Baseball and Ballantine
Long before Paul was old enough to legally consume the stuff, the jingles for local brews (he grew up in the New York area) were hard-wired into his brain. One of them was “Baseball and Ballantine.” Which is why he had to post Don (”Joe Sixpack”) Russell’s story about the gigantic Ballantine scoreboard that the Yankees sold to the Phillies in 1955. In case you haven’t heard, those two teams are facing off in the World Series.
Beer Soap
I wonder if Santa’s elves have heard about this potential present for “someone who has everything.” Half Acre Beer Company in Illinois is now selling beer soap. For only six dollars you can buy this hot selling product invented by a senior at Hanover College. The soap contains lavender, bergamot and menthol to keep the yeasty smell away.
Of course, you could buy a friend a pint of happy hour beer and probably have enough left over to buy a bar of regular soap too instead.
The Friday Mash
Boak & Bailey’s Beer Blog reports on a promising new pub in Stratford, England, the home of William Shakespeare….The American Don at The Beer Brotha catches us up on the Houston beer scene, which he describes as “ratcheting up.”…At Hoosier Beer Geek, Gina reports back on her visit to Bell’s Brewing, with pictures of both the brewery and Bell’s Eccentric Cafe….And finally, the Thirsty Pilgrim, a/k/a Bussels-based writer Joe Stange, leads us Around Antwerp in a Couple of Beers.
Sam Adams Adds Barrel Aged Beers
The Boston Beer Company is adding a limited release of barrel aged beers to their line up.
Samuel Adams New World Tripel: Pale gold in color, this ale is big, flavorful and complex. A special Belgian yeast strain adds tropical fruit and spice notes to the crisp dry ale, while Saaz hops add a subtle herbal note. (~10% ABV)
Samuel Adams American Kriek: The intense black cherry character in this beer comes from Balaton cherries, which were discovered in Hungary and are now grown in Michigan. These special cherries are prized for their depth of flavor. The tartness from the cherries is balanced by a rich, malty character with toasted oak notes added from the barrel aging. (~7% ABV)
Samuel Adams Stony Brook Red: This unique brew defies traditional beer style definition. The rich, malty brew combines notes of tart fruit from the yeast with a toasty oak character from the barrel aging. The long dry finish is almost wine-like. This is a beer that is satisfying on its own and also pairs well with many foods such as braised or roasted meats, beef stews and strong salty cheeses. (~9% ABV)
The 750 ml bottles will be available in Massachusetts, Denver, Colorado, Maine and New Hampshire. The suggested retail price is $9.99.
Low Calorie Means Low Alcohol
Remember when MGD 64 was introduced? The slogan was “as light as it gets.” Well not any more. Anheuser-Busch InBev has joined the game with Select 55. MGD 64 is 2.8 percent alcohol. Select 55 is 2.4 percent.
As this AP story solemnly points out:
“You start producing something that could taste very, very thin,” says Thomas Shellhammer, professor of fermentation science at Oregon State University. “That would be the challenge for the brewer, to produce something that still tastes like beer.”
It’s like waving the tea bag over a cup of hot water and wondering why you still have hot water. Seriously.
Rogue Ales on Protecting TradeMark
Rogue Ales has issued a tongue-in-cheek press release on Sarah Palin’s use of Rogue and her forthcoming book.
Ms. Palin did not seek the Rogue Nation approval for her use of ROGUE; she is not currently a Rogue Nation citizen.
Rogue Nation and Sarah Palin – tough to put them in the same sentence.
Lew Bryson on the Kennett Square BrewFest
The Brits are familiar with “session beer”–the kind you can drink all evening without keeling over–and Lew Bryson has been calling on American craft breweries to add session beers to their lineup. Last Saturday, Lew took his Session Beer Project to the Kennett Square BrewFest. He pronounced the festival’s Conn-O-Session “a success…mostly.”
Yuengling – Still Brewing After All These Years
Yuengling & Son of Pottsville, PA is America’s oldest brewery. But as the sixth generation learns the family business one has to wonder, will it become Yuengling & Daughters?
See the video from a recent Good Morning America story.
Time to Hit the Books…Beer Books, That Is
Stan Hieronymus has just posted reviews of Christmas Beer by Don “Joe Sixpack” Russell and World’s Best Beers: One Thousand Craft Brews from Cask to Glass on his blog, Appellation Beer. Earlier this week, Stan noticed that McFarland’s new book drew some less than complimentary remarks from one reviewer. That prompted him to come to McFarland’s defense, pointing out that Ben has won praise for his writing by no less an authority than Michael Jackson, the Beer Hunter. (Full disclosure: Maryanne and Paul are among the contributors to World’s Best Beers.) In that same post, Stan mentions two other books that hit the shelves this year: Tasting Beer by Randy Mosher and Hops and Glory by Pete Brown.
And there were reports of George Wendt sightings at the Great American Beer Festival. Wendt, who starred in the TV show “Cheers,” has been educating himself about beer in connection with his new book, Drinking With George: A Barstool Professional’s Guide to Beer.
The Friday Mash
Here are a few stories that caught our attention this past week:
Anchor Brewing is part of Travel + Leisure magazine’s Ten Coolest Factory Tours slideshow, along with Louisville Slugger bats, Harley Davidson motorcycles, and Gibson guitars….Mario Rubio of the Examiner went beer hunting in west Sonoma County, and has a slide show to share with his readers…. Jay Brooks of the Brookston Beer Bulletin was in the same locale, visiting the Russian River Brewery, which is “All Hopped Up for the Cure,” as in a cure for breast cancer….And in case you haven’t seen the video yet, a 125-pound black bear invaded a grocery store in Hayward, Wisconsin, and headed straight to the beer cooler. The video prompted some amusing speculation on BeerAdvocate.com: what brand of beer was the animal looking for?