This Post Will Self-Destruct in Five Seconds

We're writing tonight from our undisclosed, TOP SECRET, bunker outside the District borders.  Dick Cheney is in the next room working on another heart attack but don't worry we've hidden the guns. Our dedication to occasionally bringing you beer reviews is the reason for risking the security of this great land.  Freedom, liberty - sure they're important but rambling on about the devil's swill is more important.

Speaking of the devil tonight we're sipping DuClaw Brewing Company's Devil's Milk. This is an American Barleywine Ale that pours rusty in color giving us a nice, thick copper and eggshell head.  We would love to include a picture to give you a better sense of the brew but we're already risking too much.  The Devil's Milk, as the name might indicate, is warm and spicy but there's a sweet chewiness that lingers on the palette.  The aroma is flowery and we can sense the hops but they never really come through in the taste.  An empty glass is left with a spider web of foam, typically a good sign for any brew.

We have never really been sold on barleywines.  It's good to have one every now and again and the Devil's Milk is as good as any other.  Though we don't have a special place in our hearts for barleywines we polished off the entire bomber; you know, out of respect for the beer.  So, what we're really saying is that if the future holds more time in undisclosed bunkers we probably won't be bringing a supply of barleywines.  Of course, if that's all they have in the TOP SECRET refrigerator we will drink it.  Just doing our part for the cause.

Dark Times and Free Beer

Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser brand has been getting killed lately.  According to USA Today, Bud unit sales are down 9 percent from last year.  Further evidence of the decline is Bud's place on the Brand Keys Loyalty Leaders list, which ranks consumer loyalty of the top 501 consumer brands (presumably Levi's 501 Original Jeans ranks high on this list).  In 2003, Bud was number 16 but dropped to 220 in 2010.  Things are so bad for the brand that Anheuser-Busch recently started charging up to $2,000 for Budweiser's Clydesdales appearances - sorry Timmy, your stuck with Bozo the clown for your birthday.

The folks at Anheuser-Busch are not going to let the craft brew industry get in the way of their world beer domination so they're unveiling a new, hip marketing push: Bud Emo.

That's right, born in Washington, DC and now representing much of what's hip in music, fashion, and Justin Beiber, emo is going adult contemporary.  Anheuser-Busch is attempting to reach the under 30 crowd, which it has all but ignored in recent years.  Going forward, all Bud brand labels will be in black though certain labels will include a trim of nauseatingly bright colors.  The new slim fitting Bud bottles will be decked out in studded black belt trimmed labels.  Select cases of Bud and Bud Light will come with a free pair of thick, black, horn-rimmed glasses.  The movement will culminate with a free Bud tasting on September 29, 2010, at the National Budweiser Happy Hour (ages 21 and over).

If you're under 30 and want to get ahead of the curve we are here to help.  We scoured the interwebs to find the graphic below.  Follow the detailed fashion advice, download some Weezer, order a Bud, and commence with sharing the tragedy that is your life.  Never forget that you're emo, you're under 30 so nothing is more important than the trumped up pain your feeling right now.  In fact, you should stop reading this and tweeter your pain so we can all share in the center of the universe that is you.

Beer + Bacon = Heaven

And our high school math teacher said we would never get word problems.

You know the Heavy Seas Beer & Bacon Festival is well planned when you find them handing out strips of bacon at the merchandise shop bar.  A slice of bacon and a glass of Small Craft Warning is a nice start to the day. We also hit the Prosit, Red Sky at Night, Pale Ale, and the bourbon barrel-aged Great'er Pumpkin - flowing through a carved out pumpkin.  Among our favorites was Red Sky and the Small Craft Warning.  The food was great too, particularly the duck bacon, but we'll leave it to Bacon, Baking & Everything in Between to fill in the details.

Saturday's event was more about the bringing together of two beautiful dietary creations - beer and bacon.  Heavy Seas showed us a good time with plenty of grub and plenty of swill. We're still dehydrated but it was worth it. 

