January 2008
Posted by on Thursday, January 31, 2008
Session 12: Tomorrow Is Now And Barley Wine Is It
Posted by on Thursday, January 31, 2008 in - 6 comments
A few years ago, before most of you knew what a beer blog was, I posted a post with a list of the names of barley wines that would be available at a certain beer fest. My favorites in the list were Fish Leviathan, Lagunitas Old Gnarlywine and Winthrop Buzzards Breath. I've never had any of these …
One Of A Million Things That A Pub Is Not Like
Posted by on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 in - 5 comments
Apparently, despite the efforts of Stonch, UK pub sales are dipping and people are trying to figure out what to do about it. One of those people is Mark Hastings, Director of Communications at the British Beer and Pub Association, discusses the risks and opportunities associated with grocery sales …
An Interruption In Normal Service Quite Possible
Posted by on Wednesday, January 30, 2008 in - 3 comments
Hmmm...my servers sit in Canada's eastern Maritime Provinces in Charlottetown, capital of one of the the smallest jurisdictions in North America, Prince Edward Island. If you are reading this at noon on 30 January just after I post it, you may be doing so care of the good grace of batteries …
Holland: Urthel Hop-It, Bierbrouwerij De Koningshoeven
Posted by on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 in - 19 comments
Holland? Not Belgium??? • Let's review the evidence: the caps says "Leyerth Breweries, Belgium" and the label says "Produced in the Netherlands". Licensed beer. How low.¹ The importer explains that the brews are all made in Holland by those Dutch monks of Koningshoeven/La Trappe but designed by … read more »
Book Review: "Xhosa Beer Drinking Rituals" By McAllister
Posted by on Monday, January 28, 2008 in - 1 comment
Like Ron, I bought a book shelf for the expanding crown of beer books in the house and, in the reshuffling of this and that, came across this book fully titled "Xhosa Beer Drinking Rituals: Power, Practice and Performance in the South African Rural Periphery" - how did I get my hands on this one …
Japan: Where Faith And Beer Come Together
Posted by on Sunday, January 27, 2008 in - 2 comments
Jay has been lamenting the divide between Southern Baptists and their beer. You know, it was darn pesky of the Lord to hang around in taverns and make wine when you think of it. In addition to the work, however, of Rev. Taffy Davis in Macclesfield, England, Jay found one US pastor who has followed …
The Natives Are Getting Restless...Or - Why Are We Unhappy?
Posted by on Saturday, January 26, 2008 in - 23 comments
The emotional connection of people to "their beer" can be very strong. As a result anything that bumps into the notion of what their beer is can be taken as invitation for everything from snark, insult or all out mobilization of forces. This winter, there has been a bit of an increase in this …
Are You An Utter Fool? Well, Do I Have A Beer For You!
Posted by on Friday, January 25, 2008 in - 7 comments
The blithering idiot sector of the snob class of beer git has now been confirmed as a market to which one can...market: • “Carlsberg A/S ads say it's "probably the best beer in the world." At $400 a bottle, it's now the most expensive. The brewer, Scandinavia's biggest, introduced a beer today …
Paul Considers The State Of Stella Artois
Posted by on Thursday, January 24, 2008 in - leave a comment
According to The Publican, that venerable journal of the UK licensed trade, InBev are crying into their beer over the Young’s Pub Company delisting of Stella Artois from their 200+ strong pub chain. I'm not a lager drinker, but I welcome this one small victory against the brewing giant of the …
Stouts: Big Bear Black, Bear Republic, Healdsburg, California
Posted by on Wednesday, January 23, 2008 in - 2 comments
Ah, Bear Republic. I've tried three and I've liked three. Their Hot Rod Rye sits in the stash still. • This one pours an extremely attractive clinging fine thick rich mocha head over deep brown ale. In the mouth there is espresso, fig newton, dark plum and dry cocoa with plenty of semi-minty and …
Photo Essay Of A Brewery In Maine
Posted by on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 in - 1 comment
In interesting story but a great series of photos going along with the tale posted on the Waldo County Citizen's webpages about the 3Tides pub and Marshall Wharf Brewery of Belfast, Maine. I love Maine and have to get there in the spring. The photographer, Tina Shute, was blessed with some great …
More Vital Information On Third-Category Beer
Posted by on Monday, January 21, 2008 in - leave a comment
I suppose if I ever tried it or if it had a name that did not sound like something out of Blade Runner, I would have less of a facination with that fluid in Japan that is called "third category beer." This article in the The The Daily Yomiuri, however, is full of tidbits that make me wonder what …
Inputs, Price and Value: Beer Labels
Posted by on Monday, January 21, 2008 in - 3 comments
