The Man Cave is the last bastion of true male companionship. Golf requires a little too much etiquette and protocol, watching football is too technical, too statistics driven to be truly manly, and the local bars have been infiltrated with college kids, brass poles, and Chili Bombs. What is a man to do? Well, small pockets of men, resistance fighters for the testosterone underground, have started a grassroots movement across the United States. The goal of this loose organization is to provide an underground railroad of Man Caves where men can hang out and be men. These Caves may be garages, backyards, or shops by day. But at night, the Man Cave Sign is uncovered, the Man Cave Clock is wound up, and the manness commences. Be a part of something and get your Dad the best Father’s Day gift in the history of the world, a membership in the only organization with no sign up process, no interviews, no initiation, and no rules: The Man Cave. Come on, let your man side show.

June 7th is the last day to place orders on items that we have in stock (i.e. no special shipping restrictions as listed on product level pages) and still get your gift to Dad on time. But, we know that you’re all slackers so coupon code FDBL2008 is good until the end of the month. Enjoy, and check back often, we’re going to be updating this blog more frequently and most of the time we won’t be selling stuff. Direct questions can be sent to grayson@surftosummit.com.

The standard logic regarding biodiversity goes something like this: It is important for a given crop to be diverse (i.e. varied yet similar plants that can serve the same agricultural need). The more diverse a crop is, the less susceptible that crop will be to total destruction in the face of specific diseases or weather conditions. If you narrow the diversity of a crop, that is, homogenize it, you open the window for catastrophic fallout resulting from a specific negative factor.

So where does this leave the famed agave plant and the future of tequila? Well, if the agave plant’s biodiversity is threatened from over-farming, soil erosion, etc., basically leaving us with only a few strains of agave, and one of those gets wiped out…you do the math. Add to that the fact that the hearts of agave plants are traditionally harvested only in their twelfth year, we could end up with a long drought if we had to, in essence, start over. The moral of the story: keep an eye on tequila, and if these trends continue, you may want to start stockpiling, be it for fun or profit.

The day is warm and the sun is bright and the sea breeze is light and cool. A Millions hot grains of sand avalance between your toes as you recline and reposition in your beach chair. The suns hot rays beat down on your face. Cool beads of condensation pour off your tall iced glass of Rum…The day is good…

Rum is a distilled beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses and sugarcane juice by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak and other barrels. The majority of rum production occurs in and around the Caribbean and along the Demerara River, Guyana in South America, though there are rum producers in places such as Australia, Fiji, India, Reunion Island, Mauritius, and elsewhere around the world.

Rum is produced in a variety of styles. Light rums are commonly used in cocktails, while golden and dark rums are appropriate for use in cooking as well as cocktails. Premium brands of rum are also available that are made to be consumed neat or on the rocks.

Rum plays a part in the culture of most islands of the West Indies, and has famous associations with the British Royal Navy and piracy. Rum has also served as a popular medium of exchange that helped to promote slavery along with providing economic instigation for Australia’s Rum Rebellion and the American Revolution

Etymology

The origin of the word rum is unclear. A common claim is that the name was derived from rumbullion meaning “a great tumult or uproar”. Another claim is that the name is from the large drinking glasses used by Dutch seamen known as rummers, from the Dutch word roemer, a drinking glass. Other options include contractions of the words saccharum, Latin for sugar, or arôme, French for aroma. Regardless of the original source, the name was already in common use by May 1657 when the General Court of Massachusetts made illegal the sale of strong liquor “whether known by the name of rumme, strong water, wine, brandy, etc., etc.” In current usage, the name used for a rum is often based on the rum’s place of origin. For rums from Spanish-speaking locales the word ron is used. A ron añejo indicates a rum that has been significantly aged and is often used for premium products. Rhum is the term used for rums from French-speaking locales, while rhum vieux is an aged French rum that meets several other requirements.

Some of the many other names for rum are Nelson’s Blood, Kill-Devil, Demon Water, Pirate’s Drink, Navy Neaters, and Barbados water. A version of rum from Newfoundland is referred to by the name Screech, while some low-grade West Indies rums are called tafia.

