Recent Posts

Your Saturday Six-Pack (Vol. 1)

Your Saturday Six-Pack (Vol. 1)

It’s been quite a busy past few weeks here in Tempest Land, and all of my writing projects are on hold. Last weekend I judged at the annual FOAM Cup homebrew competition in Tulsa, one of the larger competitions in the southern Midwest. It’s been …

Not Your Average Wheat Beer: Schneider’s Porter Weisse

Not Your Average Wheat Beer: Schneider’s Porter Weisse

G. Schneider & Sohn is a southern German brewery that knows a thing or three about Bavarian-style wheat beers. Founded in 1872 just after Bavaria had joined a recently-unified Germany under Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm I, Schneider Weisse has since produced rivers and lakes of …

How To Become a Beer Liaison: An Interview with Genesee’s Sean Coughlin

How To Become a Beer Liaison: An Interview with Genesee’s Sean Coughlin

If you have any preconceptions about Genesee and the Genny Light your parents drank, set them aside. Genesee Brewing Company, the venerable Rochester brewery that has been rolling out barrels of beer since 1878, has started serving up heavy-hitters like an Imperial Black IPA in …

Wild Mountain: Come for the Great Outdoors, Stay for the Beer and Barbeque

Wild Mountain: Come for the Great Outdoors, Stay for the Beer and Barbeque

A half-hour’s drive along the winding Highway 119 out of Boulder and just east of the Continental Divide, Nederland exudes a rough-hewn and offbeat charm. Nederland, which means both lowland and the Netherlands in Dutch, came by its name when a mining company from Holland …

The Uncritical Embrace of Craft Beer?

The Uncritical Embrace of Craft Beer?

Act II –– Night. Afterward, dawn. […] The scene represents a forest, and in the forest is a cave. By the cave sits a third actor in tights, representing yet another gnome. […] Enter the god Wotan, again with a spear, and again in the …

Green Pints at Asher Brewing Company

Green Pints at Asher Brewing Company

Every night is Green Drinks Night at Asher’s all-organic brewery and taproom in Boulder, Colorado. Surprised? Probably not, though you should be. In a town with as progressive a reputation as Boulder has, you’d be forgiven for expecting to find a handful of all-organic breweries. …

Seven Steps to Surviving the Great American Beer Festival

Seven Steps to Surviving the Great American Beer Festival

It’s that time of the year again when the leaves start to turn and the National Hockey League season begins. It’s also the time of year when thousands of thirsty craft beer enthusiasts converge upon Denver for that annual pilgrimage known as the Great American …

Gose Gone Wild: Anderson Valley, Bayrischer Bahnhof, Choc, and Westbrook

Gose Gone Wild: Anderson Valley, Bayrischer Bahnhof, Choc, and Westbrook

Before reading along, head to your nearest bottle shop and pick up whatever bottles or cans of Gose you can find. If you haven’t had this citrusy-sour wheat beer spiced with salt and coriander yet, you’ll thank me. And then pour yourself a tall, slender …

The Industry Series: Tasting Tips from Cornell Flavour Chemist, Gavin Sacks

The Industry Series: Tasting Tips from Cornell Flavour Chemist, Gavin Sacks

Close your eyes for a moment and think about what the ideal job might entail. If it involves tasting wine or beer while working, read on. Meet Gavin Sacks, Associate Professor in Food Science in Cornell University’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), a …