Best Beers of 2012

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Tentative Itinerary for Michigan Beercation

Here is the very early itinerary for our trip to Michigan that will begin on 12/27/2012 with @chadmeindl and Ryan Turner

Thursday Night (Chicago Area):
-Three Floyds Brewery
-Cellar beers at the hotel

Friday (en route to Grand Rapids):
-Greenbush Brewery
-New Holland Brewery
-Founders Brewery
-Brewery Vivant
-Hopcat

Saturday (en route to Kalamazoo):
-The Union
-Dark Horse Brewery
-Bell's Brewery
-Kalamazoo Beer Exchange

Sunday:
-Long painful drive back to Wisconsin

Analysis of the American Adjunct Category - GTOCG 2012

This post has been moved over to www.hereforthebeer.com just follow the link: http://www.hereforthebeer.com/analysis-of-the-american-adjunct-category-gtocg-2012/

Great Taste of Cottage Grove 2012 Results

Results can be found over at www.HereForTheBeer.com by following the link: http://www.hereforthebeer.com/great-taste-of-cottage-grove-2012-results/

Gift Ideas for the Beer Lover

In case you are looking for the perfect gift for the beer lover in your life, I thought I will share a couple of great ideas which I wouldn’t mind showing up under the tree this year.

For the “Gotta-Have-It” Person – ThePopTag.com

You can never go wrong with a personalized bottle opener.  Since these things have a tendacy to disappear, not sure anyone would have much use for a “Josh is cool” bottle opener.  They even make bottle opener dog tags.  Seriously, how brilliant is that?  “Come here boy!”  Boom, there is a bottle opener.  Rather than spend money at the pet store, I strongly recommend getting your dog tags here.

Price Range - $16-$40

For the Connesiuer – Glassware

Now I do not claim to be the most sophisticated of beer drinkers and 97% of my beers go into a standard pint glass.  I am working on my refinement and you can truly enhance your beer drinking experience by putting it in the correct glass.  At the very least, I recommend a tulip and a snifter glass.  Want to learn more: Beerology: The Right Glass.  This is perfect for the buyer on a budget, you often have to look no further than the local thrift store.

Price Range - $5-50

For the “Do-It-Yourselfer” – Brewing Equipment

I can speak from personal experience that almost every beer lover would enjoy the process of brewing beer.  The amazing thing is that it really isn’t that hard once you have the right equipment.  There are pre-fab kits you can buy at the local box stores, but I personally recommend skipping this step.  Most of the time, the user will grow out of the kit in no time and the product is garbage anyway.  The best place to go is your local Wine & Hop Shop.  These places are notorious for being filled with friendly workers that will make sure you have everything you need.  The receiver of the gift will get to know these individuals well as they are a valuable resource as they are getting started.

Price Range - $150-400

For the “Have it Alls” – Rare Beer Club Memebership

There are many different varieties of beer club memberships, where once a month, beer shows up on your doorstep.  This is a great gift, but I want to provide a little guidence.  DO NOT waste your money on the “here are 3 different beers from 2 different breweries” club.  While you appear to get the most bang for your buck, remember it is all about quality not quantity.  I recommend going with a club where they send you a couple of different bombers each month or the Rare Beer Club.

Price Range - $40-120

For the Traveler – Take a Road Trip

This one is my personal favorite, but requires a little bit of research.  You would be amazed how many great local breweries are in close proximity to where you live.  Plan a weekend roadtrip to hit up a couple of these local gems.  Brewery tours are often great places to learn about the beer making process and at the end of most tours you usually end up with a glass and/or a few different samples.  The other great thing is that breweries typically have rare stuff on tap that you cannot get in the stores.  I can’t express this enough…DO YOUR RESEARCH!  Make sure they are open and find out when the tours are happening.  If you live in Southern Wisconsin, why not let the guys at Hop Head Beer Tours take care of the everything.

Price Range - $100-500

For Anyone and Everyone – Beer

The really only perfect gift for the beer lover is beer itself.  This one requires a little work also, don’t just wing it.  First off, find out what types of beer or breweries the gift receiver likes.  Trust me, they will enjoy talking with you about it, so engage them in a conversation.  Next, find a local store that is known for the great craft beer selection.  In most cases, you can’t just make a stop at the grocery store.  I recemmend trying to find something rare or seasonal, it will make that gift all the more special.  This one as much as any, the more thought you put in, the more they will appreciate it.

Price Range - $10-50

You really cannot go wrong with any of the above listed gifts as long as you put in a little time and thought, but isn’t that what the season is all about.

Great Taste of Cottage Grove 2012

The line-up has been officially set for the first annual Great Taste of Cottage Grove.  The event will be a blinded tasting of 5 different beers in 5 different categories.  22 participants will rank the beers from favorite to least favorite.  Votes will be tallied and metals will be handed out.  I will track results via Twitter with #gtocg

Here is the line-up:

IPA Category                                                                    Odds
Lane 1 - Surly Furious                                                          5:2
Lane 2 - Bells Two Hearted                                                  3:1
Lane 3 - Stone IPA                                                                3:1
Lane 4 - Founders Centennial IPA                                        5:1
Lane 5 - Lakefront IPA                                                           9:1

Stout Category
Lane 1 -Bells Expedition Stout                                                7:2
Lane 2 -Founders Breakfast Stout                                          5:2
Lane 3 -Central Waters Satin Solstice                                   14:1
Lane 4 -Great Divide Yeti                                                         4:1
Lane 5 -Oskar Blues Ten Fidy                                                 4:1
Lane 6 -Third Tier Ten Imperial Stout (homebrew)                 5:1

American Adjunct Category
Lane 1 - Miller High Life                                                            3:1
Lane 2 - Budweiser                                                                  6:1
Lane 3 - Pabst Blue Ribbon                                                     5:2
Lane 4 - Hamms                                                                       3:1
Lane 5 - Old Style                                                                     4:1

Porter Category
Lane 1 - Great Lakes Edmund Fitzgerald Porter                      5:2
Lane 2 - Founders Porter                                                          3:1
Lane 3 - Tyranena The Devil Made Me Do It!                            4:1
Lane 4 - Ale Asylum Contorter Porter                                        7:1
Lane 5 - O’so Night Train                                                           4:1

Amber Category
Lane 1 - Ale Asylum Ambergeddon                                             3:1
Lane 2 - Alaskan Amber                                                              9:2
Lane 3 - Bells Amber                                                                   4:1
Lane 4 - Stone Levitation                                                             3:1
Lane 5 - Sprecher Special Amber                                               6:1

Beer representation by State (please note for the first annual event, preference was given to Wisconsin breweries)
WI - 12
MI - 6
CA - 2
CO - 2
AK - 1
MN - 1
MO - 1
OH - 1

APA Blinded Taste Challenge

Head over to HereForTheBeer.com to view this article: http://www.hereforthebeer.com/apa-taste-off/