If there is one way in which beer falls flat to its grape-based partner in alcoholic frivolity, wine, it is in its lack of ceremony. Popping a cork, smelling, swirling, these are all things enjoyed by wine connoisseurs with the regularity of a religious ritual. Beer is about drinking. It…
We interrupt this regularly scheduled Brew Review to bring you a taste sensation direct from Belgium given to us by a fellow beer connoisseur. You may have already guessed by the frothing beer float (that’s what I said) floating over there on the right of the screen that today we’re…
There’s no question that the land of beer is populated by a dizzying array of bizarre mascots. From arrogant bastards to fat tires and even John C. McGinley as commissioner of the “more taste league,” beer aisles are stocked with creatures staring at you in the hopes you’ll pick them…
I suspect that the reason I’m reviewing Budweiser American Ale today has much more to do with the subliminal messages I received after seeing this new brew’s commercial about thirty times this week than a genuine interest. Yet even if my brain now belongs to the Budweiser collective this still…
When life gives you lemons you make lemonade if you’re in the habit of adhering to worn out sayings. When life gives you peaches, I say make beer and it sems our friends at Four Peaks Brewery feel the same way. Today’s brew: Four Peaks’ Arizona Peach. Is this drink…
No, I’m not going to flash you my bum despite the headline up there. It’s much too cold out for that. Haven’t you heard that Winter is upon us? Naturally that means Christmas has come early in the form of the next round of seasonals. Today we’ll be looking at Full…
Heading off into the great unknown world outside my office window glass on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, one thing was clearly set in my mind: beer. I needed one and a good one at that. I joined forces with my comrades from New Times at the local pub where we…
By Jonathan McNamara It was a day of firsts. We won’t lie. There are many perks to working at a newspaper, but few stack up to receiving a beer in the mail for the first time (subtle hint to other brewers). Yet not only was this our first time to…
By Jonathan McNamara They’ll put just about anything in beer these days. We’ve already seen red rice, juniper berries and pumpkin, but I never counted on popping open a cold bottle of chocolate beer. Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock comes in a bottled decorated with an ornate silver label. As I…
By Jonathan McNamara There is one election day ritual that I’ve missed out on twice now thanks to my decision to be a member of the press instead of the sit at home and watch our country’s fate on CNN crowd: the post-election beer. So when I found myself with…
By Jonathan McNamara Once again I assembled a crew of able-bodied Phoenix New Times employees to the break room for a Brew Review. Sitting between the rows of plastic coffee cups and packages of creamer, a large, black sack awaited us. Inside was a substance with a reputation so vile…
By Jonathan McNamara Last week’s look at seasonal brews introduce us to a selection of ales and lagers that hinted (and in some cases hit you upside the face) with seasonal flavors. But there was one type of beer decidedly lacking from our selection: the porter. Every year Four Peaks…
By Jonathan McNamara Ah! Smell that crisp, autumn air! It’s the time of the year that we put our hefeweizens and dust off our appetites for fall seasonal brew. To help you decide which tasty seasonal to push down your gob, we at New Times carried out a complex experiment…
By Jonathan McNamara What makes a rogue? I couldn’t help wondering as I stumbled over to the Rogue Web site after sampling their Dead Guy Ale. The qualifications are numerous (ten to be exact) and include such gems as “rogues pursue the long shot” and “rogues ignore the accepted patterns…
By Jonathan McNamara I know, I know. Rest assured that we’ll be diving back into your regularly scheduled dose of legitimate brew review next week (in fact, I’m currently securing some samples at the recommendation of Al the Pal) but this time around I’d like to focus on something that…
By Jonathan McNamara I haven’t enjoyed it (not entirely true) but lately I’ve been sucking down a lot of sweet-tasting beers in order to prevent you, the reader, from following in my sickeningly sweet foot steps. Though I’ve penned these saccharine-laced reviews in the hopes of assisting you in your…
By Jonathan McNamara It’s a fond childhood memory based on a last minute solution from my dad. I was attending summer camp and had to pack a bagged lunch each day. To keep my food refrigerated in the traveling medium of a paper bag, pops would freeze boxed Minute Maid…
By Jonathan McNamara Be not free of worries when you face the inebriated monk statues that stand guard in the various sections of Papago Brewing in Scottsdale. Behind their calm exterior lies a secret: they brew beer not with tender love and care but with a balls-to-the-wall sense of the…
By Jonathan McNamara Before pineapple was packaged in fruit cups or placed next to Canadian bacon on stuffed-crust pizzas, it was a symbol for “welcome.” Take a look at the older towns on the East Coast and you’ll see pineapples built right into the architecture. It makes sense then that…
By Jonathan McNamara “Can I help you find something,” said a genuinely enthusiastic grocery store employee as I stood in front of the beer section. “No thanks,” I replied. “I’ve found what I was after, I’m just trying to decide which one of these to get.” I was referring to…
By Jonathan McNamara Here on Brew Review we’ve analyzed beer from a religious perspective; we’ve looked at it in terms of refreshment; we’ve criticized certain bottles for their blatant novelty and more. Today we’ll be looking at beer as a mood enhancer. I’d just popped in to Casey Moore’s Oyster…
By Jonathan McNamara I’ve been told by several family members and friends that the number of drinks one should consume when looking to have a good time is three. “Thou shalt drink only three,” they would say. “No more…no less.” I was told not to drink four drinks or only…
