Though I was all ready to go with a different kind of post today, The Brother-in-law passed along something to me (many thanks to you sir) that was too interesting to not share as soon as possible.  So any posts that might have been about my brewing or recent beers consumed will just have to wait a few more days.

There is a bit of reading involved, but there are also many excellent pictures of the old breweries mentioned.  For your weekend enjoyment . . .

7 Abandoned Breweries “Open” for Exploration

Stella Artois Brewery (via http://www.nileguide.com/)

Cheers!

Everyone should well know by now that I am a sucker for beer related lists and they very often catch my eye for beer news fodder each week. However this time I am turning it around a bit as I am curious to hear what your opinions are on each. Onward we go . . .

• Putting fruit in a beer is not something I do or even endorse at any level so it is funny to read a story about a medical condition resulting from putting chunks of lime in Mexican beers. I wonder when and why that became the popular thing to do anyway?
• Apparently (according to RateBeer) there is a new title holder for “The Worst Beer in the World.” I have not put much thought into what is the worst for me, but I am sure a few from this list would be in contention. What is the worst beer you have ever had?
• Since Full Sail is already on the shelves down here this will have no effect on me, but Syracuse Rob and Boston Jim could probably use this information to prepare for future beer shopping.
• It must be an impossible task to narrow down the best brewery tours in America, but here is one list to consider. I don’t think that I have gone to nearly enough to put together a proper list, but that is certainly something I will continue to work on. Do you have any favorite brewery tours?
• Having not used enough variations of this beer pouring implement I really don’t know if it is any better than the next, but I would definitely be willing to give it a try and sample a few of my tests.
• Though I am pretty sure that I will have a shot to try this on draft very soon, it will certainly be on my shopping list in the near future for home consumption as I don’t want to miss out on a year. Then again, doing a vertical tasting when the 8-pack comes out sounds like a great idea also.

He’Brew Jewbelation 14 (via http://beernews.org/)

Cheers!

There was a time where I would limit the news items to five because it seemed like a nice round number and it fell in line with my weekly list random thoughts. As of late I am taking the easier way out, not bothering to whittle the group to five and just passing along whatever I find of interest. I see no reason to restrict myself with made up parameters. With that . . .

• Though I have no plans to travel to England anytime soon (not that I don’t want to), I found this article about beer prices pretty interesting. Based mostly on what I see here locally, I am pretty sure that the results they found apply to more places than just the UK.
• The Artist Known as Ken spoiled the surprise by showing me what I will be getting from him for Christmas. He apparently knows what a long, exhausting walk it is to my kitchen from the couch.
• Brewery expansion news is good news in my book, so here a little from Texas and then some from Michigan. Since I actually get Bell’s down here, I am especially happy about that one.
• Also falling in the “I actually get it down here” category, here is a new Terrapin offering that I am very much looking forward to sampling.
• This is a good read about the judging process for the American India Pale Ales at the Great American Beer Festival this year and also just some good information on the style.
• Of course I am not going to be in Baltimore this week, but since I do have such fond memories of multiple trips to Max’s, I wanted to share the schedule of good times over the next 11 days.
• If they are going to take away your ability to get some exercise while drinking on vacation, what will they take away next!?

The only way to ride a bike. (via http://www.guardian.co.uk/)

Cheers!

When I have to put together a beer news post in as little time as possible it is nice to be able to lean on my email account where family and friends have passed along enough to fill out a well rounded list of beer related articles and the like. So a big thank you is order to The Wife, Cousin Adam, Seattle Jeff, and The Artist Known as Ken! I don’t think I left anyone out.

• If you take a look at this map of winners from a few years ago and compare it to the breakdown of the list of winners from this year you can see that the distribution is pretty much the same. Sorry West Virginia!
• This is a good one to print out poster size for your bar area as a quick reference.
• Even knowing that hops has a very close cousin that is not exactly legal did not make me think I would ever see the beer industry and a pot legalization initiative in the same story.
• This one is to help remind me of one of the places where Seattle Jeff and I will have to get to next time I can get myself out there. It will have to be a long trip because the list continues to get longer. It is always good to have a lot of options.
• Now I do not own a bicycle, but if I did and certainly if I did and lived in Portland I would have to have one of these to go pub and brewery hopping with.
• Waiting about a hundred years to be able to try a beer sets some pretty high expectations for it and I will be sure to give it a try.
• An article that combines a summary of the brewing process with one of my favorite breweries is a no-brainer to share here.
• I do not see any on this list that I am likely to get to, but if you are in the area or can travel to any be sure to let me know about the fun you had!

Beer festivals across the US (via http://www.cnn.com/)

Cheers!

There are weeks where I struggle to come up with my self-imposed minimum of five beer stories for the week, but there are other times where I have to cut a few to get down close to five.  Today I decided not to cut the list down, but I did stop looking for news to keep the rundown somewhat reasonable.

Now on with the show . . .

• Whether you are thinking of grabbing a last minute flight to Germany in the next week couple of weeks or if you are just thinking of enjoying a beer in Munich someday this is a good peek into what you can expect when you go.
• I probably could have guessed that Dogfish Head and Brooklyn would have made a top three list like this, but I do not think I would have ever guessed who landed the top spot despite really enjoying their beers.
• This is a little rundown of new beers coming from a handful of breweries, but I admit that I really am posting it here in support of the brewery that is an hour and a half down the road.
• Now to follow up that with some good news from a brewery that I wish I could get beers from down here, but I will just have to make trips north to enjoy again.
• If you will be making a trip to Maine anytime in the near future, this is probably an article that you will want to have a copy of in your pocket to help direct your beer stops along the way.
• If you are making a trip for any reason that will involve a few beer stops along the way, it is a good idea to keep up what Gerard is doing and where he is going.  That makes two CFL shout outs for today!
• Though I cannot fathom drinking that many Pacificos for any reason, this is a form of art that I think I can get behind.
• There is a long, long, long way for me to go to even consider brewing beyond the confines of my home, but it is still very enjoyable for me to read stories about those who did start brewing in their back yard.

Strange Brewing Company (via http://www.denverpost.com/)

Cheers!