This past Saturday my wife and I set out to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary.  With my dad and stepmother watching the kids, headed downtown.  The several restaurants we were hoping to dine at were either packed or parking was non existent.  After an hour of driving, we ended up at a location not on our list:  The Maumee Bay brewing company. Before you scold me for a brewery NOT being sought out initially, here me out:  My wife is pregnant.  She likes loves beer.  She cannot drink beer right now.  Renouncing apathy, I did not want the poor girl to be forced to watch me indulge in the forbidden fruit.  As it is, with four kids, going out to eat alone is a semi-annual event.  Anyway, there we were at the only Microbrewery in the Toledo area. It is a shame that I have never visited the brewpub, but I had my reasons.  The brewery only one beer sold in stores that is produced by the microbrewery I found to be quite fowl.  You may remember it from our discussion on "sink-worthy beers." Consequentially, I was not jumping at the chance to sample other varieties.  But there we were, and I ...

I have been under the impression for some  time, that success in business requires more than just a great product. The beer industry is no exception. Besides all the obvious ingredients to success (sell-ability, marketing, passion, etc.), the burden lies, primarily, on the owner/founder. Often, greed and extreme egotism results in mediocrity or even failure. With the nation bearing witness, the financial industry has recently revealed the inevitable negative consequence of a top down, 'my wallet isn't heavy enough' mindset. So reading a story of innovative selflessness is not only refreshing, but worthy of repeat. New Belgian Brewery, producers of the shelf worthy line of Belgian style beers (Fat Tire being the most renowned), demonstrates the ingenuity that celebrates not only a love for the product and the inherent creative process, but the reversal of the top down mentality in valuing the toil of employees and thereby encouraging company loyalty. This is reflected in a 'no duh' flavored statement by CEO Kim Jordan: "There's something wrong if making beer can't be fun." And just how does the brewery go the extra mile to make beer fun? (as if beer wasn't fun enough already!) From ...

Beer sampler packs have proven themselves an enigma to this beer scribe, who actually owes the development of his palate to these tantalizing packages.  For many (yours truly included) the initial draw to the sampler is (1) economy, (2) variety, and (3) fear of commitment to six or twelve of the same potential offensive beers.  I used to find myself combing through the various sampler packs, of which there were never too many, trying to find one that offered the most diverse selection of brews.  But after a while, I feigned away from the samplers, and gravitated towards creating my own samplers from the individual bottles on the shelf.  You see, knowing that there were so many different beers out there, even the sampler pack was limiting. But this was not the only reason for my forsaking of the sampler...the sampler had grown stale, and was turning me off from trying many breweries whose samplers I sampled.  You see, I found that every brewery was putting their run-of-the-mill base brews in the pack, and they were coming up faulty.  The variety, was--in all actuality uniformity--a pale ale here, a brown ale there, perhaps an IPA for kicks and there you have ...

For the most part, the human tongue  and its palate is a flexible organ.  What I mean is, with time, determination, and awareness, off putting flavors can gradually become desirable.  This is why pediatricians recommend that parents introduce their children to a wide range of food early on.  If all a child ate from infancy to puberty was chocolate, I doubt they would find the taste curry chicken enjoyable! Thus said, this past weeks beer, Third Coast Old Ale is not a beer that the unadventurous or inexperienced drinker may normally embrace.  It is a big beer:  Big on malt, hops, alcohol, and overall flavor.  The guy or gal who is just now exploring the world beyond American lagers may display a distorted face upon consuming.  But big beers, once transitioned up to, are a treat and delicacy; worth accustoming oneself to. The Pour: Third Coast Ale poured a deep reddish brown color.  For a big beer, there was ample carbonation present, but less than a typical beer. The thickness of the brew was made apparent by the manner in which the carbonation bubbles danced around  in circles in the liquid rather than racing to the top.  A thick tan head about 2.5 ...

The past several months have been quite a ride for the majority of Americans.  In fact, ever since the market began its record breaking descent into depths that typically force nations to default on national debt, things have not gotten much better.  Sure the DOW peaked it's head above 8000 in a micro bull run, but such volatile upward fluctuations are emotionally fueled by big words from politicians and the intentional growth of the national deficit.  To top it off, the government is about to own GM, unemployment, while up from April, is close to double this time last year, and the foreclosure rate hasn't slowed down a bit and is no longer isolated to sub-prime borrowers! Could there possibly be a silver lining in all of this, or am I just morbidly pleased with negative news?  Yes and No. Just this week I discovered that a local store that sells everything from tractor plows, to exotic birds, to fine wine and beers, was experiencing a 20+% decline in overall revenue.  While this is not uncommon in trying times such as these that we find ourselves in the midst of, I was elated to hear that alcohol sales were up 17%.  Keep ...

