Archive for July, 2007

New Beer Rule #6: Ode to the empty glass

Monday, July 30th, 2007

NEW BEER RULE #6: The best beer was in the empty glass.
This rule came from a conversation with Matt Trevisan of Paso Robles winery Linne Calodo for an upcoming story, and he was explaining how he blends wines.
“I start with five glasses and I pick the emptiest one,” he said. “In the end you want […]

Quick reminder: Fruit beers in Session #6

Monday, July 30th, 2007

Don’t forget that the sixth round of our monthly Session is Friday. Greg Clow at Beer, Beats & Bites will host and the topic is fruit beers.
Alan at a Good Beer Blog recently posted about the explosion of beer blogs. If you’ve recently started a blog this is a fine opportunity to announce it in […]

Damn Pete Brown: The best beer trip ever

Sunday, July 29th, 2007

Author Pete Brown - who is having way too much fun in his role as “the second-best beer drinker in Britain!” - has talked Coors into letting him take a pin (small cask) of India Pale Ale from its White Shield brewery in Burton-on-Trent and transport it to India in much the same manner the […]

Barrel tasting heads up: Lost Abbey

Saturday, July 28th, 2007

Since we’re hitting the road soon and I might miss the official announcement at the Lost Abbey website, this just in from My Beer Pix (scroll to the bottom):
Lost Abbey’s Brewing’s first annual Barrel Tasting is set for Aug. 25 at the brewery near San Diego (that’s the barrel room pictured above). Cost is $50 […]

Russian River Brewing expansion update

Friday, July 27th, 2007

One unusual day last fall, Vinnie Cilurzo - owner, brewer and sometimes forklift operator at Russian River Brewing Co. - wasn’t brewing.
He climbed on his forklift when a truck driver showed up with much-needed growlers, took phone calls, planned out the next week of brewing and bottling, and set out tasks for his assistants. All […]

The Miller Chill Challenge

Thursday, July 26th, 2007

OK, I have a plan.
I’ve written several times that I think I should try Miller Chill. I’ve been seeing advertisements for six months (New Mexico was a test market) and sales are rockin’. And today I received a press release from an agency that represents Corona with recipes for Michelada, Michelada Roja and Chelada. (Miller […]

Getting your glasses ‘beer clean’

Wednesday, July 25th, 2007

The specially designed Samuel Adams beer glass is back in the news - because Boston Beer has shipped thousands free to subscribers of Beer Advocate and All About Beer magazines as well as American Homebrewers Association members
So that gives me a chance to add something missing from the first review: The new glass is hard […]

Beer by the numbers: Bad idea

Friday, July 20th, 2007

Cheers to Don Russell, who this week asks why we need a score to choose a beer. The headline: 100-point scale for beer ratings a rank idea.
Specifically, he writes about Pislner Urquell hanging an advertisement on its bottle necks declaring it the world’s “highest-rated pilsner.” That according to the Beverage Tasting Institute, the same guys […]

Miller promotes ‘The Craft’

Thursday, July 19th, 2007

Miller Genuine Draft is partnering with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to sponsor music artist interviews and performances. The series is called “The Craft,” which should get the attention of small breweries, and particularly their fans, who figure the word craft belongs to them.
“The Craft” series of interviews, developed in conjunction with promotional […]

‘Super’ results for craft beer sales

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

Some numbers courtesy of Miller-backed Brew Blog that provide a little perspective.
The good news
Craft beers (no indication who “craft” is defined) increased their share in supermarkets by seven-tenths of a point for the four weeks ended July 7, according to beer sales statistics from Nielsen.
Supermarkets are devoting more shelf space to crafts, with the […]