Why Personalised Gin Makes a Great Gift

Getting a standard bottle of Gin as a gift is nice, but it could be more memorable and sentimental. With so many gin brands and expressions, the bottle you pick may not even be the recipient’s favourite brand. A personalised gin gift solves this problem by allowing you to customise the label and bottle with a name, special date, short message, or even a photo.

A personalised gin bottle makes the spirit inside feel more special. Each time the recipient enjoys a gin and tonic or martini from their custom bottle, they’ll be reminded of you and the thought you put into such an amazing gift.

Personalised Gin also shows that you appreciate the recipient’s interest in Gin. You’re not just grabbing any old bottle of booze as a gift – you’re giving them something catered to their hobby and tastes. A custom gin bottle validates their gin obsession in a fun way.

Things to Include on a Personalised Gin Label

When creating a custom label for a gin gift, think about meaningful details that speak to your relationship with the recipient. Here are some ideas of information to include:

Their name: This simple personalisation clarifies that the bottle was made just for them. You can include a first name, full name, or even a cheeky nickname.

Significant date: Commemorate a birthday, anniversary, retirement date or other milestone with the date prominently displayed on the label.

Short message: Consider a thoughtful saying like “Wishing you all the gin & tonic moments in the world!” or an inside joke reference.

Photo: Add a small photo of the recipient, the two of you together, or a meaningful snapshot.

Location: For gin lovers with a special tie to a specific place, including the name of a relevant city, venue, or destination on the label.

Gin style facts: If you know their gin preferences, you could note their favourite gin botanicals or ideal serving style.

Personalised Gin Bottle Styles

The starting point for any personalised gin gift is choosing the right bottle. There are a few main options:

Custom Label on Gin of Your Choice

Many services allow you to create a custom label and then apply it to a quality gin bottle you provide. This lets you choose a gin brand and expression already meaningful to the recipient. Opt for their longtime go-to Gin or track down a rare bottle they’ve been dying to try.

An added touch is providing an unmarked bottle so they get the fun reveal of discovering the brand and personalisation. For a truly special gift, consider submitting their favourite small batch or local Gin to be bottled and labelled just for them.

Pre-Made Personalised Gin Brands

There are now gin brands created specifically for custom bottle gifts. Options include:

Personalised Gin: Signature Gin offers custom labels on their distilled Gin along with gift-ready packaging. You can even add a 50ml mini bottle with a matching label.

English Spirit: Choose from a London Dry style gin or pink-flavored Gin, then customise a bottle label and gift box.

Isle of Harris Gin: This Scotland-based gin brand allows personalisation of their bottles and packaging.

The benefit of using a brand made for personalisation is that the bottles and labels are designed to be customised beautifully. The downside is you need control over the liquid itself.

DIY Home Gin Infusions

For a hands-on approach, you can create your own infused Gin. Get a neutral gin and add your blend of botanicals and flavours based on the recipient’s tastes. Infuse with juniper berries, citrus fruits, herbs, spices, teas, or other creative ingredients.

Part of the fun is coming up with your secret proprietary blend. You can then decant the infused Gin into a decorative bottle and create a fully personalised label. This is a great option if you want the gift to feature your homemade touches from start to finish.

Finishing Touches for Gin Gift Presentation

A custom gin bottle is already a stellar gift, but you can take the presentation to the next level with these accent pieces:

Gift box: Select a decorative box or tin to present your personalised gin bottle. This adds a pop of colour and extra visual appeal upon opening.

Glassware: Include one or two gin-specific glasses like a martini, Coppa, or balloon glass. The recipient can break these out whenever they crack open their special bottle.

Mixers: Provide an array of complementary tonics, sparkling waters, bitters, vermouths, and garnishes to complete the ultimate gin-tasting kit.

Cocktail recipes: Print or purchase a card with classic and creative gin cocktail recipes to inspire the recipient’s mixology skills.

Ice molds: Large round ice balls or cubed molds make drinks colder slower for perfectly chilled gin cocktails.

Coasters: Absorbent drink coasters printed with a fun gin slogan, the recipient’s name, or an inside joke are endlessly useful.