The only thing that would have made this Matilda a more satisfying drinking experience, would be if Danny DeVito and Rhea Pearlman stopped by, kicked back their feet, had a few laughs, and enjoyed it with me.  Seriously, as I said this great beer with a great story hits the spot regardless of the setting. The Pour: Pours a vivid orangish color, nearly the color of a Californian sunset.  Extremely tiny bubles form thin streams in several places towards the edge of the glass. The head is minimal and dissipates quickly.  This is a beautiful looking beer.  It looks like it tastes good! The Smell: No doubt Belgian yeast is used here.  There crisp green apples (a flavor I find common in Belgians, but that might just be me), oranges, and a slight clove flavor hit the nose.  There is a mild and soothing sugary aroma...almost like a sucker. The Taste: There is a this beer than is typical than with style.  Mixed with the crisp apple flavor that was present in the aroma, a slight dark rum flavor, grapes, and a flavor that reminded me of root beer, this beer offers a complexity not found in Goose Island's typical line up.  There is a strange ...

I first spied the shiny maroon can in the domestics aisle about two weeks ago.  Poor little guy!  All alone in a sea of brightly labeled brown bottles.   I was interested, but not enough to buy it.  You see, as summer is nearly upon us, I just have not been in the mood for a Pale Ale.  On top of that, I had never heard of Southern Star Brewery.  On top of that, Texas doesn't have the most stellar craft brewery reputation.  As they say necessity is the mother is the mother of invention undesired purchases.  You see I really needed an empty beer can for an upcoming recipe (soon to be blog post) and couldn't force myself to buy Nasty Light or Boddingtons, so i took the opportunity to try something new. Before drinking, I did a little background check on my new acquisition; Southern Star Brewery's Pine Belt Pale Ale, and was intrigued.  First of all, the brewery is only a year old.  Hats off to these guys!  Besides the fact that these guys started a brewery in the worst economic conditions is decades, somehow their brew reched me in humble little Toledo, OH.  Secondly, this is not ...

Beer and spirituality are unavoidable, don't you agree? Countless monasteries throughout the middle ages developed and preserved the art of quality beer brewing at the hands of pious priests and monks.  Martin Luther, the reformer (or heretic, depending on where you live in some parts) was a homebrewer. So in honor of American Craft Beer Week and man's natural inclination towards all things spiritual and mystical, this Saturday's Sip With Us Saturday beer is Avery's The Reverend.  You may recall this breweries beer saved the life of a young child not too long ago. Avery is one of those breweries that derrives mixed emotions from many a beer geek.  I even saw a small argument in line at a recent beer festival over the greatness or not-so-greatness of the Boulder, CO based brewery.  I tend to think they are one of the better breweries.  I can usually find a distinct flavor in their beers, particulary in their specialy beers. If you are not afraid of bold assertive Belgian Quadrupels, this brew is for you.  It's 10% abv will warm your heart like a reverend should.  Pick it up and pop it open with us this Saturday.  If you are having trouble finding it, let ...

It is no secret to those who have drunk the kool-aid (code for beer) and joined the clandestine community of beer lovers that this week (May 11th - 17th) is officially American Craft Beer Week. "Aaaaagggghhhh." That was me breathing a sigh of relief of not being guilted into heading down to the Hallmark shop to buy a card for my secretary (as if I had one) or reproduce a picture of my pooch for my vet simply to belong as a cog in mass consumerism.   Rather, it is a relief to participate in a holiday I believe in (not to be trumped by Christmas, Easter, or my wife';s birthday, mind you!). Yes, there are many holidays.  Too many in fact, but this one resonates, because someday Mike, myself, and many of you (Big Tex, for one) hope to be recognized as one of the 1500 craft brewers in the US, who daily struggle to work to produce a fine bubbly beverage that eases the burdens that have accumulated on the weary shoulders of Americas working class.  I for one, pledge to drink fine craft beer for the duration of this fine holiday, and I suggest you, dear reader, do the same.  ...

You decide! Over at the examiner, Charlie Papazian accurately states: I say rather confidently, there’s never been a better time to be a beer drinker in the United States.  Wave after glorious wave of beer festivals and beer-centric events are sudsing over the American landscape.   You might say the “tide’s in!”  Are you a happy beer enthusiast or what?   With beer enthusiasm on the rise, especially for small, local and craft brewed beer there’s a lot of pent up pride building.  I’ve heard many boast of their favorite beer city. With microbreweries popping up all over the US and older Microbreweries graduating into craft breweries, there is a lot of state-wide competition and talk over which US city can rightly claim the title of "beer city USA." You can read the article, view voting rules, and actually vote on the city of your choice by clicking THIS HYPERLINK. I myself have already voted, although I'll admit, I have traveled little, so my choice was made after considering some of my favorite crafte beers and the locale of their origin. I am encouraged at the growth of the craft industry in the US, the opportuinities it is informing, the pride it is instilling in our nation at ...