Features
A Certified Success
by Randy MosherI have to confess to not being much of a Boy Scout. Actually, I went directly from being a dutiful Cub to the shabbiest excuse for an Explorer that you ever saw, blithely skipping the whole merit badge thing in between. So when I graduated up to homebrewing, I was highly skeptical of the Beer... View Article
Birra Paradiso
by Mirella AmatoItaly is wine country. Vino is available everywhere. Shops labeled ‘Enoteca’ specialize in offering customers a wide selection of wines. So visitors to Italy might be surprised, while perusing the bottles at a local enoteca, to stumble upon a few elegant and distinctive 750ml bottle labeled birra (beer). In fact, over the past five years,... View Article
Talking Out of Turn
by Lew BrysonBeers weren’t the only things ahead of their times. There were beer writers and beer books, too, like Michael Jackson and Fred Eckhardt, who toiled for years in relative obscurity. Then we discovered the online world, and beer took to it with gusto.
Brewed Too Soon
by Lew BrysonYou’ve probably heard of the ‘inventions’ of Leonardo da Vinci. The archetypal Renaissance Man designed a submarine, a tank, a steam cannon, a bridge to span the Bosporus, an airplane, a helicopter, a hang glider and—quite practically—a parachute. Genius indeed, for one man to envision and sketch things that no one had ever dreamed before.... View Article
Lagunitas Freaks Out Over Zappa Beers
by Adem TepedelenLimited edition releases are nothing new to the rock world. Seattle label Sub Pop Records launched its limited edition, monthly Singles Club in 1988 by releasing 1,000 copies of Nirvana’s debut seven-inch “Love Buzz” to club subscribers. Today that rarity sells on eBay for more than $1,000.
eBrew?
by Adem TepedelenThe sale of limited edition beer on online auction sites like eBay is a prickly topic among craft brewers. Though there are obvious questions regarding the legality of individuals selling alcohol without following the same regulations that retailers and breweries are subject to, these are skirted by the below eBay-approved disclaimers that rationalize the sale... View Article
Gotta-Have Beers
by Adem TepedelenThere’s a bite to the breeze coming off Lake Michigan on this unseasonably cool spring evening in Northern Indiana. The people queued outside the large, industrial-looking building—some are Chicagoland locals, while others have traveled a great distance to get here—don’t seem to notice. They’re dressed warmly enough and there is plenty of beer being passed... View Article
Canned Beer Tasting Notes
by Greg KitsockFat Tire Amber Ale New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO There are subtle but noticeable differences between the bottled and canned versions of this much-sought after brand. The bottled Fat Tire pours a brilliantly clear copper color. The canned version, which contains a small amount of live yeast, has a slight haze. Bottled Fat... View Article
Where No Can Has Gone Before…
by Greg KitsockThe Red Derby is a homey, unpretentious hole-in-the-wall bar in Washington, DC’s Columbia Heights neighborhood. Inside you’ll find a pile of board games like Risk and Operation, a poolroom in the back, and a chalkboard listing about 30 brands of beer. A bonanza for beer connoisseurs?
Columns
Departments
Belgian Farmhouse Ale: Saison
by K. Florian KlempSeasonal brews are in no short supply these days, but often we forget that seasonal brewing was once done out of necessity, framed by a limited period of agreeable conditions, and future consideration of sustenance. The style we know today as saison is a reminder of these bygone practices. French for “season,” saison was brewed... View Article
with Teri Fahrendorf
by Julie JohnsonHow long have you been a professional brewer? A long time. I’m not actually brewing now, but I was a professional brewer for 19 years, and I’ve been in the beer industry for the last two.
