April 2006
Alexander Keith’s Red Amber Ale
Posted by on Sunday, April 30, 2006 in - 22 comments
This beer blog usually caters to the refined palate, but occasionally one finds oneself stranded on a desert island with little to choose from in the beer fridge. For that reason we occasionally "go slumming" and review mass produced brews. Or so says I, because it sounds like a good way to start …
Knut Goes To Italy
Posted by on Saturday, April 29, 2006 in - 1 comment
"...L'ultima creazione di Renzo..." • The city of Parma is quite sleepy on this spring afternoon. Actually, so am I, I got up at half past in the morning to get there, but that is not the point. The bus stop in front of the train station is largely deserted, too, but a young man from Ghana helps …
Beer Quote Of The Week
Posted by on Friday, April 28, 2006 in - 1 comment
I went to undergrad with Trevor so I am glad to report this, our quote of the week: • “"Every week we see improvements in Trevor's recovery — sometimes big, sometimes little ..." Debbie blogged. She wrote that a nurse remarked to Greene: "Wow, you can sure suck back the water!" • "Having said …
Is Twisted Thistle An IPA?
Posted by on Wednesday, April 26, 2006 in - 28 comments
I picked up this beer while on the road and I was immediately in a fix, dealing with cultural confusion. As a son of Scots I know that Belhaven is a fine and reputable brewer of Scots ales bought last year by Greene King...yet I know IPA is not a Scots style. I have discussed this before in …
Quick Note: S'muttonator, Smuttynose, New Hampshire, USA
Posted by on Monday, April 24, 2006 in - 1 comment
Mmmmm...S'muttonator. This whalloping 9.8% dopplebock pours garnet tinged mohagany with beige foam and rim. Slightly dark chocolatey smokey with cherry juice and some graininess but this is mostly a big mellow malt bomb. A fine tobacco note from the heat and the twiggy hops. Rich and smooth with a …
Beer Shop: Tully's Beer and Wine, Wells, Maine, USA
Posted by on Sunday, April 23, 2006 in - 6 comments
[Update about Tully's new location] • I've mentioned a couple of time recently my trip to Tully's Beer and Wine in beautiful Wells Maine down by the sea shore, the source of the renewal of the stash. • More than one commentator has mentioned it does not look like much sitting modestly at the …
Quick Note: Prelude, Shipyard, Portland, Maine, USA
Posted by on Saturday, April 22, 2006 in - leave a comment
A bit late admittedly but I noticed a 22 oz bomber of this old favorite at Tully's last weekend and I thought I should add it to the collection of Shipyard reviews. • This beer pours a tan head over deep red amber ale. On the nose, Christmas cake - fruity, rummy and sweet. In the mouth, raisin …
The Society Against Dishonest Pouring
Posted by on Saturday, April 22, 2006 in - 1 comment
Good people working hard in Germany: • “"Badly poured beers are among the largest problems in beer gardens, restaurants, and at the Oktoberfest," the society notes on its website. The SADP estimates that beer maids who pour just a finger’s width less of beer cheat patrons out of 4.2 million Eur …
Belgium: Goudenband, Brouwerij Liefmans, Oudenaarde
Posted by on Thursday, April 20, 2006 in - leave a comment
Light tan foam over fairly lively chestnut ale, this Flemish oud bruin has a tangy vinegary sweet aroma. This beer is far less sharp than my previous Flemish experiences of this sort from Rodenbach Grand Cru yet bigger than the other Flem I have known Petrus Oud Bruin. There is a creaminess with …
The Stash Returns
Posted by on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 in - 3 comments
Hardly a trader amongst them...or as I like to call them first victims. Not too many new New Englanders among them, though the Fisherman's Brew from Cape Ann Brewing is a real treat. The collection stands at about 55 different varieties right now which should carry the blog for a couple of months …
Back From The Road
Posted by on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 in - 4 comments
What a road trip! There is a path you can take from eastern Lake Ontario to Maine that give lots of opportunity to have some great beer...and that was the one I took. Here are some up coming posts that I have in the hopper: • More quick notes and longer stories from the stash. This trip saw the …
Spitting?
Posted by on Sunday, April 16, 2006 in - 7 comments
I've wondered about this, facing too many Belgians on the odd occasion but others are more definite: • “"We're beer drinkers. We don't spit," said Skypeck, co-founder of Boscos brewpubs, based in Memphis, Tennessee. I think especially with beer, you're not going to experience the full flavours …
Ontario: Confederation Ale, Robert Simpson Brewing, Barrie, Simcoe County
Posted by on Friday, April 14, 2006 in - 3 comments
A can of beer from Barrie. Mmmm. Robert Simpson Brewing is a brewer that does not make it to the east end of Lake Ontario. I picked this one up a few weeks ago at the Queens Quay LCBO in Toronto. The BAers, who have some reservations at 21% nay, call it a cream ale - which to me means a warmer …
Twin Lakes Brewery, Buckley's Tavern tasting preview
Posted by on Thursday, April 13, 2006 in - leave a comment
I received the following press release of interest to those in the Delaware Valley area. • “Please mark your calendars and tell your friends to join you at Buckley’s Tavern this Thursday from 4 to 8 PM to sample the delicious new craft beers from Twin Lakes Brewing Company. • Samuel Hobbs …
Big News From Ithaca Beer Co.
