CU Bars in the news; Summer Drinks

From WCFN; Illinoishomepage.net

Drink with Andy Borbely; Summer Drinks

Andy mixes some drinks

CU Beer Weekend; May 28 Memorial Day Weekend

What are you doing this Memorial Day Weekend?

Seven Saints

Wednesday: Whiskey Wednesday: Bourbon

Radio Maria

(list as of 5/19)
1. Capital MaiBock $4
2. Green Flash Le Freak $6
3. Ballast Point Sea Monster $6
4. Bells HopSlam IPA $5
5. Avery Dugana IIPA $5
6. Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale $4.5
7. Founders Imperial Stout $6
8. New Holland Golden Cap $4
9. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout $8
10.Port Midnight Sessions $5
11.Dogfish Head Aprihop $4.5
12.Port Shark Attack Red Ale $5
13.Delirium Dark Brown $6
14.Mikkeller Cascade Single Hop IPA $6
15.Port Old Viscosity $7
16.North Coast Old Rasputin $6
17.Southern Tier Choklat $6
18.Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour $6
19.Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout $5
20.Lost Abbey Angel's Share $7
21.Blanche de Bruxelles $5
22.He'brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A $6
23.Left Hand PoleStar Pils $4
24.Schneider Aventinus $5
25.Port Older Viscosity $7
26.Ayinger Brau Weisse $5.5
27.PBR $2.25

I was there on Wednesday, and they have some awesome stuff on tap. Port Old and Older Viscosity, Lost Abbey the Angel's Share, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout...

Friday: Happy Hour with free appetizers 4:30 - 5:30; Port Midnight Sessions, $4 a pint; DJ at 10pm
Saturday: $4 Jeremiah Weed drinks and $6 Jeremiah Weed John Daly's, Salsa Night at 10.
Sunday: $2 wells, $1.25 PBR
Monday: 25% off bottles of wine; Board Game Monday; Softball Beer Specials
Tuesday: 1/2 price wine by the glass
Wednesday: $1 off all beers on draft; Trivia Night 11pm with MC Juice
Thursday:$5 Mojitos & $6 Brazilian Cosmos

June 13: Austrian Wine Dinner, 6pm, $75, 5 courses with 8 wines.

Blind Pig

Lakfront Rosie Kriek; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sour Ale%
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence; Cooperstown, New York, Stout, 7% abv
Dogfish Head Midas Touch; Milton, Delaware, Traditional Ale, 9% abv
Lagunitas Wilco Tango Foxtrot (WTF); Petaluma, CA, Amer. Strong Ale, 7.83% abv
Boulder Bourbon Barrel Never Summer; Boulder, Colorado, Spice Ale, 5.9% abv
Unibroue La Terrible; Canada, Belgian Strong Ale, 10.5% abv
Left Hand 400lb Monkey; Longmont, Colorado, India Pale Ale, 7% abv
Original Sin Hard Cider; New York, New York, Cider, 6% abv
Fuller’s London Pride; England, Premium Bitter, 4.7% abv
Delirium Tremens; Belgium, Belgian Strong Ale, 8.5% abv
Blue Moon; Golden, Colorado, Belgian White, 5.4% abv
Krusovice Imperial 12°; Czech Republic, Bohemian Pilsener, 5% abv
Stella Artois; Belgium, Pale Lager, 5.2% abv
Pabst Blue Ribbon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Rogue I²PA; Newport, Oregon, Imperial IPA, 9.5%
Bells Oberon; Kalamazoo, Michigan, Wheat Ale, 6% abv
Piraat; Belgium, Belgian Strong Ale, 10.5%
Lagunitas IPA; Petaluma, California, India Pale Ale, 5.7% abv
Arcadia Whitsun; Battle Creek, Michigan, Wheat Ale, 6.2% abv
Tucher Helles Hefe Weizen; Germany, German Hefeweizen, 5.3% abv
Boulevard Tank 7; Kansas City, Missouri, Saison, 8.5% abv
Lindemans Framboise; Belgium, Lambic, 2.5% abv
Belhaven Scottish Ale; Scotland, Bitter, 3.9%
Guinness; Dublin, Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv

Blind Pig Brewery (the Piglet)

Blind Pig American Pale Ale
Blind Pig Witbier
Blind Pig Smoked Rye
Blind Pig Hard Cider
Schlafly Kolsch; Maplewood, Missouri, Kolsch, 4.8% abv
Founder’s Dirty Bastard; Grand Rapids, Michiagn, Scotch Ale, 8.3% abv
Pyramid Apricot; Portland, Oregon, Fruit Beer, 5.1% abv
Great Divide St. Briget’s Porter; Denver, Colorado, Porter, 6% abv
Two Brothers Dog Days Lager; Warrenville, Illinois, Dortmunder, 4.9% abv
North Coast Le Merle; Fort Bragg, California, Saison, 7.9% abv
Heilemans Old Style; Woodridge, Illinois, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Victory HopDevil; Downington, Pennsylvania, India Pale Ale, 6.7% abv
Ommegang Three Philosophers; Cooperstown, NY, Quadrupel, 5.8% abv
Guinness; Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv

Crane Alley

PBR 4.7%
Guinness 4.2%
Avery White Rascal 5.5%
GreatDivide Yeti Imperial Stout 9.5%
Great Divide Hercules 9.1%
Lindemans Framboise 4.0%
Founders Centennial Ipa 7.3%%
Konig Pilsner 4.9%
Ska Nefarious Ten Pin Porter 8.0%
Founders Backwoods Bastard 10.2%
Geants Goliath Tripel 9.0%
Founders El Diablo del Noche 8.1%
Arcadia Whitsun 4.6%
Mikkeller\Drikkeriget GIPA 6.6%
Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale 7.2%
Lost Coast Tangerine Wheat 5.0%

This weeks food specials:

SALMON - Honey-walnut crusted salmon with sauteed squash, zucchini, and carrot over sweet potato puree and drizzled with sweet onion cream.
STEWED PORK - Stewed pork in curry spice, onions, celery, carrots, bell peppers, smoked paprika, and coconut milk served with basmati rice.

