You have probably heard this awful news by now, but Coppi’s Organic co-owner Nori Amaya was found dead yesterday in her apartment. D.C. Police Department spokeswoman Traci Hughes confirmed to Y&H this afternoon that Amaya’s death has been ruled a homicide. The cause of death is strangulation.

The horrific news has inspired an outpouring of grief on Amaya’s facebook page. Below is a selection of the comments on Amaya’s Wall:

• Nori, I had the pleasure of knowing you for years and am better to have had you in my life. We will all miss having you as a part of our lives. This is a tragedy and a shame. I wish you peace.
• I’AM SO SICK AND FUCK UP ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU BABY I LOVE YOU AND I’LL MISS U MY FRIEND , YOUR SMILE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH ME R.I.P ………………

Read More “Nori Amaya’s Friends and Fans Express Their Grief on Her Facebook Page” »

If you follow brews news like we do, you have probably caught wind of the David-and-Goliath story unfolding between Vermont’s Rock Art Brewery and Monster energy drinks. It seems that Hansen Beverage Company, makers of the Monster line, believe that consumers will be confused by the use of the word “monster” in Rock Art’s 10th Anniversary Ale, the Vermonster, and have demanded that Rock Art stop selling and advertising the beer.

How anyone could confuse this with this is beyond us, but it seems that as Monster explores the world of alcoholic beverages, they are looking to squash all perceived competition, even when that “threat” is a nine-person operation in rural Vermont. The Lagerheads’ response: truly scary, but it doesn’t really sound like what a natural beverage company would do.

When we started hearing about the conflict over the past week, we recalled the similar struggle that Dogfish Head Brewery and Anheuser-Busch had over the use of the words “punkin” and “chicory” several years ago. It turns out that there is more than just a haunting connection between the two stories. The same majority market-share-holding brewing giant that came after Sam Calagione at Dogfish Head happens to distribute Monster energy drinks. A true monster strikes again. More details after the jump.

Read More “A True Monster Attacks Rock Art Brewery – Can Twitter and Facebook Help?” »

The Lagerheads are about to depart DC and Y&H for two weeks in Colorado with family and friends. We’ll be leaving behind our laptops but definitely not putting down our beer mugs. How could we when our trip just so happens to coincide with Denver’s Great American Beer Festival? Put on by the Brewers Association, the same great folks that organize Savor, GABF is a beer extravaganza that will draw as many as 50,000 people to the Mile High City from September 24th to 26th to sample from 2,000 beers made by 450 different American breweries.

We’ll be at this annual beer mecca, and, if you choose to follow our progress on Facebook and Twitter, you can be there, too (virtually). iPhone in hand, we’ll be sending photos and updates about what we’re drinking, eating, seeing, and learning–as much as we can each day until the combination of heightened elevation and alcohol take hold. If you have any tips to help us keep our wits about us or suggestions for places we should go–let us know in the comments section. Details on our trip after the jump.

Read More “Follow The Lagerheads’ Colorado Beer Odyssey” »

We get all kinds of unwanted crap in the mail. Yesterday, Amanda Hess got this package from Red Bull, advertising its latest product line — the Red Bull Energy Shot, these two-ounce poppers designed to give you a sugar-and-caffeine rush when, say, your boss calls for yet another hour-long, narcolepsy-inducing meeting.  All of which is fine; I don’t have to buy or drink this product.

But Hess showed me the hand-written note that came in her package.  It ended with this sentence: “Please share with Tim Carmen [sic], who is also a friend of Red Bull.”

Now, I didn’t take this note literally. I mean, I’ve never knowingly drank a Red Bull in my life. I considered this fraternal reference more like a facebook friendship, in which you horde all sorts of virtual “friends,” like a politician collects votes, in order to market to them, manipulate them, and generally convince them you’re one charming motherfucker.  As such, I thought I should get to know my new friend better.

So I drank a Red Bull Energy Shot. Or tried to drink one.

Read More “Clearing the Air with My New BFF: Red Bull” »