Author: Professor Good Ales

Posted by hayatnorimine at huffingtonpost.com and seattlepi.com

 

When Rogue Wire Service first blogged about a new beer made out of beard hair, the first question that came to mind was whether this was a real thing. (See my first blog post about it here.)

“It’s gotta be a joke,” White Labs Communications Director Mike White thought when he first heard about it.

Well, we’re all with him there. But it’s confirmed, folks. What started out as a joke — White Labs put Rogue brewmaster John Maier’s beard hair on petri dishes just for kicks — became a very real yeast strain perfect for brewing.

Come early 2013, look out for Rogue’s new beer called “New Crustacean.” It is, I kid you not, made out of a Rogue brewmaster’s beard.

I wish I didn’t know so I could try it in peace.

Rogue Ales and Spirits initially wanted to grow a new yeast strain out of its own hops, but the hopyard’s three samples that were sent to White Labs came back negative. White Labs then took nine follicles of Maier’s beard and put them on petri dishes; that’s where the surprise came in.
Continue reading “Beer Out of a Beard: Coming Soon”

Note: This is an archive edition, chosen by The Professor to highlight some of the best from PGA. Also… Lost Coast pictures courtesy yelp.com. Beer and first logo courtesy Jennifer Moline and feedgrids.com. See article posted after this.

Written by Tom Becham for Professor Goodales

The last leg of the trip my wife and I took to NorCal brings us to Humboldt County.  Now, many beer afficionados who read this may be critical that we did not stop at some of the places along our route.  After all, well within our reach were brewers like Marin, Lagunitas, Russian River, Mendocino, North Coast and even Mad River. Those are all fine brewers to be sure, but this trip was about family so we had to forego all those stops.

 
When we finally reached our destination of Eureka, we made good our family obligations.  We even managed to squeeze in a quick lunch and beer sampling at Lost Coast Brewing.
  Continue reading “The Beer Highway in Northern California, Part III”

Written by Tom Becham for Professorgoodales.net

Note: this is an archive edition from The Professor, featuring some of the best articles that have appeared here at PGA.

On the next leg of our journey to Northern California, my wife and I stopped in San Francisco for a few days. Besides some of the more obviously touristy stuff, we also did some beer tourism.

Our first beer-related stop was at the Magnolia Pub and Brewery. Located in the Haight-Ashbury District of San Francisco, the neighborhood around the Magnolia still retains a bit of the old funky, hippie-ish vibe it was known for in the 60’s and 70’s, but with a more tourist-centric aspect now. The interesting people watching on the streets could fill a volume on its own. Continue reading “The Beer Highway in Northern California, Part II”

Written by Tom Becham for Professorgoodales.net

This is an archive edition from The Professor, featuring some of the best featured here at PGA.

Due to some family considerations, January saw me and my wife traveling to Northern California by car. While I did not, and could not make this entire trip about beer, we did manage to visit a couple prominent breweries and/or their taprooms while on the road.

The first of these places was Firestone-Walker. Their actual brewery is in Paso Robles, but their taproom – with nice attached restaurant – is just off the highway in Buellton, California. As Firestone is located smack in the heart of Santa Barbara wine country (and since the Firestone family is also involved in wineries), the brewery’s fondness for barrel-aging beers seems natural. Combined with Firestone’s fondness for barrel-fermenting and aging beers, is their effort to make beers that are as English in character as possible. The results tend to be ales that one could easily find in a pub in Yorkshire or Kent, but with a unique twist.
Continue reading “The Beer Highway in Northern California, Part 1 of 3”