(By The time you read this, our team may be at our objective and in highly covert operations to balance the World’s beer supply through consumption. Our lives (and our livers) are on the line. Raise a toast to the mission… Obviously, I won’t be able to post a Blog while I am gone due to risk of data transmission intercept, and there’s also the possibility that I may not have full use of my fine-motor functions…)

I have spent countless hours studying our objective: The lay of the land, the train network, languages, dialects, cuisine, customs. And yes — beer. After all, I am the leader of a small, yet highly trained — and thirsty — team of nine beer geeks preparing to embark on “Beer-Mission Belgium”. With the clock ticking down to B-day, the excitement can hardly be contained. We are anxious, yet we know we are prepared for the task. We have taken apart our objective province by province and beer by beer. Utilizing intelligence gathered on three previous fact finding missions, we have never been more confident or ready. Ik ben een Belg… (more…)

Hear Ye, Hear Ye! Let it be known that it is time for all good beer-geeks to come to the party! Where? Here:  Philly Beer Week is March 7-16 (Wow, that’s a long week!)

Admittedly Philadelphia is a city that’s fairly close to my heart, having grown-up a mere 55 miles to the East on the Jersey Shore. Philly is “the big city” of my youth. It was where we traveled as teenagers to see all the great concerts or ball games. Most of our TV news and local programming came to us by way of cable from Philadelphia. Philly is a city that you either love or hate (or sometimes both). The summers are miserably hot and humid, and the Delaware Valley winter can be brutal; just ask George Washington.

This nation owes Philly its “props”. It was used as a bargaining chip during “The Great Compromise,” eventually having to give up its status as the nation’s capital to a mosquito-infested meadow on the Potomac. This city has given a lot, and should never be forgotten as the birthplace of this great nation. (more…)

Even the title “Brewmaster” alludes to the fact that in modern times the business of brewing is a male dominated world. It is men in the barley fields, hop farms and breweries, all the way to the beer delivery guy. There’s a dude just about everywhere you look!

In an ironic twist of history, with today’s women progressing in the work force, government and the hallowed halls of academia, the field of brewing has been digressing from its traditional beginnings as a women dominated craft. Until the recent craft beer revolution, that is… (more…)

I recently attended the 1^st edition of “Fest of Ales” which took place at the Comedy Zone located within the Ramada Inn at South Charleston. I must admit that I had my doubts when I heard the idea of mixing a beer tasting with a stand-up comedy act. I wasn’t so sure it would fly, but boy was I wrong. There were at least 80-100 people there to eagerly partake in the beer, food and comedy, all for a reasonable $25 ticket. (more…)