March 2010
So, Where Is The Biggest Beer Store On Earth?
Posted by on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 in - 6 comments
I've noticed that not a lot of other beer bloggers write about the beer shopping experience. For me it is one of the best aspects but that's because I'm a hoarder and collector. I like hunting out a rare bottle in a favorite shop and I also like finding a great six pack in a gas station. I like …
Quebec: Colonel Cornwallis, Le Bilboquet, St.-Hyacinthe
Posted by on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 in - leave a comment
I like this gent on the label. Not sure which Cornwallis it is. One was governor of Nova Scotia in 1749 and Gibraltar in 1762. Another, Chuck, was nowhere near Quebec at the time. The beer is a sensible 5.5% IPA, of the English sort really. Was he, which ever he was, as sensible? • Not a bomb at …
Sometimes A Beer Is Not Just The Thing...
Posted by on Sunday, March 28, 2010 in - 2 comments
Pity the poor dope who for one tiny moment though he was doing the right thing to make up for the bad thing only to find himself, again, doing the bad thing: • Police have apologised to a family after smashing down their door by mistake, then later offering a bottle of beer and some flowers to …
Singing About Beer In 1936 At The Movies In Oslo
Posted by on Saturday, March 27, 2010 in - 1 comment
Knut posted this 1936 short film praising Norwegian beer this morning. It's pretty amazing. Notice at the end that the lyrics are put up on the screen so everyone in the cinema can sing along. Notice that singing along in Norway in 1936 includes a lot of "tim-tim-tim"-ing. It amazes me that some … read more »
Earth Hour Seems To Mean Beer Hour To Some
Posted by on Friday, March 26, 2010 in - 3 comments
"Spend an hour guzzling organic booze" says one story from Chicago. Gorkha Brewery in Kathmandu, Nepal is all set to support the Earth Hour, too. Heck even Molson Coors will "power down" for Earth Hour 2010. • I've never really caught the Earth Hour bug as I happily got rid of the second car …
You Don't Have Permission To Access /beerfeeds2/
Posted by on Thursday, March 25, 2010 in - 5 comments
I had no idea how dependent I had gotten to be on the Really Simple BEER Syndication or RSBS service from the good people over at www.beerinator.com. Until it went away. I haven't emailed Jonathan Surratt to ask why it is no longer accessible as I can imagine it is the time and the cost and life …
California: The Hairy Eyeball, Lagunitas, Petaluna
Posted by on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 in - leave a comment
I found this at Bessettes yesterday as I was roaming a corner of northern New York for something to do. Not much to go on from the label other than it's 8.83% and comes from a pretty dependable source. They even planted their own hopyard. I know I've had the Brown Shugga and Hop Stoopid but I … read more »
Do Writers Have A Disproportionate Influence On Beer?
Posted by on Monday, March 22, 2010 in - 10 comments
Stan has a very interesting post and comments going all under the title "Does Anybody Read Beer Blogs?" For me, the same can be said about beer books, beer magazines, beer trade papers, beer web forums and beer social networks. Who the hell reads this stuff? And I don't think the medium in which …
When Does Beer "Tasting" Simply Go Too Far?
Posted by on Sunday, March 21, 2010 in - 6 comments
Jay Brooks has written a thoughtful post about his impressions after a barley wine tasting session that takes extreme beer in another dimension altogether: • It’s a simple, if punishing format, where a new beer is opened roughly every five minutes over a period of several hours... Last year …
Quebec: La Courlieu, Naufrageur, Carelton-sur-mer
Posted by on Saturday, March 20, 2010 in - leave a comment
This Belgian pale ale from Quebec's Atlantic coast pours a burnished gold... or is it deep amber? I was at the Museum of Civilization in Ottawa yesterday just before I bought it and had a good look at a lot of good looking gold. It's actually much more orange than gold is. Anyway, the froth and … read more »
Again - Where Is The Voice Of We The Drinkers?
Posted by on Saturday, March 20, 2010 in - leave a comment
I was going to post this as a comment at Lew's blog but it is really a tangent to his post about new board members being elected for the US's Brewer's Association. Question: do we have an issue with what the BA does as, in Lew's correct observation, an industry lobbying group in the awareness that …
Quebec: A Name Change At Marche Omni in Gatineau
Posted by on Friday, March 19, 2010 in - 1 comment
Had a mad dash up to the nation's capital the last few days during which I forced 6 members of my family to sit in a parking lot while I hit Marche Jovi in Gatinueau for a quick buy. I was disconcerted to see the new awnings and name - Marche Omni - and feared beer was not going to be the focus it …
New York: Biere De Mars, Ommegang, Cooperstown
Posted by on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 in - leave a comment
And it was St. Patrick's Day. And oatmeal stout was had at the brew pub and it was good. And there was planning for the 2010 version of this and that was good, too. • But after the taxi after the folks half my age decided to take off into the night and do what people half my age do, I needed …
Have I Had My Interim Kölschkranz Needs Met?
