There are two ways in which first impressions can be wrong.  You might think something is good and it turns out to be…Hmmm, not so good.  Then sometimes you can think something is not so good, and it turns out to be great.  Take for a moment the case of Fran Drescher.  She played “The […]

You might recall a few weeks ago we called upon the BW&B braintrust (you guys and gals) to help us come up with a few beers to recommend to my friend Jill.  She’s a big wine lover and was interested in trying some of the bigger, more complex beers that I go on and on […]

Well, the winner is Jill, of course, because she get to try some awesome beer courtesy of B&WB.  For those of you who missed it, I asked our friends and readers to suggest a beer for my friend Jill, who loves wine and is open to trying an interesting craft brew.  Many great suggestions poured […]

Olmecs, Toltecs and Aztecs, oh my! Everybody thinks that life was so hard back in ancient Mexico. There was the unforgiving jungle, murderous rituals and no cable television.  But they had beer, so how hard could it really have been? New Holland‘s El Mole Ocho isn’t a recreation of a historical brew like Dogfish Head’s […]

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 […]

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 […]