Month: May 2011

American Craft Beer Week!

Posted on by in Beer

American Craft Beer Week begins next Monday, May 16th. It’s being sponsored by the Brewers Association and CraftBeer.com and, as indicated on the website, “offers an exciting opportunity for small and independent craft brewers and the community of better beer retailers to feature craft beer in their community.” This craft beer celebration week has been around since 2006, but for the first time ever, events will be sponsored in all 50 states, making this the first truly national event. This is a great trend, as the craft beer industry seems to be right on the verge of becoming more than a minor nuisance to the commercial beer giants. US sales reached $7.6 Billion last year, representing just over 7.5% of total beer sales.

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The Most Interesting Man in the World, Part II

Posted on by in Beer

Heineken has a great new beer commercial, giving the Does Equis most interesting man a run for his money: James Fallows thinks “the Most Interesting Man in the World crown has passed from Mexico’s control back to Western Europe.” I think Johnathan Goldsmith keeps the crown. And while I do agree with James that I would take a Dos XX over a Heineken, I’d prefer a craft beer over either of those any day. Regardless, Heineken did a nice job with this. And if you liked the song, it’s by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour from Denmark. Check them out.

Some Links

Posted on by in Links

Here are a few links I found to be interesting: 1. England, My England 2. Canine Commando 3. Sea Urchin Body Is One Big Eye 4. Panorama of Night Sky Stitched Together from 37,000 Images

Vanilla Cream Ale Update

Posted on by in Beer, Homebrew Review

I previously wrote a post about my first time experimenting with vanilla beans in a beer recipe. After about two months of aging, the Vanilla Cream Ale is ready for drinking. And the verdict? It’s delicious. There are, however, a couple things I’d change for the next batch. It has a strong vanilla aroma, but the flavor competes a bit with the hops. Rather than use a distinctive hop like Cascade in the boil, in the future I’d replace it with something a bit more mild, such as Willamette or Kent Golding to compliment the vanilla flavor. It’s also a bit darker than I anticipated, so I’d probably replace the Caramel 60 malt with a Caramel 20 or 40. I’m

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Tattoo Artist Can’t Stand Hangovers

Posted on by in Movies

Note: This is a guest post written by James Marshall Spector.  The following (including, but not limited to, my research, thoughts and opinions) cannot and should not be considered to be actual legal advice in any way, shape, or form.  It is offered merely for entertainment purposes as reflections on an interesting legal issue. I think it’s fair to say that The Hangover reintroduced a reformed Mike Tyson to the public with his humorous cameo. Besides his ferocious boxing skills in the eighties and early nineties and his battles in and out of court, Tyson is also well known for his face tattoo.  If you have seen the trailer for the upcoming sequel, you may have noticed that Stu, played by

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James Fallows on Last Night’s News

Posted on by in Current Events

A thoughtful round-up: 1. Hooray. It is almost never right to celebrate a death. Almost. 2. The speech. When listening to Obama’s statement in real time (at a tavern in Southern California, with my sisters and brother after a memorial service) I thought it might be too long and detailed for the circumstances. All the other big-screen TVs in the place, which had been carrying sports or reality shows, were suddenly silenced so that one carrying Obama could be heard. In that unlikely but representative setting, attention seemed to be flagging a minute or two before the president had finished speaking. But hearing excerpts on the radio as I drove home, I was more impressed by the craftsmanship and necessity of most parts

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