Features
Brewing at Source
Should beer be brewed at source or is it acceptable for brewers to replicate famous brands far from the breweries of origin? American readers may think this an arcane subject for discussion, as the sheer size of the United States means that many brands have to be produced in more than one location.
Great Beer Festivals: Around the Calendar, Around the World
The Triumvirate: When it comes to beer festivals, our experts agreed: there is an essential triumvirate that everyone’s heard about—and all beer lovers should attend at least once. So, let’s get the big three out of the way.
Extreme Brewing
To those of us in the rest of the country, “ the West Coast” is a world apart. Despite the vast geographical spread from California to Alaska, despite a cultural spread that brought us both the Grateful Dead and Ronald Reagan, viewed from the outside, the West is one strange singularity. It is Hollywood glitz, […]
The Lion & the Elephant
Life awakens before dawn in Bangkok, along the Chao Phraya River—the River of Kings—that bisects the city. Bridges hum with automobile traffic that will turn into a modern jam once morning comes. The passenger ferries are quiet, waiting for first light to bring commuters from the older quarter of Thonburi on the west side to […]
Your Ad Here
A specialty that has always intrigued me in the array of beer collectables is beer advertising. Last year at the Beer Can Collectors of America’s National CANvention in Lexington, KY, I bought raffle tickets for a chance to win an Iron City tent. This was a bona fide two-person tent. A fellow collector asked me […]
How Not to Brew
I was talking to one of our newer brew club members a few weeks ago. He and his pals have been brewing like crazy fools (in the good sense), and they’ve really been trying to upgrade their beers in terms of recipes and techniques. For the most part, they’re making headway. But a taste of […]
Columns
Surfing the Great Canadian Beer Festival
Past Great Canadian Beer Festivals, in Victoria, British Columbia, have been a beer tourist’s Mecca. I lived most of my misspent youth some 90 miles from Vancouver and Victoria. Canadian beer was an always sought-after treasure, and Canada, an exotic destination mere miles from home. Did all Mounties sing like Nelson Eddie? Was the city […]
Departments
Sampling Saison
The French word for season, saison, has become a stylistic designation to distinguish a group of beers from Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium. Today, these historically seasonal ales are brewed year-round. Saisons present a complex character that is both aggressive and subtle. Unmistakably Belgian and unequivocally rustic, they beckon exploration.
Touring the Pubs of Toronto
Ann Arbor, MI, in my student days ranked first in the nation in per-capita Molson consumption. Molson Golden was our first step toward appreciating better beer. That was back in the Seventies, before the craftbrewing revolution got started.
Beer Talk
Tripel Krullekop
Andelot Proef Brouwerij Lochristi, Belgium Imported by: Lionstone Int’l for Specialty Beer Services Seattle, WA Available: WA, OH Tripel Krullekop is one of the first beers in the Bottlesworks Imagination Series, developed in partnership with Specialty Beer Services of Seattle and Belgian brewer Dirk Naudts, of the Andelot “Proefbrouwerij” (Proof Brewery). Prior to creating the […]
Sam Adams Light
Boston Beer Co. Boston, MA Available: nationally Following Lighthouse a few years ago, this is Boston Beer’s second lower calorie beers, with 124 calories. Alcohol by weight: 3.35 Color: 11 Bitterness: 10 Gravity: 1040
Wasatch 1st Amendment Lager
Utah Brewers Cooperative Salt Lake City, UT Available: UT This beer, the newest release from Wasatch Brewery, is a turn of the century lager made with Saaz hops. “Currently distributed only in Utah, with outside requests being considered on a case by case basis.” Alcohol by weight: 4 abv Color: 4 Bitterness: low 20s Gravity: […]
Bokrijks Kruikenbier
Brouwerij Sterkens Meer, Belgium Imported by: Noble Union Trading Co. Houston, TX Available: nationally except for WY, ND, SD, KS, OK, WV, VT, AK, HI, ID The Sterkens family began brewing beer in the small town of Meer, north of Antwerp, since 1654. During the French Revolution, legend has it that a monk escaping the […]
Ephemere
Unibroue Chambly, QB, Canada Imported by: Unibrew USA Champlain, NY Available: AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, DC, FL, HI, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MI, MN, MO, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OH, OR, PA, RI, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI This wheat ale is brewed with apple must and flavored with […]
Kipling Light
High Falls Brewing Co Rochester, NY Available: Every state except CA, OR, WA, AK, HI, UT, ID, MT, SD With 99 calories, Kipling Light is the only one of the light beers to style itself as “dark.” Alcohol by weight: 2.75 Color: 12.8 Bitterness: 8 Gravity: 1032
Northumbrian Brown Ale
Federation Brewery Gateshead, UK Imported by: Wein-Bauer, Inc. Franklin Park, IL Available: IL, WI, MA, MN, NJ, TN, CO, IN, RI The city of Newcastle, known for its brown ale, sits on the north side of the river Tyne. On the opposite banks is the city of Gateshead. The two cities, and a number of […]
Sunrye Ale
RedHook Ale Brewery Woodinville, WA Available: nationwide Sunrye is brewed with two barley malts and a small amount of rye, with Hallertau and Tettnang hops from Germany, and Saaz hops from the Czech Republic. Alcohol by weight: 3.7 Color: 5.6 Bitterness: 16 Gravity: n/a