Mixing Water and Oil?

Tom Potter is best known for co-authoring a beautiful tome with Steve Hindy. Mr. Potter, along with Mr. Hindy, is also known for opening a small brewery in Brooklyn, NY way back in 1997. Having sold his shares of Brooklyn Brewery and getting in way too much kayaking, Potter is getting the itch again.

Mr. Potter is done with beer and looking to open Brooklyn's first distillery since prohibition. According to the Brooklyn Paper the "style will be “handmade,” “traditional” and “artisanal” spirits, not some bathtub gin or moonshine. He plans to buy ingredients, such as rye for his whiskey or botanicals for his gin, from an upstate organic farm." The article said that the $3 million distillery's location is yet to be identified but potential locations include the Williamsburg, Red Hook, Sunset Park, and Gowanus neighborhoods of Brooklyn.

We're not whiskey folks but if it's made by one of the co-founders of Brooklyn Brewery it's a good bet that this will be some good swill.


Sorry, we couldn't resist.

Earth Day

It Looks Like Pee with Whip Cream

You will not find La Chouffe on the Top 50 we discussed just a few days ago but this came as a special "pick me up" from our trusted assistant. Maybe she was impressed by the high 9.0 percent abv. Maybe she was impressed by the fact that Chouffe's Houblon is a "Dobbelen IPA Tripel". But she was probably impressed by the fact that the bottle is labeled with the Travelocity Gnome. Now, we don't speak french so we sought the help of our friends at Beer Advocate and they have this to say:

La Chouffe is "a small artisanal brewery in The Ardennes Mountains of Achouffe, Belgium. Owner Christian Bauweraerts' favorite style of beer is the Tripel. It's also nod to both traditional English India Pale Ales (IPAs) and the aggressive American Double IPA. And to round things off, "houblon" is French for 'hop'".

La Chouffe is a Belgian brew that starts out with a lot of foam. There are a lot of brews that brag about their hops but they all take a back seat to to Houblon. It reeks of hops and we mean that in the best possible way. Even hop lovers can be forgiven for being a bit intimidated by the scent. But when the foam settles take a gulp and let your taste buds enjoy the dance.

Houblon combines bitter and sweet in a way that is rarely found in beer. It's unfiltered, smooth, and has a dry finish. While the hop scent is very strong will be disappointed if you were hoping to get punched in the teeth by hop flavors. It's far too complicated a beer for something so brash. Though unfiltered, it's very refined and will make you want to drink it with your pinky finger sticking out. We dare you to not drink all 750 ml in one sitting.

Cheers!

Defining Beer Goggles

Reuters tells us that we can stop blaming beer goggles because a new study has determined that intoxication does not help men determine a woman's age (because that's what single men are trying to do while drinking beer and hitting on women). Further, drinking beer actually makes the opposite sex less attractive.

Thanks Dr. Vincent Egan (University of Leicester) for your groundbreaking study but we fear that you misconstrued the use of the term "beer goggles". It's not your fault. It happens all the time. However, it's a little known fact that men do not rely on beer goggles to make women attractive nor do men rely on the goggles for predicting age. Men rely on beer goggles to help us not care about the attractiveness or age of a woman.

To rectify the situation we humbly offer a more accurate definition of the term.

Beer Goggles: Device by which an individual (or individuals) intentionally causes mental impairment to the degree that the individual's primary concern is "hooking up" with a member of the opposite sex regardless of the level of attractiveness and/or age of said member.

You may discuss.
Cheers!

Bag Lunch

Someone in the office started bringing their lunch this week. Emily, whose last name shall remain anonymous, is in her mid-twenties.


Apologies on the quality - the pictures come via cellphone camera.

50 Beers in 52 Weeks

On April 13, 2009, the Brewers Association announced its annual list of the top 50 Craft Brewing Company by Beer Sales Volume (2008). DBB is proposing to evaluate one brew from each of the 50 companies before the list comes around again in 2009. What are the chances we'll get a sampling from all 50? Pretty slim. But it's not entirely our fault - some are clearly brew pubs and how many different Gordon Biersch's should any beer blog be forced to visit? We promise to give it the old college try and we won't count beers previously discussed (unless we get lazy).

We are providing a copy of the list so you don't have to search for it on the Brewers Association Web site; and certainly not because we hope that somebody might stumble upon DBB while doing web searches for brewing companies. Best of luck to us.

