June 2009
Scotland: Paradox Springbank, BrewDog, Fraserburgh
Posted by on Tuesday, June 30, 2009 in - 6 comments
"It smells like the granary when it's filled." I think that is what I was told but it makes sense. • It pours - imagine - rather deep brownish and has a rich mocha froth and foam. The nose in delightful. Fig and chocolate, milk and bread crust. Like a rich child's breakfast in 1710. The mouth …
A Tale Of Two Beer Connoisseurs
Posted by on Monday, June 29, 2009 in - 5 comments
Does anyone know the relationship between: • The Beer Connoisseur, © 2009 HERE'S TO BEER, INC. andThe Beer Connoisseur™ On Tap Publishing, LLC? • Look, I am up for any good trademark versus copyright hissy handbags brawl as the next guy... but wouldn't you think someone might have checked …
My Beer Blogging Hour With Google Analytics
Posted by on Sunday, June 28, 2009 in - 3 comments
I came way too late to the Google Analytics mania that is sweeping the globe. Forget Twitter and its limitations. Forget Facebook and those so-called friends. No, what people are really obsessing about out there on the information superhighways is actually what is actually happening on their …
Book Review: Hops And Glory, Pete Brown (Part 4)
Posted by on Saturday, June 27, 2009 in - 4 comments
Well, I finished the book on Wednesday watching kids softball practice. The short message really is that if you are reading this blog you should buy the book. Well written, informative without being stuffy, funny yet quite personal. Likely the best beer book of 2009. • And I checked. I didn't …
Nova Scotia: Imperial Pale Ale Unfiltered, Garrison
Posted by on Thursday, June 25, 2009 in - 1 comment
As a Haligonian ex-pat, I learned a lot about craft beer from Garrison in its early years in the mid-90s when it was one of the most reliable Maritime craft brewers that bottled. There was a more obviously Halifax centric naming of the brands back then. I seem to recall that I had a lot of their …
A Beer Please - Don't Bother With The Swanky Food
Posted by on Wednesday, June 24, 2009 in - 24 comments
In the days back when I traveled in Eastern Europe, I had a guidebook that explained the grades of drinking establishment I might expect to find and learned there was a class of bar in Poland called a pivarnia or some such thing that catered to their manly but odd working hours - there was a gap …
Why Rye: Hop Rod, Bear Republic, Cloverdale, California
Posted by on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 in - 3 comments
I've had a Bear Republic stout, the red and the brown as well as a pale ale and liked them all... but then there's this one made with, you know, rye. You have to wonder about rye beer, that less popular and less interesting cousin on beery family tree. The only one that ever blew me away was …
Zero Minus Five Hours... Then... PANIC!!!
Posted by on Tuesday, June 23, 2009 in - 5 comments
More weird news as LCBO shelves in Ontario are getting bare a few hours before the impending strike. Favorite panicky line so far: "...people left with their arms laden with bottles and cartons as if preparing for doomsday." Sure, it's dooooom when you can only get domestic beer, right. See, the …
Strike! Panic!! Monopoly On Strike!! Panic!!!
Posted by on Monday, June 22, 2009 in - 7 comments
Well, the LCBO is not quite yet on strike but when you are in a monopoly market these things can catch you unaware or, worse, unprepared. What's this all about you ask? • A trend toward part-time and casual jobs, and a management proposal to be able to issue 90-day layoff notices at any time … read more »
Book Review: Hops And Glory, Pete Brown (Part 3)
Posted by on Sunday, June 21, 2009 in - 3 comments
OK, we have moved from page 145 to, what, 332? Yes, that's it. So, I've work through almost central half of Hops and Glory this weekend - still 50% off at amazon.co.uk by the way - and our lad, Pete, has gone on a cruise liner, a tall ship to Brazil and then a container ship to India. As before …
What Happens If There Is An Instalanche...
Posted by on Saturday, June 20, 2009 in - leave a comment
...and no one notices? • I have not really followed the server stats very closely for the last year or so but apparently on 4 June 2009 Ann Althouse had a Bitter Woman IPA from Tyranena Brewing and linked to my post from July 2008 at Instapundit to explain on June 5th. Result? Zero visits to my …
France: Vivat Triple, L’Abbaye Du Cateau, C-Cambrésis
Posted by on Friday, June 19, 2009 in - leave a comment
A French triple. Bought on the zip into Quebec a few months ago, this one has me rubbing my left temple with a serious knuckle. • Nice website. Is it really a triple or is it a saison? It lacks the earthy thang that its fellow country brew biere de garde is known for. It has no triple bubblegum …
Book Review: Around Brussels In 80 Beers
Posted by on Thursday, June 18, 2009 in - leave a comment
It's been a busy few weeks for the mail. Today, this book by Joe Stange and Yvan De Baets came. Sadly, I am not personally familiar with Yvan's work, though he seems to be very much the lad - but attentive readers will recall Joe from the 2008 Christmas photo contest and may even read his … read more »
It's About The Relative Value of Relative Value
Posted by on Wednesday, June 17, 2009 in - 2 comments
Here's how it happened. Greg asked a very good question about buying a rhubarb lambic upon which I jibed to which Mr. Beaumont commented and then posted in full. I, of course, couldn't keep out of it myself when I added this: • I entirely agree with you on that… for the most part. It’s just that …
Why Can't We All Just Get Along With Our Alströms?