Gift Ideas for the Gin Obsessed

Once you settle on crafting a personalised gin bottle, the gifting opportunities are limitless. Here are just some of the possibilities:

Birthday Gin

A custom gin bottle makes a far more exciting birthday present than a generic gift card or cake. Tailor the label with their name, birth year, and a birthday message. Or surprise a milestone birthday recipient with a bottle featuring nostalgic photos from their youth.

Retirement Celebration Gin

Bid farewell to the work grind and embrace leisure with a retirement gin gift. Note the retiring year along with a label message like “Cheers to retirement!” or “The first drink of the rest of your life”.

Anniversary Gin

Recognise a matrimonial milestone by detailing the wedding date and anniversary year. Jot a sentimental quote from your vows or a playful marriage-related quip.

Graduation Gin

Send the new grad off with a lasting memento of their academic achievement. List the grad’s name, degree, school, and graduation year.

Father’s Day Gin

Rather than a stereotypical bottle of scotch or yard tool, give Dad personalised Gin marked with his name and interests.

Best Man/Bridesmaid Proposal Gin

Pop the question by presenting your chosen wedding party member with a labeled bottle, asking them to stand up with you on the big day.

Housewarming Gin

Welcome someone to their new abode with a housewarming gin referencing their family name and moving date.

The occasion doesn’t have to be momentous for personalised Gin to make an impact. Custom bottles also make terrific thank-you gifts, client appreciation presents, holiday stocking stuffers, and thoughtful gestures just because.

Creating a Meaningful Gift

Tailoring a special bottle just for them shows how well you know their tastes while adding sentimental value. Whenever they take a sip of their personalised spirit, memories will come flooding back of you and the special bond you share. That makes a custom gin gift far more meaningful than something store-bought.

The next time you need a gift for the gin fanatic, skip the generic greeting card or gift certificate. Craft a quality gin bottle labelled with touches that speak right to their heart. With so many ways to make it personalised and special, a custom gin gift is guaranteed to impress.

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Whether you want to crack open a cold one with the boys or enjoy your own company while sipping on your beer of choice, it is essential to know that your beer-drinking experience can move up a notch with the right knowledge and know-how of the types of beers and how to consume them to ensure the best taste each time. Here is a quick guide to making your next drink of beer the best one you have ever had.

Choose your Favorite Brew

It is important to know which brew is your preference. Today, the market has been introduced with many unique brews and blends, but you need not fall into these intricacies and choose which brew fits the most to your liking out of the two main types of brews; Ale and Lager. Contrary to popular belief, the difference between these two does not stem from their color, flavor, or alcohol strength but from their fermentation process.

• Lager: It is a newer form of beer that is fermented for a longer time, as compared to Ales, at a low temperature, and it relies on bottom-fermenting yeasts instead of top-fermenting yeasts, which creates a lighter and clearer appearance.
• Ale:  This is the oldest generalized beer category with sub-categories like pales or brown ales. The fermentation process of Ale is done in warm-temperature for a relatively short period. And the brewers introduce top-fermenting yeasts during the brewing process. The final product is a dark, boozy beverage.

You May Also Like: Everything You Need To Know About Nitro Beer

Choose the Right Glass

Once you have decided which brew suits your flavor palette, you must choose the right glass to consume it from. Yes, different types of beer glasses exist, and it is important to select the right one according to your choice of beer. Since several types of beers have been created as either variations or combinations of Ale and Lager, several different beer glasses are designed for specific types of beers, enhancing each beer’s strengths and qualities.

Learning the anatomy of a beer glass can help us choose the glass that is just right for our particular brew. The first point of contact between you and your sip of beer will be the rim of the glass, which must be smooth and crack-free. The Flare of the glass determines the intensity of the beer’s aroma and the quantity of beer consumed in one sip. Some glasses form a Bulb just below the rim so that the beers can have a greater propensity to foam up when poured, allowing their aroma to stay intact. The bowl rests at the bottom of the drinking portion of footed glassware and allows the drinker to warm the beer as they hold it. The curve of the glass also plays a role in the quality of the beer-drinking experience. A Concave curve concentrates the foam, helping reduce carbonation in each sip while preserving aromas and flavors, and is useful for highly carbonated beers. In contrast, a convex curve aids in trapping, retaining, and concentrating aromas in the bowl.

