Times are tough and sacrifices must be made. What do we mean? Take the simple birthday gift. For our upcoming birthday, our roommate opted not to buy us a present. Truth be told, his funds are tight and so are ours (so he won't be getting much either for his early December birthday).
Instead, the nice guy gave up one of his precious treasures: bottle of Hop Back Amber Ale from Troegs Independent Craft Brewery. That the Hop Back comes from Harrisburg, PA and can not be found here (other than our house) makes it special enough, but the pure hop goodness infused in every sip makes it one of the best birthday gifts ever.
Delicious Fat Tire. See more shots in our Big Pour slide show.
What do you do when faced with multiple beers from multiple breweries? That's right, drink 'em all! That's precisely what we (attempted) to do at Draft Magazine's The Big Pour last weekend.
The beer festival took place at The Waterfront in Scottsdale and attracted a crowd of folks ranging from Tempe riff-raff to Ed Hardy-clad Scottsdale denizens with such attractions as George Wendt of Cheers fame and Everclear playing a live set on Saturday night. But what united us all was a thirst for trying new brews. Like most beer fests, we took some good sips with some bad. Below are the samples (and impressions) that we remember.
To be honest, I was dead set on reviewing Left Hand Brewing's Milk Stout today, but I'm so totally enthralled by the awesome Web site Left Hand has that I'm not sure I'll be able to move past it. It's a wonderfully complex site that incorporates video into a clean design that is absolutely smooth. Precisely like their Milk Stout incidentally.
We have a theory as to why Draft Magazine's The Big Pour runs from today through Saturday and not Friday through Sunday: So that we may have a day to recover.
Seriously, the event promises "hundreds of craft beers." I'm not sure that I can drink that many, but for the sake of our readers, I will do my best.
On top of that, Saturday the Big Pour will feature Everclear (slightly excited) and George Wendt AKA Norm from from Cheers (super excited).
Beer? In the mail? Yes. Once again I have received a blessing in the form of liquid gold from the brewery gods...or so I thought. The bottles had all the telling signs of something enjoyable. One embossed with the words "Rye P.A.," the other promising "Bavarian Wheat" goodness. Then I read the fatal words that sucked all excitement from the thought of tasting these brews: "Michelob."
Sure enough, my beer-swilling compatriots also seemed to drop their enthusiasm once I let it be known that our tasting material had been gifted to us by the big M. Still, a beer drinker is nothing if optimistic, so down the hatch.
People behave differently when in addition to competing for glory there's a bit of money involved. They get almost religious about certain little customs and superstitious behaviors. You've got the guy who shuffles chips cause he believes it'll intimidate the competition. Then you've got the bloke who plays low cards all the time because he believes they hold a special power just for him.
As for me, when I play a game of Texas Hold 'Em, I make sure that I drink a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA one hour before I play. I know it seems a little neurotic to drink the same beer one hour before I play, but the results are enough for me to keep up my silly tradition.
More than that, Dogfish Head's 90 Minute IPA is delicious so any excuse to drink one is valid in my opinion.
The anticipation has been building for months, but we're happy to report that Taste of Tops has finally opened right next door to Tops Liquor in Tempe. The new neighborhood bar opened last night at 6 p.m. to a crowd of thirsty, Tempe citizens.
As we reported way back in July, Taste of Tops features twelve beers on tap, ten red wines and ten white wines all on a rotating schedule. If you need more options, there are hundreds of beers available in the refrigerators just beyond the bar.
Big Willie and the Polka Meisters performing at Biergarten.
Real life is so underrated. That's what I found myself thinking as I wandered through the dimly lit pathways of the Desert Botanical Gardens on Saturday night. In real life, security guards prevent you from going places. But at Biergarten, Desert Botanical Gardens' beer festival, security guards want to make sure you ticket gets punched so you can have another beer. In real life, food requires cooking or at least enough effort to get in your car and drive somewhere. At Biergarten, one need only follow the sounds of music emanating from various parts of the gardens to find not only delicious German specialties like brats and potato pan cakes, but several people waiting to fill up the tiny beer mug hanging from your neck.
So what was available to drink and were those brews worthy of such a heavenly event? Let's discuss.
