Quiz Time

This quiz tests your beer smarts.

Twinsburg's December Picks

Twinsburg, OH - Holiday cheer kicked in for the Twinsburg meeting as Lake Front Brewing Company’s Holiday Spice (brewed with cinnamon, orange zest, clove and generous amounts of honey) took home the December 2011 crown. All the judges rated the holiday spice either first or second. The competitors were Guinness Black Lager and Lagunitas Czech Style Pils. The Czech Style Pils represented itself well, scoring first place votes in 1/3 of the ballots. The Guinness Black Lager, however, took a beating with last place votes in 2/3 of the ballots. All voters acknowledged the unimpressive qualities of the Guinness Black Lager.

Thanks to Santa (Laura Obloy) for providing December’s contestants.

Final Results
1st – Lake Front Brewing Company’s Holiday Spice
2nd – Lagunitas Czech Style Pils
3rd - Guinness Black Lager

December Meeting - Lagers!

McLean, VA - These were quite enjoyable. I'm not much for lagers, but these did have an impression on me. The first place brew was a Penn Dark brew from Penn Brewery (left in the photo). The malt was much more subtle than the other beers, which is why I think I enjoyed it. The second place beer was a homemade Octoberfest that was very delightful. Andrew was responsible for this one. I have to say, the homebrews have been pretty doggone good, holding their own against professional brewers. The final two beers were a Tommyknocker Butthead Bock and a Troegenator Dopplebock Lager. Both were just ok for me. They were pretty heavy on the malt, which as I mentioned before, I'm not a huge fan of. Anyway, here's to another successful beer club. Prosit!

St. Louis' December Picks

I had to post this early, but here is what the evening looks like for those of us in St. Louis. All four of the beers in the pic are local. From right to left we've got Ferguson Brewing Co's Vanilla Bourbon Ale (wild card pick), Ferguson's Black Lager, Urban Chestnut Brewing Co's Zwickel (classic German lager), and Schlafly's Pilsner. Should be fun and we'll post the results after the meeting.

Prosit!

***UPDATE***

Here were our results:
1 - UCBC Zwickel
2 - Ferguson's Schwarzbier (Black Lager)
3 - Schlafly's Pilsner
4 - Moylan's Christmas Lager

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Make Your Own Alehouse 75

Like Dogfish Head selections and wish you could get the Alehouse 75 that is only available on draft at their Alehouses? Well, be your own mixologist and make the 75 at home by mixing the 60-Minute IPA and 90-Minute IPA in a 50/50 ratio. It creates a nice blend that mellows the hoppiness and enhances the ale flavor. You can buy the 90 minute in a 4-pack, the 60-minute in 6-pack, and save the extra 2 60-Minutes to blend with any other Ale to create a tasty treat. We mixed it with Star Hill Amber Ale (Charlottesville) and were happy with the results. Prosit and Happy Thanksgiving!

November Twinsburg Results ~ Christmas Ale Theme

1) Thirsty Dog ~ 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale
2) Breckenridge ~ Christmas Ale
3) Great Lakes Brewing Company ~ Christmas Ale

Some notes regarding the results:
1) This is a big blow to the local beer-wonder, Great Lakes Christmas Ale.
2) Thirsty Dog is no longer just a dark horse (or dog)…rather a favorite. It has won each blind beer tasting in which it had an entry (October - Barktoberfest and November - 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale).

St. Louis November Results

1. Boulevard Brewing Collaboration #2 (White IPA)
2. Deschutes Conflux #2 (White IPA)
3. Rogue Voodoo Maple Bacon Ale

Boulevard and Deschutes got together to collaborate on a beer. They decided on what recipe to use, grains, yeast, and hops, but brewed it in their own style. During the tasting, you could see and taste some similar characteristics, but how the hops showed up in the beers was what set them apart.

November McLean Results

Below are the results from the McLean office.

