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
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.
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.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
The Swing (cap) Don't Mean a Thing...
Sadly, Grolsch, which is exclusively distributed in the US by Anheuser Busch, is in the process of being purchased by SAB Miller. You really have to read more than beer labels these days to figure out who you are paying for your beer.
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/01/07/daily12.html?jst=b_ln_hl
http://stlouis.bizjournals.com/stlouis/stories/2008/01/07/daily12.html?jst=b_ln_hl
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Session 11 - Dopplebocks...
For those of you new to this blog, this post is part of the monthly session series -- beer geeks from all over post on the same topic on the first Friday of each month. This week we are focusing on dopplebocks. My thanks to Brewvana for hosting this month.
I had my first dopplebock at age 17. It was really all downhill from there, my first was an Ayinger Celebrator Dopplebock -- they just don't get much better.
While in high school, I worked at a local packie. I was the guy that stocked the six pack shelves in the cooler. Sounds great, but I was also the guy that handled the filthy bottle and can returns -- I could tell you all kinds of cockroach stories. Anyway, one day while stocking the beer cooler, a bottle got caught on the case while removing the six packs and smashed on the floor. As a result, I had to put the other five survivors of this tragic event on the singles shelf. I was devastated, I didn't know much about beer at the time, but I knew the stuff was selling for $48 a case, back in 1988. This seems crazy to me now, but I distinctly remember it being the most expensive beer I had heard of at the time -- maybe it was those little plastic rams on the strings around each bottle!
Well, long story short, a...uhm..colleague at the store suggested that I try one of them. This beer was unlike anything I had tried in the past...hell, Michelob and Heineken were high end beers for a high school kid that didn't know any better. This beer will always have a sentimental place on my beer list as one of the first truly great beers I have ever tasted.
I had my first dopplebock at age 17. It was really all downhill from there, my first was an Ayinger Celebrator Dopplebock -- they just don't get much better.
While in high school, I worked at a local packie. I was the guy that stocked the six pack shelves in the cooler. Sounds great, but I was also the guy that handled the filthy bottle and can returns -- I could tell you all kinds of cockroach stories. Anyway, one day while stocking the beer cooler, a bottle got caught on the case while removing the six packs and smashed on the floor. As a result, I had to put the other five survivors of this tragic event on the singles shelf. I was devastated, I didn't know much about beer at the time, but I knew the stuff was selling for $48 a case, back in 1988. This seems crazy to me now, but I distinctly remember it being the most expensive beer I had heard of at the time -- maybe it was those little plastic rams on the strings around each bottle!
Well, long story short, a...uhm..colleague at the store suggested that I try one of them. This beer was unlike anything I had tried in the past...hell, Michelob and Heineken were high end beers for a high school kid that didn't know any better. This beer will always have a sentimental place on my beer list as one of the first truly great beers I have ever tasted.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Off to the races with Speedway Stout...
Each year I try to reserve a special brew for New Year's Eve. This year I put aside a bottle of AleSmith Speedway Stout. I have been very impressed by every beer I have tried by this San Diego brewery and I was really looking forward to tasting it. This beer did not let me down.
Speedway Stout is brewed with pounds of Ryan Bros. coffee beans and weighs in at 12% abv. I should tell you all that I have never had a cup of coffee in my life, but this is the closest I will ever come. The blend of beer and coffee flavors in this beer is amazing. It has a strong coffee aroma and the first sip is like shoving a fist full of chocolate covered espresso beans in your mouth and then maybe some tiramisu.
The beer is full-bodied, creamy, exceptionally smooth on the palate, and an utter joy to drink -- I mean a truly amazing mouthfeel. I was so overwhelmed while rating this beer that I began second guessing how good it was -- as soon as I finished, I went online immediately to look at other reviews to make sure I was not overdoing it. Nope, this beer gets a resounding thumbs up from just about everyone who tries it. As I expect from all AleSmith products, this beer is complex. I noticed espresso, chocolate, caramel, citrus and licorice flavors -- and maybe even a touch of rye (or maybe that is a touch of coffee acidity). It finishes a touch dry with a pleasant warming in the back of the throat -- but you would never guess 12% abv. This is one of the biggest and certainly best beers I have ever tasted. I am in the process of hunting more down for cellaring -- if you see it, ignore the price tag and buy it -- trust me, you will not regret it.
Speedway Stout is brewed with pounds of Ryan Bros. coffee beans and weighs in at 12% abv. I should tell you all that I have never had a cup of coffee in my life, but this is the closest I will ever come. The blend of beer and coffee flavors in this beer is amazing. It has a strong coffee aroma and the first sip is like shoving a fist full of chocolate covered espresso beans in your mouth and then maybe some tiramisu.
The beer is full-bodied, creamy, exceptionally smooth on the palate, and an utter joy to drink -- I mean a truly amazing mouthfeel. I was so overwhelmed while rating this beer that I began second guessing how good it was -- as soon as I finished, I went online immediately to look at other reviews to make sure I was not overdoing it. Nope, this beer gets a resounding thumbs up from just about everyone who tries it. As I expect from all AleSmith products, this beer is complex. I noticed espresso, chocolate, caramel, citrus and licorice flavors -- and maybe even a touch of rye (or maybe that is a touch of coffee acidity). It finishes a touch dry with a pleasant warming in the back of the throat -- but you would never guess 12% abv. This is one of the biggest and certainly best beers I have ever tasted. I am in the process of hunting more down for cellaring -- if you see it, ignore the price tag and buy it -- trust me, you will not regret it.
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