"craftbeer" news and stories

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

• Carrie Bradshaw as culinary trendsetter?
• These recipes show that there is more to do with avocado than make guacamole.
• While you're at it, keep your avocados from getting a tan.
• Matching American craft breweries to their home states is almost as much fun as drinking their offerings.
• After the heat of the BBQ grill, cool down with some strawberry ice cream on Memorial Day.
• No grill necessary for everyone's favorite appetizer -- spinach-artichoke dip.

During an economic recession, one of the first things to be downsized is company perks. At New Belgium Brewery, a craft brewer in Ft. Collins, Colo., one of the biggest perks is free beer. Employees used to be able to take home 24 bottles of beer every week, but in February take-home brew was reduced to a mere 12 bottles.

Not many employees are complaining. When keeping a job is probably today's biggest perk, losing a six-pack per week probably isn't such a bad deal. Melyssa Glassman, the company's creative director, says that the only downside to free beer was carrying it home on her bicycle during the summer.

New Belgium is the third largest craft brewer in the United States and has been hailed for its employee-friendly policies that include free beer, a new bicycle after one year of employment and an all-expense paid trip to Belgium (where the idea for the company was created.) The 320 employees own a 33-percent stake in the brewery, and while it's not mandatory, it helps if you like drinking beer. A lot.

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars across the country.

Kentucky might be better known for its whiskey distilleries than its beer prowess, but like most cities with more than a million people in its metropolitan area, Louisville has seen growth in its specialty and craft-beer market over the past few years due to the average American's increased awareness of the variety of beer available.

Louisville's beer scene is "getting better," says James Donald Gunnoe, co-owner of one of the reasons that scene has gotten better: the small beer outpost known as The Nachbar. "There are about five microbreweries in town and I think there's room for more."

About two and a half years ago, Gunnoe and his wife, Heather Burks, opened Nachbar with the intention of creating a "place we'd want to go to ourselves." Working from faith in their own tastes and desires, they focused on stocking the beers they drank and loved, attempting to offer the beer at prices they knew people could afford. Gunnoe puts it best when he states, "We cater to ourselves, and from there we're just really fortunate that people appreciate what we like."

Read more about Nachbar and see this past weekend's draft list after the jump...

A weekly look at the draft selection at beer-friendly bars across the country.

We all have our vices: Some live for libations while others pine for sweets. In St. Louis these two groups can merge in one ecstatic, sugar-fueled pit of sin at Bailey's Chocolate Bar. A lengthy menu of treats includes dramatic desserts, award-winning cocktails and sometimes the two in one beautiful bite (Irish Cream cheesecake, anyone?).

Beer is another of Chocolate Bar's specialties, as it boasts one of STL's most highly-regarded draft lists. A few selections seem obvious (such as Young's Double Chocolate Stout and Arcadia Cocoa Loco) but the bar also boasts a namesake brew, Bailey's Chocolate Bar Chocolate Ale. Of course, a great beer bar can't just stock stouts, and general manager Gene Bailey says they strive for "good enough variety where everyone can find something they like." Many of the current taps come from one brewery: "We're big fans of the New Belgium [Fat Tire] people," Gene admits. Beyond pure pints, Bailey's happily mingles sugar & suds: The Stout Beer Shake, blending chocolate stout and cinnamon ice cream, is a favorite.

Check out Bailey's Chocolate Bar's complete draft list after the jump, tell us if you've got a favorite chocolate beer and get your indulgence on in person next time you're in St. Louis.

A weekly look at the draft selection at beer-friendly bars across the country.

The city of Milwaukee has long been known as Beer Town USA. Considered "the beer capital of the world" at the turn of the 20th century, it was home to four of the world's largest breweries (Blatz, Miller, Pabst and Schlitz).

Nowadays less than 1 percent of Milwaukee's workforce is employed by the brewing industry, but as long as Miller stays in business, Old Milwaukee remains on store shelves and the city keeps calling their baseball team the Brewers, it will continue to earn its moniker. Like many cities, the area is seeing a boom in craft-beer culture. Smaller brewers like Lakefront and Sprecher have national followings and the city is home to a number of brewpubs.

One of Milwaukee's most highly regarded watering holes is Romans' Pub, which DRAFT and Imbibe Magazines have called among the best beer bars in the nation. Indeed, 30 selections grace today's tap list. Sounds like Wisconsinites like to stay relatively local when they booze, though: Owner Mike Romans informed us that Goose Island IPA from nearby Chicago is their most popular brew. Locals craving a beer can simply check the list: "As soon as one gets changed out, it goes up on our site."

A sampling of suds on tap is after the jump. Got a favorite microbrew? Let us know in the comments.