With this knowledge, you can now choose which of the following types of beer glasses would enhance your next drink of beer:

• Pint Glasses: These are the standard beer glasses in a bar, commonly the 16-oz. American pint glass or the 20-oz. imperial pint glass. The rim is slightly rimmed from the base; the imperial is a straight cylinder without a small bulb just below the rim. Pint glasses are all-purpose but are most suitable for anything on the lighter side of pilsners and lagers or English ales.
• Stemmed Beer Glasses: These include all types of stemmed glassware, namely snifters, tulips, thistles, goblets, and flutes. The convex shape and deep bowl help retain flavor in the base of the glass, and the wide opening at top allows the drinker to get a good whiff of the beer. These glasses are often used to serve imperial India pale ales and stouts.

• Pilsner and Weizen Glasses: These two beer glass styles are both tall, narrow at the base, and have a wider circumference around the rim. Pilsner glasses have a more pronounced flare, with the conical shape helping maintain the foam and pushing the aromas towards your nose, and are used for pilsners of all kinds. Weizen glasses are designed to show off the color and head of a wheat beer and tend to have a thin midsection.

• Beer Mugs: These are your classic pub mug, recognizable by the durable, thick, insulated glass and signature handle, which helps prevent your hands from warming the beer too quickly. This quintessential beer glass gets the job done just right and is the go-to glass of most beer drinkers.

• Beer Sampler Glasses: If you want to try a sample of a new intriguing brew without committing to a full glass which you might not end up liking, you can choose a flight of 4 oz taster glasses and sample beers instead. Beer sampler glasses allow you to get an accurate first impression of any beer, designed to enhance its flavor profile.

Choose the Right Container

Not only is the glass from which you consume your beer important, but the container from which the beer is being poured out holds just as much importance and often affects the taste of the beer. There are mainly three containers that hold beers before they are poured into a glass, and here’s how each amount to inducing a different flavor within the beer:

• Draft: A beer on draft usually has the freshest taste as it is served straight from a keg or cask and is often getting used quickly and replaced.
• Bottle: While Bottled beers add to the aesthetic appeal of the drink, they allow sunlight to seep through the glass bottle and are also not packaged with carbon dioxide, making it lose its freshness.

• Canned beer has a fresher taste than bottled ones due to no seepage of light through the can and is packaged with carbon dioxide, which helps to preserve that freshness.

Conclusion 

The steps you can take to improve the taste of your beer of choice are not just limited to the ones mentioned above in this guide. Proper storage, away from sunlight, is essential to ensure freshness, but make sure not to leave your drink in the fridge for too long, as this shall also be detrimental to the flavor. For those who truly want to take your beer’s flavor profile to the next level, try adding easily available ingredients like citrus fruits (lemons, limes, oranges) or salt, which shall bring out the beer’s crispness and create an appealing fusion of flavors. If you struggle with consuming beer due to its sour and bitter natural taste, try mixing in soda or apple juice to create what’s known as Shandy, making beer taste sweeter and more easily drinkable.

So, the next time you want to enjoy your drink of beer to its ultimate potential and your ultimate preference, whether it’s with your loved ones over dinner, with your best buddies over your favorite sports team’s next match, or simply by yourself after a long tiring day of work, come back to this guide to make sure you are guaranteed the best beer of your life, every single time.

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Drinking Craft Beer at The Beach Boys Concert

I went to The Beach Boys concert last night. The answer to the first question is “yes”. Yes, they are still around. Founding member Mike Love and very long time member Bruce Johnston are there. Johnston has been involved with the group since 1965.

I love surf music. Dick Dale is a fav.  With The Beach Boys, I especially like the surfing songs and car songs. You could say that pretty much covers it. Oh yeah, the songs about girls too. Now I have it covered. Just that whole Southern California beach culture thing gets me all jacked up.

Back to music. I tell you what, they sounded good. All the way around. Great videos playing on a huge screen behind the band too. As far as how they sounded, their touring band is the shit.

