Good news, beer exists and is delicious. Bad news, my computer suffered a catastrophic hard drive failure and have lost everything relevant to This Week in Beer. So, I am going to be spending some time rebuilding the visuals and recording new episodes for you all. Oh, and I guess some more good news, we are adding a new host. Now you will be hearing some style-specific reviews using big pretentious words that you’ve probably never heard before from our new pint-sized reviewer, The Hopster. So look forward to that next week, and wish me luck trying to save _anything_ from this hard drive.
Category: Blog
Stewart Recommends: Jolly Pumpkin Collababiere
I know I said that I was going to try to upload more videos last week in order to get the winter beerfest content all online, but you may have noticed that I didn’t get around to that. No, what I got instead last week was “Surprise Appendicitis!” followed immediately by “Bonus Emergency Surgery!” (it sounds much more exciting when I say it like that). Soooo, many appologie and I will really try to get all of the beerfest videos up in the next week. I’m looking forward to getting to a new feature soon too, Beer Gadgets! (we are suckers for gadgets here). But before I get too far ahead of myself, the real reason you are here is for the beer. which is a wonderful coincidence because that is why we are here too. So speaking of beer, here is Paul’s review of the Collababiere from Jolly Pumpkin Continue reading
Clean Beer: The importance of clean draft beer systems
Clean Beer? You “clean” a fish and wash your vegetables, but how clean is the draft beer you drink?
In the words of Brian Wiggs, Dark Horse Brewing Co. Marshall, MI, “Brewing is 10% chemistry and 90% janitorial”. This statement will ring true for any brewer whether they are a homebrewer or Brewmaster. Keeping your equipment and brewing space clean is the first thing you learn. If you’ve ever taken a brewery tour you’ll notice how amazingly clean and tidy the brew house is. Gary S. Nicholas, Quality Assurance & Control with Bell’s Brewery, Inc Kalamazoo, MI spoke about what the kegs at Bell’s are in store for when they make it to the brewery: “They go through a multi-step cleaning & sanitizing process prior to each fill. We also conduct additional pre-cleaning for kegs that have been out in the market for unusually long periods. We go one step further, slowly cycling through our entire keg inventory and completely disassembling the keg spear valve assemblies, replacing worn parts, and visually inspecting the interior….any kegs that fail a cleaning/filling cycle are set aside for detailed inspection.” What needs to be cleaned out of these kegs? “Typically, you’ll see infiltration of a wide variety of aerobic microorganisms (acetic acid-producing bacteria, wild yeasts, etc.) and anaerobes(A type of bacterium that does not require air or oxygen to live). Over time, these will form a bio-film, a mass of slime that is very resistant to simple flushing techniques.”: said Nicholas.
2011 Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beerfest highlights
Just wanted to drop in a little tease of what we saw at the 2001 Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beerfest. Stay tuned for more videos from the festival.
Celebration of Michigan: Winter Beer Fest – A Recap
The 2011 Michigan Brewer’s Guild Winter Beer Fest was everything a beer lover born within these great peninsulas could love. 28 degrees, snow, bonfires and of course ounces upon gallons of some of the best beer made on planet Earth.
It’s amazing to see how Michigan beer has caught fire. Having been in this business for several years, I’ve seen the struggles that most of the breweries have went through. The times of being run out of stores and bars with the owner laughing at the thought of craft beer is far behind us. With nearly 7,000 people in attendance on Saturday, this event sold out a month before the gates opened. There were many beer lovers that didn’t get in this year, but the tickets went on sale December 1st, 2010. So those that missed out need to move a little faster next year, for tickets next year will go on sale at the same time. Mark it on your beer fridge, with a steak knife.
Scott Graham Director of the Michigan Brewer’s Guild said: “165 barrels of beer were poured or Saturday” that’s over 20,000 pints of beer! If that doesn’t say Michigan loves it’s beer no matter what the temperature, then I’ll buy stock in InBev.”
There were 56 different breweries showing off some amazing brews. The popular breweries had lines that stretched beyond the tents, but with 56 breweries to choose from getting a beer was never a problem. Some of the special released beers only made it into the hands of those in line when that beer got tapped, but you can’t expect to get every small batch at such a large event. Plus getting a beer from one of the brewpubs is why I go.
The breweries that distribute had their guns a blazin’, but getting a beer from a brewpub that I’d have Continue reading
New Features! Join Us!
You may have noticed a redesign of the website. We have added community features to try to make your experience more connected with the other users. Before you could only comment on individual posts. But now, if you sign up for a This Week in Beer Community account, you can participate in our forums, or join and create groups of other people who like the same styles you like. We have a map that you can access in the tabs across the top to show places where you can find great craft beers. Don’t see your favorite spot on the map? Join the Beer Finders group and suggest a new addition. Have you tried a great beer that you want to share? Join the Beer Reviewers group and let us know what you’ve found. DO you have a beer you want us to review? or a brewery you think we should feature? let us know in the main This Week in Beer Group. So Join the This Week in Beer Community account to participate in the forums, discuss reviews share your beers and let everyone know how much you love beer.
Missing in Action
Lord I wish I didn’t have to keep using that graphic. You may have noticed a peculiar lack of updates recently. it started out as the usual holiday business but has turned into to something much less (or more depending on how you feel about holiday business) enjoyable. And as much as I would like to be drinking beer to get better, I feel that my wonky taste buds would make my usual unintelligible reviews even less so. So do please forgive my absence as I try to overcome this malady. I will also try to track down my two other compatriots that have been missing and presumed having a better time than me. While you are waiting though, feel free to check out our tumblr, twitter, and facebook. oh and for those who haven’t got their Christmas shopping all taken care of, you can pick up some great TWIB merchandise in our store.
It passed the first test
I didn’t go blind.
I can only express puzzlement that borders on alarm
I suppose it was just a matter of time. Continue reading
File under: “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Now, I don’t often find myself putting away an open bottle of beer, but I am still surprised that I have never seen a product like this before. Beersavers are bottlecap-shaped silicone covers for your beet bottles. They are discribed as a way to keep your beer “fresh and safe,” not sure what they mean by safe, I suppose from falling beer-seeking debris or something. I guess i could see myself using these when I am serving from a bomber or wine bottle, though. There are a number of other tips on the website, but I am not so sure i would ever use these to “help keep your beer safely identified when in clubs, bars and restaurants.”