Since 1987, California's hummingbird-themed Nectar Ales (founded by Humboldt Brewing but bought by Firestone Walker in 2004) has focused on super-quaffable session brews such as the caramel-hoppy Nectar IPA and its flagship, the full-bodied Red Nectar amber ale. These are beers that focus on flavor, not a high-proof punch that sends you sprawling.
But Nectar Ales has finally busted its low-alcohol template with its coffee-infused, bourbon-barrel-aged Black Xantus imperial stout (named after a Mexican hummingbird species). It's the brand's inaugural over-the-top, 22-ounce release.
"We have been working on this stout recipe for four years, patiently tweaking things until we were satisfied," says head brewer Matt Brynildson. "I've also spent time with the folks at Joebella Coffee, who are our local roaster. After learning about the agronomics surrounding coffee and the art of roasting, the lightbulb went on."
Anheuser-Busch would like me to believe I am reading too much into it, but around the time of the InBev buyout, Budweiser commercials began elevating the patriotism pushing "The Great American Lager" slogan like a comforting pat on the shoulder to say, "Everything will be alright." Maybe its just a coincidence: A-B reminds me the slogan was launched before InBev's bid was finalized. Or maybe marketing knew something I didn't. Either way, hammering home the "King of Beers" at this point might just come a little too close to reminding us of our new European overlords.
Unfortunately, however, slogans require an extra step of association, so for their latest offering, Bud is simply throwing the word "American" right into the product name. A-B chose to debut spots for their forthcoming Budweiser American Ale during the Olympics. (I caught one during a massive 8 hour Olympic-watching marathon -- a near Phelpsian feat, if I do say so myself.) And though Olympic coverage represents an ideal opportunity to court a massive audience, it certainly doesn't hurt that it's served with a side of patriotic pride.
Budweiser American Ale also had been in the works well before the InBev buyout: It's intention is to edge in on the growing craft beer market, hopefully grabbing Anheuser-Busch a piece of the action while wooing some attention back to their flagship. Reasserting Budweiser as the "Great American Lager" is definitely a nice segue into introducing the next great "American Ale." But A-B marketing has got to at least be thinking, Don't you love it when a plan comes together! Naive isn't a word that comes to mind when I think of the big boys down at Bud, so I bet the more this whole InBev/patriotism thing feels like a coincidence, the better job they're doing.
Ok, so I haven't tried every blueberry-flavored beer in the world (though trust me, that is my goal). That said, I can tell you what my favorite of the ones I have tried is: Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale.
Last week you may remember I gave a few deductions (too much Olympics!) to Blue Point Brewing Company's Blueberry Ale for balance -- pointing out that many times it can be hard to organically match malt and hops to fresh fruit flavoring, especially with extremely light ales. In my opinion, the best fruit beers tend to be unfiltered wheat beers.
Enter Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale. Right out the bottle, the nose is of fresh (wild Maine, they say) blueberries, but the brewers at Atlantic Brewing Company (makers of Bar Harbor) aren't afraid to let the beer itself do some of the talking. The nose is full of malts with a touch of hoppy spice. Hold your glass up to the light though for this ale to reveal its true secret: It's got the color of a darker beer but as the official press states it's "combined with wheat to give this ale its lighter body." Basically, you can tell you're in for a mouthful.
"Our distributor asked us to do something like that," says Alan Brady, Head Brewer for Long Island, New York's Blue Point Brewing Company. "Now it's one of our top sellers."
Ah, what inspiration: I've heard more passion in bank transactions. But who can blame him: Blue Point's flagship beer Toasted Lager is a World Beer Cup winner. Now he has silly bloggers wasting his time asking questions about this fruity brew. Even the official description is somewhat backhanded: "Blue Point fresh Blueberry Ale offers an unusual twist on brewing that turns out to be just perfect" -- as if to say: "Don't worry, guys! It came out okay!"
