Tactical Nuclear Penguin from BrewDog on Vimeo.

In Scotland, men are men and beer is BEER! They guys at Brew Dog are some of the most innovative brewers out there but this time they may have out done themselves. Tactical Nuclear Penguin tops out at 32% abv. That’s 8% higher than the previous top dog Sam Adams Utopias, 24% abv.

Utopias is known for reaching its staggering level of alcohol purely through fermentation whereas TNP has a little help. It is actually an ice beer. Not like Bud Ice but probably closer to the old eisbock’s of Germany. Freeze distillation is a process by which water in the beer is frozen and removes from the liquid alcohol, thus concentrating strength and flavor.

No info yet on when or if this brew will hit the US.

New Belgium is one hell of a company and this is exactly why. They have fun and love what they do.

I'm no fan of Bud Lite Lime. However, I am a sucker for good advertising, so enjoy!

Cold Filtered
– Miller Genuine Draft

Many lager beers are filtered. The process is used as an alternative to pasteurization which can greatly alter the flavor of beer. Filtering removes particulate matter, yeast and other bacteria from the beer, therein making pasteurization unnecessary and clarifying the end product. It is best to filter beer in a cool environment in order to ensure that it stays fresh. Changes in temperature can cause beer to skunk, as we all should know.

So, the term “Cold Filtered” is technically true, but it's not special or unique. However, MGD displays the “Cold-Filtered” slogan in a classic way that represents a timeless aspect of the beer. They don’t shout it from the rooftops like its unique, but it once was. That’s why as far as MGD is concerned i say, "use that TERMINOLOGY," as for the rest of you drop the GIMMICK.


Drinkability
– Bud Light

Merriam-Webster defines drinkability as the degree to which a liquid is “suitable for drinking.” By this definition “Drinkability” is a completely subjective concept.
Bud Light has a different prospective on things. They claim:

"Drinkability. It's no gimmick. It's the difference between Bud Light and other light beers. It's the perfect balance of flavor, filling, and refreshment. It's just the right taste that never fills you up and is easy going down."
http://www.budlight.com/m/wap/Drinkability.aspx

This is an attempt by Bud Light to set itself apart from other light beers by claiming to be lighter in body and mouth feel with a simple flavor and unaggressive carbonation. What could be more drinkable than that? Oh yeah I know, water!

Congratulations Bud Light! Your light beer is more comparable to water than that of your competition.

P.S. - If an advertisement proclaims “It's no gimmick,” then it’s probably a GIMMICK.

Frost Brewed
– Coors Light

This isn’t a reference to the “Frost Brew Liner,” which is a questionable concept, but it is a packaging issue not a brewing issue so I’ll ignore it for now. The term “Frost Brewed,” is often used vocally in Coors Light commercials but I’ve rarely found it in writing. It means absolutely nothing. The very nature of brewing requires heat in order to convert starches from grain into sugar (mainly maltose) and to effectively extract the sugars from grain.

A good boil is always necessary in order to sterilize the wort (unfermented beer) and to extract resin from hops. Unlike grain, hops can be added to cold beer through a process known as dry-hopping. However, dry-hopping alone is not sufficient for creating a well rounded beer. Hops must be added during the boil, as stated below (see: “Triple Hops Brewed”).

“Frost Brewed” is merely a marketing buzzword strategy intended to conjure thoughts of cool refreshment on a hot day. GIMMICK.

Triple Hops Brew
– Miller Lite

Hops are one of the four vital components that make beer (the other three being water, malted barley and yeast). It is standard to add hops during the boiling stage of the brewing process. “Triple hops brewed” is used by Miller Lite to refer to the addition of hops three separate times during the boil of the wort. This is standard procedure brewing process. The first addition is added early in the boil and imparts bitterness to the beer but most flavor and aroma are boiled off. The second addition is added later in the boil to impart hops flavor and the third addition is near enough to the end of the boil to retain an aroma. Aside from flavor and aroma, hops can also affect head retention and mouth feel. The basic stages of hops addition are known as bittering, flavor, and aroma/finishing. These basic stages can be altered into more or fewer additions depending on the style of beer but are rarely less than the basic three for a pilsner, which miller light claims to be.

Miller Lite says that their stages of hops addition are flavor, balance, and the ever important lock-in stage. This is just a pumped up marketing versions of the standard process. But at least they are actually using real hops now, unlike in 1982 when the CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) reported that Miller Lite contained only chemically modified hops extracts along with a myriad of other questionable ingredients. So now that they are following standard brewing basics they are braging about it? To brag about something that is standard is like saying, “We don’t pee in it!” or “I can tie my shoe!” What a GIMMICK.

I have a new addiction and I love it. In today’s day and age, chances are you too have battled the horrors of internet addiction. Ever been strung-out after hours of a trip on sites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and Twitter? Me too.

But my new addiction is different. Born from a curiosity for booze and travel, I am drawn in daily, at odd hours of the night and morning. What I’m talking about is Bruichladdich. It’s a distillery in Scotland that outfitted their entire facility with webcams.

There is a webcam at every stage of the process, from mashing, to distilling, cask filling, bottling, shipping, to the on-site shop and even cams of the nearby scenery and the local village. It is exactly what a booze traveler like me needs to get his fix of the world at large when I’m chillin’ at home. Look at this screen shot from my computer. It’s like that every day. I’m a freak!

Best time to view is between mid-night and 10am US central time. Seriously check it out. www.bruichladdich.com/web_cam.htm

I finally got a copy of the fight I cornered in Belfast (Pubs of Belfast, Northern Ireland). Tom Ahrens vs. Peter Duncan is posted below. The promoters told us that it was the fight of the night.

