November 2006
Belgium: La Moneuse, Brasserie de Blaugies, Dour
Posted by on Thursday, November 30, 2006 in - leave a comment
I just reviewed four saisons a couple of weeks ago and little did I know there was one lurking right down there...yes, just there. • Anyway, this one is by the markers of the previous reviewed Saison d'Epeautre, a spelt saison, and Darbyste, a fig lambic. 2004 on the cork. A tiny burst of cotton …
EU Beer Disputes
Posted by on Thursday, November 30, 2006 in - leave a comment
Interesting news this morning with a decision by the EU to take Canada to task for unfair tax practices: • “In the May 2 federal budget, the Tories announced tax relief for beer and wine makers -- the sort of small-business vote the Conservatives like to court -- and on June 30 they announced …
Good Pub Working Hard
Posted by on Wednesday, November 29, 2006 in - leave a comment
I've never been there but once every once in a while I get an email from Troy R. Kirkby, Publican of The Spitfire Arms Alehouse in Windsor in my old home province of Nova Scotia telling me what is going on - and this one is too good not to share. Look at how they are working hard to help their …
Review: A Beer Of The Month Club
Posted by on Tuesday, November 28, 2006 in - 21 comments
Recently a reader asked me if they should get their husband a beer subscription. Then I thought I would sign up for a paid review service to see what came my way - and low and behold the first review I was sent was for the "Beer of the Month Club" by a website called "Amazing Clubs" of Stamford …
Quick Note: Autumn Ale, Nethergate, Suffolk, England
Posted by on Monday, November 27, 2006 in - 2 comments
Suffolk is a gem of a brewing county, with such class names as Adnams, St Peters, the controversial Greene King plus a whole host of small and micro • breweries - and I live here. Fantastic! One of our better kept secrets is the Nethergate Brewery who brew a range of fine Suffolk ales that …
Photo Contest Winner
Posted by on Sunday, November 26, 2006 in - 6 comments
Well, there it is - the big winner. I have to say the response to the photo contest was better than I have thought with thirteen contestants and exactly umpteen entries. Why this picture above over, say, some of the great pictures of hops or great beers being had in great pubs? First, it is a good …
Belgium: Bruocsella 1900 Grand Cru, Cantillon
Posted by on Friday, November 24, 2006 in - 8 comments
Gold amber ale under large frothier lazy rim and foam that quickly fades then leaves town. The smell is beyond brett. The unripe Annapolis Valley Gravenstein green apple of my Nova Scotian youth gone mad with aspirations of manure pile. Quite plainly watery at the outset then acid and more …
Beer And Party Delivery Service
Posted by on Thursday, November 23, 2006 in - 7 comments
When I was a high school kid in Nova Scotia, the bootlegger¹ was the guy who could get you, say, a pizza, two big bottles of Coke, a case of beer and a pack of smokes all delivered somewhere all illegally after hours or on a Sunday usually by a taxi driven by a very ugly guy. Apparently, a … read more »
Quick Note: Pumpkin Ale, Smuttynose Brewing, NH, USA
Posted by on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 in - leave a comment
Just in time for what we Canadians call "that other Thanksgiving." The label says ale brewed with pumpkin puree and spices. Not only is it apt for Thanksgiving because of the familiar pumpkin pie to end the holiday meal - it is a throwback to early colonial days as explained by the brewer …
Final Contest Photos In
Posted by on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 in - leave a comment
Well, there you go. What a good little contest that was. I have to thank Hans who won a CD in the last contest for this idea. I think we will have to repeat it as a theme depending on the sponsors and how generous they are. • So first we have Blork, our man in Montreal. He forwarded the picture …
Last Call For Photo Contest Entries
Posted by on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 2 comments
In the Bible it says those that are first shall be last and those that are last shall be first. These photos are proof that this is not a universally applicable principle. To the right is a picture that is not so much a submission as a nomination. Chris from Maine explains: • “...I did not take …
Make Me The Beer Commissioner!
Posted by on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 in - leave a comment
Short of naming me The President of Beer, this is one office in the public service that I could take on with a clear conscience: • “In Washington state, where the brewpub craze was launched two decades ago, craft brewers have created a new state-sanctioned commission to better market their beers …
Paul Goes To Dublin
Posted by on Monday, November 20, 2006 in - leave a comment
Dublin is a fantastic city. Founded on the banks of the Liffey by the Vikings in about 841, further developed by the Normans after the conquest of the English in 1066, made even grander during the days of the British Empire, before finally returning to the Irish in 1922. Sadly the beer in Dublin …
Yet More Photo Contest Photos
Posted by on Sunday, November 19, 2006 in - leave a comment
A busy Sunday here at Good Beer Blog headquarters. We've picked up another sponsor but for a time limited period for after the New Year. Very interesting but will tell more later. Do you have concerns about sponsors and advertising here? The goal is to have funding or support through which we can …
Belgium: Wallowing In Four Saisons
Posted by on Friday, November 17, 2006 in - 6 comments
Saisons are one of best kept secrets in the world of beer. In the recent book What to Drink with What You Eat, awaiting my review, Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery names "Saison du Fond" - is that a typo of "Saison Dupont"? Yes it is - as his first beer in his fantasy desert island dozen. Early …
Of course I applied.
