Two great families have reigned o’er beer for centuries: lager and ale. Lager is traditionally lighter-tasting and thinner in body; ale is usually heavier and thicker. Lagers are generally what you drink on a hot, sticky day. Ales are warming on cooler, cloudier evenings.Then there’s Baltic porter, modern beer’s most prominent disruptor. It is a…
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Great beer deserves great food, so longtime food and beer writer (and author of The World Atlas of Beer) Stephen Beaumont took on the great and important task of gathering the greatest pairings around the world and publishing them in one convenient place: a beautifully photographed cookbook. Pick up a superb craft six-pack, bomber or…
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Stuck in the thick of winter doldrums? We’ve got just the cure. As February continues to slowly creep along, leaving most of the country struggling with snow and freezing temperatures, it’s a time of year when only the boldest beers need apply for the role of winter warmer. Here’s a collection of loud wintry flavors,…
Read MoreWhen it comes to massive West Coast double IPAs, Knee Deep and Kern River do them just about better than anyone else. This is bound to be a juicy, tropical, bitter hit to your hop receptors. Last year Double Dose from Lawsons/Otter Creek was a surprise collaboration runaway for my favorite new IPA – I…
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For some beer drinkers, there is nothing as sweet as staring down into the dark depths of a pint of black beer. Utterly terrifying to their pale-ale-drinking brethren, porters and stouts are like Christmas in a glass for black-beer lovers. And why wouldn’t they be, with their caramelized flavors and chocolatey aromas. But it begs…
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Lately, I’ve been in love with rye. Announcing my affections for a grain may seem strange, but here’s why it receives my boozy adoration: In high-proof whiskeys, rye imparts a spicy, drying character. That makes the spirit suitable for sipping solo or as the brawny base for cocktails such as the old-fashioned. But lately, rye…
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