A few pics from the afternoon:

Bacon and Beer and Everything's Nice

Just roll these out to my car, please.

For dessert, I'll have the antacid.

Pumpkin keg stand anybody?

For us, this is the equivalent of a bank robber finding the vault.

Home Sweet Home

Due to the intricate sophistication of Dumbarton's Beer you probably assumed our roots grow deep in the soil that is inside the beltway.  Well, like 98 percent of DMV residents we're squatters and tonight we're missing home just a bit.

You might recall that we covered the short-lived soap opera surrounding the sale of Flying Bison Brewing Company (FBBC).  While that seems to have resolved itself in a positive way we recently learned of a nanobrewery attempting to open shop in the Queen City.  Community Beer Works is comprised of a small group of locals looking to help return Buffalo to its halcyon days of brewing.  By early 2011, the folks at CBW expect to brew 1 bbl batches in a former malting building on Lafayette Avenue in the City's East Side.  According to reports, CBW will brew up to 6,000 gallons next year and be producing upwards of 34,000 gallons annually within five years.  Partner Ethan A. Cox told the Buffalo News that the long-term plan is to have a series of nanobreweries across the city.  "We want to be a small neighborhood brewery and 10 years down the line have a series of Community Beer Works in other neighborhoods."  Today, the Buffalo News did a small piece noting that CBW received necessary approval from the Buffalo Zoning Board.  A small, but critical, step in planning and development.  Kudos to the folks at CBW.  Our collective mouths water for your local fare.  In the meantime, we'll keep trying to get FBBC to distribute some Aviator Red south of the Mason Dixon.

As if karma were aligning the stars for this post, we also read this little piece by John Vogl on the new, and very improved, uniforms for our Buffalo Sabres (more info here).  Mercifully, the slug is gone.  Back are the original blue and gold uniforms with a few modifications but old school fans are not going to be disappointed.  Now we won't look so out of place in our original Perrault home jersey - remember when teams wore home white jerseys?  Those were the days.  In celebration of their 40th anniversary the Sabres will also unveil a new third/alternate jersey that's a nod back to pre-NHL days for western New York.  No word on whether the Sabres management has plans for celebrating 40 years of not winning a Stanley Cup but we might pick up that new alternate jersey anyway.  We're homers.  We miss home.

Beer, Deer - Hey, it Rhymes

For years Bambi watched men in camouflage and bright orange caps use hunting as an excuse to get hammered with old high school buddies and not with the wife and kids.  Today, Bambi decided to join in on the fun.

Decisions, Decisions

Decision 2010 is upon us.  If you haven't started to see the advertisements already you will in short order - particularly if your community is ground zero for a ripe electoral challenge.  Living in Washington, DC, we don't have that problem.  Our Senators are but shadows on Capitol Hill - no, seriously the official position is that of Shadow Senator.  On the House side we have an elected Representative, Elanor Holmes Norton, but she can't actually vote on legislation.  Ms. Norton can, however, introduce legislation.  Our local government passes laws that must be reviewed and approved by Congress.  We also get to serve in the military and get stuck with jury duty.  All of this and we still get to pay federal taxes.

But do you really come here to read the plight of the more than 500,000 Americans who don't have representation in Congress?  If so, get active at DC Vote.

If not, you might be interested in political news out of Minnesota where one hopeful, who is probably a tea partying Communist (oh, it's possible), may have voted to tax bacon AND beer.  Check this out:




I mean, would Jim the Election Guy lead us on?  Well, probably.  Actually, Jim the Election Guy is probably a tea partying Communist too.

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
DC Voting Rights Act - Eleanor Holmes Norton
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes 2010 Election Fox News

Believe it or not, residents of Washington, DC once had a vote but Congress took it away with the passage of the Organic Act in 1801.  DC residents have been allowed to vote in Presidential elections since 1961.

So, when you head to the polls in November remember you're not just voting for your representation you're also voting for ours.