In revisiting all the beers I drank and reviewed in this space over the past year, I realized something: we live in a golden age of beer. In 2014, the number of breweries operating in the U.S. topped 3,000 — a threshold that hasn’t been reached since the 1870s. Some…
It’s hard to be a black guy on Saturday Night Live. There’s no splitting the workload — if a skit calls for someone playing Denzel Washington, that’s you. Kanye West? You. They want a skit featuring Jay-Z, Eddie Murphy, and President Barack Obama? Well that’s you, you, and you, baby…
You know, Mary and Joseph didn’t know where they were going on Christmas Day either. They just followed a star and the songs of angels until they ended up somewhere in the desert. Your adventure to the 15th Annual Mary X-Mas rave may be similar: You’ll look for a star…
Beer: Christmas Ale Brewery: Anchor Brewing Co. Style: Winter Warmer ABV: 5.5 percent There are certain flavors I’ve grown to associate with the holidays. Egg nog and sugar cookies are the taste of Christmas eve; maple-glazed ham epitomizes Christmas morn. But though many beers have tried to claim a place…
We know you’ve dreamed of it: being a superhero, beating up bad guys, saving the day. Until recently, it was a delusion as unattainable as getting rid of that paunch you built up over the holidays. But now there’s The Marvel Experience, an interactive tour through a super-hero universe that…
Beer: Borg Brugghús Brewery: Fenrir Taðreyktur IPA Nr. 26 Style: American IPA ABV: 6 percent This is what you get, beer snobs. This is what happens when you chase down delivery trucks carrying the newest barrel-aged stout, wait in line for hours to sample an IPA made with 42 different…
The Phoenix Coyotes are dead. We’d say good riddance — in 17 years, the old ‘Yotes only won two playoff games — but this new hockey club, the Arizona Coyotes, isn’t doing much better. At about a third of the way through the season, our guys are in the bottom…
Stumped as to what you should buy those special someones on your list? Let Chow Bella do the shopping — or at least the browsing — with our 2014 gift guides. Today: gifts for the beer geek. Beer people are generally an easy-to-please folk. They enjoy beer in all its…
Beer: Harvest Wild Hop IPA Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. Style: American IPA ABV: 6.5 percent Of the four main ingredients used to brew beer, hops get the most fanfare — and why not? Humulus Lupulus is a beautiful plant, distinctive in shape and grown for a singular, noble purpose:…
You don’t so much watch a Warren Miller film as experience it. You feel the crunch of the powder, hear the swish of the skis. Your stomach drops as you descend thousands of feet across icy mountains in seconds, then take to the sky on parachutes moments later. No Turning…
Somewhere out there, we imagine, is the ugliest sweater ever created. Its heinous, misshapen form was lovingly brought to life by wrinkly arthritic hands that knitted each clash-colored thread, jingly bell, and strobe-light reindeer nose just so. The back causes car accidents; the front scares children.That’s the sweater you’ll need…
Beer: Here Gose Nothin’ Brewery: Destihl Style: Gose ABV: 5 percent Beer is like clothing, in a way. As tastes change, certain styles fall in and out of favor with the general public; beers that were once incredibly popular in a region may be laughed off by the modern drinker…
You could drive your kids around your neighborhood this holiday season, oohing and aahing at the lame little lawn displays Jimbo from up the street put together. Or you could take your children to ZooLights, which features nearly 4 million LED bulbs shaped into luminous versions of monkeys, lions, peacocks,…
You may have heard that the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear. Wrong. The real best way? Watching other people sing loud for all to hear — especially if they’re also performing a broadway version of Elf, the 2003 Will Ferrell movie about…
Beer: Master of Disguise Brewery: Stone Brewing Co. Style: Golden Stout, I Guess? ABV: 9.7 percent Remember green ketchup? Heinz, those crazy bastards, launched an emerald-hued version of the condiment — made, I’m assuming, with ground-up leprechauns and seaweed — in 2000. It was incomprehensibly popular for about five years,…
This season’s Phoenix Suns are a hard team to figure out. They beat the Spurs, last year’s resounding winner of the NBA championship. A few weeks later, they took down the Golden State Warriors, who had zero losses until their visit to Phoenix. But the Suns also lost to Sacramento…
It’s impossible to hear the name “Charlie Murphy” and not picture a be-dreadlocked Dave Chappelle, dressed as a coked-out Rick James, yelling and kicking as he defiles Murphy’s couch. Or Prince, all mascara and jacket tassels, destroying Murphy and his crew in a game of pick-up basketball, then making everyone…
Beer: Born Yesterday Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Co. Style: Pale Ale ABV: 7.5 percent In beer, freshness matters. Brewers go to great lengths to get beer from their fermentors to your mouth in a timely fashion. The reason: science! Like most foodstuffs, beer is a perishable product. The longer it sits…
A lot of people mistakenly think Nick Swardson is gay. It’s understandable. He played Terry Bernadino, a gay, roller-blading male prostitute, in Reno 911. And Hector, an obsessive fan who stalks a male figure skater, in Blades of Glory. And a gay robot in the made-for-TV movie, Gay Robot. Plenty…
Several months ago, I took part in a judging competition for a local craft beer festival. As often occurs at such ceremonies, we began the day by tasting a calibration beer — one brew, given to every judge, that helps beer-tasters adjust their scoring so it’s in line with everyone…
Beer: Futures 10 Brewery: Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co. Style: Saison ABV: 6.5 percent Musical accompaniment to this post Musicians and brewers commonly collaborate. Sometimes the beers that come from such unions are actually pretty good (New Belgium Clutch, brewed for the metal band Clutch; Cigar City Killsner, made for monster-rockers…
Beer: Pump[KY]n Brewery: Avery Brewing Co. Style: Imperial Porter ABV: 17 percent We are now in the thick of pumpkin-beer season. Beer labels, like leaves on trees, have shifted to shades of brown, black and orange. Pie spices and pumpkin puns can be found all over the place, and everyone…
