Remember that $787 Billion Stimulus package that congress passed in 2009?  Under the scrutinizing eye, it was in fact a tax, not a stimulus...the United States has yet to feel the pain of payback; however.  Regardless, free taxpayer money seems to be synonymous with "stimulus" these days.  What does a yet unpaid for tax stimulate?  Apparently not jobs, since the U.S. Unemployment Rate is hovering high still (higher than before the bills passage) at around 9.5% nationwide. I say all this not to lead into a political discussion, but a beer discussion.  Reading through my news feeder, a gripping headline caught my eye:  Beer Stimulus:  Can Hops and Barley Create Jobs? The use of the term Stimulus forced me into the guts of the article, as modern context led me to think the federal government was giving out future tax money to the beer industry.  Such isn't the case, the term is being used improperly in regards to a tax break. The benefit of tax breaks is that they DO encourage long lasting residual income for the populous and the taxman.  The problem with tax breaks, is that someone, somewhere, from some niche or industry or socio-economic strata writhes in anger at ...

Today I watched Spain lose to the Swiss.  Keep in mind that Spain is widely considered the favorite to win the World Cup.  Many of the learned soccer experts, FIFA, and fans assume that certain teams will win or be great in the World Cup.  Of course, I'm not saying it's unfair to expect teams like Brazil or Germany to almost always do well, but it is interesting to see who actually excels and who doesn't. I almost always expect good performances by certain breweries.  Dogfish Head, The Lost Abbey, and a few others are almost always going to make a beer I enjoy.  Sometimes the beer is profound, other times it's pretty good,  occasionally I'll get a dud, which is a real rarity.  Other breweries are like the U.S. soccer team; they are major hit and miss ventures.  The beer may be good or the beer may be bad, but they don't seem ever to be great.  Still other breweries are like North Korea.  They get no respect and likely will not be good in the foreseeable future.  But some beers are like the Swiss.  You don't expect a lot, but they surprise you. Just like the supposed beer experts, the ...

Unlike ever before, the internet is proliferated with reviews of beer.  As if Beer Advocate and Rate Beer had not provided the interwebs with enough paradoxical opinions and love stories for that hopmonster of an ale you hold in your hand, there has sprung up a glut of beer blogs that are dying to tell you that they tasted roasted pine nuts and grapefruit in said beer. Before you dismiss this as a jaded libel loaded rant, keep in mind that the site authoring this article fits into the aforementioned category; blog that occasionally reviews beer.  Yes, we will occasionally pour a brew into a goofy looking glass, swish the sweet brew around, dig our nose into the aroma, savor the flavor in our mouths, and then tell you what we think about it.  One thing we try to avoid is the pitfall of esoteric-ism; a subtle trap that lies in any niche, whether it be beer, artisan cheeses, or wine. With wine in mind, a recent article was pointed out by a fellow beer blogger that served as the springboard for this piece of faux journalism you now read.  The article titled A Hint of Hype, A Tasted of Illusion, in ...

While interviewing for a job possibility the other day, I was looking at a Travel and Leisure magazine.  Normally, I'm not that interested in what they have to say...unless I'm traveling soon.  However, there wasn't much else to look at so I went ahead and started flipping through and saw an interesting article about the revival of real Stilton Blue Cheese. Basically, there was a food poisoning outbreak in 1983 that had one thing in common: Stilton Cheese.  It was later found that the cheese wasn't actually responsible for the outbreak, but not before the damage was done.  The response of the government was to ban the raw version (most of Europe followed suit).  Afterward, raw Stilton didn't exist.  But in the early 2000s, bans were being lifted and real Stilton was being made again (we, the people of the U.S., still can't get many raw cheeses). Obviously, this was enthusiastically greeted.  The new pasteurized version was said to be a dry, crumbly, and poor vestige of the past. The rediscovered cheese was gloriously buttery, soft, and utterly (no pun intended) delicious.  My mind began to turn to Americans who are rediscovering craft beer and leaving behind the hollow and insipid macro ...

This is our fourth attempt to do the uncouth: intentionally stereotype, our first attempt was a tad fun as was the last (and my favorite, "Partying Dudes"). You see, in a past post we discussed stereotypes a bit in a nonjudgmental and humorous attitude. It occurred to those who participated in the discussion that it might be fun to take to higher, beer level, since for the most part, the posts on this blog lean toward the rote information. So occasionally, we will post a picture of an individual(s) and as our readers to do that which are politically-correct-obsessed society detests...stereotype the face(s) associated with the post. What do they drink? Why do they drink it? Where do they drink it? Where do they buy their clothes?...the sky is the limit. Just try to be nice. We here at Thank Heaven For Beer don't mean to offend...in fact, our own mugshots have faced the ridicule of Stereotype Me. We applaud diversity (as long is it walks, talks, looks, and smells like us) just as we do sarcastic humor. With out further ado...stereotype this tower of baldness:

