Features
The New Old World of Sour Beer
The growing number of entries to sour beer categories suggests that brewers are onto something new. But the techniques they’re using, and the “bugs” they’re welcoming into their beers, have a long history.
The Best Beers of 2010
In 2010, the Beverage Testing Institute/Tastings in Chicago evaluated almost 400 beers and ciders in nearly 80 style categories. For each style, here are the top three entries (more in the case of tied scores) of those that scored in the platinum (96-100 points) or gold (90-95) ranges.
Real Ale
Real ale is also known as cask-conditioned beer and is now an accepted dictionary definition for warm-fermented ale that is not filtered, pasteurized or artificially carbonated. At the end of fermentation in the brewery, the unfinished beer is run into casks where additional hops may be added for aroma and flavour, along with finings that […]
CAMRA Turns 40
In April 2010, as the world’s airlines were grounded by volcanic ash, all the signs indicated that the Campaign for Real Ale’s annual conference would be poorly attended. It was due to take place on the Isle of Man, halfway between Britain and Ireland in the Irish Sea. The island’s capital, Douglas, is a short […]
What Beer Do You “Pair” with a Blind Robin?
I recently stirred some outrage among Facebook beer lovers by noting that Food and Wine executive wine editor Ray Isle had put the cause of beer and food pairing back 15 years with his comments on five beers picked by the “CBS Early Show.” BridgePort IPA was paired with fried foods, “anything from fried shrimp […]
Columns
On Leading a Double Life
I come from the land of light ales. It took me three decades to realize this, and when I say it to some of my fellow Brits, they think I am unpatriotic and are visibly shocked. We shock easily over here, perhaps through being borne of such sober preferences.
A Seasoned Beer Expert’s Epiphany: Beer is Heavy
I’m a middle-aged beer industry writer. It’s better than being an old beer writer, because old beer writers are always uncomfortably close to their final beer column. And it’s better than being a young beer writer, because I got here first and got the best things.
Departments
with Glenn Knippenberg and Jeff Cornell
Tell me about AC Golden. GK: We’re owned by MillerCoors. Pete Coors took a look at how new products like Blue Moon were being developed for the pipeline, and noticed that we weren’t doing many. Largely, what the big brewers have done is spend anywhere from $19 to 30 million developing a brand, developing the […]
Wet and Fresh Hop Ale
Fall for beer lovers is synonymous with autumnal-colored, malty Oktoberfests, and pungent pumpkin-spiced ales, but it is also a time to celebrate the good fortune of the harvest. Harvest festivals are ancient, but the budding twist put on that tradition by American brewers―wet hop/fresh hop ale―has become a seasonal sensation.
Two Roads
Redwood Coast Pacific Coast Highway: If a visit to Mendocino and Humboldt counties entails departing from the Bay Area, a healthy portion of the drive will run up Highway 1. The scenic pullouts are too numerous to count and sadly, if you stop to hike along every beach, you won’t get very far. In Fort […]
The Beer Road Less Traveled
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I― I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost must’ve known what he was talking about. In fact, the original draft of his poem likely could have ended, “And that ale has made the difference.”
