Ünnecessary Ümlaut

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A surplus of geekery by :: Fred Abercrombie

It’s Your Chance: Party in RateBeer’s Craft Beer Suite at Oakland A’s Game

It only happens once a year. Don’t miss your chance inside the RateBeer Luxury Suite »

Saturday, July 30th, 4:05 PM Atheltics vs Twins

With your ticket you have access to the following treats and luxuries:

  • Commemorative A’s Beerfest glass and 3 tokens.
  • Ticket for entry to the RateBeer.com Luxury Suite
  • Fully catered suite: hot dogs, nacho bar, popcorn, peanuts, artichoke dip and sodas
  • Select beer from some of the leading and most sought after breweries in the country.
  • Enjoy the game with beer and baseball lover like yourself.

Breweries that will be represented in the suite include:

  • Allagash Brewing
  • Almanac Beer Co.
  • Anchor Brewing
  • Block 15
  • Cigar City Brewing
  • Drake’s Brewing
  • Epic Brewing*
  • Firehouse Grill & Brewery
  • Grand Teton Brewing
  • Hill Farmstead*
  • Lagunitas
  • Marin Brewing Co.
  • Shipyard Brewing Co.
  • Speakeasy Ales and Lagers
  • Stillwater Artisan Ales*
  • Stone Brewing
  • Telegraph Brewing
  • And more
    *Named to RateBeer’s “Top New Brewers In The World 2011” list
More info and get tickets »

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Shop: Beer Güt Shirt Makes Beer Guts Good

EXPERIENCE THE MAGICAL HEALING POWER

Umlauts. Who knew? They make bands rock harder. Restaurants feel more exotic. And on these tees they’ll transform your beer gut into something every passerby can nod approvingly on. ‘Cuz it’s not about the gut, it’s about the beer. And it is good.

Grab yours in the Shöppe »

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Adv: Chocolate Website for Chocolate Beer, Sagres Preta Stout

To help promote Portugal brewery Sagres‘ new Preta Chocolate Stout, their digital agency Grand Union Portugal came up with what they thought was a fitting launchpad for a chocolate beer: a chocolate webpage. Duh.

So they hired the Artistic Director of the Óbidos International Chocolate Festival to lead the sculpting. Creating not just a flat “web page”, but going full boar creating all the buttons, number tiles for the loading screen (which only added to the heavy load time, IMO), sliding modules, and more. Then they shot it all and used it as the basis for the website.

Cool. And no doubt delicious. But a long climb up the mountain for a small sip of cocoa. Then again, I am sharing it. And you are reading this. So, guess it worked. A sia saide!

Check out the finished product:
sagres.pt/​sagrespretachocolate/​

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Beer Art: 7 Hilarious Hand-Drawn Taps at Church Key SF

Like the Wacky Packs of beer

It’s not often you find beers like Samichlaus on tap (the rare bottles are a Christmas tradition with me). Even more rare to find hand-doodled parodies gracing the pulls. Church Key in San Francisco‘s North Beach only has a few taps at a time but man does their artwork make up for their numbers. They put the hand in tap handles.

° °

About the artist

I had to pull teeth out of the bartender as he was, unfortunately, not the most talkative or friendly. This is how I got to what I sorta believe to be the guy’s name:

ÜÜ: Did you draw these? They’re awesome.
CK: No.

ÜÜ: Did someone else at Church Key draw them?
CK: No.

ÜÜ: Do you know who did?
CK: A local guy who comes in here.

ÜÜ: Happen to know his name?
CK: Sean.

ÜÜ: Sean … ?
CK: Sean Dick.

I couldn’t tell if that was the guy’s last name or the bartender just was being one. Making that my last beer at Church Key for the eve. However, I’ll go back and give ’em another chance. And bring a better camera. In the meantime enjoy these seven killer tap handles by Sean Dick(?) …

° °

See the rest »

New Beer: SF’s Almanac Beer Co. Finally Releasing Bottles

Farm to Barrel … to Bottles

One of my absolute favorite beers sampled at the 2011 SF Beer Week Opening Gala was Almanac Brewing Co.‘s Summer 2010 ale. I can still taste it. Like a big, juicy slice of the season squeezed right into your glass. And now it’s finally being bottled.

Word is they’re having a bottle release party on June 30 at City Beer Store. Watch here for details.

More info on their bottling »

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Beer: Orange Shush from Ale Industries

In the Bay Area craft beer bubble, everything’s brewing up oranges.

Moylan’s in Novato has Orange & Black (bombers). Speakeasy in SF has Agent Orange (draft). And now Concord’s Ale Industries is back with another release of Orange Shush in bombers. Whether it’s the Giants coming off a World Series win or the warming weather (however slowly), an orange beer just sounds perfectly refreshing right about now.

Like Lagunitas and their Censored Ale (formerly Kronik), Ale Industries was forced to change the name from Orange Kush due to an alleged drug reference.

Orange Shush pours hazy yellow with a velvety, crisp-white head. Smelling rich in orange, vanilla, and other citrus highlights. The chamomile brings a sweet flowery touch that gives me license to use the term “bouquet” without being a complete beer douche.

That said, this is not a “fruity” beer. Not like the über-sweet Apricot Ales or the likes you may typically shun. Shush is a wheat beer foremost, but with a grassy character and noticeably orange zest that’s just the right amount of sweetness. The coriander brings a wonderfully subtle spice to the juicy, flowery finish. So good.

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iPhone: BeerStat Beer Tallying App

What a week for iPhones and beer. First I hear the arcade classic Tapper is coming to iOS as Tapper World Tour. Now there’s an app to help you count all the beers you knock back in the real world, BeerStat.

Do you really need a tally for your drinking? Really? Maybe not. But what’s cool about this is all the stats it spits back at you. Not just which brands you’ve drank most but what percentage of your body weight you’ve drank in beer, or how much money you’ve spent on beer this month. No doubt, too much.

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Infographic: The United States of GOOD Beer

Recently GOOD Magazine asked readers for “the most awesome, best-tasting, sustainably brewed, independently owned, community-oriented craft beer brewed in your state“. This (updated) map is the result. Let the list-bitching begin …

SEE IT LARGE: See the rest »

Wear: Brew Holster Cult

brewholstercult

No self-respecting hipster would wear their Pabst in a beer helmet. Partly ‘cuz they’d have to fork over cash for two cans at once. Mostly ‘cuz it would screw up their hair.

Thankfully Brew Holster Cult understands the value of hands-free posturing with a single beer. They’ll customize a leather holster for you in three different styles: Ale Swearengen, Optical Brew-Lusion, and Bock Star. They say they’ll hold both cans and bottles.

I wonder if they hold 40 oz’s? Check them out. (Thanks Brian)

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Beer Güt Shirt
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