Three red triangles, two of which are on Bass labels • In a discussion last month over at the Beer Advocate on pricing and the inputs that go into setting them, in response to my comments about packaging costs, Lew Bryson commented • “I'm not against learning more about what's in a beer, how …
Fact: Beer, Australians And Tennis Do Not Mix
Posted by on Sunday, January 20, 2008 in - 1 comment
Just when I was learning to deal with the mad combination of beer, elephants and electricity it seems that history has repeated itself with Aussies playing the part of the pachyderms and tennis replacing volts: • “Full-strength beer could go the way of the now- eliminated public betting shop by …
Belgium: N'Ice Chouffe 2005, Brasserie D'Achouffe, Achouffe
Posted by on Saturday, January 19, 2008 in - leave a comment
Hibernating. Deep freeze coming and there better be something in the stash that suits the day. Woden be praised - there is. • We celebrated a week of Achoufee back in the fall of 2006 but I think this one was best left to winter. The brewer tells us a bit about its winter seasonal but no mention …
Sometimes There Are Limits To Promoting With Beer
Posted by on Friday, January 18, 2008 in - 2 comments
Being Canadian, there is a good chance that I like beer and I like hockey. But even I see the downside of this one: • “Shortly before lunchtime Thursday, the St. Louis Blues sent an e-mail to fans announcing "Tuesdays on Tap," a promotion offering unlimited free beverages, including beer, for …
Stout: Russian Imperial, Stone Brewing, California, USA
Posted by on Thursday, January 17, 2008 in - 13 comments
Sometimes when I have a stout, I often think to myself that it's no Freeminer Deep Shaft Stout, a beer I was recently reminded of by its listing in the December BeerAdvocate - and particularly reminded of when I noticed that the magazine had used my very own photo from that 2004 post to illustrate …
It Is Hard To Keep Track Of Who Is Who In Maryland
Posted by on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 in - 5 comments
...in terms of who is running and setting the rules for which bit of the beer and booze market, that is. I had to read this article a few times before I got any sense of who had authority over whom: • “Wicomico County Council Vice President Stevie Prettyman stood up during the public meeting …
Belgium: Oerbier, De Dolle Brouwers, Esen
Posted by on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 in - 3 comments
For all the big talk, I really have only scratched the surface of beer...if you could, you know, scratch a fluid. This is my first De Dolle Brouwers, whose history and directions web page gives a sense of their attitude: they are a wee bit mad. But good mad. • Oerbier was apparently their … read more »
How Do You Get Your Daily Dose Of This Blog?
Posted by on Monday, January 14, 2008 in - 56 comments
Just an administrative question - how do you read this blog? Do you come to the site directly from you bookmarks or read it via RSS or go through link from someone else's place? I am particularly interested in the aggregator users out there as while the readership here has gone up to 3900 visits …
What Would Jesus Want You To Do...When Robbing A Store?
Posted by on Monday, January 14, 2008 in - 2 comments
It is true that the Lord works in mysterious ways but it appears also true that He wants us to believe in a honest beer for a honest price: • “Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies say the two men walked into the Smith's store at 8055 West 3500, picked up some beer and asked the clerk if they … read more »
UK Grocery Shoppers Buying More Ale Than Last Year
Posted by on Sunday, January 13, 2008 in - 2 comments
There is a lot of talk about food and beer as well as the shifting of beer in the UK into the home and out of the pub. This latter trend is the sort of thing that might force Stonch to break out the red flag and arm the barricades but I am a devoted stash builder and home tippler. Why? Sure there …
Finally - Some Mongolian Beer News
Posted by on Saturday, January 12, 2008 in - 3 comments
I have had this feeling for some time that I was a bit of a fraud, that I was not really covering the beer news scene as I should, as you expected. Now I know that I have filled in at least a part of the gap with this news from Mongolia: • “...the police are the men to see if you need a beer …
Ontario: Stout, Hockley Valley Brewing, Mono-Adjala Townline
Posted by on Friday, January 11, 2008 in - 8 comments
My prayers have been answered in one small way. A beer has shown up locally at about a 50% discount, a stout made by the good lads at Hockley an hour and a bit north east of Toronto. It is so new that their website has not caught up to it. Previously, it had only been available seasonally and in a …
Michigan: Red's Rye, Founders Brewery, Grand Rapids
Posted by on Thursday, January 10, 2008 in - leave a comment
When I was at Bello Vino in Ann Arbor, beer manager Jeremy McClelland made sure I did not leave the store without this one. I used to have a hard time with rye beers but Bittersweet Lenny's RIPA not to mention a growing obession with my neighbourhood's Polish deli has pretty much cured me of that …
Cost Inputs: Do We Buy The Import Or Lobby Our Local Brewer?
