The Beer Taster's Notebook

In Praise of Haze It may seem like a misguided topic for an article. After all, everyone is brewing them and everyone is doing them. Or drinking them at least. The haze craze doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon, so what am I on about? Well, it goes by many a name, New England… Read more: In Praise of Haze

Into the Darkness The first black lager I ever tasted was quite confusing. It looked like a stout, it kinda smelled like a stout, but it didn’t quite taste like a stout, and it sure didn’t finish like a stout. Then I never saw one again for years. To be fair, the Schwarzbier (literally “black… Read more: Into the Darkness

A Quick Guide to Pilsners A long long time ago, in a city far far away, the citizens of Plzěn were so appalled by the quality of their beer, that they dumped it all. They then built a new brewery and hired a Bavarian brewmaster by the name of Josef Groll. In 1842 Pilsner was… Read more: A Quick Guide to Pilsners

Some Good AdWeiss: A Guide to Weissbiers Every beer has a time and a place. For Weissbier, that time and place is any time, any place.  It’s refreshing in the summer, delicious in the winter, and fits seamlessly in between. It has the uncanny ability to pair with almost any dish, making it the fallback… Read more: Some Good AdWeiss

The Beers of Oktoberfest As autumn settles in, the mornings turn crisp, the leaves shift to red and gold, and the sounds of clinking steins raised to  “Ein Prosit der Gemütlichkeit” draw nearer. Oktoberfest is almost upon us- and with it comes the beer. But should you reach for a Festbier, an Oktoberfestbier, or a… Read more: A Festivus for the Rest of Us