This is all John King’s fault.  He posted a picture of Pliny the Elder on his Facebook wall, saying it was his reward for a long run he had taken. It got me to thinking about a post I did last year about how craft beer is pretty suitable as a recovery drink. After all, […]

This is how I always imagine these in my head… With Spring finally starting to…uh…spring, it’s time to turn our attention to one of my favorite outdoor activities – going to beer festivals.  It used to be that there were a few key events and a few also-rans and that was it.  But as craft […]

Every once in a while I run across something that makes me realize what a happy little bubble we have here.  This site is frequented by some of the most opened-minded and knowledgeable beer geeks around.  Frankly, I forget that there are other folks out there, some of them very intelligent and articulate, who really […]

I picked up a six pack of Schlafly Irish-Style Extra Stout on Friday night and have to say it’s a wonderful beer.  It has a dry, chocolatey flavor and a creamy, satisfying mouth feel. It’s a total treat, and is only available for a limited time, so go snap some up if you’re a stout-loving […]

Unable to turn down an opportunity to do something “outlandish” for attention, Brew Dog has created something special for the upcoming royal wedding.  It’s a 7.5% ABV beer containing Viagra, chocolate and horny goat weed called Royal Virility Performance.  Ugh. The beer will be available for purchase on Brew Dog’s website on April 29th (the […]

If you have ever doubted that the heart of a beer geek beats inside the chest of the Boston Beer Company, look no further than the Latitude 48 IPA Variety Pack that Sam Adams should be releasing in the coming weeks (or months – the 8 Ball is still fuzzy on this, but we’ve heard […]

Lately, I’ve been too “busy” (a nice way of saying “lazy”) to keep up with the beers I have in primary fermentation.  I also broke a plastic airlock trying to pry it free from a stubborn bung, leaving me short this key piece of equipment.  This remarkable combination of laziness and manual inadequacy has led […]

Many folks are disgusted by the recent behavior of Goose Island brewmaster Greg Hall, who relieved himself into two beer glasses at Bangers and Lace in Chicago on Friday.  Baternder Matty Eggleston (pictured above) was left behind to clean up the mess, and decided to contact the Chicago Tribune and make a PR mess for […]

Our pal Adam over at BeerNews.org is reporting that current Goose Island brewmaster Greg Hall was caught urinating into two beer glasses at a birthday party held at Bangers and Lace in Chicago.  The incident happened Friday evening. The fact that Anheuser-Busch is in the process of purchasing Goose Island creates lots of opportunities to […]

Last night I realized I have a fragile mind, one easily swayed by the little demons a P.R. person can put in your head.  In this case, I succumbed to the story about Flying Dog’s Raging Bitch being banned in Michigan – a story I wrote! Some longtime readers will remember that I had written […]

“If you get shot at, you can have a shot.” That’s the thinking of Alaska State Representative Bob Lynn (R-Anchorage), a Vietnam vet who’s behind a bill that would lower the state’s drinking age to 18 for every person who can show a valid armed forces identification. He’s also calling for lowering the tobacco buying […]

I have to call myself out on something – I don’t have any facial hair.  No beard, no goatee, not even a soul patch.  I’m clean shaven and sideparted.  I’ve come to the conclusion that this makes me somewhat of a rarity in the beer geek kingdom, sort of like one of those weird skinless […]

Recent events have been a bit of a downer for us craft beer geeks.  There’s been legal wrangling, banned beers, big boy buyouts and allegations of macrobeer media bullying. That’s enough conflict and negativity for a year, much less a couple of weeks. In an effort to cleanse our mental palates, I thought I’d do […]

If you recall, we were the ones who said definitively that the Discovery show Brewmasters was dead.  There were a lot of folks who said we were wrong, but we had it on good authority that the show was done. Now we have it on even better authority. 

I’m at Eataly in NYC, and can’t bring myself to care about Italian beer. How come “Italy” and “beer” don’t go together in my head?