With the exception of a few Saint Arnold’s Christmas Ale six-packs, recent trips to Central Market, Goody Goody and Applejack are proving that the bounty of holiday brews is but a fond memory. Only those wise souls who stocked up on Anchor, Scaldis Noel, Delirium Noel and other wonderful beers…
I’d like to give a lake of beer to God / I’d love the Heavenly Host to be tippling there for all eternity … I’d sit with the men, the women of God, there by the lake of beer / We’d be drinking good health forever and every drop would…
Number 7 on the Hophead Beer of the Year list last month was Inedit, a new creation from Barcelona brewery Estrella Damm specifically created as an alternative to wine for food pairings. What landed this brew on my year-end list wasn’t the taste. In fact, I hadn’t even tried it…
See, I’ve started this whole “eating well and exercising” bullshit that’s totally overrated because it’s making me feel better, sleep better, lose jiggle…wait, what? Yeah, it’s working and I’m totally pleased, so I guess it’s not really BS, but I like the snark so whatever.Only problem with my new life…
O gude ale comes and gude ale goes; Gude ale gars me sell my hose, Sell my hose, and pawn my shoon-Gude ale keeps my heart aboon! — Scottish poet Robert Burns, whose birthday is toasted annually on or around January 25With Burns Night coming up, what better time to…
I made no New Year resolutions. At least, I’ve not called any of my plans to become a better me “resolutions.” Too easily broken once you put that dastardly moniker on them, you know. But I will say that this Lose It! iPhone app is coming in handy and my…
Delaware’s Dogfish Head landed at No. 2 on the Hophead Beer of the Year list for 2009, thanks in large part to its creative approach. But the brewery isn’t just forward-thinking with its innovative beverages–it also has a healthy respect for the past, and goes so far as to resurrect…
Now that yesterday’s Epiphany has come and gone, even those who hold onto the holiday spirit well past New Year’s Day have to admit that it’s time to get back into the workaday routine. But that doesn’t mean the spirit doesn’t linger a bit, at least when it comes to…
It’s almost time to pop the cork on your favorite bottle of bubbly (and surely anyone reading this column will know that beer is bubbly too). That means it’s time for Hophead’s contribution to City of Ate’s endless stream of Year In Review posts. While I may not have sampled…
In testing out the theories and recipes and perfect stomach liners for this column, I’ve realized (I actually always knew, but epiphanies are so much more on trend these days) that due to the “event” quality of a girl drink, we can drink fewer of them than just any ol’…
While last week’s Hophead focused on just a very few of the great Christmas beers available this time of year, this week’s is a more general look at winter seasonal beers along with beers that are well suited to drinking by the fireplace or in a warm pub escaping the…
Spring ales, summer hefes and autumn’s Oktoberfest beers are nice when the season arrives. But for many beer lovers, including myself, nothing can compare to the rich variety of beer that winter brings. Along with seasonal stouts and porters (which I intend to write about next week), winter also heralds…
Dearest Smoke,On two separate occasions you have wooed me and my posse with food and drink divine. I’m not even going to get into discussing the hominy casserole for fear I’ll abandon all responsibility and drive to you to eat it now. But the drinks? I would be happy to…
It’s not carbonated. It is aged for years in a variety of barrels, served in 2-ounce pours at room temperature, contains 27 percent alcohol by volume (54 proof, in other words) and carries suggested retail price tag of $150 for a 24-ounce bottle. And it’s beer. The 2009 version of…
If barley be wanting to make into maltWe must be content and think it no fault For we can make liquor to sweeten our lipsOf pumpkins and parsnips and walnut-tree chips. –Anonymous colonist, 1630Though some dispute the story, many beer lovers cling to the legend that the Pilgrims landed at…
Last week, Pyramid’s Haywire Hefeweizen proved a tad, shall we say, underwhelming. This week seemed a perfect opportunity to try a couple of macro-brewed attempts at craft-brew styles, just to put things in perspective. After all, if a relatively small outfit like Pyramid can’t get the wheat-beer style right, surely…
It’s hard to believe that just over a year ago, I sat at a patio table at the Double-Wide with Jen as we got trashed on Hurritangs and I lost my camera. Oh, memories. Sweet, sweet memories. Well, since then, my girl drinkers and I (and a few boys thrown…
A Pyramid PR representative recently sent a press release announcing the Gold Medal awarded to the brewery’s Haywire Hefewiezen at the Great American Beer Festival, and offered to send over sample bottle or two. As if she needed to ask.Ben E. Keith beer distributors did her one better and delivered…
It was a brisk night. Jessica and I had set out to see John Spriggins’ Paper Dolls exhibition at the South Dallas Cultural Center. We made several illegal u-turns before successfully achieving our goal (the SDCC is precariously located at a wonky intersection) and perusing the collages of women’s magazine…
San Diego’s Stone Brewery is known for creating some monstrously, even arrogantly hoppy brews. So it was somewhat of a surprise when I sat down to try a pint of the recent 09-09-09 Vertical Epic Belgian-style imperial porter, and the first adjective that came to mind was “subtle.” Expectations are…
Fort Worth’s Paul Hightower may make his living as a technical writer, copywriter and indexer, but one of the great passions in his life is beer. On his Dallas Craft Beer Examiner blog, he is a relentless and well-informed cheerleader for the best beers available in North Texas, whether they’re…
A beer tasting event like last Saturday’s Fall Beer Festival at the Fort Worth Flying Saucer is an easy way to try several new beers at once, hang out with fellow beer people and see a lot of hilarious T-shirts. However, as I discovered, it’s also an easy way to…
