We’ve been teasing this for weeks and we finally get to pay off and talk about Budweiser American Ale.

News

This weeks news story comes from Denver Colorado and it all about the Great American Beer Festival, starting this week. The 27th annual GABF kicks off this week on 9th and runs through the 11th. If you are in Denver, I highly suggest you stop by, because you will have the chance to sample from 400 brewers a total of 1,900 different beers. Although the event is now sold out, so if you don’t already have a ticket, you won’t be going this year. This is part one of the story, with part two coming next week which will be the announcement of the winners. So make sure to tune in to find out if your favorite beer won.

Budweiser American Ale

• The beer has been on the way for a while now, I think that we have been hearing about it for about 4 to 5 months in the open market but it has been a open secret in the industry for much longer.
• Part of the reason, if not all of the reason that this was rolled out is AB needs to gain a foot hold in the craft beer market.
• Interestingly, AB has also revamped their ad campaign with Bud Lager recently, advertisting it as the Great American Lager.
• The beer weighs in at 5.10%, which is just .1% higher the Bud Lager, but .9% higher than Bud Light.
• This beer pours a a nice little head, a little off white and a amber color. An interesting thing to note here is that the beer did not have a twist off cap.
• The taste is I must say a lot better than Jim would expect from a Bud product. I know, that may seem bias, but so sue him.
• The flavor is a bit malty and sweet, but not over powering. There is a little bit of a caramel malt flavor, but it is very mild. There is also some bitterness here as well, nice little citrusy zest to it, but nothing overpowering like an IPA.
• Overall, I will say that this isn’t a bad beer. It isn’t terribly complex, but it is a pretty refreshing drinker, that if it was at a bar, I would probably get one. I suggest that you give it a try too.

Next Week

We will be getting back to a series next week, and I think it will be something seasonal, maybe some pumpkin beers.

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Perhaps our last in this non-series series. Jim once more dives into the unknown realms of his fridge. This week it’s Stone Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale.

News

Believe it or not, one of the hottest items out there right now for theives are metal kegs. With the price of some metals skyrocketing, the kegs are often worth more than the deposit that is put down on them. A pair of sheriff’s deputies in El Paso, TX were eating breakfast when they saw two men, one chasing after the other, running across a parking lot. The police followed and found out that the man being chased had just robbed a beer delivery truck for the empty kegs.

Refrigerator Roulette – Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale

• Well here we are at week three of Refrigerator Roulette. For those of you who don’t know what is going on, well the basic gist of it is that Jim reaches in the fridge and grab a beer. Usually Jim’s fridge has at least 10 different types of beer in there, so it can be fun.
• This week, we are going to be doing one that we actually did before, we just didn’t record it correctly. But hey, that happens. It is Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale from Stone Brewing Company in Escondido, California.
• Part of the reason that we don’t review too many of these beers is that I can’t get them in Chicago. That being said, you can get these beers from coast to coast these days and they are coming to more and more markets.
• Arrogant Bastard Ale is probably considered their flagship beer, with its slogan being “Your not worthy”. The generally are seem as some of the bad boys in the brewing industry, brewing things that they like and not necessary things that have mass appeal, however they do sell very well.
• Tonight’s beer, Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale, is the regular AB just shoved in an oak barrel for a while. It weighs in at 7.2% which is the same as the regular AB.
• It pours a reddish color with a creamy white head, with the aroma of citrusy and sweet all at the same time. The taste is rather aggressively hoppy, however the oak does come through with a little bit of a vannila taste.
• I will say this beer is not for the beginner and only give it a shot if you are up to it.

Next Week

Who knows, hopefully we will be doing the American Ale that we have been talking about, but if not we may talk about Momma Mia Pizza Beer.

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So not a real series, but sort of a series. Jim reaches into his refrigerator again and pulls out an Imperial Dortmunder from Great Lakes Brewing Company.

