Features
Beer Reviewers From Around the World
by Brian YaegerUngstrup Jens Ungstrup, M.Sc.E.E (Master of Science in Electrical Engineering) Copenhagen, Denmark Age: 40 Status: Single, w/ a daughter Job: Head of Contract Mgmt. Joined RateBeer: 2002 Number of reviews: 12,499 Favorite Style: Bohemian Imperial IPA Highest rated beers (4.8 & 4.7/5): 1. Victory Storm King 2. Verhaeghe Duchesse De Bourgogne 3. Dieu du Ciel... View Article
Dedicated Drinkers and Their Drive to Document
by Brian YaegerGeek is just another word for enthusiastic… We keep loving stuff and remain unembarrassed by our enthusiasm. -Simon Pegg A role by any other name is still a geek. Advocate. Enthusiast. Aficionado. Beer Geeks aren’t fashioned or formed through genetics or environment―they are self-made.
Crazy Beer Laws in the US
by Stephan MichaelsColorado No beer may be sold on Election Day. Apparently, the state doesn’t want its citizens having too much fun in the voting booth. It is also illegal to ride a horse under the influence. Iowa In Ames, the law extends into your bedroom: it is strictly forbidden for a man to drink three or... View Article
Beer and Loathing on the Distribution Trail
by Stephan MichaelsTheoretically, that brew you just finished should have traveled a pretty straightforward route from the brewery to your glass. Shipped from the brewer who created it, the beer was warehoused by a middleman, who then loaded it onto a truck and delivered it to a retailer, where it eventually found its way onto the shelf... View Article
Breweries in Wine Country
by Amanda BaltazarNapa-Sonoma Region, California Bear Republic, Healdsburg Downtown Joe’s American Grill and Brewhouse, Napa Lagunitas Brewing, Petaluma Napa Valley Brewing Co. at Calistoga Inn Restaurant, Calistoga Russian River Brewing, Santa Rosa Silverado Brewing, St. Helena Sonoma Springs Brewing Co., Sonoma Stumptown Brewery, Guerneville Third Street Ale Works, Santa Rosa
Beer In Wine Country
by Amanda BaltazarMy husband gulps some Cabernet Franc and declares it “tasty.” We are in the Tri-Cities wine country in Washington state and other guests are sipping their wine and describing its characteristics in elegant prose. It was at this point that I wondered if it’s possible to drink beer in wine country. Sounds like an oxymoron,... View Article
Five Generations of Cooper’s
by Roger ProtzThe 50-minute flight from Melbourne to Adelaide takes you to a different time zone. This is a big country, the world’s largest island, with a land mass almost as big as the United States but with only 16 million people: most of the interior is desert. On my way to Cooper’s Brewery, I drove down... View Article
A Brit Down Under
by Roger ProtzIf you’ve ever had the misfortune to pass through London’s Heathrow airport, you’ll have experienced the grim-faced passport control officials. Without a word, they grab your passport, look at the photo, glare at your face, hand back the document and wave you silently on your way.
Columns
Departments
A Beer Travelers Itinerary for Western Michigan
by Paul RuschmannThe Livery, 190 Fifth St., Benton Harbor New Holland Brewing Co., 66 Eighth St., Holland Founders Brewing Co., 235 Grandville Ave., Grand Rapids Hopcat Brewing, 95 Ionia St., Grand Rapids Jamesport Brewing Co., 410 South James St., Ludington North Peak Brewing Co., 400 West Front St., Traverse City Right Brain Brewery, 221 Garland, Traverse City... View Article
On the Shores of Lake Michigan
by Paul RuschmannThe west coast of Michigan is a magnificent stretch of sugar sand beaches and the largest collection of freshwater dunes in the world. Years ago, as college students, we drove out to these beaches late at night with our friends. We drank macro brew under the stars, while listening to the waves crashing on the... View Article
with Bert Boyce
by Julie JohnsonGiven that Boston Beer brews most of its beer at facilities elsewhere, what goes on at the Jamaica Plain site in Boston? We have a couple production breweries [Cincinnati and Lehigh Valley, PA], but we still think that the Boston brewery is the most important brewery in our system. This is where we do all... View Article
Kölsch
by K. Florian KlempGreat European brewing nations may be famous for their tradition, but it is the array of regional specialties that really stoke the intrigue of beer drinkers. They are a touchstone for locals, a beacon to adventurers. No style better exemplifies that spirit of community pride and distinction than Kölsch, the indigenous beer of Köln, Germany.... View Article
Beer Talk
Organic Strawberry Ale
by - -Samuel Smith (brewed at Melbourn Brothers) Stamford, England Imported by: Merchant du Vin Tukwila, WA Available: nationwide Brewed with the old manually-operated equipment and in the Victorian copper kettle at Samuel Smith’s tiny and historical Melbourn Bros. Brewery, in Stamford. Samuel Smith’s Organic Strawberry Ale undergoes fermentation there, then is sent to Samuel Smith’s where... View Article
Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale
by - -Stone Brewing Co. Escondido, CA Available: AK, AZ, CA, CO, DE, FL, GA, ID, IN, ME, MA, MS, MI, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI Stone Brewing Co. just received the SD County Supervisor’s 2009 Sustainability Award. ABV: 8.7 ABW: 6.93 Color: 110 Bitterness: 90 Original gravity:... View Article
Fisherman’s Ale
by - -Cape Ann Brewing Co. Gloucester, MA Available: MA, MD, ME, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VA Cape Ann Brewing Co. is a family-owned microbrewery in downtown Gloucester. The company contributes to protecting our oceans and fisheries by donating to the Northwest Seafood Coalition. ABV: 5 ABW: 3.98 Color: 6.5 Bitterness: 24 Original gravity: 1050
Tower 10
by - -Karl Strauss Brewing Co. San Diego, CA Available: CA (southern California only) Karl Strauss Brewing Co. is currently celebrating their 20th Anniversary with the completion of their recent brewery expansion, new bottling line, and completely redesigned packaging. Newcomer Tower 10 IPA is named after the lifeguard tower where young founders Chris and Matt and retired... View Article
Koningshoeven Quad
by - -Koningshoeven Trappist Brewery Tilburg, Netherlands Imported by: Artisanal Imports Austin, TX Available: AR, MO, VA, NY, MN, IN, FL, PA, NC, OH, MA, GA, RI, LA, IL, NE, WI, MD, ME, MI, SC, OK, KA, CA, WA, NV, TX, ID, OR, AK, IA Beers have been brewed at the Cistercian Abbey of Onze Lieve Vrouw... View Article
Road Trip
by - -Sweetwater Brewing Co. Atlanta, GA Available: GA, AL, NC, FL, TN, SC Road Trip is a pilsner brewed with lager yeast but fermented at typical ale temperatures. It is part of Sweet Water’s Catch and Release series. ABV: 5.3 ABW: 4.22 Color: 4-5 Bitterness: 55 Original gravity: 1050
Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale
by - -Lexington Brewing Co. Lexington, KY Available: KY Lexington Brewery’s Kentucky Ale is aged for up to six weeks in freshly-decanted bourbon barrels from some of Kentucky’s distilleries. ABV: 8.2 ABW: 6.53 Color: 12 Bitterness: 21 Original gravity: 1058.4
Vintage Ale
by - -McAuslan Brewing Montreal, QC Imported by: Eurobrew Ashland, MA Available: ID, IL, IA, NJ, WI, FL, MD, MI, SC, GA, CT, NC, PA, OH, VA, NE, TN, NY, MA, MO, KS, IN, AL, NH, ME McAuslan Vintage Ale is an English-style barley wine that is brewed once a year. The bottle comes packed in a... View Article
Headless Man Amber Alt
by - -Tyranena Brewing Co Lake Mills, WI Available: WI, IL, MN The ancient peoples that inhabited Wisconsin are known for their stone monuments and earthen effigy mounds. Unfortunately, most of these structures have fallen victim to the farmer’s plow over the past 150 years. Not far from the brewery, lying preserved on the floor of Rock... View Article
Lost Continent Double IPA
by - -Grand Teton Brewing Co. Victor, ID Available: AZ, CA, CO, ID, KS, MO, MT, MY, OR, UT, WA, WI, WY Lost Continent Double IPA has three pounds of hops per barrel in the kettle and another pound per barrel of “dry hops” added after fermentation, bringing the IBUs over 90. ABV: 8.0 ABW: 6.37 Color:... View Article
Old Jock Ale
by - -Broughton Ales Ltd. Broughton, Scotland Imported by: Phoenix Imports Columbia, MD Available: AK, CO, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, LA, MD, MA, MI, NJ, OH, TN, VA, WA For centuries, the soldiers of the Highland and Lowland Regiments of Scotland have been referred to as “Jocks”: powerful fighting men who have won battle honors all... View Article
Double Dread Imperial Red Ale
by - -Mad River Brewing Co. Blue Lake, CA Available: CA, NC, OR, WA, MA, NM, PA, OH, IN, IL, FL, HI Mad River Brewing Co. is located in the small town of Blue Lake, CA in the heart of Humboldt County. Now in its twentieth year, the brewery is committed the most traditional brewing methods and... View Article
Crack’d Wheat
by - -New Glarus Brewing Co. New Glarus, WI Available: WI Crack’d Wheat is brewed in New Glarus new state-of-the-art Hilltop Brewery. The beer combines attributes of Bavarian hefeweiss and an American pale ale. It is brewed with Wisconsin Red Wheat, dry-hopped with Amarillo and fermented with Bavarian weiss yeast, then bottle-conditioned. ABV: 6.2 ABW: 4.94 Color:... View Article
Sofie
by - -Goose Island Beer Co. Chicago, IL Available: IL Sofie is a saison. It is dry hopped with Amarillo hops, then barrel aged in cabernet wine barrels. Juiced orange peels and a wild yeast strain are added during the barrel aging process, which takes a total of six months to complete. ABV: 6.5 ABW: 5.17 Color:... View Article
Belgica
by - -Great Divide Brewing Co. Denver, CO Available: SC, MA, WI, KY, TX, OH, IN, MN, WA, MD, CT, PA, NY, FL, VA, NJ, MI, NE, AZ, MO, CT, AK, PA, OR, OK, TN, GA, NM, VA, IL, CO, NC, IL, KS, AL Belgica, a Roman term for the Low Countries, is a blend of American... View Article
Lhasa Beer
by - -Tibet Lhasa Brewery Co. Lhasa Tibet Imported by: Dzambuling Imports El Cerrito, CA Available: AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, LA, NM, NV, OK, OR, TX, WA (and soon in AR, IA, KS, MO, MT, NE) The Tibet Lhasa Brewery Co. is committed to supporting philanthropic efforts in Tibet. Ten percent of the profits and... View Article