June 20: 2nd Annual Crawfish Boil, 1pm, $15 in advance, $20 day of

July 5: Founders Beer Dinner, 7:30 pm, price and menu tbd

Mike n' Molly's

Friday: Little Pieces
Saturday: the Keylocks
Sunday: El Fuego
Monday: Abe Froman Project, 9-10pm, free/ Rockstar Karaoke, 10-2, free; $1 PBR
Tuesday: $1.25 High Life; $.50 off all taps
Wednesday: Bingo, 9:30-midnight, free; $2 Mickey's Big Mouth; $2.50 rails
Thursday:$2.50 Stella Artois bottles

Black Dog Smoke and Ale House

Cask: Arcadia Angler's Ale

Two Brothers Ebel Weiss
New Holland Dragon's Milk
Moylan's Pomegranate Wheat
Summit Horizon Red
Left Hand 400 Pound Monkey
Wexford Irish Style Cream Ale

Cowboy Monkey

Friday: DJ Mingram, 10pm, free
Saturday: Beat Kitchen, 10pm, $5
Sunday: Hit it Run, 10pm, free
Tuesday: Open Mic Night, 10pm, free
Wednesday: Salsa & Tango, 10pm, free
Thursday: Blues Jam, 8:30 pm, free

Highdive

Friday: DJ Delaney, 10 pm, $5
Sunday: DJ Drama, 9pm, $tba
Monday: 80's Night, 10pm, free
Thursday: DJ Night, 10pm, $5 after 11pm

Canopy Club

Tuesday: The Piano Man
Wednesday: Discotech Dance Night

CU Beer Club

Tuesday: Happy Hour, Mike n' Molly's, 6pm

Alcohol in the news; Summer Beers

From WCIA 3 CBS Morning Show/Illinoishomepage.net

Summer Beers

Nick Bland from the Corkscrew shows some summer beers.

He talks about lawnmower beers, kindof. The first is Konig Pilsner, the second is North Coast Acme IPA.

The conversation leaves beer...

My ACBW/ Asheville trip

I was gone last week, if you followed the twitter feed, you probably figured that out. I tried to start a trending topic on twitter with VGRIDAVL, but apparently was the only person to use it. I wanted it to be as popular as when the Obama's went to Asheville, but apparently #avlpotus got more people to use it than #vgridavl. Oh well.

Kridz and I left on Monday morning for the 600 mile drive. It was uneventful, so that was nice. It takes us right around 9 hours for the trip, more or less depending on if you stop to eat, or just grab a gas station sammich.

We got there on Monday and went to the fiddlin pig. They have some local beers on tap, so, of course, I had local beer. I believe I had something from French Broad. I finished up with a Carolina Blonde. It's from Carolina, but not necessarily local. I had the Beef Brisket Platter, with fried okra and greens. It was ok. There's live bluegrass playing, which was nice. Kridz thought I hated bluegrass, but I can appreciate it. I reminded her that we listened to the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack on the way back from Dark Lord Day, but she thought I only put it in to be funny or mock, when I asked her why I could sing along, she didn't really have an answer.

I had some thoughts about songs that I'd like to hear in a bluegrass style. Mostly, I thought Famous Blue Raincoat would make an awesome bluegrass song. I also wondered how I could turn Baby Got Back into a bluegrass song.

That was about it for Monday. Tuesday, we didn't really have any plans, except our hosts had to take their two month old to the doctor for shots, so we couldn't really plan to do much on Tuesday. So, I went to the store and got stuff for a dinner. We had a cheese plate with brie and drunken goat and a baby greens salad, served with New Belgium IPA. Second course was pan fried beef tenderloin steaks with asparagus in a balsamic reduction, served over parmesan risotto; served with Ommegang Abbey Ale. We were all pretty full at this point, so we let our dinner settle and later had a Sara Lee vanilla bean cake, served with the Sierra Nevada Fritz and Ken's Stout. All in all, it was a decent meal, and I think it was received well. Neither Kridz nor Dana are very experimental with their food. They had their salads with ranch dressing, instead of balsamic. Dana, normally puts ranch on her steak, but said that this was good enough that it didn't need anything on it, so that made me happy. Neither really like the asparagus. The risotto (to me) didn't turn out the way I wanted.

Wednesday, we went downtown and had lunch at Lexington Avenue Brewery. I had the American Pale Ale, Kridz had the India Pale Ale. I ate the portobello sandwich, Kridz had the beer cheese soup. Both were good enough.

We left there and walked down to the Mellow Mushroom. MM in Asheville has an awesome beer selection, for being a pizza place. They have a large amount of taps, and have a lot of local beer on tap. I can't remember what anyone had, but I know we enjoyed them. Evening meal was spaghetti.

Thursday for lunch, went to Asheville Brewing Company. I had the buffet, Kridz had some sort of chicken alfredo looking thing. I don't remember what beer I had, but it was something I've had before. It was serviceable. Neither outstandingly great, nor horrifically bad.

We left there and made our way back to downtown and walked to Bruisin' Ales. I gave Jason and Julie two bottles of Dark Lord, and Jay gave me a bottle of Le Baladin (can't remember what) but it had a sticker price of $50. I think we'll be opening it on Monday. Also picked up some other things that I've never heard of, and haven't seen, so that'll be nice.

After spending about $120, we left and went down to the Woolworths (odd how there's another Oh Brother reference). The woolworth in Asheville has a soda fountain, and is an art gallery. When I go there, I get ideas of things to do. I don't really do them, but I get ideas.

Thursday night we ate beef strogonoff, nothing too spectacular.

