Michigan May Finally Be Getting Yuengling

There's some good news for the Michigan Cerevisaphile (That's Latin for Appreciator of Beer for you who don't speak Latin while downing your barley).

Yuengling beer may finally be distributed in Michigan  - including the lovely lager and the awesome Black and Tan.  

 Currently Yuengling beer is unobtanium in this state, only delivered sub-rosa by southern gentlemen in Ford Mustangs.

The Detroit Free Press: Is Yuengling beer finally coming to Michigan in 2021?

Note that this would only begin in 2021, because we can't have any nice things starting in 2020, of course.

Still, it's something to look forward towards in the new year anyways.

The Discovery Of The Oldest Brewery in The World

An archeological discovery of a most important and historic sort was recently found in Israel.

The Times of Israel: 13,000-year-old brewery discovered in Israel, the oldest in the world

Finding the oldest known brewery in Israel should not come as a surprise.

After all, the Bible itself says: He brews.

Beer Came Across The Border Just The Other Day

Tash had a quick trip back and forth to Canada this weekend.

She, being the wonderful person she is, stopped by a local LCBO shop at my request (Liquor Control Board of Ontario - no beer in corner stores there, it's a government controlled operation and selections vary from store to store) and picked me up some beer before she returned to the USA.

Not just any beer either.

She got me some beer that's rare even in Canada, scarce even in Ontario.

She got me The Official Beer of Letterkenny:

Puppers Beer.

So last night pitter-patter I got at 'er and cracked a cold one open.

A darn good beer it is indeed. It's a nice, crisp, refreshing lager. A perfect beer for a hot summers day. It exceeded my expectations, which were pretty high.

It Was Like Dragon's Milk To Him

Because it was Dragon's Milk.

When I met up with Tom last Friday night, I presented him with a bottle of this fine Michigan product:

At 11% it has quite a kick that sneaks up on you, and then drop kicks you especially as it comes in a bottle containing a pint and 6 ounces.

It tastes a bit like Guinness that's been aged in a bourbon barrel. It has a very deep, complex, and rather roasted taste that grows on you as you sip it, or the alcohol content does anyways.

Tom appreciated it, and even moreso when I told him the story behind it:

For you see, New Holland has Michigan's oldest monastery where the monks have taken a vow of silence, and within the walls of the monastery is indeed a real live dragon that is milked to produce the eponymous wonderful substance that I brought to him.

Milking a dragon is rather hard work as a dragon tends to take exception to it, typically by ripping your arms off.

So twin monks were tasked with the job of milking the dragon.

It went well until the Dragon grew annoyed with the first one and sure enough ripped his arms off.

The Abbott then had to find him a new job, and the only one he could do was to climb the tower and ring the monastery bell to signal the time of day by taking a running jump at it and hitting it with his head.

This he did for sometime with great devotion and fervor and until one day he missed a jump and fell down the tower and sadly broke his neck and died.

MIOSHA, OSHA and the coroner came out and inspected the premises and asked the Abbott if he had any information on this now deceased monk.

"I don't know much about him or even his name", said the Abbott, "But his face sure rings a bell."

But the story doesn't end there. His twin, who had taken over the milking of the dragon also eventually fell prey to having his arms ripped off and sure enough, he too was tasked with ringing the bell.

Sure enough, after leaping at the bell and ringing it loudly, the day came where he too fell to his death.

Again MIOSHA, OSHA and the coroner came and asked for information on the incident and the identity of the deceased.

The Abbot again sadly stated, "I don't really know who he is either, but he's a dead ringer for the previous guy".

Winter Is Really Here

So I get home at 6:40 tonight after a long day at work and find out the road in front of my house has turned into a solid sheet of ice.

Since it's dark, that's not readily apparent until I slide right past my house. So I'm able to stop, back up and then get up my driveway which is still wonderfully clean, an interesting contrast in the difference between private and public property that.

Just got back from walking the dog in this sudden cold snap. At 10 degrees F with a real feel of -1F, it felt pretty darn cold. It was cold enough that the beer Casey gave me from his fridge tasted warm by comparison as we stood out there and watched the dogs play. Shorts The Double Magician is a red double London style ale which is rather tasty and probably the best Shorts product I've quaffed yet.

Meanwhile, as we were being warmed by the fridge-cold beer, Jett had figured out how to make Rocky actively play with him - he made sure to go stand right near Casey and bark which causes Rocky to charge at him to "protect" his owner. This worked very well the whole time to make sure Rocky's attention was on Jett so they could get some good running and wrestling in.

So the dogs having played themselves out, I've returned to the warmth of home to check in for the night and prepare for court tomorrow.