Origins

The precursors to rum date back to antiquity. Development of fermented drinks produced from sugarcane juice is believed to have first occurred either in ancient India or China, and spread from there. An example of such an early drink is brum. Produced by the Malay people, brum dates back thousands of years. Marco Polo also recorded a 14th-century account of a “very good wine of sugar” that was offered to him in what is modern-day Iran.The first distillation of rum took place on the sugarcane plantations of the Caribbean in the 17th century. Plantation slaves first discovered that molasses, a by-product of the sugar refining process, can be fermented into alcohol. Later, distillation of these alcoholic by-products concentrated the alcohol and removed impurities, producing the first true rums. Tradition suggests that rum first originated on the island of Barbados. Regardless of its initial source, early Caribbean rums were not known for high quality. A 1651 document from Barbados stated, “The chief fuddling they make in the island is Rumbullion, alias Kill-Divil, and this is made of sugar canes distilled, a hot, hellish, and terrible liquor”.

Colonial America

After rum’s development in the Caribbean, the drink’s popularity spread to Colonial America. To support the demand for the drink, the first rum distillery in the colonies was set up in 1664 on present-day Staten Island. Boston, Massachusetts had a distillery three years later. The manufacture of rum became early Colonial New England’s largest and most prosperous industry. Although New England became a distilling center (due to the superior technical, metalworking and cooperage (barrel making) skills and abundant lumber), the rum produced there was lighter, more like whiskey, and lacked the character and aroma of the West Indies product. Though cheaper, anyone who could afford it much preferred the Carribean product. Rhode Island rum even joined gold as an accepted currency in Europe for a period of time. Estimates of rum consumption in the American colonies before the American Revolutionary War had every man, woman, or child drinking an average of 3 Imperial gallons (13.5 liters) of rum each year. To support this demand for the molasses to produce rum, along with the increasing demand for sugar in Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, a labour source to work the sugar plantations in the Caribbean was needed. A triangular trade was established between Africa, the Caribbean, and the colonies to help support this need. The exchange of slaves, molasses, and rum was quite profitable, and the disruption to the trade caused by the Sugar Act in 1764 may have even helped cause the American Revolution.The popularity of rum continued after the American Revolution with George Washington insisting on a barrel of Barbados rum at his 1789 inauguration. Eventually the restrictions on rum from the British islands of the Caribbean combined with the development of American whiskey led to a decline in the drink’s popularity.

Naval rum

Rum’s association with piracy began with English privateers trading on the valuable commodity. As some of the privateers became pirates and buccaneers, their fondness for rum remained, the association between the two only being strengthened by literary works such as Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. The association of rum with the British Royal Navy began in 1655 when the British fleet captured the island of Jamaica. With the availability of domestically produced rum, the British changed the daily ration of liquor given to seamen from French brandy to rum. While the ration was originally given neat, or mixed with lime juice, the practice of watering down the rum began around 1740. To help minimize the effect of the alcohol on his sailors, Admiral Edward Vernon directed that the rum ration be watered down before being issued, a mixture which became known as grog. While it is widely believed that the term grog was coined at this time in honor of the grogram cloak Admiral Vernon wore in rough weather, the term has been demonstrated to predate his famous orders with probable origins in the West Indies, perhaps of African etymology (see Grog). The Royal Navy continued to give its sailors a daily rum ration, known as a “tot,” until the practice was abolished after July 31, 1970. A story involving naval rum is that following his victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, Horatio Nelson’s body was preserved in a cask of rum to allow transport back to England. Upon arrival, however, the cask was opened and found to be empty of rum. The pickled body was removed and, upon inspection, it was discovered that the sailors had drilled a hole in the bottom of the cask and drunk all the rum, in the process drinking Nelson’s blood. Thus, this tale serves as a basis for the term Nelson’s Blood being used to describe rum. It also serves as the basis for the term “Tapping the Admiral” being used to describe drinking the daily rum ration. The details of the story are disputed, with some historians claiming the term originated instead from a toast to Admiral Nelson.

Colonial Australia

See Also: Rum Rebellion

Rum became an important trade good in the early period of the colony of New South Wales. The value of rum was based upon the lack of coinage among the population of the colony, and due to the drink’s ability to allow its consumer to temporarily forget about the lack of creature comforts available in the new colony. The value of rum was such that convict settlers could be induced to work the lands owned by officers of the New South Wales Corps. Due to rum’s popularity among the settlers, the colony gained a reputation for drunkenness even though their alcohol consumption was less than levels commonly consumed in England at the time.When William Bligh became governor of the colony in 1806, he attempted to remedy the perceived problem with drunkenness by outlawing the use of rum as a medium of exchange. In response to this action, and several others, the New South Wales Corps marched, with fixed bayonets, to Government House and placed Bligh under arrest. The mutineers continued to control the colony until the arrival of Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810.