Friday, Frank arrived, after having worked in Knoxville for the week. Lunch was at BW, which has asome local beers on tap, so I had the French Broad Wee Heavy-er, followed up by Highland Black Mocha. Later that afternoon, we went down to Craggie. Had a sip of the antebellum ale, which is heavy on the ginger. I drank the Battery Hill, which is an english-style rye. Kridz and Frank both had the Toubab, zwickel beer.

We left there and went to the Green Man Brewing and Tasting Room (also known as Dirty Jacks for some reason). I had the porter, Kridz had the stout, Frank had the Imperial stout. I bought a new trucker hat. We left there planning on going to the Yacht Club, but instead went to the Green Man sister restaurant Jack of the Wood. Frank had a Founders Double Trouble, I had a Stone Ruination. I ate the Salmon Fish and Chips, which was pretty good.

We then went across the street to the Thirsty Monk. They were having a Terrapin event. They had the newest side project on cask, Boom Shaka Lager. Which was pretty darn good. Frank got one as well. Kridz got a Wake-n-Bake. We got to talk to Spike Buckowski, of the brewery, and I begged him to come to Champaign. I also asked that he distribute solely to Radio Maria in Illinois, but he didn't really seem interested in that, but I tried.

We then headed back to Frank and Dana's as the baby was getting cranky. Frank and I shared a couple of beers, but I really don't remember what all we had.

Saturday was Frank's birthday, there was a cookout, there was beer. There was fuzzy memories. I know we had the previous Terrapin Side Project, Capt'n Krunkles which was a really good black IPA; there was plenty of other stuff too, but, I don't remember. After everyone left, Frank and I split a Widmer Brothers' Reserve Prickly Pear Braggot. It seemed to have more of the honey flavor than of the prickly pear. It also had quite an alcohol kick towards the end. It was good, but I'd have hoped for more of the fruit juice in the flavor. We finished his birthday with a Foothills Brewery Sexual Chocolate. This is one of those beers, that you consider yourself blessed to try. It wasn't a bitter chocolate, but it wasn't a milk shake either. It was a darn fine beer. (It's listed as #97 on Beer Advocate's top 100 list; I don't care about rankings, but some people do).

Sunday, we drove back, on my twitter feed, you can see how fast we were traveling and how far we got each hour. Made it back in time for Blackhawks puck drop. Then I went in to Radio Maria to count beer.

It was a good trip. Lots of beer. Time with friends. And yes, I held the baby, but only because on Saturday night, Dana put the baby on me, as I was sitting in a chair. When the baby was removed, I germ-x'ed myself thoroughly. Babies make me sick. Why, I don't know. But touching babies seems to give me the flu.

News roundup that happened during my VAKAY

• From the News Gazette

St. Joseph wine shop to showcase elderberries

There's apparently a new wine shop in St. Joe. Wyldewood Cellars, located at 218 E. Lincoln St.

• From WCIA 3 CBS, morning show, Illinoishomepage.net

Celebrate Beer Week with Sunsinger

Brian Bowman from Sunsinger talks about a couple of wines and some beers

Wow, not too much news going on last week.

Hope you had a good American Craft Beer Week.

CU Beer Weekend; May 14 (Graduation)

It's Graduation weekend, if you don't have reservations for wherever it is you want to go on Saturday, it's probably too late.

Also, It's American Craft Beer Week, so drink some American stuff, and not the crap beer.

Seven Saints

Rotating taps:

Southern Tier Gemini
Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

All week:Founders Blitz; bottle of the good stuff
Wednesday: Whiskey Wednesday; US Micro Whiskey (and Canadian)
Thursday: Beer Class

Radio Maria

1. Capital MaiBock $4
2. Green Flash Le Freak $6
3. Ballast Point Sea Monster $6
4. Bells HopSlam IPA $5
5. Avery Dugana IIPA $5
6. Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale $4.5
7. Founders Imperial Stout $6
8. New Holland Golden Cap $4
9. Goose Island Bourbon County Stout $8
10.Port Midnight Sessions $5
11.Dogfish Head Aprihop $4.5
12.Port Shark Attack Red Ale $5
13.Delirium Dark Brown $6
14.Mikkeller Cascade Single Hop IPA $6
15.Southern Tier Hop*Sun $4
16.North Coast Old Rasputin $6
17.Southern Tier Choklat $6
18.Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour $6
19.Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout $5
20.Dark Horse Tres Blueberry $5
21.Blanche de Bruxelles $5
22.He'brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A $6
23.Boulevard Tank 7 $4
24.Schneider Aventinus $5
25.Capital Imperial Dopplebock $5
26.Ayinger Brau Weisse $5.5
27.PBR $2.25

Friday: Happy Hour with free appetizers 4:30 - 5:30; Ballast Point Sea Monster $5 a tulip; DJ at 10pm
Saturday: $4 Jeremiah Weed drinks and $6 Jeremiah Weed John Daly's, Salsa Night at 10.
Sunday: $2 wells, $1.25 PBR
Monday: 25% off bottles of wine; Board Game Monday; Softball Beer Specials
Tuesday: 1/2 price wine by the glass
Wednesday: $1 off all beers on draft; Trivia Night 11pm with MC Juice
Thursday:$5 Mojitos & $6 Brazilian Cosmos

June 13: Austrian Wine Dinner, 6pm, $75, 5 courses with 8 wines.

