It was beastly hot out here in the Sactown area last week. But the topper was bonding time with Mrs. S: hanging art on the wall cutout in our stairwell. There's nothing quite like hanging wall art to build up a thirst.
You'd think that drilling four holes and putting in four wood screws would [...]

It's grilling season here on the Left Coast. Actually, it's almost always grilling season here. So, it's Summer grilling season. And what better to go with smokey, charred, grilled meats than a smokey beer?
Today's featured beer is the lovely, refreshing and elegantly smokey Spezial Rauchbier from Brauerei Spezial in Bamberg, Germany.
Spezial is the oldest [...]

Now, I know that I'm something of a pollyanna when it comes to beer reviews. I like a lot of beer and nearly every style is "one of my favorites". So I'll understand if some of you are getting a boy-who-cried-wolf sort of feeling when I tell you that this beer is really good.
If you [...]

One of the first things that convinced me that Trader Joes was a great store was the beer selection. Compared to the grocery stores in the University Towne Centre/University City neighborhood of San Diego, Trader Joes might as well have been a Bevmo. Plus, cheeeep. I'm pretty sure I was paying $3.50 or so a [...]

Traveling the world in a bottle -- to bring better beer to the Nation. Tonight's offering hails from Poland: Kiper ("pronounced "Keeper"" I'm sure the American ad men had a hand in that) bock. 11.2 oz. bottle, $4.99 for a 4-pack from Bevmo in evil green bottles. It also sells as Kiper Mocne according to the good folks at Ratebeer.

Product of the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, TX, this is a beautiful, ebony lager ($7.99 for a sixpack at my Bevmo) in the Schwarzbier tradition. It pours black with a bubbly tan head that leaves light lacing. The nose is full of molasses, licorice, coffee and darkly roasted malts.

But don't let the nose fool you. This is a lager, not a stout.

I'm in a mello mood, perfect for a nice, refreshing hefeweizen. Today's selection: Georg Schneider's Wiesen Edel-Weisse, von Private Weissbier Brauerei G. Schneider & Sohn.

The label trumpets this as "USDA Organic". w00t. As you can see from the pic, it pours a slightly cloudy, golden color with a fluffy white head that dissipates quickly with little lacing. The aroma is slight spicy, with bready and light lemon/citrus notes.

I do it all for you, Nation, out of love
This is what happens when the wife leaves town.

Pre-game edition. Today's Paper of Record had a very nice review article on Bitters/English Pale Ales. Which was almost enough to get me to turn around and review the Greene King Abbot Ale I've been eying for about 3 weeks (and one of Eric Asimov's featured ales in today's article). But I couldn't help myself [...]

With the light beisbol schedule this week, I figured it would be a good time for a beer two-fer. Today's selection is the lovely "Grand Opening Ale" Hefeweizen from Sacramento Brewing Company.
The Sacramento Brewing Co. is a small, local producer. They operate two brewpub-restaurants in Sacramento as well as bottling a number of their [...]

Note: this review was begun before sundown saturday last week, so TOTALLY kosher and stuff. After all day in the sun watching the daughter play futbol, there's nothing like a kick-butt doppelbock.
Commercial description: The classic German dark beer, bottom fermented Doppel Bock. 7.2 pct ABV. I paid $1.99 (on sale, regularly about $2.49, [...]

This week's selection is the "Hen's Tooth" Bottle-Conditioned English Ale from Morland (Greene King). Greene King is a fast-growing, integrated pub-operating and brewing firm in England, responsible for such well known keg brands as Greene King IPA, Abbot Ale, Old Speckled Hen and Ruddles County. Established in 1799 by the great-grandfather of writer Graham Greene [...]

There's nothing like a little sh!t-talk to get the competitive juices flowing. And with zooomx bringin' the heat lately, I had to respond. My aim here is to provide occasional (once every week or two), short reviews of notable beers. None of that "gulp and ignore" stuff around here.
Today's inaugural offering is the Pyramid Imperial [...]

I was planning a holiday photo essay, but words may have to do, as the camera is heading out of town with Mrs. S and the kids. As a newly minted burro-crat, I don't rate any vacation time yet.
So I'm staying home to work, work, work. I'll be slaving away at the office, Bob [...]