March 2013
Not Beer: Zero de Gris 2009, Huff Estates, PEC
Posted by on Sunday, March 31, 2013 in - leave a comment
I was going to post about tea. I have been drinking a lot of tea lately. Good tea. Good tea is one of the least expensive good things going. Even at $35, per portion so might be a sweet wine like this bottle I picked up last summer at the winery on one of our ice cream, beach and cheese curd … read more »
A Few Updates On New Long Writing About Good Beer
Posted by on Saturday, March 30, 2013 in - 3 comments
I write a lot for my job. Likely three-quarters of what I do is based on typing a lot of detail that needs to be relied upon. I like it. Think I am good at it. But I have to tell you that co-writing this quasi-fictional narrative on good beer with Max - the one that flies through time and space …
Ontario: Eephus Oatmeal Brown, Left Field Br'y, Tra'na
Posted by on Thursday, March 28, 2013 in - 2 comments
I think I only dislike one thing about the prospect of drinking this new beer. I have a strong suspicion that Jays fans made it. Have I mentioned I really dislike the Toronto Blue Jays? Years ago when I bounced in a bar in London, Ontario there was another bar down the road all done up with … read more »
Big US Craft Apparently Has Bifurcated Lobbyitus
Posted by on Wednesday, March 27, 2013 in - 4 comments
Interesting piece on the impending decisions to be made in relation to Federal excise taxation for beer in the US over at MSN Money today: • ...The Brewer’s Employment and Excise Relief (BEER) Act, which is promoted by Washington-based beer industry group The Beer Institute, is expected to be …
Maybe Beer Helped Create Violent Tyranny?
Posted by on Monday, March 25, 2013 in - 6 comments
I find this beer "created civilization" line going around funny. Sure, it is an easy cut and paste story for bloggers needing to fill space. And, sure, it is an easy story for a newspaper to run. But really? • Hayden told Postmedia News that “there are lots of implications” of the team’s …
Just What We Need: A State Controlled Beer Festival!
Posted by on Sunday, March 24, 2013 in - leave a comment
This has to be one of the saddest examples of government control in the beer world that I have seen recently: • The P.E.I. Liquor Control Commission is looking for a partner to start a new beer festival to be held in Charlottetown this fall. Jamie MacLeod, a spokesman for the commission, said it …
Not Beer: Pinot Noir 2009, Grange, Closson Road, PEC
Posted by on Saturday, March 23, 2013 in - 1 comment
I didn't buy this when we visited The Grange of Prince Edward County last August but maybe I should have. Found a bottle on a low shelf at the local government store. I sorta realized I had not been paying attention to this grape. I've probably been in a Côtes du Rhône rut now that I think of it …
Wherein I Prove I May Actually Be A Miserable Jerk
Posted by on Friday, March 22, 2013 in - 9 comments
The email from a, shall we say, noted brewer with this news was accompanied with an introductory statement which read "Say what you will about Sam- this will be hitting the papers tomorrow I'm sure!" And it is a news worthy press release from Jim Koch of Sam Adams about its new beer can which … read more »
Belgium: Grand Cru, Brasserie Des Rocs, M.-d.-Rocs
Posted by on Thursday, March 21, 2013 in - leave a comment
A pleasant surprise at the local government store at just $3.10 for 330 ml of 9% goodness. On the front it says "Grand Cru" but on the back "Belgian Special Brown Ale". Argue amongst yourselves on the fine points. • I do like those brown ales from Belgian with a certain special something …
Sales Revenues Rise Faster Than Beer Barrels Moved
Posted by on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 in - 13 comments
I usually do not care about these sorts of PR advertorial releases about contrived standards being, amazingly, once again surpassed but there is that fact in there nattering away at me: • With production at 13,235,917 barrels in 2012, craft brewers reached 6.5 percent volume of the total U.S …
How Will You Find Me Without Lord Goog's Reader?
