Valentine’s Day is as different for people as chocolate cake is from carrots. People just celebrate romance differently. But one common denominator is that Valentine’s Day requires—like a federal mandate—dessert. Traditional: For the traditionalist why not indulge full-heartedly in the day by giving your significant other an assortment of chocolates? Pegasus Gourmet Chocolates (1900 Northeast […]
Beer & Drink
Posted inFood & Drink
Craft Beer: Officially Mainstream
Even in the far corners of Nebraska, local beer is never far away
Living in Central Oregon, where we are one step away from having the water company just pipe IPA directly to our kitchen taps, it’s easy to think the beer scene here is incomparable to anything else in America. And that’s pretty true, actually, though Asheville, North Carolina, undeniably comes close. But as my beer-themed road […]
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Surly But Happy in the Twin Cities
How an ex-abrasives salesman revolutionized beer in Minnesota
Less than a decade ago, if you wanted a decent locally-produced beer in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, your only choices were Summit—a ubiquitous standby, founded in 1986—and maybe a couple things from Surly on tap, if you were lucky. A few years, some key changes in Minnesota alcohol laws, have changed everything. Surly is […]
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Heady Topper and Beyond
The story of Vermont beer goes far past its most famous IPA
“It’s kind of weird sometimes,” said Travis, one barside regular at the Prohibition Pig brewpub in Waterbury, Vermont. “People come in from Massachusetts, from New York, and it’s like all they can think about is how many cases of Heady they can get before they return. I want to tell them, like, there’s 30 other […]
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From a Strip Mall, a Craft Revolution
Mekong Restaurant the unlikely standard-bearer of beer in the South
One of the neatest things about craft beer is the way it forms spontaneous new communities wherever it goes, often in completely unexpected places. Case in point: In Richmond, the capital of Virginia, Ground Zero for the entire region’s beer scene is…a strip-mall Vietnamese restaurant. Mekong Restaurant was founded in the ’90s by a family […]
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Resurrection of Ancient Beer Ghosts
Rhinegeist in Cincinnati sets up shop in a 19th-century brew factory
When the taxi drops you off at the Rhinegeist Brewery, in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio, you’re greeted by an unadorned doorway and a fairly nondescript sign. Walk in and climb the three flights of stairs to the entrance, though, and you’re rewarded with an awe-inspiring sight—a massive, high-ceilinged, wide open space, easily the […]
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God’s Own 4.0 Percent Beer
Great beer thrives in Salt Lake City, despite it all
To start the New Year, our beer reviewer is filing reviews from his road trip. This stop: Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1823, Joseph Smith was visited by the angel Moroni, who led him to ancient writings that would eventually form the content of the Book of Mormon. “Come unto Christ,” Moroni says in the book, […]
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Five Best New Bend Beers of 2014
10 Barrel Jamaican Me Pumpkin Worthy of note both for symbolism (it was 10 Barrel’s last seasonal release before the AB-Inbev buyout) and for its irresistible mix of pumpkin spice and rum flavors. A masterpiece of barrel aging. Bend Brewing Co. Salmonberry Sour It’s a tight contest these days, but this flavorful yet approachable beer […]
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10 Barrel Conquers Idaho
Its brewpub is front and center in Boise’s beer boom
If you haven’t taken the hilly, mostly barren journey to Boise lately, you might be surprised at how huge the local beer scene has become. From old standbys like Sockeye to newer outfits like Payette and Crooked Fence—both available around Bend—there’s truly something for everyone. The selection’s constantly growing, too: Haff Brewing debuted in Boise […]
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Beers To Stay Warm With
Second Winter Beer Festival builds an even bigger snowman
It took almost two months of back-and-forth text messages, but GoodLife finally named its winter ale, a special beer for the second annual Central Oregon Winter Beer Festival, a smooth ale with cinnamon and nutmeg undertones. “It just finally came to me,” says Steve Denio about the name they finally landed on: Yukon Cornelius, so […]