There's a discrepancy as to how many blueberries actually go into a Blueberry Ale. The box boasts an impressive 735 pounds, whereas the website speaks to a more conservative 132. Maybe they halved the recipe? Either way, these numbers are meaningless to the average drinker -- It's all about what ends up in your nose and mouth -- and Blueberry Ale is appealing in both regards. The scent is a bounty of fresh, authentic blueberries, but surprisingly, the flavor itself is not overpowering., which is perfect. Beginner's mistake numero uno in fruit flavoring is putting too much on the palette.
To me, it is. But I also don't care one iota about sports (though I can make exceptions for women's rugby and any sort of obstacle course competition on Animal Planet).
On that note, The Washington Post is currently featuring a fun alternative (or addition) to March Madness. The lucky participants started taste-testing 32 beers and have so far gotten the contenders down to a precious 16. But three rounds remain - the quarterfinals, semis, and finals on April 6 - before a champion is named.
Tasters downed their fair share of beers, which ranged from Miller Chill to Wolaver's Oatmeal Stout, and represent the mainstream to the microbrew; the wheat-y to the hoppy; the ale to the stout, and back again.
A few of my personal favorites in the bunch include the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (deliciously full of hops) and the Sea Dog Blue Paw Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale for those summer nights down the shore, but the Post really did choose a fine array (including a few classics - or duds, depending on your taste in beer - Schlitz, Michelob Lager, and the aforementioned new Miller Chill).
Head over to the site now to track your favorite, er, player.
One might expect price or taste to be the primary considerations when purchasing any food items, including beer and wine, but consumer research in the UK has shown that neither characteristic is more important to shoppers than brand is. 62% of men rate the brand of their beer as the most important consideration when purchasing it. Only 20% of men feel that price is the most important factor (30% of women rate price as a primary concern). It seems that label recognition is just as important when it comes to beer as when it comes to buying designer clothes.
To counteract this, more stores and bottle shops have been using special pricing to try to get consumers to buy certain brands. 33% of shoppers say that "they would be encouraged to go for a good 'offer' on a brand of beer that was not their first choice," almost double the percentage from last year. As a result, beer is sold in increasingly larger packaging, and although the bottles are smaller, to give the impression of value. The same applies to wine, where consumers look for promotions and money-off deals when making their purchases.
The Great British
Cheese Festival is to be held in Cheltenham in 2006. Britain’s premier cheese event, which incorporates
the British Cheese Awards, will take place in the Montpelier Gardens over the weekend of the 30th Septmeber/1st
October. It coincides with British Cheese week (Saturday 30th September - Sunday 8th October)
Each year thousands of cheese lovers come to the Festival lured by the chance to see, taste and buy over 1,000
British cheeses, attend the Masterclasses and workshops and discover the very best of British cheese, wines, beers and
other regional food.
Britain's Biggest Cheese Market will host around 100 cheese makers from Britain and Ireland offering visitors the
chance to taste and buy over 450 cheeses. There are plenty of artisan producers and Engish wines, ciders and ales
too.
There are a lot of college kids who think that they can drink a pint, mug or stein of beer faster than any of
their buddies. No doubt that there are some who are quite quick on the draw, but when it comes to Guinness, there can
only be one fastest drinker. According to the Guinness Book of World
Records, the fastest pint of
stout was downed in a mere 2.1 seconds by Peter Dowdeswell in London, on April 24, 2001. The stout
was Guinness. Mr. Dowdeswell is a competitive eater
and avid beer drinker, who began his career after deciding to try to break every beer-drinking record in the 1975 book
of world's records. He also drank a yard of ale (2 liters) in 5
seconds.
No special process is involved in producing this St. Patrick's Day novelty drink. Simply add 5-6
drops of green food coloring to your beer and gently stir. Go for a bright color because a yellow-ish green is off
putting no matter how fast you plan to down your drink. It is also best to go with lighter ales as opposed to a dark
stout, like Guinness. To get a green color out of a Guinness, you would have to add enough food coloring to turn your
teeth green when you take a sip. There are many other Irish beers available to help you get into the St.