Beach Boys Touring Band

They have a helluva band assembled. More than a few of which have been playing with them for quite some time. John Cowsill on drums and vocals, Jeff Foskett on rhythm guitar and vocals, Scott Totten on lead guitar and vocals along with some other great players too. Foskett provides the falsetto vocals that are a big part of many of The Beach Boys songs.

I went to see the show at the Liberty Bank Amphitheater along the Mississippi River in Alton, IL. It was my first time at that venue. I have to say it was pretty sweet. The weather was kind of rainy. Off and on, no big deal. Good crowd that was surprisingly of mixed ages.

John Finds The Beer Tent

Naturally, I found the beer tent. As expected, the craft choices were severely limited. They had two offerings from Boulevard Brewing out of Kansas City. I was a fan of their now-retired Double Wide Imperial IPA. I also like their Quadrupel called “The Sixth Sense” which is part of their Smokestack Series. The Sixth Sense is big, bold, and packed with brain buzzing alcohol.

Overall, Boulevard brews a bunch of great craft beers that look interesting to me. What they had at the concert was their year-round Unfiltered Wheat. I wasn’t in the mood for that so I opted for the other choice which was Jam Band.

A buddy, Buford, was working the beer counter and recommended it. All I can say is Buford and I have very different tastes in beer.

Drinking Jam Band Ale

Once I tasted it, I felt like an idiot. The “jam” in the name should have been an obvious clue as to what I was getting involved in. Jam Band is a berry ale. It is a very berry ale, in my estimation. Way over the top with berry flavors and berry connected sweetness.

There were blueberries, there were raspberries, there were cherries (supposedly tart?!?!) and I was definitely over-berried. Have you ever made gelatin, as in Jello®, and slurped down the liquified mix before sticking it in the fridge? Very concentrated flavors. That is what I felt like I was drinking, except more concentrated. It was like a pick-up truck full of mixed berries smashed into one can.

As you have, by now, figured out, I am not a fan of Boulevard’s Jam Band. Thank the beer gods that it clocked in at 5.9% ABV so drinking it was not a total loss.

Keep bending those elbows, my friends.

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I think I’ll stick with what I did and had to drink the first day and night I was there. That is most clear in my memory. After that, it gets a little bit hazy. This man knows overindulgence personally.

One last thing before we get into it. Chicago is a great city. There’s much fun to be had. If you want to really kill it in Chicago, take a moment to check this out. It will help you have an outstanding weekend in Chicago!

Finding Chicago Craft Beers

Hanging Around The Magnificent Mile

I was up on the city’s North Side. The Magnificent Mile area. Lots of traffic and lots of people. It’s a big city, go figure. After checking in to the hotel, the first order of business was a late lunch. That had to include two things I associate with the Windy City, local brew, and deep dish pizza.

Lucky for me, a Gino’s East location was a short walk from the hotel. Not too busy and, lucky for me, happy hour was just starting.

I have to give this joint some respect. They did not just have the usual pissy looking big corporate beers discounted for their happy hour, they had deals on local beers.

Brew Pub Beers

Broken English ESB

An ESB called Broken English caught my eye. Gino’s, themselves, brewed it so I thought that was a good place to start. The $5 price tag for a pint of craft in this part of the city didn’t hurt either. I was already happy about their happy hour.

Broken English was a fine example of the ESB (English Special/Strong Bitters) style of beer. It was a full bodied ale with a pleasing amber color. Come to find out it was a back to back Silver Medal Winner in 2015 and 2016 at the US Open Beer Championship.

CaraMunich, Challenger, English Marris Otter, and Belgian Special B. English East Kent Goldings hops and malts were used to brew up this well-balanced ale. It looked good and tasted good and I’d have it again.

Broken English bowed in at 5.7% ABV so a pint or two won’t kick your ass all over town.

Pineapple Imposter American Pale Ale

Next up was Pineapple Imposter.

It was at this point that I finally figured out that Gino’s East was also a microbrewery. Man, I can be dense sometimes. No. Don’t say, “It’s the beer.” It is NEVER the beer. NEVER! Don’t ever bring that up again.

So, Pineapple Imposter was another on-premise brewed beer. English Maris Otter and CaraHell malt rounded out the Centennial and Mosaic hops that filled out this American Pale Ale.

