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Live Blog at Idle Hands Bourbon and Beer Night

February 15, 2012

Hello Beer Friends! Once again we find ourselves at the lovely Idle Hands for the (hopefully legendary) Bourbon and Beer Night. We have the pleasure of Breckenridge Brewery’s company, one of our favorites from the far away land of Colorado. We are looking forward to the always phenomenal Vanilla Porter and something called the 72 Imperial, which is a new one for us, which is always nice. Stay tuned…….

Phil’s Pre-Game #1 Founders Red Rye – always one of my favorites, and just as good this week on draft as it was last week for the Founders event. A good mix of bitter and sweet, the rye doesn’t disappoint.

Brad’s First Pre-Game Victory Yakima Glory – this Black IPA always surprises me because it doesn’t have the roasted malt taste I find with most Black IPA’s. This is always surprisingly drinkable and delicious.

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Live Blog at Idle Hands Bourbon and Beer Night

February 8, 2012

Hello beer friends nation!!! Phil and Brad here to bring you the play by play for the bourbon and beer night here at Idle Hands bar in NYC. Tonight we have Founder’s Brewing gracing us with some brews with a special appearance by Illegal Mezcal for the Bourbon section.

We are hanging with our special guest tonight, David from Libatious.com so he’ll chime in on the Founders tastings…

We are definitely excited, but we’re a little early so we started with some appetizers:

Phil’s pre-game: Rogue Chipotle Ale – being an Oregonian native Rogue Always has a special place in my heart. This one is not really what you would expect. I was thinking it would be more of a pepper taste, but not so. Mostly what I get is the pale ale taste with hint of the smokiness from the peppers, and maybe just a tingle, but no heat. Very good.

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Empire Brewing night at Idle Hands NYC

January 25, 2012

Hello Beer Friends Nation!!!!

Phil here tonight we are live logging from the awesome basement bar Idle Hands in New York City for Empire Brewing’s tasting night. The brewery is joined by Finger Lakes Distillery for a little compare and contrast. Paul and Graham will do the comparing and I will probably be the contrasting opinion……so sit tight, we’re gonna grab an intro beer and a burger and when the party gets started we’ll let you in on the fun!

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Phil’s First: we have started off the evening with the Finger Lakes Distillery White Pike Whiskey. I am definitely the farthest thing from a whiskey fan here at The Beer Friends, but I have to say that this one out of all of the times I have had whiskeys in the past, this is the ONLY time I have not been completely turned off and can finish the one shot taster. I actually could have a full serving of this, which coming from me, says a lot.

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Video Demonstration: Open a beer bottle with a piece of paper

September 20, 2011

Hello Beer Friends Nation!

In our never ending quest to improve the overall quality of everyone’s beer drinking experience we try and find little tidbits of knowledge that might help you out in a jam.  To that end we present to you a video that our colleagues over at Lifehacker found showing you how to open a beer bottle using one simple sheet of 8.5″X11″ regular printer paper.  A perfect piece of know-how, in my opinion, if you find yourself in the office with a sixpack, your bottle opener on your keychain broke last night and Bob (the other guy in the office with a bottle opener keychain) already left.  Take a look, you never know when it might come in handy to either impress a cute girl or win a bar bet, to say nothing of opening your favorite brew.

Video Demonstration: Open a beer bottle with a piece of paper.

 

From Lifehacker found on Instructables

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Empire Brewing night at Rattle ‘n Hum: Hangover Edition!

September 19, 2011

We had a great time at Rattle n’ Hum last night at the Empire Brewing Company event.  Being a fan of the Empire Cream Ale I was excited to try some of the brewery’s other offerings.  Of course, they did not disappoint.  The “Dragons” were the standouts to me. I tried both and am interested to try these, and more like these, again.  The addition of the basil to the Belgian style was great, and it almost got Phil to call a Belgian ale delicious…

If you  missed out last night, NEVER FEAR! Empire is hitting NY Craft Beer Week hard and you should make sure you don’t miss it.

They have 2 events scheduled tonight; one at Spring Lounge and at Puck Fair. If you miss those, then you can hit up Dive Bar tomorrow night.

I suggest you try to get out to one of these events, and check below for what Phil and I thought of the night as it unfolded.

-Paul

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Posted in Article, Beers, Brewery, Event, Live Blog | 2 Comments »

Wait…Who owns that brewery?

September 13, 2011

 

After a good conversation with a friend of mine about the wonders and wiles of the MolsonCoors company vs the Belgian Juggernaut InBev, I stumbled across this neat little Infographic on a sweet little website called coolinfographics.com.  It was put together by Philip H Howard  at Michigan State University and is a really great way to show the various relationships of some of the top over-arching beer conglomerates, and who they own in the craft beer world.

