We (and I hope that includes you) toasted the life of Michael Jackson tonight, the words he gave us, and the beers for that matter. I’m sure we will be again next week during the Great American Beer Festival. This story from Martyn Cornell will be good to share then. The key paragraphs: When I [...]

Tragedy during the magic trip Pete Brown is taking along the old India Pale Ale route. His report begins: This entry comes from a web cafe in Tenerife about an hour before I board the Europa and sail across the Atlantic, both lighter of luggage and heavier of heart than I should be. You know [...]

The mantra of the American craft beer movement for going on 30 years has been, “Think globally, drink locally.” And that means what? Globalization can be a dirty word whether you are talking about beer or wine. In the case of beer that’s primarily because of pale, bland lagers the United States gets blamed for. [...]

Another beautifully written tribute to Michael Jackson, worth your time while you make plans to attend the National Toast in his honor on Sunday. Alastair Hook, brewmaster at Meantime Brewing in Greenwich, used Jackson’s writing to plot out a tour of Europe more than 20 years ago that set him on the course to becoming [...]

No I don’t suddenly covet the beers of BrewDog because they are getting good marks at Rate Beer and are building a cult following in Japan. However, you might worry that I’ve fallen under the spell of off-beat marketing wizardry given that less than two weeks ago I confessed I want to try the beers [...]

If you care about how green the beer in your glass is then the news that Wal-Mart is partnering with the Carbon Disclosure Project to measure the energy used to create seven products, including beer, seems like a big deal. The story: What exactly did it take to make that beer you’re drinking? Retail giant [...]

I think I put on five pounds this week just reading or thinking about food and beer together. Lucy Saunders’ new book arrived in the mail this week, I received a press release about a beer cookbook out in January and I chatted with a chef who has a different, and I think excellent, idea [...]

Local drinkers say they can taste the difference (and that’s good) now that Scottish & Newcastle has resumed brewing some of its John Smith’s cask ale in Tadcaster. A spokesman for the company said: “In order to gain a better understanding of the recent product quality issues experienced by some stockists of cask John Smith’s [...]

The drafting order is set for The Beer Mapping Project GABF Fantasy League, and I drew the 16th choice. beerinator cut off signups at 30 and the team (is that the right word?) with the last pick of the first round gets the first pick of the second. So in the second I’ll be drafting [...]

Diageo and Zagat have joined forces to launched an online guide — called drinkwell — labeled “the world’s first online resource guide to restaurants that are dedicated to serving the highest quality drinks and drink service.” The guide currently list 15 cities, and will be nationwide by the end of the year. The good news [...]