Intellectual Ferment of a Different Kind
Nose, nose, jolly red nose / And what gave thee that jolly red nose? Cinnamon and ginger, nutmeg, and cloves / And that’s what gave me that jolly red nose. At the beginning of his chapter on warm beer, W.T. Marchant expresses regret that “some …
Tempest recently chalked up its ninth month of craft beer writing. To celebrate the occasion, I’ve been posting an annotated index of articles that I’ve written to date. The first segment listed my articles on beer and culture, followed by my regional spotlights. This segment …
Cue up all the old clichés about time’s swift passage, for it has been three-quarters of a year now since I posted my first article on A Tempest in a Tankard. Thanks for all the support over these past several months! I’ve learned plenty from …
In the midst of the Finger Lakes, Ithaca is an ideal base from which to explore the veritable explosion of craft breweries, micro-maltsters, and hop farms of the Finger Lakes region. In the first article of this series, I recounted the story of Ithaca’s first …
If Ithaca is Gorges, it is also rapidly becoming a craft beer destination. In the first article of this series, I recounted the story of Ithaca’s first craft brewery and tasted a few of their beers. Here I introduce readers to the new breweries that …
Only four hours from New York City, but centrally isolated. Ten square miles surrounded by reality. Partly sunny. And gorges aplenty. There’s no denying that Ithaca is Gorges. Spend less than half an hour in this town cradled by rolling hills at the foot of …
Some beers dare you try them. If you’ve spent more than a few minutes of your time perusing the offerings at any bottle shop worth its salt or reading the buzz surrounding “avant-garde” beers and breweries, you’ll likely have come across a curious cabinet stocked …
In my first piece introducing this particular Tempest road trip from the southern center of the U.S. to the southwest of Canada, I posed a rhetorical question: What kinds of pleasant surprises, serendipitous finds, and outright disappointments await when you leave town on a long …
Chuckle if you will, but judging a double-header of Imperial Stouts and Barrel-Aged Beers is a taxing proposition. My friend and I were in the Dallas area for the weekend to serve as judges for the annual Bluebonnet Homebrew Competition, and this judging assignment was …
Addendum (24 August 2014): When I read the theme for September’s edition of The Session, it seemed an ideal occasion to share something I had written earlier this summer. September’s Session topic, My First Belgian, comes to us courtesy of Breandán and Elisa of Belgian …