beernesday

so says rogue

not made any new year's resolutions yet? fear not, there is still time and you can make them all about beer! click here to find 10 beer resolutions

gasp!  women like beer oh my goodness, could it be? read about it here

okay, so its almost january and in january i do a cleanse every year the cleanse means that i don't drink beer for a whole month this year, i'll just be cleansing for three weeks, because i leave for mexico on the 21st and i'm certainly not going to miss out on any fun vacation time cleansing! so its just three weeks without beer this time but still, its three weeks which leads me to wonder what the heck i'll blog about for those three weeks and the two following when i'll be in mexico friends, i think there's gonna be a hiatus on the blog minimal posting for three weeks and then a 2.5 week vacation from posts altogether i would love to say that i'll miss you but i'd be exaggerating i'll be miserable for three weeks without my beer but then when i'm on vacation, i won't even be thinking about all y'all! i'm selfish that way!

to read about the alice porter, click here to read about the musa dinner, click here

wanna party with the central city crew for new year's eve, but don't want to go all the way to surrey to do it? fear not, timbre on the drive is having a red racer new year's! Red Racer Beer Timbre Restaurant is hosting a rocking New Year's Eve party for all you who cant make it out to the brewpub. Taps of Red Racer Beer flowing till 2:00am!

just to mix it up, i went to a wine tasting house party on monday night the concept was simple, everyone was assigned a varietal to bring all the bottles got a number and their labels hidden in a paper bag everyone tries the wines, compares them to the tasting notes and makes their best guess as to its identity i only drink white wine the red gives me most unfortunate migraines so i only sampled five of the eleven wines on offer i instantly got the gewurztraminer, the sauvignon blanc and the reisling but i mixed up the chardonnay and the zoignier that was still good enough to come second place percentage wise in the guessing and i won wine pairing and cheese facts playing cards! go me!

at last week's beernesday at st. augustine's i began my evening with a pint of the deschutes inversion ipa definitely one of my faves "a trio of american hops deliver an over-the-top nose with hints of citrus.  surprisingly soft, caramel complexity for an 80 ibu ipa" then i moved to the crannog ales 10th anniversary fresh-hopped ipa 100% organic. dry-hopped with farm-fresh golding hops.  5.2% no hop nose, can't immediately taste the hops, but sure can feel them in my mouth as i adjust to this beer after the uber-hoppy inversion, i'm starting to get the hops and my the end, i was really getting into it next up was the hopworks abominable winter ale 7.5%  100% organic.  made with cascade, centennial and simcoe hops and six organic malts, has a complex floral, spicy and citrus hoppiness backed up by just the right amount of malt sweetness omg - a winter ipa! its a fabulously hoppy brew! i think this is my favourite winter ale although i think it m...

and more christmas gifties!

look what else i got for christmas!! (why do people have the impression that i like beer??)

to find out what brewdog did when their hops shipment got weather delayed, click here should brewdog sell other beers on their website?  to weigh in on the debate, click here to check out their new delivery van, pre-pimping, and make suggestions on how to pimp it, click here for golidhops and the three beers, click here for brewdog's christmas wish list, click here

december 22nd beernesday at st. augustine's

look what i got for christmas! its a whole year of beer jokes in the form of a calendar! yay!

its just not christmas without a photo of me with a keg! such style, such grace such fabulous scottish ale from storm! best keg deal in town and really great beer to boot! for all you of the christianish persuasion, merry christmas!!

this was the riddle at the charlatan last i was there no, i do not know the answer!

oh how the time flies! its been a whole week since i made it out to the yaletown brew pub for cask night and it was a gooder! cascadian dark ale (aka black ipa) tasty, tasty stuff! look how much i was enjoying it! i was at a work holiday party so the details of the entire late afternoon, evening and late night are pretty hazy i know there was lots of wine with lunch followed by two cascadian dark casks followed by countless shots and pints of the brick and beam ipa with not much at all to eat since lunch i know i made new friends and even remember a couple of their names but probably will not be calling them for fear that i embarassed myself in front of them!

