Category Archives: Beer!

The Poetry of Beer

Back when I was studying for my Cicerone exam my now-friend Chris at Ex Novo Brewing would pour me taster trays and have me guess which beers I had. This poem came about on one of those days, when I wrote down the guesses I had and noticed the order almost made a sentence. I kept the piece of paper, because it amused me. I realized there was no reason not to share it with you guys! First draft, and the bulk of the poem comes from Ex Novo beer names. Still, I hope you enjoy!

In your head
I’m peaching to the choir about

Alternative medicine

And friends with benefits.

I’m not.
She’s just

A casual ex.

Though the most interesting lager in the world,

She’s just Eliot.… Continue reading →

Not My Father’s Beer Adventure in PDX!

When Leslie of Not My Father’s Beer asked me to, effectively, write a guide for beer tourists in Portland, Oregon (PDX) I nearly laughed right out loud. First, it has to have been done before. Probably a bazillion times. And second, I had just barely moved here! What’d I know about the Portland beer scene, other than it’s reputed to be fantastic?

Then I “well actually”ed myself. I just moved here and I do know a thing or two about beer. I am basically a beer tourist in my own town right now, but I’ve been here long enough to lay down a few roots and get to know a few people, and I’m starting to get it moving. That makes me the perfect person to write such a guide!… Continue reading →

Cozy Up to Some Beer Reading!

Since my friend JP introduced me to the idea of hygge a few years ago, I’ve enjoyed it in theory, but never really embraced it day to day. Oddly, in Chicago, it seemed to just come naturally. Possibly, if JP’s musings on baltic porters are correct, I had access to plenty of “liquid hygge” in a way I don’t have here in Portland. Perhaps it’s because no one’s figured out that while the winters are less snow-filled, they are much darker and therefore more in need of hygge? The world may never know.

So, Goose Island (the big one, not the brewpub I used to hang out with) is offering refunds on it’s Coffee Bourbon County Brand Stout. This, while interesting, wouldn’t really be worth noting on this list except that most of us beer folks are going to focus on bacteria or something else.… Continue reading →

Beer Links

You guys know I don’t shy away from hard conversations in beer, and so when my friend Nora shared There are Almost No Black People Brewing Craft Beer. Here’s Why. on Facebook, I dove right in. In honesty, it says a lot of the same things Bryan Roth did back in August when he asked us to address the whiteness in the room, which is also excellent reading. Frankly, read ’em both.

I enjoyed the heck out of this animated snippet of Garrett Oliver of Brooklyn Brewery talking about how A Career in Beer Will Make You Poor — and Happy, According to Brewmaster Garrett Oliver. The description of “falling in love with beer” certainly sounds right. The full podcast is interesting, though at an hour and a half long it’s only for the hardest-core beer geeks, I think.… Continue reading →

Holiday Gift Guide 2015 Part I – Food and Beer

Last year I did my first ever “gift guide,” and was surprised at how much folks liked the post. I admit, I hadn’t been sure people would be interested in my suggestions, but I decided to put them out there in case it was useful. This year, knowing it was well-liked last year, I’ve been paying a bit more attention to possible suggestions.

It helped, frankly, that Bill and I moved across the country and had to decide both what to get rid of entirely and what to put into storage for the next nine months. The toaster oven made the moving cut, but not the storage cut, for example. The electric kettle in that post, however, remains a part of my day to day living.… Continue reading →