1. Duck Rabbit Milk Stout
2. Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
3. The Unknown
4. Bells Kalamazoo Stout

St. Louis Field Trip

Last night, for our inaugural meeting, we went on October’s field trip. Five of us were fortunate to be able to tour the Schlafly Tap Room brewery, bottling area, and cellar with Schlafly’s Head Brewer, Stephen Hale. Overall, the tour was exceptional, but there were a couple of major highlights.

The first was being able to see Schlafly’s 20th Anniversary Volume 4: Southern Hemisphere, which had just been brewed that day, fermenting away. The hop aroma from the discharge tube was subtle, but hinted that this would be an exciting beer. This beer will be an IPA kettle and dry-hopped with Galaxy hops from New Zealand.

The other big highlight was being allowed to try their 2011 Barleywine that hasn’t even been bottled yet. It tasted amazing. I’ve decided that it’s time to start putting together a Schlafly Barleywine verticle.

Thanks for inviting us to the group, and stay tuned for all of the beer goodness from St. Louis!

Fall Brewfest
October 22 - 23, 2011

Fall barley feels like fall without an excellent brew. If you're foaming for a great drink, don't lose your head, just hops on over to the Northern Virginia Brewfest with today's high-gravity deal: Pour out $10 and pick up a ticket good for Saturday, October 22 or Sunday, October 23 (a $20 value). Held in the gorgeous Bull Run Park in Centreville, this festival will cure what ales you. Taste from more than 40 of the world's best breweries, including local favorites DC Brau -- your admission includes a commemorative glass and tickets for four tastings. Tap into micro, craft, and big name brews while checking out crafts, vendors, live music, and more. This is the event all of NOVA will be buzzing about.

Location:
7700 Bull Run Drive
Centreville, VA 20121

Cost: $10.00 with the livingsocial.com groupon
http://livingsocial.com/deals/138597?ctr=32&msdc_id=229

September Meeting

Today was our inaugural multi-location meeting.  It took place over our excellent telecommunications equipment in the office and turned out to be quite successful.  Check these from our meeting.Today was our inaugural multi-location meeting.  It took place over our excellent telecommunications equipment in the office and turned out to be quite successful.  Check these from our meeting.

Up Close and Personal

Ever wonder what a beer stain looks like up close?

Gluten-free Beer

The ingredients in beer can sometimes be incompatible with a persons diet or even dangerous to their health. Brewer's yeast can interact with medications causing hypertensive crisis. Hops, too, can cause some complications when the consumer takes certain medications. Ethanol itself if a toxin. But barley is where I want to focus this post.

Barley contains a protein, gluten, that cause an allergic response in some people. Those people typical suffer from Celiac's disease, which is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine. Symptoms include rashes, itching, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and malnutrition. There is currently no cure for Celiac's disease, but it can be managed through dietary changes. Pizza, pasta, and generally foods containing barley, rye, or wheat trigger an allergic response in those with Celiac's. Many low-gluten and gluten-free substitutes are available. Gluten-free options for beer are seeing their way to your grocer's shelves. Are they any good? I don't know. I haven't tried any. But they are a great option for beer lovers who tend to be allergic to beer.

If you think you may be allergic to beer or for more information on Celiac's disease, check these resources.

Celiac.com
Mayo Clinic

August Beer Club Meeting

We lived it up this month with attorneys and other high-end rollers at Chef Geoff's in McLean. Surrounded by Tiffany's and Hermes, Chef Geoff's drew us in with its affluent appeal and superfluous selection of suds. The menu offered beers in two sizes: pint glass and massive mug. See the photos for examples. If you're fortunate enough to get our waitress you can get extra pint glasses with your mug to share more drinks for less money. My drink list for the evening included 3 delicious brews: Founder's Dirty Bastard, Red Seal Ale, and a white ale. I would recommend all, but my favorite was the Red Seal Ale closely followed by the Dirty Bastard. Plenty selections on the menu remain to be sampled so I will go back.  I would recommended taking the taps at this tavern for a test drive.  Happy Drinking!

