Okay, so I moved my first-ever beer from primary to secondary fermentation over the weekend.  It’s a bourbon barrel porter that has been fermenting for two weeks.  It will now spend another two weeks in secondary and then 10 days soaking with bourbon and oak chips. I used the beer thief to grab a sample […]

Normally one would think being brought to your senses by an enormous furry beast like the sasquatch would be a rude awakening indeed, possibly involving a ripped tent and a soiled sleeping bag.  But in my case, it was a very pleasant experience.  Of course the beast I refer to was from a bottle, it […]

The Box is a film by Warner Brother’s Pictures that was released late last year, about a couple that are struggling financially (Who isn’t?) and they have a creepy old guy come up to them, played by Frank Langella who I might add plays a great old creepy dude, and propositions them. They can get $1,000,000 just […]

Katie from Gonzo Gastronomy had the good fortune to taste BrewDog’s Tactical Nuclear Penguin and Sink The Bismark back-to-back earlier this week and has lived to tell about it.  And (unlike me) she appreciates these beers for what they are – a raw, visceral head-pounding good time.  Her account is below in the way only […]

Well Friday has finally arrived and all I can say is it’s about time!  It’s been one of those weeks where the candle has been burning at both ends and in the middle.  I’d love to kick back and relax this weekend, but Mother Nature has conspired with my garage to keep me productive.  It’s […]

Founders is quickly becoming one of my favorite breweries for several reasons.  First on that list is that we share the same philosophy – ordinary beers are to be avoided.  You can taste this point of view in just about every beer Founders brews, as each is bold, memorable and delicious. Founders takes this philosophy […]

I don’t really understand why Lagunitas decided to name their excellent ale the “Hairy Eyeball.”  See the phrase giving someone the Hairy Eyeball is used to indicate skepticism, or disapproval.  Well this beer was very good, and was so from the first sniff to the last drink, and everywhere in between.  So why the name? […]

Usually a beer label will turn me off if it’s too cutesy or if the beer has a pun for a name (looking at you HE’BREW).  For some reason, I feel if they’re trying so hard to grab your attention with kitsch, the beer inside must not be that special.  It’s a stupid way to […]

Last week the guys over at Thank Heaven for Beer put together a Sip With Us Saturday and invited me to participate.  Well, I’m not sure if I am the brightest bulb on the tree or not, but I took that to mean that they wanted a review of the beer that I chose, so […]

When you Google “A Match Made in Heaven”  this picture comes up.  And it got me thinking, is beer Divinely Inspired?  We are in the season of Lent right now.  Sometimes Lent is called Holy Season.  One thing the Christian Holy Season lets us do is reflect.  Reflect on our lives, the people who are […]

I was struck by something as I was walking to lunch last week.  I walked by a restaurant that was taking beer deliveries for the weekend, and parked in a row were three delivery vehicles.  Closest to the street was a Widmer van.  Widmer is a smallish craft brewery from Portland that has a lot […]

It seems extremely early this year, but Sunday at 2am is that magical moment where we trick mother nature into giving us one more hour of daylight each day.  The price we pay for this is a hefty one – an hour less in our weekends.  What’s worse, an hour less to enjoy our favorite […]

A couple of months back I picked up a Sierra Nevada Stout.  I kinda figured it wouldn’t be a really great stout like Bourbon County, partly because it was from a larger craft brewer, and it wasn’t in their special releases that tend to be bigger more complex offerings.  Nope, this one is just their […]

So my bourbon barrel porter is doing well.  The bubbling has slowed after a few days of rowdy gurgles and the amazing yeast cake on the top of the carboy is slipping into the murky depths.  Soon it’ll be time to siphon the beer to secondary and then add the whiskey and the oak cubes. […]

So I happened to hear from [name withheld] that a shipment of Founders Kentucky Breakfast Stout was rolling into our state a couple of weeks before its scheduled release.  So I headed out to [location withheld] and spoke with [name withheld] ([routine nickname that always follows this person’s name also withheld]) who was generous enough […]