Posted by on Monday, March 18, 2013 in - 6 comments
I have to admit that I was a bit caught off guard by the news. Time was you could actually write blog posts about stats. Eight years ago, I used to collect data like this because back in Web 2.0 well before social media you really had no clue how many people were out there. Then came along …
The Lone Voice Of A US Good Beer Consumer
Posted by on Sunday, March 17, 2013 in - 14 comments
There was an article posted today at NPR which provides a reasonable summary article on recent issues related to good beer. The best bit, spoiler, was the last bit: • In the bar, customer Rordam says even if he's sampled some upscale micro brews at $6, $7 or $8 a pint, those prices might …
I Have No Irish In Me And Don't Drink On Sundays
Posted by on Saturday, March 16, 2013 in - 3 comments
This is a difficult date on the calendar for me. Like in many places, the Irish, lapsed or otherwise, and their fellow travelers in small town eastern Ontario have gathered and tightly packed themselves into traditional bars like the Douglas Tavern or the Tweedsmuir drinking macro lager dyed green …
Quebec: Rang Dix, MB Du Lac Saint-Jean, St-Gedeon
Posted by on Thursday, March 14, 2013 in - 1 comment
Happy was I - on the last stop in Quebec on return trip except maybe for the half tank of gas because it was 1.41 a liter - to realize that not only did I already have bags full of good stuff from Marché Atwater but, after getting the squeak causing curds, to also realize that La Fromagerie … read more »
Quebec: Dinner, Ice Cider And A Protest In Montreal
Posted by on Tuesday, March 12, 2013 in - 2 comments
You forget what you have sometimes. At a new bistro slash pub we decided to hit tonight, they had Fin Du Monde on tap and seeing as they had it, well, I had it. NYK-S was the place, just a few blocks from our hotel on Sherbrooke. We called ahead to see if they were able to take a family with kids …
Do We Want "Easy Drinking And Balanced" Beer?
Posted by on Monday, March 11, 2013 in - 7 comments
So far, a day and a half of wandering around Canada's coolest downtown. Walking up and over and around an iced hill. Shopping with family. Forced marches in search of tea and Converse. I am struck how there is such availability of what I want to call table beer. A perfectly good jug of decent ale …
Albany Ale: Why Did They Grow All That Wheat?
Posted by on Saturday, March 9, 2013 in - 5 comments
Did I mention that I was tickled to get my copy of Alcohol and its Role in the Evolution of Human Society by Ian S. Hornsey last week? Oh, I did. One of the great truths of this mortal coil is how chronology must be obeyed. And I was particularly ticked to realize that since my last Hornsey, the …
Ontario: Russian Gun Imperial Stout, Grand River Brewing
Posted by on Friday, March 8, 2013 - 2 comments
One of the nicer changes in the way the provincial good beer trade works is that bottles from beyond the west side of Toronto now show up here in government stores beyond the east side. Grand River Brewing's Russian Gun Imperial Stout is one of the best aspects of this internal free trade. It's …
Book Review: Alcohol and its Role in..., Ian Hornsey
Posted by on Thursday, March 7, 2013 in - 3 comments
That is Alcohol and its Role in the Evolution of Human Society by Ian S. Hornsey. I had no idea. In a work of beer writing that is still trying to find its way, seeking to evolve from fanboy gushing or trade focused boosterism or underdeveloped efforts at business journalism, Hornsey's 2004 book A …
"The Art Of Beer Alchemy" By Chas Chumley
Posted by on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 in - 6 comments
Just in case there is anyone out there named Chas Chumley, I should explain. A couple of decades ago, The Kids in the Hall had a very brief skit of a man walking down the street in a leisure suit. He had a spring in his step and was winking, nodding and pointing at the people with a certain zest …
"We Do Believe In The Future Of This Format"
Posted by on Monday, March 4, 2013 in - 20 comments
Stan goads me. Sometimes. He goaded me today with a tweet which, if you think about it, is a particularly goadyish way to goad. Stan the Goadster did write as follows this very afternoon: • @agoodbeerblog "Cacao nibs and imported honey are expensive," At last, the reason behind higher beer …
How Law Can Define Craft Brewing By Hectolitres
Posted by on Sunday, March 3, 2013 in - 2 comments
An interesting post today by Jordan about the best part of a week spent exploring good beer in the western Canadian province of Alberta. I was particularly interested in his description of the minimum requirements set out in law by the government which I am going to repeat here in a bit more … read more »
Beer Gardens As Community Centres In Zimbabwe
Posted by on Saturday, March 2, 2013 in - leave a comment
News of the reopening of a number of municipally owned beer gardens in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe may be news to locals but the description of what they are used for is pretty interesting, as we are told by a brewery spokesman: • ...those leasing the premises had undertaken to maintain certain social …
Session 73: Beer Audit Or What's In Store
Posted by on Friday, March 1, 2013 in - 3 comments
Not sure I understand this edition of the session but maybe that is because I don't put too much energy into the particulars of my beer stash as long as I have a certain volume of brew tucked away. This is the question that has been put to use by Pints and Pubs: • I’m interested to know if you …
