Posted by Rob Kasper at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

The Utne Reader has this sudsy advice on how to handle cockroaches:  Put a saucer containing ½ cup of beer on the floor. When the roaches are drunk, sweeping them up will be a cinch. 

I have put plates of beer in the garden to get rid of slugs.

But has anyone tried getting roaches drunk ?

Posted by Rob Kasper at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

As you see in Josh's comment, Flying Dog has new labels. I guess I got my hands on an old model.

Anyway, the "porter" on the new label is much easier to read.

And, true to tradition and the brewery's fight for free speech, the s-word remains.

Posted by Rob Kasper at 2:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Joe Gold, a man forever on the trail of good beer, sends word that real ale has returned to Federal Hill. (He mourns the loss of the taps at Sean Bolan’s, an establishment that moved from Federal Hill to Main Street in Bel Air).

The Metropolitan Coffeehouse and Wine Bar, 902 S. Charles St., has installed a beer engine upstairs and cracks a firkin every Thursday night, 6 to 11 p.m. The cost is usually about $6 a pint.

Gold is organizing a Thursday night posse to surround and drain the firkin.

Any takers?

Posted by Rob Kasper at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)
                    

While fishing through the remnants of a Flying Dog variety pack the other night, I grabbed a bottle, stared at the label and wondered, what kind of beer is this?

The label, drawn by noted artist Ralph Steadman, said "Road Dog, Good Beer, No S--t.'" I later learned that Steadman had fought a four-year battle with authorities in Colorado to keep the s-word on the label.

But poking around on the back porch in the dark, I was less interested in the battle against censorship than I was about what kind of beer was in the bottle.  There were five types of beer in the variety pack.

Finally I spotted a small notation that read "Porter." It turned out to be an excellent porter, but I was annoyed that its label was hard to decipher. 

Anybody else feel that beer labels have become more artistic than informative?

Or is this a problem with buying variety packs?  I usually buy a six-pack of one type of beer, but I picked up this variety pack to fuel a party.

When you are fishing for a brew, do you really want to ponder your choices, or do you simply want to grab a fave?

Posted by Rob Kasper at 11:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
                    

Ordinarily I am a fan of the Samuel Adams family of beers, but their recent release, Samuel Adams Irish Red Ale, leaves me cold. It is too sweet for me.

 Saying this puts me at odds with the votes of some 42,000 beer drinkers who selected the Red Ale as their favorite in nationwide tastings held in September and October.

 So the people have spoken and I am "agin" them.

Does anybody else feel that some popular beers are too sweet? Should we call ourselves  the bitter bunch?

 By the way, one of the dishes that Samuel Adams recommends serving with this ale is dessert -- creme brulee.

Posted by Rob Kasper at 2:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)
                    

I went to the annual Kraut Fest at Gertrude's restaurant last week. Lots of homemade sauerkraut, lots of sausage, lots of fun and lots of good German beer.

My two favorites were Aventinus, a wheat doppelbock, full of malt and fruit, and Schneider Weiss, a smooth amber wheat beer. These two brews were picked by bartender Paul Joyce, who admits he loves big beers. These two had the muscle to stand up to the kraut.

Any other good kraut companions? What beer do you drink with your kraut?

Posted by Rob Kasper at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

One benefit of a snow like the one we are having today is that it brightens the landscape.

Snow also makes me thirsty for dark beer. The other day I had a really good one, Otter Creek Sea Otter Baltic Porter.

This is from the brewery's around the world series in which they try to replicate a brewing style of a distant land. This is a malty brew, with distinct coffee notes and not much hop presence.

I have read that it is similar to Baltic bread, dark and hearty. It also seems to be the way the folks in Baltic make it through their harsh winters.

Anybody else try this porter?

Any other recommened dark beers for snowy nights?

Posted by Rob Kasper at 4:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
                    

I am impressed with the all the stores folks have sent in as good places to buy better beer. One I want to add is The Wine Merchant on Falls Road in Lutherville.

We seem to have shortage of spots in west Baltimore.

Any store there we are missing? When we finish sending in suggestions, I will post a list.

Posted by Rob Kasper at 2:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
                    

Orlando Segura of Lakefront Brewery, Inc in Milwaukee, sent me two emails after my Jan. 9 column on organic beers. The column pointed out that if 95 percent of a beer's ingredients are organic, it qualifies to be called an organic brew. His beer is 100 percent organic. Organic hops, the column said, are hard to find. 

Sergura wrote, in part:

 "Despite the difficulty in sourcing organic hops and organic malts we think that if you can't source organic ingredients, the solution is simple: Don't make organic beer.

 Lakefront Brewery's Organic E.S.B. was the first certified organic beer to be bottled in the United States and is the only organic beer that has used exclusively organic ingredients in its beer since inception. In fact, we have begun to grow our own crop of organic hops locally in Southeast Wisconsin."

 He continued...

 in his second email to address the fact that some craft brewers supported the 95 percent rule:

 "Although we were disappointed in the stance that some organic breweries took, I don't feel bad that we took the longer view.

However, I don't want to diminish the public enthusiasm for organically produced brews - especially from breweries that we have a lot of respect for including Wolaver's and Fish or anyone else trying to produce a righteous brew that's good for farmers, good for the community, good for the planet and good to drink. We appreciate that craft beer drinkers are willing to take risks to discover something brilliant and we hope that drinkers will appreciate it when brewers take risks the same kinds of risks in brewing new types of beer."

Do you think a beer is "organic" if it is not made with 100 percent organically grown ingredients?

Does it matter to you?

Posted by Rob Kasper at 2:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Bott's comment that Corridor Wine and Spirits on Route 198 in Laurel has a wide selection of beers got me thinking about listing area stores that sell better beers.

Off the top of my head, I think of the Wine Source in Hampden, Wells Liquors on York Road, Beltway Liquors off Loch Raven, Mills in downtown Annapolis. I know there are more.

Gimme your favorites spots to buy beer.

One of most frequently asked questions I get is, "Where can I find that beer you wrote about?" This list could help unite beer lovers and good brews, always a noble quest.

Posted by Rob Kasper at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (14)
                    

One correspondent, TS, has asked how the spinning beer bottle did this football season.

It was a sub-par performer. In nine games, the spinning bottle correctly predicted the outcome of four Ravens games.

 So its 4-5 record was not so much better than the Ravens final 5-11 tally. (I started spinning several games into the season.)

It came close to a .500 finish, but in the last week of December, the spinning Snow Goose bottle falsely predicted a Steelers win. And the Ravens, showing late foot, pulled out a victory. There is always next year. But next year I am going to change the lineup...

And spin more beers from out-of-town brewers. This might require road trips.

Are there more beers available in D.C. than Maryland?

How about in Pa.?

Any suggested spots to visit and load up with beers not found here?

Posted by Rob Kasper at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)