Here is yet another article about the remarkable craft beer renaissance going on in United States. This time from NPR. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/05/17/152958268/u-s-craft-beer-brewers-thrive-despite-small-share-of-the-market?sc=emaf

The excellent chef/food blogger Emily at http://www.sugarplumblog.net posted this link today. Basically, some food bloggers are taking money to post recipes from large companies without even testing them. I find this sad but have faith in the community that such cases are rare and there are many hard working, innovative and upstanding food bloggers out there such as Sugarplum. I am sure this type of thing occurs in a large variety of blogosphers, luckily (or unluckily? since I have no money…) no one cares too much what I think, therefore no temptation means my integrity remains in tact! http://www.iacp.com/blog/more/faking_it

I recently stumbled upon http://hopvault.com/ which is a new beer rating website along the lines of http://beeradvocate.com/ and http://www.ratebeer.com/ and might be worth your time exploring.

As I have mentioned previously, Tallgrass Brewing Company’s 8-Bit Pale Ale cans are causing a bit of a stir amongst the beer community. So much so, that the cans are on sale on Ebay. I am not surprised at all, as I have mentioned numerous times how cool the cans are. So, if you are in their 12 state distributing area, I suggest you pick some up as collectors items. Even Beerpulse.com wrote a sponsored article that includes an interesting commercial about the beer.

Fracking may endanger New York beer. I will need a lot more information on this subject before I can posit a legitimate opinion on the subject and I am familiar with the kind of publication Mother Jones is. Still, this is an interesting and disturbing thought and certainly worth looking into. http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/05/brooklynites-dont-frack-our-beer if any of you have insights into this subject, please feel free to share.

Yesterday, a friend suggested I should show a little love to the Royals and I could not agree more! They have been doing pretty well recently and deserve this beautiful picture I created. In case you have not been to a Royals game recently, you can purchase Boulevard beer at Kauffman Stadium. So, with good beer, a phenomenal stadium and inexpensive ticket prices, you can not go wrong!

After my comparison, I did a little experimenting as well. Try mixing some of the Samuel Smith Organic Strawberry Ale with champagne (I used Veuve Clicquot, I would recommend a cheaper brut Champagne or a Prosecco), it is a delicious combination. If you want to add a bigger kick, try combining Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moonshine Strawberry with a dry Champagne or Prosecco.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is looking to abolish Missouri’s restrictions on the distribution system which would allow Brewers to own their own distributor. This developement, could lead to the dissolution of the three tier system. I have some issues with said system and believe it does at times hamper consumer selection. However, I think giving Anheuser-Busch InBev the ability to own and operate their own distributor would make the situation even worse by giving the giants even more control on price and collection. Before I can make a much more informed argument I will need to do some research. Not all states have a three tier system and curious of how things worked out in such cases as well as your thoughts. http://www.stltoday.com/business/local/beer-battle-between-wholesalers-brewers/article_d7985f04-96d5-11e1-920a-001a4bcf6878.html

P.S. If you are still on your feet after the Craft Beer Fest and whatever other Cinco De Mayo festivities you partake in, Downtown is having a pub crawl on Saturday night as well. This Saturday is also National Home Brew Day, so brew, drink and be merry!