Beervana, Part II
by Paul RuschmannNot long ago we spent a long, lazy weekend in Portland, OR. It soon became clear that it would take two articles to do this beer-blessed city justice. In the last issue we visited the Pearl District, a short streetcar ride from downtown. This issue, we’ll venture to other parts of town. So, come on.... View Article
Beer Talk
Avril
by - -Brasserie Dupont Tourpes, Belgium Imported by: VanBerg & DeWulf Cooperstown, NY Available: AL, AK, AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI Brasserie Dupont is one of Belgium’s best-known saison producers.... View Article
Fireman’s #4 Blonde Ale
by - -Real Ale Brewing Co. Blanco, TX Available: TX Real Ale is located in the Texas Hill Country, just minutes from the Blanco town square and the Blanco River. ABV: 5.1 ABW: 4.1 Color: n/a Bitterness: 22 Original gravity: 1048
Session
by - -Full Sail Brewing Co. Hood River, OR Founded in 1987, for ten years Full Sail has been owned entirely by its 47 employees. This new year-round beer evokes the American lagers of the pre-Prohibition era. ABV: 5.1 ABW: 4.1 Color: 4.65 Bitterness: 18 Original gravity: 1046
Pikeland Pils
by - -Sly Fox Brewing Co. Royersford, PA Available: NY, NJ, PA Sly Fox founder Pete Giannopoulos opened his brewery in 1995, thanks to the help of his father, mother and three siblings—another example of a family-run craft brewery. ABV: 4.9 ABW: 3.9 Color: pale gold Bitterness: 44 Original gravity: 1047
Petrus Gouden Triple Ale
by - -Brewery Bavik Bavikhove, Belgium Imported by: Global Beer Network Middleton, MA Available: AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, HI, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, RI, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, DC, WA, WI In 1894, the De Brabandere... View Article
Phin and Matt’s Extraordinary Ale
by - -Southern Tier Brewing Co. Lakewood, NY Available: AK, CT, ID, IL, IN, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, VA, WA, WI, VT Southern Tier Brewing Co. has been in operation since 2004, and currently produces over 12,000 barrels annually. ABV: 5.6 ABW: 4.5 Color: 6.9 Bitterness: 34 Original gravity: 1050
Kellerweiss
by - -Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Chico, CA Available: nationwide This Bavarian-style hefeweizen, Sierra Nevada’s second addition to their year-round portfolio this year, is brewed with a hefeweizen yeast strain unknown in this country. ABV: 4.8 ABW: 3.8 Color: golden Bitterness: 15 Original gravity: 1051
Ashland Amber
by - -Caldera Brewing Ashland, OR Available: OR, WA, CA, VA, MD, DC Caldera Brewing Co. is the first craft brewery in the state of Oregon to brew and can its own beer. ABV: 5.5 ABW: 4.4 Color: amber Bitterness: n/a Original gravity: 1054
Kidd Lager
by - -Ft. Collins, CO Available: CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IA, KS, MA, MN, MO, NE, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, PA, RI, TN, WI, WY Kidd Lager is an unusual American example of a schwarzbier, a German black lager. ABV: 4.9 ABW: 3.9 Color: 29 Bitterness: 23 Original gravity: 1047
Star Island Single
by - -Smuttynose Brewing Co. Portsmouth, NH Available: NH, MA, ME, CT, RI, VT, NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, DC, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, WI The Belgian beer style known as a single is less well known than the stronger dubbels and tripels from the abbey tradition. Singles are lower alcohol table beers, traditionally consumed at... View Article
The Bellaire Brown
by - -Shorts Brewing Co. Bellaire, MI Available: MI On May 1, Shorts Brewing Co. sponsored the first Short’s to Short’s Paddle from the original brewery in Bellaire to a new, second facility. The 26-mile trip on a chain of lakes took most of the 30-50 participants 12-16 hours on the water. ABV: 6.3 ABW: 5 Color:... View Article
Modus Hoperandi IPA
by - -Ska Brewing Co. Durango, CO Available: CO, AZ, TX, NM, IL, NC, NE This Colorado brewery takes its name from ska, the post-war Jamaican music style that predated reggae, and became popular as 2-Tone in England in the 1970s. ABV: 6.8 ABW: 5.4 Color: 11 Bitterness: 69 Original gravity: 1066
Unfiltered Wheat Beer
by - -Boulevard Brewing Co. Kansas City, MO Available: AL, AR, CA, CO, IL, IA, KS, MN, MS, NE, ND, OK, SD, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI, WY Founded in 1989, Boulevard Brewing Co. has grown to become the largest specialty brewer in the Midwest. This American-style wheat beer is bottle-conditioned. ABV: 4.4 ABW: 3.5 Color: 7.5... View Article
Local 2
by - -Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn, NY Available: CT, DE, GA, MD, NC, NJ, NY, PA, RI, SC, VA, DC This Belgian-inspired dark ale, brewed with Belgian dark sugar and raw wildflower honey, is the second in Brooklyn’s “Local” series. ABV: 9.0 ABW: 7.2 Color: deep brown Bitterness: n/a Original gravity: n/a
Wild Devil
by - -Victory Brewing Co. Downington, PA Available: PA, NJ, NY, CT, MA, RI, NH, ME, OH, IL, IN, MI, MN, WA, OR, CA, TX, CO, TN, GA, SC, NC, VA, MD, DE This beer begins as Victory’s Hop Devil Ale—itself a marriage of British tradition, German malt and American hops—then the base beer is fermented entirely... View Article
Mama’s Little Yella Pils
by - -Oskar Blues Brewing Co. Lyons, CO Available: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, MD, MA, NJ, NM, NY, NC, PA, RI, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI Oskar Blues was the first American brewery to put craft beer in a can, beginning with Dale’s Pale Ale. ABV: 5.3 ABW: 4.2 Color: yella Bitterness:... View Article