News Release: Dumbarton's Beer Announces Corporate Relocation

August 3, 2012 (Washington, DC) - In a press conference today Dumbarton's Beer announces the relocation of its international and intergalactic headquarters from the capital of the free world, Washington, DC to the capital of winter, Buffalo, NY.

The move to upstate New York will allow Dumbarton's Beer to recognize enhanced craft beer social media economies of scale, create greater efficiency within the company's various output channels, and reduce our carbon footprint. The relocation will increase the population of western New York by at least four. While specific data is not available this increase could lead to the creation of thousands of jobs and a Super Bowl victory for the Buffalo Bills.

The President and Chief Beer Drinker for Dumbarton's Beer said "we are excited for the opportunity presented in upstate New York and we very much look forward to imbibing in the various upstate craft beers. Dumbarton's Beer is very proud of the growing craft beer segment in Washington, DC. With a little luck, Dumbarton's Beer can do for Buffalo area beer what it did for Washington, DC brewers - which amounts to little more than drinking as much of their beer as possible." He specifically mentioned Franklin's (Hyattsville), Chocolate City, and DC Brau; and went on to thank area Petworth pubs including DC Reynolds and Looking Glass Lounge.

Dumbarton's Beer will officially open the new headquarters on August 13, 2012.

Staff of Dumbarton's Beer are not available for media interviews or press inquiries at this time.

Video Friday at Dumbarton's Beer

Courtesy of the fine folks at the  Washington City Paper. A friendly competition to see which local beer experts know their beer. Read about it here.




This one is just for fun. "All we need is one pin, Rodney."

An Oasis in the Desert

Living along the Northeast Corridor means you are an elitist. Living inside the Beltway makes you an elitist. I live in Washington, DC proper, which means I'm more elitist than just about any other elitist. It also means I'm either a marginally douchey, self-important hipster or a self-important political a**hole, er I mean, policy wonk. The rarest of elitists are both.

Living in Washington, DC requires a healthy disdain for the suburbs. Even though I have young kids and will eventually sell out to live in Bethesdsa, Arlington, or Chevy Chase (ok, not CC - I am a poor elitist). So, I appreciate the irony of relocating to the Crystal City Radisson while renovating the only bathroom in my city rowhouse.

Crystal City is maybe the worst of the suburban landscape. Big, fat Highway 1, named after a leader of the Confederacy, divides what is little more than condominiums, apartments, hotels, and office buildings. Crystal City starts roughly at the Americana Hotel and ends appropriately at a strip mall. The mall includes a Target, Best Buy, Starbucks, IHOP (not iHOP?) and a brewpub called Hops. Wait, a brewpub? Don't worry, it's a chain - a wholly owned subsidiary of Rita Restaurant Corporation. The Crystal City Metro stop in the height of tourist season is a reasonable facsimile for the Gates of Hell. Tourists* stand around in their gaudy t-shirts reminding me that while they are on vacation I'm going to work. Making matters worse is they stand on both sides of the Metro faregates because half don't know where to put the fare cards and the other half are required to block the opposite side as a precaution. Yesterday there was literally a line to get through the faregates - leaving the Metro. If you got into the system chances are the process for getting out is the same. They also stand at the ticket machines (which I freely admit are not particularly user-friendly) trying to determine where they are going, what is the fare, and why is there a rush+. OK, we all ask about the rush+.

Cafe Pizzaiolo in Crystal City, VA

The 500 block of South 23rd Street is the oasis of this desert. There are several nice local establishments along the avenue but I would like to focus on Cafe Pizzaiolo. It's a pizza parlor with gelato and a solid craft beer selection. The Cafe combines locally sourced ingredients with Italian imports to create excellent New York-style pizza. They also offer pasta and pannini but we focused on the pizza. The hummus is made in house and was a big win with the family.Try the chocolate chip gelato for dessert (not desert) and you will not be disappointed.

