Features
Industry Braces for Controversial Report
Beer lobbyists and anti-alcohol activists are trading angry barbs over a report on underage drinking that has yet to see the light of day.
Russian Brewers: Tradition, Revival, and the Global Challenge
When the Soviet Union collapsed and Winston Churchill’s famous Iron Curtain opened, observers of the brewing scene discovered that Russians drink beer as well as vodka. The country has a fascinating brewing tradition that was hidden from view for most of the 20th century.
From Britain to the Baltic
The passion for porter and stout in Russia and the Baltic is due to the vigor with which London brewers exported their beers in the 18th and 19th centuries. At one time more than 10 London breweries were making strong versions of their dark beers for export. The most successful was Thrale on the south […]
Remarkable Retail
What makes a great beer retail store? We asked our beer friends about the best places to buy beer, and their comments read like a how-to list for any beer retailer who aspires to be the best.
The Big Little Guys
They began showing up at Washington liquor stores in July, and at grocery stores, and convenience stores, looking like they were preparing for a beer run a la Smokey and the Bandit. One man bought 22 cases of Olympia stubbies.
Success Comes in Cans
In 1935, the Gottfried Kruger Brewing Co. of Newark, NJ, became the first US brewery to package its beer in cans in a joint venture with the American Can Co. of Richmond, VA. The city of Richmond was chosen for the release because failure in Kruger’s home market could have ruined the brewery financially. The […]
Columns
Early Portland Craft Brewers Were a Fine Lot
Recently, I was invited to participate in one of those wonderful McMenamin’s “drink tanks.” Once or twice a year, Mike and Brian McMenamin gather their friends, workers, and other assorted followers together to participate in ceremonial rites to formulate one of their very special brews. This one, held at the Portland’s Hillsdale Pub, was for […]
Departments
Scotch Ale: Strong and Smooth
Scotland is a land of legend. Its people are hearty; its terrain can be craggy and daunting, or softly pacifying. It is mysterious, magical and formidable because of the cool and often harsh weather. Although Scotland is famous for its namesake whiskey, by far the most frequently consumed social beverage is ale, the stronger versions […]
Great Beer in the Green Mountain State
Why does so much great beer come from small states? Case in point: Vermont, population 608,827. Vermont ranks number one in breweries per capita, and its residents spend almost one-fifth of their beer money on in-state products. It couldn’t be easier to find micros, either; there are specially priced 12-packs in gas station beer coolers […]
Witty Wits
Nit-Wit Strong Wit 1080; 28 IBU; medium gold color 7 pounds pilsner malt 2 pounds Vienna malt 5 pounds malted wheat 1 pound oatmeal 1 tablespoon white flour, added at beginning of boil (for starch haze) Mash at 150 degrees F 3/4 ounce Styrian Golding, 1 hour 1/2 ounce Styrian Golding, 20 minutes 1/2 ounce […]
Beer Talk
Morimoto Imperial Pilsner
Rogue Ales Newport, OR Available: n/a In a swing-top, 26 oz. silk-screened ceramic bottle, this imperial pilsner—the beginning of a new style—is brewed with French two-row pilsner malt, Sterling hops (a new hop, a Mt. Hood-Saaz cross), and fermented with Czech pils yeast. Alcohol by weight: 7 Color: 15.9 Bitterness: 74 Gravity: 18 Plato
Rycerskie Strong
Browar Namyslow Namyslow, Poland Imported by: Doyna Ltd. Brooklyn, NY Available: n/a In 1999, three American partners purchased the Namyslow Brewery in Poland. The son of one of the partners, Ryan Gostomski, is now the brewer in Poland, and produces two traditional Polish beers, Rycerski Strong and Golden Denar, and two of his own formulation. […]
Speight’s Gold Medal Ale
Speight’s Brewery Otago, New Zealand Imported by: New World Beverage Co. Place: Newport Beach, CA Available: CA The Speight’s Brewery was founded on the South Island of New Zealand in 1876. Gold Medal Ale was given its name after winning an award at the Melbourne International Brewing Awards over a century ago, and the beer […]
Old Slugger Pale Ale
Cooperstown Brewing Co. Milford, NY Available: NY The Cooperstown beers—Old Slugger Pale Ale, Benchwarmer Porter, Strike Out Stout and others—are a tribute to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Old Slugger is brewed with two-row English pale and crystal malt, and Mt. Hood, Cascade and Fuggles hops, and fermented in open vessels using Ringwood yeast. Alcohol […]
Augsburger Dark Bier
Augsberger Brewing Co. Stevens Point, WI Available: WI The Monarch Brewing Co. originally produced the Augsburger brands—golden and dark Bavarian-style beers—from 1959 to 1967. The brands passed to the Potosi Brewing Co., then to Huber, and to Stroh’s. Pabst acquired Augsburger, which has licensed the brewing and distribution to Stevens Point Brewery, which is producing […]
Dogwood Stout
Dogwood Brewing Co. Atlanta, GA Available: GA, TN, NC Dogwood Brewing Co., founded in 1996, brews a wide variety of ales and lagers from a range of brewing traditions. Alcohol by weight: 4 Color: n/a Bitterness: 35 Gravity: 1052
Trappist Achel Extra
Brouwerij der St. Benedictus Achel, Belgium Imported by: Shelton Brothers Belchertown, MA Available: AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, IA, KY, LA, MA, MD, MI, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, VA, WA, WI Achel is the newest of the abbey breweries to receive the designation “trappist,” bringing the number of Trappist Breweries back […]
Melbourn Bros. Cherry Ale
All Saints Brewery Stamford,Lincolnshire, England Imported by: Merchant du Vin Tukwila, WA Available: nationally, except SD, MO, CO, TX, KS, OK, MN Founded in 1825, the All Saints Brewery closed in 1974. When it reopened twenty years later, it set out to brew beer with wild yeast in the manner of Belgian lambics, and flavored […]