From an editorial standpoint, we are going to mix things up a bit. Instead of just reviewing beers via a Podcast, we’re going to do it the old fashion way - by typing some of them up. We’ll still give you all the witty, dry (err. drunk) humor that you have to come to expect from our first two Podcasts, but in written format.

In any case, we have updated to Reviews page to identify the beers we have already reviewed, and the ones coming.

P.S., Many of our visitors may not know that we also have an online forum for your hops pleasure. There really isn’t much content as of yet, but we hope to get some people excited about participating. How does free beer sound? Oh wait, that must violate some sort of interstate law; how about the enternal gratitude and admiration of your fellow beer man?

Microbrewery:
Generally a microbrewery makes and distributes less than 15,000 barrels of beer yearly. The beer is packaged and distributed for off the premises sales. Some brew pubs meet this criteria, but I would still define them as a brew pub.

Regional Brewery:
A regional brewery packages and distributes between 15,000 and 1,000,000 barrels yearly.

Large Brewery:
A brewery that produces more than 1,000,000 barrels of beer annually. Anheuser/Busch, Miller etc.

Beer Marketing Company:
A company who puts their label on a beer that is produced for them.

On the other hand we have a nice selection of brew pubs. Some of the local ones in the Des Moines area are Rock Bottom Brewery (try their Stout, especially with desserts), Granite City Food & Brewery, Court Avenue Brewing, Raccoon River Brewing and Olde Main Brewing in Ames. Again look for future Podcast episodes on each of these local beers.

All I can say to anyone wanting to do this procedure, is to be sure you backup everything prior to upgrading (like it says in the instructions.) Especially, if you have custom themes in place, as it seems the install wipes them out. When I first went to the homepage, only a blank screen appeared, because our theme had disappeared. OH NO! I just about had a stroke. But, In the end, all I had to do was copy back our custom themes and javascript files and the crisis was averted…

How does it work? The new version of Wordpress is spectacular. The enhanced posting mechinism (WYSIWYG) is certainly welcome. And the AJAX functionality is a nice bonus.

CHEERS!

Our second Podcast is official.

In episode #2, we head out to the San Francisco bay, to review a beer that has been virtually handmade since 1896.

Download as a MP3 file.
iTunes users, click here

Links from the Podcast:

• http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beers/

Remember these helpful hints:

• Don’t drink if you are under the age of 21.
• Offer to be the designated driver, and drink only non-alcoholic beverages.
• Eat foods that are high in protein or carbohydrates if you are drinking alcohol.
• If another guest is having too much to drink, engage them in conversation to help slow their rate of drinking.
• Stop drinking alcoholic beverages about two hours before the party is over. Your body will then have time to absorb the alcohol you have consumed.
• Be a friend. If another guest has had too much to drink, help your host not let them drive. Offer to drive them home. Whatever you do, don’t give in. Friends don’t let friends drink and drive!

From TheHopsReview.com: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I can’t believe it, we finally made a Podcast. Turns out, this process isn’t exactly as easy as you would think. I think we spend over three hours trying to record a basic nine minute segment. At least we learned a lot in the process and had a good time doing it.

In any case, in this episode, Paul and I review Red Hook ESB amber ale. The consensus? Well, you’ll have to listen to the Podcast to find out…

Download as a MP3 file.
iTunes users, click here

Links from the Podcast:

• http://redhook.com/ales_esb1.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tettnang
• http://www.ebrew.com/hops/willamette.htm