Wines on Tap

The Pour - Are Wines on Tap a Passing Trend or the Wave of the Future? - NYTimes.com: "Wine? On tap? Wine, stored in kegs and served through a method similar to a draft-beer line, may be the glorious future of by-the-glass pours in bars and restaurants."

Replacing Guinness in a bar near you? I always laugh at people getting wine from a box in beer bars ...

Repeal Day!

21st-Amendment Brewery: Prohibition: "The Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect on January 16, 1920. It wiped out the beers, the breweries and the culture that had come to define American social life."

Beer Examiner: 75 years ago prohibition was repealed by the 21st amendment of the U.S. Constitution: "December 5, 2008 will mark the 75th anniversary of enactment of the 21st amendment which repealed the 18th amendment and the federal repeal of prohibition.

After Prohibition, brewing companies began to market to women, designing beers that were lighter in flavor and character. While the use of corn, rice and sugar adjuncts was used before, they were now being used to develop a style that would appeal to women."

Heh! Girly-man beers! That's slightly more pleasant than "already been used beer" ...

Happy Repeal Day and Cheers!

The Beer That Takes You Back . . . Millions of Years

The Beer That Takes You Back . . . Millions of Years: "The result is Fossil Fuels Brewing Co., which ferments a yeast strain Cano found in a piece of Burmese amber dating from about 25 million to 45 million years ago. The company -- in which Cano is a partner, along with another scientist and a lawyer -- introduced its pale ale and German wheat beer with a party last month at one of the two Bay Area pubs where Fossil Fuels is made and served.

It's been on tap for two years at Stumptown in Guerneville, Calif."

Compari Liqueur Will Make Coffee Hooch, Illyquore

Compari Liqueur Will Make Coffee Hooch, Illyquore: "Campari, the Italian liqueur company is blending with Illy to give you a better buzz two ways. Together, they will make a new coffee liqueur drink called Illyquore."

Humm, I see that Starbucks and Godiva are already in this nitch. Hope they keep some herbal bitter in the mix, otherwise it won't be good for much more than a bump in the x-tini, sex-on-the-x, and Aqualung family of spew.

On the other foot, maybe they'll spike interest and we'll get another entry in the beer family like Redhook Doubleblack Stout

The Battle for Craft Beer

The Battle for Craft Beer: "Home-brewing is currently illegal in Alabama. A brewpub can only operate in a historical building situated in a county that sold alcohol pre-Prohibition. You can be fined for bringing two cases of beer into dry counties. And most problematic for craft-suds fiends like Carter, Alabama (along with Mississippi and West Virginia) prohibits the sale of beer that’s higher than 6 percent alcohol by volume (5 percent alcohol by weight)—just a bit stronger than a Budweiser (which has 5 percent ABV)."

Whoa, I knew that there were goofy laws on the books, state liquor stores, dry sundays, and the ilk. But, capping beer alcohol percent is cruel and quite odd.

Few crying into beers at decline of big six breweries

Few crying into beers at decline of big six breweries: "Many of the great names of British brewing have downed their final pints and headed for the exit.

Once there was Bass Charrington, Allied Breweries, Whitbread, Courage Imperial, and Watneys. Scottish & Newcastle was yesterday added to that list of once-mighty brewers.

Who will mourn the passing of the so-called “Big Six”? Not the British pub-goer who long ago signalled indifference to the brewers’ product. New generations, led by women, demanded something else – and got it in the form of lagers, wine, soft drinks, alcopops, cocktails, spirits and Babycham."

Sigh, the Multinationals just keep killing them and giving us Zima.

A Taste for Brews That Go to Extremes - New York Times

Many beer lovers are aghast at the creative liberties American brewers are taking with traditional styles, feeling that the bigger-is-better principle is reducing American brewing to the equivalent of a frat party.

To judge for ourselves whether these transgressive beers were simply stretching boundaries in creative ways or were the doomed siblings of cars with tail fins, the tasting panel sampled 25 examples, all from American brewers.

Phil likened the appeal of these beers to the macho allure of hot sauces, which almost dare enthusiasts to try the hottest ones.

A Taste for Brews That Go to Extremes - New York Times

Nice! I'll take my Pliny young, please! Odd selection of beers, guess I'm just spoiled with all of the west coast hop bombs ...

Knights of Moleskine, Spirit and Ale

Knights of Moleskine, Spirit and Ale: "the Knights of Moleskine, Spirit and Ale are dedicated to Journaling, Drinking Good Beer and a Spirtual Way of Life. 'Libertas de Juditium. Unitas per Variantia.'"

Whoa, alternate universe. A beer Moleskine mashup?