Results tagged “drinkinginboston”

You can’t beat a nice strong Belgian beer on a cold winter night. Then again, you can’t beat it on a hot sweaty summer day, either. Some would have it that you can’t beat a Belgian beer period. But what exactly are they referring to when they say “Belgian?”

Women and craft beer. Are they mutually exclusive? Is the world of craft beer a man’s world? If not, why does it seem so few women participate in it? [Must the "fairer" sex be limited to cocktails? --Ed.]

Ever been afraid that you’re being judged by what kind of beer you’re drinking? Ever judge others based on what they’re drinking? Of course you have. Well now one market research company, Mindset Media, thinks they have cracked the code on beer drinkers’ personalities.

When was your first time? And where? We all have a story. When was the first time you sipped a beer, held the glass up to the light reverentially, and said, “I kind of like this stuff”? Drinking in Boston’s survey of beer lovers last week also included this question: What changed your beer-drinking life? And then, what beer are you drinking now?

What is good? And who says so? How bad is bad? Drinking in Boston performed a quick survey of several beer lovers last week to see what the good beer drinker’s position was on several key beer questions. This week we’ll look at “good” beer versus “bad” beer.

Chocolate and beer. What would the world do without the Belgians? To celebrate their accomplishments in at least one of those categories, people will be flocking to The Return of the Belgian Beer Fest next weekend, October 16th and 17th.

What can you find more of around Halloween than girls in slutty-nun costumes? Pumpkin beers. They can’t all be good, though; only one can be king of the pumpkins. Here at Bostonist we tried a small selection of the beers in search of the best.

Today is an special and important day for anyone who enjoys a good pour of Guinness. It is the 250th anniversary of the day Arthur Guinness signed the lease on the St. James’s Gate brewery in Dublin. 1759: that’s a lot of beer.

Two new beers have been developed recently, both involving the word wet. One is wet hopped, the other, well, has been spit in.

Nip in the air, colors on the leaves, new television episodes on the tube: all in a bottle! Yes, it’s time for harvest ales and Oktoberfests. Again, we at Bostonist sacrificed a whole evening to test some of this season’s offerings. These are the results.

You walk into a bar. You’ve never been there and you’re unfamiliar with its beer list. In fact (like many bars) it doesn’t even have a beer list, so you’re forced to walk close to the bar and squint at the (possibly many) taps. What do you choose? The bartender is impatient and wants an answer now. Your friends have all ordered complicated cocktails, but you just want something simple. Something reliable. So you go for your old standby.

We here at Bostonist, in an effort to save pennies and look really cool, are about to begin brewing our own beer. To do this right we’ve been studying up. So today’s lesson: malt.

In the past few years it has become very fashionable to “go green.” Though this movement may have recently become more trendy than altruistic, Bostonist admires people’s attempts to rescue our planet and tried a few organic beers to honor this development.

Fruit beers: people either love them or steer away from them like they were wearing a Yankee’s jersey. We here at Bostonist wondered if there was any middle ground; any beers that both camps would like. So we swallowed our pride, put aside our prejudices, and sacrificed an evening to trying a mixed sixer of fruit beer. Here are the results:

You’re sitting on the back porch, beer in hand, beads of condensation rolling down its sides. It’s warm outside, very, and you wipe the sweat off your forehead. You take a long swig. It’s a summer beer: light and refreshing and everything you need for a steamy summer afternoon.

The weather may be bad for sunbathing, but it’s always good weather for drinking beer! Several events are slated for July in the New England area that will properly celebrate the beverage.

The huge room teemed with beer lovers. Some displayed their love on their chest with a T-shirt from a favorite brewery. Others showed their dedication through their clipboards and spreadsheets with columns for aroma, taste, and feel. Everyone was out for a good time and for good beer, both of which were to be found. They also were all in search of the perfect brew.

