http://bruguru.com/blog Drink Outside the Box Tue, 30 Aug 2011 17:04:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Later tonight, I'll be hoisting a beer at the local Taco Mac in honor of Michael Jackson. Jackson passed away four years today, and I like to remember him each year around this time. You might do well to do the same if you're a fan of craft beer, ... http://bruguru.com/blog/2011/08/30/a-beer-for-the-beerhunter/ There's a move on in congress to cut excise taxes on beer. HR 4278 (which you can read over at the Brewers Association website) or as it's also known, the Brewer’s Employment and Excise Relief (BEER) Act, would cut in half the tax small brewers fork over to the government. ... http://bruguru.com/blog/2011/03/17/beer-act-would-reduce-excise-tax-on-small-brewers-but-lets-not-forget-who-really-pays-them/ Did you know beer saved the world, or at least the civilized world? It did. But don't take my word for it, check out "How Beer Saved the World" premiering tonight at 8 and 11 EST on the Discovery Channel. It's sure to be repeated as well. We'll check back ... http://bruguru.com/blog/2011/01/30/how-beer-saved-the-world/ Want to learn about craft beer and brewing? The Brewers Association thinks you should. To further that end, they've created a new online beer course you can take that includes audio commentary in a PowerPoint-like presentation. It's voiced by such industry legends as Boston Beer's Jim Koch and Stone's Greg ... http://bruguru.com/blog/2011/01/26/beer-101/ [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="400" caption="Daniel Okrent's Last Call: Rise and Fall of Prohibition"][/caption] After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the Unites States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof ... http://bruguru.com/blog/2010/10/02/a-compelling-history-of-prohibition-daniel-okrents-last-call-the-rise-and-fall-of-prohibition/ I just love a good beer festival, which is why I'm headed to the Southern Brewers Festival Saturday, August 28th. Over thirty breweries, great food, and the proceeds go to charity. What could be better than that? I'll be there, will you?[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="670" caption="Southern Brewers Festival"][/caption] http://bruguru.com/blog/2010/08/25/southern-brewers-fest-see-you-there/ [caption id="" align="alignleft" width="303" caption="Guinness Foreign Extra Stout"][/caption] Guinness is test marketing that holy grail of American beer geeks, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, in select US markets. If you've never tried this wonderful brew, now's your chance to get some. It's in Atlanta and reportedly New York as well, and if ... http://bruguru.com/blog/2010/05/26/guinness-foreign-extra-stout-in-the-usa/ [caption id="attachment_58" align="alignleft" width="198" caption="Pete Brown\'s Hops and Glory"][/caption] If you're a beer geek, you probably know that the "I" in IPA stands for "India", as in, "India Pale Ale". Fair enough. But did you ever wonder just how it got there? Pete Brown did, and he made a book of ... http://bruguru.com/blog/2010/05/10/hops-and-glory-the-story-of-ipa/ I've always had a fondness for spicy mustard. But when you make one with beer, why, what's better than that? My latest find: Henry Weinhard's Dark Pub Beer Mustard by Barhyte Specialty Foods. I picked this up at the market the other day and we got to try it Sunday ... http://bruguru.com/blog/2010/04/26/beer-and-mustard-a-match-made-in-heaven/ As I sit here sipping an Uerige Doppelsticke Altbier from Germany, I can't help but think that a good part of the reason I can buy rare and wonderful beers like this in the United States is because Michael Jackson wrote about them. That's apropos, of course, since today is ... http://bruguru.com/blog/2010/03/28/48/