Posted by on Tuesday, June 16, 2009 in - 17 comments
There is a good article today in The Boston Globe about the brothers Alström and their baby BeerAdvocate. The article's alarmingly lax about the application of the umlauted "o" - the "ö" - but it's good anyway... yet when I got into it I started to get a bit verklempt: • "We definitely have …
Quebec: Dominus Vobiscum Double, Charlevoix
Posted by on Monday, June 15, 2009 in - 2 comments
While at Marche Jovi a couple of months ago, I was directed by a gentleman who was clearly my better in the ways of beer to a number of selections once he noticed my tell tale beer hounding, the shopping cart filled with single bottles. I am pretty sure this one one of them. The brewery …
Book Review: Hops And Glory, Pete Brown (Part 2)
Posted by on Sunday, June 14, 2009 in - leave a comment
Well, I am up to page 145 of 451 and believe we have a romp on our hands. • Hops and Glory (now 50% off at Amazon.co.uk) is a very entertaining read as well as a better introduction to larger questions of British history in India than I had expected. The format of a chapter on Pete's travel and …
Not A Michigan But Definitely Something From Michigan
Posted by on Friday, June 12, 2009 in - 3 comments
When I was a kid I watched Hockey Night In Canada every Saturday night. I dropped it in my teens and twenties but in my thirties I was back. Not so much these days. I have drifted in and out of being a hockey fan and have the weird status of being a fan of both traditional rivals, the Leafs and … read more »
The Beer Snob V. The Beer Nut
Posted by on Thursday, June 11, 2009 in - 3 comments
It's been on of the most gratifying things since I took up the task of dealing with my malty dipsomania in the internet that the scourge of snobbery has been kept at bay. One of the funniest attempts lately is the oddly modestly priced Spanish fluid dubbed Inedit which has received this sort of …
A Sad Day For The Global Nation Of Beer
Posted by on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 in - 5 comments
So much for the Toronto Star's commitment to internationalism in beer retailing matters. You will recall that in April they made the madcap decision to expand their noting where you can get beers featured in Josh Rubin's column to include an outlet in New York as illustrated in my post from then …
Oregon: Twilight Summer Ale, Deschutes, Bend
Posted by on Wednesday, June 10, 2009 in - leave a comment
The parcels have been in the mail. The gods of the mapled border clearly looked down favourably as my samples of Deschutes' take on a summer ale showed up today here in Easlakia. A bit of a break through in fact. • The beer smells a bit like Syracuse Pale Ale, one of my favorite local summer …
So What Is Wrong With Industrial Lobbying?
Posted by on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 in - 3 comments
Once again, it was Stan that got me thinking - this time when he wrote: • I find the idea that this survey of people who paid $95 to attend SAVOR... was conducted and that the results might have meaning so strange I can’t think of anything flip to write. • I was wondering why it is so strange …
Book Review: Hops And Glory, Pete Brown (Part 1)
Posted by on Monday, June 8, 2009 in - 3 comments
A big lump came in the mail today. For someone who is used to packages with DVDs or even VHSs of 1970s sci-fi slipping through the mail slot, this package looked like a lump. When I opened it and saw it was Pete Brown's new book sent from the publisher I knew it would be a good week after all …
Remember: It's Not Gone Bad - It's Just Belgian!
Posted by on Sunday, June 7, 2009 in - 1 comment
When Stan was here last year, I told him I made a home brew with star anise. He winced and asked me how much and when I said how much he winced again. I didn't bother sharing it which was too bad as a couple of bottles that sat for a few months more really weren't that bad, gaining a nice creamy …
Session 28: Too Many Questions About Past Travels!
Posted by on Sunday, June 7, 2009 in - 5 comments
Stan made me feel a little guilty for not posting on Friday for this month's version of the Session. I was on the road Friday evening and guess that is my excuse - though I did pick up a mixed 12 of both Magic Hat and Harpoon and even got a wave through from customs so had another victory for beer …
Oh, To Be As Ridiculous and Hapless As Delaware
Posted by on Saturday, June 6, 2009 in - 3 comments
At the end of the day, it really is pretty sad when one can't aspire to achieve what is arguable in Delaware: • Every few years, some lone and well-meaning soul in the Legislature comes forward with a bill to allow beer and wine sales in grocery stores. And every few years, a mob of lobbyists … read more »
A Week With Softer Side Of German Brews
Posted by on Thursday, June 4, 2009 in - 3 comments
It was time to clear out a few obscure brews that have been hogging stash shelf space and I grabbed nothing but the Germans. I thought it was going to turn out to be about sharp hops of one sort or another, the sort of thing I ran into over two years ago. I was absolutely stunned when top after … read more »
Is It A Mooing Monk Or A Cornval?
Posted by on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 in - 1 comment
This is the second in my triptych of posts about blending New Glarus Spotted Cow with Belgian ales of note. In the first its blending partner was Duval and I came to like the 66.7% Spotted Cow 33.3% Duval ratio the best. Tonight? Who knows? • 50% Spotted Cow - 50% Orval: On the nose, this brew … read more »
Contest 2009: It Should Be About Your Favorite Glass
Posted by on Tuesday, June 2, 2009 in - 8 comments
While the suggestions have been absolutely streaming in for the first beer blog contest of 2009, I have been trying to figure out what the subject should be. What will capture the moment? Worry no longer as I have made the call - I have decided that I want a photo or other depiction of your …
Soon To Offer A Mild Electric Jolt After Every Beer
Posted by on Monday, June 1, 2009 in - 2 comments
You know you are a real Oldie Olson when Twitter gets on your nerves just for doing the sort of things that bloggers worked out years ago. First, there were the boring celebrities. Then, there was the retweeting issue where 140 characters per message was never enough when you could trigger repeats …
