Category: Front Page

Written by Todd Martens for The Los Angeles Times

Venture inside the walls of the Disneyland Resort and you’ll encounter numerous wonders rarely found outside of Orange Country. This summer’s reopening of the California Adventure park, for instance, attracted plenty of buzz with the introduction of Cars Land and a host of other rides and attractions not found at any other Disney-branded theme park.

But the objects capable of giving visitors a true buzz have received much less attention.

Relatively unnoticed in the California Adventure makeover is the park’s increased offerings of craft beer. The high-end Carthay Circle Restaurant and Lounge is a showcase for California-brewed ales, offering selections from Placentia’s the Bruery, San Diego’s Karl Strauss, Petaluma’s Lagunitas and three from Anaheim Brewery.
Continue reading “Disney Samples California Craft”

(Beer judge Achmed’s favorite entry: Road “Keeeeeel!”)

Written by Jamie Condliffe for gizmodo.com

Booze is prime territory for the appliance of science. But while we normally use biology to explain bad hangovers or chemistry to create new cocktails, there’s plenty of science lurking within your humble glass of beer, too.

In fact, the UK’s Institute of Physics has launched a Christmas website based on beer, to help explain some of the more peculiar scientific phenomena hidden in your ale. Like, for instance, why the bubbles in your pint of stout fall instead of rising:

As your pint of stout settles, the bubbles in the centre of the glass (where you can’t see them) ARE rising to the surface, but at the same time the bubbles touching the wall of the glass experience some drag which prevents them from floating upwards.

Continue reading “The Science of Beer Bubbles”

Beers made by Trappist monks at St. Sixtus Abbey’s Westvleteren Brewery in Belgium are sought by connoisseurs. For the first time, the monks are exporting the beer overseas, including to the U.S. Courtesy of Mark Lampert.

Written by Teri Schultz for npr.org

The 12th day of the 12th month of 2012 is not a day of deliverance but of delivery for devout American fans of Westvleteren 12, brewed by the reclusive Belgian monks at St. Sixtus Abbey.
Continue reading “A Sign From Above? Needing New Roof, Monks Sell Rare Beer In U.S.”

Posted by the staff at KegWorks

Everyone knows Anchor Brewing Company for their beer. What most people may not know is that Anchor’s founder Fritz Maytag was also influential in craft distilling. The brewery even has a sister company, Anchor Distilling, which produces the popular Junipero Gin.

The folks at the distillery have teamed up with head brewer Mark Carpenter to create a beer-inspired craft spirit called Hophead vodka.

Carpenter and head distiller Bruce Joseph selected two varieties of hops to create a fresh and aromatic vodka that’s taken on their unmistakable scent and flavor.

So what do you mix hop vodka with? The mixology team at Anchor recommends trying gin. They’re calling the combination of Hophead and Junipero a “West Coast Vesper” and there’s a suggested recipe for a “San Fran Shandy” incorporating the vodka, ginger liqueur, lemon juice, honey syrup and a bit of Anchor’s own Brekle’s Brown Ale.

Unfortunately, the vodka is only being sold in San Francisco and NYC to start but it will soon expand to other markets. At $29.95 for a 750-ml bottle, it’s pretty affordable and would make a great gift for beer geeks. Personally, I’d be interested to see what it can do for a Bloody Mary. Anyone want to send me a bottle?

Written by Don Russell for craftbeer.com

Whatever you think about Christmas, you’ve got to agree that it is mankind’s greatest, most enduring tradition. Yes, it’s over-commercialized and most of the world doesn’t even celebrate it, but, you’ve gotta give props to any institution that’s been around for 2,000 years—especially one that comes with so much good craft beer.

Now, some will protest: “Ah, Christmas beer—a blatant commercialization of a sacred, family tradition just to sell more suds.” Indeed, for years after Prohibition, breweries were generally prohibited from using Christmas, especially jolly, old St. Nicholas, to advertise their brands. Just six years ago, the state of Maine grumbled “Bah, humbug!” to a brand whose label depicted Santa Claus, and declared it “undignified and improper.” But in fact, beer has always been a part of Christmas.

Before Prohibition, German immigrants brewed special, dark lagers for the holiday. Before that, the English served homemade wassail (spiced ale) to Dickensian carolers singing “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” In the Middle Ages, observant monks brewed their finest, strongest beer to mark the birth of Christ. Around 900 AD, as Norwegians converted to Christianity, they brought along their smoky Viking Jul (Yule) ale. At the risk of finding coal in my stocking, I’d argue that Christmas beer is older than Christmas itself.

Whether the date is divine or not, the traditions surrounding the holidays—gift giving, feasting and, yes, beer drinking—has evolved into the celebrations of Christmas. Which is why I say Christmas beer is not a style, it’s a tradition. It needn’t be spicy or strong, sweet or dark; it need only be special, a gift to be shared in the spirit of the holiday with family and friends.

Everyone has a favorite craft beer of the season. Here are 12 that are jingling my bells this year.

1. Our Special Ale | Anchor Brewing | San Francisco, CA
   Our Special Ale is the granddaddy of Christmas beer, and in my opinion the craft beer that reignited America’s passion for holiday ales. Famously flavored with a secret mix of spices that changes each year, this dark ale’s body is enhanced with delicious fruit-like malts. Continue reading “12 Beers of Christmas”

Profiled by Ken Carman for professorgoodales.net

Laughing Dog Brewery, Idaho.

Here’s the problem: this is everything a Russain Imperial should be, especially one fermented in bourbon barrels, however I think the barrels took over and made it alcohol hot. If I judged it in competition I would have to rate it well, but tell the brewer not to leave it in so long. Instead of adding that extra abv-like push and a hint of bourbon sweet, we got defect-like alcoholic hot. It dominates what’s otherwise obviously a grand RIS.

I don’t get all the fruit that everyone else gets. To my palate what most folks claim is “fruit” is usually malt, or hops or yeast. and the similarity is forced: at best. Plus claiming such does an injustice to beers that actually have fruit, and chocolate and all these interesting additives to them. I think it’s a carryover from wine snobs who review their fav quaffs, a “carry over” we don’t need.

Pours with a nice big head that fades fast. Thank God: there was so much head in my wife’s glass it was hard to get at the beer.

The mouthfeel is full and a bit slick: what one might expect from so much malt and a bourbon barrel sense. The vicosity on this has to be high, making me wonder what the OG, and the FG was on this. There’s a deep, dark, complex malt sense, as one would expect from the more extreme Russians.

Thick, black as hell, nice head. You would think, considering my love of the style, I’d be in heaven. But there’s still that harsh, hot, alcohol sense that ruins it, somewhat. Both in taste and the mouthfeel. Aroma is a little let on the hot and very promising. sadly: doth not live up to that “promise.”

Welcome to the new PGA rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “prefecto.” This beer was rated…