News

A German man has been sentenced to three years in prison for selling his partner as a sex slave to his neighbor for a crate of beer (wonder what kind of beer it was). The bizarre deal between the 39-year-old man from Hersfeld-Rotenburg and his 60-year-old neighbour was revealed after a 32-year-old woman told police about her ordeal. The court in Fulda established that the woman was forced by her alcoholic partner to have sex with the elderly neighbor for several weeks. The neighbor paid with a crate of beer for every visit. The neighbor was sentenced to a two-year suspended jail sentence and a single payment of $3463 to the victim.

Refrigerator Roulette – Great Lakes Imperial Dortmunder

• This week I reached in and pulled out a bit of a special beer, Imperial Dortmunder from Great Lakes Brewing Company, out of Cleveland Ohio.
• Why is this so special you may ask? Well, Great Lakes just celebrated their 20th birthday, and in honor of that, they brewed this beer.
• Their regular Dortmunder is probably considered their flagship beer, and is far and away I would think their most popular beer.
• A regular dortmunder can be described as something close to a pilsner, however the beer was made popular in Dortmunder, Germany as opposed to Pilsen.
• Now the original Dortmunder from Great Lakes weighs in at 5.8% abv, however because the word is Imperial is thrown in front of this one, it is actually a bit stronger at 7.3% ABV.
• This one poured dark gold with a thick white head. You could tell right away that this was a little bit different than the regular Dortmunder.
• The smell is of hops with just a little bit of sweetness. The taste is more of that sweetness, with a little bit of alcohol taste, which may acutally be contributing to the sweetness. There is a little bit of sweetness at the end, however it is not nearly as bitter as the smell.
• All in all, I think that I probably didn’t like this as much as the regular Dortmunder, and I probably wouldn’t get it again, however I think it is only a one time brew so it really doesn’t matter too much!

Next Week

OK, one more Roulette show next week, and it is actually going to be a beer that we looked at about a year ago, but just never really recorded it correctly. It is Oak Age Double Bastard Ale from Stone, so tune in.

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We couldn’t get Budweiser American Ale so Jim just reached into his fridge and pulled out Brooklyn Pennant Ale, that’s what we talk about this week.

News

We have been talking so much about the one big brewer, Anheuser Busch, that I feel that we are leaving out the other big brewer in the market, MillerCoors. MillerCoors is being sued by a group in regards to their Sparks brand energy beer (products that we have not nor never will cover on YNB). The group, Center for Science in the Public Interest, states that the ingreidents in Sparks, including Caffeine, Taurine, and Guarana should not only not be used in alchohol, but in addition they feel that this product is being marketed to kids. Now, this same group threatened to sue AB if they didn’t take their energy drinks off the market earlier this year, and AB caved in. Analysts are saying that MillerCoors will end up fighting this one tooth and nail however, so stay tuned for the blood bath.

Refrigerator Roulette – Brooklyn Pennant Ale

• Alright, so we admit that we haven’t come up with a new series yet. We are just not sure what style we want to take on next. On top of that, we had planned to do a show on the American Ale from Budweiser tonight, but I could still not get a hold of it. I am being told that hopefully next week I should be able to get some, but untill that time, we have Refrigerator Roulette.
• So the rules of the game (which I just made up) are simple. Go into my refrigerator, grab a beer, and that will be the one that we talk about tonight. Now first let me say that my frige is no ordinary frige, I have a bit of selection present, I think 14 different beers in there at last check.
• The beer that was pulled for the evening is Brooklyns Pennant Ale, out of Brooklyn Brewery, in, you guessed it, Brooklyn, New York.
• Established in 1987 by Tom Potter and Steve Hindy, this brewery was founded to extend the pairs fascination with home brewing.
• This weeks beer, Brooklyn Pennant Ale, is named after the 1945 World Champion Brooklyn Dodgers. It is described on the website as a honey colored pale ale, close to an traditional english style pale ale.
• It weighs in at about 5.0% ABV and is made with 3 types of malts and 4 types of hops.
• One of the great things about Brooklyns website is that they suggest food pairings with the beer. For this one they suggest roasted and grilled meats, robust fish, crab cakes, and spicy food.
• It pours a nice little bit darker than described, I would go maybe a shade darker than honey, with a slight colored head which seems to disappear in a hurry as well.
• The smell is more on the sweeter side, some carmel notes there, and just a little bit of bitterness from the hops in the aroma.
• The taste is a little bit different than the softer smell, with almost a slightly acidic taste, almost crisp apples in the fall. This is a good thing though. There is a little hop bitterness but that really isn’t too strong.
• This is a really good example of an English Pale Ale, not too strong, not over powering with the hops, and rather well balanced.

