This year's barley crop in parts of North Dakota isn't looking too good due to extreme dry conditions. What does this say about upcoming beer production? Check out this report from KX News in Dickinson, ND and see why in some cases part of this year's malt is going to be fed to cows instead of being made into beer. Click here for the original story on the KXMA web site. Read Full Story

I've recently begun experimenting with aging beers in my basement. I've heard from a few readers about the benefits of aging higher alcohol beer and how it can change the complexity and flavor of a brew. One of my favorite sites that I follow is: The Brew Basement. This site has some great tips on how aging a beer can do wonders for it. I'm starting to be a believer. Quite by accident, I ended up aging some Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter for about a month or two and was really... Read Full Story

For as long as I've been a blogger I've relied on other blogs in my subject area to inspire me and to give me ideas for writing my own. I currently subscribe to 135 beer related feeds. Some humorous, some beer news feeds, some personal beer blogs and several professional beer blogs. The more beer blogs and feeds I subscribe to, the less time I have for blogging myself! While I tend to skim over many of those blogs, there are a handful of them that I take the time to read carefully each day... Read Full Story

In a recent wave of cooperative mergers and efforts, two western US brewers are getting together to brew each others beers at the others brewing facility. New Belgium Brewing and Elysian Brewing Company agreed yesterday, July 18th, to allow brewing access to each's facilities. That mean's New Belgium will be able to brew Fat Tire in Washington and Elysian can brew The Immortal IPA in Fort Collins. As the costs of brewing and distributing stay high, many more craft brewers may find... Read Full Story

I was fresh out of beer yesterday and made another run to the brew store to look for some summer refreshers. I spotted three beers that caught my eye and took them home. The first of these beers is a flagship brew from the Mendocino Country brewers of North Coast Brewing Company - Ruedrich's Red Seal Ale. My previous encounter with this California brew came a few months ago when sampling their delicious Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. I really loved that brew and cellared a couple of... Read Full Story

I saw this video posted on the Aleuminati and laughed so hard that I just had to post it here. If you like Stephen Colbert of The Colbert Report, or even if you don't, you'll love this little episode about InBev buying out Anheuser-Busch. Oh that IS a rude awakening! Read Full Story

This beer is the last new brew of my latest beer run. It's been a while since I've sampled a brew from Ska Brewing Company of Durango, CO. This is another in their small line of "Robust Reincarnations". Today's brew is their Decadent Imperial IPA. As with all of their robust line of beers, these bomber bottles are dipped in colored wax, red in particular. I love their skeleton and bowling pin themed labels too - it fits them to a tee. This is the brew that Ska cooked up for their 10th... Read Full Story

Tonight's beer review comes from the last of the three different beers from Crabtree Brewing Company that I picked up direct from the brewery. This beer is named after the brewer - Jeff's Pale Ale. This American Pale Ale weighs in at 5.0% ABV and with a 45 IBU rating. I've had several pale ales before and was eager to sample this local brew. I had tried a small sampling on tap from the brewery and didn't feel like I had enough to review it then so I opened up a fresh 12oz bottle for a full... Read Full Story

I'm doing a double review today. I had the pleasure of visiting my local hometown brewery Crabtree Brewing Company of Greeley, Colorado. I've somehow put off visiting this brewery for the last two years but could not wait any longer to go visit them. Crabtree is hidden amongst the railroad tracks on the east side of town in a small warehouse brewery. I had the opportunity to meet both the owner / brewer Jeff Crabtree and his wife Stephanie. Both of them are primarily responsible for... Read Full Story

This review comes a day late as the 4th of July festivities kept me really busy last night. I've had the pleasure of sampling two different and unique Belgian Quadrupel ales this weekend. My previous review was of Avery's The Reverend. Tonight I broke open a big 25.4oz bottle of Brewery Ommegang's 2007 Three Philosophers. This brewery while related to parent company Duvel of Belgium, is actually made in Cooperstown, NY. My local liquor store just started carrying this brand and I jumped... Read Full Story