Colorado Beers

Just spent 10 days in Colorado. Here is what I remember.

Great Divide: Average IPA, not much to talk about
Backcountry Brewery: Good Amber, Pretty Good Saison (talked to the brewmaster a little at the bar)
New Belgium: Fat Tire Amber (pretty good, this is a great choice in Colorado since you can find it just about any restaurant you go to, it's as common as Bud), 1554 Black Ale pretty good
Odells: Average amber, pretty good 5 Barrel Pale Ale
Ouray Brewery: Average IPA but great views from roof top seating

Who's Coming With Me?

Upon reading a report from this year's hacker conference DEFCON 19, I learned that the con hosts a competition that has nothing to do with computers. They hold a contest in beer chilling. The contest is to see who can chill a beer from Las Vegas summer outdoor temperatures to a nice, drinkable temp. I don't yet know the rules but I'm excited to see more about these contraptions. When I read about this year's devices I started thinking about how I could get in to this. I found a video from DEFCON 17 showing some of the fun. I have 2 questions for you.

1) Are you up to the challenge of chilling a beer in the matter of seconds (I'm looking your way, Lindemuth)?

2) Who's coming with me to next year's DEFCON?

The World Celebrates Beer

Today is International Beer Day and we should all remember to thank our creator, whoever you believe that is, for giving us such a gift.

More
MSNBC
Fox News

Ten restaurants and the Embassy of Belgium will team up beginning tomorrow to kick off Belgian Restaurant Week in DC, which will run from July 15-21. The week will be chock full of events designed to celebrate the food, beverages, culture, and hospitality of Belgium. The following restaurants will all be participating: Belga Cafe, Brabo, Brasserie Beck, Et Voila!, Granville Moore’s, L O’ocolat, Le Pain Quotidien, Marcel’s, Marvin, and Mussel Bar. A couple of the places are doing beer dinners.

Links of the Day

I'm not trying to get in to politics, but the Minnesota state government isn't giving me much choice. The Minnesota state government has been shutdown for a couple weeks due to budget disputes. The consequences to that in the beer world are now starting to be understood. Without the government available to approve permits or labels, the beer market will soon face a shutdown of its own.
Local News
NPR

Washington DC doesn't make the top 20 beer cities.

Also, beer sales to young to middle age males are still slow.

Don't forget about the events this weekend that Kim posted.

Mad Fox's One Year Anniversary Celebration - 2011

Mad Fox invites you to an all-day party Saturday, July 16 to celebrate our first anniversary. As a thank you to our loyal patrons, we are offering a free Anniversary Logo Glass to the first 250 people starting at 3PM. We’ll have live music starting at 9PM with the Levi Stephens Band.

• Noon – Tapping draught Oaked Slobberknocker American-style Barleywine
• 3PM – Tapping draught Oaked Wee Heavy Scotch Ale
• 3PM – Keep the Anniversary Glass for the first 250 people to order a Mad Fox beer, restrictions: one per person, over 21 no tasters, no Oaked beers, no refills
• 8PM – First taste of our work in progress Bourbon barrel-aged Batch 100 Strong Black Ale with the broaching of the first small pin cask
• 9PM-1AM – Levi Stephens Band

In addition to our oaked beers, we will have American Pale Ale, Porter and Fennec Ale on cask. All Oaked beers are served in British half-pints, no growlers of these rare beers please.

