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The Hard Liver Barleywine Fest at the Phinney Neighborhood Center, Saturday, February 28th. And the Hops & Props Microbrew Tasting at the Museum of Flight Saturday, February 21st. hey.. MsRamsey.. I think we should crash the Barleywine Fest...

So I wander in to a nearby liquor store, which has been around for years, but has recently built a brand new huge store on the rear of their property and knocked down the old building. They installed a long row of brand spanking new refrigerated beer shelves. Looks nice so far...but then I notice the lights Big, bright fluorescent lights line each level of shelves. The Victory Prima Pils looks at me with big puppy dog eyes and a look of distress . He's begging , "Save me from the light!" The Pilsner Urqell is pleading, "Put me in the dark. I can't take it anymore!" I respond, "Sorry pals, mean Mr. Light already done you in." I just don't get it. New store, pretty nice selection of beer and wine (I ended up buying a bottle of Ommegang Three Philosophers and a four pack of Dogfish Head Au Courant from the regular, unlit, unrefrigerated shelves), but they are destroying their beer.

I'll be going to Disney World in a few months, and I'd like to sample the local beers. Any suggestions? How is the beer at the brewpub in Disney World (at the Boardwalk)?

check it out

Saw this posted on one of the daily deal websites. Guiness is giving rebates for St. Patrick's Day for Guiness Draught in a bottle. $2 for any 6-pack or $4 for any 12-pack. Offer not valid in AL, AR, IN, KY, ME, MO, NC, OH, OR, TX, UT, WV and expires March 31. Here's the url to print the coupon: http://www.guinness1759society.com/offer/B...22qp~FNLddaSFBD

First off, my fav beer mostly comes from Belgiam in the form of dubbels and tripples. That said, my favorite cheap american beer is/was the Coors product "Keystone". It had a clean crisp taste with a hint of maltiness in the middle. Now the problem. They changed the can graphics again (about the 4th time) except this time, it seems they changed the contents also. Not only does the new can look like Coca Cola, (this should endear the product to children) but now it smells and tastes like they removed the malt and put in RICE EXTRACT!!! Yes, it now tastes like a bad can of Budwiser. I also noticed the can no longer says "premium". The folks at Coors assured me on the phone that they didnt change the product, but my wife and I dissagree. Have any of you with discerning palates here tried this beer and noticed a difference? Also, can anyone reccomend a CHEAP good tasting beer?

Our trip to NYC for my wife's birthday included stops at the Heartland Chop House for a pre-theater lunch and Gingerman after dinner. Featured at Heartland was their "Not Tonight Honey Porter". I didn't get to try it, due to my self imposed limit of one beer before the show. I had the Farmer John's Oatmeal Stout, which was great. That's one dangerous beer. It is a very smooth, easy drinking stout. Before you know it, your glass is empty and you want more.

Just TWO WEEKS from today, those of us in the Philly area (as well as truly dedicated beer trekkers from literally all across the country this year) will get to enjoy Philly's best beer event, this year's second FRIDAY THE FIRKINTEENTH on Friday Aug 13, at the GREY LODGE (www.greylodge.com). I will attempt to get the beer list for this go-around (or hope that owner Mike Scotese will post it here), but if it is anything like previous FTFs over the years, expect some awesome firkins of gravity-poured brew, 15 in all. Don't know when they'll open the doors this time around, but I'll try to get that info as well. If you want to experience a truly great, unpretentious night of carefully selected (and often rare, one-off) beers, this is the place to be in Philly on August 13. For me, these are the beer highlights of the year in Philly. And the next one isn't until May 2005!

Just returned form 4 great days in Portland, OR, to attend the Oregon Brewers Festival, Jul 23-25, the best run beer fest I've ever attended. Forget that everyone in Portland in unbelievbably friendly and helpful and welcoming, and that the setting is charmingly beautiful and clean, this year's OBF took place in 103 degree heat, as an outrageous heat wave hit the PNW. But not a scintilla of friendliness was lost, and the beers I sampled were all top notch, with some unusual offerings, from 72 different craft brewers. I'll post TNs shortly, as I sort through my notes and receipts, but, for now, some pics of the OBF, and a visit to the hop-strewn Bridgeport Brewery and Brewpub, as well as some of the, ah, colorful native artwork in town (well one example for now): The welcoming sign, map and menu The early crowd on Friday; the total attendance topped 80, 000 over 3 days One of the two massive beverage tents The Bridgeport Brewpub The Bridgeport brewpub menu; ironically, our bartender during our visit had just moved there from the Philly area; small world. Yes, those are hops, draped everywhere. The local, ah, art scene. This thing seems to be known as "Art Car". More to come, including a visit to Edgefield, the Mcmenamin-owned country resort that used to be a mental hospital, including its homages to Jerry Garcia no less.

