Who’d a thunk it? Just about a year ago I wrote a blog lamenting the lack of a decent beer selection at Appalachian Park, save for our beer vending friend “Mitch – The Elder Beer-Man” and his special selection of better brews. This year, I get the feeling Mitch’s vending business may not be doing as well as in years past.

The beer selection at the park has grown to include several beers from Mountaineer Brewing Company: Magic Hat and Hoegaarden. The transition started taking place near the end of the season last year. But I thought I would wait to see if the great beer selection returned this year before I committed to doing a blog on the subject. (more…)

It happened this past weekend, American Craft Beer officially made its case as a legitimate beverage, able to sit at the table of fine dining. The Brewers Association described “Savor” as an American craft-beer and food experience, though it may better be described as craft-beer’s Confirmation, Bar-Mitzvah or its debutante ball. For some of beer’s more hard-core enthusiasts, it was its coronation as king of the dinner table.

I attended one of the three sold-out sessions held this past weekend at the very “high brow” Andrew W. Mellon auditorium in Washington, D.C.’s Federal Triangle. Places like this are normally the domain of the fine wine and martini sipping crowd. The Brewers Association knew this, but they also knew that finely crafted beer, a very egalitarian beverage, deserves a place in such a venue which is owned by the people — and under the shadow cast by the monuments of the country’s Founding Fathers. They could have called the event “Mr. Beer goes to
Washington…” (more…)

I know this is a beer blog, but it is the political season and I can’t help having a little fun at the expense of the Presidential candidates. For this posting I am going to draw a lot here from my own personal opinions along with what I hear being said about each candidate by the political talking heads out there. I was thinking… If the candidates were beer, which beer would they be?

Here are my beer/candidate matches.

John McCain – Samuel Adams Boston Lager. The recipe is an old one, but a good one; very basic and simple. The beer is named after a revolutionary forefather and hero of the country, so it has deep roots and is respected. And just like Senator McCain, not everyone is enamored with it. It has bucked a few trends and has been a maverick as far as beers go, making it into country club bars as well as on tap at the bar next to a steel mill in the rust belt. This beer is not for everyone; it comes across with some strong hoppy flavors that many folks do not enjoy drinking.

Barack Obama – I am going to say Yuengling lager. Here we have a beer that everyone seems to want, but they really don’t know why. Just as with Senator Obama, the beer’s fans seem to be of the younger generation. Beer aficianados know that Yuengling is really nothing special as far as beers go; it’s a pretty average lager. When you actually get one in front of you and taste it and analyze it, you realize that you may have just been caught up in the marketing hype and that the beer is nothing special, except that it cost you a bit more.

Hillary Clinton – Once again a pretty generic lager, but in this case it’s Pabst Blue Ribbon. Yep! Good ole’ PBR. Why? Well this stuff won’t give up! PBR shows up on the market as an everyday beer for several years and then – Poof! It’s gone again! Off the shelves, not be seen for years. Then all of a sudden it makes a comeback, never outpacing the big lagers, but definitely making a showing. This is the beer with 9 lives going on 50; kind of like Sen Clinton and her ups and downs in this years Democratic primary. PBR sells well to a certain demographic, and can even appeal to a few of the Yuengling drinkers out there.

Well, there you have my picks. Why don’t you chime in with yours?

Just add a comment below… I would really like to hear from you!

I am always a bit wary of any pub that labels itself an “Irish Pub.” Usually such places wind up being poser bars serving up the obligatory Guinness on tap and laying claim to making the best “Black and Tan,” but having nothing else beery to brag about. So, when I hopped out of the hotel shuttle and through the door of the Dubliner Irish Pub in Dayton, Ohio, I thought I knew what I was in for. But I didn’t expect to run into an old friend.

To my delight, the Dubliner seemed to me to be a “working man’s pub” that could easily tolerate the occasional yuppie business crowd — and proved itself hospitable to this thirsty traveler. The place turned out to have a decent beer selection, though a beer menu or at least a beer list on a chalkboard would be a welcome addition (and would help sell more beer!)

(more…)