Mr. Mean Green IPA

Changes...

I'm still upset about this years Great Lakes Christmas Ale. They claim it is the same recipe but it tastes different. Every year it tastes different. Last year I bought five cases of it. This year I bought a six pack and after trying it I am pretty sure that is all I will be buying. Which is a shame. They have been one of my favorite breweries for a long time. But for some reason they have a problem being consistent with their seasonal beers lately. The Glockenspiel this year was not even closed to what it was a few years ago. Why change the recipe? Beer is not like wine or even whiskey. It should stay the same. And it does for their regular year round beers. This is one case where change is not a good thing...

How much is that beer?

The other day the wife and I were at Melt in Lakewood and sat at the bar for dinner. We noticed they had Duvel Green on tap and mentioned it to the bartender. I told him that the Bier Market had it for a short time, but ran out of it. He told me that they would probably have it for a long time since they are charging $7 a pint for it. He did not sell much and said that it was too expensive for their place. Which brings me to my thought--how much is too much for a beer?

Beer prices have been going up in our area both on tap and in bottles. Browsing the beverage store aisles I have put off trying some new beers because they are too expensive. I find it hard to justify spending more for one 12 oz bottle than it would cost me for a six-pack or two of a good local microbrew. I mean how good can the beer actually be?

Don't get me wrong. I am not averse to spending a premium price for a premium product. I am a single malt fan after all. I just don't see the point of paying extra for a product that is not that much better if at all than what I can get for significantly less. If I am paying more, such as with single malts, than I want to taste the difference. With some of the premium beers I have tried I have to admit I can't taste that much difference.

I will continue to sample as many different beers as I can in the future. I am a beer lover to say the least. I will have to say though that I will continue to be a bit selective in which ones I try. Charge what I think is too much and I will have to pass. What that actual price point is? I am still trying to figure that out.

Oh and in case you were wondering I did not buy the Duvel. I did not think the $7 price was out of line for a Belgian beer and I would have paid it but was not in the mood for a Belgian that day. Let's be honest--spending $12 for a good glass of wine or single malt is worth it so why would I balk at paying only $7 for a beer?

Lego Beer Song

What more needs to be said...

Beer Wars Movie

Check out the movie trailer for Beer Wars. Unfortunately it did not want to embed properly so you have to click the link instead.

I love the quote about how almost all of our beer knowledge comes from Budweiser, Miller, and Coors. And how that is like all of our food knowledge coming from McDonald's. Come on people--get out and drink some real beer!!!

Main Street Grill and Brewing in Garrettsville, Ohio

The wife and I went out to do some photography today. After driving around we decided to head out to Garrettsville, Ohio and try the Main Street Grill and Brewing Company. I should have listened to the bells going off in my head when our server suggested us getting the sampler of their beers. She explained this way we could decide what we liked and did not like since once we ordered a beer we could not send it back. We went ahead and ordered two different beers. I got the Porter. Worst beer I have ever tasted. And when I told the server her response was that microbrews taste different than regular beers. What?? How could she say that with a straight face? As if I have never had a microbrew before. I still can't believe she said that. What server is going to tell the customer they don't know what they are talking about and not offer to make it right? So that was strike two--crap beer and a server who did not care. We were not about to try the food and give them a chance at strike three. Never ever ever go there. I would gladly drink Pabst or Bud before I would ever consider their beers again.

Berea Irish Fest...

Yesterday Zen Librarian and I headed to the Irish Fest. We missed last year so figured it was time to check it out again. Especially since a band we have long wanted to see was playing. We decided to stop at one of our fav brewpubs for an early dinner and a couple of beers.I had the Sandstone Lager and the Angry Gorilla. Both get high marks for me. The bartender told us that later that night they were going to show the movie The Goonies outside. They were going to project it on the side of the local bank. We both would have liked to stay for that but the Irish Fest was calling.

Not sure if it was the heat or the threat of rain, but the parking lot for the fest was not that crowded. It was a short walk to the gate and then time to pay the $10 admission. This was one of those events that requires you to stand in line to buy tickets and then stand in line again to get your beer. I understand it consolidates where the money is handled but it is still annoying. And they need to fix the sign at the ticket booth. It says beers are 3 tickets ($3), but when you actually go to the beer stand you find that Guinness, Smithwicks, and Harp are 4 tickets. Bud and the other cheap stuff is 3 tickets. So that means my initial purchase was off since I budgeted our beers at the 3 ticket level. More standing in line to come...

A few text messages and we found our friend Jon and his brother Cliff at the main stage. We also saw our friend George and got to finally meet Gino. The band The Elders were playing. I had never heard them before and was pleasantly surprised by how good they were. After the Elders a short intermission and then the band Seven Nations took the stage. We have seen them before and it was good seeing them again. They put on a really good show. Unfortunately the rain started at this time and we were out in the open. We tried to stick it out since it was a light rain but we finally moved under the stands to wait it out since the covered area was all full. Another couple of beers and we headed back out after the rain ended. We found a spot with Jon and George to stand that had a really good view. Then came the final band of the night and the one we came to see--The Young Dubliners. We have been wanting to see them for a number of years so we were excited to finally be able to see them. I only recognised a couple of songs but it was still a high energy show. Towards the end the rain came back a bit harder so we moved to a covered spot to watch the rest of the show.

One of the fun things to do at an event like that is to people watch at the shows. I just don't get some of these people. I don't remember acting like some of these idiots at shows when I was that age. Am I getting that old? When did going out to see a band become an excuse to take pictures of each other? Do they need a reminder of how drunk they got? And how stupid they were acting? Watching these people hanging all over each other and spilling their beers everywhere is not my idea of a good time.