Pineapple flavor was prominent, as the name would imply. Tasted a bit of citrus too. The aroma was a little bit fruit laden without any strong hopness to knock you back. I’d say it was kind of on the lighter side of medium, body wise. Orange tint with a halfway decent head.

All in all, it was a refreshing APA with a respectable 6.2% ABV.

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza at Gino’s

You know what, the deep dish pie wasn’t bad and wasn’t good. The cornmeal crust was not exactly my thing.

I’d return for the beer, but not for the deep dish.

Cheers!

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Read Also:

• Wisconsin Craft Beer
• Texas Craft Beer
• Craft Beer Tour Kansas City
• Craft Beer Cincinnati-The Tour Continues

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Checking Out Craft Beers Around the Town

My Things Men Buy friends, let me tell you a little about it.

After enjoying some damn tasty appetizers at a fine dining establishment (no joke, they actually let me in), it was time for some desert downtown. That is not so subtle code for having a few drinky-poos.

The downtown is Alton, IL. It is very close to the banks of the Mississippi River. Alton is the town I’ve been hanging out in lately. Good little downtown, plenty of bars which appeals to me.

All in all, it was a fun boozy night of new for me craft beers and dancing. Not posting any videos because I prefer not to embarrass my self publicly. Again. In yet another way. I’m running out of ways. That’s what happens when you have no shame.

Cash Money Imperial IPA

From 4 Hands Brewing Company, I got my big hands on their Cash Money. It is an Imperial IPA. They claim they use a “wasteful” amount of hops brewing this can of kick ass liquid candy.

This 8.5% ABV ass-kicker has a healthy long lasting head (ahem). So, the carbonation is there but it is not fizzy.

The color is a light amber. Let me tell you what, it is clear as a bell. Check out the photo and you’ll see what I mean.

A little bit of fruit, a little malt sweetness, and the expected hopness from a double IPA. The aroma might be a touch too fruity, but I think the flavor takes over and makes up for that fruit nose-burst.

A pretty damn solid offering from the brewing company.

Incarnation IPA

Incarnation is also from 4 Hands. This craft beer used to be called Resurrected, but they re-branded it. Same brew. And the can has some mighty fancy artwork on it. They use Mosaic hops to brew it, so the can’s label art shows that “mosaic” influence.

Incarnation is an IPA clocking in at 6.5% ABV. I’d call this a workhorse brew for 4 Hands Brewing. It is highly drinkable without making your head swim too soon like an Imperial IPA can easily do.

The color is a light golden yellow-orange with a head that holds well. Expect a pine, citrus, hop aroma which is an inviting blend.

The carbonation was just right, which appeals to me. Not too weak on the bubbles and not over the top lively.
To me, it is a medium-light bodied IPA with a slight amount of bitterness that would not scare away the bitter-phobics. The touch of bitterness simply lets you know what type of craft beer you’re knocking back.

A good beer that is bound to appeal to a pretty wide swath of craft drinkers.

Putting the Bow On on the Beer

There you have it. It was a night of thirst quenching and tastebud satisfying. We met up with some great friends and even had a shot or two too.

As you can see, I like to share the good times that I have in my never ending search for more and better craft beer. If you’d like to share some awesome craft beer with friends or give it as a gift, check out what Things Men Buy has to say about Give Them Beer.

Be like me, keep drinking!

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All Set for Beer Drinking

My girlfriend is all about summer and all about her yard. She has put together a backyard pool paradise that adds exponentially to the good time to be had when the weather permits. Sorry, no pics of my girl. She’s all mine.

She has a pool. She has a sweet deck between her house and the pool. That deck leads to another deck that runs along part of the side of the pool. Naturally, there is a grill and the requisite metal patio chairs and table. How about an umbrella for the table? Damn skippy. She has that too.

The Little Voodoo Ranger Pool Party

A bud of hers from work was coming over so I zipped over and stocked up the alky haul. What she wanted and what I wanted. What I wanted was craft-brewed beer and Voodoo Ranger from Colorado’s New Belgium Brewing fit the bill.

