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Need someone to hold your hand at the beer store and you don’t trust Consumer Reports mag? Try one of these sources.
Beverage Testing Institute – ratings monthly in All About Beer and archived at www.tastings.com. A blind-tasting with a 100-point scale. The ratings are among the most widely followed in the industry but offer obscure notes. (“Sweet and … Read the rest
Somewhere this moment, some pathetically confused soul, lost in the mind-numbing depths of manic indecision, is facing the fearsome anxiety that presents itself upon one of those unguided treks to the beer store.
Before him, 1,000 choices – lagers, stouts, pale ales, the variety is infinite.
Dazed, the thirsty man can recall only the advice found in the pages of … Read the rest
I’m not sure when it struck me – probably late Wednesday night when I was performing my patriotic duty by guzzling domestic brews during that Star-Studded reading of the Declaration of Independence – but it suddenly occurred to me, just a few hours till deadline, I had failed to write even a single word of today’s column.
Frankly, I was … Read the rest
Looks like another brewpub is about to bite the dust. New Road Brewhouse in Collegeville reportedly is shutting down its brewing operation. It’ll sell its equipment and continue as a restaurant.
Head brewer Brian O’Reilly, who created the brewpub’s award-winning Perkiomen Pils, has already left. He’s on his way to Victory Brewing.
“It doesn’t make … Read the rest
THE LAST BASTION of privacy away from home – your friendly, no-questions-asked corner bar – is about to get the Big Brother treatment in Philadelphia.
Under a City Council bill that is almost certain to be adopted this fall, every taproom and takeout store in the city will be required to install an electronic scanner that reads the magnetic strip … Read the rest
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Personally, Joe Sixpack’s idea of the perfect summer cocktail is a colder beer – something to wash away the sweat after mowing the lawn.
When the going gets hot, most beer-drinkers predictably reach for an icy industrial lager, a Bud, a Coors, a God-forbid Lite.
It’s easy to understand why: They’re mostly refreshing and go down easy, in a … Read the rest
“A summer drink should be fleeting, not sustaining. It should slake your palate, cool you off and give you a whiff of alcohol without knocking you off your feet.” – New York Times, May 23, 2001
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The two blondes crawling on the lawn at Penn Treaty Park must’ve missed that edition of the Times. They’ve just stumbled out of … Read the rest
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Think beer and biking don’t mix?
Think again.
Professional bicyclists, who may be among the most aerobically fit athletes in the world, know a glass of beer is the perfect post-race thirst quencher.
It’s true, alcohol does dehydrate you. But there’s so little alcohol in beer (usually in the 5 percent range) that its other qualities outweigh the negatives.… Read the rest
WHAT’S IT TAKE to get this city to serve a local beer at its premier annual sporting event?
This Sunday, for the 17th consecutive year, fans at the U.S. Pro Cycling Championship will be refreshing themselves with yet another out-of-town interloper.
The official beer of the bike race is Samuel Adams Summer Pilsner.
I’m not going to slam Sam – … Read the rest
TIME TO pull out your scorecards, beer fans. That brewpub next to Reading Terminal is changing its name again.
Now, they’re calling it Independence Brew pub.
Before that, it was Dock Street.
Before that, Red Bell.
So, what’s in a name? Not much – it’s the same beer.
And that’s a sad commentary on the state of microbrewing.
“In a … Read the rest