Just For Fun

Loving the White Rabbit

January 19, 2012

We all know good labels, packaging and artwork can help a beer sell. I may not like that a mediocre beer might sell better than a great one if it has more eye-catching artwork, but it happens all the time. It was especially true in the early days of craft beer when many people who [...]

Keep Reading →

10 Healthy Reasons To Drink Beer

January 16, 2012

I may not always see eye-to-eye with the roman catholic church, but I’m with them all the way on this one. While many religious denominations forbid their followers from drinking alcohol and others preach against it, it’s nice to see at least one take a more rational approach. Not only does Catholic Online tell everyone: [...]

Keep Reading →

Coors Light: Now The Avis Of Beers

January 14, 2012

I’m not exactly sure why this appears to be such big news, but it seems to be everywhere. Beer Marketer’s Insights is reporting that, based upon estimated numbers for 2011, Coors Light has overtaken Budweiser to become the 2nd best-selling beer in America. According to the report, “[t]his is the first time in almost 20 [...]

Keep Reading →

There Are 1,952 Craft Breweries In The United States

January 9, 2012

This is a pretty cool piece or artwork that would look great on your wall. Los Angeles-based artist David Odere has created a poster entitled There Are 1,952 Craft Breweries In The United States, in which the glass of beer, head included, contains the names of every one of those 1,952 breweries. The poster is [...]

Keep Reading →

Session #59: I Almost Always Drink Beer, But When I Don’t ….

January 6, 2012

Our 59th Session is something of a departure, as the topic could just as properly be about beverages other than beer as beer itself. Our host, Mario Rubio from Brewed For Thought was looking to branch out of beer and explore our other liquid passions. Seizing upon a suggestion I made regarding the Dos Equis [...]

Keep Reading →

Nicole Erny Becomes First Female Master Cicerone

January 4, 2012

You probably already know about the thousands (just over 8,800) of beer industry professionals who have become Certified Beer Servers in Ray Daniels’ Cicerone program since it was launched in 2007. It’s essentially the beer equivalent of a sommelier. But did you know there are actually three levels of Cicerone certification? Until recently, only three [...]

Keep Reading →

Damaged Lagunitas Equipment In Petaluma

January 2, 2012

When last we looked, the damaged Lagunitas brewing equipment was at the dock, at the Port of Stockton. Earlier today I stopped by the Lagunitas Brewery to pick up some samples for a tasting tomorrow for the Celebrator Beer News and, not surprisingly, the broken lauter tun was around the back of the brewery. Having [...]

Keep Reading →

The Beer Hunter Documentary On Kickstarter

December 31, 2011

Most, if not all, of us who write about beer, and by extension blog about it, would not have a job were it not for one man: Michael Jackson. I think most of us who’ve been doing this for at least a few years now feel that way. I first met Michael at GABF in [...]

Keep Reading →

The Philadelphia History of Beer

December 27, 2011

This was created back in May, but it escaped my notice. April Kuhn created a cool poster for Drink Philly entitled The Philadelphia History of Beer. According to the website, “[w]hile it doesn’t cover everything that’s occurred in Philadelphia since its founding, it does cover a lot — and it shows why this truly is [...]

Keep Reading →

Hoppy Christmas

December 25, 2011

From my IP address to yours. Have a very Malty Christmas and a Hoppy Holiday. Peace On Earth, Good Beer to Men (and Women). “Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.” [...]

Keep Reading →

Beer Tree: The Ultimate Christmas Project

December 25, 2011

Here’s yet another beer bottle Christmas tree, this one from 2007. It was “built from 1050 stubbies (250ml bottles), equivalent to 462 pints. Tied together with 300 meters of wire and decorated with 200 lights, with a bubble lamp in the centre, the tree stands 2 meters high and 1 meter wide at the base.” [...]

Keep Reading →

Heineken Christmas Tree In Hawaii

December 24, 2011

This isn’t exactly new, but it’s still pretty cool, despite using green bottles. They may not be great for keeping UV light out of the beer, but they do work great for building Christmas trees. Completed in 2006, 2000 Heineken bottles are controlled by animated lighting equipment built by the homeowner.

Keep Reading →

Hammurabi: First King Of Beer

December 23, 2011

I kept forgetting to post this nice piece about King Hammurabi, the Babylonian ruler responsible for mankind’s first set of laws, known as the Hammurabi Code. It ran in the San Francisco magazine Drink Me, in their October 2011 issue. The article, Hammurabi: The King Of Beers, goes into some deatil about the laws in [...]

Keep Reading →

Carol of the Beers

December 23, 2011

This is pretty cool, despite the Corona bottles. According to the musician who made the video, BoTLpLayA, “[he] play[s] Carol of the Bells on perfectly tuned corona bottles (they make the best sound), by “plucking” them with [his] finger.” Hmm, not sure that makes sense, but who am I to argue with the results. Enjoy!

Keep Reading →

Mother’s Brewing Spoofs Laverne & Shirley

December 22, 2011

Ha, this is funny spoof, especially if you remember the Happy Days spin-off Laverne & Shirley, who worked at the fictional Shotz Brewery, which was located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mother’s Brewing is not to far away (just a few states and not quite 600 miles) in Springfield, Missouri, and they’ve created their own version of [...]

Keep Reading →

Twas The Beer Before Christmas: A Brewery Visit From St. Nicholas

December 22, 2011

While not widely known, St. Nicholas, among his many patronages includes brewers. He is a patron saint of brewers. The way we think of St. Nick in America begins with the publication of Twas the Night Before Christmas: A Visit From St, Nicholas by Clement C. Moore in 1823. So with my tongue firmly set [...]

Keep Reading →