Attention all Dogfish Head fans! Tonight Redbones is putting on a Dogfish extravaganza: 10 kegs and one cask on tap! That’s a lot of Dogfish. The event will be held in the Underbones bar, with a cash bar and free appetizers from 5 to 7 pm. It’s being billed as a “pre-fest” to the American Craft Beer Fest this weekend. And don’t worry if you can’t make the party; there will be Dogfish Head all weekend long.

We’ve been living a carefree, tax-free lifestyle in the world of liquor for a while now. That all could change soon. Lawmakers finalizing the 2010 budget are proposing a hefty tax on alcohol. They have raised the general sales tax from 5% to 6.25% and are now applying that to the sale of all beer, wine, and alcohol sold in stores.

It’s summer time and you know what that means: beer festivals sprouting up all over the place. In the next two weeks you can join BeerAdvocate at their always-amazing American Craft Beer Fest, visit the Harpoon Brewery, or ride your bike over to Redbones.

B is for beer, not for boy? That’s right it is, and it’s about time someone acknowledged it. Tom Robbins, author of B Is for Beer, recognized the place for the superior beverage at the top of the alphabet. (Perhaps A is for alcohol.) Robbins’ small book is billed as “A children’s book for grown-ups” or “A grown-up book for children,” and to be honest it’s hard to tell which is more accurate. The book is supposedly written as though for a small child, but with plenty of winks to the adults who are actually reading it. However, the prose is clearly aimed at adults, but he writes to them as if they slipped back into first grade.

All the proceeds from tonight’s “Drink a Better Brew” five-course beer dinner at Masona Grill will benefit the nonprofit West Roxbury Main Streets. Main Streets aims “to promote and enhance businesses in the Centre and Spring Street corridor” in West Roxbury. It’s hard to pass up a five-course beer dinner on its own, but when the proceeds go to a good cause, it seems almost wrong to.

Spring has come to Boston and with it, graduation season. And with graduation season come the herds of parents, siblings, and friends who want to take part in the big celebration and to seemingly annoy the hell out of every graduate in the city. We at Bostonist pondered this problem for a while and thought, “What better way to ease the tension than to drink?” We realize that liquor is not the answer to all of life’s problems, but having a place to go to entertain the masses will certainly help solve this problem at least.

Well, they’re not quite old enough to drink yet, but they’re certainly old enough to celebrate a birthday in style. Cambridge Brewing Company is turning 20! On Friday, May 8, and Saturday, May 9, both beer and fun will be flowing at the CBC in Kendall Square from 5pm to closing time.

Like a lady who likes her beer? Then you’ll love these women. This is a group of women who know their beer: know how to design it, make it, package it, write about it, and anything else you can think of that has to do with the brew. Who are these fabulous females, you ask? They are The Pink Boots Society.

Next week the annual Craft Brewers Conference comes to Boston. This means nearly 2,600 people in the brewpub or brewery businesses descend upon the city to learn about brewing and share information about craft beer. This means a lot of lecturing, schmoozing, and, what else…? Oh, yeah: drinking.

You are frequently teased for being a beer snob. You are suspicious of any six-pack under $8.99. You will not go to a party if their keg is from a company that can afford Superbowl commercial slots. We suggest a movie to go to and drag any good (or bad) beer-loving friends to: Beer Wars: Brewed in America.

Get real…for real? Yeah, really: real ale is here. Next week the New England Real Ale Exhibition (NERAX) is coming to Somerville for its 13th festival. From Wednesday the 25th to Saturday the 28th, real ales from the UK and New England will be on display and on tap at the George Dilboy Post (the VFW) in Davis Square, Somerville. Half the beers will be brewed in the UK and the other half mostly in New England with a few from afar. The festival benefits the VFW as well as the campaign for real ale.

Everyone wants the best. Everyone promises nothing but the best. Few times in life do you ever get the best of anything. That is why we’re taking particular notice of this year’s Best Of lists. The first magazine to announce its contenders for the best of all of Boston for 2009 is The Phoenix. (It may be a little early, but they want to be the best of the bests.)

The dinner bell’s a-ringin’! If you’re feeling a mite peckish and thirsty on top of that, try a few of these beer dinners coming up.