Beer

August 19, 2022 -- The 2022 Great American Beer Festival or GABF will be held in Denver, Colorado October 6 – 8.  Brewers and consumers alike are buzzing with excitement after a two-year pandemic induced hiatus, and it promises to be a great event for everyone. Five hundred craft breweries...

August 7, 2022 – A carbon dioxide shortage means brewing trouble for America’s 9,000 plus craft breweries.  Beer without effervescence is flat and carbon dioxide is the gas responsible for that lovely foam. According to Chuck Skypeck, Technical Brewing Projects Director for the Brewers Association, some members have had to...

April 6, 2022 – Thursday, April 7 is National Beer Day but the cheeky folk at Bulleit Bourbon have figured out how to horn in on their beer brethren’s celebration.  They even go so far as to suggest a Bulleit Boilermaker will “elevate your beer drinking experience”.  What a nerve!...

December 6, 2021 --   Budweiser is looking for a special pup to feature on their holiday beer cans.  It could be your hound.  Here are the rules to enter. Contest closes December 15. However, no need to wait to see if Fido won the #PupweiserContest.  You can put your pup...

October 17, 2021 – Oskar Blues Brewery’s cult classic Death by Coconut Irish Porter along with Ten FIDY Imperial Stout are now both available nationwide on draft and in 4-packs of 12 oz. cans. Death by Coconut combines a semi-sweet Irish Porter with flavors of smooth chocolate and creamy coconut....

November 13, 2020 -- 'Tis the season for two new barrel-aged beers from the Guinness Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore: Guinness Imperial Gingerbread Spiced Stout and Guinness Imperial Stout, both Aged in Kentucky Bourbon Barrels. If you are in the Baltimore area, you can enjoy both on tap at the...

May 8, 2020 – Remember that blast you had on St. Patrick’s Day on March 17?  Not in 2020.  The day before, state Governors started locking down their states closing bars and restaurants, sports events, concerts and travel, all places and events where people congregate and drink.  I remember thinking...

February 12, 2020 – So your dream is to start your own craft brewery.  Can’t be that hard.  There are thousands of them now – over 7,000 in 2019 – and they’re all making money and having fun.  Or so it seems and besides, everyone loves your homebrewed beer and...

November 13, 2019 – The summer of hard seltzer has morphed into the fall and winter of hard seltzer.  If hard seltzer is a part of your journey to a healthier lifestyle, and if gluten-free is an important or necessary part of that, then you can rejoice. If neither applies,...

November 6, 2019 – Once again, Kona Brewing Co. has captured the flavor of Hawaii with a newly released Hibiscus Brut IPA.  We poured ours into large wine goblets and loved the rosy hue as it swirled under a big creamy head.  Hibiscus is Hawaii’s national flower so they must...

July 31, 2019 – Guinness, the storied Irish brewer is marking the first anniversary of the opening of its Open Gate Brewery in Baltimore this weekend and a super celebration is planned. Among the celebratory activities is daily live music at the brewery all week leading up to the anniversary,...

June 20, 2019 – We know that wine labels sell wine so there’s a good chance the same can be said for beer.  We’ll admit to being suckers for Kona Brewing’s labels and the Gold Cliff IPA is no exception.  We want to be there! We were lucky enough to...

May 23, 2019 – Things that happen It was a jolly good wine, old chap Hawksmoor, a steakhouse in Manchester, England is in the news for a very costly mistake. Seems a diner ordered a bottle of 2001 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande, which the wine menu lists at ...

April 26, 2019 – For luxury brands, placement in a James Bond movie is worth buckets of money – Champagne buckets when the brand is Bollinger.  The UK Daily Mail reports that Bollinger Champagne is thought to have paid £10 million to be in the 25th Bond movie.  That’s $13,548,000...

March 20, 2019 – Soon making a Margarita will be as easy as dropping a Keurig pod in a machine and pressing a button.  The two companies in the joint venture, Keurig Dr. Pepper and Anheuser-Busch InBev, tested the Drinkworks machine in the St. Louis market for four months and...

March 11, 2019 -- If beer is your go to beverage for celebrating, then make it a Guinness on March 17.  Black, creamy Guinness has been helping the Irish toast their patron saint since 1759 when Arthur Guinness founded the brewery.  According to the London Telegraph, as many as 13...

January 10 – Heineken’s new alcohol-free beer is shipping to stores across the country this week just as Dry January is getting a bit tedious.  With Heineken 0-0 you can satisfy that craving for a nice cold one and at the same time, keep your resolution.  Fantastic!  And if you...

