It looks like Michigan wants nothing to do with bitchy beers.  Last year we saw the ban of Dogfish Head’s Bitches Brew because of the “b” word in the title, and now Flying Dog is suing the state to allow their Raging Bitch Belgian Ale to be sold there. Raging Bitch was first banned in […]

There’s an old business adage: if you can’t beat ’em, buy ’em, and that’s what Anheuser-Busch is doing, buying out Goose Island Brewery for somewhere between $22.5 million (according to MarketWatch) and $38.8 million (according to the Chicago Tribune). When I first saw this I thought it was an elaborate April Fool’s Day joke, but […]

You can keep your beer firing robots and your shoot-a-brew – there’s a reason the dog is considered man’s best friend! Happy Friday everybody – now go get a beer!! . .

We keep talking about how our beloved craft beer is growing up, and here’s another good example of the industry’s rapid evolution. Bell’s Brewery (one of my favorite brewers) has sent a cease and desist letter to Northern Brewer (my favorite home brew supplier). Bell’s is trying to protect their trademark for Two Hearted Ale […]

I’ve become fascinated by watching the combination of shitstorm and debacle (know by linguists as a “shibacle”) that Dark Lord Day is becoming before our eyes. As we noted here, Dark Lord Day tickets went on sale Saturday, and according to BeerNews.org, they sold out in 23 minutes.  It’s great to see such enthusiasm for […]

Dark Lord Day has become a bit of a circus since the first batch of this hard to get Imperial Stout was brewed in 2002.  Over the years the crowds have swelled, the hype has grown and, quite frankly, all you drunken bastards have become a burden on the poor brewers at Three Floyds.  They […]

I found this clip on YouTube which shows there’s hope yet for TV news (at least in Denver).  Hit play above to watch an obviously drunk and partially knuckleheaded dude narrate FOX 31’s coverage of the Denver St. Patrick’s Day parade.  Is it just me, or he kind of sound like Sam Calagione? My favorite […]

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! As a beer geek I have struggled to find meaning in the holiday this year, but that doesn’t mean you’re not going to hit your favorite pub and have a great time.  As you do I’d like to remind you that St. Patrick’s Day is also called Amateur Night, and for […]

This video gives an overview of how Yelp’s iPad-powered kegerator works – it’s actually pretty cool if you can look past the Big Brother part. One has to look no further than Yelp’s San Francisco offices to see that we have officially become slaves to technology.  You see, there they have a kegerator full of […]

I’ve come to a sad conclusion – St. Patrick’s Day is largely irrelevant for beer geeks.  Years ago (before I knew better about beer) it was a day to wear something green and enjoy a Guinness or a Killian’s Irish Red with some friends.  It was a national beer holiday of sorts, a day where […]

I enjoy brewing beer, but I detest bottling it, so for my latest batch of home brew I tried something new.  Instead of filling dozens of bottles of beer, I purchased a Tap-A-Draft system from Northern Brewer and filled two 6 liter plastic bottles instead.  It was simple, but now I have a problem – […]

I cracked into my latest homebrew last night, a clone of Bells Two Hearted Ale, and I have to say it kind of sucks.  It’s not awful like the Wheat I brewed last year, but it’s deeply mediocre.  It has me questioning why I bother brewing beer at all – why put so much time […]

Here’s a contrast for you: Appalachian State University is on the verge of starting a full-fledged brew master program while Brigham Young University just suspended one of it’s best basketball players for having sex with his girlfriend.  That’s right, he got fouled for illegal dunking! 😉 As a guy who has both a son and […]

Last year’s GABF was a bit of a blur (it might’ve been all the beer), but I do remember Don and I having a late night snack at the Rock Bottom Brewery with our pals from Brewforia and the guys from Pintley.com.  The Pintley crew were bright and motivated beer nerds who were really excited […]

I wrote an entry the other day about Appalachian State University’s new chemistry class in beer making.  It got me to thinking about how brewing beer is becoming a more and more viable career option as the craft beer juggernaut continues to gain steam.  Then I found out how much the average brewmaster makes, and […]