For the past couple of years I have been helplessly addicted to a series on the Travel Channel (I bet you were expecting me to say “beer,” huh!). The series, The Adventures of Mark and Ollie, chronicles two guys (Mark and Ollie) traipse into remote jungles to live with “uncivilized” and learn their ways. Usually, [...]
As promised, a lesson in hops is on the way. I am breaking this into two or three sessions, since there is a lot of ground to cover when it comes to this marvelous feat of nature. This post is going to focus on non-beer qualities of the herb. The post(s) to come will delve [...]
Although we jumped from the area around England for the last beer, we are going to head down to London town for this next style. I’ve spoken about Porter and Stouts once before on this site, but I’m going to go ahead and post this one as part of the style series. I am going [...]
Since we have covered some other English Styles Ales, Scottish Ales, and various other topics, let’s stick with another Ale of England. As the name might indicate, Barley Wine is a very strong type of beer. In fact, it often rivals wines in ABV. These Ales have a tendency to be pretty sweet (because of [...]
As I’ve mentioned before, hops were not always king when it came to bittering or flavoring a beer. So, when the William’s Brothers Brewing Company made their “Historic Ales” collection, it was not “historic” in the first-time sense of the word. It was a blast from the past. I had actually had all but this one [...]
Santa’s Butt– what an interesting name for a beer. This is one beer in a series of Christmas-themed beers from Ridgeway. Let’s break it down a little. First of all, Santa’s “something” is an appropriate name for this time of year. Surely, his “Butt” is not appropriate. Well, there’s actually more than meets the eye to the [...]
Has anyone ever wondered what an I.P.A. (India Pale Ale) is? I’m going to talk about Pale Ales first because an India Pale Ale is an amped up version of the former. I’ve actually already given some good information on Pale Ales when we had Samuel Smith’s Pale Ale (here is a link to that [...]
It’s been a while, but we’re getting around to writing about Ales. If you want to know what distinguishes an Ale from a Lager, check out this article. Basically, it breaks down in terms of where and how fermentation takes place. Many people assume that when we are talking about Ales, we are talking about [...]
I really do love the Christmas season…the majority of individuals, despite a wretched economy, allow their mood and general good will to elevate. That woman at Walmart–stubbornly blocking the tight aisle with her cart and large body–moves out of the way without my exacerbated sighs. The teller at the bank pretends to be interested in [...]
When they are not busy infiltrating American automotive markets, making crazy violent animated movies, or developing robots who promise to be your best friend, the Japanese busy themselves with making the most ridicuously expensive beer you could dream of…space beer. Using barley only grown in the International Space Station hundreds of miles above the surface [...]
