Saison ... Well,DOH!

One of my favorite styles of beer is called a saison. Recently I asked what it was, and my response was a rustic farmhouse ale brewed for the farm workers. Then today, I found a nice article that saison was defined by when it was brewed. That got me to thinking and a small amount of research indicated saison is French for season. Well, now a resounding DOH! .  Makes sense, at the farm, the winter is a down time, you can lager (store) your beer at a lower temperature naturally.  When you let the wort cool in the barn, you get all sorts of fun yeasts. It made me think and then made me want to share my new found knowledge!!

What Makes a Saison a Saison?

Educational article and worthy of a read.  Now, I just wish I had a saison in my fridge to enjoy. DOH!!

Skinny & Beer

I saw this and it made me laugh!!

Top Brewery Road Trip, Routed Algorithmically

I saw an article name post on Facebook that caught my eye: Top Brewery Road Trip, Routed Algorithmically.  Dang, two things I really enjoy, road trips and beer! There is an order to the trip, but start from any point you wish and do the trip.  There are some really good breweries on the list and as indicated, many more along the way. So many breweries and so little time!
 
Even if you can't do the whole trip at once, you can pick segments to do.  Be sure and research other breweries you may want to visit along the way and get times when the taprooms are open. Nothing worse than finding you you are a few hours early or late!

Sadly, Texas is totally unrepresented with any stops.  But, honestly, you could spend 20 days going to breweries in just Texas.  After all, it is farther around the edge of the state of Texas than it is from coast to coast across the entire United States.  I have gone around the state of Texas twice on a motorcycle and it is about 3097 miles and only about 2460 miles on I-10 coast to coast.

So, who wants to do a brewery road triup?

The 14 Phases Of Every Beer Nerd's Life

I saw a post about an article that intrigued me.


The 14 Phases Of Every Beer Nerd's Life


I don't think all phases apply to all people, and not necessarily in that order.  But, it is a fun article and something to think about.

Perhaps I am in phase 11?

What phase are you in??

Adventure (and beer) Awaits!

Husband Joe and I are off on a new adventure today - a road trip/beer crawl through the western US.  Should be fun!  Follow us here:  http://sceneryandsuds.blogspot.com/ 

Cheers!

Simply A Thing Of Beauty

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  This picture is worth 304 words...and they're all beer.

Lovely, delicious, amazing beer.  

The Best Outdoor Beer Growlers of 2015

Outdoor people love good beer too.  While the glass or ceramic growlers look good and are less expensive in general, they aren't the best for traveling.  You want something strong and insulated.  I saw this article from Backpacker Magazine and they tested the growlers using the beer and facilities from the fine folks at Upslope Brewery.

The Best Outdoor Beer Growlers of 2015

I think I would go with the MiiR 64 oz. Vacuum Insulated Growler.  It looks cool, has a nice environmental message and came out #1 in the testing.  You can pick one up at REI.  Just click the link above.  I am not an affiliate, nor compensated for that.  Just being friendly :)

Adolphus Busch

As craft beer lovers, we often make fun of Anheuser-Busch beers.  But, we owe a great deal to their founder Adolphus Busch.

I learned the following from the Beer Page A Day calendar.

1) Adolphus Busch was the first American brewer to pasteurize beer in the 1870's, which allowed him to pursue national distribution ahead of the competition.

2) The Anheuser-Busch brewing process was revolutionized when they installed cutting-edge technology of "refrigerators" at their brewery.  Before that, most beer brewing took place during the winter.  Anheuser-Busch then quickly moved to use (and later produce) refrigerated train cars.

3) Adolphus Busch built a national system of ice warehouses next to train stations so that his refrigerated train cars could quickly restock before taking off for the next destination.

Next time you are drinking a beer from a brewery across the country or the world, raise your glass and give a toast to Adolphus Busch for his vision and creations that allow you to drink a beer from such a far place.

Where The Hell Have I Been - IKR

I know, I know...I never contribute to this blog anymore.  Well, I've been busy.  And traveling.  And tired.  And lazy.  Especially lazy.  But I can't seem to find any more excuses.  And I've been drinking some incredible beer.  Which leads to buying more beer.  So much more that we're gonna need a bigger fridge.

Over the holidays, we traveled to the UK and visited London, York and then went up to Scotland.  While the beer over there typically has a much lower abv (usually around 4%) and almost all lagers, it's pretty tasty.  And we noticed several brewers experimenting with American styles (IPA, APA, etc.) and a variety of hops.  It's interesting watching the beginning of an explosion.

We stopped by the York Brewery and made friends with Jack and Gordon.  They're not only brewing good beer, but distilling some of the wort to make whisky.  Damn fine idea.

After the UK, we swung the pendulum the other way and went to the South Pacific.  The beers down under are quickly catching up to American styles and higher abvs.  I had a black porter that was to die for.  Yum!

Now that we're back, we've got some catching up to do, as well.  So many new releases!  The beer fridge is teeming, and we're planning a clear the fridge party in a couple of weeks.

Beyond that, my friends Sammy (and so's my wife) gave me an idea for a virtual beer tasting that I'm noodling on.  Stay tuned.

The 19 Types of Beer Snobs

Somebody shared this article on Facebook.  Seriously made me laugh.  I know a few of those people and may be a mixture of several of them myself.

The 19 Types of Beer Snobs

Do you see yourself as any of these types??

2015 Beer Release Calendar

I just had to share this link!


2015 Craft Beer Release Calendars


You scroll down to the brewery and see the releases for the year 2015 and when they will be released.  Most of the major players are represented.

Thanks PorchDrinking.com!

Have You Abandoned Jim Koch?

I was reading an article Wasted: How the craft-beer movement abandoned Jim Koch.  The article made a point which has me thinking:

The market’s coveted demographic of 21- to 27-year-olds—the ones driving growth in this trend—are spoiled: They've never known a world in which Sam Adams did not exist. This is the first generation to regard Sam as their father’s (or, God forbid, their grandfather’s) beer.

Dang, that is kind of scary ... and yet true.  Even though I am double the coveted demographic age, I do represent a group of beer drinkers who are always looking for the next unique brew to try and then to move on to the next unique beer.  In the end, that creates a craft beer bubble that will pop. Not really sure what the best move to make on this matter is.

Do you have any ideas?