Sprecher Brewery from Wisconsin coming tomorrow
Yup, a classic from the original brewing city, Milwaukee, is hitting the shelves tomorrow. Welcome, Sprecher Brewing! We’re making our list and checking it twice today, including some of the Brewmasters Premium Reserve Series. Can I get a woot?

Tweet for beer at Bele Chere
The Mountain XPress is offering beer for tweets this weekend to help them cover Bele Chere. Basic rules are: Have five or more posts with the #belechere tag and/or upload pictures or videos and if they use either, show up at 3pm on Sunday at Asheville Brewing on Coxe and they will buy you a beer.

Foothills got label approval for more bottles
Beernews.org reports that Foothills Brewery got label approval for Hoppyum IPA, Torch Pilsner and Peoples Porter. While the post makes this seem imminent, beer spies tell us that bottles are at least a few months down the line. Look for them on our shelves later this year. *cross fingers*

The End of History
In the on-going-school-boys-on-the-playground-pissing-contest that is for “the world’s strongest beer,” Brewdog’s forthcoming The End of The World was leaked to the masses yesterday. The End of The World is the latest (possibly dumbest) incarnation by Scotland’s Brewdog. There are only 12 bottles being made at the cost of $800-$1,100 per bottle …with the actual bottle stuffed into road kill converted to a bottle vessel by a taxidermist. Wait, what? Yup, not joking. You can’t make this crap up. The best news, in my humble opinion, is that Brewdog states this is the last in their high ABV experiments, and thank god, already. We like the brewery, we love their marketing, but we’re 100% over the hype. Hopefully, they’ll return to brewing beer now instead of scouring the Scottish Highlands for dead squirrels.

Everyone’s an entrepreneur
A homeless man broke into a Northern California bar and reopened it, posing as the new owner. A+ for ingenuity, but ultimately, still a failing grade.

Rock Art Brewery wins trademark battle for “Vermonster” over drinks giant, Monster Energy
Well, well, Monster Energy, we learned a little lesson in PR over the past week and a half, didn’t we? Early last week, Monster Energy sent a cease and desist letter to teenie, tiny Rock Art Brewery in Vermont over their beer named Vermonster. Now, they didn’t go after Brooklyn Brewery (which could possibly defend themselves) or any of the other breweries that use the word “monster” in the name. They likely planned to work their way up, setting precedents along the way if it led to court. Well, the little brewery, its fans and the craft beer industry, unleashed a firestorm of battles via e-mail, websites, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. Yesterday—a little over ten days later—the drinks giant bowed out, acknowledging a loss of sales and damaged reputation. Woot! Did you help us? Want to show your support? Buy Rock Art Brewery “Vermonster” t-shirt here. Power to the people (and social media)!

Fresh hop season!
I’ll make a confession. I’m not an Oktoberfest fan. At all. I sampled the few from Germany that we can actually get, along with a bunch of domestic craft and there was only one in the entire bunch that did anything for me. It’s not that the beer is/was bad, it’s just not my style. But one thing keeps me going through those short four weeks or so: Fresh hop season. I LOVE the hop harvest. Literally, I get giddy with excitement because nothing beats sticking your nose in a glass of subtle fresh-hop ale. But again, it’s short, so get them while you can: Founder’s Harvest, Sierra Nevada Estate Harvest, Sierra Nevada Wet-Hop  Harvest, Left Hand Warrior Wet-hop, and Weyerbacher Harvest. Great Divide Fresh Hop and Sweetwater’s Wet Dream are on their way soon!

The FTC is about to put the smackdown on beer bloggers who accept beer from breweries
In other blow to blogging, after the recent affiliate issues, the FTC is going to make beer writers/reviewers disclose if they received said beer from a brewery. Beervana has a good quote: “…It ghettoizes blogs–who must make this disclosure–but leaves the mainstream press alone.” I would expect any decent blogger to let me know where the beer came from, but breweries send releases to publications all the time for review. Is there really a difference? There are many beer bloggers who also write for said magazines, so we expect this is going to be a murky issue at best. For the record, we never endorse in full review form on our blog. It’s inappropriate. It’s endorsement enough that we hand-select and stock a particular beer (if we can get it).

Boston Beer Co. and Weihenstephan to collaborate on “new beer style”
I’m probably the only person on Earth completely underwhelmed by this, but Boston Beer Co. (a.k.a. Samuel Adams) and the world’s oldest brewery, Weihenstephan of Germany, are collaborating to brew a “new beer style.” I don’t even know what that means. Reuters has the statement: “Dr. Josef Schradler, managing director of Germany’s Weihenstephan Brewery, and Jim Koch, brewer and founderof Samuel Adams, announced their partnership and plans to unveil a new style of collaboratively brewed beer next spring.” There was a big PR hoo-hah, photo-op etc., yesterday, but why all the fuss? Breweries have been collaborating for years now. I like Boston Beer Co. and Samuel Adams: They have the funding to put craft beer in front of people. Jim Koch has done amazing things for craft beer. But all this fuss over something that’s been done before (way, way before) leaves me feeling stupified. I also think this quote is contradictory: “While keeping an eye on tradition, the Samuel Adams brewers continue to innovate and explore boundary-pushing beer styles and brewing techniques.” Utopias is hardly tradition. So, what is this marriage of Reinheitsgebot and “extreme beer” going to produce? Here’s the description: “The champagne-like beer will weigh in at more than 10 percent alcohol by volume, yet remain very dry and crisp, shattering the preconceived notions of what can be done following the Reinheitsgebot Law.” Huh.

