The Friday Mash (Cabin Fever Edition)
Same day. Different Mash.
“Johnny Fullpint” at The Full Pint gives us a preview of the inaugural Chesapeake Oyster and Beer Festival in Maryalnd.
Award-winning beer writer Pete Brown tells us that in spite of a rash of closures and an indifferent government, the British pub isn’t going to die. That said, the venerable British pint glass could be getting a makeover because it is often used as a weapon by drunken pub-goers.
This August, Charlie Papazian will be in Maine to lead another edition of The 2010 Art & Science of Beer. It’s a series of presentations, meals, and beer tastings.
Attention Indianapolis Colts fans: your Super Bowl party isn’t complete without Indiana-brewed beer. And they’re getting easier to find at your local liquor store.
Men’s Health magazine named MGD 64 the best beer to drink. John Foyston, who writes for The Oregonian, has something to say about that.
Finally, Wynkoop Brewing Company has named its three finalists for the Beerdrinker of the Year award. The national finals are February 27.
Update on Sierra Nevada Collaboration
Last month, we mentioned Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s plans to celebrate craft brewing’s pioneers by brewing special beers in collaboration with them.
Here are the details.
In March, the brewery will release the first of four beers at Anchor Brewing with Fritz Maytag. The other pioneers are Jack McAuliffe of the departed, but certainly not forgotten, New Albion Brewery; and veteran beer writers and homebrewers Fred Eckhardt and Charlie Papazian.
Speaking of McAuliffe, he’s now living in San Antonio where he’s been recovering from a serious auto accident (hat tip: Jack Curtin and McAuliffe’s sister, Cathy).
Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada’s founder, explained why he’s doing this series:
We wanted to pay tribute to the original pioneers who helped me and hundreds of others get started….Few people in the craft-brewing world have accomplished more than these guys, and we thought it might be fun to get the original crew together and make something special.
Cheers, Ken. That was very classy of you.
If you want more information, Sierra Nevada has created a special website for these beers.
Pie and Papazian
Bet you didn’t know this. Today is National Pie Day. And it was put on the calendar by none other than Charlie Papazian. In a story in Examiner.com, Charlie explains how this holiday was born:
As a kindergarten through second grade teacher I proclaimed to my students that my birthday, January 23 was going to be National Pie Day. Sure enough I soon had dozens of pies on my desk. From then things got out of control. I connected with Chase’s Calendar of National Events and all of a sudden the world knew.
This is one story you have to read to the end, because the final paragraph is filled–yes, pun intended–with some very bad puns.
Belgium’s Beer Cafes Under Threat
Ina Verstl, a British beer journalist, has disturbing news for beer lovers: Belgium’s beer cafes are disappearing at an alarming rate. The reasons include aggressive marketing by InBev and other biggies, a trend toward drinking at home, and inertia on the part of some craft brewers.
Verstl’s report, which appeared in the industry publication Brauwelt International, caught the eye of Charlie Papazian. His two-part article at Examiner.com–which you can find here and here)–quotes from Verstl’s article (with her permission). It cleverly parodies Samuel Beckett’s famous play, Waiting for Godot. If you’ve seen (or read) the play, you know that Godot never shows up.
Sierra Nevada: Celebrate & Collaborate
2010 is Sierra Nevada’s 30th anniversary and founder Ken Grossman has big plans that are sure to make a big splash. He’s announced four collaboration brews involving the founders of Americas current craft brew movement.
March of 2010 will see the first of four beers in a series of collaborative projects with America’s craft-brewing pioneers: Fritz Maytag of Anchor Brewing; Jack McAuliffe, founder of New Albion Brewery; and authors, homebrewers, and beer advocates Fred Eckhardt, and Charlie Papazian. Together, this group is credited as ‘the men who launched a thousand breweries;’ and without them, our current day craft-beer-renaissance might never have happened.
Proceeds from the project will be donated to charities selected by the four pioneers. And, when can we look forward to what’s sure to be the best in earthly delight?
The beers will be released periodically throughout the year, starting with the first release in March, and continuing until Sierra Nevada’s 30th Anniversary on November 15. These limited-release 750ml cage-and-cork bottles will be available at select retailers and beer-centric bars.
We hope they make their way out to the Midwest.