The Appeal of Fat Tire

Today’s the day that New Belgium Brewing Co. releases its Fat Tire Amber and six other beers in the VA/DC/MD market. To say that this has been one of the most-hyped beer introductions in recent memory would be a disservice to the efforts put forth by New Belgium and their distribution partners. “Hype” only scratches [...]

Is the Three-Tier System Broken?

This afternoon, I ran across this YouTube posting from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Michigan-based think tank with a decidedly free-market, somewhat Libertarian bent. Using New Holland Brewing Co. President Brett VanderKamp as its main source, it attempts to make a case against the so-called “Three-Tier System” of alcohol distribution, particularly as it [...]

American Craft Beer Week — Yeah!

So, they tell us that this week is American Craft Beer Week.  We think American Craft Beer is great and  certainly worth celebrating, but we’re not sure that we need a Congressionally declared period of time to acknowledge it. After all, Congress has lots of so-called commemorative days, weeks, months and even years for all [...]

Witbiers, White Ales, Belgian Wheats and Mr. Celis

Do you know who Pierre Celis is? If you are a serious beer lover, you should.

Farewell, Brickskeller. See you soon?

Brickskeller RFD can still be a destination spot for the DC beer world, but standing pat seems likely to doom the joint to the sidelines as other beer-centric places in the Metro area pass it by.

BrewDog and Extremist Beers

The masterminds, if that’s what you want to call them, of BrewDog, James Watt and Martin Dickie, claim this is the “final installment of our efforts to redefine the limits of contemporary brewing.” Please, let it be so.

Founders KBS NoVa Hostage Drama – THE WAIT IS OVER!

BREAKING NEWS FLASH: I guess I should have checked the Virginia ABC website last night before I posted this, but INDEED Founders KBS has received label approval in the Commonwealth, meaning that the distributor, Hop & Wine Beverage, LLC, should be able to start shipping to NoVa retailers within the next day or so. BTW, [...]

Whither the Black IPA?

Maybe I’m a little late coming to this party, but I’ve been reading about a nascent battle brewing among the people who deign to be the gatekeepers of beer terminology and I thought I’d wade in with my two cents. To wit: Should dark, hoppy ales such as Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous Ale, Southern Tier Iniquity [...]

Founders KBS Held Hostage in VA — DAY 43

For those of you interested in the continuing travails of Founders KBS in Virginia, here is the “real scoop” as provided by Founders Brewing Co. President Mike Stevens, posted to Beer Advocate on April 22: “We had made a label change on KBS that forced us to re-submit for label approval at the federal level. [...]

An Open Letter to Sam Calagione

I like Dogfish Head. More to the point, I want to like Dogfish Head. But …