CHAMPAGNE? More like SHAM-pagne, if you ask me.
Every New Year’s Eve, it’s the same ol’ swill: overpriced bottles of sweet, fizzy bad wine posing as a drinkable beverage worthy of celebration.
An entire year goes by, and none but the most pretentious puckered-palates touch the stuff.
But flip the calendar and, pop, we’re shooting corks and slopping the bubbly … Read the rest
IN THE NO-BRAINER decision of the year, the Eagles yesterday announced they will disarm their own fans at Sunday’s game against the hated New York Giants.
Having already seized their guns, drugs and sharp objects, the team banned the sale of plastic beer bottles during the game.
The move had nothing to do with rescuing the city’s long-suffering beer-swillers from … Read the rest
MY FIRST BAR was an old peach crate on the floor next to the fridge. It held a stack of cheap liquor, plastic cups and a bottle opener; hoist it onto a table, instant party.
My second bar was made by an old friend out of recycled window shutters and plywood. It weighed about 3,000 pounds and held slightly more … Read the rest
Speaking of English beers, the people at Fuller’s were on the line the other day. The No. 2 specialty beer in the United Kingdom (behind Bass) is pushing a three-pack of Vintage Ale, with a bottle each from ’99, ’00 and ’01.
They’re bottle-conditioned, which means they’re unfiltered with a remainder of yeast. The ale continues to ferment after bottling, … Read the rest
IWOULDN’T WALK 500 miles for a Molson, like the commercial says, but this week, I drove 150 for an Oakham Jeffrey Hudson Bitter.
And, as is usually the case, it was the people – not the beer – that made the trip worthwhile.
The bitter from England’s Oakham Brewery is this year’s champion beer of the Great British Beer Festival. … Read the rest
Osama bin Laden could be the celebrity endorsement from hell.
Last month, when reports emerged that the millionaire terror boss was tooling around Afghanistan in a Toyota pickup truck, the Japanese SUV-maker spun its wheels trying to distance itself from bin Laden.
Now it’s Heineken.
Last week, Daily News beer scribe Joe Sixpack passed on word that a new bio … Read the rest
First came reports that two of the hijackers in the Sept. 11 terror attack used to hang out at a bar in Paterson, N.J., and drink watered-down Heineken.
Now we get word that millionaire terror boss Osama bin Laden enjoyed those skunky green bottles, too.
According to author Adam Robinson in “Bin Laden: Behind the Mask of Terror,” the world’s … Read the rest
SAMUEL ADAMS Brewhouse – R.I.P. 1999.
Poor Henry’s Brewery & Restaurant – R.I.P. 2000.
Dock Street Brasserie – R.I.P. 2001.
If the fresh, handmade ale from local brewpubs is the best defense against tasteless industrial lager, Philadelphia is losing the war. They’re dropping off faster than Taliban soldiers.
Today, there are just four, if you count the Red Bell facility … Read the rest
This time it’s Dock Street Brasserie (18th and Cherry streets, Logan Circle), where the doors are locked and the phone rings and rings and rings. Josh Ervine, formerly its head brewer, is now sweating at Yards Brewing.
No word on Dock Street’s future, or its brewing equipment.
Speaking of kettles and fermenters, word is that Dogfish Head Brewing of Lewes, … Read the rest
THERE’S NOT much good news amid the ashes of the Sept. 11 terror attack, but here’s a sign that America – in spite of the tragedy – might actually become a better place:
Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig has asked that championship teams forgo the champagne celebrations this year.
It’s about time, I say.
For too long, our sacred … Read the rest