beernesday

woohoo! i'm off to mexico! time to celebrate the birth of one of my favourite humans, with excessive margaritas and sunshine and some craft beer too i'm looking forward to seeing how los muertos brewing is fairing a couple of years since opening i was last there 18 months ago (watching the seahawks win the superbowl) and they were settling in nicely, having solved their wort cooling issues i see they've brewed some ipas since then - hopefully at least one will be on tap this week for me to try and then there's cerveceria union, who brew that lovely minerva lager on-site, as well as carrying many different mexican craft beers it's gonna be a really great trip!

i'm off to mexico tomorrow for some fun in the sun with the famdamily see y'all in a week or so (!club de la cerveza, nos vemos manana in la noche!)

sad day - beer pioneer ed mcnally dies whether you're a fan of big rock beers or not, raise a glass to this man, who in the 80s took a leap of faith and went up against the big boys every year at the vancouver folk fest i sure do enjoy me a snake bite made of half traditional ale and half cider cheers, ed! signs you're a beer aficionado east bay brewery boom lynne mcilwee aka hops canary writes open letter to bc place suggesting they are losing $690k a year in beer sales by not offering craft beer i was gifted with a bottle of dead frog's new release, big stump it is a spruce golden ale and it is delicious! sweet and smooth, golden and nicely balanced with a fruity spruce hint but don't just take my word for it, jan zeschky agrees ! more on craft beer in mexico independents take on the giants

well that's it i'm off to mexico for a couple of weeks i'll be searching for craft beer fingers crossed it's not all going to be macro lagers everywhere i go! i will be spending time at this joint in playa del carmen club de la cerveza and these places in puerto vallarta los muertos brewing la cerveceria union so i'm not too worried about those stops on my tour it's cancun, sayulita and nuevo vallarta that may prove to be macro only

my notes from yesterday's beer column on cbc radio one's on the coast I am winging my way to Mexico tomorrow which I can guarantee you means that I have Mexican beer on my mind! But, why would a self-identified beer geek go to Mexico?   Is there such a thing as Mexican craft beer? Poor Mexico!   It does have craft beer, but the fact that very few people have heard of it is testament to how much further behind Mexico is in the craft beer revolution than a country like Canada.   Mexico would be pretty far down the list of world craft beer destinations.   But it's not their fault!  First of all, most of the great beer brewing countries in the world have colder climates, which are more conducive to brewing beer in the first place, and to being able to easily store and ship it after the fact. Also creating a roadblock in Mexico is the fact that the government has not traditionally legislated against monopolies.   So two companies...

i'll be on cbc radio one's on the coast this afternoon talking about the craft beer situation in mexico 5:50 p.m. 88.1 fm

beer friends, january looks like it has been a stellar month so far for craft beer in vancouver but then, it always looks that way to me when it's january and i'm doing a stupid cleanse day 16 of 21 and i'm still going strong i may shoot the next person who invites me to a beer pairing dinner or a cask night though! shoot them a snide email or a dirty look, of course, i am canadian afterall so why do i do this to myself every year? 1.  it really is kinda fun to be holier than thou, at least for a couple of weeks 2.  some part of me really believes this is good for me and maybe, just maybe, will balance out the mean things i do to myself the rest of the year 3.  january becomes a "me" time - less going out, more getting stuff done 4.  i often go to mexico in february and it sure is easier to fit into my swim trunks if i cleanse first! 5.  everything tastes so much better after taking a break from crap and getting back to basics - except the fake ...

happy labour day! a nice little primer on hops 17 issues sober people have to deal with (click on it, there are cats!!) beer advocate's history of american beer heineken can't compete with craft beer (which probably comes as no surprise to beer geeks) the top 10 craft beers in mexico warning - this one's in spanish, so depending on your ability to hablar, you may just want to look at the photos in the slideshow!

for a little stout day inspiration, i give you international (but heavy on mexico) stouts: some reading about florida's favourite stouts and metro's lead-up article to next week's hopscotch festival

i love jet-setting! okay, well, my version of it anyway freshly back from mexico last week, i jumped on over to whistler this weekend outlook tv was covering the winter pride celebrations so i got me a free trip to whistler woo hoo! i love hitting a ski slope with a tan while i was there i stopped in at whistler brewing for a post-snowshoeing whiskey jack ale which i also managed to find on tap at the garibaldi lift company where a couple of parties were held into each life a little corona must happen its unavoidable really and can you blame a gal for having one when it comes in a double margarita?? finally, on the drive back to vancouver the lovely outlook crew stopped in for dinner at howe sound brewpub i had a delicious devil's elbow ipa with my 4 cheese penne and picked up 3 litres of total eclipse of the hops to bring home with me i love the total eclipse!

