Beer Notes: Library Alehouse Brings HopHead Heaven to Earth

Bartender Leo Stanton at Library Alehouse in Santa Monica. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)

Also: Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach and Long Beach will raffle its Pliny the Younger pints to support the Melanoma Research Foundation, as will Library Alehouse.

Written by Todd Martens for The Los Angeles Times

Valentine’s Day shouldn’t be followed by bitterness — unless, of course, you’re visiting Santa Monica’s Library Alehouse beginning Feb. 15. That’s when the Westside’s craft beer destination will launch its 11-day HopHead Heaven festival, which is specializing in hoppy beers.

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Craft Beer Connoisseur Knows His Suds

Kaufman wears some of the many awards Rogue, one of U.S. craft beers he introduced to Japan, has won over the years at various craft beer competitions.

Written by Eric Johnston for .japantimes.co.jp

Domestic and imported craft beers have found an ever-growing number of Japanese fans in recent years, and festivals in major cities and smaller towns have offered the public a chance to sample numerous ales, lagers and porters, as well as a variety of German beers and more exotic concoctions that contain everything from sweet potatoes to oranges and chocolate.

Attend a festival or drop by a craft beer restaurant and it’s likely the owner, as well as the punters, will know Phred Kaufman.

The Sapporo-based American is one of the founding fathers of the domestic jibiiru craft beer movement, but the Southern California native got his first taste of Japan well before he became a jibiiru sensei.

Kaufman first came to Japan in 1971 at age 18 to avoid the Vietnam War draft, like many Americans of his generation who decided to leave the United States.

“I just took off,” Kaufman said. “I didn’t know the difference between Japan, South Korea or China at the time. I landed at Haneda airport and ended up getting a job at an area paper box factory for Â¥1,000 a day.
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Craft Beers for Your Next Powder Day

Written by Anthony Orig for craftbeer.com

 

It’s no secret, most everyone knows that the winter of 2011-2012 has been brutal for many. Small businesses are hurting from the poor ski conditions over the holidays and ski resorts are scrambling to attract tourists. But last weekend, the powder gods arrived and the snow was falling. Some lucky resorts saw feet of fresh snow and some ski areas couldn’t even completely open because of the historic storm.

There’s just something about the combination of craft beer and skiing towns. Don’t believe me? Even Skiing Magazine is paying attention to the trend. This year they’ve introduced an interactive Ski Country Brew Finder to help all the ski bums out there find great craft beer while enjoying the slopes.

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Pakistan’s Murree Brewery Thrives Despite Muslim Laws

Murree Brewery bottling line. (Photo: Laura Lynch)

Written by Layra Lynch for theworld.org

Pakistan can be a land of contradictions. And here’s one that has some of the nation’s Muslims crying into their beer.

Well, they might be if they were allowed to drink beer. Pakistan bans alcohol for Muslims – who represent 97 percent of the population.

But get this. There’s a brewery and distillery not far from the capital of Islamabad. A brewery that’s doing a booming business.

To get there, you have to navigate the checkpoints in the city of Rawalpindi, a place better known for its mix of mosques and military installations. First, you can smell it – the unmistakably yeasty scent of brewing hops.
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Craft Canned Beer Becomes Trendy Choice

Written by James Scarpa for nrn.com

Onion rings wrap around canned craft beer at a Tokio Pub dinner.
The first Canned Beer Dinner at Tokio Pub in Schaumburg, Ill., gave guests a grip on two hot topics in today’s industry — craft beer in cans and locally produced beverages.

The four-course, $45-per-person event featured products from Chicago-area craft brewers like double IPA, or India pale ale, paired with Asian BBQ Pork Sandwiches, blonde ale with Tokio Pub Fish and Chips and stout with liquid-center chocolate cake. Adding to the novelty of the evening were beer-inspired plate presentations like a can-shaped parmesan tuile perched atop a green salad and beer-battered onion rings looped around an empty suds can.

“Initially, people were wowed that they each got their own can of beer,” said Jill Koval, general manager of the pub, which blends Asian and Latin-American culinary influences and is part of the Chicago-based Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises restaurant group. “And they really got to see how much we pride ourselves on food presentation. By the end of the night, everyone was pushing their tables together and having so much fun.”
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The Beer Nut: Prepping for the Beer Advocate’s Extreme Beer Fest in Boston

Norman Miller GHNS

Written by Norman Miller for GateHouse News Service and metrowestdailynews.com

I go to several beer events throughout the year, mainly beer festivals or other similar events.

But for the last several years, there has only been one can’t-miss event for me: Beer Advocate’s Extreme Beer Fest, usually held in Boston in February.

It is, by far, my favorite Massachusetts beer festival. The best brewers in the United States, all known for brewing great and creative beers, seem to outdo themselves in trying to come up with something “extreme” enough to fit in.
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Senators To Enjoy 6 NY Craft Beers, Thanks To Schumer’s Super Bowl Wager

Written by Jen Chung for http://gothamist.com

Senator Charles Schumer, everyone’s favorite press conference convener and rainmaker, really loves NY State’s beers, starting an “I Love NY Brew” campaign. So it makes sense that his Super Bowl bet with New England Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) involved six NY craft beers. Now that the Giants have proven victorious, Shaheen will be buying NY beer for the whole Senate!

 

Here’s how the bet went: With a Patriots win, Schumer would have bought beer from New Hampshire’s Smuttynose Brewery to give to fellow Senators. But if the Giants won—and THEY DID—Shaheen would buy beer from Brooklyn Brewery, Blue Point Brewing Company, Saranac Matt Brewing Company, Captain Lawrence Brewing Company, Ithaca Beer Company, and Brown’s Brewing Company.

Today Schumer Tweeted, “Looking forward to every Senator getting a taste of NY’s finest craft brew. Thanks @SenatorShaheen! #SuperBowl #ILoveNYBrew” AndBrooklyn Brewery had a bet going with Harpoon Brewery—now that the Giants have won, Harpoon “will pour Brooklyn Lager in their tasting room and their brewery tour staff will wear Giants jerseys for a week this winter.” Ouch.