Our Beer, Our Barrels, Our Johns. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEWPORT, OR, December 17, 2010- In a collaboration of crafts, Rogue Brewmaster John Maier and Rogue Spirits Master Distiller John Couchot have joined forces to create a distinct, innovative series of brews called John John Ales. The series will take Rogue Ales legends and age them in Rogue Spirits barrels. The first of the John John series is John John Dead Guy Ale, Rogue's award winning Dead Guy Ale matured in Rogue's award winning Dead Guy Whiskey barrels. The cross collaboration of these two products starts with the distilling of Dead Guy Ale wort to create the Dead Guy Whiskey. The Whiskey is aged in Oak Barrels and bottled, then the Oak Barrels are taken from the distillery, by forklift, across the parking lot to the Brewery where they are filled with Dead Guy Ale and matured for three months. Each John John product will be a limited release. Following John John Dead Guy Ale will be John John Juniper Pale Ale: Rogue...

ballast point big eye india pale ale 6% from the bottle:  big eye india pale ale is an intensely hopped ipa.  we use exclusively american centennial hops to produce this robust beer.  a rush of floral and citrus hop notes are balanced perfectly with the toasty, toffee-like flavors of a superior blend of malted barley.  its full hop flavor is guaranteed to please the palate of the true beer enthusiast.  2002 world beer cup bronze medal winner in the american-style india pale category.  get the point! driftwood brewery fat tug ipa 7% from the bottle:  with an extreme power to tonnage ratio, this behemoth delivers a barge load of hops.  this unassuming 22 ounce bottle packs 80 ibus of unrelenting diesel power! let this fat tug pull you in slow and low to happy nirvana... yup, these two are some pretty hoppy numbers that makes me very happy!

DIRTOIR FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Independence , Oregon , December 18, 2010  - The wait is almost over.    In just a few weeks, you'll be able to enjoy the World's Best Lager on draft.    The award winning Chatoe Rogue Dirtoir Black Lager already comes in 22oz bottles.    But starting in January, Dirtoir Black Lager and the rest of the Chatoe Rogue line will be served on draft for the first time nationwide.   Who says it's the best?    The judges at the World Beer Awards say so, giving Dirtoir Black Lager the title of, "World's Best Lager" for 2010.    It also won a Gold Medal at the 2010 World Beer Championships.   Brewmaster John Maier describes it as, "Full bodied, deftly balanced... with smooth bitterness and lingering finish." It is brewed using 9 ingredients: Carafe Special II, Black, Chocolate, Melanoidin, and Rogue Micro Barley Farm first growth Risk TM  Malts; Rogue Micro Hopyard first growth Independent and Revo...

seasons greetings from a couple of the craft breweries around:

my talented friend jackie knit bridget some beer cozies! she made two different sizes even!  a small sleeve that fits a small bottle or a can and a full cover that fits a small bottle or a 22oz one

from last week's beernesday at st. augustine's: i began my night with a sampler dead frog's christmas beeracle!  5%  a festive, rich, warm amber ale with a medley of spices including cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. cannery's no jail pale ale:  3.05% a lower-alcohol beer with an authentic ale taste!  a clean, crisp ale with a bright hop finish and about 40% less alcohol than conventional beer salt spring's golden spike ale:  5%  voted "best golden ale" at the canadian brewing awards paddock wood's london porter:  5.3%  a dark ale based on a recipe from 1850 which lets chocolate malt take the lead.  smoother than stout, but still holds a deep roast profile i very much liked the christmas beeracle! gingery goodness (reminiscent of the steamworks ginger from last spring) and no vanilla!! i would definitely have this one again and i don't say that about many christmas or winter ales bridget liked it a lot too! the no jail was a little...

remember this miller ad? ha ha!

i made it to cask night at the railway last week unprecedented - that's three in a row i think! (won't be making it this week, i have a solstice party to host instead...) the cask was driftwood's blackstone porter three casks of this lively ale were brewed one at camra's winterfest, this one at the railway and the third will be tapped at st. augustine's tonight i hear tell that the initial pour was all thick head, so think a straw wouldn't sink through it (apparently they experimented!) definitely still a very thick head when i got mine the head lingered quite a while and was practically spongey to the touch (yes, i experimented too!) malty, not quite sweet, but something along those lines quite murky the sweetness is nicely balanced by the sour mash they tossed in there lots of yeast at the bottom of the glass i got a chance to talk to ian, the brewer of this fine cask he thinks there was some secondary fermentation he likes that there ...

more wise words:

photos from last week's beernesday