Oh My God! - They Kilkenny!

Our good friends at The Dubliner are the first in the country to offer Ireland's Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale on draft. Think of Kilkenny as a sister to Guinness. It has the same creamy head but the brew is a starkly-Irish red ale. It's a bit sweet with a somewhat dry finish and not as heavy as Guinness. Frankly, it's just like Guinness in terms of feel but Kilkenny tastes like an ale rather than a stout. If you're looking for an alternative to Guinness this is it.

The Dubliner has been voted Washington, DC's best Irish Pub for good reason. The place feels like Ireland. It's dark, everything is wood, and the bartender has a goofy accent. The food is typically Irish pub food. The beer selection is what you expect from the Irish - always a variety on tap ranging from your Irish favorites to domestic standbys. And they have history too. So much that Morning Joe broadcast from the Dub on Inauguration Day. Next time you're around Union Station, stop by for a Kilkenny and have the fish n chips.

Badass on the Block

Kid Rock is giving up on the Coors. On July 4th, Drinks Americas Holdings announced it started brewing and kegging beer for Kid Rock's American Badass Beer Company. The initial brew, an "easy to drink" American style lager, will be available first at a two-night Kid Rock show on July 17th-18th at Comerica Park. "Easy to drink" sure sounds like a nice way of saying you taste like Coors.

After the shows, the beer will be distributed throughout Michigan. According to one report, kegs will come first, then 12 and 22 ounce bottles. Sorry G's, there is no plan for the fortie.

We like Kid Rock. We also like beer but if you have to put the word badass in the name, it probably isn't badass. And we couldn't help but throw in this video report from the folks at truecountry.tv. Seriously, we dare you to watch it.

Pride of Pyongyang

We can only be referring to Taedonggang Beer. Named for a river that runs through Pyongyang the Korean News Service reports that "[t]he citizens call Taedonggang beer 'cold yet warm beer' as it is associated with the warm care of General Secretary Kim Jong Il for the people." Distribution vans get traffic privileges on the streets of Pyongyang - and there is nothing worse than Pyongyang traffic.

This 2.5 minute commercial for the people's brew verifies that Kim Jong-il can target an audience - even if he can't target a missile. Stealing a bit of marketing genius from the big American brewers, Taedonggang promises to "relieve stress, improve health, and even lengthen your life" in what The Big Money reports is the NK's first television commercial. We wonder what else it can lengthen.



According to a BBC report, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has a "personal interest in the brewery. 'Watching good quality beer coming out in an uninterrupted flow for a long while, he noted with great pleasure that it has now become possible to supply more fresh beer to people in all seasons,' North Korea's state news agency, KCNA, said after he visited the brewery in 2002."

Cheers!