Caribbean light rum

Until the second half of the 19th century all rums were heavy or dark rums that were considered appropriate for the working poor, unlike the refined double-distilled spirits of Europe. In order to expand the market for rum, the Spanish Royal Development Board offered a prize to anyone who could improve the rum making process. This resulted in many refinements in the process which greatly improved the quality of rum. One of the most important figures in this development process was Don Facundo Bacardi Masso, who moved from Spain to Santiago de Cuba in 1843. Don Facundo’s experiments with distillation techniques, charcoal filtering, cultivating of specialized yeast strains, and aging with American oak casks helped to produce a smoother and mellower drink typical of modern light rums. It was with this new rum that Don Facundo founded Bacardí y Compañía in 1862.

Categorization

Dividing rum into meaningful groupings is complicated by the fact that there is no single standard for what constitutes rum. Instead rum is defined by the varying rules and laws of the nations that produce the spirit. The differences in definitions include issues such as spirit proof, minimum aging, and even naming standards.

Examples of the differences in proof is Colombia, requiring their rum possess a minimum alcohol content of 50 ABV, while Chile and Venezuela require only a minimum of 40 ABV. Mexico requires rum be aged a minimum of 8 months; the Dominican Republic, Panama and Venezuela require two years. Naming standards also vary, Argentina defining rums as white, gold, light, and extra light. Barbados uses the terms white, overproof, and matured, while the United States defines rum, rum liqueur, and flavored rum.[22] In Australia Rum is divided into Dark Rum (Under Proof known as UP, Over Proof known as OP, and triple distilled) and White Rum.

Despite these differences in standards and nomenclature, the following divisions are provided to help show the wide variety of rums that are produced.

Regional Variations

Within the Caribbean, each island or production area has a unique style. For the most part, these styles can be grouped by the language that is traditionally spoken. Due to the overwhelming influence of Puerto Rican rum, most rum consumed in the United States is produced in the Spanish-speaking style.

* Spanish-speaking islands traditionally produce light rums with a fairly clean taste. Rums from Cuba, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Colombia and Venezuela are typical of this style.

* English-speaking islands and countries are known for darker rums with a fuller taste that retains a greater amount of the underlying molasses flavor. Rums from Barbados, Bermuda, Belize, the Demerara region of Guyana, Jamaica and also Panama are typical of this style. Some English-Speaking islands, such as Trinidad and Grenada, whose inhabitants boast more complex palates for both the dark and light enjoy puncheon rum, which is 75% and higher-proof, very expensive rum made from sugar cane juice.

* French-speaking islands are best known for their agricultural rums (rhum agricole). These rums, being produced exclusively from sugar cane juice, retain a greater amount of the original flavor of the sugar cane and are generally more expensive than molasses-based rums. Rums from Guadeloupe, Haïti, Marie-Galante and Martinique are typical of this style. Hence, their influence is seen in rums from English-speaking islands with French influences in their histories such as Trinidad and Grenada produce rums made from sugar cane juice rather than molasses, known as puncheon rum. The flavor of light agricultural rums is significantly different than that of other rums; Panama also produces this type of rum.

Cachaça is a spirit similar to rum that is produced in Brazil. Seco, from Panama, is also a spirit similar to rum, but also similar to vodka, since it is triple distilled. The Indonesian spirit Batavia Arrack, or Arrak, is a spirit similar to rum that includes rice in its production. Mexico produces a number of brands of light and dark rum, as well as other less expensive flavored and unflavored sugar cane based liquors, such as aguardiente de caña and charanda. In some cases cane liquor is flavored with mezcal to produce a pseudo-tequila-like drink.

A spirit known as Aguardiente, distilled from molasses infused with anise, with additional sugarcane juice added after distillation, is produced in Central America and northern South America.
Within Europe, a similar spirit made from sugar beet is known as tuzemák (from tuzemský rum, domestic rum) in the Czech Republic and Kobba Libre on the Åland Islands.
In Germany, a cheap substitute of dark rum is called Rum-Verschnitt (literally: cut rum). This distilled beverage is made of genuine dark rum (often from Jamaica), rectified spirit, and water. Very often, caramel coloring is used, too. The relative amount of genuine rum it contains can be quite low since the legal minimum is at only 5 percent, but the taste of Rumverschnitt is still very similar to genuine dark rum. In Austria, a similar rum called Inländerrum or domestic rum is available.

Grades
Example of dark, spiced, and light rums.

The grades and variations used to describe rum depend on the location that a rum was produced. Despite these variations the following terms are frequently used to describe various types of rum:

* Light Rums, also referred to as light, silver, and white rums. In general, light rum has very little flavor aside from a general sweetness, and serves accordingly as a base for cocktails. Light rums are sometimes filtered after aging to remove any color.

