Hello Kitty beer. Because, I suppose, why not?

Hello Kitty beer, by Long Chaun Brewery in Taiwan

Kotaku has a detailed write-up on this new Chinese "endeavor". In short: six fruit-flavored varieties, 2.3% alcohol, and dangerously yummy and smooth to drink.

Doom, ever closer to you we slide. But at least it tastes good.

follow me on Untappd

At the insistence of several associates, I am now playing around with Untappd, a "mobile based social network for beer enthusiasts". Thus far, I find it both cute and amusing, and at the very least it's an easy way to record quick reactions to the brews I'm enjoying. Feel free to check me out there, and play along if interested!

listen to the Living Proof. now.

Sun-dial First taste 2, cc by-nc-sa via cmdln on Flickr

John and Thomas's podcast, Living Proof, has finally gotten off the ground in recent weeks, and the episodes thus far are a joy to listen to. Topics range from their own brewing efforts and what they are drinking of late to higher-concept "beer theory" discussions that are at once casual and well-informed. These gentlemen are clearly enjoying themselves, and you should give them a listen and do so as well.

Congratulations are also in order, as their recent brew (the "Rogue Archivist") and the story behind it received a nice write-up on BoingBoing. Strong work, good sirs!

Rogue Archivist, cc by-nc-sa image via cmdln on Flickr

a new libation destination in DC

cc by-nc image from squidpants on Flickr

I just got wind of a new brew destination in DC to add to my future visitation list - the Meridian Pint. From iDine's description:

While new to the Columbia Heights bar scene, this haven of hops from John Andrade (Think Asylum!) is already topping the charts. This, thanks to lovers of creative pub fare washed down with fresh local and Mid-Atlantic craft brews. You see, Andrade considers the product of American craft brewers to be far superior to their European counterparts. What's more, as an environmentalist and "Eat Local" proponent, he knows "Drinking Local" by tapping kegs only, conserves energy while delivering the freshest possible flavor. Beyond being a brainchild born of high standards and lofty ideals, Meridian Pint is just a comfy place to grab some great food and suds. The interior makes use of reclaimed timbers and re-purposed materials, including carved wood from an old Pennsylvania church, and a 7' wooden gear from a turn-of-the-century New York factory. Offering more refined dining on the ground floor, Meridian goes rec-room casual in the basement, where patrons can watch sports; play pool, shuffleboard or darts; and, of course, enjoy the establishment's full roster of food and drink. That lineup includes upscale meat, seafood, vegetarian and vegan-friendly options for lunch and dinner, plus a super brunch on Saturday and Sunday. NOTE: AT LEAST 25 DRAFT BEERS AND 2 CASK BEERS ARE AVAILABLE AT ANY GIVEN TIME.

What this leaves out is that the Pint is one of the first bars in the area to adopt digital beer taps at the customers' tables, which falls into one of the Cmar Formulae: beer + technology = WIN.

cc by image from pthread1981 on Flickr

I need to plan a field trip. Not that I don't already have enough reasons to.

• the Meridian Pint's official website
• the Pint on iDine (with photo gallery)
• the Pint's Facebook page, and Twitter feed

two new Balto-DC beer destinations

While I haven't made time to hit all the excellent brewpubs in the Baltimore-DC corridor, that can't stop my glee (yes - unadulterated glee, I tell you) at discovering two new tap sites in the area:

The Biergarten Haus promises to be the District's first traditional beer garden. In addition to a solid lineup of German brews, the Haus promises expansive indoor and outdoor seating, as well as mounted ram's head... because one cannot drink German unless it is in the presence of a beheaded, glassy-eyed ruminant. The official grand opening was slated for May 14, but this appears to have been put on hold for a couple of weeks. Once it does, I sense a field trip to DC in my future.

Biergarten Haus, cc by-sa image by jsmjr on Flickr

A bit closer to me will be De Kleine Duivel, which is slated to open next month in the Hampden area of Baltimore. From their Facebook page:

"A Classic Belgian Brasserie" Featuring a large selection of Belgian beers, boutique wines & spirits, and a select menu of classic Flemish-French dishes, all served in an Art Nouveau inspired setting.

Reports are that they aim to have 10-12 brews on tap, and another 30 in bottles. All will be imported from Belgium, with not a "Belgian-style" American beer on the premises.

Ex-cellent... *rubs hands together maniacally*

[a tip o' the hat to the always-excellent Beer in Baltimore for reporting on these two establishments]

Harpoon Tasting at the Perfect Pour - 09.12.08

As previously mentioned, I was recently turned on the The Perfect Pour (by Melanie, to whom I owe great thanks!), a new local beer and wine establishment. It is my new Beer Mecca (TM cmdln). They have, hands down, the best selection of domestic and international microbrews that I have seen yet, at the very least in my area. Another pleasant discovery is that they host regular beer samplings.

