Best Invention Since Beer

Problem: You have a cold can of beer in your hand. Well, not too bad of a problem. But, the coldness of the beer will eventually reach your hand through conduction. Your first thought is...koozie. Done. Well, koozies have some drawbacks. The biggest drawback in my mind is that a koozie won't make you fashionable at a party. You will just look like some frat boy who found a koozie in his back pocket from those pants that weren't washed since the last party.

Solution: The Can Grip! Way cooler than a koozie, and way more practical. Good beer only comes in cans now. Everybody knows that since Wynkoop Railyard Ale started being consumed from cans this past fall. Not that I am biased or anything. If you drink your beer by using one of these... instant coolness. No longer a hungover frat boy, but a sophisticated consumer of craft beer. The best part? Coors cans are too tall to fit in them.

Shoes

I know what you are thinking. Why would the title of a beer blog be "Shoes?" Well, you are about to be very thankful that you have a pair of shoes on your feet. Otherwise, obtaining beer would be a very difficult task.

Let's start with the raw materials of beer. There are two main components that make up almost every batch of beer that is consumed. Hops and grain. Think if the farmers and those who modify the ingredients didn't have shoes. Well, it sure would be hard to walk through those farms and check on the quality. And, I wouldn't want hop resins covering my feet in the hop processing plant.

How about the brewer. Everyday in the brewhouse I deal with boiling hot water and dangerous chemicals. I've seen some brewers who have terrible burns on their skin. It honestly looks like a 12 hour sunburn. Not alot of fun. I sure am thankful that I have easy access to steal toed rubber boots.

How about YOU, the consumer. When you run out of beer at this year's Christmas party and have to bear the cold, do you wear shoes out? Of course, you don't want to catch frostbite on your big knub.

All of these things make common sense. Nobody goes a day without wearing shoes for the most part. Believe it or not, there are people out there who DON'T have access to shoes (or craft beer). But, shoes are a little more important. If you are still looking for a Christmas present this year, check out my cousin Blake's company Toms Shoes. For every pair of shoes that you buy, a pair of shoes is given to a child in need. This can prevent them from getting diseases that don't even cross our minds in the U.S. because of our ease of access to footwear. Check out thier video for this holiday season, Choose Shoes.

Merry Christmas

Visit: http://www.tomsshoes.com/

I don't know why...

...but for some reason if I can't read my own blog then I just stop blogging. Basically my google reader application crapped out. But, all is fixed now and I will do my best to spread the good word about beer once again.

Still looking for a Christmas present (for me)? How about one of these:

http://socyberty.com/lifestyle-choices/top-3-world%E2%80%99s-most-expensive-beer/

Round 3 Forfeit

The final round of this beery competition was supposed to involve Denver vs. Boston. However, the Boston blogger who was supposed to write on behalf of his city backed down. Denver is the champion by forfeit.

Also, I haven't blogged in a while because I wanted to move on from this subject, so this is a good way to get out. America is the actual winner. If I could I would drive across the country to these great beer cities and drink all the bartenders could give me by law. I wouldn't go to Florida though, it sucks pretty bad.

Round 2: Current Beer Situation

St. Louis vs. Colorado

While the big breweries pulled these two cities with their long histories of beer making, thier recent histories might hurt their cities to move to the championship.

The behemoth of a brewery in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch, just sold out to Belgian-Brazillian company Inbev. But, I'm willing to look past this to see if the gateway to the west has a new beer culture that extends beyond the clydesdales. There is a website soley devoted to the St. Louis beer scene, called STLhops.com. Their maps shows a cluster of breweries and places that are devoted to serving quality beer. And, the guys at O'Fallen Brewing Company are some mean beer pong players. However, if it weren't for thier former brewer making a bonehead move, they might have taken the title from Team Mycoskie.

Denver, Colorado also has a giant brewery that has been scooped up by a multi-national brewing conglomerate. South African Brewers bought the merged company of Miller-Coors and is now the second biggest brewing company in the world. But there are a ton of small breweries around the area that are making high quality beer, two of which stood out in this year's Great American Beer Festival. Great Divide won medals for Yeti Imperial Stout, Hoss Rye Lager, and Old Ruffian Barley Wine. Dry Dock Brewing Company won Small Brewing Company of the Year.

