February 2006
Quick Note: Hobgoblin, Wychwood, Oxfordshire, England
Posted by on Monday, February 27, 2006 in - 11 comments
The last one of these post yesterday was not really a quick note at all. As Mike already mentioned this beer in October 2004, it should be quick noteablity itself. • Hobgoblin is a great alternate take on an English bitter compared to my usual buy from the Wychwood shelf, the hoppy chewy …
Ontario: Dark, Hockley Valley Brewing, Mono-Adjala Townline
Posted by on Sunday, February 26, 2006 in - 7 comments
A great day yesterday...perhaps. Under the judicious but incomprehensible plan for the parcelling out of microbrews of Ontario by the LCBO, Kingston got a 2-4 of Hockley Dark Ale. One whole case. Importantly for understanding the dark world of Ontario micro distribution, Sgt. Major IPA was nowhere …
Dixie Brewing Company, New Orleans, USA
Posted by on Sunday, February 26, 2006 in - 55 comments
At my house Mardi Gras is the biggest celebration of the year. Bigger than Christmas. We go all out -- ordering boxes of beads and other purple, gold, and green baubles and silly hats. We spend hours cooking up pots of red beans and rice and jambalaya for all of our friends. And, of course, I …
Obituary For A Landlord
Posted by on Friday, February 24, 2006 in - leave a comment
A very good read is this obituary for the landlord of a pub: • “Mrs Martin continued: "I'm a Londoner and he was a country man. The green trees of the Heath suited him. He wouldn't have gone anywhere else in London. • "Once you were barred you stayed barred. One barred customer went to Spain …
Join In!
Posted by on Wednesday, February 22, 2006 in - 6 comments
Just a quick post to remind you guys to join in. Join the beer blog nation if you like - 60 already have. There are no dues, not benefits and no responsibilities. What else is that easy in life? • Plus, please do send posting information. I received great news about a bar in Beijing this morning …
Beer Shop: C's Farm Market, Oswego, New York
Posted by on Monday, February 20, 2006 in - 1 comment
Directions to C's Farm Market • The neat blue building • Good news for me. I found a new store in my general region. Oswego is a small city directly south across Lake Ontario from Kingston...ok, maybe SSW by S from us. We like to go there for the fort and the seafood in summer. In winter we go …
Thoughts On Skunked Beer
Posted by on Saturday, February 18, 2006 in - 10 comments
A somewhat odd story on WCBS's website this morning on skunked beer: • “It flows from taps, is poured from bottles and it's can's can be found in many a fridge. But when you crack a cold one and a funky smell hits you like a ton of bricks, the taste isn't going to be any better. You've been …
Abita Brewing Company, Abita Springs, LA, USA
Posted by on Friday, February 17, 2006 in - 9 comments
Another new guest author from the south of the border has joined the team, Scott Gordon of • Evanston, Illinois near Chicago. He sent me some information about Reconstruction Ale by the Abita Brewing Company from near New Orleans and I thought it would be a good intro to a review of some of the …
Ontario: Two Seasonals, Heritage Brewing, Ottawa
Posted by on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 in - 2 comments
Heritage Brewing Limited in Ottawa is a small eastern Ontario brewery which has yet to get a review from me. Why? My brother buys it. So what! Well, its just one of those things. I visit from time to time and he has Heritage dark in the fridge. And probably Hoegaarden if its summer. Once he had a …
Have I Mentioned The Bar Towel?
Posted by on Wednesday, February 15, 2006 in - leave a comment
Good news for those scribes behind The Bar Towel, a group trying to wring what good ale there is from a blink-and-you-will-miss-it hamlet at the western end of Lake Ontario, tied as they are to a few good bars and the whims of the LCBO. Well, none of that seems to matter to the Toronto Star which …
Beer Tourism in West Virginia
Posted by on Tuesday, February 14, 2006 in - 3 comments
With things like the New York Beer Trail and its more hesitant cousin Ontario's Craft Beer Route, North American legislators are waking up to the potential for craft beer tourism these days and it is sometimes a bit of a shock for them to learn that they and the legacy of their elected … read more »
Kisz Bier, Prazske Pivovary, Czech Republic
Posted by on Sunday, February 12, 2006 in - 4 comments
A new guest writer joins us today. Donavan Hall lives on Long Island in New York, USA. He is an editor and freelance writer. He writes a weekly column about beer for The Spirit World. He also writes a blog called Catch & Release. • “I am a beer writer and I live right on the border of Long … read more »
Beer Foam Science
Posted by on Friday, February 10, 2006 in - 1 comment
Who knew there were beer foam scientists in Manitoba: • “Led by Marta Izydorczyk, program manager of barley research, the research deals with possibly the most important issue in the beer industry. “Consumers have very strong opinions on beer foam,” according to Izydorczyk.”
Quick Note: Fruli, Van Diest, London, England
Posted by on Wednesday, February 8, 2006 in - 14 comments
Strawberry beer. Oh dear. The back of the bottle reads: • “Brewed in Belgium for VAN DIEST BEER COMPANY London, England.” • Oh dear, oh dear. There is a list of ingredients and it is describes itself as "high quality Belgian white beer blended with pure fruit juice." In the past this has meant …
Read More Lew
Posted by on Tuesday, February 7, 2006 in - 1 comment
I know I have mentioned it before but you all really should be reading more Lew Bryson. You can subscribe to Lew's email service called the Occasional Pint by emailing him here and you can also read his monthly column "The Buzz" at his web site. Here is his column for February 2006. • Lew leads …
Posted by on Sunday, February 5, 2006
Germany: Aventinus, Schneider And Sohn, Kelheim, Bavaria
Posted by on Saturday, February 4, 2006 in - 3 comments
The classic wheat double bock or weizenbock from Munich - and not a dunkel weizen! The high test version of Schneider Weisse. The brewery's bottling hall was on Aventine Street according to Michael Jackson's Great Beer Guide. • This beer has all the moreishness supreme of the mere weisse but … read more »
Posted by on Saturday, February 4, 2006
"Here's To Beer!" Starts Sunday
Posted by on Saturday, February 4, 2006 in - 6 comments
Sounds like our consultancy pal Scott took every word we said down and added it to the "Here's to Beer" ad campaign set to start during the Super Bowl: • “The new ad and Web site were developed by Anheuser-Busch (NYSE: BUD) and are supported by the Beer Institute. Anheuser-Busch is donating 30 …
Beer Maps For The USA
Posted by on Wednesday, February 1, 2006 in - 5 comments
Beer Map showing breweries (green), homebrew clubs (red) • and the pop up for Middle Ages Brewing. • I have been introduced by email to Michael, maker of a map of most things beer related in the USA called...well I don't think he has a name yet: • “You have a great web site! I wanted to … read more »
