Beer News Blog

Tired of being late on gifts of the season? Don’t despair! Get started now for next year…anyone who likes beer (and who doesn’t?) will appreciate this trio of beer possibilities:

• A belt buckle that doubles as a bottle opener.

• A handy little device that chills a 6-pack down in a jiffy.

• A beer brewing machine that’s about easy to use as a toaster.

Kids! Get one of these for your dear ol’ dad. Any one of these trinkets would be welcome under any brewhead’s tree…especially his. But you don’t have to wait ’til Christmas…everyone alive has a birthday. Gifts like these could be the perfect tokens of your love.

In a lot of circumstances they could even make a great Valentine gift. Ladies! Want to put him in the mood for romance on February 14th? Make him think about tying the proverbial knot? Or maybe just being a little knotty? Well, the bottle-opening belt buckle could be just the thing. Check one out for about $20 at www.xpressmart.com.

You have a beerhead friend (we all do) that just MUST have the coldest beer possible, and FAST! Gift him this: The Cooper Cooler. It’ll get a can of beer down to freezing in one minute…and for her, a bottle of Two Buck Chuck Chardonnay in 6 minutes. The price was not available in time for this post, but for something this extraordinary, could price be an object? Learn more at www.uberreview.com/2005/10/cooper-cooler-cold-beer-now.htm/, and follow the link to the Cooper Cooler’s homepage.

But now for the ultimate beer gift…the Beer Machine 2000! For $249, just mix the beer powder with water and wait…out will come fresh, delicious draft beer. At least that what they say at www.tesora.com.

I know I should be writing the news, but this evening I’m feeling a little inspired.  And what the heck, it’s the holidays, ’tis the season to be creative.

I know I should be writing, but I’m not in the mood

So how about a poem, from the Southern California dude?

The holidays are here, and your wallet’s in a slump

But here are some words to cure your holiday grump

The big day is almost here and you’re ready to leave

Hopefully your boss will call a half day to give you reprieve

The freeways will be jammed-packed full of cars

And they’ll be closing down restaurants, shops and BARS

But fear not my friends, don’t be in a fit

The liquor store’s OPEN sign will still be lit

You can get your Modelo, your Corona, your Tecate

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been nice or naughty

Get your wife some Michelob Ultra and Miller Lite

Hopefully, she’s making sure her figure stays right

Yes get your Newcastle, your Guiness, your Stout

A beer with your buddies is what the holidays are all about!

Don’t forget Bud Light and Budweiser too,

“Cause this is Budeweiser, this is true”

Crack open a beer whether original or light

And say “Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!”

Steve Hindy was a correspondent to the Associated Press, operating in Cairo, when he discovered the wonders of craft beer.  After meeting up with staff members at the US Embassy, Hindy complained about the lack of good beer in Egypt.  That’s when his new found friends let him in on their little secret, they were actually brewing their own beer.  After tasting their wondrous brew, Hindy had a moment.  It was the kind of moment when you realize your life’s calling - BEER!

Hindy moved back to the States and began pondering what it would take to start his own brewery, specializing in craft beers.  Living in Brooklyn, New York, a neighborhood that was once bustling with breweries, inspiration was all around him.  He began brewing beer from his apartment and served his suds to his neighbors.  They enjoyed his concoctions, marveling at the flavors Hindy was able to produce from his own home.

Hindy knew he had a good product, it just needed a great marketing pitch.  He decided to call his beer Brooklyn Beer, banking on the notoriety of the famous New York borough.  His idea was right on.  In its first year, Brooklyn Beer sold a respectable 1,768 cases.  This year, Hindy’s little operation has grown to an eye-opening 800,000 cases.

While mainly sold on the East Coast, Brooklyn Beer is slowly expanding throughout the US and abroad.  This year the craft brew moved into the Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Alabama markets as well as Norway, Switzerland, Britain, Hong Kong, Japan, Finland, Denmark and Sweden.  Apparently, the whole world loves this Wise Guy’s beer!

You know, I’ve been thinking about making a beer of my own …

Do you like animal stories? Here’s one about some pigs.

In Father’s Office’s early days as a draft beer emporium, we caught all the beer that went down the drain in buckets. An enterprising pig farmer asked if he could have it for his livestock, and would periodically drop by and take the swill.

I never got any bacon out of the deal, but I did get the satisfaction of knowing our stuff was being put a good use. The thought of pigs somewhere drinking down fresh pure microbrewery draft beer gave me a glow.

It’s such a good idea that of course it’s done in other civilized countries as well. Australia springs to mind immediately. In fact the “Pub in the Paddock” on the isle of Tasmania has taken it a step further, inviting its patrons to pour watered down bottled beer down the throats of the pub’s two pet pigs, P.B. and Priscilla.

Sounds like fun for everyone, doesn’t it? The pub’s owner stated that the pigs seemed to look forward to a couple of beers, and tourists loved it.

Animal welfare activists from Choose Cruelty Free have objected to the practice. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has investigated the pub’s pigs and says that “unfortunately” there is nothing cruel about it.

Chalk one up for the home team.

I’ve got to try this. Now beer can literally double your pleasure. In the little Czech town of Chodova Plana the world’s first beer spa has opened. I mean, you actually get right down into a big vat of warm dark lager and soak. Don’t drink the beer, please—it’s only about 2% alcohol. Just order a cool one from the attendants. It’s a real brewery, and you’ll get a fine example of good Czech beer.

Afterward you get the usual spa accoutrements, including a wrap and massage. Here, and here only, you’ll get the massage with oils made from beer’s ingredients.

Chodova Plana is near Prague in an area renowned for its healing spring waters. The waters’ benefits seem to be amplified by being brewed into beer. The spa seems to be most helpful to those with circulatory and skin problems (I mentioned not drinking the beer!). The town’s brewery is very old, having opened in 1573, and for centuries the area’s doctors have recommended the beer itself as a palliative. Internally applied, of course.

German, Czech, British, and American tourists have responded strongly. In the first three months over a thousand people have been “treated” at the brewery’s spa.

I can’t wait to say “Cheers” while up to my palate in beer.

See you there!