http://stephweber.hoppress.com bew.cook.pair.joy Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:00:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard about the Philly beer raids that occurred last week. Blogs and forums have been a-buzz about this, and the general feeling about the situation seems to be outrage, which, as a Pennsylvania resident, I can definitely sympathize. You can check out ... http://stephweber.hoppress.com/2010/03/12/the-philly-beer-raids/ Last weekend, I had the ultimate pleasure of taking a ski trip out to beautiful Vail, Colorado. This was my third trip out west, and believe me, no visit to Colorado is complete without checking out the Denver beer scene. (Just ask Denver resident and fellow Hop Press dude PJ, ... http://stephweber.hoppress.com/2010/03/05/dry-dock-a-fantabulous-brewing-two-fer/ I apologize in advance for making you hungry. Imagine for a moment that you have in front of you a big, thick, juicy steak, cooked exactly the way you like it -- beautifully browned on the outside, tender and succulent on the inside. You take one blissful bite of this heavenly ... http://stephweber.hoppress.com/2010/02/26/pairing-with-steak/ It's no secret that Pennsylvania beer laws suck. But this week, there's a small ray of hope for change. Pennsylvania State Senator John Rafferty is writing a bill that would allow sales of six-packs and twelve-packs at beer distributors, grocery stores, and convenience stores. Yeah, that's right. We can't buy six-packs ... http://stephweber.hoppress.com/2010/02/19/a-change-for-pa-beer-laws/ On Sunday March 14th, the sixth annual Brewer's Plate is coming to the Penn Museum in Philadelphia! The Brewer's Plate, featuring Philadelphia's premier local food and craft beer, is a fundraising event for Fair Food, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing locally grown food into the Philadelphia marketplace. Fair Food promotes a ... http://stephweber.hoppress.com/2010/02/17/sunday-march-14th-the-brewers-plate/ Cans are quickly becoming the new "it" vessel for craft beer. With all the benefits of aluminum cans, it's easy to see why! Back in 2002, Oskar Blues had the revolutionary idea of putting all of their distributed beers in cans. The idea of putting delicious, high-quality, full-flavored craft beer in ... http://stephweber.hoppress.com/2010/02/12/cans-not-just-for-pbr-anymore/ Last Friday, I got the chance to meet with Brian O'Reilly, brewmaster of Sly Fox Brewery, a brewery staple in the southeast Pennsylvania craft beer scene. Sly Fox, which currently packages four of their beers in cans and several more in 750 mL and 22 oz bottles, has two locations. The ... http://stephweber.hoppress.com/2010/02/05/interview-with-brian-oreilly-sly-fox-brewmaster/ I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am not a fan of aging beer. So, why another vertical tasting article? I suppose you could say I'm... vertical-curious. I find the idea of vertical tastings interesting -- to discover how a beer evolves over time, how the flavors mellow, ... http://stephweber.hoppress.com/2010/01/29/dogfish-head-immort-ale-a-vertical-tasting/ The first time I ever tasted a chile beer was in Denver at Wynkoop Brewing Company -- Patty's Chile Beer. Smooth and spicy, with a wonderful slow burn that made me want more, sip after sip... After tasting this, I knew I had to brew a chile ale at home. I ... http://stephweber.hoppress.com/2010/01/22/chile-beer/ Last month, I wrote up an introduction to the basics of beer and food pairing, detailing four simple rules to get pairing newbies started. Methinks it's time to dig a little deeper. Let's go back to our simple pizza and beer example. The pizza/beer combo (and the pizza/soda combo for that ... http://stephweber.hoppress.com/2010/01/15/pairing-with-pizza/