Beerfest

The Broken Lizard comedy troupe returns to the bis screen this summer in Beer Fest. When two brothers travel to Germany to sprinkle their father's ashes on Oktoberfest, they discover the secret world of Beer Fest and lose. They plan to return next year with a winning team.

I really enjoyed Super Troopers, and this looks pretty funny. Or maybe it's the beer.

Insulated Pint Glasses

My mother recently put her mother in a nursing home. After cleaning out my grandmother's house, mom brought home a dozen or so drinking glasses. They are jelly jar glasses that so many of my family had in their cupboards. I recently purchased a couple of Guinness tulip shaped pint glasses. So what is the first glass anyone grabs when they pours themselves a glass of iced tea? No, not the dime a dozen jelly glasses. The pint glass. Every time. So, as much as I want these insulated pint glasses from Red Envelope, I'm not buying them.

Keg Polo shirt

The fine folks over at SnorgTees.com have a great addition to any beer lover's wardrobe. The Keg-line Polo shirt!

Too Hot to Brew

Sorry for the rather lengthy run of non-brewing posts. It's just been far too hot to try to brew and ferment, since I don't have a dedeicated fridge. But as Fall gets closer, I'll be eager to brew again.

And speaking of Fall, it's about time to star thinking about Christmas Beer. I'll brew my Hookarm's Dark Holiday Beer again, this time leaving out the cardemom seed and maybe substituting cinnamon. I'll visit with my brewing partner sometime next month and see what he thinks.

I would like to try another Christmas beer, though, just for variety, but don't know what to brew. Does anyone have a favorite Christmas or Holiday beer recipe they would like to share? If so, please post the recipe, or a link to it, in comments.

Asahi Beer Digital TV Premium

Boy! Do I miss living in Japan. Maybe I could get my friend Seiji, who runs a restaurant in Saga City to win this for me. Of course, they use a different broadcasting standard.....

Anyway, buy lots of Asahi beer and win one of 5000 digital TV watches. I hope these get to America soon!

Cooling Beer - Again!

Here's another way to cool beer quickly. Put a colander over a bowl, fill the colander with ice. Pour warm beer over the ice. Slowly.

I'm not sure that I will be trying this. It might water down the beer.

GE Beer Fridge

Unveiled in May in the UK, The GE Beer Fridge is exactly what it says - a portable cooling system for a large stock of beer. It holds around 80 cans of beer. If you want to feel superior to everyone, it also has space for 12 bottles of wine. This little beauty will run you about £630. But that's a small price to pay for 80 cans of beer at your elbow.

Pittsburgh Brewing Company seeks Labor concessions

The Pittsburgh Brewing Company, brewers of Iron City beer, is asking a bankruptcy judge to though out their labor agreement, saying that concessions are needed to help the company get out of Chapter 11. Without the concessions, they say, they will have to close the brewery and have their flagship brand brewed by an out of state brewery. The brewery wants its employees to take a 10 percent wage cut that would remain in place for two years after the company emerges from bankruptcy, requested that workers to begin paying 12.5 percent of health care premiums, and cap vacation time at four weeks.

Real Ale Brewery Tour Update

My cousin came to visit, and I thought we would visit the Real Ale Brewery in Blanco. I went to the website to find out when the tours were. It said to call or email for an appointment. So I sent an email.

As it turns out, the appointed time for the tour is 1:30 pm on Sunday. We couldn't make it, so we had to pass.

So if you're interested in the tour at Real Ale Brewery, free up some time on Sunday.

The five stages of Drunkeness

The BBC has published a humorous article describing the Five Stages of Drunkeness. For those of you who hate to follow links, I will list them for you. To read the funny stuff, though, go to their site:

1. Feeling Clever
2. Attractive
3. Rich
4. Invincible
5. Invisible

They also list the Five Staves of Sobering up.

Solar Powered Beer

A thin film of solar panel on one side, heat pump on the other, could one day be wrapped around a bottle of beer, keeping the beer cold. Steven Van Dessel has announced their Active Building Envelope system (ABE) , comprised of solar panels, solid-state thermoelectric heat pumps and a storage device to provide energy on rainy days, the system accomplishes the jobs of cooling and heating, yet operates silently and with no moving parts.

Besides cooling beer, Van Dessel thinks the new material coul help cool homes and vehicles, rendering current air conditioning and heating systems obsolete.

Science!

Crouch Vale Brewers Gold named Best Beer in Britain - Again!

Beating out 50 competitors at CAMRA's 2006 Great British Beer Festival, at Earls Court in London, Crouch Vale Brewers Gold - "a honey-toned golden ale with grapefruit sharpness offset by suggestions of melon and pineapple" - has been named the champion beer of Britain for the second year running. Colin Bocking, who runs the Essex-based brewery, said: "This is the biggest accolade in the business. It's a recognition from the people who actually drink the stuff, and it's very important to me." The Silver award went to Harveys brewery in Sussex for their Sussex Best Bitter. The Bronze was awarded to Triple fff brewery in Hampshire for Moondance. For a full list of winners, click here.

The Nip is Back!

There are only three ways legally to sell draught beer in Britain -- in pints , halves and thirds (called a nip. However, the nip hasn't been widely used in years. It went out of fashion around 1900. But a nip was a sensible way to drink the higher alcohol beers of the day. This year at the Great British Beer Festival, CAMRA (The Campaign for Real Ale) brought the nip back. They hope the smaller serving size will be accepted as a "more responsible way of drinking."

Ed's Cave Creek Chili Beer arrives in the UK

Cave Creek Chili Beer has jumped the pond, and went on sale in the UK, according to the Observer. Some drinkers, though, can't manage a second sip. Cave Creek Chili beer is bottled with a serrano pepper, and can be hot. Brewer Ed Chilleen started brewing the beer in Arizona when he grew tired of visitors complaining about the heat. Now they have something else to whine about.

Rolling Rock Latrobe Brewery makes last shipment

July 29 - The last bottle of Rolling Rock brewed in Latrobe, PA rolled off the loading docks today. Anheuser-Busch recently bought the brand for $82 million from SABMiller, but they didn't buy the brewery, and will brew the beer in Newark, New Jersey. So 70 years of history comes to an end. All may not be lost, however. A Wisconsin company is negotiating to buy it and make other brands of beer. This is how Celis died. They were bought by a big company. Their brewery was closed, and brewing moved to another plant. Then they were gone. So long, Rolling Rock. We'll miss you!