Next Week

Another week where we aren’t exactly sure what we are going to do. Another attempt at Budweiser’s new American Ale, but if we can’t get that, it may be back into Jim’s fridge.

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A repeat already, after only seventy-two episodes? Well yes because this is a good beer. We finish up our second wheat beer series the same way we finished up our first, with Gumballhead.

News

Recently 100 college presidents got together and said that the legal drinking age should be lowered to 18. Their argument is that by making drinking legal it would take away some of the appeal and would then in turn curb binge drinking. Now of course this has caused a very large debate.

At Your Next Beer we’ve always been clear, don’t enjoy the beers we talk about and drive, ever. Similarly, if you aren’t twenty-one don’t drink at all.

Three Flyod’s Gumballhead

• So now wait a minute, didn’t we do this beer already, about a year ago? Actually it was a little more than a year ago, on Episode 12.
• This beer is only distributed in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia , Wisconsin. To you all, I say make some friends in those states.
• Three Floyds is located in Munster, Indiana and has been open since 1996.
• One of the things that has changed about this beer in the last year is it now comes in 12 ounce bottles as opposed to a single 22 ounce bottle. I am a big fan of this change because a 12 ounce bottle is a lot easier to finish for one person.
• The beer weighs in at 4.8% which makes it a good middle of the road beer. A little stronger than your light beers but not as potent as your barley wines.
• The pour is a hazy gold, maybe a little like straw in color for all you farmers out there. It has a light white head that leaves in a hurry as well.
• You smell hops right away with this beer, but once you get your nose in there you smell some biscuits as well.
• The taste is much like the smell, with the hops up front but balanced well by the biscuity wheat and malt.
• Overall, I think this is too hoppy to be a good wheat beer, but if you’re looking for not a wheat beer, you are in for a treat. If you taste this for what it is, a good lighter drinking beer, with some wheat characteristics, then you should enjoy it.

Next Week

Not sure on direction for next week, if we can get a hold of it, we will be tasting the new American Ale from Budweiser, however if we can’t, who knows!

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Another American Wheat beer, this week we roll up the coast of Lake Michigan and look at Bell’s Oberon.

News

Ames, Iowa is installing a rubber sidewalk at a spot near the Iowa State University campus. This spot is where beer distributors unload hundreds of kegs for bars in the area. When these loaded kegs hit the ground, they have been damaging the concrete and the keg. City officials have decided to install sidewalk pavers that a California company makes using shredded recycled tires instead of concrete. Because we hear at YNB always are on the leading edge of green technology, the sidewalk is using up about 675 tires that otherwise would end up in a landfill.

