The Ravens lost to the Steelers last night, and my spinning bottles of Natty Boh and Penn Pilsner failed to accurately predict the outcome.Changes must be made.From now on, only local beers get spun. I could take the suggestion offered by Cheese...Rob Kasper

In 2008, the acquisition of Scottish & Newcastle PLC (now Scottish & Newcastle Ltd [S&N]), the largest UK brewer, has taken the share of the beer market held by foreign companies to more than 85% The buyers were two multinationals, Heineken of the Netherlands and Carlsberg of Denmark, typifying the...

I'm finally digging back a bit on the older reviews I have notes on but haven't written up here. Tonight it's Jolly Pumpkin's Bam Bière, a Farmhouse Ale from the Michigan brewery.

Jolly Pumpkin has been making a name for themselves by brewing in a style that I guess I'd call "rustic Belgian"—something unusual for American brewers. They employ open fermentation vessels and are liberal with their use of yeasts—Brett-liberal, I want to say.

Bam Bière, at 4.5% alcohol, is described as, "An artisan farmhouse ale that is golden, naturally cloudy, bottle conditioned and dry hopped for a perfectly refreshing balance of spicy malts, hops and yeast."  read more »

At the suggestion of a friend, I bring you some beer-themed Halloween costumes. These are all from Buy Halloween Costumes. I don’t get anything if you buy through them but I have used them in the past and their costumes are pretty good and they have a huge selection.

Captain 6 Pack:

I like this one since it is easy to do and you have an easy way to carry your beer with you. This would be even better to do if you are grossly overweight and the shirt looks more like a half shirt.  read more »

Tomorrow evening (September 30th), the Thirsty Monk is hosting the second annual Michael Jackson Tribute Toast. Jackson succumbed to Parkinson's Disease on August 30, 2007, and his legacy can be seen in places like the Thirsty Monk, which showcases many of the Belgian beers that Jackson introduced to beer lovers all over the world. It wasn't just Belgian beers that Jackson was so passionate about, it was all beer, and the way that beer and culture are so intertwined. From the lagers of Germany to the ales of England, Jackson recognized the importance of beer as being a part of the cultural history of the area in which they are brewed. It is not an exaggeration to say that Jackson is mostly responsible for the beer renaissance that has been occurring over the past 20 years. I highly recommend that you seek out some of his books or his television show, the Beer Hunter.  read more »

Count me as being fully in favor of the trend to throw brewing curveballs at the beer dork public, with strange combinations of ingredients making their way into the hops & grains & malts of 22-oz bombers nationwide. Take the Asian beer trend right now. We told you about UNCOMMON BREWERS a few weeks ago, and even thought that one was something of a miss ( at least I thought so ), you cant fault these fellas for trying to shake things up in this uber-fragmented market of one-upmanship.  read more »

Well, even with no responses I decided to just go ahead with this
method and everything seems to be okay with fermentation in the
bottling bucket. I would still like to hear some input from others
about using this method, I'll be sure to post with the results of my
little experiment. I also just read today (I think in some discussion