Beijing Goes Bavarian
By Nick Yates
Published November 2013, Volume 34, Number 5
Drei Kronen is one of several German breweries with brewpubs in China.
Published in the November issue of All About Beer Magazine
It was with the master of ceremonies’ final costume change that the revelers were at their most enraptured. Those gathered at Beijing’s Paulaner Bräuhaus—whether German veterans of Oktoberfest or Chinese new to the world’s biggest booze-up—had never seen anything quite like it.
The aging entertainer had donned a Dickensian nightgown and cap, lighting his way through the gloaming in the giant marquee with a candleholder in hand. He stomped along the banquet table through diners’ sausage and sauerkraut remains, belting out a raucous Bavarian drinking song backed by the oompah band. His hairy, stout calves were bared to the world, and Chinese ladies blushed at the occasional glimpse of his oversized bloomers.
With busty lederhosen-clad dancers on the stage barely challenging for anyone’s attention, our main act neared the end of his song. And then came the party trick. He opened his mouth wide enough to swallow a whole pork knuckle and in went the candle, extinguishing the flame. The crowd went wild, and the large sums most had paid to be at the opening of this venue’s 2010 Oktoberfest seemed more than worth it.
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Traditional Books Still Leading the Way to Beer
By Julie Johnson
Published July 2013, Volume 34, Number 3
In 1987, a D.C.-based freelance journalist and speechwriter named Jack Erickson published the first comprehensive guidebook for people who not only wanted to drink American craft beer, but visit the breweries, too. Star Spangled Beer: A Guide to America’s New Microbreweries and Brewpubs devoted one-third of its 155 pages to directories of American microbreweries and brewpubs, and another 14 pages to the new breweries of Canada.
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Growing Number of Businesses Selling Locally Malted Barley to Breweries
By Ben Keene
Published July 2013, Volume 34, Number 3
Brian Simpson rakes malt at Riverbend Malt House in Asheville, NC.
Spend enough time in a tavern or a taproom and you’ll almost certainly hear it.
Hophead: a beer lover with a bad case of the bitters. From extra-pale ales to imperial stouts, nothing makes them happier than a pint exploding with hop flavor and aroma. You know who you are. Plenty of brewers put themselves in the same camp, too, creating beers with names like Palate Wrecker and Hopzilla that clock in at 100 IBUs or more.
Of course, as any brewmaster will tell you, those big beers only work by starting off with lots and lots of barley. Barley that needs to be malted first.
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Published July 2013, Volume 34, Number 3
By Heather Vandenengel It did not take long for the New England beer community to join together and rally support for victims, friends, families and the Boston community after the bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 15.
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Published July 2013, Volume 34, Number 3
By Sarah Annese When thinking about great beer cities in the United States, Portland, Denver, Seattle and San Francisco might come to mind. But New York? Probably not. At least not yet.
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By Joe Baur
Published May 2013, Volume 34, Number 2
Minnesota’s brewing economy is on the rise, and it’s only the beginning.
It’s been two years since Gov. Mark Dayton signed the so-called “Surly Bill,” allowing Minnesota breweries to serve their beer on site. The legislation was in response to a then-proposed $20 million brewery from Surly Brewing Co., but the microbreweries and their fans have been the biggest beneficiaries. Neighborhood breweries, like Fulton Beer in Minneapolis, have been able to welcome thirsty Minnesotans into their homes for a drink in their taprooms.
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