Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beer. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Very Short List - Killer Bottle Caps
Well, this is exciting! I'm officially a contributor to Very Short List. Check it out!
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
sprecher's beer
Oh my god! Another day of Sprecher? Well, I figured yesterday's post might have been a little long, with the sob story about our traveling woes, and worth breaking up Sprecher's into two days.
Sprecher's also offers a wide variety of beers, a few of which we sampled at their brewery. I tried the Special Amber, and Michael partook of the Pub Ale. We had a sizable tour group, it being Memorial Day Weekend and all, so the bar had pre-poured our samples. Luckily, they were both tasty.
Afterwards, Michael and I perused the gift shop. We bought one of every soda that we hadn't tried (see yesterday's post) as well as a Premium Reserve Triple Abbey Ale and their year round Hefe Weiss.
The interesting thing (I feel) about Sprecher is for all of the fun that they have with their soda bottle caps, they are pretty boring with their beer crowns. All of the beers, be they seasonal or regular, either just have the Griffon Crest (the griffon, by the way, is named Rooty) or no design at all. I noticed quite a few colored beer crowns, but with nothing on them! The premium reserve crown has the crest smaller, and with Premium Reserve on it, but there's no differentiation between beer lines. Sprecher, I am disappointed!
Sprecher's also offers a wide variety of beers, a few of which we sampled at their brewery. I tried the Special Amber, and Michael partook of the Pub Ale. We had a sizable tour group, it being Memorial Day Weekend and all, so the bar had pre-poured our samples. Luckily, they were both tasty.
Afterwards, Michael and I perused the gift shop. We bought one of every soda that we hadn't tried (see yesterday's post) as well as a Premium Reserve Triple Abbey Ale and their year round Hefe Weiss.
The interesting thing (I feel) about Sprecher is for all of the fun that they have with their soda bottle caps, they are pretty boring with their beer crowns. All of the beers, be they seasonal or regular, either just have the Griffon Crest (the griffon, by the way, is named Rooty) or no design at all. I noticed quite a few colored beer crowns, but with nothing on them! The premium reserve crown has the crest smaller, and with Premium Reserve on it, but there's no differentiation between beer lines. Sprecher, I am disappointed!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
brooklyn brewery
Ah, Brooklyn Brewery. It really is lovely having a microbrewery in the city, and the opportunity to go on a brewery tour anytime I want. I've been on the tour -- and although it is just one room, (well, two rooms if you count where you go buy the beer afterward!) it is still a good time. They allow you to order in food while you wait for your tour, and the room is big and raucous.
Their bottle caps are simple, elegant and come in many, many colors. And even without the name Brooklyn Brewery emblazoned on the cap, I bet that most people from the tri-state area would be able to pick this bottle cap out in a lineup. Being one of the top 40 breweries in the country probably doesn't hurt either.
I find myself wanting to drink Brooklyn Brewery more when I'm not in NYC, though. Maybe it is nostalgia for home, or maybe it's the closest thing to a good beer when there is only Miller and Budweiser around. Who knows? But I love their seasonal brews, and BB gives me something to look forward during each season: Summer Ale, Post Road, and the ever-delicious, year-round Pennant Ale (just in time for baseball season!)
Their bottle caps are simple, elegant and come in many, many colors. And even without the name Brooklyn Brewery emblazoned on the cap, I bet that most people from the tri-state area would be able to pick this bottle cap out in a lineup. Being one of the top 40 breweries in the country probably doesn't hurt either.
I find myself wanting to drink Brooklyn Brewery more when I'm not in NYC, though. Maybe it is nostalgia for home, or maybe it's the closest thing to a good beer when there is only Miller and Budweiser around. Who knows? But I love their seasonal brews, and BB gives me something to look forward during each season: Summer Ale, Post Road, and the ever-delicious, year-round Pennant Ale (just in time for baseball season!)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
newport storm
There was a period of time in my life when I was spending many a weekend in Providence, RI. I had a good friend getting a degree there, and it gave me the opportunity to have a "weekend house" away from NYC.
Providence is an underappreciated east coast city. River-Fires in the summer, a great local food scene (places like Luxe Burger Bar and Union Station Brewery), and plenty of junk -- I mean "antique" -- stores. I would drag my friend to every junk store in the area, even though I wasn't really sure what I was searching for. I have a fascination with things that others throw away, and junk stores allow me to look through other people's things in a way that is semi-acceptable. My friend used the opportunity to look for old baseball cards. To each his own.