Tonight I stopped by for the Harpoon beer tasting. I had the pleasure of chatting with Nick from Harpoon about their current and upcoming offerings, as well as tasting the following brews, none of which I have had previously:

• UFO (UnFiltered Offering) Hefeweizen - A solid example of hefeweizen style, and worthy future exploration.
  
• Octoberfest - I'm not a big fan of the Marzen/Octoberfest lager style, and this struck me as being par for the course, but quite drinkable.
  
• IPA - Very good, and compared favorably to similar brews like the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Then again, I am biased towards this style. :)
  

The conversation was as good as the beer, and I was interested to hear of Harpoon's upcoming Leviathan Series. The Triticus, a 14.3% wheat-wine ale aged in bourbon casks, sounds particularly intriguing, and will be the first release under that label.

I ended up walking away with a six-pack of the IPA and a Harpoon IPA pint glass, which made for a lovely cap on the event. I plan on attending other tastings there, a schedule of which can be found on The Perfect Pour's website.

Post-Balticon 42 Libation List

I still have to write up the post-mortem for the con itself, but the libatory social dynamics were different from previous events. The focus was more on the bar than room parties, so this makes the first con where what I brought... was essentially what I left with.
Clearly, a tragedy of epic proportions.

However, there was a "magic cooler" effect, as my cooler was stashed in someone else's room. As such, in addition to the previous list, I've also come away with:

• Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, and Shelter Pale Ale
• Samuel Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale
  
• Kirin Ichiban
  
• Anheuser-Busch Winter's Burbon Cask Ale

I feel dirty entering that last one. Especially considering that the person who brought it was looking to pawn it off on unsuspecting people, because he has no desire to drink it. (Not to name any names... Tee.)

In any case, this leaves me well-stocked for the next con... or social occasion. Or, in the case of the latter "beer," a riot that requires mini-Moltov cocktails.

Balticon 42 Libation List

Once again, it's that time - Balticon check-in for me is later today! There are many lessons to be learned from last year's experience, one of which is (hopefully) that if I bring less brews, perhaps the "magic cooler effect" will be diminished, and I may come home with less.

We shall see... :)

Here is the list of libations I will be bringing with me:

• Clipper City Holy Sheet
  
• Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA, World Wide Stout, and Burton Baton
  
• Lindemans Framboise and Kriek Lambics
• Unibroue 17
  
• Woodchuck Granny Smith Draft Cider
• and the appropriate fixings for a proper martini may show up, as well...
  

Once again, physicianhood will prevail - the above will be consumed with the greatest responsibility by all.

Remember! Alcohol kills germs, baby.

The Revolution, Revived!

The Revoluton is not dead! Merely... biding it's time.

The truth of the matter is that for a period of time, I decided to consolidate all of my blogging to my main website, thinking that it would be easier for me to maintain. On further reflection, I've discovered that this likely isn't the case - rather, it does make more sense to continue to post "food and drink" related matter here, for the sake of ease for both myself and you, the GLF convert.

Viva La Revolucion!

To this end, I've reposted here my take on the upcoming 2008 offerings from Dogfish Head, as well as my first two brew reviews - the Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron, and the Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine, 2008 Release.

I'd also like to highlight a couple of blogs that are furthering the work of the Revolution:

• #include {beer.h} - Tom from the Command Line podcast recently established this separate site for his own beer reviews and experiences. The punk is also aping my review format, but imitation = flattery, right? ;) (And to point out where respect is due, my template is loosely stolen from Thom, so I have little room to talk...)
  
• Garlic Is Love - Carrie from The Signal podcast has an obsession with all things culinary, and shares it here. She is a fan of both bacon and garlic, so that makes her site an imperative on my list!
  

Dogfish Head 2008 Beer Release Schedule and New Brew Preview

Dogfish Head has published its beer release schedule for the year. 2008 may now officially begin! (Well, I jest with that last bit. A little.)

I am an unabashed fan of Dogfish Head's brews. While I am enthusiastic about seeking out and trying different beers from any (and all, eventually) microbreweries, DFH continues to maintain a particular hold on my refrigerator. Their variety of offerings is amazing in terms of style and flavor, and their degree of quality is consistantly excellent. I have honestly only ever been disappointed in two of their beers - the Chicory Stout and the Festina Peche - and in both case, because I found them to be merely "good." A list of my preferred beverages would be solidly dominated by DFH selections, and topped with my all-time favorite, the ridiculously extreme 120 Minute IPA.

So, it is with great enthusiasm that I peruse the 2008 schedule. As usual, there is a core selection of Year-Round Beers, as well as Seasonal Releases. I am greatly pleased that the Midas Touch Golden Elixir (another personal favorite, and the beverage singlehandedly responsible for my last name being a vengeful cry in some circles: "Cmaaarrr!" - a story for another time) has been reinstated this year in a more year-round capacity.