Beer Talk
Black Gold
Full Sail Brewing Co. Hood River, OR Available: AK, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, ID, LA, MN, MT, NM, NV, OH, OK, OR, SC, TX, VA, WA, WY, UT, NY, NJ, MA, MD, RI, NH Every year since 1998, the brewery has brewed a strong dark ale and aged it in up to sixty oak […]
Cockeyed Cooper
Uinta Brewing Co. Salt Lake City, UT Available: CA, NC, TN, OR, WA, AZ, AR, CO, DC, DE, GA, ID, IL, MD, MA, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OR, PA, SC, VA, WA, WY, UT Aged in bourbon barrels for six months. Uinta Brewing Co. is 100 percent wind-powered. ABV: 11.1 ABW: 8.25 Bitterness: 65 […]
Bête Blanche
Elysian Brewing Co. Seattle, WA Available: WA, OR, ID, AK, CO, NY, NJ, PA, BC A twist on the French expression “bête noire,” Bête Blanche is brewed from pale malt and augmented in the boil with clear Belgian candy sugar, bittered with German Northern Brewer and finished with Styrian Goldings hops. Fermented with Belgian ale […]
Bracia
Thornbridge Brewery Bakewell, England Imported by: B. United, Inc. Redding, CT Available: NY, NJ, CT, MA, CA, IL, IN, OH, FL, MD, DC, VA, WA, OR, GA, MN, ID Infused with dark and bitter chestnut honey sourced by head brewer Stefano Cossi from beekeeper Onelia Pin in the Alpine foothills of North East Italy. ABV: […]
White Ale
Triangle Brewing Co. Durham, NC Available: NC Brewed under the supervision of Rufus, the patron saint of TBC, with local red wheat from Halifax County, NC and local coriander from Person County, NC. ABV: 5 ABW: 4 Bitterness: 20 Original gravity: 1052
He’Brew Bittersweet Lenny’s R.I.P.A. On Rye
Shmaltz Brewing Co. Saratoga Springs, NY Available: AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, NB, NJ, NC, NY, OH, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, VA, WA, WI Shmaltz ages this tribute to satirist Lenny Bruce in Sazerac Six Year Rye Whiskey barrels for over […]
Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS)
Founders Brewing Co. Grand Rapids , MI Available: DC, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, VA, WI An imperial stout brewed with coffee and chocolates, then cave-aged in oak bourbon barrels for an entire year. ABV: 11.2 ABW: 9 Bitterness: 70 Original gravity: 1090
Diabolical IPA
North Peak Brewing Co. Traverse City, MI Available: MI Nestled between the east and west arms of Grand Traverse Bay, North Peak Brewing Co. brings together the nearly 50 years of experience of brewers Mike Hall and Ron Jeffries. ABV: 6.7 ABW: 5.3 Bitterness: 67 Original gravity: 1066
Omer
Bockor Brewery Bellegem, Belgium Imported by: Artisinal Imports Austin, TX Available: AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI, WY The name of the beer, Omer, […]
Coffee Stout
Flying Dog Brewery Frederick, MD Available: CA, DC, MD, MN, NC, NJ, OH, VA, WI Flying Dog’s Wild Dog Series Coffee Stout Batch 2 is brewed with coffee from Black Dog Coffee Co., Summit Point, WV. ABV: 8.9 ABW: 7.1 Bitterness: 40 Original gravity: 1088
Black Fly Stout
Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Co. Portland, ME Available: FL, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT Maine’s original brewpub, Gritty McDuff’s, opened in Portland’s Old Port in 1988. It now also has branches in Freeport and Auburn. ABV: 4.7 ABW: 3.8 Bitterness: 16 Original gravity: 1044
Dirty Dick’s Audit Ale
Nethergate Brewery Suffolk , England Imported by: Artisinal Imports Austin, TX Available: AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI, WY Audit ale is a type […]
Organic Portland Roast Espresso Stout
Laurelwood Brewing Co. Portland, OR Available: OR, WA Certified organic since 2002. The coffee in the beer was selected by brewmaster Chad Kennedy with the roasters at Portland Roasting Co. ABV: 6.3 ABW: 5 Bitterness: 40 Original gravity: 1060
Golden Saison
Tommyknocker Brewery Idaho Springs, CO Available: AL, CO, FL, GA, IL, KS, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC, ND, NE, NJ, OH, PA, TN, TX, VA, WI Founded in 1994, Tommyknocker Brewery sits in the mountains just 30 miles west of Denver, CO in the mining town of Idaho Springs. ABV: 5 ABW: […]
St. Patrick’s Best Ale
Strangford Lough Brewing Co. Rochester, NY Available: AL, CA, CT, DC, GA, LA, MD, ME, MO, MS, NC, NH, SC, VA, VT, WI St. Patrick’s Best Ale is named after the patron saint of Ireland and brewed from an Irish recipe. ABV: 4.2 ABW: 3.3 Bitterness: 33 Original gravity: 1043
Pine Belt Pale Ale
Southern Star Brewing Co. Conroe , TX Available: TX, IN, OH, KY, SC, AL, FL Pine Belt was the first canned craft beer to be made in Texas. Southern Star was founded in 2007. ABV: 6.3 ABW: 5.1 Bitterness: 45 Original gravity: 1058