Drinking note of the day (not really a new feature, so don’t expect one tomorrow): From The Gourmet Guide to Beer by Howard Hillman (1983). Hamm’s (U.S.A.) 2 mugs (out of five) “Born in the land of sky blues waters,” says the motto. Pale yellow color. Innocent nose and palate. How’s that for concise?

As my wife and daughter know I’m a sucker for a quick wink or even a half smile (from them — this doesn’t work for every one). Hold that thought. Boulevard Brewing in Kansas City recently began selling a new beer, Amber Ale. You can buy it in draught in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, or [...]

Quaffable.

This is my contribution to the Session #37: “The Display Shelf: When to Drink the Good Stuff” or, if you prefer, “Raid the Cellar.” Visit The Ferm for links to more posts. Is there a perfect beer for every particular special moment? Is there a time in every beer’s life when it tastes better than [...]

Sometimes we are our own context, meaning what you bring to a glass of beer influences what you take from it. Rick Lyke writes about a 7-year-old bottle of Schlenkerla Urbock, his daily drink Monday, that opened with a big smoked ham nose. A fellow taster from Wisconsin taster said it was like smoked sturgeon. [...]

Pardon that the example of how this could work comes from the wine world — making it my second wine originated post in two days — because it’s very beer relevant. Also, as Ed Carson pointed out with his comment about the rather dense posturing about the brain and wine that there’s a danger of [...]

“Our brain has been designed to believe itself, wired so that our prejudices feel like facts, our opinions indistinguishable from the actual sensation.” This link goes to a discussion about wine and numbers and might remind you about previous discussions about the value of blind tastings. Nonetheless if you cross out wine and pencil in [...]

This post begins, as perhaps all blog posts must from this day on, with disclosure. I did not pay for the bottle of beer that I’m about to write about. BrewDog in Scotland brewed it. Katrina Taft from the Rose Group arranged for it to be sent to me. A friendly UPS guy delivered it, [...]

They both drank the fresh hop beer from Deschutes Brewing (in Bend, Oregon) called Hop Trip. One in Pennsylvania, the other in Oregon. Lew said. Jon said.  

Rick Lyke pointed out earlier this week that Amazon is already taking orders for 1,001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die — a book he, I and many others contributed to — although it won’t be available until March. Turns out there are 1,000 beers to try before then. Ben McFarland’s World’s Best Beers: [...]