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.

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.

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 [...]