Monday, December 28, 2009

The Full Pint: Vote Best Beer 2009



Get over the The Full Pint and vote for your favorite craft beer of 2009.


Best Craft Beer of 2009

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Monday, December 21, 2009

Ed Hardy Beer: Even Douchebags Need Beer

In honor of MTVs newest reality hit Jersey Shore I bring you Ed Hardy beer! Yes, it's true. MTV would rather show you this show instead of actual music videos. And yes young ones, MTV used to show videos. With bands and music and stuff.



You know I've heard that the famous(infamous?)Ed Hardy brand was coming out with a new beer but haven't actually seen a bottle of it yet. I actually forgot all about it until Jersey Shore came out. I assume they only sell it up in New Jersey or maybe Miami. You know, targeted audience and all. They do have an Ed Hardy vodka which unfortunately we sell at Chan's Wine World but I'm not in charge of ordering liquor AND it actually sells.




If you go to www.edhardylife.com aka Douchebag R Us you can get an entire collection of awesome Ed Hardy gear to go along with your clothes, beer and vodka. Like check out these awesome Ed Hardy pint glasses below!


So while you're doing your fist pump dance you can be drinking your Ed Hardy beer out of your Ed Hardy pint glass in your Ed Hardy shirt. Sweet!

Honestly, this is extremely lame and is just another way for a company to try and capitalize off of the success of craft beer. Pathetic. What's next? Is Calvin Klein gonna make CK IPA. For men. Ed Hardy needs to stick to what he does best and that is clothing America's guidos. And on that note I leave you with this.



Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Monday, December 14, 2009

I'm Famous Bitches!!! The Beer Buddha Gets Mentioned on TV!!!!!

Thanks to Craig and Kimmie over at J'Anitas for mentioning The Beer Buddha on TV this morning! If you're ever in New Orleans make sure you make Avenue Pub your stop for great beer and great grub!!! And make sure you get some Buddha's Temptation!!


 

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Excuse me Sir, What's your favorite beer?



One of the most frequent questions I get at work is- "What is your favorite beer?" It's an interesting question because sometimes I can see that the person asking the question is genuinely interested in my answer. Other times though I can see a look in the eye of the curious which means they are testing my "beer knowledge". I guess if I were to answer Bud Light or PBR I would fail their grand test and not be worthy of selling them beer. I don't really care. You can test my beer knowledge all you want. I don't pretend to be all knowing. But what answer would appease them? Rochefort 8? Westvleteren 12? Surly Darkness? Three Floyds Dark Lord? Pliny the Elder? Oh yes, I can name drop with the best of them.



The truth is there is no correct answer to that question. Generally I'll give them my standard answer of- "That's like asking me which is my favorite kid. Can't answer it." Now granted I have spawned successfully but only once so I only have one favorite kid. Either way, it's an answer that has too many variables to reach just one conclusion.

What time of day is it? Is it cold outside? Is it warm outside? Where am I? What am I doing at the given moment I have said favorite beer in my hand? Is there a local brewery around? Am I naked? Those are just a few situations that affect my beer mood. When I worked at NOLA Brewing my loyalty ran deep and I could answer your question with a quick answer. Cask Conditioned Dry Hopped NOLA Blonde. But then again it was only my favorite beer of the moment. Things change. If it's cold outside I prefer darker beers. Warm outside? Lighter beers. Darker beers and lighter beers? Hell that's just a general answer. I could break it down further from there but the answers could be mind boggling.


I'm not even really sure I can give you my top 5 favorite beers of all time because then you have to break them down again. Are you asking me my top 5 favorite DIPAs? Stouts? American Wild Ales? The list goes on and on and on and on...you get the idea. You can look at my reviews here on The Beer Buddha and see which beers get the most Buddhas but then you have to think that maybe I drank that beer at the right moment for it to earn 5 Buddhas. And maybe a beer that earns 5 Buddhas from me won't earn jack squat from you. Just cause I like a beer sure as hell doesn't mean you will.

I guess the easiest way to answer this question is to turn it back around on the person asking the question. My favorite beer isn't what is important. You can sit there and read my reviews and think that Beer X must be the best beer because I gave it 5 Buddhas or Beer Y must suck cause I only gave it 1 Buddha but in the end it doesn't really matter. What matters most is what beer you find to be your favorite and that's it.


Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Support Local for the Holidays




I'm sure that many of you have been sitting waiting anxiously for The Beer Buddha's list of recommended holiday beers this year. I'm sorry, but I'm going to disappoint you this year. This year instead of giving you a list of what I think are the best holiday beers I'm going to recommend you support your local brewery.



