FROM SAM Calagione, the exotic flavorings czar at Dogfish Head in Delaware, to Greg Koch, the “arrogant bastard” at Stone Brewing in California who dares you to choke down his intensely hopped ales, brewers can be a crazed bunch of characters.
This week, I stumbled across a brewer who has rocks in his head.
That would be Larry Horwitz, the … Read the rest
RUDOLPH THE red-nosed reindeer had a very good lawyer.
And if you ever had any doubts, check out what happened to Bethlehem Brew Works.
Like most brewpubs, Bethlehem has its own version of Christmas ale. It’s deep red, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and chimes in at 9.5 percent alcohol. Brewer Jeff Fegley said, “When you smell the beer, you … Read the rest
SEATTLE – Eagles fans have seen their future and it is . . . nice.
Maybe too nice.
Hundreds arrived here yesterday in waves of green, anxious to watch the Birds continue their march to the playoffs. They got a good look at the NFL’s newest palace, the state-of-the-art Seahawks Stadium – and a chance to imagine what’s in store … Read the rest
SANTA CLAUS made his first appearance of the season yesterday at the end of the Thanksgiving parade, but if he was looking to bring joy to the hearts of local beer drinkers, he was too late.
One of his own elves beat him to the punch.
I refer, of course, to the The Mad Elf, the holiday ale from Troegs … Read the rest
FOR SHEER FRAUD, there’s nothing like the way college campuses treat alcohol.
On the one hand, they moan about keg parties by focusing anti-alcohol messages on the evils of so-called binge drinking. Never mind that bingeing, as defined by the eggheads at Harvard, is a mere five beers in one evening, and that drinking yourself to death – as much … Read the rest
IN THE drinking man’s world, there are certain decisions we must all make:
Draft vs. bottle.
Straight up vs. on the rocks.
Tastes great vs. less filling.
Your place vs. mine.
Difficult choices, surely. But there is one decision that transcends our existence on the bar stool. It is a choice of biblical proportions that will torment mankind into eternity, … Read the rest
JIM Gardner’s not even finished announcing the ground rules, and the first buck is in the jukebox at Dawson Street Pub in Manayunk.
The last debate in the fiercest mayoral election campaign in memory is on TV – an ideal opportunity for Philadelphians to listen to the candidates, to get a feel for their political views, to watch them get … Read the rest
EVERY AUTUMN, they roll out the pumpkin ale, which is a testament, I suppose, to mankind’s genetic impulse to take anything that grows and turn it into booze.
Sugar, rice, barley, potatoes, whatever – let’s cook it, ferment it and see what happens.
But pumpkins?
We’re talking jack-o’-lanterns, Charlie Brown and Linus, over the river and through the woods to … Read the rest
“The man who called it ‘near beer’ was a bad judge of distance.” – W.C. Fields
THIS autumn marks the 70th anniversary of the demise of the scourge of our favorite adult beverage:
Near beer.
Oh, the non-alcoholic brew is still around, for reasons that escape my ethyl-disoriented gourd. But 1933 – the end of Prohibition – was also the … Read the rest
THE FEEL-GOOD story of this year’s Oktoberfest is Lowenbrau. After nearly being sent to a watery grave by Miller Brewing, the lager is reclaiming its foothold as one of America’s favorite Germans.
You remember the god-awful Miller days, right? Back in 1975 – after a mere six centuries of developing its reputation as one of the world’s finest breweries – … Read the rest