Brewed For Thought

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, but the rush of Christmas ale is already upon us. It will take me a while to wade through the flood of bottles filling my fridge, so I ought to get an early start.  More »

November 20th, 2008 | Tags: Anchor Brewing, Lost Coast, Our Special Ale, Winterbraun | Category: Tastings | Leave a comment

You might not believe this, but I was actually very close to going to college in Maine. I went on two campus visits, one to Berkeley, one to Colby College in Maine. Berkeley was 80, sunny, beautiful, Maine was cold, there was a blizzard, I slipped on some ice and broke my wrist. That’s ok, I don’t hold it against Maine. Why do I bring this up? Because I just opened a bottle of Shipyard’s Pugsley Signature Series Imperial Porter and I was drawing a blank on where to start.  More »

November 19th, 2008 | Tags: Pugsley Signature Imperial Porter, Shipyard Brewing | Category: Tastings | Leave a comment

The merger between Anheuser Busch and InBev is complete.  The deal has been approved by both sides, and now the only thing left is to merge the logos.  Take a look below at the past and present.  More »

November 19th, 2008 | Tags: AB InBev | Category: Brewing News | Leave a comment

Another weekend, another beer from Milwaukee. No, I’m not knocking back MGD while watching the football games. This time I’m getting into another brew from Lakefront Brewing, their Bridge Burner. More »

November 18th, 2008 | Tags: Bridge Burner, Lakefront Brewing | Category: Tastings | Leave a comment

One of the new trends in craft brewing is the aluminum can. When I received a trio of Oskar Blue beers from Dave, my wife was puzzled as to why canned beer was in the fridge. I have been fascinated by the beers that keep appearing in cans, wondering if cans are, in fact, better than bottles.  More »

November 17th, 2008 | Tags: Dale's Pale Ale, Gordon, Old Chub, Oskar Blues | Category: Tastings | Comments (2)

It’s been a while since I received this package from Dave, but I had been looking forward to this sampler and really needed to give it the proper attention. As expected, Great Divide didn’t disappoint with their sample of 4 brews.  More »

November 16th, 2008 | Tags: Denver Pale Ale, Great Divide, Hades Belgian Style Ale, Samurai Rice Ale, Titan IPA | Category: Tastings | Leave a comment

After the medal winners were announced at the Great American Beer Festival last month I checked the list for local brews that I haven’t tried, or may not have tried for some time. One that caught my attention was the Blarney Sisters Dry Irish Stout at Third Street Aleworks here in Santa Rosa. With Russian River, Flavor and The Sweet Spot all within a few blocks, it’s easy to miss Aleworks, so I set out for a quick afternoon sampling of their award winning brew.  More »

November 15th, 2008 | Tags: Blarney Sisters Dry Irish Stout, Bodega Head IPA, Goat Rock Dopplebock, Oktoberfest Märzen, Stonefly Oatmeal Stout, Third Street Aleworks | Category: Tastings | Leave a comment

This is a message from Vic at the Bistro, and I don’t think I can say it any better:

We are pleased to announce our 3rd Annual West Coast Barrel Aged Beer Festival / Street Party Saturday, November 15th.We will be offering over 60 beers aged on wood, this is our most intense beer tasting event. Live music and BBQ all day, doors 11am.  More »

November 14th, 2008 | Tags: Barrel-Aged Beer Festival, Bistro | Category: Events | Leave a comment

My recent lamenting on the early Christmas rush incited a response from an unlikely place. All the way from Milwaukee I got an email from Lakefront Brewing, agreeing with my opinion of Christmas in October. I appreciated the thought, so thought it would be only appropriate to get into a bottle of thei Holiday Spice Lager. Hey, it’s November, it’s alright.  More »

November 12th, 2008 | Tags: Holiday Spice Lager, Lakefront Brewing | Category: Tastings | Comments (1)