Features
Viable Vectors
by Lew BrysonAlthough these beer programs combine brews of different styles and national backgrounds, and mingle lagers with ales, in each list, the dominant character in the beer grows more pronounced as the evening goes on. Crisp Vector Budweiser (to limber up) Gaffel Kölsch (a little fruit—it’s an ale) Augustiner Helles (underlying maltiness) Penn Dark (something beefier,... View Article
The Beta Test
by Lew BrysonInspired by Lew Bryson’s theories—as well as his cinematic allusions—All About Beer staff decided to see how beer sequencing could enhance or destroy some of our favorite beers. We headed to our local, and lined up fourteen diverse beers, all favorites we were familiar with. Then, in a fairly unsystematic way, we sampled pairs of... View Article
And Now, For My Next Beer…
by Lew BrysonBack in the 1990s, I was hanging out with my brothers-in-law in Richmond. Richmond is a great place for a history buff like me, and it’s got a neat aspect for the beer-lover, too: Richmond is a common test market for new beer ideas. Which is how we came to be passing around a bottle... View Article
Five “Drink You Under the Table” Presidents
by Rick LykeMartin Van Buren (1837-1841): He earned the nickname “Blue Whiskey Van” early in his political career because while campaigning in taverns, he was able to put away huge amounts of alcohol without appearing drunk.
Five Teetotalers in the White House
by Rick LykeWilliam Henry Harrison (1841): Even though Harrison was a teetotaler, the Whigs ran a campaign handing out bottles of hard cider to promote him as a man of the people.
Leaders of the Beer World: The Best and Worst Presidents (When it Comes to Beer)
by Rick LykeThe U.S. presidency carries with it an awesome amount of power and responsibility. That’s the case whether you are talking about nuclear arms—or beer. Public policy shapes everything from the price to the availability of the beer we enjoy. Whether it is a new tax on beer or farm subsidies, politics have an impact on... View Article
Poland: Lively Lagers and Threatened Porters
by Roger ProtzPoland has a cruel nickname: “The country on wheels.” For most of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was ruled by Austro-Hungary, Russia and Germany, and then became a satrapy of the Soviet Union for 50 grim years. Its modern borders bear little relation to the ones it enjoyed a century and a half ago.... View Article
Columns
Departments
Märzen/Oktoberfest
by K. Florian KlempAs the air gets crisper and the leaves burn brighter, beer lovers turn their thoughts from summer quenchers to richer fall offerings. And no brew more appropriately fits the autumnal season, in both palate and appearance, than the coppery Märzen/Oktoberfest. Oddly named after two calendar months (Märzen is German for March), or more specifically a... View Article
with Scott Vaccaro
by Julie JohnsonI hear you started homebrewing in high school. Yeah, I did. My entire life changed my junior year in high school in 1995. I went over to my friend’s house after school one day, and I walked into the house to say hello. His dad and a friend were making beer on the stove. And... View Article
Charm City: Beer on Baltimore’s Waterfront
by Paul RuschmannOne of the best parts of beer traveling is finding neighborhood watering holes that you wish were in your own neighborhood. And find them we did in Baltimore. Or, as the locals pronounce it, Bawlmer.