Winter has truly dropped in with a vengeance after giving us a darn pleasant November and early December, with absolutely no build up. One day it was feeling like autumn, the next it was 12 inches of snow followed by freezing cold. A little global warming to melt this ice rink where a road once stood would not go unappreciated..

An Un-Beer-Able Tax Increase

Politicians like taxes.

Politicians like to tax things they don't like even more than they like to tax things in general.

So one particular politician, a Republican no less, is pushing for increasing Michigan's beer tax by around 244%! This would make it around the 8th highest in the country and way higher than any other Midwestern state.

The Detroit News: Michigan beer tax hike bill lands with sobering thud

Of course, not only is this because State Rep. Tom Hooker, R-Byron Center, had a bad experience with others under the influence of alcohol, but because he claims it is a user tax to deal with the often unwanted side effects of those who abuse it and to fund alcohol treatment programs.

The nanny state impulse is not restricted just to Democrats.

Of course the tax doesn't punish those who actually in his words "If you’re going to use it, the problems that you cause are going to be paid for..." Of course, the majority of beer drinkers don't cause problems, but appropriately fining and punishing the ones that do isn't nearly as fun as taxing everyone. Yep, punish the vast majority of perfectly peaceful beer drinkers who don't cause any negative effects from consuming beer.

Thankfully, the Republican leadership have stated this tax bill, which is solely due to one member's preferences, dislike of alcohol and desire to punish beer drinkers and producers, is essentially dead on arrival.

An Ontario Tradition - The Beer Store

Ontario, unlike more libertarian leaning polities, keeps its alcohol sales under tight government regulation and control.

This does not stop minors from getting beer mind you, but it keeps the tax money rolling in.

To purchase beer, you need go to the imaginatively named Beer Store.

Then after entering you look at the displays on the walls and pick the beer you want and tell the clerk how much you want of it, you pay for it, and then they'll get it from the back for you, with it coming out after being pushed on a track covered in rollers to make it zip on out.

Here's two of the wall displays:

As you can see, it's certainly not cheap ($35.95 for a two-four of Labatt's Blue is highway flippin' robbery) and the selection, while much improved from the days of my youth (I remember taking trips to the Martimes with a highlight of the trip being the "smuggling" back of Moosehead beer that was unavailable in Ontario), is still rather small compared to say a Meijer's or Hiller's grocery store.

For wine, liquor and other beers, you have to go to a geographically separate government store, the LCBO, where you can actually pick the bottles you want and take them to the cashier to pay.

On the upside, there were some fine Canadian beers available at the Beer Store that you don't see much anywhere else.

We bought some Granville Island English Bay Pale Ale, having never tried any before and found it quite tasty indeed. Not as hoppy as a full IPA but clean, crisp and perfect for a hot day with some freshly grilled steaks. I'd have it again without hesitation.

Having gotten used to both Michigan selection and relative ease of purchase of beer, not to mention the prices, going back to the Beer Store was a bit of a culture shock.

Don't Drink N' Drone - At Least Not Yet

The killjoys at the FAA are at it again:

The Detroit News: FAA grounds drone beer delivery to ice fishermen

A Wisconsin beermaker wants drones to help anglers remotely replenish their stocks of beer. But the government is saying no.

For now.

The Federal Aviation Administration informed Lakemaid Beer that it currently prohibits small businesses from using drones shortly after the brewer posted video of a test run last week on Lake Waconia, located in Minnesota west of the Twin Cities.

Using drones for spying, good. Using them for something as crass as delivering refreshments to fishermen - bad.

The regulations are slipping farther and farther beyond the technological capabilities of the day.

Time For The Real Hard Questions

Green Beer or not Green Beer on St. Patrick's Day?

Nunc Est Bibendum - Ancient Beer

Nunc Est Bibendum - (Classical Latin for "It's time to drink")

9,000-year-old brew hitting the shelves this summer

This summer, how would you like to lean back in your lawn chair and toss back a brew made from what may be the world’s oldest recipe for beer? Called Chateau Jiahu, this blend of rice, honey and fruit was intoxicating Chinese villagers 9,000 years ago—long before grape wine had its start in Mesopotamia.

University of Pennsylvania molecular archaeologist Patrick McGovern first described the beverage in 2005 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences based on chemical traces from pottery in the Neolithic village of Jiahu in Northern China. Soon after, McGovern called on Sam Calagione at the Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Del., to do the ancient recipe justice. Later this month, you can give it a try when a new batch hits shelves across the country. The Beer Babe blog was impressed, writing that it is “very smooth,” and “not overly sweet.”

