Clearing out some refugees from the refrigerator. Session Premium Lager from Full Sail brewing. Leftovers from a visit in March by my best friend. He likes good beer, but his inner tightwad mostly steers him toward crap beers. He found this at a grocery store in Lubbock. I've never seen it before. Bright and clear yellow color, even more "yellow" than typical American industrial lagers. Corny and grainy aroma. Corn and grainy flavor as well. Mostly light, but finishes kind of bitter. I don't care for lagers in general and this one doesn't really do anything for me, though the stubby bottle is kinda cool.
One of the leftovers from the "beer of the month" subscription my wife got me for Christmas a couple of years ago. Lancaster Kölsch, Lancaster Brewing Company Very "orange" appearance compared to most beers. The aroma is sweet, and has a honey, nutty flavor. The beer reminds me a lot of butterscotch.
Another BotMC leftover. Eastside Dark Lager. Rich, coffee-like aroma. Creamy on the taste with a bit of citric hoppiness. Good, but not as tasty as the Kölsch.
Besides, if I'm going to drink something just for alcohol content, it's going to be a lot stronger than 28 proof.
New controversy in the world of beer distribution: http://www.esquire.com/blogs/food-for-men/beer-bribery I was watching these tweets last night and after taking some time to figure things out, I became quite intrigued by what I was reading. Essentially, some breweries pay bars to feature their beer, and some bars therefore make that demand to any salesmen who come by. Capitalism at its finest, or a constraint of the free market? I'm a big fan of Pretty Things, the brewery that started the ball rolling on this complaint, so that might bias me, but generally, shouldn't bars sell what the customer wants?
That practice is not new, Breweries used to open their OWN bars and sell ONLY their own beer. In fact in Milwaukee it was a common practice in the 1930's when prohibition ended. If you can find a SCHLITZ or PABST chair or table, their worth quite a bit of money. The breweries would have their logo carved and painted on all the furniture in their bars. Now bribing someone to only carry your beer? Is it illegal? I don't know it's up to the owner. If he doesn't carry what patrons what to drink he will go out of business.
It is illegal and unethical. It's pretty easy for Budweiser to bribe every bar in town, not so easy for a craft brewer.
I know Craft breweries that own bars that ONLY carry their own beers. How is that different? We have one in Cincinnati.
It's different because they are, as bar owner, within their right to select what the offer their patrons. Additionally, the laws are a bit different regarding craft breweries, and with good reason. They have a bit more regulatory relief because they are not in a position to dominate the market.
Here is how I see it, If a bar owner is willing to take money from a brewery to sell only that breweries beer, that's his choice. It's not a bar I'd go to myself. McDonald's ONLY sells Coke products, because COKE pays them. Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut ONLY sell Pepsi. How is that fair to RC? It's not but it's not illegal. You go to most stores and they ONLY sell Bud and Miller. (Stores like Walmart and Meijer). I choose NOT to buy beer from them and go to a beer store that carries MANY brands.
I think what he's saying is illegal is for Bud to say (to a bar not of their ownership) you can only sell Bud or for them to say you can't sell Coors.
How is that illegal? It's a free market economy, the owner can simply say "No I am selling miller, NOW if bud refuses to SELL him beer because he sells Miller, then YES it is Illegal.
The owner can make that choice. The owner cannot solicit a bribe. It is the bribe that is illegal, but also apparently common practice in this industry. Pretty Things doesn't want to pay the bribes, so they've gone public via twitter.
Bar owners here carry what sells. I've never been to a local bar that sells ONLY one brand of beer. I've been to events where the beer choices are Bud and Bud Light. But Miller is right up the road (Near John's House) and they contract brew for Pabst. Dickerson Dist is in town and they carry Anheuser-Busch and Yuengling. Sam Adams is in Cincinnati and well as Hudepohl-Schoenling. So we have a LOT of choices here.
I'm curious about what specifically makes it illegal. The university I used to work at had an exclusive deal with a bank where they got to be the only bank with a presence on campus and also made a big donation to the school. I'd be surprised if there weren't some similar things surrounding exclusive Coke/Pepsi deals.
So I've started to do the growler thing, where you bring your own bottle to a small brewery and they fill it for you. First you sample a few things not available in stores, then select one for the fill, and take it home for more enjoyment. Definitely a cool way to enjoy beer. The breweries that do this are so small, you often get to talk to the actual brewers, and it's also a fun social thing discussing the beers with other patrons. It's a room full of people who love beer as much as you do, which is a refreshing thing to find. So tonight I'm drinking some Gandhi Bot from New England Brewing Company, which is completely awesome. But I have come across a possible issue with the growler concept. I kind of, actually, didn't want to drink all of it tonight. But it's not clear to me whether it survives for a second night. Yes, I can screw the cap back on, but will it lose the freshness and bubbliness if I put some of it away for 24 hours? I've noticed a lot of hipster losers at these places, so maybe @Ancalagon knows the answer. Alternatively, maybe an expert in things like alcohol bottling such as @Aenea can provide an answer. Usually I don't mind drinking the whole thing, but I would like to get a better understanding of the parameters.
Just yesterday for the first time I was able to take advantage of a change in our liquor laws. Brew pubs are now allowed to bottle (or can, in this case) beer and sell it off-premises. I bought a sixer of a new IPA from a local brewpub and it was pretty decent. Could've been a lot more hoppy (the IPAs they serve on site will knock you back they're so hoppy) but it was okay. I'll have to try the other beers they're selling now, too. My best friend works for the regulatory agency who oversees alcohol sales here and he was a big force in getting the rules changed.
Yep, they're pretty big here. Not only breweries but most bars will also sell their draft beer by the growler as well (great way to take home imported beer that you can't otherwise get in the states). I've found that for the beer I usually go for (mostly light beer - pale ales, blondes and pilsners) a few days in the cheap glass and screw cap bottles is fine. However if you're going to be going over that or getting something particularly carbonated, go with a vacuum sealed cap. The one on the left is a refillable wine bottle. That's gotten to be a thing here. It's nice when you can just change out bottles every week at your farmers market. On their end it helps ensure repeat business. Unfortunately I've been superbusy these last couple weeks b/c a new brewery just opened up 2 blocks from me (the next nearest one is half a mile!) and I've got 25 'free' pints (paid $50 this summer as part of crowdsourcing campaign)! Gotta get in there. Hopefully they're open Vets Day.
I should have known the Beer Advocate would have the answer! http://www.beeradvocate.com/articles/384/ Unopened, the beer stays fresh for 7-10 days. Opened, it's good for another day or two. Always refrigerate, of course.
Drinking and health According to the life outcome data (that the medical community doesn't want to talk about because they're afraid it might lead to more alcoholism), people who drink like fish (6 or more drinks per day) still outlive non-drinkers.
^ I wonder about the causality: does alcohol itself improve health, or do the people who can afford (both financially as well as having the free time to spend inebriated and not occupied by stressful matters) a lot of alcohol just tend to live longer? I think I'd drink more wine and beer, but in my state we can't buy alcohol (not even salty cooking wine!) after 9:00pm and that's about the only time I go grocery shopping.