The Stone Brewing Co. is not the type of brewery to get involved in any marketing schemes; especially not with their Arrogant Bastard brand. As a matter of fact, they make several references to how pointless "multi-million dollar ad campaigns" are right on their bottles. It's a bit of a pisser though because they could have had one hell of an ad campaign had they partnered up with Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. See where I'm going with this?
Let's face it, the hallmark Tarantino touches are already there. There's the dictionary definition of one of the key words in the title. There's the long-winded passages describing the beer in language that would make for a very quotable monologue should Brad Pitt or Samuel Jackson perform it. Alas! It was not meant to be and we are left with the brew minus a star-studded marketing campaign to wash away our dreams of what might've been.
I've had Arrogant Bastard before, but I haven't had it with American oak wood chips. Curious, I grabbed a bottle.
I have been accused of being the last person to jump on the pop culture train. I bring this up because I recently discovered (unlike the rest of America) "Like A Boss" by The Lonely Island. And you know what? Like Andy Samberg, I'm feeling extra corporate today, so (like a boss) I picked up a bottle of Black Boss Porter made by Browar Witnica
But is this product of Poland worthy of upper management or the brew of slack-jawed interns who'd rather watch Youtube videos all day than do any work. There's only one way to find out: like a boss.
Lately I've been looking outside the U.S. for tempting brews to try. Last week Tiger from Singapore left me feeling flat as, well, the beer itself. This week I'm heading to Brazil to try out Xingu Black Beer.
But first, a brief history lesson about the word "xingu." Xingu refers to a 900-mile-wide river in Brazil as well as the indigenous 15 tribes of people it supports. Though you wouldn't know any of this by looking at the beer's packaging or labels. No, other than the mention that it's made and bottled in Brazil there's nothing to tie to its country of origin.
We'll forgive this though because Xingu is what I like to call "delicious."
Today, while discussing Asian beers, I was asked the following question: do you prefer Kirin to Sapporo.
Allow me to suggest an experiment. Next time you eat sushi, instead of reaching for a frosty Kirin or Sapporo, drink Budweiser. That's right. Event after I lambasted President Obama for drinking the stuff, I'd like you to try some with your next serving of gyoza. Don't worry, it's for an observation.
I'm willing to bet a boat-load of sushi that what you washed down your toro with tastes virtually the same to your preferred Japanese brew; fizzy, yellow and better served as cold as possible if it must be served at all.
What I'm getting at is that we seem to put these thinly-veiled equivalents to our own mass-produced beer on pedestals just because they're brands from other countries. It doesn't matter if I prefer Kirin to Sapporo; they're practically identical.
What I'm searching for is a beer of Asian descent then leaves the fizzy, yellow universe behind and strives to have a full-bodied flavor. Today's review does not fit the bill, so please, I beg of you, help me find an Asian beer that doesn't suck.
I would be remiss not to begin this review by admitting that I'm becoming a bit of a Dogfish Head fan boy.
Maybe it was the first sip of the 120 I.P.A. that finally made me a convert. Perhaps it was the subtle blending of chai in the bottle of Sah'tea I tried just a few weeks ago (or the two more that I've downed since).
Whatever it is, I'm not the only one bitten by the bug. Why just the other night at East Valley Friday Night I ran into a local with enough passion for the Delaware-based brewery to show up wearing one of their shirts. And an encounter with a gang of beer librarians (stay tuned for more on these guys) led to a mutual agreement that Dogfish Head is pretty damn good.
Knowing this you'll understand the weight of what I'm about to say about Dogfish Head's Theobroma.
For a beer whose name means "food of the gods," I found Theobroma left me wanting more. Ah! The plight of mortal man.
Whether you agree with his decisions or not, there can be no doubt that President Obama has already accomplished many things since entering office in January of 2009. He has closed Guantanamo Bay. He has supported stem cell research. But it is one of his most recent decisions that has me conflicted and confused about our president.
Why did he choose Bud Light?
In an attempt to ease the controversy caused by the arrest of a Black Harvard professor, President Obama chose to serve Bud Light to Harvard's Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Police Sgt. James Crowley last Thursday. I know times are tough economically, but couldn't he have sprung for some Corona (or just about anything else) instead?
