All books are 15% off through July 31, 2008!

Women’s white Bruisin’ Ales tees are all 25% off. Clearance!!

New tees are in!
Bruisin’ Ales in yellow, sizes S-XXL.
beer•lan•thro•py in blue, sizes S-XXL

So, after talking to the comedians last week, it got our interest peaked in the whole MySpace/Facebook thing. First of all, we hate MySpace with all the gumption you can imagine. Have you seen some of those pages? You’ll walk away from the computer with bleeding eyes, people! But Facebook we can look at. It’s organized, it’s easy, and… it’s insanely addicting. Shea calls it ”Crackbook.” (image: iboy.com) It’s actually pretty amazing the people we’ve found since joining on Saturday.

The humble storefront now has both a Facebook Page, where you can be a “fan,” and a Facebook Group. Honestly, what’s the difference, but whatever. Spread the word! How many people can we get signed-up today?

Oh, and if you’re really into it, we have some Flair for you, too. Search for the Bruisin’ Ales button if that link doesn’t work.

Okay, feeling a bit better about things, and for the record, the folks of Laugh Your Asheville Off are so very cool. Melanie Maloy is hysterical (and soon to be an Ashevillian!), Em Dixon from NYC is classic mal-adjusted funny woman (and we enjoyed meeting Vinnie, too), Mike Storck is wrong (yet so right), and Johnny Millwater is a riot. We’ve met so many cool, and obviously funny people. Alonzo Bodden, the headliner, did not disappoint last night. And, folks, he was fascinated by the drum circle. They don’t have those in LA, you know. Thanks to Greg, Rowan, Joe Z (hilarious), Charlie and Laurel.

First off, the Olde Hickory mini-kegs are here and, man, are they cool! What nifty packaging from an NC brewery. For your tastebuds:

OLDE HICKORY Piedmont Pils
OLDE HICKORY Ruby Lager
OLDE HICKORY Hefeweizen
OLDE HICKORY Table Rock Pale
OLDE HICKORY Bardstown Brand* (22oz)

Hook Norton has arrived from England, too. This nice session brews and classic. We dig a good ol’ English Ale now and then.

HOOK NORTON Gold
HOOK NORTON Bitter
HOOK NORTON Old Hooky
HOOK NORTON Double Stout

Dear Ashehole*,

We sponsored Laugh Your Asheville Off because, well, who doesn’t like to laugh, and we wanted to try a new experiment in marketing, but more importantly, we wanted to have fun. It’s not often the Bruisin’ Ales staff gets a Friday night somewhere other than the store. While we were taking down our booth just before the end of show, you seemed coy, with your super-retro, RunDMC all-black Adidas get-up. You were upset we weren’t serving beer, just displaying it. You needed ice. You wanted a Sugar Mama’s cookie. (And likely, stole one, too.) As you lurked and theater employees caught on, we’re sure your staff-dumped cocktail was just enough to get those pesky larceny thoughts a-rollin’.

Just because you weren’t allowed inside the show, because, duh, you didn’t have a g*ddamn ticket, does not give you license to rummage through our goods. While I worried before (and during) the show about folks stealing from the beer display (thereby, only half-able to enjoy the show), little did I know that it was the handbag you were watching, Adidas Avenger. While I walked away for two f*cking minutes to put stuff in storage, you managed, in the presence of people, to unzip my purse, then unzip the bank bag and take all the cash. You are speedy, Adidas Avenger. So, while I partly blame myself for leaving it there, blinded by my utopian vision of Asheville, I can’t go without saying you are just a Class A Jerk.

Because of you, too, we were forced to extend the already very long day we had while waiting for the police to file a report. So, my lack of sleep last night has transcended into more of a delusional anger. But, at any rate, I thank you for leaving me with my credit cards, wallet, ID, Tylenol, and Zyrtec. Hell, Zyrtec practically costs $200, anyway. 

So, here’s a big, fat finger for ya, Ashehole. You made everything completely unfunny. We hope you spent it wisely, though, such as on a bad batch of meth.

You will forever suck,

Julie

*term courtesy of the LYLAS

Italy is the new Belgium
We’ve been saying this for awhile now—since our Baladin dinner last year—and now the San Francisco Chronicle is weighing in on the scene. In our humble opinion, the Italian brews are the most experimental right now. While the US has already established itself since craft beer returned in the late 80s, Italy is still finding its way and exploring creatively while not getting caught-up in standard beer styles.

Like Italian cooking, creative brewing in Italy is largely driven by the wealth of local ingredients; hops and barley aren’t grown much there, but plenty of fruits, herbs and nuts are finding their way into the brewing vat. Some are even used as bittering agents, assisting or sometimes in lieu of hops. For example, the Piccolo Birrificio Seson uses chinotto, a small citrus fruit; Birrificio del Ducato’s Nuova Mattina includes bitterroot, chamomile and green pepper. Invoking Mediterranean rather than strictly Italian ingredients, Baladin uses unmalted kamut, an ancient relative of durum wheat, as well as myrrh in its beer Nora, which it describes as an Egyptian spiced ale.

The only that really hurts is the wallet, because the Italian beers are pricey. The statement “beer, unlike wine, is taxed, and on production, not sale” makes us wonder if that is partly to blame.

Epicureans tackle beer
Christopher Matthews of Epicurious.com, wrote an article about the best beers for summer. Yup, it pretty much the standard thing, a starter-read. We’re not sure why folks always assume “lighter” beers are good for summer. There’s nothing stopping us from savoring a really cold Storm King when it’s 85° outside.

Next in Sierra Nevada Harvest series
Sierra Nevada is producing the next in the Harvest series with hops grown on the Chico Estate in California. “They grow the hops themselves, pick them, and put them directly into the beer, still bursting with the signature flavors that have put Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. on the map. Hops this fresh can be found nowhere else.” And Rogue’s doing the same thing.