We’ve lined up some fun bar snacks and menu specials for the occasion:

• Bar Snacks
  • House made potato chips with sea salt and black pepper
  • Rosemary and cayenne candied mixed nuts
  • Sausage rolls with curry ketchup
  • Pork schnitzel fingers with mushroom gravy for dipping
• Menu Specials
  • Caramelized Onion And Blue Cheese Tart With Crème Fraiche Appetizer
  • Corn, Cucumber, Blueberry And Cilantro Salad
  • Prime Rib Dinner
  • Crab Stuffed Trout Fillets

Mussel Throw Down

When: Sat, July 16, 12pm – 3pm

Where: 225 7th Street Southeast, Washington D.C - Eastern Market

What: Eastern Market Hall for the second annual 'Mussel Throw Down.' Sous Chefs from participating restaurants will go up against 2010 Embassy Chef of the Year Jan Van Haute of the Belgian Embassy for a chance to earn the crown of Mussel King. Competition takes place from noon till 3pm.
Cost: $5 entrance fee includes one bowl of mussels and a beer.

"From Bibles to Brewskis"

An interesting tale on how 2 friends started a brewery.

Scionism in the American Beer Industry

NPR's Freakonomics Radio had an interesting story on corporations passing firm ownership from generation to generation. Budweiser and Yuengling were a large part of the story. It's an hour long but a good listen.

June Meeting

Today is our monthly club meeting where we will be celebrating lagers. The theme was in flux the 24 hours before the meeting so a true theme and the meeting's materials are still TBD. I will update this post after the meeting with that information and the identities of the mystery selections.

On a somber note, Charles Koch passed away earlier this week. I would like to dedicate today's meeting in memoriam of Charles Koch. Here's to helping spearhead the craft brewer revolution in the 1980s.

Some New Favorites

In preparation for trivia night tonight, a few of us decided to pregame it at Galaxy Hut. I found the selections of craft brews to be plentiful and delicious. The inset picture shows their draft menu.

As soon as I saw it, I knew that I wanted to try the Heavy Seas Plank One Old Ale. Fantastic! I took my time drinking that one down but once I was finished...round 2. This time I went for the Sierra Nevada Olvia, having heard a favorable review from club mate John. It certainly was tasty. And I would try it again. However, I think I preferred the Plank One.

Soon after finishing my second pint, we walked to RiRa where the trivia was being held. On an earlier visit I had noticed a beer on tap from Palm. I decided that on my next visit I would try it. I did get the Palm this time. It was their Belgian Amber Ale. I can't say I enjoyed it that much. Maybe I was expecting more of the flavors I had tasted earlier but this one just didn't do it for me.

So in the end, I've added 2 drafts to my favorites list, and I found out that I'll go back to Guinness on my next visit to RiRa.

A Few Notes

I've added mobile templates to the blog. If you look at the blog on your phone, it should look more appropriately formatted for a small device.

Wisconsin craft brewers generally dislike the proposed 3 Tier System changes in that state. It seems as though the realignment would give AB and MillerCoors more control over distribution, potentially inhibiting the growth of craft breweries more than it already is.

I will be visiting Rehoboth Beach next month. I'm wondering whether I should try to get my hands on tour tickets for Dogfish Head Brewery that week. I'm sure I could convince 1 or 2 other people to come with me. I've already been there once but I know they've remodeled since I was there 3 or 4 years ago. What do you think? Visit or no?

Learning is Fun

There is a good read on Salon about beer tasting. The last tip is the best. Read it now.

Birch and Barley is my new favoriate place! This weekend there's lots of beer events! Saturday is beer and cigars (what more do you need?) and Sunday is "Rogue Ales Kegfest and Osyter Bash". Need I say more? Details www.birchandbarley.com/calendar

Also happening this weekend which I thought was worth mentioning...Russian River Fest in PA. It's far but I've got a things for Russian women...hehe...just kidding ;) !!!

The Russian River Fest is featuring 5 of Russian River's Best Beers at the same time - Russian River Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig IPA, Supplication, Salvation, and Damnation.

Have a good weekend!!

3 Tier System Legislation

As I mentioned in a recent post, I was looking forward to writing an article about the 3 Tier System of the beer industry. The 3 Tier System separates breweries into 3 functions: brewers, wholesale distributors, and retailers. I wanted to write the article in order to better understand how this works and the advantages and disadvantages to the system. News today from Wisconsin shows that the state is examining legislation that would change the rules. I still intend to write my article but I might have to do so sooner than later as the subject is topical.