Beer Talk
Laughing Lab Scottish Ale
by - -Bristol Brewing Co. Colorado Springs, CO In June of 1994, Bristol Brewing Co. settled comfortably in the lap of Pikes Peak and began brewing. ABV: 5.0 ABW: 3.98 Color: 26.2 bitterness: 19 Original gravity: 1054
Sweetwater IPA
by - -Sweetwater Brewing Co. Atlanta, GA Sweetwater Brewery is a 49,000 barrel microbrewery specializing in producing West Coast-style beers for the Southeastern U.S. ABV: 6.5 ABW: 5.17 Color: n/a Bitterness: 55 Original gravity: 1061
Hopsinjoor
by - -Brouwerij Het Anker Mechelen, Belgium Imported by: Wetten Imports Sterling, VA “Hopsinjoor” is a wordplay referring both to the several hops used in the beer, and to the folk character “Opsinjoor” whose story is traditional in the Belgian city of Mechelen. ABV: 8 ABW: 6.37 Color: blond Bitterness: n/a Original gravity: 1074
Chocarrubica
by - -Birrificio Grado Plato Turino, Italy Chocarubbica is brewed with Venezuelan cocoa beans, carrubs from the island of Sicily and over 30% oatmeal. ABV: 7.0 ABW: 5.6 Color: deep black Bitterness: n/a Original gravity: n/a
Gaelic Ale
by - -Highland Brewing Co. Asheville, NC Originally named Celtic Ale, this was the first style brewed at Highland Brewing. ABV: 5.5 ABW: 4.4 Color: 61.7 Bitterness: 32 Original gravity:1052
Bitch Creek ESB
by - -Grand Teton Brewing Co. Victor, ID Bitch Creek ESB is named for a fly fishing and kayaking stream in Idaho. ABV: 5.5 ABW: 4.4 Color: n/a Bitterness: 51 Original gravity: 1062
Hoppy Face Amber Ale
by - -Hoppy Brewing Co. Sacramento, CA Despite the “amber ale” in the name, this is a West Coast-style IPA. ABV: 6.1 ABW: 4.9 Color: deep amber Bitterness: n/a Original gravity: n/a
Gamma Ray Wheat Wine
by - -Terrapin Beer Co. Athens, GA Gamma Ray is made with Georgia’s Tupelo and Sourwood honeys from the Savannah Bee Co. ABV: 11 ABW: 8.8 Color: n/a Bitterness: 38 Original gravity: 22.6
Beerlao
by - -Lao Brewing Co. Vientiane, Laos Imported by: Paleewong Trading Co. New York, NY Beerlao is the national beer brand of Laos. ABV: 6.5 ABW: 5.2 Color: n/a Bitterness: n/a Original gravity: n/a
Titan IPA
by - -Great Divide Brewing Co. Denver, CO Great Divide beers have earned 12 Great American Beer Festival medals and four World Beer Cup awards. ABV: 6.8 ABW: 5.41 Color: n/a Bitterness: 65 Original gravity: n/a
Hefe-Weizen Dark
by - -Erdinger Erding,Germany Imported by: Erdinger USA Littleton, CO Erdinger dark hefeweizen is a traditional, bottle-fermented German wheat beer. ABV: 5.5 ABW: 4.4 Color: n/a Bitterness: n/a Original gravity: n/a
Les Deux Brasseurs
by - -De Proef Brouwerij Lochristi, Belgium Imported by: SBS-Imports Seattle, WA Les Deux Brasseurs (The Two Brewers) is a collaborative effort between Jason Perkins, brewmaster at Allagash Brewing of Portland, ME, and Dirk Naudts of De Proef Brouwerij in Belgium. ABV: 8.5 ABW: 6.8 Color: 12 Bitterness: 30 Original gravity: 1068
Stone IPA
by - -Stone Brewing Co. Escondido, CA Located in North County San Diego, Stone Brewing Co. is known for its often vigorously hopped beers and fierce gargoyle mascot. ABV: 6.9 ABW: 55 Color: 10 Bitterness: 77 Original gravity: 1064
Rowhouse Red
by - -Philadelphia Brewing Co. Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia Brewing Co. has been brewing beer in the Kensington section of Philadelphia for nearly seven and a half years. Their line of ales became available in March of this year. ABV: 5.5 ABW: 4.4 Color: 18 Bitterness: 25 Original gravity: 1052
Tripel de Ripple
by - -Brugge Brasserie Indianapolis, IN In 1934, the monks of Westmalle brewed the first tripel, a blonde ale of higher alcohol, very likely based on a blonde beer that had been brewed sporadically since 1931. ABV: 9.9 ABW: 7.8 Color: n/a Bitterness: 27 Original gravity:1090
Golden Draak
by - -Brouwerij Van Steenberge Ertvelde, Netherlands Imported by: Global Beer Network Middleton, MA The Gulden Draak is named for the statue of a golden dragon that for 700 years has topped a belfry in the city of Ghent. ABV: 10.5 ABW: 8.4 Color: 50 Bitterness: 18 Original gravity: 1084