Great American Beer Festival beckons!

3 days, 466 breweries, over 2,300 beers. That's right, it's time for the Great American Beer Festival 2011! Being it's 30th anniversary, this year should prove to be stellar. I'm leaving for Denver tomorrow, so I will be dark for a while. I'll come back with stories, places, and brews you'll want to hear about. Maybe I'll even throw in a post or Tweet from the festivities. Are you going as well? Look me up!

Evolution of the Beer Geek

Check this out, it is hilarious. I tried to post the actual graphic here, but I had too much trouble with it. Where do you fall on the list?

Beer Tips

To keep your beer glass or mug from sticking to your bar napkin, sprinkle a little salt on the napkin before you set your glass down.

Beer Mug Pyramid

Click here if you don't see the video.

Nice job, Ballast Point!

Ballast Point Brewing & Spirits just took home the gold for Sculpin IPA and bronze for Big Eye IPA from the Great Japan Beer Festival. Nice job sending a little West Coast flair to the Far East!

Enjoy your weekend!

Zwanze Day 2011

Imagine a beer so rare that it is only available for one day of the year. Belgium's Cantillon Brewery offers just such a beer, and tomorrow is the only day it will be available outside of the brewery. Where can you find it? Don't check any local liquor stores, because Zwanze isn't being sold in bottles. Who then, you may ask, will have it on tap? There are just over 20 locations where you will be able to sample this fabled brew, worldwide. With only 10 locations in the U.S., California is home to 2 of them: Northern California's Russian River Brewing Co. and Southern California's Stone Brewing Co. Tickets have most likely sold out for all locations, but you can check here for the full location list and to read more about this special day. Sadly, I won't be in attendance, but if you happen to make it let me know how it was. I'll start planning for Zwanze Day 2012!

Dying beers

It looks like this whole "craft beer" thing is starting to catch on. This article talks about how once reigning beers have seen a drastic decline in production due to lack of sales. Finally, great craft beer is starting to give the big guys a run for their money.

Medical Beer

Beer's black market

Here is a pretty good article about consumers reselling specialty beer releases. It's interesting to hear what the brewers think about this practice. Check it out.

That means what?

I called a brewery restaurant the other day to see what they were currently pouring. When the girl answered the phone I asked what their current tap list was. She seemed flustered and asked what I meant. I thought it was strange that this term was foreign to her, so I explained that I wanted to know what was on tap. She sounded relieved, and told me what was available. It was some time later that I ran across this definition for "tap list" from Urban Dictionary: "A figurative list of guys/girls you want to have sexual relations with. See tap." This could explain a lot. I guess from now on I'll choose my words more carefully, and remember that I'm not as young as I think I am!

Name the beer style

Enjoy your beer!

Where's the beer?

One of my favorite ways to enjoy beer is by going to a beer festival. These are the best places to try multiple beers, from multiple breweries, in a lot of cases from multiple countries, all in one place. As the craft beer industry grows, more and more beer festivals are popping up every day. I try to keep up on local festivals, but quite often learn of ones that have either sold out or have already passed. Planning ahead is essential, and I have just found a resource for keeping up on what's going on. Check out http://www.beerfestivals.org With their Beer Festival Calendar, you can keep up on beer festivals locally and around the world. It's a great way to plan your day, or plan your vacation. I should now be able to spend more time enjoying great craft beer, and less time kicking myself for missing yet another beer festival. Find a festival, try some beer, and have some fun!

Awesome sidewalk chalk art

Motorized Beer Cooler

I typically like to do something special for my landmark posts, my 300th being no exception. I think the concept of a motorized beer cooler, which you can read about here, is great. Driving it drunk, however, is not cool. Be imaginative, be daring, but be sober!