Sure I would like to have the first beer news post of the year include about thirty links and have many really interesting things, but not all that much caught my eye this week.  We all know that the Christmas to New Year holiday season is a black hole of productivity, so I am not all that surprised that not many big things happened.

Regardless there are a few interesting items . . .

• Getting the more negative stuff out of the way at the top, it is interesting to read through the thread to see what people thought was the worst beer they tasted in the last year.  I am kind of bummed that one beer doesn’t stand out for me.
• Of course after looking at some of the releases for this year the one that I want the most is the beer that will only be available at the source.
• The reason that I will not be watching this show when it airs is not because of the sponsor, but rather because I think it looks to be simply awful.
• I very much like reading the stuff that Jay puts out there and I have to agree that it is a good idea to get beyond the most common of the craft beer styles.  Some of them are more difficult to find, but the good ones are worth it.
• It is nice when a plan comes together and I guess especially so when it means that the brewery that you worked so hard at will remain in the city in which it started for many, many years to come.
• Speaking of keeping the brewery in the area that it started in seems to be part of the issue in allowing for a large scale expansion.  Sure I don’t expect them to ever sell off and leave, but I understand why the people who live there would be concerned about it.
• Even though my entire experience in Idaho consisted of driving through, spending a night in a hotel, and stopping for gas at least once I continue to tell people that the beer scene there (especially Boise) is supposed to be really good.  That is why I had to include this new brewpub news today.
• Having a good friend more than willing to sample a few beers with me living in D.C. is more than enough reason for me to get back there for a visit.  Of course the news of a new brewery opening does not hurt the cause either.
• Maybe all of this good news will mean that soon I can answer yes when asked if we carry any of their beers in Central Florida.
• Continued growth is of course good, but growing your business at “about four times the industry average in 2011” is amazing.  I like to think that I contributed to that is only by the amount of Dale’s Pale Ale I drank over the last year.

via http://www.timescall.com

Occasionally there are beer labels on the bottles of home brewed beer I make, but those labels are from the breweries who beer I drank to get those bottles.  Since starting to brew at home I have wanted to make my own labels but never really had the desire to take the time to start from scratch.  It seems that I don’t have to do that to start making my own labels though.  Labeley.com gives me the base to start from and also allows me to customize a label to my own liking.  I look forward to using it soon to create a label for my recent batch of pumpkin beer and I can’t wait to see how the tool evolves as more and more people use it.  Did I mention that it is free?!

On with the news we go . . .

• If I find myself with a career change down the line that means working in an office I can only hope that I have access to a vending machine like this one.
• Then again maybe if I had this machine at my current job it would take some of the edge off those incredibly busy nights.
• This made me throw up a little in my mouth.  Did they even taste these beers?
• I suppose the best thing to come out of the launch of this new beer is that the Bud Light Golden Wheat will go into extinction.
• Beer and football rank fairly high on the list of my favorite things so I love the concept of ranking every NFL team and comparing them each to a beer.  I just had to read it.
• Back to some convenience store news because it seems the growlers experiment has worked well enough for Sunoco for them to expand the practice in Western New York.
• I never pass up a story that involves a home brewer that loves it enough to take the hobby to the next level.
• Just add another one to the ever growing list that is making the beer scene in North Carolina blow up.
• This is not so much about the concept of pairing beer with Thanksgiving foods as much as it is about the beer-brined turkey recipe off to the left.
• As with what I eat I do like to know where my beer comes from.  That to me is really the take away after reading this article.  I am not saying I wont drink a Boston Lager because it comes from Ohio, I am just saying I want to know going in.
• It may not be true Trappist but the spirit is there and I like the reason that this line of beers came about.  Just seeing the Quad recently I am looking forward to trying it after already crossing the Saison and Dubbel off the list earlier in the year.

via http://www.washingtonpost.com

It has been quite a few weeks since I have needed to do this, but today I gladly thank Seattle Jeff for passing along some good beer news to share.  Of course he is still holding on to his time spent in Colorado so I may just have to declare him my beer correspondent for the entire Western United States.  That is a lot of responsibility for him to take on with his already crazy schedule, but I think he can handle it.

On we move today . . .

