Here’s to new beers

As I was working through my commentary on the first couple stories I noticed I wasn’t being completely kind. Sometimes that’s the way it goes. That said, there were tons of nice and positive stories this week and we’ll get to those as well. Gentle reminder, folks that we have Love on Tap coming up Feb. 25 at Seacrets. Tickets are here and, if you want to try and win some, the contest to do that is here.

Conspiracy theory

I generally am against conspiracy theories, but if I have the chance to paint bud in a worse light, I’ll take it. Notice in the story below how losing local sales doesn’t really matter because with increased distribution, local drinkers are replaceable. There also is something of an implication that it is being pushed harder both at home and in the far flung destinations in which it’s sold.
If I can critique the story beyond saying that it is a little more apologetic than I prefer my stories, it bothers me that the locals getting to keep their jobs is something for which the area should be grateful.

A Glimpse at Elysian Two Years Beyond the ABI Buyout * thefullpint.com

As the world’s largest beer company, Anheuser-Busch InBev is a victim of their own success. For many a craft drinker, a brewery buyout at their hands signifies an uncrossable red line. The beer itself can be as tasty as ever, but once ABI is signing the paychecks, they’re interested in nary a pint.

When is too much enough?

There is something both repellant and appealing about having too many beer choices. I like the idea of being able to look at all the different possibilities, but I don’t want to get dizzy over it. The restaurant below has 10 taps, which is a nice, solid, number. Running up the score by adding so many bottles and cans though, seems like they’re adding confusion for confusion’s sake. After all, if you hire a Cicerone, why not have him select the beers that best highlight the menu rather than hilighting the fact that there’s a lot of variety in craft beer?

This Culver City restaurant has a nine-page beer list

At the Cannibal – the meat-centered New York import anchoring Culver City’s Platform retail and restaurant development – beer is given as much consideration as the sustainably farmed and heritage meats on the menu. There’s meat everywhere you look.

Tough break at the new brewery

Good on Sierra Nevada for noticing and stepping up. It must be bonkers to try and work the kinks out of a (relatively) new massive brewery. I’m more likely to have the Pale Ale or Torpedo in a can than anything else, so I didn’t have to sweat it.

Beer Recall: Sierra Nevada Pulls Bottles Due to Chipped Glass Risk

Beermaker Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. is recalling some of its bottled beer sold in 36 states, after a flaw was found in the glass containers that could pose a risk of injury to consumers, according to the company. On Sunday (Jan.

Speaking of cans…

All sorts of big canning news this week in the region. Here’s an excuse to talk about it:

Happy Birthday to The Beer Can

America is famous for inventing the cocktail, but the United States is also home to another great drinking innovation: the beer can. The first example was Krueger’s Finest Beer. Cans went on sale in 1933 in Richmond, Virginia.

Scrappy young writer

I’ve been talking about this story for awhile so here it is:

Reimagining the Boilermaker as a Craft Beer Cocktail | CraftBeer.com

There was a little romance connected with my first boilermaker. It was a little after 8 a.m. in a Jersey City, New Jersey, storefront Italian club where there was nothing odd about chasing shots with nips of macro beer joylessly on a Sunday morning.

Speaking of incisive and well written

This will be a regular feature. If not a weekly one then certainly I’ll write something like this once per month. I’ll try and keep you in the know about upcoming releases from some of my favorite breweries.

New plan: Drinking more Dogfish Head beer sooner

At the end of the spring season last year, Dogfish Head debuted “Seaquench,” which they billed as a session sour. Tart and a little salty, it was a massive hit well before its time. I first heard about it from DFH evangelist Dan Ryan at a beer tasting and book signing.

Homebrewing (kinda)

As part of this week’s homebrewing section we’re going to talk about combining the fermentation and the carbonation process, which isn’t as commonly done as it once was, and see what we think of the possibility of space beer.

Can you brew beer on the moon?

Can beer be brewed on the moon? A team of UC San Diego engineering students is hoping to find out. They are finalists in the Lab2Moon competition being held by TeamIndus, one of the four teams with a signed launch contract to send a spacecraft to the moon as part of the Google Lunar XPRIZE challenge.

Recipe of the week

Porter Sugar Cream Pie

This rich custard pie, traditionally dusted with nutmeg, comes from Amish and Shaker communities that settled in Indiana in the nineteenth century. Porter adds a complexity to this simple pie.

Like and Subscribe

In case you didn’t know, these are the show notes for the Beer with Strangers podcast. If you’re interested in the show it’s at BeerWithStrangers.com, or you can follow along on our Facebook page. Of course, you always can subscribe on iTunes as well. If you’re looking for Doug and Homebrewing stuff, you can find their Facebook page here.