One of the beers that we would drink regularly was Newport Storm: Cyclone Edition, and even then, I was saving bottle caps. I think my favorite thing about this cap is the writing on the side: "Newport Storm The Cap." The actual cap is a graphic of a cyclone with a bird in the eye of the storm.
Sadly, I don't spend nearly as much time in Providence as I once did, but there is talk of taking a trip to Newport, which of course, would mean a trip to the brewery (have I mentioned my love of brewery/factory tours?) and also eating many, many lobster rolls. Let's hope we can make it there this year!
Providence is an underappreciated east coast city. River-Fires in the summer, a great local food scene (places like Luxe Burger Bar and Union Station Brewery), and plenty of junk -- I mean "antique" -- stores. I would drag my friend to every junk store in the area, even though I wasn't really sure what I was searching for. I have a fascination with things that others throw away, and junk stores allow me to look through other people's things in a way that is semi-acceptable. My friend used the opportunity to look for old baseball cards. To each his own.
One of the beers that we would drink regularly was Newport Storm: Cyclone Edition, and even then, I was saving bottle caps. I think my favorite thing about this cap is the writing on the side: "Newport Storm The Cap." The actual cap is a graphic of a cyclone with a bird in the eye of the storm.
Sadly, I don't spend nearly as much time in Providence as I once did, but there is talk of taking a trip to Newport, which of course, would mean a trip to the brewery (have I mentioned my love of brewery/factory tours?) and also eating many, many lobster rolls. Let's hope we can make it there this year!
Monday, April 25, 2011
flying dog
I love Ralph Steadman and have an appreciation for Hunter S. Thompson. One of the first H.S.T. books I read was The Curse of Lono, and I fell in love with Steadman's artistic style. This is why I love the Flying Dog bottle cap and website (I highly recommend you check it out!).
Rather than get into the nitty gritty of what gonzo journalism is, or give you a book report on Hunter S. Thompson (but seriously, read him already), I thought I would talk a little bit about this lawsuit going on between Michigan and Flying Dog and the Raging Bitch 20th Anniversary ale that they came up with.
So, the long and short of it is that Michigan doesn't think that it's appropriate to have a beer called "Raging Bitch" distributed within the state. But as the DCist.com article points out, Michigan already sells "Doggie Style" and "Dirty Bastard" beer from Flying Dog, both with equally "inappropriate" names -- if you go based on what they say about Raging Bitch, of course.
I always give kudos to clever advertising and product names. And besides, the fact that Michigan already allows a beer named Dirty Bastard to be sold just seems downright inconsistent. Flying Dog, I salute you for sticking to your guns.
I could go on and on about the politics of this whole thing, but dear readers, that is not what you come to this blog for. You come here for awesomely cool bottle caps. But I would love to know your thoughts, too. Please feel free to leave comments about how you feel about this lawsuit. In the meantime, I'll step off my soap box, and have a Raging Bitch for everyone in Michigan that can't have one tonight.
Rather than get into the nitty gritty of what gonzo journalism is, or give you a book report on Hunter S. Thompson (but seriously, read him already), I thought I would talk a little bit about this lawsuit going on between Michigan and Flying Dog and the Raging Bitch 20th Anniversary ale that they came up with.
So, the long and short of it is that Michigan doesn't think that it's appropriate to have a beer called "Raging Bitch" distributed within the state. But as the DCist.com article points out, Michigan already sells "Doggie Style" and "Dirty Bastard" beer from Flying Dog, both with equally "inappropriate" names -- if you go based on what they say about Raging Bitch, of course.
I always give kudos to clever advertising and product names. And besides, the fact that Michigan already allows a beer named Dirty Bastard to be sold just seems downright inconsistent. Flying Dog, I salute you for sticking to your guns.
I could go on and on about the politics of this whole thing, but dear readers, that is not what you come to this blog for. You come here for awesomely cool bottle caps. But I would love to know your thoughts, too. Please feel free to leave comments about how you feel about this lawsuit. In the meantime, I'll step off my soap box, and have a Raging Bitch for everyone in Michigan that can't have one tonight.
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