Anne and I had a great vacation in North Carolina last week, and savored the best that this wonderfully diverse state had to offer. The Tar Heel State also has a diverse list of breweries and brewpubs, from Raleigh-Durham to Asheville. I’ve already highlighted several excellent beers from Highland Brewing in my previous post. I [...]
Asheville, NC is known as a hotbed for all things artisan, in addition to being named Beer City USA 2010 by a recent poll. Its beauty and charm has long been known by many of this country’s elites as well, which is why George Washington Vanderbilt II chose to build Biltmore Estate, the nation’s largest [...]
Anne and I met our friend Lori for Rogue Brewery Night at World of Beer last evening. There were about a dozen Rogue beers on tap, and I had the opportunity to sample several for the first time. Additionally, the beers were paired with cheese from Rogue Creamery, which added to the tasting as well. [...]
Organically brewed beers have become more and more common in recent years. And I had the chance to try two outstanding offerings recently. Eel River Raven’s Eye Imperial Stout; Eel River Brewing Co.; Fortuna, CA; Russian Imperial Stout; ABV: 9.5. I shared a bottle with the gang at Mr. Beery’s this past Monday night, and [...]
The dog days of summer are here in full force. Anne and I were in St. Pete yesterday, and took a break from the triple digit heat index by stopping by The Moon Under Water for drinks and a bite to eat. I then took the time to enjoy a classic Bavarian dunkel. Hofbräu Dunkel [...]
Anne and I had a blast at Wazoo 2010 this past Saturday night at the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. In addition to having more than 250 beers and beverages from around the world, the event featured cuisine from restaurants as well as live music from area based artists Velvet Jones, Impulse, and The Paper [...]
We stopped by BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse in Pinellas Park on Sunday for dinner, and noticed that they had an abbey ale as the special on draft. Beer Advocate had it listed as retired, but BJ’s is brewing it again. I can definitely attest, after a couple of pints, that everything’s back to Normal! BJ’s [...]
It’s an annual right of passage at the beginning of February that two world renowned Imperial IPAs make their mark upon the craft beer world. The first, Russian River Pliny The Younger (Russian River Brewing Co.; Santa Rosa, CA; Imperial India Pale Ale; ABV: 11.0), has become the Holy Grail for many beer enthusiasts. While [...]
With the explosion of the craft beer industry, it seems like ales and lagers are giving wine a run for its money as the drink of choice. In fact, many breweries have started to age their ales in oak barrels which give them a distinct wine like character. This “crossover” is producing beers that appeal [...]