DRAFTMag.com sent someone to check out the lines and chaos at this year’s Dark Lord Day! And all they brought back was this video and a few bottles of Imperial Stout.
Friday Field Trip: Dark Lord Day 2010
See our previous Friday Field Trips here.
If you’d like to be featured in a Friday Field Trip or have an idea of a place we should tour, email us. And TGIF.
We asked. You answered. On our Facebook page, Eric Sawicki provided our favorite response of the week.
I am my favorite brewer! nothing quite compares to making your own beer. Other than that, I would have to say Saranac and Guiness. I almost forgot about Herforder Pils!
Well said, Eric, well said indeed. Until next week…
Craft beer is sort of like indie rock, you know? Small, dedicated (maniacal?) followings fight for their time in the sun. Indie Hops only strengthens this tie.
The Oregon company aims to provide craft breweries with the hops they need to create their award-winning beers. The company developed a way to pelletize hops that makes them resemble whole flower hops.
“We want to change the form of the hops, not the characteristics,” CEO Jim Solberg said. “We took some pellets down to Stone Brewing recently (the San Diego craft brewer famous for Arrogant Bastard and other hoppy beers) and the brewers were comparing our pellets to a competitor’s … and, without any prompting, they said, ‘These are so much more like whole hops.’”
Sounds like the beginning of a great song.
You know what? Pilsners get the shaft. You’re guilty, DRAFTmag.com’s guilty, we’re all guilty of overlooking some excellent brews simply because the type has an occasionally negative connotation. There, we said it.
In an American craft brew world filled with hops, porters, barleywine, and enough alcohol to kill you many times over, there’s something to be said for a brilliantly subtle pilsner. Yet very few people appreciate the dedication and craft required to succeed. Sure, there’s not as much to a pilsner, but doesn’t that make it harder to brew a great one?
We were glad to see the Milford Daily News’ Norman Miller and some of his buddies do a pilsner taste test. They ranked 12 on an 80-point scale and determined that Lagunitas won. (Hey, they have something in common with The Beer Trials.)
Well done, men, well done. There’s even video:
Occasionally, we’ll have a beer or two with lunch. (We do work at a beer magazine, after all.) On Tuesday, for example, we went to Rosamunde in San Francisco to get a burger but had to wait 40 minutes for it to be ready. (Well worth the wait.) Toronado happens to be next door, so one thing led to another, and we found ourselves sipping on a Racer 5 while we enjoyed an excellent half-pound slab of chuck. Of course, we limit our drinking during the day — on the rare occasions when we partake in a pint or two — to lunch.
Right, so where does that leave us? Ah, yes, Denmark. Workers a Carlsberg brewing facility staged a walkout after the company decided to limit beer drinking to the lunch hour. According to the story, drivers (drivers!) believe they deserve to drink three beers outside the lunch hour, and workers at the plant want the same privilege. Management decided this might not be a good idea, and the underlings are angry so 800 of them walked out of work. Straight to the pub, ya’ll!
The Masters tees off on Thursday and considering the hoopla surrounding Tiger Woods, this year’s version promises to truly be a tradition like no other. Translation: You should be on your couch, beer in hand, watching the proceedings.
DRAFTMag.com tapped resident comedian Adam Tokarz who put together a list of brews you can drink. His thoughts are varied and aggressive — just like the tee shots required at Augusta — but always pin-high.
Magic Hat’s Fat Angel: Although this craft brew with citrusy hops is currently enjoying retirement (most likely, playing shuffleboard while drinking Maalox and mint juleps in Boca Raton), the comparison to 2009 Masters’ winner Angel Cabrera is too perfect to pass up. A ruddy-faced Argentinian with a Roseanne rotundness, Cabrera may be playing with more dimples than a sleeve of Callaway CB1 Reds, but he’s earned the right. The man’s donned the coveted green jacket, so he’s allowed to idulge in a craft beer or… 18.
Check out the rest in DRAFTMag.com’s latest feature.
The Masters: A Drinking Man’s Tournament
That would be Vintage Estate Wine and Beer in Boardman, Ohio.
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.
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, which means love is in the air. If you’re Ruth Berman and Michael Arra, hops and malts are flying around with the hearts.
The Palm Beach Post features the married couple in an article today that details their new craft beer venture: Bon Beer Voyage. The company gives tours — locally, nationally, and internationally — designed to share the love of craft beer with the world.
“We like to sit and enjoy a beer. And we think that other people do, too,” Berman said. “That’s what our company is all about.”
Awwwwwwwwww.
The Super Bowl is rapidly approaching, which means Super Bowl parties are just around the corner. (You start yours on Wednesday, right?) Regardless of when yours kicks off, you’re going to need beer. Lots of beer. But what kind should you buy?
Well, according to marketing research firm Mintel, 44 percent of beer drinkers want a domestic beer as opposed to 24 who prefer imported booze and just 13 percent who go for craft.
And you know what? That’s just fine with us. Buy a 30 of Budweiser for the masses and get a couple sixers for you and your guests with, um, more refined taste.
Spring has come to Samuel Adams. The world’s most successful craft brewery is launching a new seasonal brew, Noble Pils.
The beer earned the right to don a Sam Adams label after it won last year’s Beer Lover’s Choice award.
According to the company, “Samuel Adams Noble Pils is one of the only brews made with all five Noble hops from the world’s growing regions. its bright flavor and lively, citrus hop character reminds us that the warm days of spring are just a few weeks away.”
It will be available in stores starting in mid-January.