We were already having some splashy, drinky fun in the pool when Hess made it over. As expected, he was toting some craft. As it so happened, he had an arm full of Voodoo Ranger also. But it was not the straight up Voodoo that I was working on.

Hess Brings Juicy Haze!

Hess brought over some Juicy Haze. Which, I have to admit, gave me mixed feelings. Not because I had not tried the Juicy Haze yet, I was all game for that. Mixed because it sounded refreshing, but it also sounded too fruity for my beer pallet.

I’m playing a bit of catch up. New Belgium has greatly expanded their Voodoo Ranger Line to 6. Hell, they’ve been cranking out all kinds of new beers. Which means that I have a shit ton of more craft beer drinking to do! Pity, eh?

Anyway, Hess brings the Juicy Haze IPA and we start working on having less beer while bullshitting and splashy around in the pool like city kids around a blasting fire hydrant.

I grill brats and hot sausages along with corn on the cob. We had fun and feasted. Hey, if you love grilling like I do then check this out from the Grill Masters Club!

My Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze Review

The Juicy Haze, you wonder? Good stuff. I surprised myself by liking it. It is fruity, but in a more citrusy way and more so on the nose than on the taste buds. The bitterness comes through like I expect it should with a strong IPA. The strong I’m referring to is the 7.5% ABV of this sort of pale orange-ish brew.

Overall, I found New Belgium’s Voodoo Ranger Juicy Haze IPA to be an enjoyable, easy drinking, medium body ale that I would drink just about anytime.

Keep Drinking…

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Where We Go for Concerts

We’ve been going to the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre which is in Maryland Heights, MO. Maryland Heights is between St. Louis and St. Charles just before you cross the Missouri River. 

For any of you that have ever been to any type of concert or sporting event or something similar, which if I had to guess would be everyone, then you know how expensive food and drinks are at these venues. Tickets are expensive too. But my sister has a plan to get more bang for our entertainment bucks.

Sandy’s Plan

My sister is Sandy. Sandy’s plan is lawn seats. Nothing revolutionary about that, but she is working the system just a little. St. Louis’ main rock radio station is KSHE. They promote most of the shows. So as soon as they announce a show, she signs up to win tickets. They also offer early purchase discounts. 

She gets us tickets for either $20 or $30 bucks each. We get to go watch classic rock bands for damn little money. ZZ Top and John Forgerty. Charlie Daniels Band, Marshall Tucker Band, and The Outlaws are some others we’ve seen so far. 3 Doors Down, Collective Soul, Kid Rock and others are coming up. For $20 or $30 dollars, I think they are a deal.

She is always the driver so I can imbibe to my thirsty heart’s content. We pack a cooler with some pre-show adult beverages. We get to the parking lot as soon as they open, find a spot, and do a little tail-gating. 

Concert Craft Beer

Where does the craft beer come in? Well, once in the amphitheater I still have a thirst. Fortunately, they have craft beer. An IPA that is local. Sure, it costs me $14 for a 16 ounce can. Ouch! But I’m not paying $50-$100 or more for show tickets. That’s how I rationalize it. I spring for a few over-priced craft beers at the venue and I feel like I’m still within a decent spend.

I also like the fact that the craft beer I’m downing is an 8% ABV Double IPA. Urban Chestnut is the brewery. The beer is STLIPA. STL for St. Lou and IPA for…IPA. A little acronym action there, for sure. 

STLIPA is a back to back gold medal winner at the World Beer Championships in 2015/16. It is a hop bomb. They use Chinook, Cascade, Sterling, Columbus, Willamette, and Mt. Hood hops. All those hops are countered with Munich and Pale Ale malts. It has a fairly light copper color.

You know what is stupid about the whole thing. Not Urban Chestnut, they are a stellar brewery. And not STLIPA either because it is one damn tasty craft beer. 

What is stupid is that I get a big kick out of the can. I’d buy this double IPA just for the damn can. I’m not talking about the label. I have a crush on the can top. The whole damn top of the can comes off! When I open it, it is like I’m drinking out of a handy aluminum glass. 

Stupid? Pretty much so. But I still get a kick out of it. Plus the beer is really damn tasty, so that helps too. 