Posted by on Thursday, April 13, 2006 in - 2 comments
I like press releases. They give me a strange sense that someone somewhere out there has thought about this blog for the seven seconds it takes to add me to their email circulation list. It's the little things that give joy, you know. • Well, this news has made me think that I may try to make a …
New Markets for Blue Point Beers?
Posted by on Monday, April 10, 2006 - 2 comments
There I am, standing next to a rolling brew kettle of wort, when my cell phone buzzes in my pocket. I put my stirring spoon down and flip open my phone. On the screen is a text message from one of my extended network of beer spies. • According to this operative, working in dangerous conditions …
Book Review: <i>Beer in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance</i>
Posted by on Monday, April 10, 2006 in - 7 comments
Finding this, for the beer nerd who also likes book with footnotes, is something of a moment, a wee glimpse of nirvana. The author, Richard W. Unger, is a professor of the history of the medieval period from the University of British Columbia who has also written texts about shipping and brewing …
Belgium: Brune Tradition, Brasserie La Binchoise, Binche
Posted by on Saturday, April 8, 2006 in - leave a comment
What a nice weekend. I even tried a new beer with friends that I didn't review, not as much as a jot. I took a picture of it then took it to a dinner party throwing your interests in the matter to the four winds. Amazement abounded. If I find another, I'll tell you about it. • Similarly La …
Quick Note: Scarlet Lady ESB, Stoudt's Brewing, PA, USA
Posted by on Friday, April 7, 2006 in - leave a comment
Hello Lady...oh oh. Best before...10/31/05. D'oh. • The stash system is supposed to protect against these little moments. It is supposed to be a carefully tended garden of ales which get rotated in and out of the stash according to the needs of each individual ale. This is not supposed to …
Long Island Beer Update
Posted by on Thursday, April 6, 2006 in - leave a comment
I finally made my first (long overdue) trip of the year out to the Southampton Publick House. I found a wonderfully refreshing Abbey Single on tap. It was a luminous yellow, hazy, and grassy tartness---a perfect way to welcome the arrival of Spring. I usually have two different pints when I head …
Apricot Weizen, Pyramid Breweries, Seattle, USA
Posted by on Thursday, April 6, 2006 in - 2 comments
Did you ever wish you could drink your air freshener without getting your throat scorched by antiseptic chemicals? Pyramid • Apricot Weizen is as close as you can get right now. It smells like a beer but it tastes light and fruity and just sort of floats down your throat. • Some beers just …
Press Kit #1: Heineken Light
Posted by on Wednesday, April 5, 2006 in - 8 comments
So here I am sitting next to the only bottle of Heineken Light in Canada. Maybe. I got it in a press kit for the release from a guy called Charlie. Not really my first but my first with a neat little bottle inside, and a sweet bottle opener and a CD with these graphics and other stuff. Charlie …
The Good Beer Shop or Searching for Beamish
Posted by on Wednesday, April 5, 2006 in - 12 comments
Recently I wrote about what to look for in a good beer store. When you are looking for a favorite beer (or a beer that you want to write up for your weekly beer column) that no beer store seems to carry, having a helpful beer retailer is indispensible. • One of my favorite Irish Stouts is … read more »
Beer Sure, Prizes No
Posted by on Tuesday, April 4, 2006 in - leave a comment
Competition law in Bulgaria apparently has a "no fun allowed" rule: • “Bulgaria's largest beer brewer Zagorka was imposed a EUR 50,000 fine over a promotional game, it appeared after the Supreme Administrative Court confirmed a ruling of the Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC … read more »
Posted by on Monday, April 3, 2006
Distilling Beer
Posted by on Sunday, April 2, 2006 in - 4 comments
Knut of Norway sent me an interesting email a few days ago: • “When I was in Bavaria last year, I bought a bottle of Bierlikör at the brewery tap at Weienstephan. I have seen on the web site of other German breweries that they have similar liquors, and I wonder what kind of drink this really is …
Ontario: Two Elora Ales, Trafalgar Brewing, Oakville
Posted by on Sunday, April 2, 2006 in - 1 comment
Here are two ales from the Elora Old Mill brand produced by Trafalgar Brewing Company at Oakville, Ontario. According to the ever useful Brewed in Canada by Allen Winn Sneath, in 1997: • “Trafalgar Brewery of Oakville opens the Old Mill Brewery in Elora on the site of the defunct Taylor & Bate …
Posted by on Sunday, April 2, 2006