1) Boston Beer Co., Boston, MA
2) Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA
3) New Belgium Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
4) Spoetzl Brewery, Shiner, TX
5) Pyramid Breweries Inc.,Seattle, WA
6) Deschutes Brewery, Bend, OR
7) Matt Brewing Co., Utica, NY
8) Boulevard Brewing Co., Kansas City, MO
9) Full Sail Brewing Co., Hood River, OR
10) Magic Hat Brewing Co., Burlington, VT
11) Alaskan Brewing Co., Juneau, AK
12) Harpoon Brewery, Boston, MA
13) Bell's Brewery, Inc., Galesburg, MI
14) Kona Brewing Co., Kailua-Kona, HI
15) Anchor Brewing Co.,San Francisco, CA
16) Shipyard Brewing Co., Portland, ME
17) Summit Brewing Co., Saint Paul, MN
18) Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, CA
19) Abita Brewing Co., Abita Springs, LA
20) The Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn, NY
21) New Glarus Brewing Co., New Glarus, WI
22) Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, Milton, DE
23) Long Trail Brewing Co., Bridgewater Corners, VT
24) Gordon Biersch Brewing Co., San Jose, CA
25) Rogue Ales/Oregon Brewing Co., Newport, OR
26) Great Lakes Brewing Co., Cleveland, OH
27) The Lagunitas Brewing Co., Petaluma, CA
28) Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, CA
29) SweetWater Brewing Co., Atlanta, GA
30) Flying Dog Brewing Co., Frederick, MD
31) BJ's Restaurant & Brewery, Huntington Beach, CA
32) Rock Bottom Brewery Restaurants, Louisville, CO
33) BridgePort Brewing Co., Portland, OR
34) Odell Brewing Co., Fort Collins, CO
35) Victory Brewing Co., Downingtown, PA
36) Mac and Jack's Brewery, Redmond, WA
37) Big Sky Brewing Co., Missoula, MT
38) Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants, Chattanooga, TN
39) Karl Strauss Brewing Co., San Diego, CA
40) Breckenridge Brewery, Denver, CO
41) Lost Coast Brewery and Cafe, Eureka, CA
42) Otter Creek Brewing Co., Middlebury, VT
43) Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, UT
44) North Coast Brewing Co., Fort Bragg, CA
45) Blue Point Brewing Co., Patchogue, NY
46) Boulder Beer Co., Boulder, CO
47) Pete's Brewing Co., San Antonio, TX
48) McMenamins Breweries, Portland, OR
49) Anderson Valley Brewing Co., Boonville, CA
50) The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc., St Louis, MO


Cheers!

Sensing A Theme

We kicked off this month with a double header, including a Mr. Kyle Wygle pulled over for driving a motorized bar stool while intoxicated. Not to be outdone by Mr. Wygle is Hutchinson, Minnesota's own Mr. Darwin Christensen. Mr. Christensen is on the block after apparently driving his lawnmower to the SuperAmerica convenience store while intoxicated to purchase gasoline and more beer. Yep, that's him pictured below. (Why are the always so handsome?)

In a story filled with great highlights this one stands out: "Christensen stopped at one point, and urinated on the side of the road and tossed away an empty beer."

Mr. Hutchinson faces DWI and public urination charges. In case you were wondering it is illegal in Minnesota to operate any motor vehicle under the influence.

Rising Tide of Beer Lifts the Economy

Was there ever really any doubt? When the economy's good we celebrate with a cold one at the game. When the economy's bad we drown our sorrows in beer. More accurately, you might suggest that beer is an intricate part of the economy because beer is an intricate part of our culture. Like "Folgers in your cup", the Mudville Nine, Mark Twain, and fireside chats beer is America.

The NBWA states that the beer distribution industry alone accounts for more than 91,000 jobs in the United States. Overall, more than 1 million people work in the beer industry, which creates $28 billion in payroll. When the taxman comes, the beer industry contributes more than $41 billion to the federal, state, and local governments in the US.

According to one article, the beer industry brings $13.7 billion to the state of Colorado and accounts for $1.2 million of their state, local, and federal taxes. The Baltimore Business Journal reports that beer alone contributes $2.25 billion to Maryland's economy and $4.29 billion to Virginia. In the Washington, DC, the beer industry has 3,388 jobs. It also generates more than $121 in tax revenue (federal and local). See how beer impacts your state and local economy at Beer Serves America.

Man, we are really thirsty.
Cheers!

HG-DBB

In early February we decided that our newest venture would be farming. Mostly because the local home brew shop, Maryland Homebrew, was offering it's annual opportunity to purchase hops rhizomes (or is hops singular here?). There are several reasons to grow your own hops:

• Go back to the roots of Americana - back to the farm, as it were.
• Go green - pluck them from your backyard garden rather than buying hops shipped in from Oregon.
• Failure is an option - apparently you can expect your first season of growing to be a big failure and that aligns nicely with the DBB mantra "Expect nothing and you won't be disappointed."

We planted on Sunday, April 5, 2009, when it was 65 degrees and nothing but sun (hops really like sun). Regular updates will be provided along with any available photographic evidence.

Tonight the weather "predicters" are calling for a hard freeze. At the risk of being repetitive: Expect nothing and you won't be disappointed.

The Moon is Beautiful

A little too much beer and VH1's top one-hit wonders of the '80s. Seriously, we didn't know it was a real song until last night.



Cheers!

Double Your Pleasure

Decisions, decisions. Despite several rounds of internal voting among the DBB staff we could not reach consensus on which story was more worthy of your time. So, we decided that with spring in the air we would offer the season's first official double header. Happy reading.

In Newark, Ohio, a man faces charges for getting so drunk he decided to drive his bar stool home. WBNS, 10TV reports that Mr. Kyle Wygle faces charges for admitting to police that he drank 15 beers hopped on his motorized bar stool (pictured) and then crashed it. Mr. Wygle is fighting the charges saying he didn't start drinking until after crashing the bar stool. Mr. Wygle offers this piece of advice to other bar stool riders out there: always wear a helmet.

and...

Louisiana Representative Jerry Gisclair wants to allow barbershops the opportunity to offer thirsty customers free beer, wine, or liqour. Said the AP article: "Gisclair said his bill is an attempt to put into law specific rules so that all cosmetology businesses — barber shops, salons, day spas — can serve a limited amount of alcohol while still allowing children in their businesses." As long as the barber isn't drinking we say bottoms up.

Cheers!