* Gold Rums, also called amber rums, are medium-bodied rums which are generally aged. These gain their dark color from aging in wooden barrels (usually the charred white oak barrels that are the byproduct of Bourbon Whiskey).

* Spiced Rum: These rums obtain their flavor through addition of spices and, sometimes, caramel. Most are darker in color, and based on gold rums. Some are significantly darker, while many cheaper brands are made from inexpensive white rums and darkened with artificial caramel color.

* Dark Rum, also known as black rum, classes as a grade darker than gold rum. It is generally aged longer, in heavily charred barrels. Dark rum has a much stronger flavor than either light or gold rum, and hints of spices can be detected, along with a strong molasses or caramel overtone. It is used to provide substance in rum drinks, as well as color. In addition to uses in mixed drinks, dark rum is the type of rum most commonly used in cooking.

* Flavored Rum: Some manufacturers have begun to sell rums which they have infused with flavors of fruits such as mango, orange, citrus, coconut, and limke which is a lime rum found in Sweden. These serve to flavor similarly themed tropical drinks which generally comprise less than 40% alcohol, and are also often drunk neat or on the rocks.

* Overproof Rum is rum which is much higher than the standard 40% alcohol. Most of these rums bear greater than 75%, in fact, and preparations of 151 to 160 proof occur commonly.

* Premium Rum: As with other sipping spirits, such as Cognac and Scotch, a market exists for premium and super-premium rums. These are generally boutique brands which sell very aged and carefully produced rums. They have more character and flavor than their “mixing” counterparts, and are generally consumed without the addition of other ingredients.

Production methodology

Unlike some other spirits, such as Cognac and Scotch, rum has no defined production methods. Instead, rum production is based on traditional styles that vary between locations and distillers.

Fermentation
Sugarcane is harvested to make sugarcane juice and molasses.

Most rum produced is made from molasses. Within the Caribbean, much of this molasses is from Brazil. A notable exception is the French-speaking islands where sugarcane juice is the preferred base ingredient.

Yeast and water are added to the base ingredient to start the fermentation process. While some rum producers allow wild yeast to perform the fermentation, most use specific strains of yeast to help provide a consistent taste and predictable fermentation time. Dunder, the yeast-rich foam from previous fermentations, is the traditional yeast source in Jamaica.”The yeast employed will determine the final taste and aroma profile,” says Jamaican master blender Joy Spence. Distillers that make lighter rums, such as Bacardi, prefer to use faster-working yeasts. Use of slower-working yeasts causes more esters to accumulate during fermentation, allowing for a fuller-tasting rum.

Distillation

As with all other aspects of rum production, there is no standard method used for distillation. While some producers work in batches using pot stills, most rum production is done using column still distillation. Pot still output contains more congeners than the output from column stills and thus produces a fuller-tasting rum.

Aging and blending

Many countries require that rum be aged for at least one year. This aging is commonly performed in used bourbon casks, but may also be performed in stainless steel tanks or other types of wooden casks. Due to the tropical climate common to most rum-producing areas, rum matures at a much faster rate than is typical for Scotch or Cognac. An indication of this faster rate is the angel’s share, or amount of product lost to evaporation. While products aged in France or Scotland see about 2% loss each year, rum producers may see as much as 10%. After aging, rum is normally blended to ensure a consistent flavor. As part of this blending process, light rums may be filtered to remove any color gained during aging. For darker rums, caramel may be added to the rum to adjust the color of the final product.

In cuisine
Rum

Besides rum punch, cocktails such as the Cuba Libre and Daiquiri have well-known stories of their invention in the Caribbean. Tiki culture in the US helped expand rum’s horizons with inventions such as the Mai Tai and Zombie. Other well-known cocktails containing rum include the Piña Colada, a drink made popular by Rupert Holmes’ song “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)”, and the Mojito. Cold-weather drinks made with rum include the Rum toddy and Hot Buttered Rum. In addition to these well-known cocktails, a number of local specialties utilize rum. Examples of these local drinks include Bermuda’s Dark and Stormy (Gosling’s Black Seal rum with ginger beer), and the Painkiller from the British Virgin Islands.

Rum may also be used as a base in the manufacture of liqueurs. Spiced Rum is made by infusing rum with a combination of spices. Another combination is jagertee, a mixture of rum and black tea.

Rum may also be used in a number of cooked dishes. It may be used as a flavoring agent in items such as rum balls or rum cakes. Rum is commonly used to macerate fruit used in fruitcakes and is also used in marinades for some Caribbean dishes. Rum is also used in the preparation of Bananas Foster and some hard sauces.