Blind Pig

Cask: Summit EPA

Coney Island Mermaid Pilsner; San Francisco, California, Pilsener
BluCreek Blueberry; Madison, Wisconsin, Fruit Beer, 4% abv
New Holland Envious; Holland, Michigan, Fruit Beer, 7.5% abv
Fort Collins Chocolate Stout; Fort Collins, Colorado, Stout, 5.3% abv
Bear Republic Big Bear Black Stout; Healdsburg, CA, Imperial Stout, 8.1% abv
Unibroue La Terrible; Canada, Belgian Strong Ale, 10.5% abv
Great Divide Titan IPA; Denver, Colorado, India Pale Ale, 6.8% abv
Strongbow Cider; England, Cider, 5.3% abv
Fuller’s London Pride; England, Premium Bitter, 4.7% abv
Delirium Tremens; Belgium, Belgian Strong Ale, 8.5% abv
Blue Moon; Golden, Colorado, Belgian White, 5.4% abv
North Coast Scrimshaw; Fort Bragg, California, Pilsener, 4.4% abv
Stella Artois; Belgium, Pale Lager, 5.2% abv
Pabst Blue Ribbon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Rogue Mogul Madness; Newport, Oregon, American Strong Ale, 6.25%
Bells Oberon; Kalamazoo, Michigan, Wheat Ale, 6% abv
Monk’s Cafe; Belgium, Sour Ale, 5.5%
Lagunitas IPA; Petaluma, California, India Pale Ale, 5.7% abv
New Holland El Mole Ocho; Holland, Michigan, Spice Ale, 8.8% abv
Tucher Helles Hefe Weizen; Germany, German Hefeweizen, 5.3% abv
New Holland Golden Cap Saison; Holland, Michigan, Saison, 7% abv
Lindemans Framboise; Belgium, Lambic, 2.5% abv
Wexford Irish Cream Ale; England, Irish Ale, 5%
Guinness; Dublin, Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv

All week: 25 limited release American craft beers; $1 off all American craft bottles; Dark Horse Stout Tour, try all 5 and get a logo pint and $5 PB Gift Card

Blind Pig Brewery (the Piglet)

Blind Pig Hefeweizen
Blind Pig american Pale Ale
Blind Pig Hard Cider
Moylan’s Old Blarney; Novato, California, Barley Wine, 10% abv
Captial Supper Club; Middleton, Wisconsin, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Pyramid Apricot; Portland, Oregon, Fruit Beer, 5.1% abv
New Holland Dragon’s Milk; Holland, Michigan, Stout, 10% abv
Weihenstephaner Hefe; Germany, German Hefeweizen, 5.4% abv
Lost Abbey Red Barn; San Marcos, California, Saison, 6.7% abv
Heilemans Old Style; Woodridge, Illinois, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Ballast Point Big Eye IPA; San Diego, California, India Pale Ale, 6% abv
Castelain; France, Biere de Garde, 6.4% abv
Guinness; Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv

Sunday: 7-9 Trivia, $1 Old Style, $2 Jameson Whiskey, $3 Guinness Draughts
Monday: $1 off all bottles

Crane Alley

PBR 4.7%
Guinness 4.2%
Lost Abbey Devotion 6.5%
Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout 9.5%
Flying Dog Double Dog 10.5%
Hogans Cider 6.7%
Ska Modus Hoperandi 7.0%
Konig Pilsner 4.9%
Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA 13.6%
Ballast Point Bourbon Barrel Porter 5.9%
Geants Goliath Tripel 9.0%
Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale 5.5%
Bells Oberon 6.0%
Hoegaarden 5.0%
Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale 7.2%
Liljas Hop Nest Monster 6.0%

Food Specials:

Filet Mignon - with a red wine demi glaze and served with mushroom risotto and fresh grilled asparagus.

Jamaican Gumbo - with bay scallops, tiger Shrimp, and swordfish, in a jamaican jerk sauce accompanied by onions, bell peppers and celery over basmati rice.

Melon & Prosciutto Salad - mixed greens and spinach tossed with cantaloupe, honeydew, prosciutto, and Asiago cheese in our home-made honey vinaigrette.

Thursday: Founders/BrewDog Night, 9pm, Small batch Founders on tap.

July 5: Founders Beer Dinner, 7:30 pm, price and menu tbd

Mike n' Molly's

(last week's list)

Guinness
Harp
Strongbow
Miller High Life
Port Midnight Sessions
Lost Abbey Carnevale
Jenlain St. Druon
Bruge Zot
Bear Republick Rebellion IPA
Blanche de Brussels

Friday: Tractor Kings
Saturday: Neoga Blacksmith
Monday: Abe Froman Project, 9-10pm, free/ Rockstar Karaoke, 10-2, free; $1 PBR
Tuesday: $1.25 High Life; $.50 off all taps
Wednesday: Bingo, 9:30-midnight, free; $2 Mickey's Big Mouth; $2.50 rails
Thursday: Scurvine; $2.50 Stella Artois bottles

Black Dog Smoke and Ale House

Cask: Arcadia IPA
Schlafly Hefeweizen
Mikkeller Nugget Single Hop IPA
Darkhorse Plead the 5th
Lost Abbey Red Barn
Capital Blonde Dopplebock

Wednesday: Beer Clinic, 3pm

Cowboy Monkey

Friday: DJ Stifler, 10pm, free
Sunday: Big Dave's Trivia, 7pm, free
Tuesday: Open Mic Night, 10pm, free
Wednesday: Salsa and Tango, 10pm, free
Thursday: Man Made Blast, 10pm, $5

Highdive

Friday: DJ Delaney, 10 pm, $5
Saturday: DJ B Sims, 10 pm, $5
Sunday: ANTiSEEN, 9pm, $10 in advance
Monday: 80's Night, 10pm, free

Canopy Club

Friday: Flosstradamus, 8pm, $12 in advance
Sunday: Pizza Pitcher and a Movie, (Stoner Flicks) Super High Me 6pm; Grandma's Boy 8pm; Half Baked 10pm.
Tuesday: The Piano man
Wednesday: MASTODON!!!, 6pm, $23 in advance
Thursday: Fistful of Steel: Tribute to Rage Against the Machine, $5

CU Beer Club

Wednesday: Crane Alley, 6:30 pm, free; East vs. West, bring 22-24 ounces of your favorite American Craft brew and see if you like east coast beer better than west coast beer.

