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Beer festivals: My favorite piece of advice
Filed under: Beer, Festivals, Fall  On Wednesday, Charlie Papazian had a great post on Examiner.com providing advice on "surviving beer festivals." He would be one to know: He's the founder of the Great American Beer Festival.
Late September and early October are traditionally beer fest months, not least in part because of the granddaddy of them all, Oktoberfest. Some of Charlie's advice is self-explanatory, like rule #1: "Know your limits." But my favorite rule is #6: "Dump the beer."
Part of the fun of a beer festival is trying something new. Much of the time brewers are even trying to...
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Crème Brûlée Stout is a great way to drink your dessert
Filed under: Beer, Raves & Reviews, New Products 
My husband spotted crème brûlée stout by Southern Tier Brewing Company on a beer menu at at new local restaurant. Ordering it was a no brainer. We had to give it a try! The first thing we noticed as it arrived at our table was the smell. It smelled just like crème brûlée - a very unexpected scent when you stick your nose into a beer bottle.
The crème brûlée stout tasted like someone poured a ton of vanilla syrup into their beer. It was really sweet and very crème brûlée - like, but also definitely...
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Try beer chocolate this December!
Filed under: Beer, Chocolate, Asia, New Products, Valentine's Day, Winter 
That's right! This December, Beer made with chocolate will be available from the Japanese company Kirin. What can be better than the mixture of these two alluring and bewitching foods? This sounds like an idea for Valentine's Day...
Apparently, this beer chocolate will be better than previous beer and chocolate concoctions. I've never tasted them before. So, I wonder if it'll taste obnoxiously sweet or if it'll meet that perfect balance.
Beer chocolate is...
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Leinie's takes small town Wisconsin nationwide
Filed under: Beer, Business, Midwest Rural  A few years ago I helped a friend move to Milwaukee. When we arrived, she insisted that to get the true Wisconsin experience I had to have a "Leinie's." To be honest, I wasn't sure what the heck she was talking about until the cold bottle hit my hand. Though I can't say I did all that moving for a beer, having a new brew to try when I got to town certainly didn't hurt.
Wisconsin is a state that loves their beers: They have a professional baseball team called the Brewers for God's...
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Getting extra mileage out of your fruit beers: The Chocolate Covered Strawberry
Filed under: Beer, Fruit, Fall 
August is waning. The weather is starting to cool a bit. Football season is right around the corner. Soon our taste buds will be wondering why we wasted our time with fruity warm weather drinks. But don't throw those fruit beers out yet!
A friend of mine turned me on to a concoction they whip up in Lancaster, PA. The Lancaster Brewing Company is home to one of my favorite beers: Lancaster Milk Stout -- a dark, thick pint perfect for cold weather. They also serve up a Strawberry Wheat, a fruit beer prone to mixed reviews. But for some time now, the bar...
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Review: Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager
Filed under: Beer, Fruit, Raves & Reviews  When last we left fruit beer reviews, I doled out major praise to Bar Harbor for balancing blueberry fruit flavor while maintaining a solid level of traditional craft beer appeal. Based on a recommendation, this weekend I thought I would take a stab at Louisiana brewery Abita's Strawberry Harvest Lager. After my first sip, I realized it would be perfect... for a counterpoint example of why fruit beers often get a bad rap!
The nose is an overwhelming burst of strawberry. It's too much by any standards (except maybe for Kool-Aid Man: Oh yeah!), but what's most unfortunate is...
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Fun fruit beer facts
Filed under: Beer, Fruit, Trends, Summer 
It's been 16 days since I suggested we declare August "Fruit Beer Month" and it finally looks like the print press is catching up with me. I recently saw on the wire that "Light, refreshing fruit-based beers are way hot for summer." Duh! That's what I've been trying to tell you.
But in her article, Lauren Chapin points out some interesting facts:
1) "In 2007, fruit beer sales grew a stunning 37 percent, making it the fastest-growing segment of the beer industry, according to Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association." This figure is in comparison to...
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Budweiser takes a cue from politicians: Patriotism sells!
Filed under: Beer, Business, New Products, America  Anheuser-Busch would like me to believe I am reading too much into it, but around the time of the InBev buyout, Budweiser commercials began elevating the patriotism pushing "The Great American Lager" slogan like a comforting pat on the shoulder to say, "Everything will be alright." Maybe its just a coincidence: A-B reminds me the slogan was launched before InBev's bid was finalized. Or maybe marketing knew something I didn't. Either way, hammering home the "King of Beers" at this point might just come a little too close to reminding us of our new European overlords.
Unfortunately,...
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Guinness faced with protesting farmers
Filed under: Beer, Farming, Business 
Farmers everywhere are being squeezed by high production costs and low prices for their products. Even malting barley farmers in Ireland are being hit, but they're trying to do something about it.
The Irish farmers, about 400 of them, converged on the famous Guinness brewery in Dublin to protest their situation. The farmers want the brewer to do more to support the industry (which I suppose means supporting higher grain prices?). However, Guinness maintains that they get their grain from an agricultural supplier and has little...
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Spending too much on your beer budget? You're not the only one
Filed under: Beer, Business 
We've all been there: You save 20¢ buying generic at the grocery store only to blow $10 on two beers at your favorite bar. Or even more guilt-inducing, you forgo a first-rate happy hour special in favor of a pint of your favorite imported or craft brew. Such examples are especially apt during the U.S.'s recent economic downturn when saving money has become top priority for many Americans.
But don't worry. You're not the only one. As reported by the AP, people are saying: "Recession? Eat, drink, and be merry." Jane Wardell reports that Anheuser-Busch turned a profit despite the rising costs of...
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