Beyond TODAY is an extension of our weekly column for the TODAY Show food blog. Over there, I talk about my hunt for the much-hyped Pliny the Elder on a recent trip to California. Over here, we’re sharing one from the archives about how hype can effect your perception and enjoyment of a beer.  Click […]

When I was a kid, I’d “accidentally” break dishes while unloading the dishwasher so I could get out of doing that particular chore.  Below is a clipping from a British newspaper that’s been making the rounds, and if true (and I really hope it is), this fella has turned getting out of mundane duties into […]

I find St. Patrick’s Day increasingly difficult to deal with as I’ve become more and more of a beer geek.  Years ago, I would drink Guinness or Harp, wear green, get hammered and go with the flow.  It was the one day of the year where I could flaunt my surname with pride: G…A…double L-I…G-A-N […]

I just wanted to let all of you folks know that relief is on the way from the Jim-fest that’s been happening here lately.  Donnybear ™ has been swamped the past week or so with employment seeking and so forth, but should be back in the groove here soon. And that’s a good thing.  I […]

Beyond TODAY is an extension of our weekly column for the TODAY Show food blog. Over there, I talk about how an off flavor ruined my last chance with a very highly regarded beer. Over here, we’re looking at other flavors that make a good beer taste bad (at least to me).   Click here to […]

. . I loved tinkering with LEGOs as a kid.   I used gears and pulleys and axles to make some neat stuff, some of which were pretty resourceful feats of kiddie engineering. Look mom, the helicopter blade AND the tail rotor spin when I turn the handle!  I’m totally a genius! Well, looking at the […]

I was at the grocery store to pick up a bag of coffee last week, only to be deeply disheartened by what I saw. Let’s start with a disclosure; at my last job I worked on the Starbucks and Seattle’s Best Coffee accounts as a copywriter, particularly in the grocery channel.  I loved working on […]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’ll have one less hour to enjoy delicious craft beers and artisinal spirits this weekend.  That’s right – it’s time to “spring ahead” and change your clocks from 2am to 3am in the wee hours of Sunday morning. I usually don’t mind this, as I’d […]

Beyond TODAY is an extension of our weekly column for the TODAY Show food blog. Over there, we’re talking about our experiences at the New York City American Craft Beer Festival. Over here, we’re talking about the train ride from hell I had to take to get there!  The first sign that it wouldn’t be […]

I’ve opened beers with many found objects – my favorite being the bottom of a Bic back when I was a smoker – but this one’s new on me. The video above shows a rather furry gentleman opening a rather crappy beer with a very ordinary piece of copy paper.  The trick is simple but […]

The gang over at Keg Works have sharpened their pencils, done some math and made something purdy.  The created an infographic exploring the cost of gas versus the cost of beer.  As it turns out, homebrew is cheaper than gasoline, but Labatt’s Blue costs more per gallon.  Good to know. Of course if you ever […]

What do you get when you put a pumpkin in a barrel?  You get hands down the best beer at this weekend’s New York City American Craft Beer Festival, at least in my humble opinion.  And it wasn’t even in the fancy VIP room, it was with the more common offerings on the main show […]

My lovely wife surprised me last night with a growler full of beer from a well-loved regional brewery that’s near her work.  I don’t want to name names, but it was from Captain Lawrence’s new taproom at 444 Saw Mill River Rd  Elmsford, NY 10523.  Oops – guess I didn’t handle that very well! The reason […]

Beyond TODAY is an extension of our weekly column for the TODAY Show food blog. Here we’ll look at the same subject from another angle, which will likely be far geekier. This edition is from the archives, all about the nutritional goodness in craft beer.  Click here to see our latest TODAY Show post. About […]

Johnathan Moxey just alerted me to the fact that this is happening, which is kind of embarrassing, seeing as he’s from Missouri and lives in NYC, and I have lived in New Jersey for decades.  Anyway, my state is a crappy place to start a new brewery, and because of that, New Jersey has very […]