Hall of Beers

Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA has been heralded by Esquire magazine as “perhaps the best I.P.A. in
America.” Without a doubt, it could very well be. While other IPAs are great all-around drinkable–Redhook Longhammer, Lagunitas, and Sierra Nevada come to mind–this is entirely different as it is indeed an Imperial IPA. Genius Sam Calagione devised a method of continuous hop addition, which produces a unique flavor experience. Read the rest »

Friends, it was a lovely time. A tasty time! A Belgian Beer tasting time! Sergeant Stout, Admiral Ale and Brigadier Bock gathered around with ‘ol Captain Beer and we strode over to the superlative Red Carpet Liquors—one of Mrs. Beer’s and my favorite haunts!—and reveled in good beer, wisdom and revelry! Yes we… we reveled in revelry. Well, see here, smartass! We did:

What tales have I to tell! I mean… what tales have I to tell? Why don’t you read on!?!? Read the rest »

Mornin, beervolk. Last night, for my first shot at this beer, I had a healthy 22 ounce dose. And 22 ounces is the way to roll with Moylan Celts Golden Ale. It is indeed, as it proclaims right on its label, in fact, a “session beer.” Now I know, I know… you may be saying: “Captain! ALL beers are session beers, no!?” Well, yes. Ish. I wouldn’t sit down to a “session” with a Flemish sour ale or a Belgian Kasteel, but yes, when it comes to members of the Fleet, most beers are session beers. So instead think of the brau* like this: I went for a bike ride, and when I got home, within 2 minutes I was slurping this ale from a frosty mug and, goodness, I was refreshed. But also not robbed of taste! Read the rest »

Gather round children, for I come bearing words of encouragement, rather than disgrace (reference my Apocalypse post of two months ago). As we speak (or rather, as you read the words I previously typed… previous, that is, to right now! Right… NOW!), my freshly-brewed Dunkelweizen is busily bubbling away in the coat closet. I wanted to pass on two tidbits for you fellow homebrewers out there:

The first is a pile-on to the General’s comments of a few weeks ago. He remarked about how freezing a jug of (distilled) water and then dropping the ice directly in your wort to rapidly cool it worked well, but urged caution when cutting the plastic jug off the frozen water. Read the rest »

Ale on lees indeed, beervolk. Don’t try this beer unless you like beer. If you like beer, try this beer. It’s pretty wild. Kolonel Tripel provided this Unibroue offering—along with about ten other kinds of brau, some of them homebrew, that he and General German had picked up as Sgt. Stout and I were trucking out to the Kolonel’s place for last weekend’s brewhaha—and it was… complex, excellent, and never again will I drink it at the end of a night of drinkin’. Read the rest »

What better way to, er, complete the beer drinking experience?

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSL1967155420080519

Sorry, You Are Out of Ammo…

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Two Belgian beer fans have launched a video game named ‘Place to Pee’, which allows players to slalom down ski slopes or kill aliens while relieving themselves at urinals.

Werner Dupont, a software developer, and Bart Geraets, an electrical engineer, got the idea while drinking Belgian trappist beers, they told Reuters Television at a local festival on Sunday.

“This thing had to be invented by Belgian people and that’s what we are,” they said.

The ‘Place to Pee’ booth is designed for two users at a time and offers two games — blowing up aliens in outer space or skiing down a virtual slope. Gamers hit their target by aiming at sensors positioned on either side of the urinal.

A specially designed paper cone allows women to play too, the inventors say.

Their ‘Place to Pee’ logo resembles ‘Manneken Pis’, the little urinating boy fountain that is among Brussels’ top sightseeing attractions.

(Reporting by Marine Hass and Yvonne Bell; Writing by Julien Ponthus)

Rye in a beer? That’s right, rye is no longer limited to the mile high pastrami sandwich at your favorite Jewish Deli. (regrettable use of “mile high”). Why, in Georgia, they put rye in beer!….when they have enough water to make beer…Terrapin, the venerable micro-brewery (ok…they are five years old, but it seems like they should be older) from Athens, Georgia has made this unusual ale their signature beer…and for good reason…this brew will grow on you.

So how does a rye pale ale differ from a non-rye pale ale? Well, being that I’m Lieutenant LAGER…I’ll just make some shnit up about PALE ALES and tell you… Read the rest »

Guys:

 This post is going to take a while to both read and to write. I am still digesting the amount of information I absorbed (and multiple strains of yeast). Let me give you the synopsis of most definitelythe greatest beer event I have ever attended, period. Period. Except for a decent Brew-ha-ha. But you have to understand, this tasting event allowed me to sit with five of the greatest brewers in the country, drink their beer, and laugh at their jokes. I sat about five feet away from their panel table (see photos). We tried TWELVE beers, and I definitely slept well last night. Oh, and I met homebrew legend Charlie Papazian, Greg Koch from Stone Brewing, and Dogfish’s Sam Calagione. Where shall I begin? Read the rest »

From Dictionary.com:

brou·ha·ha   / [broo-hah-hah, broo-hah-hah, broo-hah-hah] –noun

1. excited public interest, discussion, or the like, as the clamor attending some sensational event; hullabaloo: The brouhaha followed disclosures of graft at City Hall. 

2. an episode involving excitement, confusion, turmoil, etc., esp. a broil over a minor or ridiculous cause: A brouhaha by the baseball players resulted in three black eyes. 

[Origin: 1885–90; < F, orig. brou, ha, ha! exclamation used by characters repr. the devil in the 16th-cent. drama; perh. < Heb, distortion of the recited phrase bārūkh habbā (beshém ădhōnai) “blessed is he who comes (in the name of the Lord)” (Ps. 118:26) ]

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brew·ha·ha   / [broo-hah-hah, broo-hah-hah, broo-hah-hah] –noun

1. any event including the Captain, Kolonel, Sergeant and General, and associated significant others and guests, at which large amounts of beer (or cider, wine, scotch, etc) are consumed and extensive merriment ensues.

[Origin: 1998-2000; < F, orig. brew, ha, ha! Term used to describe jovial reunion of close friends, located in the grassy region behind a certain dwelling in Alexandria, VA. Now commonly used to refer to any domestic event involving alcohol consumption and storytelling]

Four days and counting until the Captain, Kolonel, Sergeant and General (and their companions) unite for a large weekend at the Kolonel’s abode in Vegas. Recommend those involved start hydrating now.

OK, maybe they’re holding onto past glory… maybe the beer’s namesake (Blue Ribbon) is in fact based off of an award they won, um, 112 years ago… but the beer is a staple of moderately priced* and refreshing** American lager, it helped a lot of us get through college, and, sadly, from the 18th Amendment on for some fifty years, it was the only kinda beer a lot of Uh’mericans knew. So let’s give it a look.

Read the rest »