But that's not the only ancient beer Dogfish is brewing (I hope they get around to breweing according to ancient Egyptian beer samples that have been discovered at some point.)

But that’s not the only strange brew Dogfish is shipping out this summer. Next week, the brewery will be bottling up the first large batch of Sah’tea for the general public—a modern update on a ninth-century Finnish beverage. In the fall, The New Yorker documented the intricate research and preparation that went into making the beer, which was first offered on tap at the brewery in May. In short, brewmasters carmelize wort on white hot river rocks, ferment it with German Weizen yeast, then toss on Finnish berries and a blend of spices to jazz up this rye-based beverage. Reviewers at the BeerAdvocate universally praised Sah'tea, comparing it to a fruity hefeweizen. One user munched on calamari as he downed a pint and described the combo as “a near euphoric experience."

And Dogfish is also bringing back one of their more unusual forays into alcohol-infused time travel. Called Theobroma, this cocoa-based brew was hatched from a chemical analysis of 3,200-year-old pottery fragments from the Cradle of Chocolate, the Ulua Valley in Honduras. Archaeologist John Henderson at Cornell University first described the beverage in 2007 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, pushing the first use of the chocolate plant back by 600 years. Dogfish first sold Theobroma in May 2008, and the next batch—made from a blend of cocoa, honey, chilies, and annatto—will be on shelves and in taps in July. The chocolate beer was apparently too sweet for Evan at The Full Pint, who writes that it contained “a ton and a half of sugary sweetness” with “an insane amount of gooeyness left behind on the roof of your mouth."

They also have an intersting beer named Midas Touch, described as

the actual oldest-known fermented beverage in the world! It is an ancient Turkish recipe using the original ingredients from the 2700 year old drinking vessels discovered in the tomb of King Midas.

Now to hope that Michigan with its annoying beer import and distribution rules allows this stuff in to purchase and sample. If so, ancient beer reviews to follow shortly after purchase and an appropriately hot summer day has occurred.

Canadian Beer drinkers blamed for Global Warming

Just when you thought our neighbor to the north (actually also to the south for those of us in the Detroit area) was this environmentally pristine wonderland, there's this:

Study: Canadian Beer Drinkers Threaten Planet

A threat to the planet, eh?

Scientists have found a new threat to the planet: Canadian beer drinkers.

The government-commissioned study says the old, inefficient "beer fridges" that one in three Canadian households use to store their Molson and Labatt's contribute significantly to global warming by guzzling gas- and coal-fired electricity.

"People need to understand the impact of their lifestyles," British environmental consultant Joanna Yarrow tells New Scientist magazine. "Clearly the environmental implications of having a frivolous luxury like a beer fridge are not hitting home. This research helps inform people — let's hope it has an effect."

The problem is that the beer fridges are mostly decades-old machines that began their second careers as beverage dispensers when Canadians upgraded to more energy-efficient models to store whatever Canadians eat besides doughnuts and poutine.

University of Alberta researcher Denise Young, who led the study, suggests that provincial authorities hold beer-fridge buy-backs or round-ups to eliminate the threat — methods that Americans use to get guns off the streets.

Actually instead of buy-backs the Canadian model would be to register and then confiscate the fridges. Then after an increased tax provide, the Canadian government would establish universal fridgecare, with a waiting list for a new and efficient and environmentally conscious beer fridge.

Somebody please tell me this is a parody. I can only see Canadians giving up their beer fridges when they're pried from their cold, drunken fingers.

Nunc Est Bibendum - Beer Blogging

As noted in yesterdays post, the weeather for the past few days has been rather cool for July. Courtesy of accuweather.com we can check the temps. Yesterday it did finally get up to 80 degrees, while the normal temp was 83, and the low, oh my the low was 48 degrees with the normal temp being 62 degrees. Must be all that Global Warming going around.

Regardless, after a day of meeting with students from an intro to law class and then a vigorous 30 minute walk around the neighborhood while pushing the baby in a rather heavy stroller at a brisk pace a fine drink was in order.

Nunc Est Bibendum - latin for "its time to drink", and since I had built up a bit of a sweat and by late afternoon it actuall hit 80 a summer beer was in order.

Sam Adams Cherry Wheat fit the bill nicely for an adult beverage on a fine day when all is right in this small corner of the world.

A Wheat Ale brewed with real Michigan Cherries, when served chilled is simply the perfect beer for a Michigan Summer's day. Lip-smackingly good, Sam Adams certainly ranks up there with the finest of beers, in fact I've tried quite a few of their varieties over time and none have dissappointed.

Be sure of course to drink responsibly.