Commentist Beer Barrel: You Deserve a Cookie

makeitsnowondem - January 5, 2017January 5, 2017

That's right! You! Have a damn cookie. It's been five days since New Year's Day, which I think is long enough that I can now safely say it's 2017. It wasn't easy, but you made it. Beer helped, probably, but in the end, the credit belongs to you. Thanks to

Commentist Beer Barrel: Every Puppy Has Its Day

Commentist Beer Barrel

makeitsnowondem - December 18, 2016

Hello, Commentists! Sorry for my absence these past two weeks, but I was out wandering the woods with Hillary Clinton last week and couldn't find a signal. Did you know she wrestled a grizzly bear out there? Mainstream media won't talk about it. I don't know what they've got against her. Losing can

Commentist Beer Barrel: Welcome To Your Local Brewery

makeitsnowondem - November 27, 2016

Even in a pretty miserable year—and let's not kid ourselves: this has been, by any measure, a pretty miserable year on the global scale—I've got a lot to be thankful for. Most of all, of course, there's my beautiful fiancée lady snow, to whom I became formally engaged this past

Commentist Beer Barrel: Land of the Rising Suds

The Right Reverend Electric Mayhem - November 15, 2016November 15, 2016

Hi kids! It's your friendly neighborhood curate, Reverend Mayhem, subbing in for makeitsnow. He is currently...indisposed. So, let's get right down to it. Today, I am reviewing Hitachino Nest White Ale and Red Rice Ale from Japan. I've noticed this column trends a little heavily toward North American craft beers, with

Commentist Beer Barrel and Open Thread: Draught House Anniversary Party In Review

makeitsnowondem - November 5, 2016November 5, 2016

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Come on in, folks. Have a seat at the bar. We're talking beer again today, but we're also talking anything else you want to talk about. We've got a couple of top-25 matchups tonight, with #10 Nebraska at #6 Ohio State and #1 Alabama probably steamrolling the absolute shit out

Commentist Beer Barrel: Damn Hippies

makeitsnowondem - October 29, 2016

Austin's best annual beer event is happening again today. The Draught House Anniversary Party is the kind of shindig that only a decades-old pub and brewery, with a decades-old pub and brewery's connections, can throw. Every year they roll out a stacked beer list. Everything's a special release or something aged

Commentist Beer Barrel: Scotchy Scotch Scotch

makeitsnowondem - October 21, 2016

The worst thing about this time of year, to me—at least in non-election years, Jesus Christ am I sick of that shit—is waiting for Sierra Nevada Brewing Company to release its famous winter fresh hop IPA, Celebration. The ongoing seasonal creep in beer releases means now's about the time the winter

Commentist Beer Barrel: One Mint Julep

Commentist Beer Barrel

makeitsnowondem - October 19, 2016

I was a little sick last week, so both the Beer Barrel and my actual drinking were somewhat abbreviated, and this review is going up very, very late. But better late than never, right? Right? If you'd prefer never, please don't tell me. Let's talk about beer instead. Avery Brewing in Boulder,

Commentist Beer Barrel: Märzens and Milestones

make it snow - October 7, 2016October 7, 2016

Disclosure: A couple of weeks ago I was invited to, and attended, a bottle share hosted by Goose Island employees. I got to try some pretty sweet out-of-market beers and got a free glass (pictured), T-shirt, and bottle opener out of the bargain. I'm committed to transparency in the Beer Barrel

Commentist Beer Barrel: Alternatives

makeitsnowondem - September 30, 2016September 30, 2016

This year's Oktoberfest opened in Bavaria just about two weeks ago. Most of Oktoberfest every year takes place in September, just like you'd expect, and it coincides nicely with the start of fall in most parts of the Northern Hemisphere that aren't the burning hellscape of Central Texas. Here, daily highs