Beermingham

The rumors of our demise...

2011-01-09T01:12:00.000-06:00

The holidays are over. Finally. Will Beermingham return? Probably. We'd love to hear your suggestions on what Beermingham 2.0 should be. Business as usual or something completely different? You tell us what you'd like to see Beermingham become.

What & Where we're drinking Monday night

2010-10-03T01:53:00.000-05:00

We don't normally put much thought into what or where we're drinking beer. But this week, the Beermingham staff calendar has, in ink, a big red circle around Oct. 4. That's the day for the Terrapin Takeover at J. Clyde. Reps from the brewery, including Spike Buckowski, will be there with several beers you may never seen in Alabama again. Plus, J. Clyde says there will be lots of schwag to snag.

Where we were drinking tonight: Pale Eddie's Pour House

2010-09-23T01:36:00.000-05:00

"Can I get a code for your wi-fi?" I asked the bartender at downtown Birmingham's newest bar, Pale Eddie's Pour House. "Yeah, let me check on that," he said. As I awaited his return, I sipped my $9 Mason jar of Good People Snakehandler and mooched off Rogue Tavern's open wi-fi. "It's not working yet," my bartender said. "Still trying to work out the bugs." Not a problem, really, since I

What we're drinking tonight: The "We're Back" edition

2010-09-19T01:40:00.000-05:00

Wow. An entire month with no posts. That just ain't right, is it? But the Beermingham staff has returned from its annual retreat refreshed and ready to drink some beer. So what are we celebrating with? Great Divide Rumble IPA. We picked up enough for the entire Beermingham employee roster at HiPS because that's the kind of workplace Beermingham is. But what kind of beer is Rumble? Thin. By

Good things going on at Good People

2010-08-26T00:30:00.000-05:00

Bruce Andrews works on re-creating the Good People logo on the brewery's new home. It's well known that Good People is producing good beer at their new facility. Perhaps not as well known are some things going on around their new home. The most obvious is the new sign now gracing the front of the brewery. Musician and artist Bruce Andrews of Andrews Art has been hard at work during some of

What we're drinking tonight: Mountain Standard Reserve

2010-08-12T00:00:00.000-05:00

This may well be one the most complex beers we've ever tasted. Odell Brewing Co. unfairly categorizes Mountain Standard Reserve as a brown ale. The taste of this beer has nothing in common with New Castle or Lazy Magnolia's Pecan. The brewer describes it as "... more than a limited edition offering. It's an enigma in liquid form." In fact, it has more in common with Bertie Botts Beans than beer.

HiPS ends rewards card, intros draft six pack

2010-08-06T14:59:00.000-05:00

Just weeks after introducing their rewards card for draft buyers, HiPS is ending program. Jimmy tells us the program was quite popular with customers, not so popular with ABC. Alabama law doesn't allow businesses to offer discounts on alcoholic products unless the discount is available to everyone. A rewards program open to everyone sort of straddles the legality line. While everyone is

Beer news in brief: More draft to go, rewards and thanks

2010-07-31T01:41:00.000-05:00

Here are a few things we think you'll find interesting. 1. Western Supermarket on Highland Ave. has joined the draft to go club. They're a little late to the game, but they're wasting no time catching up to the other guys. Not only do they have two Good People offerings, but they already have custom-printed glass growlers available for $4. That means their growlers are cheaper but so is their

What we're drinking tonight: SNAKE HANDLER!

2010-07-28T23:40:00.000-05:00

If we had a poet on staff, this would be written in flowing verse. Sadly, it just wasn't in the budget. But we're betting you don't care much about poetry anyway. Especially when the legendary Snake Handler is back in town. We picked up some at Dee's for the daily office party (no, we're not hiring)and the jug is quickly going empty. It was kegged just two days ago, so you know it's nice and

Good People has taps, Snake handled

2010-07-28T14:03:00.002-05:00

We knew GP was working on new tap handles, and now they're ready to show em off. They should start showing up in bars statewide soon. And while we were visiting the brewery a few minutes ago, we were told Snakehandler was kegged and sent out yesterday. In the tanks is a big batch of Hippie IPA. Well, as Jason Malone said, "The beer formerly known as Hippie." it seems someone else thought of

Sam Adams' Beer Lovers Choice

2010-07-13T21:54:00.000-05:00

We made it to On Tap in Lakeview for the Sam Adams' Beer Lover's Choice. And if you didn't you should have. We got to taste the American Rye Ale and the Belgian Style IPA. We expected the rye to win us over, but in our opinion, the IPA was the clear winner. It was plenty hoppy without being overbearing. It had a similar color to Sam Adams' lager, but is a definite step above. Anyone else

Check out Sam Adam's Beer Lover's Choice tonight

2010-07-13T10:23:00.000-05:00

Head over to On Tap in Lakeview tonight (July 13, 2010) to help Sam Adams decide what beer to produce next. Attendees will get to taste a Belgian style IPA and an American Rye Ale then vote for their favorite. The event is going on nationwide, and the beer with the most votes will go into production. You can check out Sam Adams' website here for the event, but despite Birmingham not being

What we're drinking right now: Great Divide 16th Anniversary Wood Aged DIPA on cask

2010-07-12T14:59:00.001-05:00

we owe Birmingham Craft Beer Examiner for this one. He did a post last week alerting us to two upcoming casks at J. Clyde. One was a Lazy Magnolia Strawberry Summer, the other was this hugely tasty Great Divide. This caramel-colored double IPA starts with sweet malt but taste buds are quickly overcome by massive bitter hops. That's when the 10% ABV kicks in and bitter turns to burn. But it's

Good news from Good People

2010-07-09T01:48:00.001-05:00

Good People is brewing again! Good beer is flowing out of Good People's tanks once again! Hallelujah! We spoke with Jason Malone Thursday afternoon and he told us the brewery has finally cut through all the red tape from the health department as well as the city. And the first official batches of Snakehandler, Brown and IPA are in the tanks and should be out the door soon. And there's even

Happy Independence Day! What're you drinking?