Winner: Colorado

New York vs. Boston

Is the beer rivalry just as big as it is in sports? You bet you bottle caps it is! When the New England Patriots met the New York Giants in the Super Bowl, Brooklyn Brewery and Boston's Harpoon Brewery went at it. Whoever's team lost had to carry the other's beer in their tap room.

The head brewer of the Brooklyn Brewing Company, Garrett Oliver, is one of the driving forces behind craft beer in the country. He wrote the Brewmaster's Table, a guide for pairing food with beer, and has appeared on many TV shows featuring beer (including being a judge on Iron Chef for the beer throw down). There are also some other hidden gems in the city if you check out the New York Beer Guide.

Boston's most famous brewery is Boston Beer Company, maker of Sam Adams. Today, it is the largest American owned brewery. If it EVER sells out to one of the big brewing conglomerates I will be very disappointed. But there is much more to Boston than just Sam Adams. Harpoon and Shipyard Brewing Companies also call it home. And, the city hosted last year's Craft Brewer's Conference.

This is almost a toss up, but because Boston has the largest American owned brewery...

Winner: Boston

Championship: Colorado vs Boston

World Series of Beer: Round 1

The World Series of Poker is considered a sport. Why? Well, I'm not sure. The players don't warm up, strech, nobody is sweating by the end, and nobody has ever been thrown out of a poker match for arguing with the dealer. For being drunk... probably. I blame ESPN for giving it the credibility to be called a sport. Personally, I would rather watch somebody drink beer for sport. Actually, much rather.

Instead of picking a winner on skill level for the baseball World Series (which is actually a sport), I'm basing it off of beer. Wouldn't that be more fun anyway?

Round 1: Beer History

Colorado Rockies vs. Philadelphia Phillies

Denver, Colorado has been dubbed "The Napa Valley of Beer." The city's Mayor started the first brewpub in Colorado in 1988, and since there has been a explosion of breweries in the state. Colorado makes the most beer per capita than any other state. Oh, and there is this little brewery called Coors a few miles away, just a little history there.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania has a ton of national history, some of which correlates with beer. Some of this even goes back way before the U.S. was a nation. Also, the nation's oldest operating brewery, Yuengling, is located about an hour away from Philadelphia.

Winner: Colorado

St. Louis Cardinals vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Eberhard Anheuser buys the Bavarian Brewery and renamed it in 1852. Adolphus Busch came in to the picture when he married his daughter. The St. Louis company made many innovations to dominate the beer industry, including the use of refrigerated train cars. This dominance continues today. However, they did sell out the the Belgian-Brazilian company, Inbev. It won't hurt them in the first round since it is based on history.

Not much going for Los Angeles.

Winner: St. Louis

Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Angeles

Based on What I have just said...

Winner: Boston Red Sox

New York Yankees vs. Minnesota Twins

One of the oldest breweries in the country was the Schaffer Brewing Company in New York. Probably because so many Germans immigrated through New York, there is a rich brewing history there. Maureen Ogle writes of all the breweries that were located there in her book, Ambitious Brew.

Minnesota has a decent brewing history to it. My guess is that they were so cold that they needed the ethanol to heat their bodies. But there just were not as many people there so they had less need for as many breweries as New York.

Winner: New York Yankees

Round 2 Coming soon, it will be based on the current brewery situation.

Where can I get a beer in Rio?

Chicago lost out on the 2016 Olympiad. Oh, how great it would have been for the ones who love beer as much as sport. Goose Island, Piece, Map Room, Hopleaf, and Delilah's to name a few.

Sadly, beer doesn't come to mind when you think Rio de Janeiro. All there is there is some of the most beautiful beaches in the world being walked on by some of the best looking women in the world wearing floss as swimsuits. Damn.

All is not lost, though. I'm sure Inbev will have it's fair share of advertising dollars pushing Brahma on the spectators. But, I have a few other options if you are to venture down to South America.

Xingu: Actually the only Brazilian beer I've consumed. Damn good black lager made by Kaiser, part of SABMiller.

Belgian Beer Cafe: If I were the Belgian Olympic Chairman, which I'm not, I would use this as a base camp for all of my athletes. It would help the tiny country with their defeats. "Oh, did you lose your jousting match. Here have an Orval."

Devassa: Brewpub in Rio. Looks like they have about 6 beers, but my Portuguese is...well, non-existent.