This week is American Craft Beer Week across the country, and many places are holding special events and tastings with various beers. Often rare beers are released around this time; around here Saint Arnold just released Bishop’s Barrel #3 to bars and restaurants, while Karbach released another batch of its Bourbon Barrel Hellfighter. One thing I’ve learned is that craft beer is an adventure, and sometimes a beer you don’t expect much from is outstanding. Other times, you get burned.  [ Read More ]

Disney has just announced that the Epcot Food and Wine Festival, taking place from September 27 – November 11, 2013, will feature a Scotland booth! Traditional flavors with a twist will pair with beers, meads and Scotch at the new Scotland Marketplace designed by Walt Disney Imagineering.  Scottish officials were so impressed with the hit Disney film, “Brave,” that they contacted festival planners about participating in this year’s festival. Belhaven makes some of the more famous Scottish beers, but I have a  [ Read More ]

Remember when we wrote articles about beer at Walt Disney World? Those were the days, right? Actually, I’ve been holding off since I’ll be there in June. However, I recently came into some Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. Yes, that’s right, I recently came into some Guinness Foreign Extra Stout. As the story goes, my wife asks if I’ve ever had this beer at random one day. I respond that I haven’t, and she tells me that our friend “bought the  [ Read More ]

In 2011, the Goose Island brewery was sold by its owner to AB-InBev for $38.8 million because they couldn’t meet demand for their products. Until recently, Goose Island wasn’t available in Texas at all. However, three of their beers have now been introduced in stores. The three I saw in the store the other day were Honker’s Ale (currently being served at the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival), 312 Urban Wheat, and their India Pale Ale. Production for all three beers  [ Read More ]

Dogfish Head Noble Rot is a saison-like beer that was one of Dogfish Head’s experiments. Two types of grape must, the freshly pressed grape juice normally used for wine making, were used in brewing this beer. First, viognier grape must must infected with botrytis, the “noble rot” itself, is sometimes used for dessert wines. The second must came from pinot gris grapes. Both of the grapes used are white wine grapes, which is evident in this beer. It’s a 9.0% ABV  [ Read More ]

Sasquatch is on the loose! One of the beers in Sierra Nevada’s High Altitude series, Bigfoot Barleywine-Style Ale was born the same year I was. Each year in the winter, Bigfoot comes out of hiding and onto store shelves. Each year’s batch is clearly dated and beer fans enjoy collecting each edition and aging them. Vertical tastings often occur around this beer; several years’ bottles in a row are sampled to taste the differences. This is the first year I’ve  [ Read More ]

Here’s something new for the spring from Abita. In addition to the Mardi Gras Bock that appears in the early part of the year, Abita started releasing this year a new seasonal called Spring IPA. This brew replaces Abita’s Red Ale, and to be honest I won’t miss their Red. Abita’s description of the beer: Spring IPA (March-May) is a West Coast-style IPA with an up-front intense hop flavor and aroma. Amarillo and Centennial hops give the brew a rich  [ Read More ]

Here’s another one of Jester King’s unique brews; El Cedro is described by Jester King as a hoppy cedar-aged ale with Brettanomyces. As far as I know, this is the first time Brettanomyces have been specifically mentioned on here so let’s dive in a little bit. Commonly referred to as Brett, Brettanomyces are a genus of yeast. In many beer styles, Brett is considered to be a contaminent as it is a wild yeast that can ruin a batch. However,  [ Read More ]

WTF? Wilco Tango Foxtrot isn’t the proper way to spell WTF in the military alphabet. Well, according to Lagunitas the word “whiskey” isn’t allowed on a beer label; therefore, the name of this beer had to use something other than whiskey. Lag started brewing this one in 2010 and calls it “a malty, robusty jobless recovery ale”. It was named this because in 2010 the economy was supposed to be recovering, but it wasn’t really recovering. Jobs weren’t being created  [ Read More ]

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages! Beers and Ears proudly brings to you your 2013 Disney Beer Tournament Champion of the World! Unibroue La Fin Du Monde! This was a really tight match! The Belgian-style tripel from Québec won by only two votes over Rogue Dead Guy Ale. La Fin Du Monde’s most well-known location is Le Cellier in Epcot’s Canada pavilion. However, it can also be found at the Hollywood Brown Derby in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.  [ Read More ]