Stay tuned for more American Craft Beer Week events. Ask your bartender if their bar has anything going on... then let me know

Alcohol in the news; Bill in Congress Could limit direct wine shipments

From the AP/Yahoo

Bill in Congress could limit direct wine shipments

But now Congress is considering legislation that could limit wineries' ability to sell and ship directly to consumers. The wholesale distributors who proposed the legislation say it will keep wine from minors, limit alcohol consumption and ensure states control sales.

What seems to be left out, of this article is that wineries and other places that sell alcohol via mail order, have an agreement with the shippers.

For example, if you order beer from West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, will require that you show proof of age with the shipper in order to get the beer delivered. Other places require that you give them a copy of your drivers license that they keep on file, in order to ship.

"The argument against it was that young kids would be buying wine," Gordon Schnell asked. "Young kids aren't going to pay $30 for wine."

Added his wife, laughing, "Or order it two weeks in advance and wait."

If kids can afford $30 wine, and are patient enough to wait to get some good wine delivered, they deserve to get it.

Wholesale distributors buy wine, beer and other alcoholic drinks from wineries and brewers and then sell them to grocery and liquor stores, which resell them to consumers. Direct sales let consumers buy wine that isn't available at a wine shop or grocery store, but they cost wholesale distributors more business each year.

The three tier system is bullshit.

The bill before Congress would reinforce states' rights to regulate alcohol sales and make it harder for special interests to sue to overturn state alcohol laws.

Paul Pisano, general counsel for the National Beer Wholesalers Association, conceded his group drafted the original measure before Congress and its members would benefit by strengthening long-standing liquor laws.

Oh, what do you know, the bill was drafted by people with a direct interest in the three tier system.

"We are extremely concerned that alcohol deregulation will make it very difficult for our states to effectively protect the public interest and ensure the safest system of alcohol distribution in the world," said the letter, signed by 39 state attorneys general.

It left off that they are angry that they aren't getting their cut of alcohol sales.

The three tier system is similar to prostitution. The distributors are the pimps. Who has the power in a pimping operation? Is it the consumer? Is it the prostitute? Nope, it's the person who provides no real service, but takes a cut of the money.

Several times a year, L'Ecole mails 1,500 boxes to members of its wine club. Lawmakers in West Coast states with booming wine industries likely won't ban direct shipping, Clubb said. But states with few wineries, where wholesalers have lobbying clout and that were forced to change their rules, may feel differently.

"This bill takes us 40 years into the past," he said.

Thankfully it doesn't take us 77 years in the past.

American Craft Beer Week events in CU

May 17-23 is American Craft Beer Week. There is a facebook group for it.

There will be events all over CU during the week. The Champaign Urbana Beer Club will be visiting select bars during the week. Here's the schedule for events; check back often, more events will be added as they are announced.

Full Week events:

• Seven Saints, Founders Blitz, there will be bottles of KBS, Nemesis, Breakfast Stout, Curmudgeon, Backwoods Bastard, Imperial Stout, and Cerise.

• Blind Pig, 25 limited release American craft beers will be on draft throughout the week; $1 off all American craft bottles; Dark Horse Brewery Stout Tour, drink all 5 bottled stouts and earn a logo pint and $5 BP gift certificate.

• Mike n' Molly's Imperial Week, numerous imperial style beers will be tapped (double IPA's, Imperial Stouts, and whatever else is hidden in the cellar)

• Radio Maria Four of the highest rated beers will be tapped: Port Old Viscosity, Port Older Viscosity, Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, Lost Abbey the Angel's Share
  

• Black Dog Smoke and Ale House Sauces made from American Craft Beers (Monday, New Holland Golden Cap; Tuesday, Two Brother's Ebel Weiss; Wednesday, New Holland Dragon's Milk; Thursday, Two Brother's Cain and Ebel)
  

Wednesday, May 19:

• Black Dog Smoke & Ale House, 3pm, Eric Puffer from Marketplace distribution will be giving a clinic on beer. Beer Clinic

• Crane Alley, 6:30 pm, Champaign Urbana Beer Club Monthly Meeting; East vs. West.

Thursday, May 20:

• Crane Alley, Founders/BrewDog Night, 9pm, Small batch Founders on tap. Bottles of KBS, Backwoods Bastard, Reds Rye, Porter and Dirty Bastard. Also showcasing small batch BrewDog beers. Local rep will be on hand to answer any questions (probably Eric Puffer). Free gifts.

• Seven Saints, Beer Class at Seven Saints, 9:30 pm. I believe the theme might be "America, Fuck Yeah!".

• Sunsinger will host a free tasting featuring the fore runners of American Craft Beer (Anchor, North Coast, Rogue, Sierra Nevada, Capital)

Saturday, May 22

• Friar Tuck tasting will showcase American Craft Beers

Sunday, May 23

• Corkscrew tasting will feature beers from Port Brewing, Southern Tier, Dark Horse, and Founders

Alcohol in the news; Champaign council backs continuing increases on liquor license costs

From the News-Gazette

Champaign council backs continuing increases on liquor license costs

The higher fee schedule was introduced last year as one way to deal with a $6 million budget gap, and in a 7-2 vote Tuesday, the city council reaffirmed its support for the program as the city readies itself to adopt another tight budget.

The liquor licensing and enforcement process is expensive, said Deputy Liquor Commissioner Teri Legner. The proposed increases will generate more than $78,000 in extra revenues from about 180 liquor licensees during the next four years.

alcohol in the news; Champaign considers liquor license increases

From WICD 15 ABC

Champaign Considers Liquor License Increases

Nothing new in this story, just a different outlet for getting the news.

CU Bars in the news; Citations issued for possession, purchase of alcohol by minors

From the News Gazette

Citations issued for possession, purchase of alcohol by minors

CHAMPAIGN — State police and Champaign police issued citations to 31 people for the possession and purchase of alcohol by a minor and one citation for resisting arrest at six bars in Champaign on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

The citations were part of the Operation Campus Tap program, which focuses on underage drinking among college and high school young people.

The breakdown is:

Clybourne, 9
Station 211, 9
High Dive, 5
Kam's, 4
It's Brothers, 4
Bradley's, 1

Not sure which of the bars had the resisting arrest.

Beer Review; Mikkeller 1000 IBU

Saturday, before going to work at Radio Maria, I stopped at Crane Alley to have a beer and lunch.

I remembered that Aaron had mentioned they had bottles of Mikkeller 1000 IBU, so I figured, why not attempt to remove the taste buds from my mouth.

I drank it with a Reuben (I really enjoy the Crane Alley Reuben sammich), also, I figured, have a 1000 IBU beer, with a sammich with 1000 island dressing.

The beer comes in paper (like some Belgian lambics or some Belgian xmas beers). Also, it has a cork and cage. I don't think the cage is necessary, as there wasn't a whole lot of pressure behind this.

It poured opaque, had some real good head retention, and laced the glass well. It was a dark wood color, almost was the same color as the bar.

It smelled like hops. Not necessarily fruity or floral hops, it smelled like piney hops. It reminded me of (i think) a juniper bush. It was the smell of my childhood of climbing up evergreen trees and getting the sap on my clothes, and that smell wouldn't come out, neither would the sap.

It felt thick and coated the tongue.

It tasted, initially, (go figure) bitter. It had a sweetness in the middle. But then there was a strong bitter finish. It took a while to get there, but the finish of the initial sip almost made me gasp, it was so bitter. You can tell there's a lot of malt in this thing to balance out the hops, otherwise, it could easily be an undrinkable hop bomb. It was piney, yet sweet. Oddly, it seemed to sweeten my mouth. As the taste left my mouth, it felt like I had just eaten sugar.

The beer was so bitter, that it left a sweet-sugary taste in my mouth. I had earlier drank a mountain dew, and I thought that I possibly still may have had some of the sugars in my mouth, but then realized that there was no way anything could have survived the onslaught of hops that this thing provided. It was so bitter that after the taste went away, it made the air I was breathing taste sugary.

In the Skinny Puppy song, "Inquisition" off the album Last Rights, there's a line that says "desserts so sweet, leaves bitter taste in the mouth... forever". This beer was the opposite, it was so bitter, it left a sweet taste in the mouth (not necessarily forever).



At Crane Alley, the beer is $15. They will present it to you in a tulip. It comes in a 375 ml. Which is more than enough for a person. I recommend sharing it with someone; it's something you'll want to bounce flavors and the experience off of, just to see what you both get out of it.

Would I get this again, hell yes. It's not that high in alcohol at 9.6%, and it didn't hit me as being even that high. You could probably let this beer sit for 5 or 10 years and it'll still be a hop bomb. They say you can't detect bitter at above 100 IBU, so this thing will have quite a few years before it gets below that threshold. It is in a green bottle, so keep it in the paper, if you plan on letting it sit for some years. Remember, light struck hops will degrade normally into a skunky flavor. This one has a lot of hops to degrade. If kept in hot or well lit areas, it could quickly turn into the 1000 skunks beer.

Alcohol in the News; Drinking Alcohol could cost more in champaign

From WICD 15 ABC

Drinking Alcohol Could Cost More In Champaign

(no video)

Champaign-- Drinking alcohol in Champaign could cost more in the future.
That's if the Champaign City Council approves a liquor license increase.
The city council will talk about a proposed increase on Tuesday night.
It's all part of a five year plan to increase the city of Champaign's liquor license revenue by over 25 percent.
Last year, increased fees made the city nearly 40 thousand bucks.
They hope by 2014 to make over 100-thousand dollars more per year.
But some warn the increased costs to restaurants and bars could be passed on to customers.

CU Beer Weekend; May 7

Seven Saints

Rotating taps:

Southern Tier Hop Sun
Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar

Wednesday: Whiskey Wednesday, Scotch

Radio Maria

1. Capital MaiBock $4
2. Green Flash Le Freak $6
3. Ballast Point Sea Monster $6
4. Bells HopSlam IPA $5
5. Dark Horse Double Crooked Tree IPA $5
6. Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale $4.5
7. Founders Imperial Stout $6
8. New Holland Golden Cap $4
9. Goose Island Pepe Nero $6
10.Port Midnight Sessions $5
11.Dogfish Head Aprihop $4.5
12.Port Shark Attack Red Ale $5
13.Delirium $6
14.Mikkeller Cascade Single Hop IPA $6
15.Southern Tier Hop*Sun $4
16.Moylan Dragoon's Dry Irish Stout $4.5
17.Southern Tier Choklat $6
18.Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour $6
19.Lost Abbey Serpent's Stout $5
20.Dark Horse Tres Blueberry $5
21.Blanche de Bruxelles $5
22.He'brew Bittersweet Lenny's R.I.P.A $6
23.Boulevard Tank 7 $4
24.Victory Moonglow $4.5
25.Capital Imperial Dopplebock $5
26.Ayinger Brau Weisse $5.5
27.PBR $2.25

Friday: Happy Hour with free appetizers 4:30 - 5:30; Moylan Dragoon's Dry Irish Stout $3.50 a pint; DJ at 10pm
Saturday: $4 Jeremiah Weed drinks and $6 Jeremiah Weed John Daly's, Salsa Night at 10.
Sunday: $2 wells, $1.25 PBR
Monday: 25% off bottles of wine; Board Game Monday
Tuesday: 1/2 price wine by the glass
Wednesday: $1 off all beers on draft; Trivia Night 11pm with MC Juice
Thursday:$5 Mojitos & $6 Brazilian Cosmos

