A Good Beer Blog

December 2010

Liveblog: Happy New Year And Thanks For Saying Hello!

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , - 6 comments
It's been a good year at A Good Beer Blog - and a good decade while we are at it. As this is the last day that has a claim to being the end of the first ten of the millennium, we could reflect on where good beer was at the dawn of this new era and where it is now. We could but we won't. Because it …

Galeville Grocery Shuts After 84... or 156 Years

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , - 2 comments
My math is pretty bad but not as bad as the news out of Liverpool in central New York near Syracuse that the Galeville Grocery has shut after being a grocery store since 1926 and a building since 1854. Reader Jack forwarded me last Friday's news in an email earlier this week:  •  Even into this …

Getting Into The Craft Brew Business Shouldn't Be Hard

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , , - 5 comments
You know I like Andy Crouch. I like Andy. He and I agree on so many things that I can't believe it. Then he goes and writes this and I get all pffttwzzatchamacallit!!!  •  With all of this said, many great breweries, including Dogfish Head, started on an extremely small scale and there are many …

I Think This Is Best Watched With The Sound Off...

Posted by Alan McLeod on in - 9 comments
Watch quietly first. Is this profound or crass? I mean do we really care about the speed, the product or the profit margin? What is neat is seeing that many beer fill in a minute. Could it be run on gravity dispense? Could it be set to serve the perfect imperial stout or hefeweizen? Could glass be …

One Last Weird Beer Law To Learn About In 2010

Posted by Alan McLeod on in - 4 comments
I recall that where I used to live and brew my own stuff there was a legal limit on the amount of beer I could brew each year. And I also know that some places have rules about where you have to have beer in your vehicle when transporting it. But I had no idea that simply transporting too much … read more »

Two Food And Beer Revelations At Christmas

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , , - 3 comments
Look, I really do not like the whole idea of pairing beer and food. You know that. It comes off as a wee bit snooty and, worse, it smacks a bit of exclusivity... but that has nothing to do with the fact that beer and food go so well together (or whether I am riddled with inconsistencies.) And … read more »

Twenty Years Ago, A Christmas Eve In Scotland

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , - 4 comments
One of my favorite Christmas Eves was twenty years ago tonight, in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. I was visiting my uncle, auntie and cousins and had settled into a week long stay. It didn't take long for it to seem like to everyone in the village I was that "coosin frae Gan-ee-der." People …

Fuller's Vintage Ale '05 v.'10, South-like London, England

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , , - 13 comments
I have been wondering what to do with these single boxes of Fuller's Vintage Ale I stick away every year. Seems a shame to blow them all in one binge even if shared with pals and plenty of notes. Not much to learn there. I needed a plan, a system. So, with that in mind, I figured that I would open …

You Can Join Beau's Brewing's Team On Kiva, Too!

Posted by Alan McLeod on - leave a comment
I have mentioned it before, but I have been using the Kiva website for a couple of years now to lend money to operator's of corner stores offering beer in less fortunate nations. I know it is a bit of an odd idea but it is one I like and works for me.  •  Fascinated I was, then, to get a link from …

Who Is Dogfish Head And What Is "Innovation"?

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , , - 16 comments
Stan is running a great discussion over at his place that I will not replicate but to trap my comment of this morning which I think has captured something of what I think about Dogfish Head. The first bit is what Stan wrote in a comment followed by my observations:  •  “…I tried to write the post …

Maine: Auld Ale, Atlantic Brewing, Bah Hahbah

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , - 2 comments
I have no idea how long this beer has been in the stash. Paid $4.69 if that is any hint. Its full name is Foonf Zane Auld Ale Anniversary Small Batch. Not sure which of Atlantic Brewing's anniversaries - though the BAers are telling me it was the 15th back in 2006. So, sort of Nederlands meets …

Alberta Adds Tax To Stop Kids Drinking Utopias

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , , - 3 comments
That seems to be the logic - that super strong beer is the new highway to hell. The Government of Alberta is adding a surcharge to stop kids and other sorts of vulnerable Albertans from drinking a class of beer they, frankly, never intended to drink... or, more likely, were even aware existed …

A Day In Watertown NY And Another Beery Big M

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , - 3 comments
Remember that Big M Mart in Potsdam New York that I helped stock better beer? Well, that is over in St. Lawrence County, down stream from us here in central Easlakia near where the big lake meets the big river. Click on the map. It will make more sense. Other near neighbours have good supply, too …

Once Upon A Time, There Was A Man In Michigan...

