Wednesday, February 13, 2008

The many flavors of Anheuser Busch...

I am not sure if this is a bad dream or a sign of the coming apocalypse. A-B has unveiled two new beers recently. Chelada is a lovely melding of those two timeless classics, Budweiser and Clamato Juice (yes clam and tomato juice - repulsive enough without the Bud). The latest offering is Bud Light Lime -- look out Corona, you don't even have to buy real citrus fruit with these bad boys. Keep your eyes out for some of their upcoming releases, Michelob Ultra Slimfast Creamsicle and Devil Dog Stout (two very different markets for these products).

Friday, February 8, 2008

The Alström Bros. strike again...

You really have to give them credit, Jason and Todd Alström are the Kings of Beer in Boston. I was very excited to see the press release for the upcoming American Craft Beer Fest at the Seaport World Trade Center. These guys have done a shitload for craft beer in Boston, but this is over the top. The numbers 75 - 300 - 15,000 bring a tear to my beer. The thought of 75 brewers, 300 beers and 15,ooo people experiencing great beer is amazing. I was excited enough about the Night of the Barrels this Friday (sorry, it is already sold out), but this is an event to look forward to. It is perfectly scheduled for the first day of spring! Buy your tickets early and buy them often. See you at the Seaport.

Here is the link to the press release, which I quote below:


BeerAdvocate to Host the East Coast's Largest American Craft Beer Fest

At the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, MA

(Boston, MA - January 2008) In keeping with their self-elected duty to bring better beer to the masses, BeerAdvocate founders and brothers Jason and Todd Alström are crafting something big.

Held on June 20 & 21 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, the first annual "American Craft Beer Fest" (ACBF) will feature 3-sessions, invite upwards of 75 breweries, and serve at least 300 craft beers with an expected attendance of 15,000 appreciators of beer.

"It's time," stated Todd Alström, "It's time the East Coast had a large-scale, world-class event that not only celebrates the creativity and growth that's occurring amongst America's craft brewers, but puts the respect back into beer." The latter being a reference to their personal motto "Respect Beer," in which the brothers urge consumers to appreciate the brewer's art respectfully through support, beer education, and responsible enjoyment.

In addition to tasting a wide-variety of beer, ACBF will offer attendees plenty of beer education, including guest speakers, beer & food pairings, one-on-one opportunities to interact with actual brewers, and networking opportunities for beer industry professionals to help them support and bring more awareness to craft beer.

"We're excited to be working with our partner Harpoon Brewery, the Seaport team, and craft brewers in bringing the East Coast a destination event that we hope to grow into one of the largest beer fests in America," added Jason Alström. "Craft beer, its growing number of loyal followers, and the region are ready for an event like this."

Tickets go on-sale in February.

American Craft Beer Fest is a BeerAdvocate & Harpoon Brewery partnership. For general information, please contact the Alström Bros (mail@beeradvocate.com). For sponsorship and marketing opportunities, contact Jeff Lawrence (jeff@weeklydig.com) at Boston's Weekly Dig.

http://beeradvocate.com/about

Saturday, February 2, 2008

Superbowl libations...

What will you be drinking this Superbowl Sunday? If you could afford a ticket to the game, perhaps you can afford the ridiculously priced new beer from Carlsberg. For a meager $398 you can pick-up a just under 12oz bottle of their Jacobsen Vintage 1. Hell, with Superbowl tickets selling as high as $77,000 why not pick up a six-pack or two for the tailgate.

We will undoubtedly be bombarded with ads from the likes of Molson, Coors, Miller, Dewey, Cheetham and Howe and the ubiquitous Anheuser Busch who now reminds us that Bud isn't heavy like imported beers and microbrews, it is the Great American Lager...hahaha.

Anyway, back to the main question, what will you be drinking during the Superbowl. I plan on having a couple of Victory Prima Pils and then celebrating the Patriots 19-0 season with a 4 year old Samichlaus lager and a 15 year old Bowmore Sherry Cask single malt whiskey. I figured combining the 15 and 4 year old beverages was a bit smarter than drinking 19 beers.

Enjoy the game.

Friday, February 1, 2008

Beer 101...

I love teaching The Beer Necessities, my wintersession beer appreciation course at Wellesley College. However, it is just that, a non-credit wintersession beer appreciation course where we have a lot of fun talking about beer and tasting some excellent brews. But check out this for credit course at University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia called Brewing Science: The History, Culture and Science of Beer or as students call it, Beer 101. The McKenzie brothers would be proud...eh. I wish this course was offered when I was in college.