SAVOR Week is Here!

Already? Really? Where'd that come from? Yeah, apparently this week is SAVOR week. There are a host of tappings and tastings happening in the District and some in Arlington. Check out the SAVOR website for more information.

Starr Hill Summer Tour 12-Pack

I picked up the Starr Hill Summer Tour 12-Pack at my local Harris Teeter this evening. Four beers were included with the pack; three of them I had not tried. Lucy, Northern Lights, and The Love are the beers new to my palate. Jomo, a beer I remember enjoying, rounds out the lot. I am currently enjoying Lucy and have included a review.

Lucy

Style: Spiced Ale (top fermenting)
ABV: 4.4%
IBUs: 15
Pour: 12oz bottle
Brewer: Starr Hill

Overall Rating: 80
Color: Yellow to a light gold (beercapital.be)
Mouth feel: Not too thin but far from heavy. Good summer weight.
Flavors: Ginger, lime, and coriander make up the punch of the beer. The ginger and lime are easily distinguishable. The coriander not so much.
Aroma: Light, crisp, hints of ginger and lime.

Would you recommend this to a friend? Yes
Would you buy this again? Yes

Beer Wars is Required Viewing

I just finished watching Beer Wars, and I'll tell you, if you've ever wondered how the beer business works, scratch that, if you've ever had a beer, you need to watch this film. Beer Wars is a documentary that examines the competition in the beer industry and how the sides in that fight compete for your business. The sides in the war are the 3 big brewers and the craft brewers in the US. The film examines how the 3 big brewers strong arm the smaller craft brewers out of the market or at least how they control their distribution. Some means of warfare include competing for space in the beer aisle, creating competition within esoteric niches, and lobbying that takes place with the state and federal governments.

The 3 big brands the film mentions are Anheuser-Busch, Miller, and Coors, or what I call "The Empire". Those 3 brands control 78% of the market, leaving little room for competition in the way of craft breweries such as Dogfish Head, Stone, Boston Beer, New Belgium and over 1700 other microbreweries (Brewer's Association). Having such a large market share gives The Empire significant leverage to place their products where they want on the shelves at the retailer and to push out the smaller microbreweries. When the graphic is introduced that displays how someone like Anheuser-Busch stocks the shelves, it becomes apparent just how little room there is for a smaller brand to shine through. The big brands have the ability to billboard their product on the shelves, leaving small windows in less desirable areas for the less affluent brands. I'm having trouble finding an example of this effect on the internet but I will update this post when I find one. The state of the beer aisle is just one measure of the competition. Other attacks by the big 3 have also made competition in the beer industry difficult.

Many of the craft brewers do a great job of finding and filling a niche in beer styles. Some of these niches include spiced or flavored ales such as Dogfish Head's Punkin' Ale or caffeinated beer such as MoonShot Lager. The Empire will see the success of these niches and set their sights on them. Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale and B-to-the-E are just two such examples. The point of these reactive products is not necessarily to have a new style of beer take off and be a great source of revenue but instead are intended to edge out the competition; take away revenue so that the microbrewery cannot afford to stay in that niche or is forced to go out of business altogether. While these attacks on niche markets are an effective head-to-head competitive strategy, there are other seemingly devious practices in place that help to keep the craft brewers' distribution capabilities at a minimum.

Lobbying by big businesses is an effective use of money. Whether big oil, insurance, or the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) money buys support for your position. The NBWA pushes for the status quo 3 Tier System (brewers, wholesalers, retailers) that ensures wholesalers control how breweries distribute their product. I plan to go into more detail with the 3 Tier System in a later post. For now, I want to keep the idea high level. Many of the distributors are the big 3 brands. According to the film, Anheuser-Busch has such a strong share of the market, 49%, that they the refuse to distribute other competitors, leaving the microbreweries to hitch a ride on the truck with Miller and Coors. Miller and Coors have their own brands to distribute, which doesn't leave much room for these craft breweries either. It seems as long as the distribution laws stay as they are, the small companies have little chance to increase market share significantly.

