In doing research for The Beer Bible, I had to make some very tough decisions about how to use my time and money. There are probably a good dozen countries that deserve to be visited and documented, but I couldn’t visit them all. Ireland, out. (An Irish blogger finally convinced me to skip his home... View Article
At its most basic, the jockey box is a utilitarian necessity: hard-sided picnic cooler, a few gauges and hoses, tap handles connected to kegs through cooling coils or plates. Connect the kegs, check the gas, dump in ice and you’re ready to serve draft beer wherever your travels take you. But at beer festivals, tabletop... View Article
As more breweries compete for festival crowds, it’s getting easier to spot elaborate—if not ironically outrageous—jockey box covers that reflect brand identity, act as extensions of the tasting room experience and beckon people over to laugh, shake their heads or take pictures. Click through the gallery below to see some examples, and read Tara Nurin’s... View Article
On Sunday, Jan. 21, 1990, about 8:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Homer Simpson saw a commercial for Duff Beer. His thirst piqued, the 38-year-old married father of three got off the couch and went to the fridge to grab a can of the brew. He found none—perhaps having already drunk his usually steady supply, it’s... View Article
Each year, millions of people flock to the shores along the East Coast for a well-deserved vacation or weekend getaway. After a long, hard day of relaxing on the beach, there is that great feeling of heading home for a strong shower, and a solid night of sleep. Many will rent homes for a week, others... View Article
A tall, seductively curvy vase of weissbier, preferably served in the dappled light of a Bavarian biergarten on a summer day, is such a fixture of German beer culture that we sometimes overlook how weird it is. The standard German beer—enforced by national decree—is a lager of precise description, with no funny business allowed. Weizens,... View Article
The billboards started popping up in the Philly area in the autumn of 1993: “Philadelphia Is Putting Blondes Behind Bars,” a ribald double entendre aimed at advertising what the region’s newest brewing entity was calling Red Bell Blonde Ale. If the meaning of the billboards was somehow lost on a consumer, then the equally ubiquitous... View Article
When Leslie Basalla started working at Market Garden Brewery in Cleveland’s Ohio City neighborhood, it had no organized tour program. When someone requested a behind-the-scenes look at the brewhouse, staff would grab whoever was available at the time to show them around. Because of her beer knowledge, more often than not, that person wasBasalla. She... View Article
Fat Head’s Saloon began in Pittsburgh in 1992. It was also then that college student Matt Cole learned to homebrew and started sales work for Pennsylvania Brewing Co. Fast-forward to now, Fat Head’s founders are partners with Cole, who has delivered his now-famous hop-forward beers to the hopheads of Ohio. All About Beer: When did... View Article