Some have given President Obama flack for choosing Bud Light when its parent company, InBev, is Belgium-based. I don't care if the President drinks a beer produced on our shores or not, I just don't want him drinking shit beer.
Still, it's been quite a while since I've had a good ol' Bud (because I know how bad they are from the last time), so I decided to suck it up and drink one for the President.
Why Chuck Norris? I love a good Chuck Norris "fact" as much as the next guy, but why make a martial arts star who went from getting his ass kicked by Bruce Lee to selling gym equipment on infomercials the subject of an internet phenomenon? Isn't there a better, larger-than-life character out there?
Morimoto wears glasses for aesthetic reasons (and to prevent us from realizing that he is Super Man).
Historically, samurai swords were graded by how many bodies they could slice through. Morimoto grades his knives by how deeply he can cut into the space/time continuum. (This may or may not have inspired the Heroes character Hiro Nakamura).
Morimoto once combined cola with natto to create a dessert dish on Iron Chef...and the judges actually liked it.
Perhaps the most important fact for our purposes: Morimoto teamed up with Rogue Brewing to create a line of Morimoto beer. One of these fine brews, Morimoto Soba Ale, will be the subject of today's review.
Is Soba Ale worthy of an Iron Chef or should Morimoto stick to sushi and leave the beer making to Kirin?
A few weeks ago I had the great pleasure of attending the Draft Magazine Microbrew Festival at Turf Paradise. It was a fairly great time marred by one great disappointment. I ran into Louis Dolgoff, Arizona's Dogfish Head sales manager who explained to me that he was in possession of Sah'tea, a new brew infused with chai tea and juniper berries.
"Great!" I exclaimed. "Can I try some?"
"I'm sorry but we're all out," was the heart-wrenching reply I received.
Well my fellow drinkers, I've come across a bottle of the stuff in time for this week's review. Let's have at it!
It may not look like much now, but we're excited about Taste of Tops.
Tempe residents will soon have a new watering hold to consider when attempting to decide how to spend those precious drinking hours between leaving work hitting the snooze button.The good folks at Tops Liquor on University are opening a wine and beer bar called "Taste of Tops" right next door.
We spoke with Tops Liquors' Owner Greg Eccles to see what's on tap for the new bar. Here dizzied us with sheer numbers. The new place will have 12 draught beers, 10 white wines and 10 red wines on a constantly changing rotation. If you can't find what you want on draught there will also be 500 bottles beers in a refrigerator section where patrons can simply walk about and point out what they'd like to imbibe.
We're beginning to count the weeks in lagers instead of days. But worry not, fellow drinkers! We shall press on in our quest to find the tastiest of Summer brews. This week: Coney Island Lager.
We met up with the folks at Shmaltz Brewing to try their line of freaky lager variations at Sun Devil Liquor last week. What we found were a few contenders for our title. Check out the updated slide show to see what they were.
Don't forget to cast your opinion via twitter or e-mail.
Today I write to you a changed man. No, I have not found a beer so good that I've felt the touch of God. Rather, I've found a beer-drinking mecca. I can only apologize that it's taken me this long to discover Sun Devil Liquor in Mesa; though I have visited their sister store (Topps Liquor in Tempe) quite a few times.
In those hallowed halls I had the good fortune of stumbling into (and out of) a tasting from our beer-brewing friends Shmaltz Brewing. Shmaltz Brewing Company Western Regional Sales Manager Zak Davis presented me and several other beer afficianados including Papago Brewing's Zach Ogle and Beer Snob himself with six tasty concoctions; three lagers and three ales.
It turns out part of the procedes for Shmaltz Brewing's Coney Island Craft Lagers line go to support Coney Island USA. I love drinking for a good cause, so to help out some carnies and for your reading pleasure, I indulged. Here's what I remember:
Another week, another stab at finding the most delicious beer built for Summer in the Valley. This week we jaunted over to Turf in Downtown Phoenix to see what Ireland has to offer in beers appropriate for the hottest months of the year.
See what we thought about the selection by checking out the updated slide show.
Don't forget to cast your opinion via twitter or e-mail.
