June 2008
Following My Bliss In Oswego, New York
Posted by on Sunday, June 29, 2008 in - 6 comments
Have I mentioned I really dislike the idea of following your passion? It's so much based on the immediate and the result. "Follow your passion" is what people are told to entice them into entry position IT jobs that never pan out or pull out the credit card to act on the next spontaneous urge. And …
Why Rye: Rye Pale Ale, Terrapin Beer, Athens, Ga.
Posted by on Saturday, June 28, 2008 in - 4 comments
I've never loved rye beer a whole heck of a lot. I've mentioned it here and here, but there was a brewery in Pictou NS that made a rye ale that was a bit too much like drinking bark: rough and heavy. I don't much like the dark bread version or the hard liquor one either. But I live in hope and … read more »
The Anti-Anti Beer Fridge League Formed
Posted by on Friday, June 27, 2008 in - 8 comments
There are great pressures on The Life Of Man. We had heard about the idea of getting rid of the beer fridge but at least here in Canada there were ads settting out that the beer fridge was costing almost 120 beer a year to run. There was a Net Beer Gain (or "NBG"). But this news coming from the …
Ontario: Georgian Bay Dipper, Hockley Valley Brewing, Orangeville
Posted by on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 in - 1 comment
A simple can that I hadn't noticed before at the LCBO. I'll try anything once. I also hadn't noticed that it was contract brewed by Hockley Valley Brewing - though I think when the label says "Brewed for Midland Beer Works by Hockley Valley Brewing Co." that really isn't contract brewing so much … read more »
The Brewery Global Warming Will Destroy
Posted by on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 in - 4 comments
Interesting read about a brewery in Greenland, the Greenland Brewhouse, that is making beer from pure icecap...or rather free-range bergybits: • According to the company’s website, it only uses ice from icebergs, which have already broken off the main inland ice and are floating in the fjords … read more »
Germany: Grapefruit Hefeweizen, Binding-Brauerei AG
Posted by on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 in - 9 comments
This is one of the furtherest fluids from beer that I think I have ever had the occasion to sit near. It is only 2.5%. It appears to include about 60% stuff other than hefeweizen and it is pinkish orange. The LCBO has brought in a boat load of this stuff as a cool summer drink from the wonderful … read more »
More Vital Information On Third-Category Beer
Posted by on Sunday, June 22, 2008 in - 2 comments
I suppose that 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 …
Rogue Ales Doing Good By Brewing Good Beer
Posted by on Saturday, June 21, 2008 - leave a comment
The bottle proudly reminds us of Rogue's support for its local aquarium: "a portion of the proceeds of the sale of this ale supports the Oregon Coast Aquarium and its mission to expand our understanding of the oceans." I have to confess that I share experience of aquariums that a pal noted - I get …
Ontario: Eisbock '05, Niagara Falls Brewing, Niagara Falls
Posted by on Saturday, June 21, 2008 - leave a comment
Extraordinary. A bottle that has slept for three years in the stash and has done well. While there is no yeast deposit filtering and refining, the mellow nature of the beer give you a sense that there as been some good done over the passage of time. Leather, black cherry, pear juice, and (a …
I Heart My New Blog Admin Backend
Posted by on Friday, June 20, 2008 - leave a comment
Bear with me. You may see a few new features here and there and a few others that are gone. I have just been the fortunate donee of a brand new blogging back end which my server lords at silverorange have provided. I have the bestest of server lords - and one thing that means is I have to figure …
Why No North American Beer Consumer Group?
Posted by on Thursday, June 19, 2008 in - 7 comments
The Morning Advertiser gives the news today of a European Beer Consumers Union constitution which will be signed on 24 June. It sounds rather official: • “The over-riding aim of the organisation is to ensure there will still be a wide choice of craft brewed beers available for future generations …
Two Companies = 80% Market Share
Posted by on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 in - 3 comments
I have to admit that I care not a whit for the impending kerglomeration of much of the macro-tastic brewing power of the United States of America into the tentacles of two international macro-economic monoliths. It's so surreal that it's a bit like when two evil forces (say, Doctor Doom and the … read more »
Ontario: A Dry Visit To County Durham Brewing
Posted by on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 in - leave a comment
Spending the day with the kids at the Toronto Zoo on a field trip, I thought on the way back I would pop into County Durham Brewing in Pickering just to grab a few brew and have a chat with brewer, Bruce Halstead. Instead, I got a brief glimpse into the most trim and most successful small Canadian …
Stouts: Milk Stout, The Duck Rabbit, Farmville, North Carolina
Posted by on Monday, June 16, 2008 in - 1 comment
I got this beer for being good, or at least neighbourly, when I took up the task of judging these brews a little while back. Milk stout reminds me of being good - I recall being handed a can of Tennent's Sweetheart Stout when visiting the Scots cousins when I was a teen. At 2% it had the light …
Olde Towne Brewing Reborn in Alabama
Posted by on Sunday, June 15, 2008 in - 2 comments
Lew mentioned the fire last year. Olde Towne Brewing in Huntsville, Alabama had burned down. I probably thought about this for about five seconds back then but, what with events at Utica lately, I noticed this bit of good news right away: • “Less than a year after watching his business destroyed …
"Miller Is Tasteless" Protest Starting
Posted by on Saturday, June 14, 2008 in - leave a comment
Windell Middlebrooks: "I sure hope there's still enough money • for the kid's doctor even if I have to keep closing down • all these Miller accounts like the boss says... • I have a soft spot for Miller beer. Not the premium draft or orignal lite or premium original draft lite or any other … read more »
New York: Black Diamond Bock, Saranac, Utica
Posted by on Thursday, June 12, 2008 in - 1 comment
The news from Utica is good. F.X. Matt, makers of the Saranac brand, will live on after the fire that took out the canning building two weeks ago and in fact beer is still being brewed now. • The news is also good about this beer. I picked up a six at the Alex Bay Mart the other week for a …
Group Question: Can You Walk To A Bar You Like?