Posted by on Tuesday, March 16, 2010 in - 1 comment
I has been almost four years since I put out the call about my need for a kölschkranz. And that New York Times piece by Evan Rail about kölsch back in 2007 was accompanied by one of the most gorgeous photos of beer in a kranz... or in any other container... that I have ever seen. It made my …
Book Review: Brewing With Wheat By Stan Hieronymus
Posted by on Monday, March 15, 2010 in - 3 comments
I got my review copy of Stan's new book in the mail today. Stan is so clever he already has the book's own website up. I have a disclaimer. I like Stan. Sometimes we send giggly emails to each other. Disclosure over. • Stan researched the book on his family's global trip that passed through my …
Belize: Stout, Belikin Beer, Ladyville
Posted by on Saturday, March 13, 2010 in - 5 comments
A friend from work brought me a couple of these after her trip to Belize. A 6.5% Caribbean export in a swell painted 284 ml bottle. On the nose, there is a strong milk chocolate scent with a little date in there, too. Deep mahogany ale under a thin mocha rim and foam. A comment maker mentioned … read more »
Maine: Confluence 2009, Allagash, Portland
Posted by on Friday, March 12, 2010 in - leave a comment
Yum. Orval-eque. A bit less lavender. A tiny bit of pear from the malt. Lovely. But explosive. The cork flew. The shirt's in the wash.
The British Breakfast Bar Makes Sense To Me
Posted by on Thursday, March 11, 2010 in - 7 comments
I hadn't realized that alcohol sales were actually illegal here in Ontario before 11 am until I did a bit of a hospitality training session last year. We are barred from beer and breakfast. I just hadn't been out looking for a mid-moring drink, I guess. Things are different elsewhere. Not only is …
Illinois: Oh Brother!, Tripel, Two Brothers, Warrenville
Posted by on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 in - 2 comments
This is a really interesting tripel. Not a just a candi sugar bomb, there's a lot of earthiness in there. Not funk. Earth. • It's made by the same folk at Two Brothers Brewing who made that Domaine DuPage I had last fall. It doesn't show on their website but, then again, this page was last …
UK Labour Adds Two Dimensional Pub Minister
Posted by on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 in - leave a comment
Wow. A Pub Minister for Britain! Great! Has he got a Ministry staffed with people who do work? No... but he has a ministerial task force, drawing on five Whitehall departments. Is he actually given the time and resources to make change? Well, there is that thing coming up... that election. The …
This Monday's Bullet Points Of Beery Interest
Posted by on Monday, March 8, 2010 in - 2 comments
Ah, bullet points. When you haven't got enough for a post there's always enough for bullet points. They are the putting green to a round of 18. The hot dog to the BBQ. But enough of my lazy blogger admissions and let's see what is going on out there: • •Craft beer in the US had another good year …
Oregon: Black Butte XXI, Deschutes Brewery, Bend
Posted by on Saturday, March 6, 2010 in - 3 comments
I am delighted that samples from Deschutes get through the solid mile high maple soaked wall that is the US-Canadian border but disconcerted nonetheless. Should I be drinking a beer that says "best before 17 October 2010" or should I not? In this weekend's spirit of not being so anal about these …
Session 37: Let's Bust Open The Stash.... Maybe....
Posted by on Friday, March 5, 2010 in - 3 comments
Stash. It's one of the best words in the entire beery lexicon. I like it so much a picture of mine serves as the background of my Twitter page. No, not page... presence. It really is a Twitter presence. And, you know, it is a thing of comfort and joy, the stash. I wrote a post about my stash in …
Botswana To Regulate Traditional Beer
Posted by on Thursday, March 4, 2010 in - 1 comment
Traditional beer? The only solid access I've had to information about traditional beer drinking patterns in southern Africa is what I read a couple of years ago in Xhosa Beer Drinking Rituals by Patrick McAllister. Botswana is apparently taking steps to bring traditional beer under the nation's …
The Hobby Of Not Drinking Everything
Posted by on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 in - 8 comments
Good article in the Los Angeles Times today by Evan George on the hobby of the beer stash. The hero of the story is Mr. Arrieta: • To grab a beer, Israel Arrieta doesn't just stroll to the fridge; he has to walk out his back door to the side of the house, where he pries a chicken-wire screen off …
Michigan: Reserve Special, Dark Horse Brewing, Marshall
Posted by on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 in - 2 comments
Marshall, Michigan. I would like to spend a few days there, drinking Dark Horse beer. The only think better than Dark Horse beer is the extraordinary fountain in the centre of town. It's a small town, under 6,000 people. So, it's pretty good that they have at least two extraordinary things there …
