Brian Yaeger's Blog, page 11

Sam Adams Headache

During the interim phase of my beer drinking career between finding the cheapest way to get drunk and finding the best tasting beers regardless of cost, I occasionally ordered Sam Adams. There may have been more than one beer from the Boston Beer Co. out there, but all I knew was Boston Lager. But I'd more often than not opt for Grolsch (fun latch-top) or Moosehead (everything from Canada is fun). I found myself telling people "Sam Adams gives me an expensive headache."

I rarely imbibe Grolsch or

The Session #28: Think/Drink Globally

No doubt we're all big advocates of supporting your local brewery. It's the right thing to do and a tasty way to do it. Since it is my pleasure to host this month's Session, I nearly had us blog about our local breweries, but after doing my homework by going through all the past topics of The Session, I noticed that Gastronomic Fight Club covered that exactly 2 years ago.
American Craft Beer Week is May 11-17. But us beer bloggers know that craft beer is to be supported year-round, and that it do

Session #27: Beer Cocktails

Joe & Jasmine of Beer at Joe' s ask us for this month's Session to pontificate on beer cocktails. Considering I am about to head to the great American cocktail city, New Orleans, this may be an apt topic. Having said that, aside from the one Joe pointed out, Black'n'Tan (Guinness floating on Harp or some such combo), I'm not a beer cocktail person. I don't even care for Snakebites (Guinness floating on hard cider). Hell, when drinking spirits, I usually opt for single-malt scotch or bourbon with

IBUs in San Diego...

...are like STDs in a college dorm.
As an antidote, when I finally completed my 1,800-mile tour del SoCal last week, I treated myself to a chilled bottle of Anchor Small Beer (it's 95 degrees in my pad) and for dessert, the first bottle of my and Half Pint's Latte Stout! (Though undercarbonated, I think it's ferly successful.)
What was supposed to be a 6-day trip turned into 11. I drove from SF down to the OC, up to LA, then back up to San Luis Obispo, then Santa Barbara (for book-signing events a

Drinking in LA

Fortunately, some things in LA never change. See: The Apple Pan, 72-degree weather. Fortunately, some things do change.
On my whirlwind tour visiting friends and drinking with them, my first stop was a new place on E. 3rd St. downtown, past Little Tokyo, called Wurstkuche (with an umlaut over the 2nd U). Evidently, it's not pronounced "worst coochie." I've known Eric my entire life and he suggested this place because it specializes in Belgian beers--20 on tap and bottle--with an impressive German

Tom Robbins Is in the Beer Book Game

A high school English teacher, talking about similes and metaphors, once used Tom Robbins as an example. I believe the phrase was, "her expressionless face was as blank as a paraplegic's dance card." Everyone else in the class mirrored the analogy while I fell to the floor cackling. While I should've asked the teacher which book that came from, I just bought one and kept reading his books until I found that line. I started with Still Life with Woodpecker, which probably remains my favorite. The

Session #26: Smoke 'Em if Ya Got 'Em

This month's topic for The Session, as ordained by Lew Bryson and his blog Seen Through a Glass, is Smoked beers. What timing! My friend Chris and I recently embarked on our homebrewing odysseys, and this crazy mofo opts to brew a smoked golden ale for his second batch. (I employed lactose and coffee beans in mine, so I can't throw stones.) But he got the idea from a beer he found in my fridge while subletting my pad. It was Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen, my favorite smoked beer, and he enj

Welcome to 1979, Utah

The Brewers Association issued a press release announcing Utah legalized homebrewing. A mere 30 years after Pres. Jimmy Carter legalized it federally, kick starting the craft brewing craze launched by homebrewers such as Jack McAullife (New Albion), Ken Grossman (Sierra Nevada), David Hummer & Stick Ware (Boulder Brewery).
Hopefully this action will catch Utah up with the rest of the gang, especially their neighbors in Colorado. This calls for a toast with the only Utah-brewed beer I've got--Poly

Laissez la bonne biere verser. Beer in New Orleans!

Laissez la bonne biere verser (let the good beer pour) is a fitting motto for the newest brewery in NOLA, whose motto is Laissez les bons temps rouler (let the good times roll).
When I was in N'awlins last October on my book tour, I met Kirk Coco, president of NOLA (New Orleans Lagers & Ales) Brewing. They are going to market with two beers, a Blonde and an Brown, and I know they have some tasty-sounding tricks up their sleeves. For Coco's part, he returned home to NOLA after Katrina and saw a ne

America, F**k Yeah. (Same for SLO)

I know I was one of the first customers at San Luis Obispo's new brewpub, Creekside Brewing, because I'd past through SLO on my drive from Santa Barbara to San Fran in December and saw a new brewery under construction, then, when heading from San Fran to L.A. in January, dined and drank there. Well, I might add. The highlight, beyond the fresh beer and the "plant-ripened jalapeno" poppers, was being given a tour by co-owner John Moule.
The blog I posted about that experience, according to my metr