Of greater note is the extensive list of Limited Releases, which are some the most creative, excellent, and downright bizarre brews in existence anywhere. These include the previously revered 120 Minute IPA, the awesome World Wide Stout, and the brilliant Burton Baton... the last of which I need to keep an eye out for next month, because it was quite teh skarce in 2007. That said, there are two all-new beverages on the list, and I am seriously excited.

The first of these is the Palo Santo Marron, or "Holy Tree Brown," which is new to bottled distribution. It was previously available once before, at the end of 2006, on-tap only in their Rehoboth Beach brewpub location. This one sounds quite interesting - from the website:

An unfiltered, unfettered, unprecedented brown ale aged in handmade wooden brewing vessels. The caramel and vanilla complexity unique to this beer comes from the exotic Paraguayan Palo Santo wood from which these tanks were crafted. Palo Santo means "holy tree" and it's wood has been used in South American wine-making communities.

This beer is a 12% abv, highly roasty, and malty brown ale aged on the Palo Santo wood. It was a huge hit at our Rehoboth Beach brewpub when first released in November of 2006, so it's coming back... into full production.

At 10,000 gallons each, these are the largest wooden brewing vessels built in America since before Prohibition. It's all very exciting. We have wood. Now you do too.

That said, the one I'm incredibly stoked for is the Theobroma - "Food of the Gods." Tee and I heard a vague bit about this a few weeks back at the Gaithersburg brewpub, and its great to have some more details. By way of background, DFH has a working relationship with the University of Pennsylvania archeology department. If drinking vessels are found at a dig site, they are subjected to molecular archaeological techniques to analyze the residue of the evaporated contents. If the findings seem to be of an unusual fermented beverage, then DFH has been able to get access to the deduced components of the drinks, and "resurrect" libations that may not have been brewed for thousands of years. Products thus far include the previously venerated Midas Touch (discovered in the tomb of a Phrygian ruler in ~700 B.C. who is believed to have inspired the tales of King Midas), the wonderful Chateau Jiahu (found in the 9,000 year-old Neolithic village of Jiahu in Hinan province, Northern China), and now... Theobroma. From the website:

This beer is based on chemical analysis of pottery fragments found in Honduras which revealed the earliest known alcoholic chocolate drink used by early civilizations to toast special occasions. The discovery of this beverage pushed back the earliest use of cocoa for human consumption more than 500 years to 1200 BC. As per the analysis, Dogfish Head’s Theobroma (food of the gods) is brewed with Aztec cocoa powder and cocoa nibs, honey, chilies, and annatto (fragrant tree seeds). Theobroma is 10% abv and will be available in Champagne bottles for an August 2008 release. Special kegs from our test batches may be available earlier in the year at Dogfish events around the country!

Yes, 2008 is shaping up to be an excellent year for libation enthusiasm!

Grove's Beer Log

This is Grove's Beer Log.

Hailing from Oslo, Norway, Geir Ove ("grove" - get it?) Grønmo documents his thoughts and experiences with the art of home brewing. Included are plenty of images of his equipment and exploits, as well as discussion of the various brews that he has produced and musings on homebrewing in general.

Check it out, and give him some comment love!

American Craft Beer Week

Next week is American Craft Beer Week, a celebration of beer as both an expression of art and culture, as well as a complex and rich collection of libatory goodness. From the American Homebrewers Association website:

"American Craft Beer Week is May 14-20 and recognizes America's small, independent and traditional brewers and contributions the craft beer community makes to our economy, culture and history.

Consider participating in the Great American Beer Tour to celebrate American Craft Beer Week. Visit craft breweries and win pint glasses, an embroidered shirt or the grand prize trip to the GABF in October! Print your passport today at: www.AmericanCraftBeerWeek.org

Craft beer and food pairings, special-release beers, firkin-keg tapings, single-release cask-conditioned ales, special brewery tours, and make-your-own American craft beer are just some of the offerings by participating breweries.

For a complete list of events, visit www.AmericanCraftBeerWeek.org."

If you've never entered the expansive and tasty world of craft beers, find a local brewery and take the opportunity to sate your curiosity and tantalize your palate. And if you're already familiar with these excellent beverages, then raise your pints and celebrate responsibly!

Thom's Beer Blog

This is Thom's Beer Blog.

Really, I don't think there's any further explanation necessary. If you require one, then I'll just say that he:

1.) drinks beer

2.) reviews the beer he drinks in an erudite, concise, and educated manner

As of the time of this posting, he's up to 651, and still going strong. Check out his blog for some worthwhile opining and tasty commentary.