In the past, I’ve not made it a secret that Lagunitas is generally hit and miss for me.  Not that I’ve denigrated their brand…some of the beers just aren’t my (pardon the expression on a beer site) brand of vodka.  As a result of my hot and cold attitude toward the brand, I leave her [...]

There once was a time when I exerted a LOT of effort searching out beer stores, trying to find the next greatest beer.  This practice subsided–nearly stopped–when I realized the next greatest beer was the one brewed in my driveway.  That being said, I still get a huge kick when I stumble upon a store [...]

The sad refrains of ten thousand “lost love” songs ringing in my ears could not match the sadness I feel when I hear uttered the kindred language of Mordor speaking that ever so vile and unsubstantiated phrase, “I really don’t like beer.”  What the phrase has done to my life-span and psyche tongue cannot tell. [...]

Why do people eat a hamburger rather than Spam?  Why do people like a Ferrari better than a Pinto?  It seems the answers to these questions is somewhat obvious (cost prohibitive aspects to the Ferrari aside).  Quality, quality, quality. It is intriguing when those who are unfamiliar with craft beer ask the question, “What’s fueling [...]

The more we as a people  embrace postmodernism, the more aggressively we profess a disdain for rules and standards.  But deep inside, we know they can be beneficial and are meant for our own good.  They keep our roads flowing, our pockets less pick-pocketed, and our beer delicious.  That doesn’t mean that at times a [...]

Ahhh the library…shrine of knowledge and source of free erudition whether it be in book or video form.  A few nights ago my lovely wife checked out “The American Brew” from our local library.  I have come to discover that not all books and films/videos are created equally.  In fact, like a few ill made [...]

In a recent article I espoused the view that a good brewery is consistent in their brewing process; that is, from one batch to the next, I’d expect a brewery’s flagship porter to taste EXACLTY the same.  But inconsistancy (intentional) is also necessary…at times. My thunder for this post was a bit stolen in the [...]

Craft beer people are some of the best human beings on the planet.  My interview with The Bruery, interactions with people at the Lost Abbey, and the fact that Phil at Skyscraper gave me (although it was brief because of monetary issues) an opportunity to work in a micro setting, show that I’m the first [...]

Good stuff is really starting to happen in the Los Angeles (and surrounding area) beer scene.  One of those places is in the works right now. Tony’s Darts Away on Magnolia in Burbank is well on its way to opening.  The full-on opening is a month or so away, but I encourage those of us [...]

In the past few months a bit of chatter over the slight rise in the cost of beer has risen over the various media venues.  This is to be expected as weakened dollar and fragile global economy has and will continue to drive up the cost of commodities.  Externally influenced factors aside, there has also [...]