Go down to your local bottle shop, brewery or pub and buy something local to your city, state or region. Nothing is more important than keeping your money local in my opinion especially during the holidays. And many if not most of your local breweries have holiday ales so not only can you get your holiday beer fix but you can support local at the same time.



And how cool would it be to show up to your ugly sweater party with a baddass growler from one of your local breweries. Not only would you have the raddest sweater in town but you'd have the best brew too!

So before you go grab a sixer of Anchor Christmas or Samuel Smith Winter Warmer think about supporting local first!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Panhandle Beer News






Some good news for the Panhandle on the new beer front. Two new breweries will be entering the area come February: Victory Brewing out of Pennsylvania and The Bruery out of California. Victory is actually already in Florida but the Panhandle being the red headed step child of Florida that it is we are the third phase of the roll out so we'll get it in February. Rumor has it that they went with Lewis Bear distributing. As for The Bruery I was told by Patrick Rue(the owner)that "we'll be shipping the first or 2nd week of January to the Tampa, Orlando, and SE Florida markets so expect to see our beers in mid-January" and as far as the Panhandle they are still in talks with distributors for this area and that hopefully they will be here by "February or so.". Either way this is a win for the state of Florida and its beer geeks!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Beer Connoisseur Hits Shelves


So a new beer magazine hits the shelves as of yesterday. Be on the lookout because it looks like a good one. Maybe one day I'll learn how to write and submit some material to them. Here is an official release post from them I got off of their Facebook Page:

The Newest Voice in the Beer World on Sale Nationwide Next Week

ATLANTA, GA. (Dec. 1, 2009) – Beer lovers have a reason to celebrate early this season, as the inaugural issue of the highly anticipated new Beer Connoisseur™ Magazine hits newsstands nationwide on Dec. 8, 2009. The magazine, which is based in Atlanta, represents a new level of beer journalism, a guide for both novices and experts to the world’s most popular drink.

The first issue of the quarterly was mailed to subscribers in mid-November, and next week it will be available for purchase in major cities throughout the U.S. at bookstores such as Barnes & Noble, Borders, Books-A-Million and others. It can also be found at the more than 120 Kroger grocery stores in the Atlanta metro area and at U.S. military bases around the world.

“We have produced a type of title that hasn’t existed for this segment,” says Lynn Davis, the magazine’s Founder and Publisher. Following the rise of the craft beer movement, which has attracted interest from legions of newcomers, The Beer Connoisseur™ stands apart from the pack as a sophisticated, upscale lifestyle magazine that treats beer, its producers and, of course, its admirers with the kind of respect they now demand. In the mold of popular magazines like Cigar Aficionado and Food & Wine, The Beer Connoisseur™ is poised to become the authority of the beer world.

“The response from both within the industry and among beer lovers has been nothing short of awe inspiring,” says Nick Kaye, the Managing Editor. “It seems that brewers and beer lovers alike have been waiting for a publication like The Beer Connoisseur™ to come along.”

The magazine will focus in-depthly on the marriage of beer and food, with articles in the first issue on the rise of the gastropub trend, beer and cheese pairing, and more, as well as travel, both within the U.S. and abroad. It will also include profiles of brewing icons, and there will be reviews of some of the most sought-after beers in the world conducted by master-level judges.

Readers will also find articles by some of the world’s most accomplished beer writers, as well as a wealth of educational resources, at The Beer Connoisseur™ Online (www.beerconnoisseur.com), which launched last summer. The thriving online community allows beer fans to exchange ideas and stay connected, and it keeps them up to date with the latest happenings in the brewing scene.

Look for the magazine on store shelves soon, or go online to subscribe.

The Beer Connoisseur™ – Beer Culture Defined.

Go out there and pick one up!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Beer Video of the Month: December

Found this video and decided to kick it old school holiday for this months Beer Video of the Month. Enjoy!

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Happy Repeal Day





Happy Repeal Day!! It was this day in 1933 that that horrible social experiment known as Prohibition ended with the ratification of the 21st Amendment. It's very important we recognize and pay attention to this day. Why? Because there are still groups out there who want to take your constitutional right to enjoy a beer or any other alcoholic beverage away from you.

Increased taxes on alcohol. Limiting alcohol content of drinks. Prohibiting or censoring alcohol advertising. These are just a few things that the neo-prohibitionists are doing to take away our rights. Did you know that there is still a Prohibition Party? Yup and it's scary. Even MADD has detoured from its original goal of reducing drunk driving fatalities and has been taken over by neo-prohibitionists who want nothing better but to take that alcohol right out of your hands. I'll give you my beer when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

Enough with the diatribe. It's December 5th. Get up and go to your local bottle shop, brewery or pub and BUY A BEER!!!! It's important.

Cheers!

The Beer Buddha