“We are not in a bubble, we are knee deep in foam & the foam is still rising.” – Charlie Papazian

The author of The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, founder of the Great American Beer festival, the American Homebrewers Association and the Association of Brewers welcomed regional craft brewers, microbrewers, pub brewers, allied trade and media alike.

Thousands of people in the beer industry came to San Diego to network with one another at the 29th Craft Brewers Conference at the Town & Country Resort and Conference Center. Thirty five countries were in attendance, totaling approximately 4,500 people.

Big beer is often portrayed as a simple way to socialize. But there is nothing ordinary about the amazing beers that are poured at Stone Brewing’s Oakquinox. This age-old tradition of barrel aging beers has returned with a flavor busting vengeance, in festival form.

Join Stone for a celebration of the tasty extravagance that ensues when beer meets wood. Stone will begin pouring dozens of barrel-aged and wood-infused brews at 10 am and not stop until 4 pm. "Dr." Bill Sysak has over 100 spectacular beers lined up, and he's working on even more!

It’s a well known fact that I’m a lover of quality craft beer, but it may be slightly less known that I’m a bit of a sucker for marketing...and wine. Yeah, I said it. I'm a cross drinker.

Imagine a beer store that offers over 900 bottles and 9 rotating taps filling growlers!  

With a selection containing excellent Belgian Strong Pale Ales like Delirium Tremens, limited brews like Dogfish Head Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, collaborative beers such as BrewDog Mikkeller Devine Rebel 2010, sweet stouts from the south like Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout, English ales like Gale’s Prize Old Ale 1998, Belgian IPA’s like Houblon Chouffe, Stone’s Vertical Epic series, winter dark ales such as Jolly Pumpkin Noel de Calabaza and 30 different beers from Sierra Nevada alone, there WILL be something to please your pallet.

 

I won’t go into just how much fun I had in Vegas recently, but suffice it to say I ended up staying an extra two days and switching hotels to a Palm suite, the bastardized version of the Playboy Palm Suite. Sweet, nonetheless.

Imagine a collective of people from all walks of life, gathering together in a city with 40 microbreweries, with one commonality, and that is their love for beer.

As I arrived at the hotel in Portland on Friday evening, I entered the Alaska room where the Night of Many Bottles was held.  It was a fitting title for the night.

On the other end of hipster Hollywood Boulevard, lies a beacon of craft beer nestled inside an unassuming corner building.  For three years, Blue Palms Brewhouse has been serving 24 specialty craft draft beers on tap and one cask ale. With zero pretentions, Blue Palms has been rated the eighth best beer restaurant in 2010 & 2011 by Rate Beer.

IPA. Its very mention can inspire visions of acres of hop fields.  August 4th marks the first annual International IPA day. On Thursday August 4th, craft beer drinkers across the globe will raise a pint in a collective toast to one of craft beer’s most beloved styles: the India Pale Ale.

A week in Philly for Philly Beer week simply isn’t enough.

Having just finished its 4^th year of all things beer, it’s easy to see how Philly became the city that started the trend. There were so many events, I honestly didn’t know which to choose.