I'm the taller guy in Tom's corner with the towel and water bottle in the grey shirt. If you listen close you can hear me screaming expletives from ring side.

Peter won the fight but in my opinion Tom is the on who put on the show. He wasn't given credit for winning a single round but if you watched the video it was really quite a close battle. To give you perspective on the mach up, here is a picture of the two after the fight:






















This is Tom with some young Irish fans

Ordering absinthe over the internet is easy as pie, a lot of fun, and only a little risky. So don’t be a pussy!

A lot of people say to me, “Why order it on the internet when I can just go get it at the liquor store, its legal now right?” The answer is yes and no. In 2007 absinthe brands started popping up on liquor-store shelves across the country. Articles and advertisements proclaimed “Absinthe is Legal”, and “An End to Prohibition.” However, things weren’t really as they seemed. What happened was the TTB (Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau) updated policy on the use of the name “Absinthe.” Previously its use was ban from labeling and advertising of distilled spirits, but now its use is permissible given that the spirit is “thujone-free,” in compliance with FDA regulation.

Thujone comes from the grand wormwood in absinthe and is “alleged” hallucinogenic compound. Scientific research has all but disproved the early 19th century claim of psychoactive effects and absinthes containing thujone are legal across much of the world. In the EU the legal limit of thujone in spirits is 10mg/kg and if the product is labeled as a bitter the limit is 35mg/kg. There is a limit because although it’s not hallucinogenic, it’s still a drug. It will never harm you in small amounts but large doses have been known to kill lab rats. Given the regulation, you would die due to alcohol poisoning many times over in order to consume enough absinthe to be affected by thujone what-so-ever.

What’s available in the US now is considered true absinthe because it involves use of the herb of absinthes namesake, Artemisia absinthium (grand wormwood). Because of the thujone-free restriction in the US we are restricted to a limited number of absinthes that meet the FDA restriction of 10 ppm (parts per million) thujone or 10mg/kg. This doesn’t mean that they are bad, it just means that many European absinthes and "bitters", from 11-35mg/kg aren’t available for US retail purchase, thus restricting selection. Also, some of the best absinthe comes from small foreign producers that lack the resources to export large enough quantities for US distribution.

Now that that’s all cleared up let’s talk about what absinthe is. It is a distilled spirit that has been flavored and colored by the maceration of a number of herbs including but not limited to grand wormwood, green anise, and florence or sweet fennel. These ingredients lend to the ‘black licorice’ flavor of most absinthe. I personally despise black licorice but find the flavor of traditional absinthes to be quite delightful. If you just can’t handle the flavor then either you need to find a weaker absinthe or one that is anise free. Anise free absinthes can have flavors ranging from almond to candy to citrus.

Absinthe can be red, orange, yellow, blue, black, clear, and… Oh ya green. I say this for the purist or that person seeking a true experience, green is traditional, yellowish can be too, clear and blue are a Swiss style and any other color is an attempted variation or gimmick.

If you’ve experienced absinthe before and were scared by the overwhelming flavor, that’s because you did it wrong. It’s not a good idea to down it in shots like a frat-boy on Thirsty Thursday. The traditional preparation of absinthe is to dilute about one part absinthe with about two parts sugary water. With a traditional preparation you will also have what is known as a louche effect. The booze is a transparent, however when you add water to traditional absinthe it becomes cloudy and opaque.

I mentioned risk in my opening line. We scoff at risk and laugh at danger because we are booze-venture seekers! Right? The risky part of importing your own absinthe is that it is possible that it may be seized by US customs. They won’t throw you in jail or fine you but you will be out the money for the booze and the shipping. The way around this little problem is to buy from an absinthe distributor that ships product via private courier. Any reputable site should provide information about how they ship and some even offer a full refund if the package doesn’t make it to you for any reason.

If you don’t know where to buy absinthe on the internet try this, Google it. I know it sounds easy but it’s ridiculous how many people ask me how to find absinthe on the internet. Type in “order absinthe”, or “buy absinthe”, or just “absinthe” and you will find more than enough. My recommendations for trustworthy, reputable, and quality absinthe sales are Alandia World of Absinthe, and Absinthe Classics.

If you’ve been concerned or apprehensive about ordering absinthe online, man up because it’s not that big-a-deal. Do a little homework and you’ll find a huge selection of high quality booze with fair prices and relatively no risk to import. Oh, and since I'm at work slavin’ away behind a computer, have a drink for me.

Niagara, Boston, New Haven, New York, Philly

This summer road trip was a sort of last hoorah for some friends and me to celebrate the end of our days as business school undergrads. My friends were moving off to there first big boy jobs and I was going into my last semester at Iowa State University. In actuality the trip signaled more of a beginning for all of us than an end.

We went into it with absolutely no plan, only vague ideas of where we wanted to go and approximate dates that would like to arrive. The first surprise was Niagara Falls, that’s right surprise. So little planning went into this that we were surprised to find that we would be passing only 20 minutes south of one of the most famous sites in North America. The the feeling that came from our discovery may have been caused by a laissez-faire attitude but this is what taught us that its not about the destination, “it’s all about the journey.” We lived by this philosophy for the rest of the trip and here are the results (at least the ones that I’m legally comfortable documenting).

I took this trip to Northern Ireland in March of 2008. The purpose of the trip was to accompany my friend who was to fight in a professional mixed martial arts event. (See details and video of this event in a new post here) The promotions company (www.cagewars.co.uk) covered all travel and accommodation expenses so all we had to worry about was training and following our schedule of press events. When we weren’t to busy, Tom and I managed to sneak away and explore town. These are some of my favorite pictures from Belfast.

This is by far my favorite ally in town followed by some great pubs and other sites.