December 6, 2018 – We’ve rounded up ideas from stocking stuffers to the expensively elegant and plenty in between.  These gift suggestions cover the gamut of relatives, friends, co-workers and the client you really need to thank for making another year a big success. Let’s start with the Stocking Stuffers...

August 7, 2018 – Kona Beer suggests it’s time to do something different before the summer of 2018 becomes one for the history books.  About this time every year we see news items invoking the well-worn phrase about the “dog days of summer” and we know it’s something to do...

July 30, 2018 – Guinness, the iconic Irish brewer, will open a new brewery in Relay, Maryland this Friday, August 3.  It’s 64 years ago that Guinness closed its brewery in New York. The new facility known as the Guinness Open Gate Brewery and Barrel House is located in a...

July 6, 2018  - U.K. Running out of Beer There’s a heatwave, it’s the World Cup soccer quarter finals starting today, and the U.K. is running out of beer.  It’s unthinkable but true. The reason sounds even more preposterous:  There’s a shortage of carbon dioxide, you know the stuff that...

May 18, 2018 – Sam Adams Summer Ale is celebrating its 22nd year so they must be doing something right.  We like this ale.  It is mellow but it still has bright flavor, just not that bitter, sour taste that we’re not too fond of.  The company credits a special...

April 11, 2018 – We keep seeing stories about the craft beer revolution being over or on life support, but a report published two weeks ago by the Brewers Association shows that small and independent craft brewers are still on a growth trajectory.  In 2017 they represented 13 percent market...

March 21, 2018 – Kona Brewing fans, and there are plenty of you, will be delighted to hear that Kanaha Blonde Ale is being distributed nationally.  Previously, if you didn’t live or travel in California and Hawaii, you were out of luck and that’s a real shame as it is...

February 15, 2018 – In an effort to staunch the defection of young drinkers from beer to wine and spirits, Miller-Coors is introducing Two Hats, a light fruity beer costing just $5 for a six-pack.  The launch flavors are lime and pineapple with an ABV of 4.2 percent. Beer has...

January 26, 2018 – Budweiser has suffered a lot of indignities in the last few years.  First it was cannibalized by its offspring Bud Light, which took the top spot as America’s favorite beer.  In 2011, it lost its second place status to Coors Light. The latest put down comes...

November 20, 2017 – America’s craft brewers just never take a break, or so it seems with their seasonal releases that keep on coming.  The winter months get their own special brews and below is a list of recent releases.         Stone Brewing of Escondido, CA: is...

November 9, 2017 – In a clever, sassy move the Brewers Association, a trade group for small and independent brewers, has set a goal to raise $213 billion, repeat Billion with a B, to buy AB-InBev, the Belgian parent of Anheuser-Busch and the biggest beer company in the world.  You...

October 16, 2017 – Major breweries, think Budweiser, Coors et al, have been bedeviled by sluggish sales for a while but now, even craft beer is slowing down. Craft beer sales are actually up but the accelerated growth the category was enjoying is definitely declining.  The numbers prove it.  In...

July 26, 2017 – IPA stalwarts will be delighted to know that Thursday, July 27 is National IPA Day.  For those who don’t know or love IPAs, a brief history is in order as its creation shows that there’s always a way to overcome adversity and serve the Empire as...

June 23, 2017 – There’s a crisis in America!  No, not that crisis de jour.  We’re talking about a real crisis of people not using all their vacation time.  Last year more than half of workers surveyed by Samuel Adams and Project:  Time Off admitted to leaving vacation time on...

We need jobs in America and the beer industry is doing its bit.  An economic study commissioned by the Beer Institute and the National Beer Wholesalers Association shows that the beer industry is responsible for two million jobs and contributes $246.6 billion – with a “b” – to the economy. ...

The dark ale from Ireland has a blonde sister brew.  Guinness Blonde American Lager is now available nationwide.  Made in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, Guinness Blonde American Lager uses American hops and Guinness’ world famous 125-year-old Guinness yeast. As lagers continue to gain favor among beer drinkers in the U.S., Guinness Master...

November 18, 2016 – Forget the dip.  All you need is Neal Brothers chips. The Brothers, two of them, hail from Toronto where their life’s mission is to create “better for you” snacks.  Their all-natural, non-GMO, kettle cooked chips are now available in the U.S. at Whole Foods. The four...

August 12, 2016 – Victory Brewing will take fans from summer to fall with the release of Sour Monkey and Moonglow Weizenbock. Sour Monkey is a sharp twist on Golden Monkey their Belgian-style Tripel, while Moonglow Weizenbock is a spicy and fruity dark amber wheat.  Sour Monkey was a new...

