Synthetic Alcohol

Want to drink like you're part of the crew of the Enterprise? I know, I know...dumb question.

Trekkies (of the New Generation) out there may remember something on the series called "Synthehol," a chemical alternative to alcohol that took the blackout intoxication, addiction and alcohol poisoning out of traditional alcoholic drinks with the same taste and a reasonable buzz.

A British professor believes he has the answer to creating something similar, a synthetic alcohol alternative. This professor is one of the UK's top drug experts and believes that ingredients like those found in Valium could be integrated into wine, beer and liquor in an odorless, tasteless form while keeping drinkers moderately drunk (no matter how much they drink), eliminating belligerence (as seen by Captain Kirk above) and the dreaded hangover.

One would have to be skeptical of how well this could work and obviously not everyone would jump on the trend, especially frat boys. However, if it's made and works as described, it'd be fun to use it as a placebo.

Beer Review: Collaboration Special Holiday Ale

I almost forgot I had this beer so I was a little late to open it but better late than never I suppose. I love to see collaborations between breweries so I had to pick this "Special Holiday Ale" up which involved three quality breweries: Nøgne Ø (a Norwegian brewery), Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales (Michigan) and Stone Brewing (CA).

I'm a big fan of all seasonal beers and this one definitely fits the bill for winter seasonals, but it's also pretty unique. A common theme that I've seen with collaboration beers is the use of regional ingredients from each brewery, which is what was done with this ale for the most part. I say for the most part because the offering from Nøgne Ø, juniper berries, was actually from Italy...close enough though. In addition to the juniper berries, Southern California white sage and Michigan chestnuts were used for the brew. Greg Koch (from Stone), Kjetil Jikiun (from Nøgne Ø) and Ron Jefferies (from Jolly Pumpkin) decided to use rye malt and caraway with the 3 special ingredients.

As I said, this special holiday ale fits the bill because it has that seasonal spiciness, but in this beer, the spiciness is balanced nicely with some nuttiness for a warm drinking experience, great for a winter night. It poured out a nice dark color with a thin head, but didn't have much lacing throughout my consumption last night. There was not any overpowering bitterness or sweetness to it. Ultimately, I enjoyed it but I think one was all I needed; I don't see myself buying the same beer (if brewed again) next winter. Love the collaboration though - I'd like to see more team-ups in the future.

Movie Review: Beer Wars

Not many (if any at all) beer documentaries have been made, so when one gained a sizable amount of press in the craft beer scene about a year ago, naturally there was some hype surrounding it. Unfortunately, though I did buy tickets to the exclusive one-night screening last April in theaters across the country of Beer Wars with a live Q & A afterward, I was unable to go. I did, however, recently watch the film and I think anyone with any interest in beer or curiosity about the beer industry should see it.

Filmmaker and former employee of Mike's Hard Lemonade Anat Baron directed, narrates and stars in this well put together documentary about the craft beer movement. The central theme of the film is the struggle that craft brewers are dealing with against "the big 3" (Bud, Miller, Coors), particularly with Anheuser-Busch, which is easily the most evil of the three. The journey of two people particularly are outlined in the movie: Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head and Rhonda Kallman of Moonshot Beer.

You've probably heard of Sam Calagione or atleast his brewery, Dogfish Head. As one of the most successful craft breweries in the country, it was interesting to hear that even he is constantly under stress from trying to stay alive and deal with the various obstacles presented by the corporate breweries.

Prior to seeing the film, I had not heard of Moonshot Beer. Not surprisingly though, I had heard of Budweiser E, the beer with caffeine. Well as it turns out, that was more or less a stolen idea from Moonshot Beer. Beer Wars showed the more in-depth struggle that Rhonda Kallman dealt with in getting denied by potential investors, constantly traveling to sell Moonshot and having to worry about her family and keeping her house.

Some other interesting segments of the documentary included a visual into shelf configuration for beer and basically how Bud intentionally distributes 4-packs, 6-packs, 12-packs, 18-packs and 24-packs in cans, bottles, aluminum bottles, etc. etc. just to dominate shelf space and get in the consumer's head. It was also interesting to see how many import beers that Anheuser-Busch owns the US distribution rights for that you may not know about (Hoegaarden, Beck's, Stella Artois to name a few). A humorous but somewhat sad part of the film showed some regulars at a bar who confidently stated their preferences in beer, whether it was Bud, Coors or Miller. Anat Baron then gave them a blind taste of all 3 and none of them could identify their preference, which demonstrated that they all basically taste the same.

Similarly, though maybe not as drastically as the way Fast Food Nation makes you never want to touch fast food again, I'd find it hard to believe that someone would NOT think Budweiser is evil after watching this film. So go watch it and stop buying Bud!