The average hophead would be quite satisfied to drink the 18% ABV, 120 IBU beer that is Dogfish Head’s 120 Minute IPA. Problem is, the brewery’s founder and president, Sam Calagione, doesn’t brew beers for the average hophead — he brews “off-centered ales for off-centered people.”

Maybe that’s who he was targeting when, at an event called the “Lupulin Slam” in 2002, Sam slapped together a makeshift stainless-steel water filter, filled it to the brim with Cascade and Willamette hops, and then drowned them in 120 Minute IPA. He did so hoping to show that the East Coast could brew IPAs that rivaled those of the West Coast, and it worked; the hop-infused 120 Minute IPA was the beer of the night. Hopheads were taken aback by how fresh and resinous the beer’s hop presence was, even if it did seem like it could strip the enamel off of your teeth. Randall the Enamel Animal was born.

Now, eight years later, Dogfish Head has unveiled a new version of the Randall which features two barrels and is designed to reduce foaming. The new Randall was simultaneously used in eight different tapping events at eight cities across the country last Wednesday, and in true Dogfish Head fashion, each event featured a different beer with different ingredients packed into those filters. You’ve had Dogfish Head’s Palo Santo Marron, but have you had it after it’s been run through coffee beans or freshly-brewed coffee? You’ve had Punkin Ale, Dogfish Head’s fall seasonal, but have you had it infused with cinnamon sticks and fresh-roasted pumpkin seeds? Olde School Barleywine with prunes that have themselves been drenched in 1997 J.W. Lees Vintage Harvest Ale?

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The moment that many beer lovers in the Pacific Northwest have been waiting for is finally here. Drum roll please … The Cascade Brewing Barrel House is officially open!

For those that don’t know Cascade Brewing, you are truly missing out. From the people that brought you great Lactobacillus-fueled beers such a Cascade Apricot, Vlad the Imp Aler, Bourbonic Plague, and Nightfall Blackberry, inside their new Barrel House you will find 18 beers on tap, a dozen of which are dedicated to their award-winning sour beers, with two other taps that will be reserved for sour beers from barrels tapped directly through the cooler wall. I don’t think it gets any cooler than that. The remaining give taps will pour Cascade’s mainstream beers. Continue Reading »

Starting in the mid-Atlantic on the first day of October, legendary brew-meister Greg Koch and his band of merry men will be taking their world class beers on a 7 day, 7 city tour. This intense display of ultra-rare, limited, special and collaboration releases will set a record of the most simutaneous taps from one brewery at one time, at one location.

The 7 day tour starts in Baltimore, MD (08/01) where Alewife officially has its grand opening celebration. Stone takes over all 40 taps at this brand spanking new craft beer bar unofficially launching Baltimore Beer Week 2010 which starts 6 days later. Continue Reading »

Each day, social media finds a new way to be a part of our everyday lives. Not limited to just consumers, it has worked itself into the realm of fine beverage culture and even to companies dating back nearly 150 years. That company is Glenfiddich. Each year, Glenfiddich releases their Glenfiddich Vintage Reserve which is an extremely limited edition single malt Scotch whisky. In years past, the Glenfiddich Malt Master would invite a panel of whisky experts and enthusiasts to join him in tasting and eventually choosing their favorite whisky from a group of pre-selected casks. Their choice would become that year’s Glenfiddich Vintage Reserve.
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At Mutineer, we take water very seriously. Whether it be through our charity partner A Child’s Right providing clean drinking water to children in underdeveloped regions, having clean water to brew our favorite beers such as Mutinous Battle Chai, or the conservation of rivers flowing through our most magnificent ecosystems, clean water is something that we strongly support … and it looks like we’re not alone.

Laurelwood Brewing Co., Portland’s first certified organic brewery, has signed a three-year contract with Bonneville Environmental Foundation (BEF) to support its Water Restoration Certificate program. The result? The result will be one million gallons of restored water of Oregon’s beautiful Deschutes River. “The BEF’s Water Restoration Certificate is the first national-level, market-based solution that enables businesses to take responsibility for water consumption by helping restore water flow to critically de-watered creeks and rivers” cited the press release. Continue Reading »

Wish Nouveau, an American wine company producing a Beaujolais Nouveau concept wine, is releasing their first wine on November 1st, 2010. Having witnessed the decline in popularity and quality of Beaujolais Nouveau, Wish Nouveau with their “I can do that better” attitude will arrive on the scene this Holiday with a 2008 Pinot Noir from California’s Golden Coast. Seeking to make “A very American wine with a very French tradition”, they’ve dubbed the phrase “Thee Who Has The Bottle’s Final Drips Is Entitled To A Single Wish”; suggesting whomever gets the last sip of the bottle gets to make a wish, like a wishbone in a bottle.

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September 2, 2010 might’ve quietly come and gone in your neck of the woods, but in the world’s most famous zip code, 9.02.10 was a pretty big deal. To commemorate the date, Beverly Hills joined with Food & Wine magazine to throw a four-day party: The first ever Taste of Beverly Hills.
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You may or may not have heard that while record temperatures and wild weather plagued a good part of the United States this year, Washington State had an uneventful summer; in fact it was downright unpredictable.

Due to a lack of late summer sun, tomatoes are green and crops weren’t plentiful but the real story here is that the grapes at vineyards across the state have yet to ripen. With nearly 700 wineries in Washington State, vintners are patiently waiting and tending to their vines waiting for harvest to arrive, which many are guessing will drive a mad rush to get the grapes off the vines and into cellars before the inclement weather really begins. Continue Reading »