I got bombers of all of the following from State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD: Avery 11th Anniversary Ale - imperial IPA. 3 Floyd's Gumballhead - beer made with red wheat and loads of Amarillo hops Dogfish Head Liquor de Malt And from a new brewery for me, Cisco Brewing (Nantucket, MA): Whale's Tale Pale Ale Summer of Lager Bailey's Ale Moor Porter

Is this normal: I was over at my favorite beer connection in DC this evening picking up some Brooklyn Lager and Shelter Pale Ale and a guy walks in and asks for a case of Heineken, cold. They fish it out of the cooler and ring it up: "$28 please." He balks and points to the clipping of their weekly WashPost column ad taped to the counter that has Heinies at $20 a case. "That's for warm," he's told. "What do you think pays for the refrigeration?" Granted, it's 100 degrees in DC right now and we're sweating under Orange Alert and all, but this is a new one to me. Anyone else been surcharged for dipping into the cooler rather than shopping off the shelves?

Today I tried a bottle of the PHI series rocket fuel from New Holland. A pleasant nose, a rich mouth feel and then blast off: I think I liked it- I think! It's quite dark but not a porter or stout, more like a Paulaner Salvador on steroids with a soupcon of crank thrown in for good measure. It's only about 10% ABV. I think I'm too old for this shit. I think I'll run out and get some more before they're all out at the store (very limited production). WOW

We tried a few new (to me) beers while on vacation, a couple of which are worth mentioning. I finally tried Moose Drool brown ale (brewed in Missoula MT). Good solid beer, very drinkable, not too complex. Light bodied for a brown ale. I had not heard of Bitch Creek ESB before, but that was probably the best beer I tried on the trip. Brewed by Teton Brewing in Idaho, it's very well balanced, with the hops apparent but not dominating.

Want to get the full effect of drinking beer without drinking beer? Try these. http://www.fatalvision.com/fv/home.php

This was mentioned casually as a traditional way of fortifying hard cider in the Midwest in a memoir with recipes I'm reading (Stina the story of a cook by Herman Smith, 1942, M. Barrows and Co. Chicago.) The author equates it to Calvados although its not distilled. This seems like an obvious and often naturally (in northern climes) ocurring method to fortify brews of all sorts but just havent heard of it being done before. Has anyone tried this? and at what concentration of alcohol is freezing stopped?

at last night's colorado egullet dinner at the excellent da-lat in denver a bunch of us had a vietnamese beer called export 33 or something like that--i'd have remembered the name but i also made the mistake of eating whole a raw bird chilli and many of my memories have been wiped. but that is neither here nor there. what i do remember is that i liked the beer, that it was a lager, and that it was a little sweetish. anyone ever drink this or any other vietnamese beer? are these common characteristics?

I wasnt sure where to post this but i figured the beer forum would be the best spot I found this at the liquor store today and i couldnt resist the urge to pick up a bottle and try it The label says its brewed and bottled by Hanssens Artisanaal Dworp Belgium. Mead provided by Llurgashall, Petworth, West Suffex UK Thw label says its 70% malt liquor and 30% mead and its corked like a champange bottle. Im going to give this a try tonight and i will post what i think of it

What if Bud/Bud Light, with its massive brand loyalty and ad campaign, suddenly changed their recipe to add flavor? What if Rolling Rock, MGD, etc., did the same, backed by their ad campaigns of scantily clad nubile women and the "drink me and you'll get laid" message? What if Miller and its "we have taste" ad campaign actually backed it up with taste? Would they lose market share because a significant percentage of their drinkers really don't like "beer", or would people throughout the country open their eyes and say, "hey, this stuff actually has taste, and it's good?"

