Few of us are able to taste anything without the world around us creeping in. Your mood, where you are, who you’re with, what you crave at the time and other such factors all play a role in the way you process tastes and how you categorize them in your brain.  I’m sure there’s scientific research to […]

There are certain things in life that make my overactive mind settle down.  Johnny Cash can do this, as can the plainly written books of John Steinbeck.  For some reason cooking on the grill falls into this category as well.  All of these things have a meditative effect on me that blocks out the chaos […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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…

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 […]

Man did we learn a lot about this this weekend in the NFL.  Just think about the scrutiny the quarterbacks of each of the four championship teams got before, during, and after each game!  My God the pressure must have been immense.  Mark Sanchez is too young, Brett Favre is too old, Drew Brees is […]

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 […]

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, […]

I was transported last night to a place far far away!  Perhaps it was a galaxy, and perhaps it was just a happy place that I have never been to before, but it was transforming!  It all started at my local beer store.  See in Idaho we don’t have a great selection of brews to […]

I had the idea to do this throwdown, because coffee porters are getting a lot of attention lately on the various posts, and I had the Rogue that I had picked up previously, so I got the Pipeline and was going to do a two coffee Porter throwdown.  I happened to mention this to Rick […]

I received a response from Brett Olson of the Beer of the Month Club about my recent Saranac rant.  I went on their site and clicked around and discovered that they’re total beer nerds, so I dropped them a line about my post so they could defend themselves.  Brett sent such a well written response,  I’ve decided to […]