only two months old, club de la cerveza is serving up craft beer in playa del carmen, mexico if you are in the area, you NEED to stop by stop drinking corona and start drinking mexican craft beer! located on fifth avenue, down the quiet end at calle 38, miguel antoniucci is serving it right he's got quite the list of imported belgian and german beers and is constantly finding new mexican craft beers to round out the menu my favourite? the tijuana guera, a pilsner speak spanish?  check out tijuana's website here's an english review of the beer by another blogger and his photo: best of all, this was one of the beers i challenged myself to find and try! check! photos of club de la cerveza to follow along with a list of the rest of the mexican beers i tried

i'm back, i'm tanned and i'm off to a superbowl party! found a great craft beer spot in playa del carmen plenty more to come about that and all the beers i got to try but not today... all i have for you today is this from elysian about their upcoming ipa offerings: MANIC IPA SPECIALTY SERIES  We are Hopping into 2012 with an Exciting New Line-up of IPAs So many IPAs, so little time... Elysian Brewing Company is kicking it's Manic IPA Series in February of 2012 with Idiot Sauvin, an IPA both fiercely fruity and floral, made with New Zealand Nelson Sauvin hops. The beer has appeared before only at Elysian's pubs, and will be issued in both 22 oz bottles and draft.  Then in June will come Prometheus, anaggressively aromatic blend of Northwest classic Chinook, Cascade, Centennial and Amarillo hops fondly familiar to Elysian regulars.   Rounding out the year will be Valhalla, a reddish fall-into-holiday IPA using Sorachi Ace and Citra hops, scheduled for re...

dudes! i'm off to mexico to drink cerveza for a coupla weeks catch you in february! p.s. no one else from my house is leaving, so like don't even think about chiding me for announcing publicly that i won't be home!!

just in time for my mexico departure here's a recipe for black ale mexican flan

i leave for mexico in nine days' time this is very exciting for me i have not been finding much time to keep this blog current hopefully after three weeks in the sun i will be recharged and return with new vigour to blog, blog, blog! my goal for this year's trip is to find all the beers below and try them! not just take a photo of them like i did last year!

the onion has made me snort liquid out of my nose again! and because of the reference to labatts tequila, the article qualifies as beer-related and therefore totally legit to post here!!! oh happy day! and oh how i wish there really was a canada mexico overpass !

if you are at a total loss of what to do with yourself between 4 and 7 tonight, and are in vancouver gee, you could go taste molson canadian at legacy! MOLSON CANADIAN TASTING Thursday, Sept 15, 2011 4 to 7 pm Our 6 packs of Molson Canadian are cold, and cheaper than the Government stores! Pick up one today! MEXICAN CONSULATE TASTING Friday, Sept 16, 2011 4 to 7 pm Join members of the Mexican Consulate as they pour a handful of different beers and tequilas from Mexico. not gonna lie to you, i think this beer and tequila tasting excites me a whole lot more than the molson canadian one! tonight, i will happily be sipping away on green flash beers and eating delicious food at the rogue kitchen and wetbar's beer pairing dinner!  yay!!  best deal in town - $35 for four course meal and beer pairing

love mexican food? live near vancouver? you need to hit up mexicofest !! oaxacan cuisine - deeelicious!

trust anheuser busch to have taken a lovely mexican idea and, well, taken it i have been known to extol the virtues of a true mexican michelada as it is the beer version of the caesar and probably most refreshing in hot weather but i find the concept of ruining perfectly good beer with clamato not something i am likely to do shans is heading to sasquatch this weekend and is overwhelmingly excited to be stopping at american walmart on her way to stock up on the bud chelada i cringe but hope for her sake it is all that she has dreamed of, and then some (i mean maybe the clamato will make the budweiser actually palatable...)

apparently those wacky mexicans have come up with gay beer for the globe & mail article, click here dagnabit, i wish i'd known while i was there i coulda tried it!