As another year comes to an end we see a lot of postings online about “the best” whatever of 2008. These lists are always fun and often make me reflect on what I’ve done during the past 12 months. With that in mind, I wanted to present a few lists of my own for your [...]
The holiday season is here and in full-swing. It’s likely that you’re planning a trip to see the family and stressing about last-minute shopping that needs to happen before the big meal and gift exchanges. With that in mind I wanted to take a moment to share some holiday beer ideas worth exploring.
The Holiday Dinner [...]
Last night I went to a good friend’s home to share in a birthday dinner, an event worthy of the celebration of another trip around the sun. Along with the meal we all shared in some simply fantastic beers. Perhaps it wasn’t on purpose, but when the night was done and we’d looked back on [...]
There is always more to the story, isn’t there? Today the good beer-loving people in and around Portland are reading and hearing a lot about the pending sale of the beloved Green Dragon to Rogue. If you have read some comments and blog posts you may come away feeling Rogue is just a big bully [...]
DRAFT’s Beer Director Rick Sellers recently helped Firestone Walker determine the mix for XII, its 12th anniversary ale. Here, he describes the final day of tasting. You can read all about day one here.
The morning had a brisk chill and an ominous feel, the wind was picking up and burly clouds were rolling inland moving [...]
The drive down was luckily uneventful, a blessing given we were driving through San Francisco headed south on Highway 1. We made good time in the Prius and by the time we passed Gilroy we knew we’d make it to our appointment well ahead of schedule. The driver for this excursion was none other than [...]
We all have ideas that sound great in our heads, but when we try to make this a reality it goes to hell. Brewers have this happen on occasion: they develop a recipe that works on paper, or in their spreadsheets, only to realize the real-life experiences of a brew day can’t be calculated. Recently [...]
The Morning After
This week has been an exercise in pacing yourself, the phrase “it’s a marathon, not a sprint” was uttered accurately many times within my earshot and I think I took it to heart. Still, no matter how well one is paced for the GABF ‘marathon’ you can’t help but wear out the body [...]
The final day of the GABF is greeted with a mixture of relief and sorrow by many. We are relieved that tomorrow we can sleep in, stay off our feet and begin the process of physical recovery from days of living the rock-star lifestyle of no sleep, excessive partying and often a general lack of [...]
Friday in Denver for GABF week is one of the crazier days one can experience, with side events scattered around the city that pull for a beer geek’s attention. I started the day with a quick sit-down conversation with Sam Calgione of Dogfish Head brewing. I am certain you’ve read it before, but Sam is [...]