Posted by on Wednesday, June 11, 2008 in - 27 comments
I was thumbing through Google News today (I print it off first on newsprint to get that good old pre-digital experience) and I came across this final comment in an column about a local beer issue in New Jersey: • “It's thanks to the current system that there are so few bars near neighborhoods … read more »
Travis Tries A Kerberos Tripel By Flying Dog
Posted by on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 in - 21 comments
A few weeks ago I was the lucky recipient of a wonderful package; a bottle of brew! Not just any brew, but a Belgian beer! I love the Belgian brews. Flying Dog beer mailed me bottle of their Kerberos Tripel. • The fourth member of their Canis Major series, the Flying Dog Kerberos¹ Tripel is a …
In The Coming Recession, Beer Will Be Bought
Posted by on Monday, June 9, 2008 in - 4 comments
Last December I asked in the upcoming recession whether beer would be the affordable luxury. Turns out ever if it isn't a luxury, it will be bought according to the Nielsen Company's research: • “According to Nielsen’s analysis of macroeconomic variables, historical trends and consumer behavior …
One Upstate Brewpub That I've Never Heard And May Not Visit
Posted by on Sunday, June 8, 2008 in - 5 comments
...because I can't get on base! • Who knew that there was Busters Brew Pub and Microbrewery on the US army base at Fort Drum in upstate NY? Not me. But there they were making an impression as they were pouring beer at the first Sackets Harbor 1812 Beer and Wine Festival as reported in the …
Harvey's To Brew Its Own Heritage Ales!
Posted by on Saturday, June 7, 2008 in - leave a comment
Nothing like blogging about another blogger's post to make for a cheap and cheery Satuday's post when there is mowing to do. Stonch took the tour at Harvey's recently and has this news: • “One interesting piece of news emerged during the tour: later this year, a new five barrel microplant will … read more »
Session 16: What I Really Hate About Beer Festivals
Posted by on Friday, June 6, 2008 in - 6 comments
Here we are again - another first Friday and another beery topic to talk about in The Session. Generally, I am a very cheery person. One who never finds any issue with anything. I look to the sunny side. I really do. I am so great. But beer fests bug the hell out of me. And here is why: • I … read more »
Belgium: Chapeau Lemon and Kriek, Brouwerij De Troch
Posted by on Thursday, June 5, 2008 in - 2 comments
Girlie Drink Drunk. There was a Kids in the Hall skit fifteen years or so back called "Girlie Drink Drunk." It seems to be on YouTube. That's all I can think of when I see these super sweet lambic offerings but I buy them hoping they will be more fruited than sweetened. And I didn't mind the …
These Are Some Of The Beery Things I Have Never Done
Posted by on Wednesday, June 4, 2008 in - 2 comments
I read with some jealousy the recountings of visitors to last week's Mondial de la Biere in Montreal. Jack Curtin's retelling of the road trip he took with Lew Bryson is particularly entertaining - there is something about reading American reflections upon their trips to la belle province...and …
Scotland: The Physics, BrewDog, Aberdeenshire
Posted by on Tuesday, June 3, 2008 in - 3 comments
Aberdeenshire, eh. My people are west coasters, industrial Red Clyde folk. I do have an Aberdeen jersey somewhere. And it's red. Not amber, though. I always think of amber beers as the default setting for the toggle switch, more about what isn't in the beer than what is. Yet this is my first …
Return Of The "Are You An Utter Fool?" Post
Posted by on Monday, June 2, 2008 in - 5 comments
Apparently the hunt for the next big thing in beer - you know, like "sustainable" or "heritage" or "retro cheap ass" - still includes those who think luxury for the sake of inducing mere expenditure is the way to go. And today we look to the Australians for the next example of vendors who think …
Are Heritage Beers Being Brewed In Cincinnati By Moerlein?
Posted by on Sunday, June 1, 2008 in - 4 comments
I still have not yet expanded my beer travels into Ohio but when I do I am going to check out the beers of Christian Moerlein Co. There is a good story in the Chillicothe Gazette today on the brewery and the revival of its own tradition: • “Hardman bought the 1853 Cincinnati beer label four … read more »