Since choosing a non-major brand beer is at the heart of the drS Beer Club, I find it important to understand which beers are made by the major brands. The obvious brand names are Budweiser and Miller Genuine Draft, but Beer Wars pointed out a number of small names that are currently owned by The Empire. I was already aware that names like Rolling Rock and Grolsch were owned by Anheuser-Busch, but I was surprised to find out that Leffe and Hoegaarden are also associated with The Empire. I decided to look further into what brands found in my grocer's beer aisle are in fact part of The Empire. Making this more confusing and my feelings more conflicted is that InBev is now the owner of Anheuser-Busch. Several brands that I have previously enjoyed like Boddingtons are now mixed in with the Anheuser-Busch family. You'll also notice that some of the beers I list below are made by breweries that aren't "Anheuser-Busch." This is because they has decided to hide their name behind a microbrewery sounding name. One such example is the Green Valley Brewing Company. A trip by the host of the documentary to Fairfield, CA reveals that the only brewery in the town is an Anheuser-Busch brewery. If you look up Green Valley's registration, you'll notice their address is on Busch Drive.

Thank you for sticking with me through this post. Some points I would like to further articulate at a later date. Stay tuned for those entries. Without prolonging this any further, here is a list (likely not inclusive) of brands that Anheuser-Busch has a part.

Ales and Lagers
Ascent 54
Bass
Beach Bum Blonde Ale
Beck's
Boddingtons
Bud
Bud 66
Bud American Ale
Bud Brew Masters' Private Reserve
Bud Chelada
Bud Dry
Bud Extra
Bud Ice
Bud Light Golden Wheat
Bud Light Lime
Bud NA
Bud Select
Busch
Czechvar
Harbin Lager
Hoegaarden
Hop Hound Amber Wheat
Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale
Kirin
Land Shark Lager (Say in ain't so, Jimmy!)
Leffe
Lowenbrau
Michelob
Natural
O'Doul's
Redbridge
Rolling Rock
Shock Top
SkipJack Amber
Stella Artois
Stone Mill Pale Ale
Sun Dog
Tennent's Ale
Tiger Beer
Wild Blue
Wild Hop Lager
Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale

Other
Bacardi Malt Beverages
Hurricane (malt liquor)
King Cobra (malt liquor)
Tequiza
Tilt (the "flavors" are Green, Red, Purple, Blue, and Watermelon - 'nuf said)
Ziegenbock

Minority ownerships
Fordham
Goose Island
Grupo Modelo
Kona
Old Dominion
Ray Hill
Red Hook
Starr Hill
Widmer Brothers Brewery

Sources:
Wikipedia
Anheuser-Busch
DrinkAmerican.us

Obama Takes a Stance on Guinness

Obama reviews the Guinness he consumed in Ireland.

Does a Leprechaun Drive the Truck Too?

What's Behind the Rise in Beer Prices?

This article offers a little incite into why you may be paying a little more at the register these days.

Sierra Nevada in Tennessee?

In what seems to be the perfect enticement for Sierra Nevada to expand its operation out of California, Tennessee has just passed legislation that will allow the sale of high-alcohol beers at the brewery. The brewer had been looking for the opportunity to expand its operations to the East Coast for some time and now it has the excuse to do so.

In a related story, New Belgium, maker of Fat Tire, is looking to expand operations to the East Coast.

Sierra Nevada's Founder Visits Rustico

On June 1, Sierra Nevada’s founder will visit Rustico brewpub in Arlington, VA.

