6 Winter Warmers 12/31/2010
 Thirsty Dog 12 Dogs of Christmas Ale This multi-dimensional brew starts with creamy, sweet caramel and layers on seasonal flavors like honey, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. St. Louis Schlafly Christmas Ale Every winter Schlafly dresses up its amber ale with a pleasant dose of orange peel and clove. The result is a vibrant, spicy take on a malt-forward brew. Bison Gingerbread Ale This seasonal porter tricks the senses with a few dashes of ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon; you’ll swear you just beheaded a gingerbread man. Jerome Nochebuena Ale Thick caramel malts sink into the taste buds with hints of clove, floral hops and spicy pepper; add to that a hot alcohol kick and this beer’s a flavorful match for long, snowy nights. Read the full list by clicking here! Add Comment Learn more about Lagers! 12/30/2010
 Lagers: Bottom Fermenting Beers Most of the beers today are lagers although they didn’t become well known until refrigeration was available; this makes lagers a relatively new style of beer. A cool temperature is needed for both storing and producing lagers. Lagers use a single strand of lager yeast that was first brewed in 1883 in a Denmark Carlsberg brewery. Lager yeast is activated at cold temperatures, 31-51 ‘F and is bottom fermenting. While lagers vary in color, they provide no fruitiness or other flavors and result in a clean-tasting beer. Today, light colored lagers are some of the best selling brands in the world, including Heineken, Stella Artois, Pilsner Urquell and Coors. To learn even more on Lagers click here!  Massachusetts breweries really sparkled in 2010: Five of my Top 10 breweries of the year are from the Bay State. This is not East Coast bias. It's a combination of breweries stepping up their games and new breweries bringing an infusion of great beer to the consumers. Here's the Top 10 breweries of 2010. 1. Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, Calif. Sierra Nevada is a pioneer in the craft brewing world, and it's fitting that the year they celebrate its 30th anniversary that they have one of its best years ever. Founder Ken Grossman paired with luminaries of the beer world to brew four different, and excellent, 30th Anniversary collaboration ales. Those beers were all great, as was the Tumbler Harvest Brown Ale, which could be the best brown ale brewed in the U.S. 8. Boston Beer Company, Boston, Mass. Boston Beer Company, also known as Samuel Adams, is another Massachusetts brewery that had a stellar year. The Infinium (collaboration with German brewery Weihenstephan) is the most notable, but the Latitude 48 (IPA) and the Noble Pils (pilsner), are both great, easy drinking beers, the kind you really want in your fridge at all times. Glad our very own Boston Beer Company came in at #8! To see the full list from Norman Miller, click here! This is your new blog post. Click here and start typing, or drag in elements from the top bar. Important Figures in American Craft Beer 12/27/2010
 Recently The Commercial Observer released their 5 Most Important People in American Craft Beer. While we know everyone will have different thought on this, we were happy that 2 of them happened to be CEOs of brands we associate with! Congrats Gentlemen! Fritz Maytag, Founder of the modern Anchor Steam Brewing Co. If Mr. McAuliffe’s New Albion was the first ground-up craft brewery in the United States, Fritz Maytag’s Anchor Steam was the first, period. Jim Koch, Founder of The Boston Beer Company Mr. Koch brought craft beer eastward, door to door. Five generations of Koch men before him had been involved in brewing, first in Germany, then in the States. To read the article in full and see the full list of Important People in American Craft Beer click here! Our very own Ron Runestad stops at Fox 2 News this morning to talk about great holiday beers and gift ideas! Holiday Food and Beer Pairing 12/20/2010
 The holiday season is up on us, and with that comes large family gatherings with holiday meals. Many people tend to pair wine with their food, but the craft industry has allowed us to begin pairing beer with food. There are now so many different brands and tastes available; you can pretty much pair any kind of food with a beer. Below are just a few of Sam Calagione’s, owner of Dogfish Head Brewery, pairing suggestions: Meats · Glazed ham is both sweet and salty, so it needs an earthy and fruity beer as a partner, like Theakston Old Peculiar Ale or Brooklyn Brown Ale. Shellfish · New England clam chowder is a thick, rich soup that has a lot of tongue-coating cream and a salty flavor, but it can be overwhelmed by too strong a beer. Opt for a stout, like Murphy's or Guinness. · Lobster is a dish that goes really well with traditional lager, like Heineken or Yuengling Lager. Seafood · Grilled tuna (assuming it is lightly seasoned and unadorned with a heavy cream sauce) goes well with a mid-body lager, like Troeg's Troegenator or Sam Adams' Double Bock. To see the rest of his suggested pairings which include Chocolate and Cheese, Click here! Holiday Beer Cocktails 12/16/2010
Don’t bring the usual winter-warmer six-pack to your next holiday get-together; show your enthusiasm for all things boozy with a festive beer cocktail. BROOKLYN TAI Jonathan Pogash, cocktail consultant Known as the “Cocktail Guru,” Pogash puts a wintry twist on one of his favorite drinks, the Mai Tai, with splashes of beer and Cognac. “By the time you finish the drink, you’ll feel warm enough to beat the cold outside,” he says. “The fresh fruit and spice notes from the rum and almond syrup remind me of cool nights and blustery days.” 3/4 ounces almond syrup 3/4 ounces fresh lime juice 1 ounce Appleton Estate Reserve Rum dash Angostura bitters Brooklyn Lager lime wheel and mint leaf, for garnish Set aside beer, and shake all remaining ingredients together with ice. Strain into a chilled pilsner glass, top off with the beer and garnish with a lime wheel and mint. Read this article and discover more drinks from DraftMagazine and Amanda Savage by clicking here. Talk Like A Beer Snob! 12/15/2010
To see more click here!  Twenty-five years ago, "craft beer" exploded onto the scene and literally redefined how people think about American brewers and their offerings. Today's beer lovers are trading up to "better" beers for their own consumption and as gifts. A 12-pack of a world-class American craft beer is about the price of an undistinguished bottle of Champagne or wine. Beer has become the beverage of celebration. In fact, according to a recent survey conducted by Wakefield Research for Samuel Adams, 60 percent of men would rather toast with beer than Champagne. Whether a beer connoisseur or not, there are a number of ways to incorporate beer into this year's seasonal celebrations. To see the different ways to celerbate with beer and the rest of this article click here! Take it from me, this beer is well worth the price tag! Go get yours today before they are gone! National Lager Day, December 10th! 12/10/2010
December 10 marks National Lager Day, a day when every good beer-drinking citizen should lift a pint of their favorite lager in celebration. In the Philadelphia area, most people belly up to the bar and order “the lager” as in “Barkeep, good sir, I’ll have ‘the lager.’” What they mean is “I’ll have a Yeungling Traditional Lager.” Now, there’s nothing wrong with that, but there is so much more out there in the world of lagers! Explore! But first, a little background: Lagering is a process of cold fermenting (usually between 35-40 degrees, give or take) the beer with lager yeast, which are bottom fermenters. The cold aging process produces a beer clear of haze and crisp in flavor. Lagers range from light in color (Standard American Lager, Munich Helles) to amber (Vienna Lager, Oktoberfest) to dark (Dunkel, Schwarzbier). For a full list of Lagers to try, and the fulla rticle from Melissa Ward, click here! |  Need corporate or promotional signage? click the picture to learn more!
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