IPA … read more »
Dang! Someone else invented the beer opening robot in 2002.
Posted by on Thursday, October 13, 2005
Micro Faux
Posted by on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 in - 2 comments
Interesting to note with US beer sales falling in all areas but craft brewing that the big boys are going to try and pretend that they are making tiny batch hand crafted ales of quality. To that end I give you Anheuser-Busch's new pumpkin ale. • A small prize if anyone actually tells us what it …
The Bottle Buddy
Posted by on Wednesday, October 12, 2005 in - 6 comments
I am not the sort to flog someone else's product just because it is beer related. I really am not. OK, Lew's books...but that is it. And people who send me stuff. That is my rule...or maybe a guideline... • So I was a little concerned when I received a nice email offering me the chance to try … read more »
New York: Black Chocolate Stout, Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn
Posted by on Monday, October 10, 2005 in - 1 comment
According to Lew Bryson in his book New York Breweries, this is the beer that got Garrett Oliver the job as brewmaster at Brooklyn in 1994: • “He'd been brewing at a brewpub, Manhattan Brewing, since 1989. He could see the writting on the wall there, and one day when no one was in, he brewed up … read more »
Posted by on Monday, October 10, 2005
Who Wants To Be A Concessionaire?
Posted by on Sunday, October 9, 2005 in - leave a comment
Slate has an interesting article on the economics of being a beer seller at a baseball game.
Great American Beer Festival
Posted by on Friday, October 7, 2005 in - 4 comments
I've never been to one of these beer festival thingies. I wonder if I would actually like it? • “Throughout the evening, which ended at 10 p.m., the atmosphere became increasingly raucous. Every time somebody dropped something, a shout went up and spread throughout the arena until the whole … read more »
Two New England Browns
Posted by on Wednesday, October 5, 2005 in - 1 comment
If there is one style of beer that can confuse it is brown ale. Beer, after all, is pretty much brown. There are any number of Belgian ales that can be thought of as brown but called Flemish brown or reds, quadruples or just browns. But there are also dubbles which are big and earthy and brown …
Multi-tasking Vices
Posted by on Wednesday, October 5, 2005 in - leave a comment
Aren't scientists wonderful! • “Each beer will have a 6.3 percent alcohol reading and will contain three milligrams of nicotine.”
Posted by on Wednesday, October 5, 2005
Posted by on Tuesday, October 4, 2005
Stouts: Dogfish Head Chicory Stout, Delaware, USA
Posted by on Monday, October 3, 2005 in - 4 comments
Holy adjuncts! The Canadian version of this ale - found by surprise at the LCBO this weekend - has to have ingredient listings in English and French plastered on the neck with a bubble jet quality label. And what secrets it reveals: water (ok), malt (of course), hops (fine), yeast (sure, sure …
Read Knut!
Posted by on Sunday, October 2, 2005 in - 1 comment
I have been away for about half a week on short notice as some of you might know but on the road I had a moment to check in with Knut in Norway and thought "good Lord, he's a great beer blogger!" • Go read Knut.
We Get Email...
Posted by on Sunday, October 2, 2005 in - 1 comment
Risking braggery, I suppose it is because we are ranked #1 on that new Google Blog search all the kids are talking about (not to mention #29 today just for the word "beer" on Lord Goog itself) but sometimes I get some slightly odd emails from very nice people working hard at doing their PR jobs …
Err...The Beer Car?
Posted by on Sunday, October 2, 2005 in - leave a comment
Apparently those zany Japanese inventors of useful things failed to check with the foreign language dictionaries: • “At the Toyo Motor Show, Nissan is showing the Pivo, a vehicle that can turn on the drop of a hat - literally. Instead of having to resort to 3-point-turns, the actual cabin in the …
