"draft" news and stories

A weekly look at the draft selection in beer-friendly bars (and occasionally hot dog palaces) across the country.

Regular readers know this column typically focuses on well-regarded beer bars, but for Columbus, Ohio, things got a little dirty ... Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace, that is.

What makes a glorified hot dog stand worthy of What's On Tap recognition? A great beer selection, of course. Working with only eight draft lines, house manager Jeni Van Hemert ensures Dirty Frank's has a broad selection of American craft brews.

"We're a hot dog joint, but we have insanely good beers on tap," says Van Hemert, describing the Palace's general concept. "We want to be an affordable option," she continues. "We have beers that cost twice as much as the hot dogs but then we also have $1.50 beers." For that reason, one of her taps is always reserved for a cheap domestic like Pabst Blue Ribbon or Miller Lite.

For the remaining seven lines, though, taste is the focus. "I like a very flavorful, heavy beer," she explains, discussing how she chooses what to stock. From her experience bartending and homebrewing, Van Hemert believes she can be a positive force in educating the public. "I've gotten used to having really awesome beers around."

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

Ben Volen, general manager of the Distillery, agrees: Savannah, Ga., is a very traditional city. "For a long time there was nothing on at any of the bars besides Bud draft, Miller draft, Yuengling had just come into town ... Corona in a bottle," Volen reflects. So when the Distillery opened around this time last year, the idea of a craft beer-centric bar was certainly a change of pace.

Volen had attended school in New York when the craft beer trend was gaining momentum. Upon returning south, he brought his love of New York brewers like Brooklyn and Captain Lawrence back to Georgia, looked at the burgeoning beer scene in nearby Atlanta and constructed a plan for his bar.

Savannah reacted appreciatively. "We've been welcomed with open arms," Volen says. "We've completely changed this town and how they look at beer." Since their opening, according to Volen, most restaurants now carry at least a couple of craft brews.

Read more about the Distillery and see yesterday's entire draft list after the jump.

Miller will geniunely be on draft, in the fridge. Photo: William Hartz, Flickr

Beer conglomerate MillerCoors, The Wall Street Journal reports, has responded to sliding sales with some tweaking in the packaging department. For $20, their new "Home Draft" beer box will keep 1.5 gallons -- equivalent to 16 12-ounce beers -- of Miller Lite or Coors Light fresh in the fridge for about 30 days, a change from previous "mini-keg style" distribution systems meant to be consumed in one sitting (with a number of guests, of course!). This disposable, recyclable and affordable "draft beer system" has already begun test marketing in a number of cities.

MillerCoors is hoping the new packaging will help woo "the 30 percent of beer drinkers who say they prefer draft beer to the bottled or canned variety." Much like Heineken's DraughtKeg which started with strong sales before cooling off, the novelty of the gadget itself may be part of the appeal. With Miller Lite witnessing a 7.5-percent sales drop, they're happy to move product any way they can.



[Via The Wall Street Journal]

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 Blogging Baby reported that pregnant Gwyneth Paltrow indulged in a Guinness beer while at a small BYO sushi restaurant in New York. The article they cited, in the NY Daily News, pointed out that "some experts recommend a little Guinness for expecting mothers, because of the brew's high iron content." Guinness might have a high iron content for beer, but at 0.3mg of iron per pint, it can hardly be called a "good" source of iron. The recommended daily allowance of iron is about 14mg for women and 11mg for men. An egg has 1.1mg of iron. A packed half cup of raisins has 2.5mg of iron. One cup of cooked spinach has 4mg of iron. If using Guinness as a source of iron is 5-month pregnant Gwyneth's excuse for downing a drink while dining, it is a poor one. At least her representative said that she didn't eat any raw sushi, sticking to cooked food instead.

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