Month: November 2011

Photo by Chelsea Ellis, The Free Press. Pamola Xtra Pale Ale cans prepare to be filled with Baxter Brewing Companies signature brew. Baxter, along with 26 other Maine brewers will be participating in the first annual Maine Beer week Nov.10-17 in Portland.

Posted by Anna Flemke at usmfreepress.org

Tinny, watery, bitter and hard to swallow are just a few ways some might describe the taste of America’s most recognized beer brands. America turned into a lager-loving country in the 1970s as high-profile marketing campaigns depicted rugged, stereotypically masculine men bearing a striking resemblance to the iconic Marlboro Man commercials; but instead of cigarettes, they enjoyed less-than-stellar brews.

The desire for more flavor, however, left some Americans searching for something above the average cold one. In the early 1980s, the demand for a better beer led to the opening of half a dozen American microbreweries in 1982 alone. The craft beer revival had begun, bringing homebrewing skill and technique back to local breweries across the nation. Craft brewing flourished in Maine, inspired by breweries in both New York and Massachusetts, and the state’s penchant towards local business development that includes Portland’s recent “Buy Local” initiative.
Continue reading “First annual Maine Beer Week Celebrates Local Breweries and Businesses”

Written by Beppi Crosariol for theglobeandmail.com

Ben Franklin is reputed to have said, “Beer is proof that God loves us.” Probably apocryphal in its attribution, the bumper-sticker classic captures the fun-loving passion with which many people approach the planet’s most popular alcoholic beverage. Now, beer’s faithful have their bible. The Oxford Companion to Beer, a formidable 920-page volume, chronicles the drink’s history, from its birth more than 5,000 years ago in the grasslands of ancient Iraq to the modern craft-beer movement.

Written by E.D. Kain for forbes.com

Back in 2003 I lived with my then-girlfriend (now-wife) in Denver, CO not terribly far from the New Belgium brewery up in Fort Collins.

That winter there was a snow storm that ground the city to a halt. And not just Denver, but the entire foothills stretch from Colorado Springs in the south to Fort Collins in the north. Some areas had several feet of snow, others had even more.

The city was shutdown. All the roads were closed to everyone except emergency and police vehicles. Nobody went to work. I’ve since only seen one storm that even came close, and that was two winters ago in Northern Arizona.

All of which brings me to Snow Day, the new winter ale from New Belgium, a brew which took its inspiration from that very same storm in 2003:

“In 2003, we had a massive 37-inch snowstorm over two days in Fort Collins. Everything shut down for a couple days – no work, no school, no cars. The only way you could get around was by ski or toboggan. When we began brewing Snow Day, we looked to this one storm for inspiration. The dark characters of the malt bill reflect the dark stormy sky at the beginning of the snowfall. But on the third day, the sun broke through and everything was glorious! The name Snow Day evoked joyful freedom. Everyone remembers waiting for the school report as little kids. When you heard your school was closed, you suddenly had all day to play in the transformed, white landscape. Well, that’s the kind of emotion we put into this beer.”

Continue reading “Craft Beer of the Day – Snow Day by New Belgium”

Written for Bay City Television. No Author Credited

San Diego – Most people think of drinking beer as a manly thing, but as it turns out more and more women, like Misty Birchall, are getting turned on to the craft beer scene.

“I think it was a hobby that kind of became an obsession.” said Birchall.

Birchall turned her obsession into a business.

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HERE

Written by Norman Miller for GateHouse News Service

Complicated beers are fine, but sometimes simple can be good, too.

That is the idea behind Matthew Steinberg’s brand-new Blatant Brewery: brew beers simply and good.

“It’s all in good humor,” said Steinberg, a veteran of the Massachusetts brewing scene. “I said, ‘Let’s not start a beer marketing company, let’s start a liquid company.’ We don’t need to get fancy. The idea of this brand is strikingly simple. There is nothing fanciful about our labels. There is nothing fanciful about us, except for our beers. Be blatant, be clear, and be up front about what you’re doing.”

Steinberg has been involved in brewing for years. He is the former brewer of what is now known as Rapscallion Brewery in Massachusetts. He was the head brewer at the Offshore Ale Company. He was also the first brewer at the Mayflower Brewing Company.

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HERE