http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/beer Mon, 10 May 2010 18:53:12 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Orignal Post November 2009 Anchor Brewing Company has been producing quality beers for over a century. Started by German immigrants after the California gold rush in 1896 Anchor became known for Steam Beer which was brewed without the use of ice. Anchor has been a trusted name in beer long ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/beer/the-beer-blog/2010/05/10/christmas-time-was-here-happiness-and-beer%e2%80%a6/ The Lager style is one of the most produced and consumed beers in the world. It may be known to you as your father’s favorite or an old stand by, but when it comes to beer, lager is hard to ignore. Often lager is considered to be part of the ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/beer/the-beer-blog/2010/05/10/lager-than-life/ Yesterday brought with it two singular excitements: Tony and I undertook Boozy Milkshake Day Part II and George, an esteemed dT alum, popped over to my house for a bit. What with this being the beer blog and with the spirits blog being a whole separate blog, I'm going to ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/beer/the-beer-blog/2009/07/01/not-knocking-things-off-pedestals/ We waited and we waited, but it’s finally arrived: Mad River’s Steelhead Double Dread Imperial Red. It’s the most recent entry in the brewery’s High Gravity series, an uber-limited series of full-throttle brews. For those of you just hopping on the dT blog-wagon, we’ve been waiting (sort of) patiently for its ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/beer/the-beer-blog/2009/06/27/mad-river-the-gravity-gets-hi-i-i-gh/ By which I'm not joking; so many beers come out with these fancy titles talking about "double espresso" this and "blueberry pie" that and for the most part, while the referent beers are often outstanding, the flavor itself is accurate only in a sort of secondary sense. It tastes like ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/beer/beer-reviews/2009/06/26/sourthern-tier-creme-brulee-drink-your-dessert/ Here’s what summer beer’s really all about: There’s an Australian in my house. A few years ago, my fiancé lived with her in Costa Rica, both of them working for a Peace-Corp-ish program, chopping down jungle pathways, dancing with locals, the like (you haven’t seen sexy until you’ve seen the picture ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/beer/the-beer-blog/2009/06/18/what-summer-beers-all-about/ In a recent post, I wrote about a conversation I had with Tyler (of The Second Glass fame) re: the dearth of mom-and-pop breweries in Eastern MA. Wish I had a little more, uh, clarity at the time. I would have dropped Haverhill Brewery on him. 45 min. up 93, ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/beer/beer-reviews/2009/06/06/haverhill-brewery-by-boston-for-boston/ At the Eastern Standard last weekend, I got in this conversation about local beer with Tyler (as in, Tyler "The Second Glass" Balliet - that's him, there on the left with the winning smile). The Standard might very well be the ultimate cocktail bar in the city, but their beer ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/beer/the-beer-blog/2009/06/05/thoughts-on-why-beer-compels-us/ Pity the poor, poor stout drinker. It's the dawn of summer and the sunlight's shining, the world's warming. People are bouncing around, getting all public and friendly again, hey-how-ya-doin strangers, grinning like idiots. Witbiers and Summer styles are flying off the shelves. But your average stout drinker... he's already longing ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/beer/beer-cocktails/2009/06/04/black-velvet/ You really should be pumped about this. As you may or may not recall , a few weeks back I wrote about Mad River (and I'm assuming you don't, you hopefully having better things to do than commit my posts to memory). The brewery came to town for the Craft ... http://www.downtownwineandspirits.com/beer/the-beer-blog/2009/06/03/by-the-way-about-mad-river/