So these are a couple of the cans I picked up this week. The 21st Amendment Brewery has made the investment in a canning line, and beer–good beer–in a can is becoming more mainstream all the time as can technology and canning techniques have improved dramatically, and more breweries are making the investment, I’m sure […]
From the Cellar
Storm King Stout Ginger Cake
Knowing I’m a little over-focused on (some may say obsessed with) beer, my sister Wendi sent me a link for a ginger cake made with stout. Being the baker I am, I immediately passed the recipe on to my wife and begged her to make it. Because she loves stout beer and because we were […]
What Makes a Great City…Aaahh, I Mean, Porter?
In her book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” author Jane Jacobs looks at what goes into the making of a great city. There are many factors that need to combine to make a place truly special, and if certain of these factors are neglected or overlooked the city suffers. For example in […]
I’m Sweet on Sour Beer!
Well, I’ve had a breakthrough of sorts when it comes to sours. I was hanging out with some fellow beer nerds Friday night recording a Beer Brawl podcast for Simply Beer. After we wrapped up, a few beers were popped open that weren’t part of the podcast. Consider it an after party of sorts, without […]
Countdown to the Pro Bowl. Whatcha Drinkin’?
Well its Friday yet again, and it is the weekend of the big experiment in the NFL. As I’m sure many of you know the Pro Bowl used to be played in Hawaii a week or two (I can’t remember) after the Superbowl. It was a get away for the players, a chance for them […]
Help Me Beer Guru’s – I Need a Sour!
I’ve had rotten luck with sour beers. First it was the Duchesse De Borgogne, which tasted like raspberry jam to me. Too sweet – into the sink it went after I realized I just was never going to finish it. More recently, it was a Nogne O Tyttebaer Wild Ale that tasted so antiseptic-like that […]
DEVASTATOR!!
Yeah, when you search Google for images of the Devastator, this is what you get. Lots of robots and kids toys! Why do we name toys for children Devastator? Carnage and destruction is what this guy wreaks and for $24.99 your child can dominate the world and his friends with a plastic piece of garbage. You […]
O Nogne! This Didn’t End Well
So far, I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve had from Nogne O, the Norwegian brewery that’s part of the Mikkeller family. I’m sorry to say that streak has come to an abrupt end. What you see above is one of their beers being poured into my sink. It was unceremoniously returned to the sea, never to be purchased again…
I Found My Thrill…
Man do I love Blueberries! They are perhaps my favorite fruit. Every time we go to the Oregon coast we make sure we are there in time for blueberry season. We go to the U-Pick farms and everyone gets a coffee can that has a rope threaded through it to suspend it from their neck […]
This Is Totally NOT My Fault!
Well maybe it is. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that 2009 saw the biggest decline in beer sales volume in the last five decades. But that only goes for the big awful macro-brewed crap, where sales volume is down 2.2%. Craft beer sales are up this year, with Sam Adams showing an increase of […]
Is that Jack Daniels?
Well the makers might want you to think so, but actually their contents are better than Jack. It is an old advertising trick, let someone do a great job of branding and create a huge following, then come along with a product that looks virtually identical and maybe people will buy it by mistake. Or […]
Whatcha Drinking This Weekend?: Championship Edition
Those of you who read these pages regularly know what I’m having. Superstition has taken hold, and I must repeat my beverage consumption of the past few weeks that has propelled my Jets to an unlikely berth in the AFC Championship Game: Southern Tier Oat and a Dale’s Pale Ale or two. I’ll also be […]
A Taste of Utopia(s)
I stopped by to visit with Kevin (Dark Lord of the Stout) at the Liquor Outlet in Boonton, NJ last night. He’s the beer buyer there and he has a real passion for craft beer. He’s one of the friendliest and most knowledgeable beer nerds I know. Turns out he’s one of the most generous, […]
The Brothers
Beer & Whiskey Brothers 