This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. Dear Portland, Back in the earliest years of the Beer City USA online voting competition, I saw you as a disliked rival to my modest little mountain town. I was living in Asheville, North Carolina, which regularly took the top spot in the competition, much to, as we were made to understand, the chagrin of residents of Oregon’s most populous city.  At the time, I took some puffed up local pride in our … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Heater Allen Pils

This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. There’s no denying it. We’ve reached the point in the year when considerations around which beer to reach for are dictated by the weather as much as anything else. Sure, there are also certain embedded urges to indulge in different styles in accordance with other meteorological adjustments conveniently aligned with the calendar, but there’s nothing quite as compelling as the summer sun to tip the taste buds in a particular direction. The other … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Founders Brewing Co. All Day IPA

This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. Although it wasn’t necessarily all that great for either my waistline or my wallet, I greatly enjoyed my time as a beer drinker in Asheville, North Carolina. During the eight years or so that I lived there, the craft beer scene expanded from a boomlet to a full-on craze. I naturally had my favorites, and it was difficult to bid them farewell when I moved back to the frigid, friendly North. While I … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Burial Beer Co. Tin Cup Camp Stout

This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. I’m going to get to know this one right damn now. Previous entries in this series can be found by clicking on the “Beers I Have Known” tag.     Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Central Waters Shine On Ale

This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. Traveling can be miserable work, but there are fringe benefits. Ever since my return to my native state of Wisconsin, I’ve been pining for something special that exists like a glowing promise just across the border. No, I’m not referring to the embrace of progressive policies that — as per usual — have led to an economic boom, offering further exposure of the callous zealotry and raving ineptness of the governor who works … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Bad Weather Brewing Company Windvane IPA

This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. I’ve already had a couple Wisconsin Brewing Company Betray Ales this evening (and, in the interest of full disclosure, maybe a couple other similar beverages), so I’ll defer to the description on the menu of the fine establishment that is thankfully (or problematically) within walking distance of my pending home: “One time only Maibock style Mandarina Bavarian and Hallertau hops, a perfectly bright and sweet addition to the malts.” I can confirm that … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Wisconsin Brewing Company Betray Ale

This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. I was in New Orleans less than a year after Katrina. No further embellishment is needed on that name. It is its own story. It is the storm and the aftermath all in one. That’s how it felt then. To a degree, that’s still how it feels now. I was in New Orleans providing help, spending days gutting houses that had been saturated by flood and nights in a makeshift compound called Camp … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Abita Turbodog

This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. This is how it began. When we lived in North Caroline and visited Wisconsin, we would occasionally stop at a Dairyland liquor store before exiting across the the state line on our homeward trip, securing a few brews we couldn’t easily acquire in the south. On one such shopping excursion, one of the proprietors of the liquor store in question spied us amassing quite a hefty stack of bottles and cans, seemingly with … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Toppling Goliath pseudoSue

This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. When I was in college, “craft beer” wasn’t a term I or any of my peers knew. We had only three categories of that particular potable: cheap beer, slightly-less-cheap beer, and imports. Luckily, I lived in a state where the culture of local breweries endured nicely, even toughing it out through prohibition. This meant that even my cheap beer options were pretty good. Stevens Point Brewery was right down the road from my … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Leinenkugel’s

This series of posts is dedicated to the many, many six packs, pony kegs and pints that have sauntered into my life at one point or another. It’s fun to chase after certain potables at beer festivals, whether established personal favorites or those grand rarities that will perhaps only ever be sipped in the strange rugby scrum of park-bound tipsiness. I think I’m most fond, however, of those completely unexpected discoveries, the instances when no particular hype or corresponding anticipation precedes a head-turning drink. When I attended the ludicrously abundant Great Taste of the Midwest this past August, I had utterly fantastic … Continue reading Beers I Have Known: Revolution Brewing Bottom Up Wit