2010-07-03T22:18:00.000-05:00

Our nation declared its independence 234 years ago. Beermingham only declared its independence from a limited selection of low-alcohol, average beer yet we've taken on the pursuit of good beer with gusto. So with what hoppy beverage will you be celebrating the 4th this year? Something light and refreshing to quench the Alabama heat? Or a hop monster that will set off bitter fireworks in the back

What we're drinking tonight: North Coast Old Stock Ale 2010

2010-06-25T01:27:00.000-05:00

There's no way that head is real. We've heard high-gravity beers compared to cough medicine before. We've even had a few. That's not what we expected from this highly-rated beer from North Coast Brewing. It gets a double A- on Beer Advocate and Ratebeer gives it an overall score of 99. Old Stock Ale pours a dark, rich, somewhat hazy mahogany. The thin head it works up fizzes away quickly and

Something's brewing in Avondale

2010-06-24T13:31:00.000-05:00

Well, almost brewing, anyway. Avondale Brewing Co. has been working on their building at 201 41st Street South in the Avondale area for some time now. We've known about it for a while, but promised not to spill the beans before they were ready. Apparently they're ready to talk now. Not only have they launced their Facebook page, but have now been featured in a Birmingham News article. Owners

UPDATE: Dee's has Good People and glass growlers!

2010-06-21T15:12:00.001-05:00

Not sure what's more exciting. That Dee's has Good People left or that they now have glass growlers. Maybe both. Now you can get your hard to find Snakehandler in a nice, big glass growler. Pay $5 for your growler (printed, btw, with a big, red Dee's logo), then pay for your beer. Next time you go to Dee's, exchange your empty growler for a clean one for free and pay for whatever beer you want.

What we're drinking tonight: Great Divide Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti

2010-06-20T01:29:00.000-05:00

Coffee and chocolate are quite evident on the first taste, with a viscosity that allows the black liquid to coat every surface of your mouth. But then something else. Something that burns just a little bit. High ABV? No, just 9.5%, not nearly enough to get your tongue tingling like this. No, Great Divide's Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti has a secret, high-powered ingredient: Cayenne pepper. While we

What we're drinking tonight: Sam Adams Longshot

2010-06-12T01:43:00.000-05:00

Samuel Adams founder Jim Koch began as a homebrewer trying to recreate his great-great-grandfather's recipe. So in 2006, Koch began the Longshot competition to encourage homebrewers to be adventurous. Three winners watch as their recipes are brewed by Sam Adams and appear on store shelves nationwide. For 2010, the winning beers are Old Ben Ale, Mile High Barley Wine Ale and Lemon Pepper Saison.

MCB 2010 in photos: Session Two

2010-06-06T14:20:00.002-05:00

Session Two of Magic City Brewfest 2010 seemed busier than the first round. Dark clouds occasionally dropping rain on the crowd didn't dampen the mood for good beer. Instead it turned into a bit of a game to see what brewery's tent you could get caught under the next time the rain begin to fall. Click through to the second part of this post for more photos from Session Two. Day Two...

MCB 2010 in photos: Session One

2010-06-06T12:18:00.000-05:00

Jason Malone of Good People takes a spin around Sloss before the Magic City Brewfest's first session begins. Day one at the Magic City Brewfest was busy. For hours before the gates opened to the public, volunteers, vendors and Free the Hops members rushed around setting up taps, delivering ice and getting ready for beer fans. Click through to the second part of this post to see more of what we

MCB 2010: News from Session Two

2010-06-05T23:10:00.000-05:00

After Friday night, you'd think we might have had our fill of beer for a while. Ohhhh, no. Never enough. We gave Good People's Brussels Stout, Gordo and Hitchhiker another try. The stout, on the second tasting was much more impressive, probably because we'd had a lot less other beer. Hitch and Gordo were no less enjoyable. Fine beers. We also sampled Boulder's IPA, Back Forty Truck Stop brown

MCB 2010: Rare beers Part 2

2010-06-05T00:10:00.000-05:00

After the Erie Smoked Bender, we skipped the Yazoo Sue. One smoked beer is enough for one night. But we hit all the others... O'Fallon Hemp Hop Rye: A decent beer, but nothing extraordinary. Good People Hippie IPA: Ever tried Good People's Snakehandler? This is kinda like that, but with less hops and less alcohol. Continues the tradition of nothing bad out of Good People. Stevens Point 2012

MCB 2010: The rare beers Part 1

2010-06-04T20:30:00.000-05:00

GP Brussels Stout: Despite the name this beer doesn't have the characteristics of the stout genre. Too thin, really to be a stout. Color is also a little on the thin side. Erie Smoked Bender: Ugh. Smoked beer. Tastes like we imagine Nerd Approved's bacon beer is like. Not our thing, so we'll leave the definitive judgement to someone who likes this type beer. Back Forty Bier de Garde: