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Last year, I was fortunate to explore Romania on two separate occasions. My explorations allowed me to taste a vast diversity of wines that the country has to offer. When I returned home, the wine-related comments from friends and colleagues reminded me of just how damaged the rep is for …

Saison D’Erpe-Mere, Saison. Brouwerij de Glazen Toren, Belgium 6.9%  This Saison is a nod to tradition while stepping up quality. The original 1890’s brewers would be both proud and humbled. A conundrum of lemon, butterscotch, dandelion & MOST important, fun! Try with smoked fish or your favorite blue cheese 95 …

Our mission is to educate our readers on what’s out there the cool, the quirky and in this case, the insanely good quality. We sample a heck of a lot of drinks throughout the course of a week, and I mean a lot, so it’s always great when something really …

Chicago has long been known for producing some outstanding beers, with its solid reputation for breweries and brew masters alike. With that said– we travelled over to Chicago’s Goose Island, to see what all the fuss was about and do a little review of the brews on the scene that …

From the mysteriously diverse island of Madeira is an unquestionably amazing arsenal of fortified wines.  Where floral elegance and complex power combine, here are six of the top productions from this breathtaking island. Rare Wine Company What: Historic Series Savannah Verdelho Score: 95 Pts Like a southern belle this unveils …

Farm-to-table is a phrase uttered ad nauseam in contemporary dining; it is the guiding mantra of locavores everywhere. But as the culinary landscape focuses its sights on locally-sourced ingredients, innovative brewers have been quietly practicing farm-to-bottle for generations. Now, however, the time is ripe for them to step out from …

Title: Cheese & Beer Author: Janet Fletcher She teaches cheese appreciation classes around the country. She has also written 25 books on food, wine, and beer. Janet is also the San Francisco Chronicle’s weekly cheese columnist. This woman is a gold star authority on the issue at hand. Review Those …

What exactly is “craft”? The word gets thrown around just like “artisan”, “small-batch”, “handmade”. These buzzwords, however, are rarely agreed upon within the industry, so you can guarantee they aren’t understood by the general public. In very basic terms, craft can be thought of as smaller production, often family-run operations …

Our Zombie story begins in Haiti. Well, not really. Actually, there are two different zombie stories, and they both begin in Southern California in the early 1930’s with a singular fascination with the mystery and exoticism of island life. The first story opens on a fictional Haitian dirt road north …

What’s nine inches and allows for a nice cool swallow every time in just 45 minutes? The Chillsner by Corkcicle obviously. Why? What’d you think I was talking about? This stainless steel rod inserts into your standard beer bottle and clips on with a drink through lid. Made entirely of …

Ted Sobel stands behind the bar. All of his ales are served from six hand pumps; there are no kegs and no CO2 hoses. Rather, Ted’s ales are conditioned in firkins—which look like kegs, but sound cooler and hold 40 liters, or 72 imperial pints, of cask ale. Hand pumps, …

Over the decades, Australia has become home to some of the world’s most sought after wines on the planet. Its climate makes for the ideal breeding ground for multiple grape varieties, honing in millions of tourists per year to sample the vino delights the Oceania wonder has to offer. We …

With the much anticipated HBO series returning to our screens in just mere weeks, the world is once again getting excited to dragons, death, sex scenes and the occasional, what are we kidding, highly frequent, nudity. Ommegang did what any kind-hearted brewery would do and decided to come up with …