Goose Island Beer originates from Chicago in the USA and they have been producing fine beers for about 20 years and are regarded as the city’s finest and freshest hand crafted ales and lagers. They produce a great range of classic brews and some very tasty seasonal beers including a Christmas Ale which is currently being served for the winter. It’s not hard to see a draught tap of Goose Island at the bar they have a very stylish goose neck handle as the pourer- you cant miss it. Goose island have two brew pubs which any visitor to Chicago shouldn’t miss one called Wrigleyville which is in North Clark Street not far from Wrigley park and the other in beautiful Lincoln Park called Clyborn- there is no better place to taste this great beer. We visited Chicago recently and just loved the Goose Island beers, the Honkers Ale is delicious and India Pale Ale is one of the tastiest we have ever tried- and we were very partial to the Harvest Ale too. Look out for Goose Island Beer it ships to about 15 states in the US and even to the UK….Hopefully they will remember us guys down here in Australia and send some our way soon- we can’t wait! Read the rest of this entry »
Back in 1975 the Anchor Steam Brewery in San Francisco produced their first Christmas Ale, Thirty four years later the 2008 Christmas Ale follows the fine tradition and is now available for the festive season. Every year the secret recipe changes bringing Christmas Joy between November and mid January. The beer is available in 12 ounce bottles, magnums and even on draught at selected pubs throughout the USA. The beer has become so sought after many people collect the beers from season to season. Each year the label features a different tree which symbolizes the winter solstice which is only a few weeks away in the Northern Hemisphere.
Tecate is a municipality on the Baja California peninsula in Mexico wears its’ name on one of Mexico’s most popular beers- Tecate Beer. It is believed that Tecate was the first Mexican beer which was served with a slice of lime and salt- which is now common place with many of the Mexican and new designer Chelada style beers which are currently flooding the market. The beer is brewed at the Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma Brewery which dates back to 1890 and is operated by the brewers who produce other Mexican beers you might have heard of like Dos Equis, Bohemia and Sol. The beer is sold in cans like the picture here taken in downtown Tijuana and in a twist top bottle and it is also sold in a Light variety which has been on the market since 1992.
You might not know the Bull & Finch Pub by it’s name but I’m sure you will recognise it from it’s picture, it is the Cheers Pub from the popular NBC television sitcom staring Ted Danson, Woody Harrelson and Fraser star Kelsey Grammer. The series ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993- anyway back to the pub. The Exterior of the pub was used for the TV show but the inside was actually filmed in a studio. Today the pub is one of Boston’s most popular attractions and by far their most popular pub. The Bull and Finch name was dropped during the 90′s and now the pub is know as Cheers Beacon Hill. They also have another Cheers Pub at Boston’s entertainment district at Faneuil Hall, which has an interior more like the TV show pub. Both pubs offer great beer food and a Cheers gift shop and best of all it’s the place’ Where everyone knows your name”.
If you are ever in Toronto make sure you check out Steam Whistle Pilsner it is a great beer- jam packed with the freshest ingredients and none of that nasty preservatives and chemical additives so many of our beers have today. The best place to try it is at the brewery- you can’t get it any fresher than that. Just look for the giant CN Space Needle and you will find the brewery only a short walk towards the bay. The brewery offers tours of their brew house and finishes up with a taste of some freshly poured Steam Whistle, made to an old Czechoslovakian recipe using Canada’s freshest grains. The brewery not only makes one of Canada’s best beers it makes it caring for the environment with recycling and green technologies being a major part of the businesses philosophy. Look out for the beer around Ontario- and don’t forget to visit the brewery when next in Toronto- we did!
In 1984 the then US President Ronald Reagan visited the small town of Ballyporeen for a Smithwicks Ale at O’Flarrells Pub, which was later renamed the Ronald Reagan Pub in his honour. More than 20 years later the pub was dismantled and shipped from Ireland to California to become part of the magnificent Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. Here visitors can enjoy a cold Smithwicks from the same bar as the President while gazing at the huge Boeing 707 Airforce One on display and the rugged Californian Simi Valley’s harsh and unforgiving landscape. The pub has the original taps, furniture, signs and pretty much everything which greeted the Reagan’s when they visited in 84. The only difference is the exterior which was built new but keeping with the original Irish theme. The Library is about an hours drive out of LA and as well as a great pub there is a very interesting story of a man who was US president during so much change in the world.
Rolling Rock Extra Pale Lager is a Anheuser Busch product which originally came from Western Pennsylvania but now is brewed in Newmark, New Jersey. The beer is pretty easily recognised with its distinctive green bottle and painted white and blue lables, which were produced during the depression to save on printing costs and have stayed right up until now. Today Rolling Rock is exported around the world and is available in many specialty beer stores- look out for it – it’s quiet tasty. There is now also a Premium Rock Light for those who care about the carbs- look for the prancing blue stallion on the painted label.
The huge Molson Coors Brewing Company has a very tasty boutique brand available in North America called Blue Moon. They produce a Belgian stle white beer which has a distinct orange flavour, in fact many pubs serve this beer with a slice of orange, just as they do the lime and lemon with Corona. This wheat beer is a milky orange colour and is not filtered, it is spiced with both orange peel and the traditional coriander and hops. The beer is usually sold with a 5.5% alcohol vol although in some US states it is a little lower. The brewery even makes a few specialty beers during the year including a very tasty Blue Moon Pumpkin Ale which usually hits the shelves just in time for Halloween each year. You might think Yuk! Pumpkin, but trust us it is lovely and much nicer than it sounds.
The last couple of weeks we have featured Budweiser products on our You Tube video of the week, and you guessed it we are doing it again. This one’s a beauty two clever dogs, some beer and one rather sore owner. Enjoy!
If you have seen a funny beer commercial drop us a line in with the link in the comments below!
Michelob’s Dunkel Weisse is the latest product in Anheuser-Busch’s premium Michelob beer brand. This time the beer is a German style dark wheat ale and by all reports it’s pretty damm tasty. The beer has a low 12.0% of carbs for its 12 ounces and contains 2.2 grams of protein. The beer has a distinct banana and clove taste and is based on a recipe which dates back to the 1520′s. Using all malt and being unfiltered the beer uses a unique Bavarian yeast strain and is produced in St Louis Missouri. The beer has already picked up a Gold Medal in the recent North American Beer Awards. We are not yet sure what the distribution of this product outside the USA will be, but with the recent sales success of the Michelob products already on sale in most markets it probably wont be long before this is sitting on the shelves next to them.
