The 10 Best Books on Brewing and Beer

The guys over at BeerBooks.com have put together a list of 10 of their favorite and most popular books on brewing and beer.  The list contains the obligatory and absolutely excellent Joy of Homebrewing and the Brewmaster’s Bible but there are some other less expected titles as well such as beer advertising memorabilia and a history/trivia book about beer through the ages.  If you’re looking for a great present for that homebrewer or beer drinker in your life, follow the links below to see the collection.

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Four Dogfish Head Releases In Stores Soon

If you happen to come across Dogfish Head 90-minute IPA on tap on your next trip to the pub, buy it, drink it and bask in its delicious glory.  It’s a brewery that focuses on making each of their beers something special, so when Dogfish announces 4 new limited release beers, pay attention.  The new brews include the 120-Minute IPA(15-20% ABV, 120 IBUs), Fort raspberry Belgian Ale(15-18% ABV, 49 IBUs), World Wide Stout(15-20% ABV, 70 IBUs), and the Burton Baton(10% ABV, 70 IBUs) – a cross between an English style Old Ale and an Imperial IPA.  Follow the link below to read the amusing descriptions of each of these beers and then use the Fish Finder to see where you can pick up some of your own.

http://www.dogfish.com/community/news/press-releases/four-big-dogfish-beers-coming-your-way.htm

Dogfish Head Fish Finder

Some Delicious Lagers and Pilsners

Lagers are the most consumed type of beer in America but unfortunately, that’s not for good reason.  Bud, Miller, and Coors have such a wide market penetration (and low prices) that they provide what is the default beer for nearly anyone at a bar or house party.  It’s really an unfortunate situation though considering there are many lagers and pilsners in the world that taste much better than what is produced by the big three.  These are often overlooked by craft beer drinkers probably due to the fact that when one does decide to branch out and drink good beer, he tends to try to get as far away from the old, watery standards he used to drink.  Below is a short list of some great craft pilsners and lagers to help you explore a less common branch of the craft beer world.

Cuvee de Castelton Release a Big Hit

Captain Lawrence Brewing Company released a special brew today that received a big turnout.  The 3 Oak Barrel aged brews drew at least 400 visitors for its 10:30am debut with some even braving the cold overnight to get their hands on these well-reviewed beers.  At $15-$20 per bottle, they seem to have made something special but only 1,000 bottles of the Batch #5 and 240 of the Cherry and Raspberry Barrel Selects means unless you were camping out or up before the butt crack of dawn, you’ll just have to wait until next year.

http://www.captainlawrencebrewing.com/

New Belgium to Open Test Brewery in Fort Collins

Kim Jordan, the 53 year old female CEO of New Belgium recently approved plans to open a new brewery in Fort Collins, CO to maintain interest and add a new aspect to the large craft beer company’s repertoire.  The new facility will be built as a place for the brewmasters to try some experimental beers and provide a unique ambiance for locals and tourists to taste their interesting creations.  For a full and very interesting read on Ms. Jordan and New Belgium’s ideas for the future, follow the link below.

New Belgium and the Battle of the Microbrews

Homebrew Competitions

Probably the greatest aspect of brewing and beer in general is how accessible every facet of the field really is.  If you’d like to try to recreate your favorite IPA at home, there’s a decent chance the recipe will be on the brewery’s website, or at least on a brewing forum like HomebrewTalk.com. Even at the commercial level, one will often find local breweries working together to create a collaborative beer or hosting a homebrew competition for the local community.  These competitions are often entered by homebrewers as a way to gain some constructive criticism and attempt to take their brewing to the next level.  But again, they are remarkably accessible to anyone with a couple extra 12 oz. bottles of homebrew and the five dollar entry fee.  The fee will vary of course, but the point is, competitions are very ubiquitous and very easy to enter.  Here are a few resources to get you started on entering your local competition.

Mark Carpenter on Defining a Craft Brewery

"Once you get started on craft beer, you're not going back to regular beer." - Mark Carpenter

“I’ve never liked those numbers, it’s a goofy kind of fake thing. When we were tiny and started to grow, the brewers association would come up with these numbers and there was a period where we were always out of being considered craft beer, but Sierra Nevada was always in it. Then Sierra finally passed us and all of a sudden we were considered craft beer again, so it’s kind of arbitrary.” – Mark Carpenter, Brewmaster at Anchor Brewing

Read More –> http://whosisbrew.com/?p=2061

Jim Koch on Competition in the Craft Beer Industry

Jim Koch of Boston Beer believes the craft beer industry will fail or succeed together

“As a craft brewer in America, after 27 years we’ve finally gotten to 1 percent market share, so my competition is not craft brewers because we’re all going to succeed or fail together. My real competition is ignorance and apathy. I’m about creating an appreciation of good beer, educating people about it and teaching them to treat it with respect. If I can do those things, I can succeed.” -Jim Koch

Read more here –> http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220792

Sam Adams Returns to its Craft Roots

High ABV, specialty ingredients, and some experimentation describe these small-batch brews from Sam Adams

Sam Adams is a brewery that has taken a step beyond its microbrew beginnings and is sold nationwide in nearly every beer retailer from gas stations to your local bottle shop.  Still technically a craft brewery, it’s not the first brand to come to mind when thinking of specialty beers due to its rapid growth and fantastic success throughout the country.  With branding being ever more important when dealing not just with beer, but nationally recognized and widely available beer, Sam Adams decided to remind the craft beer drinkers of their roots and release a line of 4 small batch creations that are mysteriously absent from their website.

Natty Light – The First Beer in Space

Though it is deeply saddening that the first beer in space had to be one of such…watery quality, the video is still pretty entertaining.  Also, the guys can’t really be blamed for their taste seeing as how it would have been a shame if they launched an actual beer only to lose it or watch it explode 90,000 feet above the earth’s surface.  Check out the video to see if the Natty survived and decide for yourself whether a craft brew would be fitting for the next launch.