Granted it’s not the most comprehensive guide to the craft beer world, but I would be willing to bet there’s at least one ownership connection that might surprise you.  Take a look and let us know which one was a shock!

Show me the beer people!

Philip H Howard at MSU via CoolInforgraphics.com

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Posted in Article, Beers | 1 Comment »

Idle Hands Learn Beer Avery: Live Blog

September 7, 2011

Here we are, Brad and Phil, and our table partner and guest blogger Crystal (follow her on twitter @chhchh ) at the fantastic Idle Hands Bar for their Learn Beer And Bourbon event.

First up are the bourbons from Knob Creek

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Posted in Bars, Beer Review, Beers, Live Blog | 2 Comments »

The Stags Head Blues Brothers Event Live blog

May 31, 2011

Shout out to Nick @ Stags head!!! Go see this man!!

Phil’s First- Oskar Blues G’Knight – Always my favorite from Oskar. Holds up at this great event. Just the right malty seedbeds with a hoppy bite to start the night off.

Brad’s First- Oskar Blues Ten Fidy – what else on a hot night but a stout… Wait… Somethings are just so good you need to get them. With no Hungarian Oak Aged available (See: The Pony Bar Oskar Blues Night) I settled on a brew I always enjoy – Ten Fidy, dark, malty and delicious.

Brad’s Second- Two Brothers Northwind Imperial Stout – I like a lot of stuff Two Brothers does, but this is no Imperial Stout, not nearly as heavy as the Ten Fidy, but this is unfair – like trying to follow Michael Jordan you’re never gonna be as good (Read: LeBron James).

Phil’s Second- Two Brothers Northwind Imperial Stout – thankfully I don’t really like basketball so I’m unbiased to my interpertaion…….and that means I liked it. Good and deep malty roasted goodness with a nice coffee sidecar attachment to the flavor. Definitely a repeat offender for my Taste buds.

Phil’s Third- Left Hand Sawtooth – always a fantastic way to round out the evening. This is one I never fail to have if it’s offered. Perfect for the back of the bell curve.

Brad’s Third- 21st Amendment Monks Blood – classic, I’ve had this on tap a couple places and this is always enjoyable. This doesn’t taste like rotten fruit (Phil) but like a nice mixture of light fruity taste but still a beer. No overpowering notes makes this very light and drinkable.

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Posted in Bars, Beers, Brewery, Event, Live Blog | 1 Comment »

Live Blog of Oregon Beers night at The Stag’s Head

May 18, 2011

As a peace offering to the West Coast, The Stag Head has graciously hosted an Oregon Beers night here in NYC! At least one of us is SUPER excited for the possibilities, let’s see what we have in store from Rogue, Dick’s and Elysian Breweries:

Phil’s 1st – Elysian Men’s Room Red: a good staple kind of red ale. A little coppery on the aftertaste, but was an excellent way to start the evening, a good malty ending helps bring the flavor forward.

Brad’s 1st – Elysian Jasmine IPA: This was a bit of a surprise because I was expecting a more flowery hop because of the name (I’m a native male). This brew was good but could’ve been better… However I’ve had other Elysian stuff so I’m looking forward to more.

Phil’s 2nd – Dick’s Danger Ale: a good choice for the second round. A good showing from he malts involved, but I missed the hops that were supposed to round out the taste. The feel was a little on the thin side, but definitely worth a try.

Brad’s 2nd – Full Sail IPA: a decent IPA, although I enjoy a hoppier IPA. When your favorite IPA’s are Bengali Tiger and Pale Ale is Dale’s a lighter hopped IPA just doesn’t do it… The thrill is gone.

Phil’s 3rd – Full Sail LTD 05: I had high hopes for this one, and it came close to my hopes and dreams. A good middle range ale, gets a little bread-y I’d you let it get warm. Maybe good for a first round, but I think better could be found.

Brad’s 3rd – Elysian Immortal IPA: This is cheating but I’ve had this beer before and I really like it. It’s a hoppier IPA (see above) and that’s the way, ug huh ug huh I like it!

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Posted in Beers, Brewery, Event, Live Blog | 1 Comment »

The Beer Friends Final 4 2011 Video Recap – Our Story So Far

April 10, 2011

Hello Beer Friends Nation!  We’ve had some crazy competition this year to get here, the Final Four beers that will battle it out!  Our two matches are Founders Brewing VS Nebraska Brewing and Speakeasy VS Cape Cod!  Just for you we have a video with the four of us summing up the last few rounds and making our predictions for the Championship!  If you’re good, we’ll show you the new “Hash Tag” dance move brought to you by The Beer Friends.  Take a look and don’t forget to vote!

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Posted in Article, Beers, BFFF, Brewery, Event | Leave a Comment »

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