Nothing against Cafe Pizzaiolo's food but this is a beer blog. The happy hour special was three dollar pints of Yuengling. They offer an array of craft brews and some major labels (Bud, Stella, Corona, etc) as well. Perhaps the best part of this joint is that you can purchase beer to go by the six pack for $11.99. Mix-and-match or six of the same. Needless to say, I had a couple pints of Yuengling and took a six pack to the hotel room.

Here is a quick rundown of what Cafe Pizzaiolo offers:

Magic Hat #9
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA 
Dogfish Head Raison D'Etre
Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale
New Belgium Fat Tire
Bells Oberon
Bells Two Hearted Ale
Shiner Bock
Star Hill Amber Ale
Yeungling
Founders Red's Rye PA

In summation: the suburbs aren't so terrible after all. Tourists - still awful (just stay to the right).

*Coming from the third poorest city in the country I make it a rule to refrain from harping on tourists. If for no other reason than the the tax revenue they bring to the DMV. Some places would love such trouble. However, every rule requires an exception.

The World's Most Useful iPad App

Magician Simon Pierro at the "Hofbraeuhaus" in Munich, Germany.

Happy Anniversary Cleveland

If I told the tale of a once-great city along the shores of Lake Erie whose residents have great pride, strong work ethic but few jobs and lowly sports teams to help pass the harsh winters what city comes to mind?

Cleveland, OH like Buffalo, NY, is a rust belt city and a cheap joke for most parts of the country. (The Edmund Fitzgerald was not really headed for Cleveland, for crying out loud.) So, when it comes to public shaming Cleveland should know at least one Buffalonian feels your pain. In many ways, Cleveland is Buffalo's big sister. As a kid, I remember going to Cleveland's new Jacob Field to see the Indians take on the Yankees. Right around then, the Buffalo Bisons signed on to be the Indian's new farm team. Aside from sharing one Great Lake and a little baseball history there are many facts that highlight a greater bond.So, we being with a quiz.

Guess the Lake Erie Rust Belt City!

Q: This city's average population declined 13.12 percent per decade since 1970.
Q: This city's last professional sports championship was 1964.
Q: Average high temperature in this city is 56 degrees.
Q: Named most miserable city by Forbes.
Q: Second largest city in its state.

What residents of the Northeast Corridor, the Southwest, and California don't know is that rust belt cities are beautiful. Cleveland is home to the Playhouse Square Center - second largest performing arts center in the country. Buffalo is home to more than 50 public art galleries including Albright-Knox and Birchfield-Penney. Steve Harvey, Arsenio Hall, Phil Donahue, and Drew Carey - all from Cleveland. Ani DiFranco, Rick James, the Goo Goo Dolls but also Cannibal Corpse and moe. belong to Buffalo. Both cities have some of the most beautiful architecture in the country. This barely scratches the surface.

Today, Clevelanders celebrate the anniversary of 10 cent beer night. While I haven't been to Cleveland in over a decade, I imagine they celebrate it in much the same way Buffalonians celebrate the anniversary of "wide right". You can read about the fun here and here but you can probably piece together what happened on your own. I also imagine that Clevelanders have the same sense of pride you find in Buffalonians, which is to say we're a little tired of getting kicked in the groin just so you can feel better about your elitist "real city" problems. We have poor economies but tough people with warm hearts and friendly smiles; real houses with yards and everything for less than condominiums in some cities; and the commute is wonderful. We have history and culture and great craft beers. OK, our sports teams suck but it keeps us humble. So, next time you need to feel good about yourself knock on somebody else's hometown.

Happy Anniversary Cleveland - you're a hell of a city!

Cleveland should adopt a similar philosophy!

Quiz Answers

Cleveland: Average population decline 14.4 percent per decade since 1970

Buffalo: Average population decline 13.12 percent per decade since 1970

Cleveland Browns won the NFL Championship in 1964. The Buffalo Bills won the AFL Championship in 1965. There was not a Super Bowl to win in 1964 or 1965 but it's worth noting Cleveland has never played in the game and the Buffal Bills lost it four consecutive times (which is worse?). 

Average high temp in Cleveland 59 degrees (average low 42).