Sitting, waiting, wishing is not an easy state of affairs.  Considerable time goes into make some styles and types of beer.  Specifically, Lambic is the style that is rolling around in my head.  My Lambic is now about two and a half months old in the fermenter.  I'm seeing the beginnings of pellicle formation, the scum of accumulating bacterial growth.  In this case, Bretts are the scum in question.  Now I have only 10 months of waiting left and then 6 more of bottle conditioning.  Plenty of patience is going into this one. Meanwhile, industry and culture are moving at breakneck speeds.  The high demand for oil and consequent lack of BP accountability in the speedy production of the black stuff has combined for disastrous results.  We're moving quickly.  We're always looking for a faster, more efficient, easy way to produce.  Genetic engineering of plants to produce 4 to 5 times the yield, hormone filled meats and milks, and instant dinners all have one thing in common...lack of waiting time.  Perhaps we feel as though we simply can't wait or don't have the time.  In the case of plants specifically, maybe we really can't wait.  After all, the growing population seems ...

Bill Clinton--while trying to circumvent an incriminating answer to the Grand Jury regarding his Oval Office Philandering--stated, "It depends on what the meaning of the word 'is' is?"  Rather than fess up to the truth of his affair (that was later confirmed from sequestered emails)  Clinton beat around the bush in a semantic game.   Perhaps he didn't out right lie, but he wasn't altogether forthright.  He lost plenty of supporters that day. I do not bring up the Clinton/Lewinski debacle to muckrake against a party or person...as Clinton's actions most likely are representative of how most of us flawed creatures would have responded, and do so on a daily basis.  The point I want to make is, the higher you are on the totem pole, the more scrutinized you are in your actions and your responses to mistakes.  In the hotseat we tend to do whatever it takes to maintain our pride, but hindsight always reveals the high road ends up being the best road. Which brings me to Bell's Brewery, one of my favorite craft breweries in the United States.  To me, they are bastions of quality, and manage to dabble in experimentation yet fail to forget historical style guidelines.  ...

Craft beer has always prided itself in offering one thing that the big macro lager producers fail to:  Flavor.  But in that past several years or so, the craft scene seems to have taken that offering and grown it exponentially.  Beers are being brewed with obscene hop levels, bombastic malt backing, and at times, seemingly absurd levels of alcohol...and the craft culture seems to be dripping for more. Those new to craft beer may not notice this phenomenon to the extent of those whose journey began perhaps five to ten, even twenty.  The fact that session beers and lower alcohol beers get much lower ratings on beer rating sites seems to indicate that the public regards session and low alcohol beers as inferior in quality, which is nonsense.  A beer that does not fit one's preferences does not equate to a beer that does not fit quality standards; but this is a post for another day. This quest and crave for bigger, bolder, sweeter, bitterer, etc., is not isolated to the craft beer scene.  In fact, a very interesting article in the May 26th edition of the Wall Street Journal highlights the trend in food (all realms, but primarily shelf bought as ...

No matter how much beer seems to be growing, it still seems to remain wine's ugly cousin.  Many, many, many presumptions keep beer's status well below what it ought to be.  I've often seen complaints from people about the cost of a four or six pack, yet those same people don't have an issue paying $15-20 for a bottle for wine.  Why is that? A minor epiphany occurred to me while I was at the chiropractor yesterday.  I picked-up a Food & Wine magazine.  Please note the name of the magazine and its conspicuous non-use of beer.  At any rate, I read this article about some people who have, through online arrangements, made it a point to come together and try wines.  Often the people will pay a few hundred dollars just for the privilege of getting into the drastically limited available positions.  Not only this, they will pay for food (as these are mostly held at great restaurants), more wine, and the expense of the very nice bottle/bottles they bring.  In fact, not to bring a nice wine is to almost guarantee that you will never be welcome back. Still more shocking is the fact that some people will literally take ...

Beer...what's the point? I can think of two scenarios in which I've been asked, "Why do you drink beer?"  Perhaps you can identify with at least with one of the situations: 1.  A concerned friend believes that drinking alcohol is sinful, and concerned for my well being asks:  "Why do you drink beer?" 2.  Fellow beer lover is posing the question hypothetically, meant to induce a moment of well needed introspection.  Perhaps I at times have gotten too serious (yes, it's possible) or over analytical in dissecting the flavor of a beer. The first , while I respect the opinion and intent, is easily and logically dismissible (see here for more).  The second actually needs to be dwelt on from time to time, to bring me back down to earth.  There is a time and place for reviewing and considering the complexity of flavor profiles, but if a person dwells solely on the prideful and public (say, in a blog) boasting of their palate, then they have wandered from what first drew them to beer and revisit to their roots is in order. In my opinion, the answer to the question is primarily universal to the beer enthusiast or to the occasional beer drinker: It makes ...