Ti Punch is short for “petit punch”, little punch. This is a very traditional drink in the French-speaking region of the Caribbean.

Brands

* 10 Cane
* Angostura
* Appleton Estate
* Bacardi
* Bambu Rum
* Barcelo
* Bayu
* Barbancourt
* Beenleigh
* Bermudez
* Black Seal
* Bounty Rum
* Braddah Kimo’s Maui Rum
* Brinley Gold Rum
* Brugal
* Bundaberg
* Cockspur
* Cacique
* Caney
* Captain Morgan
* Carupano
* Cavalier
* Coronation Khukuri XXX Rum
* Cortez, Ron Cortez, Panam

* Coruba
* Cruzan
* Don Lorenzo
* Don Q
* El Dorado
* English Harbour Rum
* Estelar
* Flor de Caña
* Ghostship
* Goodwill
* Gosling’s
* Green Island
* Havana Club
* Honey Rum
* Jolly Roger
* Lemon Hart
* Lambs Rum
* Macuro
* Malibu Rum
* Matusalem
* McDowell’s No.1 Celebration Rum
* Mitjans
* Mount Gay
* Montilla
* Myers
* Newfoundland Screech
* New Grove Oak Aged Rum
* New Grove Plantation Rum
* Ocumare
* Old Monk
* Old Sam’s
* One Barrell
* Panama Jack Spiced Rum
* Pampero
* Pusser’s
* Pyrat
* RedRum
* Ronrico
* Ron Cortez
* Ron Diaz
* Ron Viejo de Caldas
* Ron Zacapa Centenario
* Royal Reserve
* Santa Teresa
* Santiago De Cuba
* Sailor Jerry
* Silver Kiss Rum
* Stroh
* Tanduay
* Varela Rum,151 proof, Panam?
* VooDoo Spiced Rum
* Wray and Nephews
* Zaya

No longer. As this third annual survey revealed, American craft brewing has come of age. Adventuresome brewers are now producing beers that are at once mind-bendingly flavorful and perfectly refreshing on a hot afternoon.

But don’t take our word for it. We put this list together by gathering recommendations from the experts and carefully tasting case after case, on deadline. You, however, have all the Saturdays in the world. Think of this list as a scorecard, with points to debate and notes for inspiration. Which is to say, you’ve got some drinking to do.

1 Firestone Walker Pale Ale
Paso Robles, CA
firestonebeer.com
You may recognize the name here, either from the Napa Valley winery or the tire company whose wealth spawned said winery. Well, the winery then spawned a little four-beer brewery, and that brewery has created the liveliest, purest expression of American pale ale going. Brewed with gentle British bittering hops and finished with American cascade hops (the same stuff that makes Sierra Nevada smell like pinecones), Firestone Walker combines the subtlety of a British ale with the fragrant bite that Americans weaned on microbrews have come to expect. The Burton Union oak barrel system, a Rube Goldbergian row of linked barrels that churn the fermenting brew through wood while it’s coming of age, is more evidence that these guys are serious about tradition. If you’ve ever enjoyed a bottle of pale ale, we suggest you seek this one out.

2 Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Milton, DE
dogfish.com
If Dogfish Head brewer Sam Calagione worked in a real lab somewhere, he’d probably be trying to engineer living organisms from scratch. Be glad he stuck to beer. His 18-percent alcohol, seemingly quaalude-based World Wide Stout is the beer that made him famous, but we’re most impressed by his flagship brew, the 60 Minute IPA. IPA stands for India pale ale, a British style that is traditionally brewed with extra hops and a higher alcohol content, both of which helped preserve the ale on the long journey to the king’s beer-guzzling troops in India. These days the bitter, boozy style is one of the most popular in the craft beer world, and 60 Minute IPA is the best we’ve found. It’s almost as if Calagione has found a way to strip the essential oils from hops, aromatherapy-style, and drop just a touch in each bottle to gain flavor while staying well below the threshold of unpleasant bitterness. The 60 Minute IPA accounts for nearly half of Dogfish’s sales, a remarkable feat for an IPA, and one that speaks to its surprising drinkability.

