Just a quick note of appreciation for Sgt. Stout, who brought over 5 gallons of birthday beer for Mrs. Beer's birthday. A nice batch of golden ale bubbles away in our uh... what do I call that... mud room? Back hall/room/thing. We may add spices, we may go simple. But 5 gallons of beer is good news any way you cut it.

It's been a busy 2009 so far, beer readers. I've had time to sample some new brews, but I haven't been able to tell you folks about them. My humble whatevah. Anyway, here's a review for you. Enjoy with a side of beer. Mission Street's beers are very good. You may recall earlier this month when I discussed their Pale Ale. Well, what's the logical progression? Yeh... India Pale Ale. These beers run you$5.99 a 6-pack. Good recession brew.

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Friends, ever wonder if that delicious Budweiser you've just cracked open is really American? Then go away. Now. One, it's not delicious. Two... you know little of the beer world. (ImBev mean anything to ya? Maybe a little thing called The Cotton Gin!? Aberdeen!!?? But I digress. And make no sense.) But there are some good beers out there that are questionably American. Not that their provenance matters. At all, really. But hell, if you're on a beer site, you're likely interested in this kinda bizness. So, check out the article. It's interesting dammit. (Like the venerable, German-sounding Yuengling? Awww yeah---American since 1829. Widmer Brothers... sounds pretty American... but are they a part of a shady, European brewing conglomerate bent on uh... well... profit? FIND OUT BELOW!) IS YOUR BEER 100% AMERICAN!? (NOT THAT IT MATTERS, MUCH!)

Folks, The Captain has been sticking to familiar waters lately. Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada and such---beers we have long ago discussed here. I did have a Pliny the Elder on tap on both Thursday and Saturday at the hep and well-tapped (go with it) Verdugo Bar, which I'm sure will become a new haunt. So look... maybe it's kind of an excuse for not sending out beernews to our millions of readers, but here are some ABV stats that I thought were interesting. Maybe you will too. So Amstel Light is... really light. Check it.

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Why, just last Spring I brewed a Blackberry Wheat beer. So either great minds think alike or Jim Koch owes me a sweet piece of this action. No... no... I'm sure it was innocence that created this wonderful (sounding... but I have no doubt) brew. Take it away, Sam Adams On Tap Newsletter...

2008 Beer Lover's Choice Winner - Available Now!

With 24 hour news coverage can anyone forget that 2008 was an election year?! We're glad that over several months last summer & fall, tens of thousands of you got out the vote and participated in the 4th Annual Samuel Adams Beer Lover's Choice program helping us choose the next Samuel Adams style. The victorious brew was Samuel Adams^® Blackberry Witbier, a traditional witbier with orange peel and coriander, complemented by the subtle sweetness of Marion blackberries. Grown on a family farm in the shadow of Mt. Hood, Oregon, our Marion blackberries add a distinct blackberry aroma that blends with the wheat malt for a smooth finish that is both subtly sweet and crisp.

Samuel Adams Blackberry Witbier is available all year round in its own 6-pack, in the Samuel Adams^® Brewmaster's Variety 6-pack and it will be joining the Samuel Adams^® Summer Styles pack this summer.

Friends, we here in the Hall have started an informal rapport with the good people of the Karl Strauss Brewery (you likely know their Star Gazer IPA, Woody Gold or Red Trolley Ale among others) and I just got an email from them about a holiday beer that sounds like madness. You decide. I mean... I'm gonna try one. Here's the 4-1-1:  A HOLIDAY BEER WITH A MALT BALL CENTER…

(READ ON, BEER VOLK!)

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Friends, once again the illustrious team brew team of yours truly and Sergeant Stout teamed up 3 weeks back and brewed up a storm. Or rather two batches of beer. Then last weekend we bottled them... and something wonderful happened... both of our beers... while flat, tepid and not even done with their development (2 weeks minimum of course but I think these babies will be shining come February or so) both beers tasted amazing. I'll get more into it when we give the bottle-conditioned beers a taste (which I may do prematurely this weekend...), but here's a primer: The Sarge brewed what I guess I'll call a Holiday Ale if I must classify it. The beer is spicy, rich and bursting with a crisp tartness supplied by copius additions of fresh and dried cranberries. A lovely amber hue. My beer is a Scotch Ale and, if I may be so bold, manages to both cleave faithfully to its style while boasting notes of honey, spice and a secret hobo twist I'll never reveal. Oh... OK... the secret ingredient is... is... RIGHT BEHIND YOU! AAUUGH!!!!! GLAUAWAUGH!!!!! *Except that "you" means "me."

No, I don't mean that stoopid Coors commercial with that frosty train gimmick. I mean today's front page article on MSN.com touting the benefits of beer: "The Boons of Beer" http://health.msn.com/nutrition/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100220712&GT1=31036 and this link to another, even better (older) article: "Beer With Benefits" http://health.msn.com/nutrition/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100197361 The latter has a great guide to some top-notch brews, with most of which I heartily agree. Gotta try me some of that He'Brew Origin Pomegranate Ale, if I can find it. Happy Thanksgiving to all, and happy drankin'--hey, it's good for you! (I figure... if two beers confer so many health benefits, it stands to reason that ten times that number would mean ten times the benefits! Hell, it may even create some sort of synergistic effect! Maybe such a synergistic effect that I would be unable to get out of bed the next morning or even reach for a glass of water due to so much healthy synergy!!!)

That's right, in an article about the growing beer culture in the Los Angeles, Eagle Rock Brewery got a shout-out. Why, you could read the article yourself! (And their link is over there down to the right... where the links are... there ya go.) THE ARTICLE!

  Well, one would think summer might have drawn to a close by now... I suppose it has, everywhere except Vegas that is, where it continues to hit 85 degrees nearly every 'effing day. One would think one was in the desert or something. Actually, 85 degrees isn't all that bad, and the evenings are extremely pleasant in the mid-70's, but come on... it's almost friggin Halloween! In any case, the pleasant afternoons afford ample opportunity to wring out the last of the summer brews. So here's a quick take on an American knock-off to the German classic that, while not a total home run, comes, meh, pretty close.

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