Super Bowl is prime beer time, and I was excited for the spread at my gracious friend’s viewing party: chicken-and-steak nacho bar, homemade cookies, and a sixtel of Dale’s Pale Ale. I hadn’t had a beer in five days because of some flu nonsense, and I was ready to get in some, uh, professional research.

But the first thing I drank was cider. Not just any cider, but a cider by Woodchuck, that no-good hawker of apple-scented alcopop that ranks on the list of booze I respect just above Smirnoff Ice and 99 Bananas. They outright lie right there on the label — it’s not a draft if it comes in a bottle! (PS: Its parent company also makes Cider Jack, which tastes like Fruitopia, so don’t think that’s some better alternate brand.) So what possibly could have convinced me to drink this high-school swill?

Read More “My Super Bowl Beer: Cider?” »

Have the ads worked yet? Is your house properly stocked with Bud Light and Doritos and GoDaddy domain names? For Taste Test this week, let Y&H know what beers you drank during the Super Bowl. (You did drink beer, right? Anything else would be un-American.)

Tell me what you drank, either in the comments here or in 140-character concision, and the most creative responses will get published right here on Y&H. What did I drink? More on that to come, but it’s not what you’d expect…

This week’s taste test was Bell’s Hopslam a hot topic on Twitter when the limited seasonal double IPA hit stores last month. So now that the dust has settled, what did everyone think? @BrianDau noted the same overwhelming fruity aromas I did:

@BrianDau: Hopslam: Even my sorry excuse for a nose can pick up the grapefruit and pineapple aromas. Does not taste like a 10% ABV beer.

Commenter David offered a lone voice of dissent — in journalism, this is what we call “balancing our sources.”

I was underwhelmed. Not for the lack of hops but for the lack of depth and character. I didn’t particularly enjoy it when compared to the slightly sweeter (if memory serves) DFH 90 Minute IPA. Too bland and boring for the price.

But the comment of the week belongs to Jon, who unleashed a tirade that takes to task naysayers, extreme hop lovers, and price-gouging merchants — all in the name of love for his beer:
Read More “Taste Test: Bell’s Hopslam” »

Much as I looked forward to the return of Tuppers’ Hop Pocket Ale, the old-school (a.k.a. “venerable”) Virginia pale ale that was out of production for the last two years, like many of you I was surprised to see sticker prices of $10, $11, even $12…for a four-pack. Who even sells pale ales in four-packs? This is a workhorse, all-day-barbecue beer, so what’s the deal with the high-falutin’ price tag?

Read More “Why Does Tuppers’ Hop Pocket Cost So Much?” »

Bloggerfolks and Twitterati, listen up: February’s D.C. Food Blogger Happy Hour is tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Againn. (Sorry, that’s the last time I ever use the word “Twitterati.”)

There’s already 30-some RSVPs, so we should have quite a crowd. See the list of hosts and let us know if you’re coming over at Thrifty DC Cook, and remember to check out the only menu that matters. Mmm…Victory Old Horizontal Barleywine…

Photo by CoffeeGeek via Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution License. Flyer by Arugula Files.

The hullabaloo over Bell’s Hopslam, the honeyed double IPA that has captured beer drinkers’ hearts and gullets, is subsiding as its limited supplies wane. I welcome the quiet; it means I can get some sleep instead of staying up to tweet round-the-clock updates on where you hopheads can get your fix.

After trying a bottle (and going back for several refreshers), I thought Hopslam lived up to the hype, its fresh aromas of strawberry and grapefruit and apricot a reminder that hops are actually flowers. But what did you all think? For this week’s taste test, let me know what Hopslam means to you, in the comments here or on Twitter, and the best ones will get posted on Friday here at Y&H.

Here’s some tasting notes to get you started with your writing — it’s a floral beer, so get florid!

On Monday I asked you to help me with my difficult job and taste some beer. Now, the particular beer in question was Bud Light Wheat, the type of watery, NFL-commercial dishwater that keeps people who would enjoy a good wheat beer from ever trying a Weihenstephaner or Hoegaarden or Allagash White. But I wanted to give ol’ Anheuser-Busch InBev a shot, and y’all obliged. Some of you even liked it:

@Buffalo_Theory: @beerspotter bud light wheat=No Allagash/BlueMoon but better than I thought. works in a macro-pinch. light wheat flavor;too filtered though.
Lauren: Bud Light Wheat is really good. I like the fact that you can have the wheat flavor without all of the calories. After a few Blue Moons, they start to weigh you down. I think Bud Light Wheat is a great alternative. Make sure to put an orange in it.

Read More “Taste Test: Bud Light Wheat” »

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the beer can, Treehugger posted a story pointing out how far behind the United States is when it comes to reusable beer containers. According to their post, 83 percent of Germany’s beer consumption (except draft, presumably) is sold in refillable bottles, which are returned by drinkers for a deposit. By contrast, our refill rate is 3 percent.

They’re right about that; most U.S. states really need a deposit system for bottles, which would be much more beneficial than crushing and recycling the glass. However, author Lloyd Alter takes a wrong step when he writes:

Nobody a mile north or south of the American border touches the stuff in cans, it just doesn’t taste as good.

This is wrong. Cans now hold some of the best beers in the world, or at least some of my favorites. And unlike 75 years ago, beer cans today are made with a water-based internal coating that keeps the aluminum from ever touching liquid, so if your beer tastes like tin foil, it’s probably just a crappy beer.

No, I’m not retiring from my post as “that lucky bastard who gets paid to drink beer.” Please. But all the beer tips I get from you folks on Twitter got me thinking: How do these beers taste? What do you think about them?

So get on that bright blue time-waster and let me know @Beerspotter what you’ve tried lately and what it was like — and your deepest 140-character thoughts will be shared right here on Y&H!

This week, I’m particularly curious: Anyone had Bud Light Wheat? How’s it hold up to Blue Moon? Or Lysol?

One box, so much potential. The variety pack was my bane and my savior when I used to buy beer in my home state of Pennsylvania. There, backwards liquor laws meant most beer was sold by the case in state-owned shops; six-packs cost $15 and were available only at special “delis”; and I’m pretty sure drinking was illegal on Tuesdays. But the beer box, with its 6-bottle x 4-variety configuration, let you sneak around the no-sixers loophole. Thus the variety pack was double-edged: it was both a boon to curious drinkers and a constant reminder of our restrictive state.

Now I live in D.C., where we enjoy one of the largest beer selections in the country. The weird thing is, outside of backwards states like Pennsylvania, variety packs are mostly embraced by benign, “beginner” craft breweries, such as Saranac and Samuel Adams (if you want to make some enemies, you could include Magic Hat in that category). That’s why it’s exciting to see high-quality breweries like Great Lakes market 12-bottle variety packs to D.C. — whether you’re discovering new styles of beer, joining a party with mixed tastes, or you’re just thirsty and indecisive, it’s an inexpensive way to try new things without committing to even a six-pack. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have 12 new beers to commit to myself.