JOE SIXPACK has spring fever this week, and that means a severe lack of, um, concentration. Let’s just say this week’s column is the journalistic equivalent of Rolling Rock pony bottles, easily consumed in 7-ounce gulps.
My report last month on the return of Ballantine beer to the Phillies ballpark sparked the memories of some surprisingly clear-headed beer drinkers.
I’d … Read the rest
ANTON DREHER’S cold, stiff hand has a hold on Bill Covaleski’s mortal soul.
Dreher, one of the 19th century’s great European brewers, has been dead and buried for 140 years.
Covaleski, the 40-something co-founder of Downingtown’s Victory Brewing, is a highly regarded member of America’s new generation of craftbrewers.
At first sip, it’s hard to see the connection.
Dreher is … Read the rest
WHEN THE Phillies open Citizens Bank Park next month, the green, natural grass won’t be their only bow to tradition.
In a move that will warm the hearts of longtime fans who remember the good old days at Connie Mack Stadium, the Phillies are bringing back Ballantine Beer.
That’s right, the beer whose familiar three rings – Purity, Body, Flavor … Read the rest
DESPITE ITS fine tradition as a drinking man’s holiday, St. Patrick’s Day is generally regarded by professionals such as myself as amateur night.
Whether it’s copious shots of Jamison’s or pitchers of green beer, happy shamrockers – unreined and unprepared – overindulge with the usual consequences.
Lucky for you, lately I’ve been drinking a lot more than usual.
It was … Read the rest
IT’S TAKEN A good four years, but we can officially declare the millennium’s first new beer style.
No, we’re not talking low-carb beer.
It’s Imperial India Pale Ale and, yes, that is a mouthful.
Take a look around at local micros and brewpubs, and nearly every one of them is producing an Imp IPA. The style takes its name from … Read the rest
IF IMITATION is the sincerest form of flattery, the boys in St. Louis have been blowing a lot of smoke up their competitors’ bungs.
Anheuser-Busch, the world’s biggest beermaker, hires the best brewers, runs the finest equipment, has the biggest marketing departments and the most efficient distribution network in the world.
And yet, when it comes to developing new products, … Read the rest
A VERSE for Valentine’s Day . . .
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
Gimme some head,
On top of my brew.
Well, nobody ever said mug-fisted beer drinkers were romantic. Passionate, yes. But all that hearts and flowers stuff has always been the traditional turf of the pinky-extended champagne set.
Yet, as the lovey-dovey day rolls around, the beer … Read the rest
TINA FEY from the “Saturday Night Live Weekend Update” staff recently noted that CBS had banned an anti-Bush ad during the Super Bowl because “they don’t air so-called ‘issue ads.’ ”
That is, Fey noted, “unless the issue is that girls are sluts for beer.”
Last year, when we were treated to Miller’s infamous “Catfight,” and a not-so-subtle suggestion of … Read the rest