Night Shift Brewing – Ever Weisse

ABV: 5.1%

Beer should be enjoyable. That’s simple enough, right? But sometimes I feel like as beer nerds we lose track of that. I know I do. I spend way too much time rummaging through Beeradvocate[1] and ratebeer, I obsess over “white-whale” beers and it legitimately bothers me when I try a much-hyped, rare, “highly rated” beer and it just disappoints me[2].  Then I start thinking about all the time I spent checking draft lists[3] and twitter feeds and the disappointment turns into pure anger, mostly directed at myself. I won’t even go into how frustrated I get at beer distribution[4] and beer laws because I am sure anyone reading this already feels my pain there. But here’s the good news: it does not have to be this way. Assuming you live close to a city, I can almost guarantee that you have phenomenal beer in your backyard[5] and you should be drinking and enjoying it. Not because it’s easy[6], but because it’s delicious and worth knowing about. Night Shift’s Ever Weisse, a superbly funky, sinfully red sour Berliner Weisse beer is the perfect example of the beers we should all be spending more of our time on. Read More

Playoff Hockey Returns

Despite the NHL season having been abbreviated due to the expiration of the existing collective bargaining and profit sharing deal, playoff hockey has not disappointed. Whether it be the resurgence of Canada in the postseason with the likes of … Read More

Crafting a Nation Private Screening Recap

UPDATE: Crafting a Nation will celebrate it’s Coloardo premieres THIS Thursday, May 16 in Denver and Friday, May 17 in Boulder as part of American Craft Beer Week.   Denver’s screening will take place at the Alamo Drafthouse in Littleton, appropriately home to 32 taps of craft deliciousness.  For tickets visit Alamo Drafthouse’s page.  Boulder’s Premiere will take place in Upslope Brewing’s new location.  Below is our write up of Crafting a Nation during their private screening last month.

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River Horse-Tripel Horse

ABV: 10%

Okay, so to get a proper feel for the River Horse-Tripel Horse you are going to need a particular soundtrack. Remember Salt ‘n Pepa’s ‘Shoop’? Remember the breakdown where it’s all, “Oooh ooh ooh, I like whatcha do, when ya do, whatcha do . . .”? Got the tune in your head? That is your soundtrack for this beer. Read More

American Craft Beer Week in Colorado

Today starts the 8th annual American Craft Beer Week which runs from May 13 to May 19th. Put on by the Brewers Association, the week long national celebration is meant to promote the burgeoning craft beer industry and boosts the … Read More

Craft Breweries come out for American Beer Classic

If Beer Heaven exists it might have been in Chicago on Saturday May 11th when 100 breweries lined up on Soldier Field to offer their finest brews. The inaugural American Beer Classic (ABC) put on display craft breweries from all over the country and the thousands of patrons who roamed the field with their shot-glass sampler could not have been disappointed.

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Instagram, the Sellout?

Many people mourned the day that Facebook bought Instagram for a whopping 1 billion dollars (to be read in a Dr. Evil voice) a little over a year ago. They saw the sale as the beginning of the end for the independent app, and luckily their fears have been largely unfounded to date. True to his word, Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t changed much about the service in the intervening 12 or so months. That being said, the first signs of Facebook interference…um…influence are beginning to show.  Read More

River Runners Pale Ale

Eddyline Brewery and Restaurant – River Runners Pale Ale

ABV: 6%

IBU: 50

Eddyline Brewery and Restaurant’s River Runners Pale Ale is yet another example of the  awesomesauce that can come out of both 16-ounce cans and the frequently neglected beer region of Southern Colorado. Read More

Beerstagram 5/3-5/10

Do you ever wonder what heaven is like? For craft beer geeks, it probably looks pretty close to The Tap in Bloomington, IN. In a college town, the expectation for quality beer is always a little below par, but not … Read More

Pop Culture Week in Review

They turned the IT Crowd off, but they are turning if back on again

Creator Graham Lineham has confirmed the basement gang of Reynholm Industries will be back one last time.  And I’m talking the proper British version, not the shit American … Read More

Anderson Valley Brewing Wild Turkey Bourbon Barrel Stout

ABV: 6.9%

IBU: 14

I grew up on a farm in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Every day to and from school, we would pass one of Anderson County’s two distilleries. The smell of mash in the morning still brings back a flood of childhood memories. So when I heard that Anderson Valley produced a beer aged in an Anderson County batch of Bourbon barrels, I was naturally rather intrigued. I am a serious Bourbon drinker and, quite honestly, know more about Bourbon than I do beer. You grow up with it, you tend to learn a few things.

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Awesomesauce- Fab.com

As a long-time lover of the MOMA design store for their beautiful, useful gadgets, I was surprisingly hesitant to give Fab.com a chance.  Both retailers are known for their amazingly (and sometimes famously) designed products, but that is where the similarities end.

Boasting Ashton Kutcher as one of their early investors and a slogan of “Smile, you’re designed to”, Fab.com is like a lot of other flash sale sites; they feature a select group of products at discounted prices for short periods of time.  What sets it apart from a site like Gilt.com, however, is its variety of products.  While Gilt focuses on luxury and designer goods (that, honestly, I can’t afford, even when they are discounted), Fab focuses on the quirky, the modern, the simple and the useful.  Read More

Bells Brewery Hopslam

Bell’s Brewery- Hopslam

ABV: 10%

IBU: 90

When considering the progress India Pale Ales have made in the American beer drinking culture while also crediting the rise of microbreweries, hopheads have it made. With the diverse spectrum … Read More

Ultimate 6er – Summer Movie Beer Pairings

Ultimate 6er - Summer Movie Beer Pairings

As we inch into the sunny days of May, the impending summer vacation for teachers beams like a beacon of hope, eclipsing the flickering fluorescent lights and mounting stacks of ungraded papers. As teachers, my wife (Sarah) and I use the summer months as we did as children – as a time for relaxation and recreation (albeit with supplemental jobs and some mandatory professional development trainings scattered about). But we travel, stay up a little later, work in our garden, and try to cram everything into that brief span when students aren’t around. Read More