The Beer Trials

Here (might) come trouble. You may have heard about a book called the Wine Trials that come out a year or so ago. Robin Goldstein really took wine snobbery to task and in the effort ticked some vino people off.
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It looks like he now has beer snobs in his sights…”From the author of The Wine Trials comes the first beer guide ever to be based on blind tastings. With brutally honest ratings and reviews of the 250 most popular beers in the world both in bottle and on draft. The Beer Trials will challenge some of our most basic assumptions about beer.”

Mr. Goldstein may not be known to the beer world but he reviews food and spirits, so he is no novice. My sincere hope is that his book aims to cut some of the hype down and not just bring beer down a peg.

new beer magazine…

…I can’t get enough of them. There is such a large world of beer that I need all the content that I can get my hands on. Into the void comes, Beer Connoisseur magazine.
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Beer reviews. Great contributors like Stephen Beaumont and Carolyn Smagalski. But most importantly good content!

Support great beer writing! It pairs well with any style of beer.

HopCast

As you have noticed from my video reviews, I am not a big fan of the straight one shot pointing at a guy drinking beer. Hence, you can only hear me in my spontaneous reviews.

Every rule has exceptions and one I make is for HopCast. They mix it up with interviews, beers of the month and profiles of home brewers.

They have been duly added to my favored links.
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Beer + Chocolate =

from Wisconsin (home of a great beer scene) comes two great tastes that taste great together…
“We’re sure you’ve heard of pairing wine and chocolate, but did you know that chocolate and beer work well together? Introducing Great Dane Beer Chocolates, handcrafted exclusively for The Great Dane Pub and Brewing Company by David Bacco Chocolats. These amazing creations are made with Great Dane brews and each chocolate complements the flavors of a distinctive Great Dane beer. Four chocolates are available including Black Earth Porter, Crop Circle Wheat, Stone of Scone Scotch Ale and Tri-Pepper Pilsner.
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4-piece box (one of each flavor) $10
8-piece box (two of each flavor) $18

You can also experience these chocolates with the beers that inspired them! Great Dane Beer Chocolates are available in the bar or restaurant of the Great Dane Pub & Brewing Company’s locations in downtown Madison, Fitchburg and at the Hilldale shopping center. When you dine in, each chocolate is served with a four-ounce sample of the paired beer. Order individually – or as a delicious dessert flight of four chocolates and beers!”

Valentine’s Day is 2 weeks away. Order up!

Two of these breweries…

…are not like the others. According to the Wall Street Journal, there is problem in beer land.
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But after looking at the graph and then reading this…
“Domestic beer brands need to reinvent themselves and get that appeal back,” said Ron Vaughn, co-owner of Argonaut Wine & Liquor, a Denver liquor superstore. He said his beer sales rose by 2% last year, helped by strong sales of “craft” brews popular in Colorado, but mass-market brands such as Miller Lite “have taken a hit.”

It appears that crap beer is losing ground and craft beer is rising.

Drinking with George

One of your New Year resolutions should be to read more beer books. There are a plethora out there. Tasting Beer, The Naked Pint or anything by Pete Brown. And here is another to pick up…
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…it is certainly on my list.

news from Mikkeller

While the beer geeks were slobbering over the news of a 1K IBU beer coming in February, I was more interested in two other notes…

# 1
“2009 was also the year where Mikkeller got his line of Single Hop on the move. After the first single hop, Simcoe, more followed, and last month came Tomahawk and Amarillo which was the 6th. and 7th. Early next year, 2010, an additional three new single hop beers will hit the market and at the same time new batches of the previous 7. This way you will be able to visit your local beer-pusher and buy 10 different Single Hops at the same time. With 10 different Single Hops in the fridge, all you need is a bag of peanuts to save the evening.”
I love the Mikkeller Single Hops and the fact that more are coming is beyond awesome.

# 2
“Mikkeller has planed more travels abroad in 2010. One of these travels will go to Greece to brew a beer with the greek micro-brewery Craft. And a couple of journeys to the US can not be excluded. Whether this will result in yet a new beer brewed with Three Floyds, or Mikkeller will brew with a different brewery is to early to say. Another cooperation with a European brewery is in the plan for 2010 also.”

3 Floyds + Mikkeller. That will be a beer to hoard for sure.

New School Brew Blog

Due to my being born and raised just south of Portland, I follow the craft beer scene from afar and try to get to events and new breweries as time and money permit. The next best thing is reading about what is happening. And here is another voice that you might enjoy reading…
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You can check out the latest posts HERE

Decade Defining beers

Another atypical blog is Joe Sixpack from Philadelphia, here is how he starts a recent post that caught my eye…
“THIS TIME OF the year, everybody does a Top 10 List. But I consume beer by the sixpack, so that’s what you’re getting today: The 6 Beers That Defined the Decade.
These aren’t necessarily my favorites. (Heck, I can’t even pick my favorite from last night.) But they are beers that set the pace in the American beer scene in the ’00s.”

Check out his selection HERE