Infiltration
This is just a great blog I picked-up from someone on Twitter today. It’s creepy. And I love it!

Brewgrass is next weekend
If you’ve not been reading your email or visiting the new site, we’ve been raffling Brewgrass Festival tickets off at every tasting this month. If you missed out on tickets, you’ve got one more chance next Thursday at the (gonna be kick-ass) Brewdog Tasting. $5/raffle ticket as a donation to FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Don’t miss you! We’re trying to help you AND help the Parkway! Spread the love.

Dear Brewgrass: Please update your website
Speaking of, the Brewgrass Festival website has not been updated in forever. (They’re also on Twitter @Brewgrass, but not really using it.) We’re a week away from the festival and it’s clear that the brewers list is not up to date. It’s mostly local/regional breweries listed; the rest are balanced out by only seven other craft breweries around the country (so far, anyway). This scares us, because: Beer spies have reported industry bickering about our homegrown beer fest with rumors that many breweries who are usually in attendance will not be coming this year. [UPDATE: EdgyMama reports that there are in fact 42 breweries coming to Brewgrass this year. Thanks, Beer Goddess!]

Asheville named #2 runner-up in Bon Appetit’s “America’s Foodiest Small Town”
Yup, we’re foodies alright! You can read about it here. Portland, Maine was the winner this year. What is it with Asheville competing with both Portlands? Beer on one coast and food on the other!

Pair up those end-of summer tomatoes with beer
Kasper on Tap has a great suggestion to make use of your tomato bounty. Obviously, Great Lakes Brewing is not available in NC, but we could make suggestions for replacements. Go on, have yourself a little beer dinner pairing at home! Fun!

More weirdness from Florida
The more I read, the more I think FARK is onto something about strange goings-on in that state. Check this out. A man stole a beer intentionally to get arrested, so he could go to jail for “three hots and a cot.” The reality of that is pretty sad. And, he demanded to finish that beer before being hauled off. Oy.

Here are the rest of the new beers this week, full of pumpkin and Oktoberfests. Oh, that up there? Oktoberfest Barbie! Who knew?

AYINGER Oktoberfest*
ALVINNE Podge Oak-aged Bourgogne Barrel* (extremely limited!)
BROOKLYN BREWERY Oktoberfest*
BROOKLYN BREWERY Post Road Pumpkin Ale*
DUCK-RABBIT Wee-Heavy*
FLYING DOG Dogtoberfest*
FOUNDERS BREWING Breakfast Stout*
HIGHLAND BREWING Clawhammer Oktoberfest*
LEFT HAND Oktoberfest*
SHIPYARD Pumpkinhead Ale*
SMUTTYNOSE Pumpkin Ale*
TERRAPIN Gamma Ray*

Not feeling so creative on the writing front today, so here is hubby’s YouTube debut. Awesome! (Whole Asheville trip write-up here.) Been Tweeting, though, because that’s sort-of brainless. Twitter can be really funny if you pull out random stuff. So here is a montage of scrumptious tidbits my fellow Tweeps shared today.

@justinthesouth: have you seen this? http://bit.ly/CTeQ

@servo3000: I need someone in Tallahassee that can carve something out of a block of cheese.

@itswendylou: @bruisinales we need to spread the gospel of #milkthistle

@RaiseYourPints: Mississippi needs your help! http://raiseyourpints.com/join

@FireflyVodka: A protest I can get behind… “Obama – Bring Back Arrested Development!”

@fullsteam: Four years ago today, we popped the cap on #beer in NC! Congrats to all. Raise a pint today!

@PasteMagazine: It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia Christmas Special http://bit.ly/1662Ga

@bruisinales Great input on @ratebeer: “Saying ‘Belgium beer’ is like saying ‘America beer’ or ‘Germany beer.’ Horribly, grammatically incorrect.”

@joeyflash: Is it weird that I’m really enjoying this rerun of desperate housewives?

@ssspoonah: When I am in a foul mood, I just need to watch this and then I’m ok again. http://bit.ly/JEvHW

@jakebible: Les Paul shall be missed. I shall shred on my uke tonight in his honor.

RIP Les Paul.

For the record, I am sick of the hearing about “The Beer Summit.” Great googly-moogly, could anything have been blown more out of proportion? As if the whole situation wasn’t bad enough, racially, the spin-off that came from the choice of beverages leveraged the whole thing over the wall of insanity. Look, I agree, the beer was shite. But the backlash that occurred from the craft beer community was a little much. In a great wave of social networking, the craft beer world managed to “organize” a 6 p.m. Craft Beer Toast at the same time of the Summit. We don’t know if this was first a “yay” to the POTUS choosing beer as a mediating factor or a “nay” against the crappy beer on the menu. We are big proponents of craft, of course, so don’t misunderstand me. I like a good rally, but this whole thing was so way over the top. And are we so utterly stupid as Americans, that every writer, blogger, commentator, had to focus on this thing for an entire week? Even Obama tried to calm the madness.