3 Stoudt’s Pils
Adamstown, PA
stoudtsbeer.com
For the past two years we’ve declared Victory Prima Pils, from Downington, Pennsylvania’s Victory Brewing Co., to be the Platonic ideal of an American pilsner: a straw-colored beer that’s hoppier than its Bavarian and Czech forebears yet refreshing enough to sip immediately after a five-mile run. This year we’ve set aside Prima Pils to make way for something new: yet another pilsner from Pennsylvania, a state that should probably change its motto to “Land of the Righteous Pilsners.” Stoudt’s is the oldest craft brewery in the state, and its experience shows in this light, buttery brew, which is subtle and full-flavored enough to compete with the finest European pilsners.

4 Russian River Temptation Ale

Santa Rosa, CA
russianriverbrewing.com
Aging beer in oak barrels might sound like the handiwork of poseurs, but it’s a long-standing tradition in Europe, where certain storied British and Belgian brewers (Samuel Smith’s and Marston’s in England, Rodenbach and Cantillon in Belgium) still ferment with wood. In the right hands the result is a richness and winelike character that simply can’t be had without the influence of wood. That’s exactly what Russian River has accomplished with its Temptation, a

Belgian-style blond ale aged in chardonnay barrels for a year and infused with a touch of brettanomyces bacteria (see number 21 for more on that). The aging and the addition of brettanomyces move Temptation beyond standard blond ale territory (sweet, estery, highly alcoholic) into the realm of something worth cellaring and saving for special occasions.

5 Avery Mephistopheles’ Stout
Boulder, CO
averybrewing.com
Diabolically strong at 15.1 percent, Boulder brewer Adam Avery’s latest creation demands respect. Drink it for a glimpse of the awesome power a beer can unleash, but be careful: You may never be able to drink another stout. And not just because it’s seductively potent. This cinder-black brew is rich and roasty, with flavors of coffee and rum-soaked black cherries, and a velvety smoothness lures you back for sip after sip. It’s an ideal after-dinner drink, perfect with dark chocolate. But again: Consider yourself warned.

6 Anderson Valley Boont Amber Ale
Boonville, CA
avbc.com
Too often the designation “amber” gets slapped onto any cloyingly sweet, ruddy-colored, half-assed ale that college sophomores love but beer geeks despise. Boont Amber shows what potential the style has: room for floral hops,melony aromas reminiscent of those found in the finest Belgian ales, and a round, full, sweet-malt body that doesn’t show a trace of the rotten-fruit sourness that can taint lesser amber ales.

7 Great Lakes Holy Moses White Ale

Cleveland, OH
greatlakesbrewing.com
This variation on the Belgian wit, or white, beer, a light, frothy wheat-based style spiced with coriander and lemon peel, has a nice American twist. It’s dry-hopped, which lends a floral character that combines nicely with the coriander and chamomile — and believe it or not, you can taste the chamomile. The result is delicious, with the creamy citrus notes that are the mark of a good wit. This might all sound unforgivably girly to you, but try one on a warm spring day and you’ll beg for another.

8 Full Sail Session Lager
Hood River, OR
fullsailbrewing.com
This new, wildly popular release seems an obvious homage to the sadly discontinued Olympia grenade bottles (”It’s the Water”). As with Oly, you can drink it all night long (”Session Lager” means “suitable for drinking for hours on end”). Unlike Oly, Session has real taste, which makes it all the more likely to lure you into that long night out.

9 Rogue Brutal Bitter
Newport, OR
rogue.com
Rogue is one of the pioneers of the West Coast extreme beer scene, in which brewers take standard beer styles and add more: more hops, more malt, more alcohol. A lot of these beers have all the charm of fresh lead paint (Rogue’s absurdly overhopped Imperial IPA is a prime example). But despite the intimidating name, Brutal Bitter is not one of those beers. It’s a British “bitter,” a lightly hoppy ale that’s apparently shocking to the English palate but crisp and clean to American tongues. Of course, this bold, copper-colored bitter is amped up — it’s a Rogue, after all — but just to the point of ideal drinkability.

10 Bell’s Expedition Stout

Comstock, MI
bellsbeer.coRussian Imperial Stouts — ebony elixirs first brewed in England for export to Russian czars — tend to deliver an overwhelming malt assault. But despite being made with twice as much grain as Bell’s standard stout, Bell’s Expedition is surprisingly smooth. Not surprisingly, it’s potent, too, at 11.5 percent, though cocoa and dried fruit flavors balance the booze. This is one for savoring, preferably to toast the end of a long voyage.

11 Southampton Double White
Southampton, NY
publick.com
In the new American “double” tradition — essentially shorthand for an extreme-beer variation on a well-known style, in this case the Belgian wit — Southampton brewmaster Phil Markowski has created Double White. It’s like a distilled Hoegaarden, with nearly twice the alcohol, 10 times the flavor, and a melted-gelato creaminess. On a hot day there are few beers more refreshing than a classic wit; this bolder variation is perfect for the cooler days of fall.