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Nada. Zip. Zilch. Epic Fail.

No Craft Beers…Yet.

I mean, it has been a week and I have not hit any place for craft beers. Not a single damn place. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with me.

Wait a minute. The situation is not as dire as I’m making it out to be. There has been some light at the end of the tunnel. There was a little can or so of craft beer at the end of my rainbow of thirst.

Here’s the deal. I had some old friends contact me. Going way back to my college years old friends. Friends I don’t get to see nearly often enough.

One of them was doing a little weekend house sitting up the river road from where I live. Carter said some others from college were going to join him on the deck for some beer and whatnot fun. Man, I just couldn’t miss that opportunity.

I slapped a new battery in the Harley. It cranked up like a champ. It wasn’t long and I had the Mississippi River on my left and limestone bluffs on my right as I powered up the river road.

Being a distracted dumbass, when I arrived at the house in this little town I was empty-handed. I didn’t even stop to pick up a six-pack of craft. Nothing. Man, I sucked.

Begging For Beers

There I was saying “Hi” to dear old friends and I was a beer beggar.

You know what? They saved me. A couple of them happened to have some Yuengling Lagers that they were willing to share. I am a fan of the Lager. You know my affection for America’s Oldest Brewery.

I downed a few of those Lagers and enjoyed the company.

Wait, I noticed Carter was drinking something different. I didn’t recognize the can. I quickly fixed that. I asked, he offered, I sampled and I hated it.

Yeah, it was some awful super sweet flavored something or other that I did not care for at all. He liked it. Not me. I’ve had other craft beers from that brewery that are good, but this stuff made me want to do a shot of gasoline to kill that taste.

Salted Caramel Pecan Brown

I won’t leave you hanging. Here’s what the hell it was: Salted Caramel Pecan Brown Ale. That is the name of the craft beer. It is a product of the 4204 Main St. Brewing Company in Belleville, IL. They do make some righteous beers. Not this one, though. At least not for me.

It is a 5.5% seasonal that is malty and super sweet. They took their Pecan Brown Ale and made is a diabetics nightmare by adding that super sweetness of caramel. The name says “salted”, but I didn’t catch much salt flavor.

Anyway, I thanked Carter for the taste and went back to the Lager. After a couple of those and plenty of talk with old friends, I was being pasted by bugs on the night time ride back.

Bugs? No problem. I’d do that again in a heartbeat to see old friends. Next time, I’ll be sure to stop on the way for some carryout craft beer.

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Downtown Alton, Illinois

Summer is in full force here in my part of Illinois. That means summer vacation time for me. I slow down my work schedule during the summer months so I can have some fun. Fun for me is getting in the water, riding my Harley-Davidson, doing a little traveling, and knocking back pints of delicious craft beer. So, now is as good a time as any to plan how I’ll be spending my summer “beercation” this year. Craft Joint friends, here we go.

My Summer of Beer is Here

I’m a firm believer in extending the experience. If I’m going to have fun, and I do like having fun, I’m going to dedicate either as much time as possible to that fun or I’ll increase the frequency of the fun. If I can do both, you know the saying, “Winner, Winner, Chicken and Beer Dinner”. Yeah, I modified it a bit for my evil beer purposes.

Hitting It Close To Home

Currently, I’m calling the Mississippi River town of Alton, IL home. There’s a really nice little downtown bar district near the river. I know some of the bar owners and they carry some real flavorful craft beers.

Bossanova is a classy, sassy bar with top-shelf creative food and a cocktail and craft beer menu to match. I’ll be sure to visit Bossanova often.

The Cat’s is Where its At!

Catdaddy’s is my hometown divey bar in the best sense of the word. I was just there the other night having some new cans of craft they stocked. Cat’s, as we call it, will be graced often with my drinking presence.

There’s a self-serve craft beer place called the Germania Brew Haus which I’ve only been to once. Okay, twice. I’ll be sure to check in there again.

Chez Marilyn’s is downtown and I was there to have a new IPA. More from them as the summer wears on.

The Old Bakery Brewing Company is a micro-brewery which I have yet to visit. Yeah, shameful. I have emptied quite a few of their canned craft brews though. I know I’ll be getting together with some of my craft blasting buds there for sure.