Blind Pig

CASK: Summit EPA
Great Divide Claymore Scotch; Denver, Colorado, Scotch Ale, 7.7% abv
Sea Dog Blueberry Wheat; Topsham, Maine, Fruit Beer, 4.6% abv
New Holland Envious; Holland, Michigan, Fruit Beer, 7.5% abv
Kostritzer; Germany, Schwarzbier, 4.8% abv
Founders Breakfast Stout; Grand Rapids, Michigan, Imperial Stout, 8.3% abv
Unibroue Trois Pistoles; Canada, Belgian Strong Ale, 9% abv
Pangaea Lilijas Hop Nest Monster; Wisconsin Rapids, WI, India Pale Ale% abv
Original Sin Hard Cider; New York, New York, Cider, 6% abv
Fuller’s London Pride; England, Premium Bitter, 4.7% abv
Delirium Tremens; Belgium, Belgian Strong Ale, 8.5% abv
Blue Moon; Golden, Colorado, Belgian White, 5.4% abv
North Coast Scrimshaw; Fort Bragg, California, Pilsener, 4.4% abv
Stella Artois; Belgium, Pale Lager, 5.2% abv
Pabst Blue Ribbon; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Rogue Mogul Madness; Newport, Oregon, American Strong Ale, 6.25%
Bells Oberon; Kalamazoo, Michigan, Wheat Ale, 6% abv
Monk’s Cafe; Belgium, Sour Ale, 5.5%
Lagunitas IPA; Petaluma, California, India Pale Ale, 5.7% abv
New Holland El Mole Ocho; Holland, Michigan, Spice Ale, 8.8% abv
Tucher Helles Hefe Weizen; Germany, German Hefeweizen, 5.3% abv
New Holland Golden Cap Saison; Holland, Michigan, Saison, 7% abv
Lindemans Framboise; Belgium, Lambic, 2.5% abv
Old Speckled Hen; England, Premium Bitter, 5.2%
Guinness; Dublin, Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv

Blind Pig Brewery (the Piglet)

Blind Pig Witbier
Blind Pig American Pale Ale
Blind Pig Hard Cider
Moylan’s Old Blarney; Novato, California, Barley Wine, 10% abv
Captial Supper Club; Middleton, Wisconsin, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Rogue Hazelnut Brown; Newport, Oregon, Brown Ale, 6.22% abv
New Holland Dragon’s Milk; Holland, Michigan, Stout, 10% abv
Weihenstephaner Hefe; Germany, German Hefeweizen, 5.4% abv
Lost Abbey Red Barn; San Marcos, California, Saison, 6.7% abv
Heilemans Old Style; Woodridge, Illinois, Pale Lager, 5% abv
Ballast Point Big Eye IPA; San Diego, California, India Pale Ale, 6% abv
Castelain; France, Biere de Garde, 6.4% abv
Guinness; Ireland, Dry Stout, 4.1% abv

Sunday: 7-9 Trivia, $1 Old Style, $2 Jameson Whiskey, $3 Guinness Draughts
Monday: $1 off all bottles

Crane Alley

Harp Irish Lager 4.3%
Chimay Cinq Cents Trappist Tripel 8.0%
Dogfish Head Old Midas Touch Golden Elixir 9.0%
Lost Abbey Judgement Day 10.5%
Ballast Point Calico Amber Ale 5.0%
Great Divide Titan IPA 6.8%
Bells Oberon 6.0%
Founders Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale 8.3%
Bells Expedition Stout 10.5%
Leipziger Gose 4.6%
Guinness 4.2%
Goose Island Pepe Nero 6.0%
Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter 5.9%
Pabst Blue Ribbon 4.7%
Bells Hopslam 10.0%
Original Sin Hard Cider 6.0%

Food specials for the weekend of May 7

PORK LOIN - Grilled pork loin with sweet potato hash, bacon, onions, and maple-whiskey demi glace

CHICKEN FETTUCCINI - Fettuccini noodles with chicken, mushrooms, broccoli, and tomatoes tossed in an arugula pesto and sprinkled with asiago cheese

GRILLED SWORDFISH - Grilled swordfish on a bed of quinoa with sauteed aspargus and hearts of palm and finished with a mango puree

May 20: Founders/BrewDog Night

July 5: Founders Beer Dinner, 7:30 pm, price and menu tbd

Mike n' Molly's

Guinness
Harp
Strongbow
Miller High Life
Port Midnight Sessions
Lost Abbey Carnevale
Jenlain St. Druon
Bruge Zot
Bear Republick Rebellion IPA
Blanche de Brussels

Friday: DJ Mertz
Saturday: You & Yourn
Monday: Abe Froman Project, 9-10pm, free/ Rockstar Karaoke, 10-2, free; $1 PBR
Tuesday: $1.25 High Life; $.50 off all taps
Wednesday: Bingo, 9:30-midnight, free; $2 Mickey's Big Mouth; $2.50 rails
Thursday: $2.50 Stella Artois bottles

Black Dog Smoke and Ale House

Cask: Two Brothers Bitter End Pale Ale
Ommegang Three Philosophers Quad
Oscar's Chocolate Oatmeal Stout
New Holland Mole Ocho
Boulevard Tank 7 Saison
Capital Maibock
Wexford Irish Style Cream Ale

Cowboy Monkey

Friday: Cycling for Cancer, $5, 10pm
Saturday: Hip Rock Vs. Indie Hop, $5, 10pm
Sunday: Big Dave's Trivia, free, 7pm
Tuesday: Open Mic Night, free, 10pm
Wednesday: Salsa & Tango, free, 10pm
Thursday: Miles Nielsen, $5, 10pm

Canopy Club

Friday: Eclipse: Tribute to Pink Floyd, $10 in advance, 10pm
Saturday: Laughing Prairie Dog Festival Vol. 2, $10 in advance, 8pm
Sunday Pizza, Pitcher & a Movie, Disney Favorites Beauty and the Beast 6pm; Aladdin 8pm; Toy Story 10pm
Monday: One Dollar Wild Mondays with Jobu, $1 beer and well
Tuesday: Trivia Diner: Live Game Show/The Piano Man
Wednesday:Rave to the Grave
Thursday: Justin Moore, $17 in advance, 7pm

May 19: Mastodon, $23 in advance, 6pm

Other Events

Wednesday: My birthday, buy me a beer.

