(Woodbridge, CT) – Got some tips from Brewer / Sales Rep, Matt Westfall this week . . .

The bad news is that New England Brewing will cease calling its Imperial Stout, “Imperial Stout Trooper,” this year. The people behind the Star Wars brand contacted the brewery a while back about the label and they conceded the name though they will still make the beer. The good news is far outweighs the bad for NEB fans as the brewery has a lot in store for 2010. Here is a sneak peak at the brewery’s schedule:

February – Gold Stock Ale
March – Ghandi-Bot Double India Pale Ale + Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout Trooper
April – 668 “The Neighbor of the Beast” – Belgian Strong Pale
May – Tequila Barrel Aged Double IPA
June to August – Alpha Weizen
September – Wet Willy Scotch Ale
October – More Ghandi-Bot + a TBD seasonal
November – Flanders Oud Bruin
December – Imperial Stout (Trooper)
+ Other fun draft offerings mixed in

Westfall notes that Ghandi-Bot, 668, and Alpha Weizen will make it into cans this year. Gold Stock will be draft only and the rest bottled.

[note: in my fruitless search for a large-sized brewery logo, I found what appears to be a mock-up of a Sea Hag label that never saw the light of the day. Heavybag Media is the company responsible for New England Brewing's marketing campaign.]

New England Brewing 2010 Schedule

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

Written by our own Christopher Staten, DRAFT’s beer editor (well-named, huh?), the blog deals with all the comings and goings in the craft beer world. In his first post, Chris explains what’s coming:

Here at the Beer Editor’s blog, expect fresh, researched musings, interviews and news about craft breweries around the world. We’re going beyond the magazine, getting real close with the folks that hand-craft the brews you spend face-time with, and, on occasion, we’ll indulge the off-topic conversation that goes hand-in-hand with a round of pints. Discussing late hop additions and yeast strains is great, but so is me trying to convince you that ELO is not a guilty pleasure, but a legitimate, street-cred-worthy band best listened to at maximum decibels. We’ve got a crack team brainstorming regular weekly departments, and they’re going to be good. Stay tuned.

Welcome to the team.

On my 730th day, management created a beer editor blog
Beer Editor

Yes, that’s my computer at the top of the post. Yes, official business here at DRAFT HQ often unfolds via sticky note. And, yes, that is most certainly Luke Skywalker shredding the guitar. The force is strong with my computer. Let’s get with the basics.

Name: Christopher Staten
New title: Beer Editor
College focus: History/Anthropology (with a casual focus on beer’s role in historical events/accidental drinking habits of Australopiths)
9-5: First newspapers, now magazines
Weirdest interview: Grace Slick
Last beer consumed: Odell Red Ale
Most exotic locale with beer: Islander IPA, Singapore
Last great foreign pint: Hop Back’s Summer Lightning, The Ten Bells Pub, London.
Last great concert: Of Montreal, Halloween, Baltimore
Little known fact: I’ve got a personal bet for what happens to me first: bald or gray?

So that’s me in a beer nutshell, but I’m more interested in you. Of course, that’s not going to happen unless I provide grade-A intel on the craft beer scene to coax you out of the woodwork. On with the Mission Statement:

Here at the Beer Editor’s blog, expect fresh, researched musings, interviews and news about craft breweries around the world. We’re going beyond the magazine, getting real close with the folks that hand-craft the brews you spend face-time with, and, on occasion, we’ll indulge the off-topic conversation that goes hand-in-hand with a round of pints. Discussing late hop additions and yeast strains is great, but so is me trying to convince you that ELO is not a guilty pleasure, but a legitimate, street-cred-worthy band best listened to at maximum decibels. We’ve got a crack team brainstorming regular weekly departments, and they’re going to be good. Stay tuned.

Announcement No. 1: The Mailbag
Each week on this Friday post I’ll answer your questions — any question — whether they’re beer related or otherwise. What’s the next New Glarus Unplugged Series beer? What the hell is a metheglin, and why should I care? What beer does Charlie fake drink on “Two and a Half Men”? What is a human paraquat? Drop me an email and I’ll post it, with the answer, in all its glory.

Announcement No. 2: Live Chat
Like James Cameron, we’ve waited for certain technologies to catch up to our vision, and now they have (years ago). Watch for updates from Web Editor/Guru Noah Davis on draftmag.com; you’ll know when it’s coming. Line up for a chance to chat one-on-one with your favorite brewer. Occasionally, we’ll open up the live chat for just you and me. This is your chance to get up in my business.

Announcement No. 3: I’m on the TeeVee (not really)
We sample a lot of beers here at DRAFT. We also get tired of talking to just each other about them. YOU ALREADY SAID GRASSY HOPS. Each Friday we’ll post a new video with our mugs on camera tasting a brew: New beer. Aged beer. Future beer. (Future beer?). We will prime you for happy hour.