Across the River

St. Louis, MO is just a short drive across the river. St. Louis is a beer town. I’m not talking about big corporate beer, I’m talking craft. A whole bunch of craft beers are in and around St. Louis. I will do a little research and make a hit list. Some I’ll hit solo. Others I’ll drag someone with or meet some like-minded beer friends there.

I think I have a rough outline for my craft “beering” over the next couple months or so. As I hit these joints I’ll let you know what I’ve been drinking and my thoughts on my craft beer explorations.

More craft beer fun next week. Cheers to my summer beercation!

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A Look at Craft Beer News for June 2018

Welcome to June my craft beer appreciating friends! It is the month summertime begins and for most in the northern hemisphere, the temperatures have been summer-like. Not so much up in the northern reaches. Hell, I’ve been in snowstorms in July up on Logan Pass in Glacier Park, but the far northerners will catch up with their own version of summertime eventually! Since the topic is craft beer, let’s get to it. Time for some craft beer news for June 2018.

North American Beer Awards

The Mountain Brewers Beer Fest 2018 is now history. That means the North American Beer Awards (NABA) is in the bag. This charity event has been happening for 24 years. It is put together thanks to The Mountain Brewers Beer Fest, the North America Brewers Association and various charity partners. Since its inception, over $1 million has been raised for worthy causes. The event was held Saturday, June 2 in Idaho Falls and acts as the area’s top summer kick-off event.

The judging of the event is a single-blind sampling. After that, the beers in that category are ranked. That’s a very straightforward judging system in my book.

One of my favorite watering holes came away with some awards. Whenever I’m up in North Western Montana, I make a point to spend as much time as possible in Whitefish. Whitefish is home to the Great Northern Brewing Company. Their Good Med Montana Red Ale was a Gold Medal winner in the American-Style Strong Ale category. In the English-Style India Pale Ale category, Great Northern’s venerable Going to the Sun IPA earned a Silver Medal. Congratulations to all involved at the Great Northern Brewing Company!

NABA had some cider categories and an outfit just across the river from me over in St. Louis, MO fared well. The Brick River Cider Company Firehouse Rose cider brought home a Silver Medal in the Specialty (Flavored) Ciders category. That’s a job well done by the gang at The Brick River Cider Company!

Interestingly, some big corporate brewers were winners in a few categories. Also, some breweries that don’t meet the Brewers Association definition of “craft” won some awards too. I’ve always said that some of these operations make some tasty beer, but I do my best to support the independent brewers.

A full listing of the NABA categories and winners can be found here. http://000h0h1.diy1.myregisteredwp.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/1593/2018/06/NABA-2018-WinnersByCategory.pdf

Societe Brewing Now Has Crowlers

Societe Brewing Company has gone greener. Located in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego, CA, Societe now has a crowler machine to offer their faithful customers an environmentally friendly and easy on the wallet beer-to-go option.

A crowler is 32-ounce recyclable aluminum can that can be filled at the brewery just like the familiar growler. With almost all of Societe’s beers being draft, this is a handy option for the customers and a plus for the brewery.

Growlers can be costly, they have to be cleaned and sanitized before you reuse them, and you have to remember to bring them along. With crowlers, you can simply select your beers and enjoy them wherever you choose. Afterwards, toss them into a recycling bin like any aluminum can.

Craft News Roundup

Here are some short-form newsworthy activities happening in the world of craft beer.

Stone Brewing is continuing their trademark infringement lawsuit against MillerCoors. Stone is trying to prevent MillerCoors from selling Keystone products with the word “stone” isolated on the packaging.

The Boston Beer Company, makers of Sam Adams, Twisted Tea, and Angry Orchard products, was fine just under a million dollars for selling unregistered products in the state of New York. Boston Beer Company said a clerical error was the problem.

The Craft Kave adds more beer. At Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago Whitesox, 16 craft beers have been added to the “Craft Kave”. Most of the new craft beers available in the Craft Kave are from Illinois-based craft breweries.

That’s it for the craft beer news June 2018 from The Craft Joint. Keep drinking that independently-owned tasty craft beer. I know I will. Cheers!

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