Paddy's Day Spirit, even though it might be easier to pick up a six pack of anything that comes in a green bottle to
begin with.
Beer does not immediately spring to mind when asked to think about desserts. Whether you like dark or pale
ales, chances are that you are more likely to want a beer with your pizza than with your creme brule. Restaurateurs and
brewers, however, are seeing things in a different light. With the proliferation of microbreweries, including
restaurants and pubs that brew their own blends, a wider variety of beers are showing up on menus and the unique
flavors in some brews - from honey to blackberry - are helping to put some beers on the dessert menu on
a regular basis. Strong, dark beers can have a noticeably bitter after taste, but many pair well with fruit to
make sorbets. Dairy can mute the flavors of some malts, but also conceals lingering bitterness, so it pairs well with
stronger ales. Wine and champagne have long been making appearances in desserts - why not beer?
Guinness has appeared, with
success, in ice creams already and there are commercial
varieties of beer ice cream as well, though unique new flavors will not have the same lure of a brand name to draw
consumers in.
Some bloke's birthday falls on the 17th January. Doesn't mean much to
us Brits that Ben Franklin would have been 300 years old.
In commemoration of this historic event, craft brewers from across America will join together to make and serve
Poor Richard's Ale. There will be nearly 100 breweries in 35 states participating in this event. The name of the ale
comes from Franklin's book Poor Richard's Almanack published in the mid 1700's.
The website - http://www.poorrichardsale.com (which actually links to
the brewers association website) has a full list of where you can drink and buy the ale, the recipe from which is being shared.
Anheuser-Busch would like me to believe I am reading too much into it, but around the time of the InBev buyout, Budweiser commercials began elevating the patriotism pushing "The Great American Lager" slogan like a comforting pat on the shoulder to say, "Everything will be alright." Maybe its just a coincidence: A-B reminds me the slogan was launched before InBev's bid was finalized. Or maybe marketing knew something I didn't. Either way, hammering home the "King of Beers" at this point might just come a little too close to reminding us of our new European overlords.
Ok, so I haven't tried every blueberry-flavored beer in the world (though trust me, that is my goal). That said, I can tell you what my favorite of the ones I have tried is: Bar Harbor Blueberry Ale.
"Our distributor asked us to do something like that," says Alan Brady, Head Brewer for Long Island, New York's Blue Point Brewing Company. "Now it's one of our top sellers."
One might expect price or taste to be the primary considerations when purchasing any food items, including beer and wine, but consumer research in the UK has shown that neither characteristic is more important to shoppers than brand is. 62% of men rate 
The 
There are a lot of college kids who think that they can drink a pint, mug or stein of beer faster than any of
their buddies. No doubt that there are some who are quite quick on the draw, but when it comes to Guinness, there can
only be one fastest drinker. According to the 
No special process is involved in producing this St. Patrick's Day novelty drink. Simply add 5-6
drops of green food coloring to your beer and gently stir. Go for a bright color because a yellow-ish green is off
putting no matter how fast you plan to down your drink. It is also best to go with lighter ales as opposed to a dark
stout, like Guinness. To get a green color out of a Guinness, you would have to add enough food coloring to turn your
teeth green when you take a sip. There are many other 
Beer does not immediately spring to mind when asked to think about desserts. Whether you like dark or pale
ales, chances are that you are more likely to want a beer with your pizza than with your creme brule. Restaurateurs and
brewers, however, are seeing things in a different light. With the proliferation of microbreweries, including
restaurants and pubs that brew their own blends, a wider variety of beers are showing up on menus and the unique
flavors in some brews - from honey to blackberry - are helping to put some 
Some bloke's birthday falls on the 17th January. Doesn't mean much to
us Brits that Ben Franklin would have been 300 years old.
What Can I Get You Folks? - Server Revenge
Reality-Show Celebrities Serve Up Chef Curtis Stone's 'Hundred-Dollar Burger'
Foods Celebrity Chefs Hate