Posted by on Thursday, November 16, 2006
The Beer Boards Of Tennessee
Posted by on Thursday, November 16, 2006 in - 1 comment
Swooping around for cheap and easy cut and paste stories for you the readers of the beer blog - in the guise of finding out more about global beer culture - I came upon reference to "the Chattanooga Beer Board." Apparently municipal governments in that state act as both licensing boards and …
Still More Contest Photos
Posted by on Wednesday, November 15, 2006 in - leave a comment
More photos from the email. First we have a very attractive picture from North Coast Brewing of Fort Bragg California, a selection of beer testings which must have sat quite happily before Jonathon of the Beerinator - a great beer news information aggregator. You can find some of my North Coast …
New York: Saranac Pale Ale, Matt Brewing, Utica
Posted by on Monday, November 13, 2006 in - 4 comments
From the Saranac line from Matt Brewing of Utica or, as the chamber of commerce calls it, Beautica. A small growler picked up at a Wegmans somewhere in the North Country of New York. Surprisingly - but I don't know why - an attractive dark orange-amber with a billowy white lacy head. In the mouth …
Beer And Politics In Oregon
Posted by on Monday, November 13, 2006 in - 1 comment
Here is a very interesting article on the state of beer taxation in the state of Oregon and some of the...err...instruments of democracy that are involved in taxation determinations: • “Seven state legislators - five Republicans and two Democrats - have acknowledged this fall that they accepted …
A Trip To The Norwich Beer Festival
Posted by on Sunday, November 12, 2006 in - 3 comments
A few Saturdays ago I was lucky enough to take a trip to the Norwich Beer Festival put on by the Norwich & Norfolk Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale. It's a somewhat idiosyncratic festival, held in a former church. For some very strange reason they have a separate lunchtime and evening session … read more »
More Photo Contest Entries
Posted by on Sunday, November 12, 2006 in - 2 comments
It's been a busy week here at the good beer blog with a trip to Toronto as well as working my way through an a amazingly good history of beer and brewing as well as another not so amazing history of beer in America. And working. And having a life. All the while, the emails have been coming in with …
Another Six US Pale Ales
Posted by on Friday, November 10, 2006 in - 3 comments
What do we have here. A variety of pale ales, one of which I reviewed back in July 2005 with this group of six US pale ales. There are two Pennsylvanians, two Californians and a couple of upstate New Yorkers in this group which ranges from mellow grainy pale to a hot hoppy double IPA. For my money …
BeerBistro!, Toronto, Ontario
Posted by on Thursday, November 9, 2006 in - 3 comments
I had the occasion to visit BeerBistro! near the corner of King and Yonge Streets in Toronto today...ok, twice today...which in itself tells you something. I had to meet a friend for a quick lunch in that area of town and later took the time to have another beer as I waited for the train back home …
Paul Visits Beerhouse in Funchal, Madeira
Posted by on Tuesday, November 7, 2006 in - 7 comments
Madeira is a jewel of an emerald isle set equidistant from Portugal (the territory that it’s part of) and Morocco. It’s famous for its fortified wine, most of which is sweet and sticky. It’s generally not a particularly palatable desert wine, although if you look hard enough there are some very …
First The NBP Then We Conclude the NAFBA
Posted by on Tuesday, November 7, 2006 in - 5 comments
I was reminded today that last Friday I had one of those a-ha moments...and then promptly forgot about it. The a-ha I had? • “...by the way, if we do ship beers back and forth this way, can we call it the National Beer Policy (NBP)?” • I went on to suggest that once Canada solves it …
Our Second and Third Contestants Are...
Posted by on Monday, November 6, 2006 in - 1 comment
Two more submissions of three pictures each to share today. Both are Eastlakians in their own way, one eastern Ontarian and one Upstate New Yorker. But both consider the hop and both are dependents of a sort on Rochester. • First, Ian in Ottawa, author of La Biere a Ian, sent me the submissions …
Posted by on Sunday, November 5, 2006
Five Lagers That Were Just There
Posted by on Sunday, November 5, 2006 in - 4 comments
Sometimes beers sort of gather in the stash with no reason for being together other than being the odds and ends of a number of beer runs. In this collection we have three Ontario lagers, one from the states and one from China so really not much of a theme so much as a need to check them out. This …
First Photo Contest Submission
Posted by on Saturday, November 4, 2006 in - leave a comment
I just had to share this submission for the beer blog's photo contest from Darcey out in Alberta, the guy running Dust My Broom and DJ of a blues and beer every Friday night. • Email your submissions or post them at your site and let me know. Remember - this time there is a real prize...really.
Knut Goes To The Guinness Storehouse
Posted by on Friday, November 3, 2006 in - 8 comments
I have never hidden my scepticism (you may even say I am a bore on this subject) to the big brewers, the lager lads, that brew most of the beers most of us consume. Well, one of the big ones is not a lager lad, you might call him the black sheep of the family. I am, of course, talking about …
Stouts: Oatmeal Stout, Anderson Valley, Boonville, CA, US
Posted by on Wednesday, November 1, 2006 in - 1 comment
...Or rather "Quick Note: Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout, Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Boonville, Mendocio County, California, USA". Damn good thing the beer is damn good with that much on the label. • Expresso foam head laying languidly over the blackest of ale. Dry licorice and minty hop … read more »