12 Smuttynose Big A IPA
Portsmouth, NH
smuttynose.com
If anyone tells you that the quintessential American beer is Budweiser, here’s your reply: Every country in the world has its own bland lager. But no one else has the belligerent, uncouth, perfectly American double IPA. That description may be harsh, but this hyperhopped style most often is. This New Hampshire brewery’s interpretation, though, is actually drinkable, with a strong malt background to balance all those bitter hops. Smuttynose’s Shoals Pale Ale damn near made this list, but in the end we felt like its Big A IPA was one of the very few extreme beers we tried that really fulfilled the implicit promise these beers make: to deliver more of what you like without screwing it up.

13 Penn Weizen
Pittsburgh, PA
pennbrew.com
The Bavarian wheat beer Weihenstephaner Weisse is arguably the brew by which all weizen, or wheat beers, are judged. And held to that standard, Penn Brewery’s weiss delivers, with the hazy, bright gold color, banana-bread aromas (which come from esters produced by the yeast), lemon- and orange-rind flavors, and general chuggability that make traditional German wheat beers perennial warm-weather favorites.

14 Great Lakes Burning River Pale Ale

Cleveland, OH
greatlakesbrewery.com
“Burning River” is a great name; unfortunately it’s also a reference to the worst days of the Cuyahoga River, a waterway once so befouled by coal plants on its banks that it periodically caught fire. Don’t worry: This beer tastes nothing like an oil slick, flaming or no, though it is fuller, bolder, and more bitter than Firestone’s pale, reaching toward IPA territory.

15 Ommegang Hennepin
Cooperstown, NY
ommegang.com
Like many of the Belgian saison beers that inspired it, Hennepin comes in a wine-size bottle corked like champagne. Why? It’s not just to impress the guests, which this beer would do even if it were poured into a hiking boot. This spicy summer sipper undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle, and the pressures created reach levels an ordinary metal cap can’t withstand. And unlike a good bottle of bubbly, Hennepin won’t set you back 70 bucks. Try $7.

16 Samuel Adams Black Lager
Boston, MA
samueladams.com
Next time your chardonnay-sipping in-law whines that “dark beers are just too heavy,” explain that dark beers aren’t necessarily heavier; sometimes they’re just darker. The Black Lager from microbrewing trailblazer Jim Koch’s Boston Beer Co. will finish your point. Inspired by the obsidian-colored schwarzbier (”black beer”) from southeastern Germany, it’s smooth and dark, but not too filling — a nice alternative to meal-in-a-glass stouts and porters.

17 Sprecher Hefe Weiss
Milwaukee, WI
sprecherbrewery.com
Milwaukee was once called the Beer Capital of the World, thanks to its prowess in cranking out Pabst, Schlitz, and other monosyllabic canned beers that are now ironic hipster fashion accessories. Sprecher guards a more authentic strain of the city’s brewing tradition with its perfectly crafted German-style beers, particularly its Hefe Weiss, which, with its substantial head, hazy body, big whiffs of esters, and muted citrus flavor, could have easily come from the Old Country.

18 Alaskan Amber
Juneau, AK
alaskanbeer.com
This sturdy, malty beer is made in the style of German alt, or old, beers, which are fermented slowly and at lower temperatures than usual, resulting in an extraordinarily creamy smoothness. Like the best altbiers, Alaskan’s is fresh-tasting and easy-drinking, but there’s nothing really old about it — except the water, which comes from glacial runoff of the 3,000-year-old Juneau Ice Field.

19 Deschutes Broken Top Bock
Bend, OR
deschutesbrewery.com
It’s a common misconception that this German style is called “bock” because it’s as “strong as a goat,” “bock” being German for goat. The style is actually named after the town where it was born, Einbeck, but no matter. This expression of the style, named after a presumably goat-ridden volcanic remnant that soars nearly 10,000 feet over Deschutes’s hometown of Bend, boasts rich, roasted malt flavors and tangy Eastern European hops. And at 7 percent alcohol, it has a kick even the local wildlife could appreciate.

20 Lost Abbey Avant Garde

San Marcos, CA
lostabbey.com
Pizza Port brewing built a dedicated cult following with Belgian-style ales just as good as the stuff from across the pond. Now that they’re trying to reach beyond the beer-blog obsessives, they’ve ditched the dorky “Pizza Port” name to become Lost Abbey. Fortunately the beer is as good as ever. Their Avant Garde is our favorite; it’s a bire de garde, meaning it’s “guarded” for a long period of aging, during which it grows into a pleasantly warming ale marked by earthy, spicy flavors. Pair this bottle with strong cheese and crackers.

