Michael Jackson and Blue Moon. Those were the most popular search terms that brought readers here in 2007. Looking at lists of the best read posts at several blogs I read got me poking around the stats at Appellation Beer, to see what you were reading and to try to guess why. I was surprised [...]

A while back I asked why breweries put some of their strongest beers in bigger bottles. Yes, they are nice to share with a friends, but sometimes you don’t want 750ml of a 12% beer. Additionally, smaller bottles can sell for less (even if the per ounce price goes up because we still have to [...]

It wasn’t two years ago that Allagash Brewing founder Rob Tod returned from a trip to Belgium with other American brewers and talked about the fermenting beers under the influence of wild yeast: “I am inspired to maybe try it some time, but these beers really seem like an art that takes years to master. [...]

I don’t expect many are reading beer blogs this day before Christmas, so not much musing. Just a few links that will be way too old if I wait to pass them along. – Stephen Beaumont recently called the Belgian Family Brewers Association a “brilliant idea.” Indeed. Beaumont writes: “Given the number of multinational brands [...]

Last night we ate leftover smoked meat and drank Southern Tier Choklat. One, then the other. No pairing involved. Sometimes you just want a beer, maybe even a strong one. Choklat, an 11% abv imperial stout infused with dark Belgian chocolate, qualifies on both counts. It’s one of the beers I’ll be writing around 85 [...]

Were I inclined to make predictions (not likely) about the Top 10 Beer Trends of 2008 then one would somehow have to include the words “education” and “certification.” For education, I’d start with Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 in Chicago for the Siebel Institute of Technology’s course on Professional Beer Tasting & Styles. More about [...]

phillyBurbs.com profiles beer journalist/blogger/author and retired librarian Lew Bryson, headlining it “Suds vs. duds.” Quite honestly, not a lot you don’t already know if you are a regular at his blog. But worth dropping by to see the Miller Lite ad at the top (be sure to pass your mouse over it) and — attention [...]

Would the beer world be a better place if Budweiser bought Budweiser? Or put another way, would both American-owned Anheuser-Busch and Czech-owned Budejovicky Budvar be better off if A-B bought Budvar? In the event you didn’t already answer “no” and move on . . . Evan Rail explains the ins and out of of privatizing [...]

Not sure what your head is ready for this Monday morning, but we’ll start with the heavy lifting and then move on to good fodder for the around the water cooler. (Does anybody still hang out around water coolers or do they just use IM?) – Don Russell writes about the developing battle over Frankenbeer [...]