Why would a site about beer and Walt Disney World have an article on the Epcot International Food and Wine Festival? Despite the name (I guess Food and Beverage Festival or Food and Alcohol Festival wasn’t as catchy), many of the Food and Wine booths around World Showcase Lagoon serve beer! The 2011 map just came out; let’s take a look!

I was visiting family over the Fourth of July weekend, and while looking through the local grocery store’s beer I happened to see one Lindsey Weeramuni suggested to us on Twitter a couple of weeks ago. Coney Island Albino Python is brewed by the Shmaltz Brewing Company in Saratoga Springs, NY. It’s described as a white lager with spices. This white lager is smooth with some spices in the flavor whose flavor I can’t quite place. It’s pleasant enough to  [ Read More ]

The sixth and final member of the Shiner Family Reunion is the first brew from the Brewer’s Pride collection. Shiner calls this one its Old-Time Alt, or altbier. As far as I know this is the first altbier on Beers and Ears, so let’s start with a description from the bastion of truth and knowledge, Wikipedia. The name Altbier, which means old beer, refers to the pre-lager brewing method of using a warm top-fermenting yeast. Over time the Alt yeast adjusted to lower temperatures, and  [ Read More ]

Shiner Kosmos Reserve, named after Kosmos Spoetzel, is the fifth of six beers in the Shiner Family Reunion six pack. Kosmos Spoetzel was the first Shiner brewmaster and also the namesake of the Spoetzel Brewery. Here’s the label text: Kosmos Spoetzel knew how to brew great beer. Born in Bavaria, Kosmos’ mastery of German brewing carried him as far as Egypt before he found his way to the small Texas town of Shiner. Our proud brewery still carries his name  [ Read More ]

Hai. I like social media. And check in apps. Foursquare especially. Oh LOOK everyone HERE I AM! I digress. So when beer check in apps started appearing and I was contacted by a dev to review one, I died of happiness and went to a heaven filled with Lagunitas Pils. Brewski Me is free in the iOS app store and pretty much the most bomb thing ever. Let’s go through it. You log into Brewski and register an ID. I’m  [ Read More ]

When I say Italy, what is the first thing that comes to mind?  Art, architecture, wine, Ferraris, hairy men that talk with their hands (I’m kidding…sorta)?  Where does beer fall on that list?  Pretty far down, right?  Why so many questions, will there be a quiz later?  Yes, yes there will. Peroni is Italy’s number 1 brewery, although that’s kind of like saying that the fish sandwich is the healthiest thing at McDonald’s.  The brewery was started in Vigevano, Italy by Francesco Peroni in  [ Read More ]

Yes, it’s time for another Unibroue beer from those fine Canadian brewers. This is Trois Pistoles, a Belgian Strong Dark Ale. Before we begin, this one gave me a bit of surprise when I was opening it. I removed the cage from around the cork in the bottle but didn’t remove the cork. I turned to do something else, but while I was otherwise occupied, the cork shot out of the bottle and straight up into the air. The foam  [ Read More ]

“Live life unfiltered.” That’s the Shock Top slogan, and it’s easy to see why. This Belgian white ale is a cloudy yellow-orange because it’s not filtered before bottling. The brew is made by the Shock Top Brewing Company in Memphis, Tennessee, but further research shows that Shock Top is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch. Let’s judge the beer by its flavor instead of its affiliations though. The first smell of Shock Top reveals a light citrus flavor, which corresponds to the taste rather  [ Read More ]

Last week Brian wrote a fascinating article about Guinness and its history. Brian’s article mainly focused on the draught variety of Guinness, while I’ve just opened up what Guinness refers to as Extra Stout. It’s important to note that Extra Stout is brewed by the Guinness Brewing Company in New Brunswick, Canada. Yes, the labels on the front say “Imported” and “St. James’s Gate Dublin”, but the back label clearly gives away its Canadian origins. Extra Stout is a bit confusing; Guinness  [ Read More ]

Ed reviewed Shiner Hefeweizen (originally called Honey Wheat) back in December and loved it. Since it’s part of the Shiner Family Reunion, now it’s my turn to try this one. It’s a nice shade of golden orange and a bit cloudy; flavors of wheat and lemon are dominant in this beer. It’s fairly light, but quite refreshing with a good flavor. This would be a good beer for a hot day (every day this time of year is a hot  [ Read More ]