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , - 6 comments
Decades ago, Monty Python did a bit about a secret Welsh martial art of self-defence that required you to attack your opponent before the idea of attacking you came into his head. For some reason, this story out of Michigan made me think of that...  •  ...the unidentified victim told police he was …

Ontario: Mocha Porter, Lake of Bays Brewing, Muskoka

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , , - 4 comments
Ahhh, it's like the moment when Santa stuffs the last stocking and hangs it by the final fireplace with care. All the emails have been sent connecting contest gift givers with contest winners. Now, it's Miller time - or, in my case, mocha porter time.  •  I am being especially lazy about my … read more »

Yule 2010 Grand Cham-peen Plus All Others Named

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , , - 11 comments
This is the day we award the championship. The top example of 2010's supreme master class in beer photography. And all in Santa's name. And the Yule log. I was going to play this out but I understand I have to get a tree, buy a family's worth of presents, locate the frozen joints of half a dozen …

The First Seven Photo Contest 2010 Prizes Announced

Posted by Alan McLeod on in - 2 comments
Here we go. The first wave of awards for the photo contest winners. Winner has a number of meanings as you will see. Some prizes go to the best art. Some for other reasons. Included in tonights awards are the four category winners as well as the three Canada-only prizes. And please bear with me as …

Yuletide 2010 Contest Prize Recap And Some Decisions

Posted by Alan McLeod on in - 1 comment
OK, enough with the categories and on to the prize giving. So far, we have a winner for beer and snow, one for beer and babies, another for beer portraiture and one for beer and place. Then there is the cham-peen of all cham-peens. How to give away prizes based on that. Just to remind you, here … read more »

Beer And Place: Yule Photo Contest 2010 Entries

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , - 6 comments
It's a bit odd suggesting that these are entries under this categories seeing as I only thought up the idea of judging by category after the contest closed. And I am still not sure if I am going to award prizes entirely based on the categories. Maybe I should do a draw - why not? Well, one reason …

Your 2010 Contest Winners for Beer Portraiture

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , - 2 comments
Did I really write "tomorrow" on Wednesday meaning that this post would be up on Thursday? Surely I meant "day after tomorrow" knowing that an oatmeal stout or two would get in the way. Whatever has happened, here we are with the beer portraiture category. Consider these:  •  Let's think about …

2010's Contest Awards For Snow And Beer Art

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , - 6 comments
OK - here are all the photos about snow:  •  Which is the winner? I have to post these and think about this for a moment...  •  [Ed.: ...taking that moment...]  •  First, I am cutting photo shopped images and, while we are at it, pictures of closed beer. I just can't see putting the bottle back in …

2010's Contest Award For Babies, Beer, Babies, Beer...

Posted by Alan McLeod on in - 5 comments
OK, I realize that most beer related posts would be about babes but this is really about babies. Years ago I took a photo of my now pre-teen, then but a few months old, reaching for a well made craft beer during her first visit to a brew pub. For a few years now, I have tested the principle … read more »

Ranks, Statistics And Other Things I Doubt

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , , - 2 comments
While the 2010 photo contest results churn on a vast array of reel to reel servers that fill the basement, I have time to think of other things. Like the meaning of that line up there. Apparently, right before Christmas, there is a big bump in interest in beers of the month clubs. Having written a …

Day 22: The Final Group Of Yule 2010 Entries

Posted by Alan McLeod on in - leave a comment
It has been a great contest but the 2010 Hogmanay, Yuletide, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Years Eve, Kwanzaa and Snow Ball Tourney Beer Blog Photo Contest is over. Another 44 entries came in at the end making for a total of 226 entries. When the dear old gent himself Stonch and I did …

Day 22: Only Four Hours Left To Submit Your Photos!

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , - 1 comment
It took a twoot from Tom for me to realize that this was the last day. The end times as it were:  •  You have until 12 noon ET to submit your photos to the 5th annual Christmas Beer Photo Contest. Win beer schwag!  •  For some reason I thought I had given you until this evening. I know this will …

To What End, The Traveling Beer Writer's Argument?

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , , - 7 comments
I was shaking my head at another piece of Roger Protz's writing last night. This time it was a bit on Chimay. I like Chimay as much as anyone so my concerns do not relate to the brewer - but you will recall that Mr. Protz is hardly monastic himself. He has a temper and a lack of discretion when it …

Session 46: On Contest Day 20 A Rare One Was Opened

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , , , - 2 comments
This is crazy. Three beer blogging themes meet on one night. This is the final Friday of the Yule, Christmas, Hogmanay, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa 2010 Good Beer Blog Photo Contest. It is also the weekend that Mark Dredge demanded we Open It! And it is the night of The Session's 46th edition. That is …

An Interesting Story About Those Importing Dorks

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , , - 7 comments
It's funny when arseholes tell you that you are only treated as a fool because you don't understand things as profoundly as they do. In web design the arsehole's joke went like this: "Funny? If you understood that joke on as many levels as I do, you'd really know what funny meant." This article on …

Ontario: My Peeps Seek The Land Of Beer Liberty

Posted by Alan McLeod on in , , , - 8 comments
Note: I did not write "lib-beer-ty" because I have standards. Nevertheless, good to see that so many of my brothers and sisters are crossing the border like me to exercise their right to a reasonable personal retail relationship with craft beer:  •  Two Saturdays ago, Troy Burtch settled into a …