Just look as these rich gems of journalistic genius:
“Four Guys Sipping Cold Ones”
“Henry Gates, cop chill out with president”
“A very private ‘teachable moment‘”
“The Nation: Beer and Sympathy”

And my personal favorite, coming straight from the Fair & Balanced Network… “Group: Beer Summit Should Be Lemonade”

The protest is being organized by Pray at the Pump, an organization that held group prayers for divine intervention to lower fuel prices.

Beer sends the “wrong message to our nation’s youth who are becoming alcoholics at young ages,” Rocky Twyman, founder of Pray at the Pump, said in a statement. “Whether or not he likes it, President Obama is a role model for all the youth in America. His actions count.”

The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union also has objected to the beer summit. “There are so many other beverages he could have chosen that would have served just as well,” said president Rita K. Wert, suggesting lemonade or iced tea.

Holy hell, our country loves to wrap itself up in fake crisis while avoiding the real ones and preach “sin.” Ah, hell, I guess I’ll go have a beer. And we hope Obama does, too, because if any job will make you crave a relaxing brew, it’s probably being President of the United States.

Gosh, I am just so amazed at what news this is, we were sort-of hoping it would blow over before this week began. Sure, beer is wonderful peace offering, but the “what-will-they-have” debate has been going on for days. “Which beer is the best?” “Will it be craft?” Well, the short answer is probably not, according to USAToday. Blue Moon for Crowley; Beck’s or Red Stripe for Gates; and Bud for Obama. Breaks my heart. It really does.

Craft brewers: Ship the White House some good beer, would you? Thanks!

And this is why you don’t want a beer tax…
As I’ve mentioned before on the dear ol’ bloggy blog, the UK pubs are suffering immensely from beer taxes. Accordingly to Bloomberg, 52 pubs are closing a WEEK. Holy crap. That is just insane. The total number of closings total 2,337 in the last year with a loss of over 24,000 jobs. Further, the pub closings are wreaking havoc on the government, too. With each pub that closes, the government loses £107,000 in lost taxes annually, in addition to jobless benefit claims. “Closing pubs are not only a loss to communities, but a loss to the Treasury,” BBPA Chief Executive David Long said in the statement. “Government now needs to listen to the pub sector in the same way it listens to other sectors suffering this level of job losses.”

Woman in Malaysia to be flogged over beer
A Malaysian model will be flogged with a rattan cane for consuming beer in public at a hotel nightclub—”a punishment usually reserved for men in various crimes ranging from rape to bribery.” Wow. So, beer is the equivalent of rape is the Muslim world? Disgusting.

Someone stole a lot of beer in Florida
There’s always some weird news coming out of Florida (especially if you’re a FARK fan), but this is ridiculous: $70,000 worth of beer was stolen from a trucking company in Tampa. “One trailer was carrying 1,260 six-packs of Corona Extra beer, deputies say. The other trailer contained 990 six-packs of Corona and 990 cases of Modella Especial beer.” At least is wasn’t craft beer!

This one’s for the dudes
Portraying men in beer ads as “dogs, dolts, dopes” has jumped the shark. Or, it will very soon. Is this news?

Starbucks jumps on the bandwagon
We have absolutely no clue as to why they would be doing this, but one Starbucks in Seattle is “experimenting” by adding beer and wine to their menu. One can assume, if it takes off, more will do the same. Or are coffee sales down that much? I can tell you, I won’t be ordering a Venti Porter anytime soon.

AB-InBev to go “upscale” with Belgian-style beers
This just makes me want to puke. “…Can Anheuser-Busch—maker of Bud Light, Budweiser and Natural Light—successfully manage the upscale brands in the U.S.? Anheuser-Busch is known for its ability to flood the zone with huge brands but has historically been less successful at nurturing niche products. But with InBev now in charge, selling the high-end Belgian beers is a higher priority.” Yup, start looking for more of those Stella Artois ads on the idiot box. Wonder what the head honchos at A-B think of that merger now?

Chilly kitty
Some Aussie has a beer fridge, had friends over to watch cricket, went to get beer, followed by cat, cat gets into fridge and spends one cold, lonely night among chilled brewskies. Good thing the guy wanted a beer the next day. Poor thing!

Softball goes nutball
Poor guy. OMG! Someone had a beer at a picnic. Oh, noz!  I think we all take things a wee bit too seriously.

Near beer saves the day
Drunk guy breaks into home and the homeowner uses a non-alcoholic beer to cajole him outside. Where he later broke into cars and ran through the woods. We hope he had clothes on.

A whole bunch of crap from Charleston
Yup. Usually half-naked + open container = Charged. And more!

And the winner is…
This guy. *sigh*