Here is my first taste of Widmer’s 25th Anniversary Double Alt. This is not a beer for the faint of heart.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8_hFSuXPYY]
Beer Float
I am so ahead of the curve. I have a beer & dessert tasting with floats made with HUB 7 Grain Stout and Maui Coconut Porter now this is happening….
The Golden State/Scoops vs. BottleRock/Milk in L.A. Beer Float Showdown
Posted July 3, 2009 at 9:50 am on FOOD GPS
The Golden State caused a sensation when co-owners Jason Bernstein and James Starr introduced beer floats to Los Angeles. They combined Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout with Scoops ice cream. BottleRock LA recently entered the float fray when resident beer expert Alex Macy decided to mix-and-match Milk ice cream with beers from their 18 taps. One of his signature floats: Ommegang Rouge with cherry sorbet.
On July 26 at 3:30 PM, come to Blue Palms Brewhouse and help to choose a champion in the first L.A. Beer Float Showdown. Everybody who attends is allowed to vote on two beer floats from each competitor. Four total. A score sheet will allow every attendee to judge the beer floats according to flavor and originality. The competitors are currently working on their flavor combinations and won’t reveal them until the showdown.
Tickets cost $23 if you RSVP to joshua@foodgps.com prior to the event. Pay in cash at the door. Day-of admission is $28, but there’s no guarantee we’ll have space left, so be sure to RSVP now.
Proceeds cover the cost of the beer and ice cream, but the bulk of the money goes to charity. The L.A. Beer Float Showdown benefits 826LA, the non-profit writing and tutoring program for kids 6-18, founded by author Dave Eggers and educator Nínive Calegari.
Hope to see you at Blue Palms Brewhouse as we continue to build the L.A. beer community.
Great Beer articles from both coasts
Beer usually does not get enough press outside the outstanding beer publications (that you should subscribe to like Celebrator, All About Beer, Imbibe and Beer Advocate). So it is good to see that the New York Times talked about beer & food and that the Los Angeles Times had a great piece on Sour Beers by Joshua Lurie of Food GPS.
North American Organic Brewers Festival – Video – Part 2
Here is my video review of my 2nd Day at the NAOBF.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_HB_yPfWes]
Beer DVD reviews
Today, I watched “Beer Wars” and “The American Brew” back to back. I think that they both have their strong points but American Brew wins my Beer Oscar.
The American Brew is way too short (in a good way) and I really enjoyed the clips left on the cutting room floor. It shows the basics of making beer along with a brief history of beer in America. And it has great commentators including Daniel Okrent, Charlie Papazian, Fritz Maytag and Dick Cantwell among others. It has a specific aim and it hits it straight on. Since, I love educating people about beer and its turbulent history in America, this is a great tool to use.
Beer Wars on the other hand has a major beer flaw in it, though it is not a dramatic flaw. The focus is on Sam Calagione from the wonderful Dogfish Head and on the creator of Moonshot Caffeine Beer and Edison Light, Rhonda Kallman. To a lesser extent it is a screed against the three-tiered distribution system and the dominance of ABINBEV / SABMILLERCOORS.
Both Sam and Rhonda have wonderful entrepreneurial spirit. But Sam understands that he is a brewer first and second and third and a salesman fourth. Rhonda is all sales all the time and that hurts her. She becomes a product not a craft. I totally understand why the beer community is so mixed on this movie. On one hand it celebrates creative beer and then extols the wonders of marketed beer. It is good drama but not good beer.
Beer Search Party merchandise
Now you can be the first on your block (literally) to proclaim that you want better beer, by wearing a shirt or carrying a water bottle.
4th of July Beers
It is our patriotic duty to get our economy humming again by celebrating the diversity of American beer. A declaration of beer independence so to speak. Here are some choices that will go great on a hot 4th of July afternoon…..
Full Sail Session Lager (or Session Black) – great beer that you can have more than one of as the sun beats down.
Pikeland Pils – celebrate the true American pils not the watered down rice/corn stuff.
Mama’s Little Yella Pils – another great canned pils.
Haymaker Extra Pale – light, refreshing with a spicy, citrusy finish.
Liberty Ale – a beer from the dawn of the craft brewing age.
North American Organic Brewers Festival – Video
Day 1 – My video review of Friday at the NAOBF
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7SXFV5xa0o]
NAOBF – Pictures
Exciting week (and months) ahead
I will be taking a beer trek from Los Angeles to Portland starting on Friday. That means no new posts here until I get back at the end of June. It also means a flurry of posts at the start of July so please stay tuned.
I will be visiting breweries and pubs and bottle shops on the way up and the way down. From Paso Robles to San Francisco to Ashland to Eugene. I will be sampling at the North American Organic Brewers Festival. I will be going to old haunts and new ventures. But best of all, I will be talking with some of the friendliest and passionate people that I have ever met. BREWERS!
I will bring back a trunk full of beer, photos, reviews, memories and much more. And when I get back, more positive changes to come on this blog and with my beer tastings.
So if you have watched a spontaneous video or you agreed with a rant on a past post, I will be bringing back more for you to help everyone on their quest to find an EVEN BETTER BEER.
Cheers!