Posted by on Thursday, January 10, 2008 in - 2 comments
Is this how it works? • “Shelton has brought in some bottles, but he wants to start importing fresh casks at regular intervals. He realizes they will be a tough sell. "When American beer drinkers spend more money on a beer," he says, "they want more alcohol. It's a real challenge to sell …
Big Hop Bombs: Extreme Beer And Your Personal Limits
Posted by on Wednesday, January 9, 2008 in - 16 comments
It's always a big day when Eric Asimov writes a beer article for The New York Times. Being Canadian, a culture with a deep seam of neediness running through it¹, you glow when you feel like you are noticed just as when the beer nerd's nerdiness gets the MSM treatment. But in today's article all … read more »
Cost Inputs: Is Brewing Under License A Con?
Posted by on Tuesday, January 8, 2008 in - 11 comments
We've talked a bit about brewing under license. A year and a half ago we undertook the historic PBR v. PBR challenge under which the US brew was tested against the version brewed in Canada under license by Sleeman - it was a draw. In 2004, I even make a submission in the face of a pending beer …
Ontario: 666, Devil's Pale Ale, Great Lakes Brewing, Etobicoke
Posted by on Monday, January 7, 2008 in - 19 comments
A very strange thing has been happening lately. I am going out to a store in my own town and buying the same Ontario-made beer week after week. I wrote about Lake Ontario's (not Lake Erie's) Great Lake Brewing's take on a winter ale a few weeks ago. That beer was a bit frustrating as, while I … read more »
How Not To Be In The News As A Dumb Criminal #247
Posted by on Monday, January 7, 2008 in - 1 comment
One of the first things you learn as a criminal defense lawyer entering your learning years is to give counsel to the newly arrested. Depending on the jurisdiction there are rules about what should be said or not said to and by the police. As any rounder knows and as TV has taught us the rest of …
Paul Tries The New Incarnation Of St. Edmund's Ale
Posted by on Sunday, January 6, 2008 in - 4 comments
Cold beer is the work of the devil. Fact. • Right, now that we've established a baseline - let's move forward. When one of my local breweries, the mighty Greene King, announced that they were brewing a beer to be served with or without a head and cold, I was not too chuffed to say the least. I …
Travis Suffers Growler Tragedy Followed By Ubu Uber-Triumph
Posted by on Saturday, January 5, 2008 in - leave a comment
So, calling the loss of two brown glass growlers is hardly tragedy, it's still cool to come out on top! It all started after a raucous party a month ago, where I brought two growlers of Old Balls Ale that I had brewed. After the party I forgot the growlers at Tom's house and promptly told him to …
Session 11: Dopplebock Mania Hits The Nations!
Posted by on Friday, January 4, 2008 in - leave a comment
“Update: Here is the roundup for this edition of the Session over at Brewvana and here is the complete history from Jay at BBB.” • OK, maybe not the nation...and maybe not even my street. I didn't even had one in the stash but I had one better, Sled Dog Trippelbock Reserve from the Wagner Valley …
Stouts: Cappuccino Stout Ale, Lagunitas, Petaluma, CA, USA
Posted by on Thursday, January 3, 2008 in - 2 comments
Ron has been asking questions and the last few days a few about US imperial stouts. He has also made one great comment: • “They really should print warnings. Something like this: "Attention Ron Pattinson: this beer contains cascade hops!"” • Of course, not all American big stouts are …
Australian Natural Disaster Stops Beer Shipments Again
Posted by on Wednesday, January 2, 2008 in - 4 comments
I don't know why news from Australia about beer and its place in the culture seems so odd to my, frankly, more prudish than puritanical Canadian eyes but here is another item about a rough situation in the south-western part of the country in today's news...or is that tomorrow's...that is unlike …
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Posted by on Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Posted by on Tuesday, January 1, 2008
A Good Beer Blog's Best Of 2007 - Part Three
Posted by on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 in - 1 comment
I forgot to mention one thing and one of the most important. In 2007, we had 1,187,900 separate visits with 2,763,604 page views around this here blog, up 42% from 2006. The two busiest stretches were just a few days ago with the announcement of the photo contest but also around June 5 when we had …