Full story here. Now, I don't drink much beer. And I gather that Coors and Molson are not necessarily the favorites of the discerning group that populates this board. Still, there are aspects of this that will likely ripple through not just boardrooms in Toronto and Golden, and throughout the industry, but they bring up cultural and nationalistic issues that echo those caused by other food and beverage mergers: Can you really buy market share like this? I'm sure it's been tried before. Presumably a big reason for the merger is to cut costs (a later announcement mentioned the figure of US$ 175 million). I've been through a few of these, and my experince is that the expected savings rarely materialize. Both of these are iconic brands. In the case of Molson, there is strong national identification. Will this be a factor in approving the merger? Again, it seems to me that this has been attempted before. Is the Molson family going to argue over this? Ian Molson supposedly was preparing a bid that was 30% higher.

Anyone seen Dogfish Heads' Liquor de Malt? I don't know how new this beer is, but it's new to me. I pilfered this description from RateBeer: A 40-ounce, bottle-conditioned malt liquor brewed with Apache Red (red), Hickory King (white), and Taos Blue (blue) corns. The "All-American" malt liquor is packaged with a hand-stamped, Dogfish Head brown paper bag. Scheduled for a 6/15/04 release. (limited availability, 300 cases) Bottled in 40 ounce bottles. Yes, it comes with a hand crafted brown paper bag!! The shelf tag is even better: a graffiti-styled cartoon of a kid with baggie pants and a boombox downing a 4-0 street side. Advocating artisanal public inebriation? Obviously tongue in cheek ... having both grown up with hip-hop and drowned on my share of 40s, I guess I'm part of the target market. The "Billy D. Williams-burg" kids. This may be a remedial question, but what makes "malt liquor" malt liquor? Is it the use of corn? Is anyone else making decent malt liquor? Is it possible to sell it on the quality of the product and not it's uncanny ability to "work every time?" rien

Given the enervating (well for Vancouver) heat of late this may just be the ticket-an event I've missed far too many times-perhaps this will be the year I finally make it. http://www.autumnbrewfest.com/

I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on Mead? Specifically its origins in England? I wondered where it originated, and what its connection to the 16th century?

Could not locate one but there is this: I didn't stop to consider that the wine quiz was so heavily in favor of the females who took it ...And there has been a bit of discussion on the lack of something appropriately masculine ... hence the new thread .... new quiz ... special thanks to tanabutler for offering the URL ... So, without further ado, and seeing how much people here seem to enjoy the art of the quiz, here is the beer quiz, for anyone who wishes to give it a try ... the beer quiz If you get this message, don't despair, simply try again later .. it does connect on occasion!

I am very green when it comes to brewing. I've but one successful batch under my belt. My second batch, purchased as a kit assembled by the local brewing supply store gurus, has me scratching my head and wondering if perhaps something was missed. We brewed an American Pale Ale. Dry hopped it after re-racking. So now we prime it with some sugar and bottle it, right? Well, no. No priming sugar in the kit. No mention of this in the directions. With the store closed the day we needed to bottle, we couldn't call to get the skinny. We bottled away. Am I sitting on a couple cases of flat beer or will any of the residual sugar from the brewing process, coupled with the remaining yeast, produce some carbonation in the final product? Either way I'll drink it happily because a home brewed beer is a many splendored treat. Thanks in advance.

Hi, So, I enjoy a good beer, or, at least I used to. I really wanted to get into the homebrew thing, but for various reasons didn't. Now, I would like to start up, but my dietary intake as changed such that I would be interested in trying to do a low-carb homebrew. There are several low-carb beers out there, and some are not bad, but all are pretty much American Mega-Brew clones, nothing particularly tasty either. I am wondering if this was done simply because there is no market for a low-carb real beer, or because making a beer low-carb somehow just makes it end up with those particular qualities. I personally enjoy a very strong hoppy beer, and would love to be able to make something like that myself, but is such a thing feasible to do? I have no idea how to control the carb content in a finished product, but I figure that the more it ferments, and the more sugar/starch is converted to alcohol, the lower the final carb content will be, so this goes hand in hand with my desire for a strong beer. Hops are just a grass aren't they? So I could load a beer up with hops and not have it effect anything in the nutritional value. I'm thinking I could make a darn tasty beer that is also low-carb, but I am wondering if there are any holes in my logic. Would other styles be equally accessible?