CU Bars in the news; One-on-One with Mike Murphy, owner of Mike 'n Molly's

From the Buzz.

One-on-One with Mike Murphy, owner of Mike 'N Molly's

Mike ‘N Molly’s beer garden is a downtown Champaign staple. The bar has a reputable whiskey and beer selection and the beer garden features bands all summer long. While these are the well-known things about Mike ‘N Molly’s, buzz sat down with owner Mike Murphy to find out a little more.

Mike 'N Molly's is located at 105 North Market Street, in Champaign (it's not an alley).

They have one of the biggest beer gardens in town, and the location does block a lot of the long evening sun rays, with buildings to the west.

buzz What’s something the CU area might not know about Mike ‘N Molly’s?

MM: People can bring in their own food! We’re not affiliated with anyone, so bring whatever you want. If people want to have dinner in our beer garden, just bring it over. We don’t bite. We’re happy to have anyone come in.

They have a good beer selection, and some of the best Guinness in town. They offer live music many nights a week, and have some decent drink specials.

Alcohol in the News; Three Wine Company

From WCIA 3 CBS Morning Show; Illinois Homepage.net

Three Wine Company

Sam Samet from Piccadilly at the Crossing stops in to discuss wines from Three Wine Company. Piccadilly at the Crossing is located at 2508 Village Green Place.

Three Wine Company is from Clarksburg California.

Apparently the blender from Three Wine Company will be coming to town sometime soon.

Why are Mexican beers the way they are?

Have you ever wondered why Mexico has the brewing tradition they do? Why does it seem that all the beers that come out of Mexico are lagers?

Think of the Mexican beers that you are familiar with, Corona, Dos Equis, Pacifico, Modelo... what do those beers all have in common?

The answer: they are all lagers.

Have you ever gone into a Mexican restaurant and listened to the music? Doesn't it remind you of the same music you hear in a fine German restaurant?

So, why does a place that speaks predominately Spanish, have beers (and music) that pretty much have an origin in Germany?

The reason is simple, in the later half of the 19th century, there was a large amount of German immigrants into Mexico. These people are known as German Mexicans (Deutsch-Mexikaner). There was also a large amount of German immigrants during the first and second world wars.

From 1864 to 1867, Maximilian I was the emperor of Mexico. He was born Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian Joseph of Austria. He brought a lot of German colonization into Mexico during the Second Mexican Empire.

What did those people bring with them? Mostly, a Bavarian influence. This can be seen in some houses, in music, in cheese, and in BEER.

An expected style to come from a warmer area like Mexico would be an ale style of beer. In order to create a lager, beer requires cooler temperatures. This would form a need for refrigeration, since a cool, natural LAGERING facility wouldn't be available.

Most of the more common beers coming from Mexico are pale lagers. There's even a beer called Bohemia, which is a pilsner. The most common Dos Equis beer is amber, which is a Vienna style lager. Negra Modelo is now classified as a Munich Dunkel (I think of it almost as a schwarzbier). Modelo Especial is a pilsner style. All of these beers have their roots in Germanic styles (oddly there are no popular hefeweizens).

In my beer drinking years, and time spent looking at beers produced in various areas along with food styles from those areas, I've drawn some conclusions. Mexico doesn't follow any of the rules. It seems places that have historically more interesting foods, have beers that go well with those foods. Food seems to drive beer styles.

Belgian monasteries produce fine cheeses that go well with their fine beers. When spices from India started to make their way back to England, that led to a rise in IPA's and those cut the spices well.

German food (while good) seems to be rather non-spectacular in the use of spices. A schnitzel is still basically a pork chop. A sausage (regardless of how delicious) is still a sausage. These foods go well with a Vienna amber, or some other dark lager. They are hearty foods, and are served with a hearty beer. The beer isn't the most robust, it doesn't have the most hops, it doesn't have the most malts, but it goes great with the food. Good food, paired with good beer is one of life's pleasures.

Even in America, we have two styles of restaurants that go with two styles of beers. You can have a bud light with McDonalds (fast food beer with fast food grub); or you can have a North Coast Old Rasputin with a creme brulee (craft food with craft beer). Bland with bland; or great with great (and everything in between).

When I think of Mexican food, I'm not thinking about Taco Bell or any other "tex-mex" style chain. It's more of the "mom and pop" (madre y padre) operation that is authentic Mexican food. These foods use their spices, peppers, and hand made tortillas perfectly. They aren't mild dishes by any stretch of the imagination. Why are these foods commonly paired up with a beer style that seems to go best with hot dogs? It's odd that the creativity in the food didn't lead to more creativity in the beer styles.

So, to sum up; the reason that your Dos Equis Ambar tastes like it came from Vienna is because the style originally came from Vienna. The reason that style wound up in a Spanish speaking nation is because German settlers brought what they did best, make German beers.

The next time you go to a Mexican restaurant, skip the Corona. Try something on the menu that you haven't had. Try one of the beers that you haven't had. See if a Negra Modelo goes better with your food. See if the Dos Equis Amber goes better.

Then when you want to have something that's a great pairing with the food, have a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.

*addition*

I totally forgot tomorrow was Cinco de Mayo. Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The Mexicans won an unlikely battle, but ultimately, the French later took over Mexico City. After they did, they placed Maximilian I (from above) on the throne.

So, tomorrow, on Cinco de Mayo, as you are downing your cases and cases of German influenced Mexican beer, remember that you are celebrating a victory over the French; that then led to the Germanic styles that you are enjoying.