Overall it was a fun night. I had some good beers. I enjoyed meeting up with friends and seeing some good music. And that is what is important.

End of the world for American beer?

Can it get worse for American beer? Anheuser-Busch owned by a foreign company now means a new number one largest American owned beer maker. And that is...Pabst. How far have we fallen? It is a sad sad day for beer drinkers. Bring on the microbrews!

Another Brewery consolidation...

So InBev has finally bought out Anheuser-Busch for $52 billion dollars. How do you buy a company for that much money? I stopped drinking their beer years ago so it does not really make a difference to me who owns them. It is a bit disturbing though to see one of the iconic American companies now owned by a foreign corporation. The pursuit of the all might dollar knows no government boundaries anymore. InBev is known for their cost cutting so I wonder what is in store for Anheuser-Busch now. How many American jobs are going to be lost and or moved overseas? How many tax dollars are going to move overseas? Budweiser's slogan is the Great American Lager. Should it change to the Great Foreign Owned American Lager now? Will core demographic that buys their products care or now think twice about purchasing their products. I wonder...

Drinking Bellhaven Twisted Thistle at The Pub. Hints of heather and jasmine. Mighty tasty.

A Brewery to follow...

I always have liked their beers and now have another reason to appreciate them. New Belgium Brewing is a company that not only puts out great products but does it in a eco friendly way. Now I don't have to feel guilty when I imbibe a bottle or three of their beers...

Thanks to The Mindful Word for the link.

The Pacific Northwest and vacation...

I just got back a few hours ago from two weeks spent on vacation in Washington and Oregon. This was my first trip out to this part of the country and was my longest vacation I have ever taken. The wife and I spent two wonderful weeks out there. Hopefully I can post some pictures soon. We had some great seafood and managed to visit 10 microbreweries and 2 wineries during our travels. I plan on writing more detailed reviews later but my favorite was Deschutes Brewery and my least favorite was Redhook. I have to say they really take their beer seriously out there and my liver is going to need time to detox after this trip...

Authentic British Style Pub?

Yesterday the wife and I had the day off and decided a movie and dinner would be fun. For the movie we went to see National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Which I will say was fun. I think I actually liked it more than the first one. Don't expect high art, but do expect to be entertained. Which is fine by me.

For dinner we went to a new place in Rocky River called The Pub. They call themselves an authentic British pub. Now I have never been to the U.K. so I cannot speak from first hand experience. I kind of wonder though how authentic this pub is. In a pub like this a lot of times my wife and I like to sit at the bar. I think you can get a better feel for the place this way. Unfortunately we were not able to do so here. The bar here is not that large and there were already a number of people sitting at it. The only open seating was right by the door and being a cold day we did not want the constant breeze on our backs as people entered and exited. So we asked for a table. The hostess took us to the enclosed patio side of the place. I guess in the summer it would be fun to sit here, but if you are looking for the pub experience do not let them sit you here. We are talking plastic patio furniture. How is that the British experience? So we went back to the hostess and had her get us another table. The real pub side is not that large. There are a few booths next to the bar which I guess they hold for bigger groups than just two people. The back has a long padded bench on one wall with several tables of varying sizes. We got a very small table which we had to take all the paraphernalia off of to give us room for our food and drink.

We started out with their curry fries which is a dish we first had in a British pub in the Cayman Islands. Sorry but this was not even close to that dish. Then we both got the bangers and mash--which the menu said was authentic British banger sausages. Sorry again but these sure were not British bangers. We were very disappointed in this dish. We finished up with another appetizer since we were still hungry and got the spinach and artichoke dip. That was a winner. The dip was very good and came with really good pita chips. So food wise I am thinking stay away from the "authentic" British food and go with good old American choices.

Where they did shine was in the beer selection. I had the Fullers ESB which on tap was very good. I followed that with a Kentucky Bourbon Ale. Wow! I highly recommend trying this beer if you ever get the chance. I finished up on Young's Double Chocolate Stout. A favorite of mine. They also have an impressive single malt scotch list to choose from along with small batch bourbons. The place got pretty crowded so I would recommend getting there early on a Friday night. Will we go back? I would say yes because of the beer selection. I don't know if I would go back for the food though and since it is a bit of a drive I do not see us heading there any time soon. Which is a shame since it held such promise...

addendum: I forgot to mention the service in my original post. Our server was named Jeff and he was very good. He was always walking back and forth so we never had to wait that long for additional drinks or food. He was also very friendly and I thought honest in his opinion of the food and drink. I noticed the other servers also were attentive of their customers. So I give a big thumbs up on service.

Golfers and beer...

I just thought this was good.

Statistics worth noting:

o A recent study found the average American golfer walks about 900 miles a Year.
o Another study found American golfers drink, on average, 22 gallons of beer a year.
o That means, on average, American golfers get about 41 miles to the gallon.

Kind Of Makes You Proud.

One Beer to Rule Them All..

Another merger in the beer world. This continues a trend of the top breweries as they try to become the worlds largest. I would not be surprised if in the end we are stuck with one mega-brewery and lots of small independents. I like how in the article Pete Coors tries to justify the merger by saying “Creating a stronger U.S. brewer will help us meet these challenges, compete more effectively and provide U.S. consumers with more choice, greater product availability and increased innovation.” As if creating a mega-corporation ever gives consumers more choice and innovation. I gave up drinking their products years ago. Life is to short to drink cheap beer...

A Great Loss to All Beer Lovers...

I meant to post this last night. Michael Jackson more than anyone else revitalized interest in new and better beers the world over. His death will leave a void for all drinkers of beer and whisky. As we get ready to start our holiday weekend don't forget to tip a glass or two for Mr. Jackson...