May's Meeting

Voting Results for May's Meeting

Today's meeting featured several delicious Belgian ale selections.  Beyond our normal protocol of voting amongst 3 beers, we had the fortune of choosing amongst 5 selections.  The 5 beers selected for today's meeting were
A) Affligem
B) Biere du Boucanier
C) Kasteel Cuvée Du Chateau
D) Grimbergen Blonde
E) Brugse Zot
The winner of the meeting was Biere du Boucanier.  See the inset table for detailed voting results.  Thank you to Brandon and Andrew who procured today's meeting materials.  All were great selections.

An administrative point of order - Today is the first day that the club's blog has been available to its members.  To sign up you will need a Google account.  You can create this through the blogger site.

Beer Dinner with Clyde's

Clyde's has invited a few breweries to a series of dinners throughout the year. Each dinner will feature a four course meal and each course will be paired with a delicious brew selected by our chefs and the brewmaster. The cost for each dinner is $40 per person and is all inclusive. The most accessible events for the club as a whole are listed below. Check with Clyde's website for a list of dates when they're happening and the hosting brewery.

Clyde's of Tyson's Corner
Starr Hill - May 21, 2011 7-9pm
Sierra Nevada - July 16, 2011 7-9pm
Heavy Seas - October 4, 2011 7-9pm

Clyde's of Reston
Sam Adam's - May 23, 2011 7-9pm
Yuengling - August 29, 2011 7-9pm

Willow Creek Farm
Sierra Nevada - May 17, 2011 7-9pm
Starr Hill - July 20, 2011 7-9pm
Port City - September 21, 2011 7-9pm
Brooklyn - October 20, 2011 7-9pm

April Field Trip

April's field trip was to the Lost Dog Cafe in McLean. I enjoyed myself greatly, having a couple tasty brews whose names I can't currently remember (#fail). Despite my failing memory, I do remember that there was a vast selection of bottles with about 15 taps. Most selections were quite unique and I do not remember seeing Big Bud. The venue was inviting. The bartender was quite knowledgeable, although we did have to show him how to pour the perfect pint. He also had an odd cadence to his speech. Adds to the experience I say. I would definitely like to return. It's only a few minutes from the office so it wouldn't be a bad casual trip after a workday. Until the next meeting...
Cheers!

2011 Beer Madness

The winner has been selected for the 2011 Beer Madness and it is Flying Fish Brewing Co.'s Exit 4 American Trippel. It edged out the much more well known Lagunitas Maximus from Lagunitas Brewing Co. Both may be good options for a future meeting.

The Death of a Micro Brewery?

Anheuser buys Goose Island Beer Co. What a shame.

How to Pour the Perfect Pint

A friend sent this video to us. I’ll have one of those, mate!

Plans for the New Season Are Underway

First of all, a congratulations is owed to Schneider Wiesen Edel-Weisse Mian Grunes for winning the inaugural drS Beer Club Tournament. The competition was certainly delicious and...um...competitive but in the end, there was one clear choice for winner. The decision was unanimous and reasonably so. So unto you Schneider Wiesen Edel-Weisse Mian Grunes, we bestow the drS Blue Ribbon and retire your label for the near future. For details on the voting, please view the 2011 drS Beer Club Tournament page.

Now on to the new season...

drS management have met for the first time to discuss this season's themes. We are going to design the themes so that both major paradigms of beer are represented in this season's championship: ales vs lagers. Currently, the ale themes are going to be Belgian, Irish, British, and German. The lager themes are going to be
Octoberfest, Bocks, Pilsners, and American Lagers. We'll stagger the ales and lagers so that they'll alternate months. A PDF will be posted to help guide a meeting's hosts to buy the proper beer. A new rule was discussed to help keep the competition open to new beers. We would like to exclude beers that have made the previous season's tournament or in other words, won their theme from the prior season.

The first meeting is looking to be Feb 16.

I will be following up later with more documentation. The PDF I mentioned earlier will be posted as well as a mission statement.