April 12, 2016 – Cuba is running out of beer as a result of an influx of tourists from America.  This could be considered good news for Anheuser-Busch InBev since they have a joint venture with the Cuban government to produce Bucanero at the state-owned plant.  At least they are...

March 31, 2016 – Is it possible for behemoth Anheuser-Busch to mass-produce a craft beer?  And what goes into converting 50-barrel batches into 1,000-barrel batches?  Is Goose Island anything like its former self? Josh Noel of the Chicago Tribune has written a very thoughtful article on what it has taken...

March 22, 2016 — Tax treatment of beer varies widely across the U.S., ranging from a low of $0.02 per gallon in Wyoming to a high of $1.29 per gallon in Tennessee. Scott Drenkard of the Tax Foundation, a non-partisan, non-profit research organization that has monitored tax and spending policy...

November 22, 2015 – Did you know that alcoholic ginger beer was a victim of Prohibition?  According to Jamey Grosser, founder of Wild Ginger, alcoholic ginger beer has been around as long as the art of brewing but Prohibition turned it into soda. Because he couldn’t find an alcoholic ginger...

November 6, 2015 – Tired of trying to figure out what to give that big lug whose life’s passion is beer?  We’ve discovered the solution. A company called What on Earth has come up with a series of professional logos for use on apparel such as sweat shirts and hoodies...

July 31, 2015 – If you visit the Merry Ploughboy in Rathfarnham, near Dublin, you’d better read the rules.  Rule No. 3 and Rule No. 7 are taken seriously.  No. 3 warns against drinking a pint of Guinness before it has settled, which will result in your being barred, while...

June 25, 2015 — Jameson Irish whiskey is extending the Jameson Drinking Buddies program, highlighting distinct craft beer collaborations with American breweries. After last year’s successful collaboration with KelSo Beer Company of Brooklyn, Jameson is now partnering with five local breweries from across the U.S.A. who exemplify devotion to the...

May 15, 2015 – We can’t resist watching the Bottle Boys.  If they don’t leave you smiling, then there’s something wrong …… and not with them! Enjoy their rendition of a couple of big ones from The Man in Black, Johnny Cash.          ...

December 29, 2014 – Thirty-nine years ago a very clever idea set the wheels of change in motion in the craft brewing industry. Fritz Maytag, who owned San Francisco’s Anchor Brewing, decided to create a special brew for Christmas called Our Special Ale. It’s said he wanted to send friends...

October 28, 2014 – The quiet farming area of Dixon, just west of Sacramento on I-80, is famous as the location of the world’s biggest corn maze.  At 60 acres, it is in the Guinness Book of Records and attracts visitors from all over the world.  That’s just an interesting...

September 9, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment On top of fixing the law about tasting beer at trade shows for brewers, the State’s craft brewing industry is happy about a law that makes it illegal to deface the name of a manufacturer on a metal keg without written consent....

May 29, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment By Harriet Lembeck  How much do you know about Saké? To say that Saké is a beverage made from rice is as simplistic as saying that wine is a beverage made from grapes.  Saké can be very complex, so here’s a rundown...

January 19, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment Brooklyn Brewery, one of America’s top craft beer makers, has joined with The Culinary Institut e of America (CIA) to develop a small brewery on the college’s Hyde Park, NY campus. The Brooklyn Brewery at the CIA is expected to open to...

May 1, 2014 by admin Leave a Comment It’s never simple when it comes to regulations in the alcohol beverage world.  The Florida Senate approved 64-ounce growler fills of beer but at the same time they are restricting direct sales to consumers by craft brewers making more than 1,000 barrels. ...

Jul 2, 2013 - The Sly Fox microbrewery in Pottstown, PA is debuting a revolutionary “360” lid on its can of Helles Golden Lager. It will be available in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Delaware. As the name implies, the lid is entirely removable allowing the full flavor and...

June 3, 2013 - When you are the biggest beer brand in the U.S., changing the can is not a simple or fast undertaking. It also require considerable investment. During May, Budweiser is rolling out its revolutionary new aluminum bowtie-shaped can that mirrors the iconic bowtie logo. Look for it...

April 24, 2013-The owners of Olympia Beer, Pabst Brewing Company, are serious about finding Bigfoot and are offering $1,000,000 to the lucky person who can provide undeniable proof of the creature’s existence. The prize will be paid at the rate of $25,000 a year for 40 years. Not enough to...

April 15, 2013-Three lawsuits filed at the end of February in Federal Court accuse Anheuser Busch of watering down Budweiser and other beers made by the company. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for consumers. The lawsuits aren’t about taste but about buzz. They claim the “5 percent alcohol by volume”...