Cicerone.

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Recipe to remember you’re alive and the world is a vast, beautiful place: -Oskar Blues, Dales Pale Ale, Colorado -Six Point, The Crisp Lager, New York -Lamb Sudzuk Sausage -Halal Beef Sudzuk Sausage -Kefalograviera Cheese -Almond-Stuffed Olives

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This wee little malty gift has made me a VERY happy man. Ladies and gentlemen, weighing in at a whopping 10.5% abv, it’s the Southampton Abbot 12 Quadruple.

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Darth Budweiser: “If he could be turned, he would be a powerful ally”. Now that I’ve returned from drinking my way through the vineyards and breweries of Europe, I am back in the role of ‘beer buyer’ for a restaurant group (currently with three locations, soon to be four).  In fact, its one of my […]

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Lapping it up in Lake Como at a backstreet wine bar.  (Pictured:  Vin Santo del Chianti Classico-Az. Agr. San Felice & Barolo Chinato-Cocchi)

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There’s nothing like beer straight out of the barrel. This past Monday, I found myself back at Kelso Brewing Company, shooting some video with Kelly Taylor, Brooklyn’s beer maestro. After we shorted-out our camera by sticking it in a steaming brew tank while I was inside power-washing grain like I was actually helping, we retired […]

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Human excess.  Sheer spectacle.  The “world’s largest,” the “world’s most expensive,” the “world’s prettiest,” the “world’s _____.”  Yep, you get it.  Bring on the superlatives, people, cause it’s Vegas, baby, Vegas. After being oddly obsessed with it since my childhood—I mean have you seen ‘Bugsy’?  Yowza, that on-screen romance between Warren Beatty and Annette Bening […]

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You better hydrate.  You best have a gang of food in your belly.  Your mind must be focused and your palate on-point.  Cause you’re going to get slaughtered…with a smile on your face. Hold on to your hats, craft beer geeks, because the hurricane-force winds have finally died down, and BrewYork #7 has gone down […]

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We traveled from all parts of the tri-state area; in sporadic clumps, we trickled into New Jersey Beer Company like seafarers in need of a warm pub.  Brew York #4 was about to go down in the history books. BrewYork is a collective of beer bloggers, homebrewers and professional brewers whose mission is to promote […]

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This morning I awoke in Seattle to a foggy morning filled with expectations.  Mount Rainier was on our minds as my brother and I prepared for our camping excursion to get lost in her charms. After a requisite trip to the REI castle here, we hit up Bottleworks, the local craft beer store where we […]

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“Epic”: very imposing or impressive; surpassing the ordinary (especially in size or scale); “an epic voyage”; “of heroic proportions” This past Friday night, we embarked on an epic voyage.  Like brave conquistadors in search of the riches of the world, our ragtag faction of BrewYorker’s (a group of NY-based homebrewers, probrewers, beer bloggers and all-around […]

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It’s that time of year again. The time when the die-hard homebrewers sit back with a cold pint, reminisce over their favorite beers and put pen to paper for a legendary vote of epic proportions. Bragging rights will be forever held, children will defend the honor of their brewmaster dads in schoolyards around the world […]

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We came by boat.  We drank with tiny cups.  We conquered the crowds? Brewfest 2010 has come and gone.  For some, it was an afternoon of craft beer heaven.  For others, it was like being trapped on an island of thirsty, angry savages with the mere mirage of food and beer only on the horizon. […]

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5.  Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Chico, California Founded:  1979 Production: approx 680,000 barrels (website) No god-fearing microbrewer could ever not bow down in worship to Sierra Nevada.  It would be an outrage.  I would have to throw my shoes at you.  (I still think it would have been off the chain if Mr Bush caught […]

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“What is this?” “Beer, my friend.  Beer” Yes, its been known for ages. Just how long beermaking has been known is staggering to comprehend. Thousands of years. Where we are today, as brewers, is astonishing. Ancient styles, long-lost techniques, are being brushed-off and being thrust into the limelight. Microbrewers and craft specialists are a-flourish with […]

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