So, my newfound friends, this isn’t just the beginning of a blog, but the beginning of a beertiful friendship. And, like I said before, ELO is badass — if I knew I could stage dive with a cello, I would have rethought the guitar.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itv6Kt8M-v4[/youtube]

Drink well this weekend. I’ll see you back here on Monday with some new mind-blowing content.

SEND ME SOME EMAIL.

(Washington D.C.) – The Rock Art / Monster Energy battle over Rock Art’s Vermonster was one of the top craft beer stories of 2009 and you guys even voted it #1 story of the year. As it would turn out, it’s not quite over yet.

[note: apologies for the video above which is cut off at the end (as is the original)]

The two sides reached an agreement last year in which Rock Art Brewery would get to keep the Vermonster name. It was a PR black eye for Monster Energy Drink and Rock Art received a ton of support, including from Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy.

Leahy is now pursuing trademark reform for which the Rock Art case is the catalyst. He introduced a bill this week that, among other things, will look into whether large companies are using trademark litigation inappropriately. The Senate unanimously passed the bill on Thursday night and it will now go to the House of Representatives.

Leahy said in a statement, “This legislation also requires a study of how the current system can better protect small businesses from abuses of the trademark system by larger corporations. Congress provides strong enforcement tools to intellectual property owners, as we should, to deter infringing activity and to remove counterfeit products from the market. I have become concerned, however, that large corporations are at times abusing the substantial rights Congress has granted them in their intellectual property to the detriment of small businesses. In fact, we saw a high-profile case like this in Vermont last year involving a spurious claim against Rock Art Brewery in Morrisville. When a corporation exaggerates the scope of its rights far beyond a reasonable interpretation in an attempt to bully a small business out of the market, that is wrong. This legislation therefore directs the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, to consider options for protecting small businesses from such harassing litigation, while ensuring that legitimate trademark infringement actions are handled efficiently and expeditiously by the courts.”

Rock Art – Monster Energy case could lead to trademark law reform

[Disclaimer: Beernews.org is a leader in craft beer news and is the original source of this article. If you would like to check out more, please visit the original site. Thanks!]

According to a local news source, the devices have become drunken patron’s “weapon of choice” when attacking paramedics.

Um, what?

Kroy Day (real name!), a member of the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Workers Union, found that 94 percent of the 142 medical workers he surveyed say they have been attacked at some point in the past five years while on the job. That would be significantly higher than the percentage of beer bloggers that report being assaulted.

The shop, which boasts over 800 bottles and 12 taps, came in second last year but took the top spot in Ratebeer.com’s annual best beer store list. It beat out last year’s winner, Denmark’s Ølbutikken.

“This is huge,” owner Phil Reda told 33 WYTV. “It’s like the gold medal of Olympics.”

Reda’s establishment took second place in 2009, but upped the ante during the past 12 months by adding more brew and building a tasting lounge. Aggressive. We like.

Alright, who’s been to Vintage? We want details, people.

For decades Anheuser-Busch — which claims category exclusivity for alcoholic beverages during the telecast until 2012, regardless of which network broadcasts the game — has spent more than $100 million promoting its brands during the Super Bowl. Many times, the famous Budweiser Clydesdales have entertained viewers in spots.

But maybe not this year. For Super Bowl XVIV,  reported the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Wednesday, A-B will run nine ads and none will feature the horses. Though the firm ”remains a big spender on Super Bowl ads, buying up five precious, pricey ad minutes” during the game, the Clydesdales “for the first time in at least eight Super Bowls” will be absent. It’s reported the ads will focus on humor, and none of the horses can tell a joke like, say, departed Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien.

Believe it or not, the initial decision not to use the horses came down to focus-group testing. A Clydesdale spot was produced, according to A-B InBev VP/Marketing Keith Levy, but it sounds like consumers weren’t impressed.

But then A-B seemed to change heart after the news was announced. The company is releasing a Clydesdale ad today on its Facebook page to gauge reaction and perhaps it might be used in the big game . Stay tuned.

The Beer Bell

You’ve heard the old joke about working out with 16-ounce curls.

Now you can actually get serious about bicep curls while drinking with the beer bell mug. It’s essentially a beer mug with a hand weight attached. It’s brilliant in its simplicity.

I’m not sure this item exists anywhere outside this obscure eBay auction, so you might want to hurry if you’re determined to exercise with beer. The lot also includes a yellow-paged book demonstrating exercises “in nice condition,” save for pages 16-17.

According to the seller’s description, this vintage item was recovered from an estate sale in the 1980s. Today it’s selling for about 25 bucks — beer not included.

“The beerbell is the most enjoyable exercise device ever created!” the seller promises. “Who says exercise can’t be fun?!?!”

Not us!