Bells Oberon

• Bell’s Brewery, located in Kalamazoo, Michigain, was originally founded as Kalamazoo Brewing Company in 1983 as a home brewing supply shop by owner Larry Bell.
• In 1985 they made the jump from store to actual brewery, and today have two facilities, one located at the site of the original store and another a short distance away which is aimed at more heavy production.
• One of the things about Bell’s, and the major reason we haven’t talked much about it for that matter, is that it isn’t easy to get a hold of. You can only get it in Michigain, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina, North Dakota, Florida, Virgina, Iowa, and now once again, Illinois. If you aren’t in one of those states…make friends with someone who is!
• Tonight’s beer, Oberon, is probably one of Bell’s most popular beers, although it is a seasonal beer and typically only available from March thru October
• Weighing in at around 5.8 percent ABV, this is on the high end of the alcohol scale for an American Wheat.
• This beer pours with a very nice white head that takes a while to disapate, and while it does it allows some of the aromas out.
• You have a sweetness from the wheat malt with just a little bit of citrus, sort of orange in aroma, from the hops and a nice yeasty presence as well.
• The flavor is more of the malt flavor but although the hop presence wasn’t strong in the aroma, it is here in the taste.

Next Week

Next week we are going to be doing a YNB first, we are going to revisit a beer and take another look at it. The lucky beer, Three Flyods Brewing Companies Gumballhead.

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Another week another American Wheat Beer. This week it is 312 Urban Wheat from Goose Island Beer Company.

News

Pabst Brewing is bring back the one, the only, Schlitz. It is coming back with the original formula, after introducing a new formula several years ago and getting a “New Coke” kind of reaction. There is a waiting list in some Wisconsin area stores, and they are only allowing set amounts per person. Basically, they are trying to take advantage of the nostalgic beer market that the younger generation is getting into. Well at any rate, look for it in your local stores and bars soon.

American Wheat

When American brewers started to brew these beers, they were worried about the possibility of yeast contamination, so they didn’t like to have more than one strain in the brewery. The German Hefe’s however required that unique strain of yeast that gave the beer its bubblegum, banana, and clove taste.

So American brewers balanced out the lack of taste from the yeast by including more hops and acutally bittering the beer a little bit more, although it still remained a fairly light product.

312 Urban Wheat

• We have talked more than our fair share about this company on Your Next Beer, so I am not going to go into the history too much. Just remember that it was founded by John Hall in 1988 and has been a big guy on the Chicago brewing scene just about ever since.
• This weeks beer, the 312 Urban Wheat, is actually named after the 312 area code, which is in the Chicago area. It has one of the more interesting tap handles that I have seen, an old telephone receiver.
• Weighing in at 4.2% ABV, this beer used to be a seasonal release but has gained so much popularity that it is now a year round release.
• It pours cloudy and and pale gold, which is what you expect from an unfiltered wheat ale.
• The aroma is along the lines of a light bready smell, with a little bit of citrus and just a little bit of banana as well.
• The drinkability of this beer is really high, it has a really light taste that has a little bit of a citrus taste, with a little bit of malt as well. Like I said though, overall, pretty light stuff. Great for a hot summer day.

Next Week

Well next week, if I can get it, we are going to be talking about a wonderful Bell’s Beer, Oberon. As you may remember from last week, this beer is just coming back to the Chicago market, so hopefully Jim will get to taste it again.

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A new series this week. We’re looking at American Hefeweizens. We looked at Hefeweizens before, but this time we are focusing on American versions. Specifically this show is about Widmer Hefeweizen.

News

Well I must admit that this weeks news story is a bit of a local one for those in Chicago. Bell’s Brewery, out of Kalamazoo, Michigan is coming back to the Chicago market after a two year absence. The rights to distribute Bells was held by one company who sold those rights to a different company. Bells didn’t like that other company, claiming they didn’t do anything to help their beer brand, but could not get out of the sold contract. So, instead they just left town, even though it accounted for 10 percent of their business.

American Wheat

• Typically speaking, these beers will be a rather pale or light gold in color with a longer than normal lasting head.
• These will be a lowly hopped beer for the most part and there may be some different malt character from the higher content of wheat present.
• These beers, following their German cousins are unfiltered for the most part which will give them a nice hazy appearance.

