The wife and I took a vacation recently to CA and while we were there we toured some breweries and wineries. Thought I?d share some pictures?

Bear Republic (Healdsburg, CA) ? no tour, just the restaurant. Had some Hop Rod Rye, Racer 5 and a few samples of others. They had a decent all Simcoe IPA and a few exceptional experimental beers that were combined versions of Racer 5 and Hop Rod Rye.

Mash Tun and Kettles?

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A-B has attacked other brewers foreign ownership. Amid reports that Anheuser-Busch is preparing defenses against a pending InBev takeover, Advertising Age notes the irony of A-B potentially being acquired by a Belgium-based brewer. From the story: In fact, A-B distributors and agency executives who have worked on Bud and its sibling brands have grave doubts that a brand as overtly red, white and blue as Budweiser -- and, by connection, its siblings -- would remain credible with consumers under a Belgian owner operated by Brazilians. "It could be a disaster," said an executive at one of A-B's agencies. "It's all-American above all else -- the Clydesdales, all the imagery. It's an enormous challenge" if the brand becomes foreign-owned. And there's a lot at stake: In 2007, $8.5 billion of A-B's $16.7 billion in total global revenue came from sales of Bud-family brands in the U.S. The situation is made even more ironic by the fact that A-B has in the past been willing to play the patriotism card against competitors. Earlier this decade, after Miller was acquired by South African Breweries and Coors merged with Canada-based Molson, A-B railed against their owners as "foreign interests" with a nativist strategy that would make Lou Dobbs blush. Over the weekend, London newspapers reported that InBev was close to putting together $50 billion in financing to acquire A-B. A Reuters report today questioned whether InBev could put together that big a financing package. Meanwhile, A-B reportedly has met with bankers from Goldman Sachs and Citibank to discuss ways to stave off InBev. Here's the Ad Age report, " Brazilian Takeover Bid Imperils Bud Brand ." Here's the Sunday Telegraph report claiming InBev was close to securing $50 billion in financing to acquire A-B and it may make an offer as early as this week. Here's the Reuters report on why InBev's $50 billion bid loan is a "big ask." And here the Sunday Times reports that A-B is pulling together a top defense team .  read more »

Brew Blog's picks of news from the beer business and beyond. The U.S. wine industry appears to be slowing, Morgan Stanely analyst Bill Pecoriello writes in a report today, citing supermarket figures, control state data and California shipment plus import..."Brew" Blog

Brewpub
Date and time reviewed: Mon, 02 Jun 2008 13:30:11 EDT

Overall Score: 96.7
Selection: 5 | Service: 4.5 | Atmosphere: 5 | Food: 4.25

Reviewer: Curmudgeon

Elysian Fields, in Greek mythology, was the home of the blessed after death.
It was also the name of the place where the very 1st baseball game was played in Hoboken, New Jersey...but let's stick with the Greeks.

Perseus, Andromeda, Achilles, Hydra, Daedelus & Prometheus are all represented in the variety of brews available at all 3 Elysian locations in and around the greater Seattle area...and all have their unique personalities and following.

At Tangletown, we talked with Phil, a local, who loves his Prometheus IPA and on that day, they had not only the "regular" but a cask-conditioned one as well.  read more »

Last week I had a short one-day trip to Atlanta planned for work, and this time, rather than going to THE VORTEX , I did my homework. I went back to my two posts I did about drinking in Atlanta from earlier this year, and read the comments. They were unanimous everyone said, if youre coming to Atlanta, you gotta go to the BRICK STORE PUB in Decatur. As it turns out, Decatur is only a mere 10 minutes outside of Atlanta, and despite being in another county entirely, it was closer to my hotel than the places Id gone in Midtown in previous trips.  read more »

I first reported the press release for this beer a few weeks back. Normally I do not post stuff like that, because the typical marketing fluff is not worth it (at least not for a post all by itself). I will admit, however, I was intrigued with the beer’s production process (flying fresh [...]