"Beer" news and stories

When it comes to craft beer, "lager" might as well be a four-letter word. Rebelling against Coors and their watery kind, microbrew drinkers gravitate toward bold, super-bitter IPAs and potent imperial stouts aged in bourbon barrels. In turn, the crisp, elegant lager has been discarded like dishwater.

I also fell into that camp. Why sip a simple lager when a battalion of crazily flavored craft beer awaited my mouth? Give me hops, or give me death! On my recent trip to Portland, Oregon, plenty of hoppy brews tickled my taste buds. But I also found a lager that made me appreciate the unfairly maligned style.

The swoon-worthy beer was crafted by McMinnville, Oregon's Heater Allen Brewing, the hop-crazed state's only all-lager brewery. "If there hadn't been this huge hole in Oregon, I wouldn't have tried to launch the brewery," owner and brewer Rick Allen told me when I was researching my beer book. I heard rave reviews about his lagers, including the dark, slightly smoky Scwarz; crisp, golden Pils; and the malty Dunkel. But hadn't tried any Heater beers till last week, when I cracked the bottle of Coastal I'd brought back to Brooklyn.

Planning a wedding is enough to drive any normal couple to drink, much less the successors to the royal throne.

Thus, we won't fault Prince William and princess-to-be Kate Middleton if they need to sand away their stress with a cool pint of beer -- or four. If that's the case, the couple should order a keg of the aptly named Kiss Me Kate, a commemorative brew crafted by Nottingham, England's Castle Rock Brewery.

"Kiss Me Kate will be elegant, tasteful and British to the core," head brewer Adrian Redgrove said of the pale ale, which will be released about a month before the April 29 wedding.

Beer has long been a key ingredient in a savory foods, from cheesy soups to steamed mussels, but rarely has beer dipped into the sweet side. Until now. Truffle truffle, an artisan chocolatier in Chicago, recently debuted its beer marshmallows -- the newest addition to the company's "beer & pretzel"" line.

Founder and owner Nicole Greene makes every marshmallow from scratch, then dips each fluffy, square-shaped marshmallow into milk chocolate. Finally, she tops them with crunchy bits of a sweet, salty beer-and-pretzel brittle. Voila! A beer marshmallow.

Though it pains me to admit it, I've reached my beer limit. That was the result of spending five days in Portland, Oregon, gallivanting from brewpub to brewery to bar with schoolboy glee and a thirst that was, till now, unquenchable.

For the foreseeable future (well, until Wednesday, at least), my liquid diet will be limited to coffee and water. Beer? That can wait. And that's a very good thing.

Like wine, beers can age, evolve and develop complex new aromas and flavors. Time can smooth a beer's rough edges, melding and mellowing flavors. While not every beer is suitable for aging (lagers, pilsners and hop-forward brews are best fresh), burlier beers such as Belgian strong ales, imperial stouts, old ales, and barleywines can stand the test of time.

One of the country's top proponents of aging beers is Alan Sprints, the founder of Portland's Hair of the Dog Brewing. "All of our bottle-conditioned beers are meant to age," told me for my Imbibe article on cellaring beer. Thus, when I was in town, I beelined to the brewery to give his brews a spin.

With the Super Bowl but a week away, it's time to start stocking your fridge with your favorite beer. But instead of reaching for a Bud, opt for a brew hailing from the state of your favorite team.

If you're rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers, try one of these Pennsylvania-based beers:

Troëgs Hopback Amber and Nugget Nectar: If you like your beers with a fragrant hop profile, try these two amber-hued beauties from Harrisburg's best brewery. The caramel-nuanced Hopback is suitable for four quarters of sipping, while the imperial-strength Nugget Nectar (a seasonal released in February) packs a piney, earthy punch that'll hit you like a Troy Polamalu tackle.

Victory Brewing Prima Pils: As a hopeful indicator of the game's outcome, order a case of Downington-based Victory's pitch-perfect pilsner. It's plenty effervescent, with a snappy hop bite that'll keep you coming back from kickoff to the final whistle. Hopefully, Ben Roethlisberger will take a knee in the, yes, victory formation.

Yuengling Lager: If you dig the Steelers' time-honored tradition, try this traditional lager from America's oldest brewery. Since 1829, Pennsylvania's Yuengling has been pumping out this balanced, smooth-drinking amber lager that has a touch of caramel sweetness -- unlike any members of the Steelers, mind you.

Our picks for Green Bay Fans after the jump.