Irish beer. Is there anything else so delicious? I decided to find out by taking a visit to Turf, a semi-new Irish pub in Downtown Phoenix.
As you might expect, Turf is stocked with well-knowns including Guinness, Harp and Smithwick's but I wondered if there was a selection off the menu. Turns out Turf has it's own house ale; a practice I would expect from every watering hole worth it's taps.
But is the house brew at Turf a good find or should I have just stuck to Boddington's?
Santan Brewing's Sun Devil Ale (left) and Strawberry Wit.
This week we checked out the beers on tap at Santan Brewing in Downtown Chandler. Yup! We ventured far into the depths of Chandler to bring you this week's update. At last weekend's Craft Brewing Festival we ran into some Santan Brewers keen on their Strawberry Wit. To see what we thought of that brew and a few others, check out the updated slide show.
Don't forget to share your opinion via e-mail or twitter.
I think we can agree one a few things, thought. For example: I scream. You scream. We all scream for ice cream. We also scream and shout and salivate at the thought of great beer. What if I told you that I combined the two?
At last week's Draft Magazine Craft Brewing Festival, the nice folks at Stone Brewing turned me on to an interesting idea: beer floats. True, Four Peaks has had Oatmeal Stout shakes on the menu for a while now, but a beer float is something I've yet to wrap my mouth around.
When I told the New Times staff that creating these floats with Stone Brewing's Smoked Porter was precisely what I intended to do today, the reactions I got ran the gamut from curious to sickened. Regardless of their opinions, I began scooping Blue Bell vanilla into cups of Smoked Porter.
Do beer floats tread water or is this dessert idea a real sinker?
Volunteers pour Steamworks Brewing's delicious beers at the Draft Magazine Craft Brewing Festival
Choosing the right horse requires a lot of luck and a certain willingness to watch your already mentally-spent earnings fail to materialize. That's why I took a different gamble at Turf Paradise Race Track this weekend and thought I'd try my luck with a bunch of micro brew enthusiasts instead of horse gamblers.
Packed into Turf Paradise's club house on Saturday, June 20, 2009 were a united force of brewers from around the country and a few hundred of their biggest (and thirstiest) fans ready to celebrate the Draft Magazine Craft Brew Festival.
This week we checked out the beers on tap at The Roosevelt in Downtown Phoenix. How does the house ale stack up to the other Summer beers we've tried this month? Check out the slide show to find out.
Check out the updated slide show to cast your vote via e-mail or twitter.
Bow your heads, gents. It's once again time to pay tribute to the sweet nectar of the heavens we call "beer." Why the religious overtone? I'm reviewing a brew named for a Saint.
St. Peter's Old-Style Porter comes from "Britain's finest small brewery" situated in the St. Peter's Hall in Suffolk, U.K. What's the connection between this Christian saint and brewing beer? What if I told you St. Peter is regularly depicted holding the key to the Kingdom of Heaven? Is it starting to make sense? I'm betting this "key" is actually a recipe for beer so good it uses angel tears in the brewing process. Rock on, St. Peter.
Heavenly bodies aside, does this brew all the way from the U.K. stand up to pedestrian, American taste buds?
Sun Up's Stinger Pale Ale at Sonora Brewhouse. See this week's other beers in our slide show.
As per @deonadee's request, I checked out Sonora Brewhouse this week to find their best Summer beer selections. My discoveries: Armadillo Red Ale, Hefeweizen, and Stinger Pale Ale.
Check out the updated slide show to cast your vote via e-mail or twitter.
This Summer Beer Quest is taking a toll on me. Don't think for a minute that I'm complaining about writing and (in this case) photographing beer around our fair city. Far from it. It's the subsequent eating that's such a drag later on.
Take the Sonora Brewhouse for example. Sun Up beer is some pretty great stuff. The buffalo wings on the other hand leave something to be desired. Yet combine an admittedly stupid decision not to eat lunch today with a few pints of Armadillo Red Ale and all of a sudden you're sitting behind a plate full of sub-standard wing remnants.
What is it about the Armadillo Red Ale that has placed me in this predicament? Are roasted malts the secret ingredient Sonora Brewhouse employs to ensure the successful sale of wings and onion rings?
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