• Going to ease into the reading today by simply going with some images of a handful of new beer labels that have been approved.
• I personally do not do any beer shopping at convenience stores, but I probably would if I could be filling a few growlers while picking up a pack of gum.  This version of the news is simply thrown in because I am surprised there is something called “Convenience Store News.”
• As a person who does love to talk about craft beer, I am still concerned when at times the minutia gets in the way of what used to be simple enjoyment.  That and I totally agree with him that a “pint is a tasting portion.”
• This is a little funny to read as I see them talking about rebranding their product because “they perceive it as dull and lacking excitement.”  Surely those fancy aluminum bottles will make the beer taste better.
• This I suppose is included today not so much as news, but for The Wife and the other Red Sox fans out there as a few players make a cameo in this beery music video.
• It is all about not reading today as you can either choose to read the article or simply click on the video about half the way down to have it read to you with some fancy moving pictures along with it.
• This seems like it would make a person not want him to play any better, so I guess it is ideal for those non-Nationals fans living in D.C.  Thanks to Jess (@JessMilcetich) for finding this one.
• Funny how this article about craft beer in the Finger Lakes area catches my eye only days after returning from that area.  Traveling the wine trails there is great fun and having just learned about the cheese trail while there I am totally for another trip for culinary research if I can also get my beer fix.
• Building on the last story where it was referencing growing more local hops in NY, here is just another reason to continue enjoying what this Colorado brewery brings to your fridge.
• Simply reading about some of the interesting beers that this brewery is putting out makes me want to jump in the car and go visit some of my friends in Charleston.

via http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com

This post started with me thinking that there was not much to link to today, but not long after that I saw that I had a ton of tabs open on my browser.  I probably had enough open even before going back to see what The Wife sent me over the course of the week.

Getting to it now . . .

• Starting with sales news for the big guys today.  Maybe the reason that AB-InBev is throwing out new ad campaigns like this one is because their sales numbers were not so good for the first quarter.  On the other side, MillerCoors seems to be doing just fine with much thanks going to their craft brands.
• Sure we get to see the payoff here, but I have to think the toppling process took some time.  I hate having to clean up one broken bottle of beer, so I cannot imagine the cleanup that this mess required.
• Sure they won some awards at the Denver international Beer Competition, but where is the award for having this concert at the barn that was their original canning facility.
• Kudos to the lawmakers in D.C. for supporting the growth of craft brewing and the same goes (finally) to the Illinois Senate for moving the self-distribution bill along to the House.
• Sure it sounds like things moved along much more smoothly than it has in past years, but I still have no desire to stand in long lines for a beer.  Maybe that will change someday, but I doubt it.
• This falls into the “I have been there before so I was drawn to the article” portion of the news for today.  That is pretty much how it made the cut.
• I always tend to read articles about how to taste and appreciate beer because I know that I have much left to learn.
• Since I moved to Florida and was exposed to a handful of different college athletic venues I have been fascinated with the selling beer in stadiums thing.  Having attended a university where beer was sold in the stadium I guess I just thought it was the norm.
• In keeping up with the potential east coast brewery location for Sierra Nevada, here is a short little Q & A to read over.
• With American Craft Beer Week coming up very soon, here is a list of ideas of what you can do to really celebrate properly.

via http://www.masslive.com/

If I had not already used my quota of the word “random” for my “Random Thought Sundays” it sure would have been used to describe the news post for today.  A thank you goes out to The Wife and The Architect known as Ken for throwing a few stories my way this week.

Now on to the news . . .

• Unfortunately there are no videos to accompany this one.  Part of me really wanted to see how one tells if an owl is drunk or not.
• This one both gives me some Shmaltz brews to look forward to this year (and beyond) and also reminds me that I need to finish reading Jeremy’s book.
• Though this is mostly about the food and concepts behind a new restaurant in Chicago, it also makes mention of some specially brewed beers in the works.  Just another reason to get back to Chicago one of these days.
• Nothing really to say here other than this new beer sounds really really awful to me.
• Those of you that read my ramblings consistently know of my distain for pretty much all beer commercials, so I was happy to read that someone else is not in love with them either.
• I am now very much looking forward to checking out this movie later this year at least in part because of the breweries that are to be featured.
• There was mention on the site a while back of some very, very old yeast possibly being used to brew beer and now that has apparently happened.  I am glad that they chose beer over bread in this case.
• Finishing up with some (semi) local love.  The only problem that I can possibly see with having 25 taps filled with Cigar City beers is choosing which beer to start with.

Mark Tuchman (via http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/)

Cheers!