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MEADVILLE, Pa. — The largest agricultural county fair in
Pennsylvania will judge home-brewed beer for the first time in its 66-year history.
The Crawford County Fair Board voted 7-2 on Thursday to add beer to the roster of food and beverages judged at the fair. The fair began judging homemade wines in the mid-1990s.
Continue reading “For Our NW Pa. Readers and Beer Judges”
President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama have 
joined the home brewing beer trend that’s swept the US, and will be serving a very special White House brew tonight when they welcome guests for the annual Super Bowl party, to watch as the Packers take on the Steelers.
In a special turn of events in the history of White House food creations, one of the White House chefs has brewed White House Honey Ale, a White House aide exclusively tipped ObFo. It uses one pound of honey from this year’s 160-pound harvest of honey from the White House Bee Hive, which sits beside Mrs. Obama’s South Lawn Kitchen Garden.
The President, First Lady, and their guests will be sampling the special suds for the first time this evening. And the Obamas paid for the micro-brewing equipment, the aide noted, so there’s no impact on the national debt.
Continue reading “For Super Bowl Party, Obamas Serve Home-Brewed White House Honey Ale”
Miller/Coors, one of the last tasteless beer mega-whores left in the USA has a “new” idea. A slogan! Scribe is impressed. Impressed there are actually idiots out there that might think this is something “new.”
The slogan is “The Official Beer of EWE!” OK, it’s “you,” not “EWE,” but don’t you think “EWE” more apt?
And get this! They’re willing to bribe you into agreeing with the slogan. You might get to be pictured on their Facebook page or appear in one of their ads if you sign up; attempt to add some respect to this slogan that means NOTHING.
Now Scribe will briefly say something positive about Miller/Coors. At least, if you believe them, they’re going to donate some money to Iraq and Afghan Vets for everyone who does something or other. A little vague. One hopes someone is monitoring those donations, other than the “brewery” making the offer: the one with a history of deceptive marketing. And what has that got to do with the “you” in the EWE?
Continue reading “Ye Olde Scribe Presents the Wouldn’t You Rather Puke? Beer Report’”
The Beer Expert is among the programs that can help users make sense of all the beers on the market. Second picture: the “Find Craft Beer†iPhone app.
My attention was elsewhere when the craft beer craze started, so I was caught off guard when my friends started talking about ales with a kind of snootiness one normally finds at a Grand Cru wine tasting.
I still lack the time, budget and liver to keep pace with those guys. But with an iPhone or a Droid, I can definitely fake it.
Spend a little beer money loading a handful of apps onto your smartphone, and the wretchedly complex world of brews becomes as clear as a Belgian wheat ale.
Continue reading “Checking Out a Lot of Beers, Without the Hangover”
…The Bottle Collection.
OK, I admit, the picture stinks, thanks to Ken’s erratic camera.
New Knoxville was a brewer in, well, where else but Knoxville, Tennessee? I have spoken with several homebrewers from the area who agree: not that impressive. This was supposed to be their Mild Ale. More like an indistinct, bland ale. Plus, to add to the distraction the bottles we bought were a bit skunky: light struck, cardboard-like.
Cardboard. Yum!
Wasn’t hoppy. That’s expected for the style. Wasn’t all that malty: that is necessary for the style. This was beyond “light,” as in almost an ale version of “lite.” What made this a “mild?” If I remember right the color was OK. Carbonation OK. Head light, not long lasting… but that’s OK for the style. I seem to remember clarity a bit on the foggy side: could have been cold chill. Mouth feel OK, if you can get beyond the skunk and the inappropriate “lite.”
I willingly admit: hard to remember otherwise. But I do remember a few of their other entries into the market were a bit better, but I tend to agree with my fellow brewers. Eh, not that impressive.
Picture courtesy JakeParrillo.com
First impression: a corn nose. Not unexpected in this style. In fact I wouldn’t be surprised if they used corn in the brewing, since Miller uses it too. Bud is made with rice as an adjunct.
This is Walgreen’s generic brand, sold for a whopping 3.68 a six. Made by Brewmasters out of Rochester. They have pretty much become a hired gun brewer, which is not an insult at all. Someone has to do it. Just depends on how well it’s done. I’d be curious to taste the west coast version, if there is one. According to one site: “brewed by Winery Exchange Inc., a brewery in Novato, California.” I suspect not. Not only do the same sources conflate it with “Genessee Brewing,” but Winery Exchange’s site says nothing about brewing, only that they are a “company that sources beer.” And Genessee Brewing isn’t quite an accurate descriptive either. Brewmasters may brew the version of Genessee now on the market, but the original Genessee Brewery died a long time ago. If you saw the water in the Genessee River that they use fr brewing, you’d be thankful. Let’s just say you’d be all set for St. Patty’s Day before brewing begins, and it might double as a natural fertilizer-colored brown too. There are more colors, but why make you even more thirsty?
I’ve read a lot of nasty bouncing around the web in regard to Big Flats, but honestly I don’t see where this is all that different, or off, when considering the style: American Lager. A pale urine yellow, which is also normal. Clarity is good. Head doesn’t last as long as it should, but that’s minor and the head at first was, well, I hate to keep typing this but “as expected for the style.” Just about the right carbonation in the mouthfeel. Yes, Big Flats when it comes to long lasting head is a little “flat.”
The taste is light corn, light malt, the slightest hint of hops… German/Noble? Hallertauer? There’s really not a lot more. I suggest getting it real cold and use it whenever you would use what some call a “lawnmower beer.” And putting on my future telling hat let me predict, if you mow and drink you might find out you’re just not an idiot, but possibly a toe-less, eye-less or finger-less idiot.
Reminds me a bit of Matt’s: a past tense brew from Matt Brewing who makes mostly their own craft brand, Saranac, now. Yes, “Matt’s,” actually a slightly superior brew brewed back then, well superior to what damn near every brewery in America was putting out: almost exclusively, up until 30-40 years ago.
Continue reading “Beer Profile: Big Flats”
Oval Office: Steeling itself from Pittsburgh beer. (Photo by David J. Phillip of the AP)
Sometimes, you just can’t give beer away.
That’s the dilemma of Scott Smith, founder of East End Brewing Co. in Pittsburgh. His microbrewery will turn out perhaps 2,000 barrels in 2011, and Smith is content to sell most of that in his hometown. But when he heard that the White House had ordered a special shipment of beer from Hinterland Brewing 
Co. in Green Bay, Wis. for President Obama’s Superbowl party this Sunday, he figured the celebration, in the spirit of bipartisanship, should include a Pittsburgh brew, too.
Continue reading “Beer Extra: East End meets West Wing?”
MINNEAPOLIS – Cold temperatures mean local brewers are putting out their biggest, burliest beers. Those stouts, porters, ales, from 22 Minnesota breweries, will be sampled Friday night at the 10th annual Winterfest.
The event at the Minnesota History Center sold out in 30 seconds–all 700 tickets–and that should
give you an idea of how popular local brews have become.