Average high temp in Buffalo 56 degrees (average low 40)

Cleveland, though Techflash.com asks "Really, worse that Detroit and Buffalo?"

Both Cleveland and Buffalo are the second largest cities in their respective states.

Marketing is for Chumps

Generally speaking, craft brewers don't have big advertising/marketing budgets. This does not mean breweries leave all the creativity inside the bottle. To that end, we're kicking off the "Marketing is for Chumps" series bringing you the best and worst in craft beer marketing, advertising and art. Cheers!

Uinta Brewing Company - Salt Lake City, Utah

Abita Brewing Company - Abita Springs, Louisiana

Oskar Blues Brewery - Lyons, Colorado

Chocolate City Beer - Washington, DC

I'm on Fire

Nestled comfortably between the Baby Boomers and the Millenials/Generation Y is Generation X. As part of this heroin-induced flannel party, I'm old enough to have settled down by getting married, having children, and gambling a large portion of wealth building in homeownership. I'm also young enough to not quite adhere to all the rules that result in career advancement but that's probably a good thing. Gen-X loves Clerks, knows the soundtrack for Singles but never saw the movie, and still loves Alice in Chains.

The hardest part about being Generation X is understanding the new world. I like to think that 100 years ago flappers had the same problem. The industrial revolution was in bloom and full of promise but most folks from 1912 presumably looked back fondly of their time growing up on the farm. In 2012, I'm living the Office Space dream looking fondly back on growing up in a blue collar city where manufacturing was, and still is, the primary economic engine.

Being stuck between two colossal populations is not necessarily a bad thing. Well, except that the Baby Boomers refuse to retire so Gen-X is a decade away from moving into the "good life" that is middle management. Most of us are relegated to a couple of steps above entry level waiting for opportunity to knock. Of course, opportunity will never knock because when the Boomers retire (or die) Gen-X will compete for slots with Millenials who are more eager, less hardened by life, and more accepting of the new world (not to mention their generation is not defined by slackers). Generation X is probably the last great rebellion but the bulk of us are resolved to nothing more than setting up our children to ensure they kick Millenials in the ass.

Technology is perhaps the best illustration of this dynamic. Baby boomers hate technology. (Everybody knows one Boomer who spends too much time on Facebook but this is simply the exception that proves the rule.) Most Boomers have the expendable income for the latest iPad but use it as little more than a glorified web browser. Millenials are the opposite. Technology is for them what the automobile was to young WWII veterans returning home to southern California. Those of us stuck in the middle understand technology's power and power is not necessarily a good thing. Gen-X is a generation of skeptics so we're still waiting for technology to be as great as Verizon Wireless commercials advertise. At the same time we have access to more wonders than ever previously imagined. This is to say nothing of privacy; which is dead.

My kids are already more advanced than both of their parents. At 2.5 years of age they easily find their way through a smart phone to find their favorite Muppets videos. In an effort to encourage the early adoption of technology that will lead to the eventual ass kicking we purchased the Kindle Fire. I was not surprised they liked it. I'm surprised that I like it. The Fire traveled with me on a recent work trip and made quite a companion. Reading books on the Fire is quite nice (except for take off and landing) and videos are wonderful. Note: if you purchase the Fire sign yourself up with Amazon Prime.

Why Beer Matters by Evan Rail is a great first read for the Fire. It's a bit of an easy read and too predictably gets into the beer v. wine debate. Mr. Rail makes a compelling statement that beer is democratic and few other beverages are connected to time in the way beer is.  The e-book also has nuggets of beer information that would encourage any beer drinker to more research - like Starkbierzeit, which is now on my bucket list, or attempts to review Grodziskie; a Polish smoked-wheat beer that went out of existence in the early 1990s and has been nearly impossible to recreate. Mr. Rail brilliantly ends it with "what matters most about beer is the drinking of it."

So this entire, rambling post can be summarized with: 1) you should buy the Kindle Fire; 2) make Why Beer Matters your first read; and 3) enjoy a nice craft beer or homebrew.