Widmer Hefeweizen

• This weeks beer comes from a brewery that I don’t think that we have mentioned much on this show, and that is Widmer Brothers out of Portland Oregon.
• Founded in 1985 by Kurt and Rob Widmer they are considered one of the pioneers in the craft world in the Pacific Northwest.
• Jim was actually lucky enough just a few months ago to visit the Widmer facility in Oregon and I have to say it is a very nice facility. Not only is it rather new but they are also expanding with new fermentation tanks to increase their output.
• Tonight’s beer, Widmer Hefeweizen, weighs in at 4.7% ABV, but is not, as the name suggests, a hefeweizen, lacking the yeasty quality’s of true German versions.
• I beleive that the this beer acutally accounts for around 70 percent of the product sold by Widmer, and is far and away considered their flagship beer.
• The pour is an orange color, that is quite hazy as well.
• This beer reminds you it is from the West Coast with it’s hop presence. Although it isn’t there at first, you can taste it on the finish and the bittering stays around for a while.
• If you are expecting the clove and banana with this, you will be disappointed because it isn’t there.

Next Week

Next week we head to Chicago for one of my favorite lighter beers, 312 Urban Wheat from Goose Island.

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So a different kind of show this week. Instead of talking about a specific beer, we are going to talk a bit about why you should try to find a Kölsch at your local brewery or brew pub.

News

Well for the first time in a while we have a bit of an uplifting news story from the beer world. It comes out of the United Kingdom and the Brysons of Lancaster. Brysons have launched a new beer called ‘Lifesaver’ and for every pint sold, they will make a donation to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. The beer at this time is only on sale locally. So, if you are listening to this in the UK, you can go out and have a good beer and feel good about yourself at the same time!

Local Beer

• Generally speaking, you can find a decent Kölsch at most brewpubs this time of year for several reasons. First off, it is a good refreshing style to make for the summer. It is crisp, but not as harsh as a pilsner can be, and goes well with a lot of summery food.
• Second, it is an ale, which means that its fermentation time is a lot less than a pilsner. And of course, lower fermentation time means it is out the door quicker and a little cheaper to produce.
• Now a lot of times this beer may be called something other than a Kölsch, such as a “summertime” beer or even lumped in just a light beer on the menu.
• I am lucky enough to be able to go to Goose Island and have that as one of my local brewpubs, which is the beer that talked about first in the Kölsch series, summertime ale I think. But there are also a lot of other ones out there, such as Rock Bottom, Ram Brewing Company, Gordon Biersch, and any of a number of local ones.
• In addition to the local brewpubs, there are also a ton of local breweries that you may be able to get but other people may not be able to. A great website you can use is Beer Mapping. Just enter your region and you are good to go.
• So all that being said, look for the following things when you are at a local brewery or brewpub in regards to a Kölsch.
• Look for an Ale, it should be moderate in alcohol, around 4-5% abv, and it should be rather light in color. In addition, it shouldn’t be too hoppy or bitter, instead almost like a light beer but with some flavor. So good hunting, and enjoy it when you find it, and post some comments on your local brew pubs.

Next Week

Next week we move onto another American Wheat beers. Right now we have Widmer Hefeweizen slated, which is widely distributed so you should be able to find it.

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Google has cemented it trend of giving away services to nonprofits by announcing, free payment processing from Google Checkout. Speaking of free stuff and Google YouTube is letting nonprofits setup video channels free of charge. This means your nonprofit can extend your brand onto YouTube.

And if you thought online video was just fun and games, the Will it Blend videos increased sales of blenders five times.

Now as I’ve mentioned Web 2.0 isn’t a build it and they will come venture. So you need to think more about what exactly your organization is trying to accomplish, Michael Brooke calls this being a ball bearing not a beach ball.

NTEN is reporting a new study about Web 2.0 adoption by nonprofits published by the Overbrook Foundation.

The line that will grabbed my attention: “I’m in a perpetual state of anxiety about which tools I’m supposed to be paying attention to.”