21 Jolly Pumpkin Bam Bière
Dexter, MI
jollypumpkin.com
This one is an acquired taste. Like the Belgian classic Orval, Bam Bire contains a stout helping of brettanomyces, a bacterium considered a defect in most wines that’s key to many Belgian standout beers. “Brett,” as it’s sometimes called, is often described as leathery or earthy (a flavor sometimes referred to as “horse blanket”); in this hazy golden ale those funky flavors are balanced by a pleasant citrus tang.

22 Victory St. Victorious Doppelbock
Downington, PA
victorybeer.com
Pennsylvania’s Victory Brewing Co. has blown us away in the past with its crisp, flowery Prima Pils, so we had high expectations for this traditional German-style Doppelbock before we even got a whiff of its toasty, spicy aroma. We weren’t disappointed: caramely, chocolaty, slightly smoky, mahogany in color and bursting with roasted malt, this is a beer tailor-made for winter’s cold nights.

23 Allagash Interlude

Portland, ME
allagash.com
This fine Maine-based brewery started as a one-man operation 11 years ago and has been crafting exceptional Belgian-style beers ever since. Its latest experiment is a series of oak-aged ales; our favorite is Interlude, which starts life something like a Belgian triple, a strong blond ale with spicy yeast flavors and a bracing alcoholic bluster. Then it’s aged in syrah and merlot barrels (which impart a plumlike sourness) and, like Ommegang’s Hennepin, topped with a cork and refermented in the bottle. The result is a winey, tannic ale fit for the fanciest dinner party.

24 Alesmith Speedway Stout

San Diego, CA

alesmith.com

Like Bell’s Expedition Stout, Speedway is a Russian Imperial Stout, an intense, onyx-black brew suitable for aging (or better yet, drinking now with a good cigar). Alesmith’s version takes the style a step further with the addition of actual coffee beans, which give this beer an enticing espresso-like aroma. At 12 percent alcohol, though, it’s not the jitters you’ll be feeling after a snifter.

25 New Glarus Yokel
New Glarus, WI
newglarusbrewing.com
Two years ago our samples from this artisanal Wisconsin brewery arrived in a box that looked like it had been to Nigeria and back, every side covered in hundreds of 37-cent postage stamps. Damn, we thought: This place is real. That lack of polish is a virtue in this chewy, unfiltered lager, which reminds us of the deliciously rustic Mahr’s Ungespundet HeftraŸb (unfiltered lager) that last year snatched our souls and inspired us to call Bamberg, Germany’s Mahrs BrŠu the world’s best brewery.

By: Christian deBenedetti and Seth Fletcher
(October 2006)

Everyone remembers Cheers. The place every body knew your name…an iconic bar scene made of Dark mahogany table tops, the lone pool table with the one light above it covered in the standard hunter green lamp shade. And of course, the bar signs…. I say bar signs are under rated I mean they are the whole reason you even know it’s a bar in the first place and not just some random long counter. So below I pay homage to the bar sign.

This personalized home bar sign defiantly has personality. It states- Come early , Stay late at the bottom and Bring All You Can Drink and Drink All You Bring on either side of the toasting beer glasses. Not many of our bar signs state these rule more eloquently. On top of that we personalize the home bar sign with your name up to 15 characters. Our personalized wood bar signs are based upon late 19th century designs when use of text oriented pub and trade signs were at their height. While the signs are brand new, they conform in shape and lettering style to that of old time signs. To complete the look, all of the personalized signs are given a hand rubbed stain to “age” the sign appropriately. Our Personalized sign have silk-screened artwork on durable wood, with a hole in back for wall-hanging.

Ever since Sam Malone opened his place in Boston, you’ve dreamed of owning your own martini bar. Where everybody knows your name. And they’re always glad you… well, served free drinks and cleaned up after everyone. Still, the dream’s alive, and it’s very attainable with our personalized neighborhood pub sign. Simply give us your name - and bang, you’re open for business. Meticulous detail goes into each of our personalized pub signs.

Good Times- Good Friends- Cold Beer- this tavern sign says it all. Meticulous detail goes into each of our personalized bar signs. Silk-screened artwork on durable wood, with a hole in back for wall-hanging. Sign measures 16″ x 11″. Simply give us your name - and bang, you’re open for business.

Personalized Irish Pub Sign Ever since Sam Malone opened his place in Boston, you’ve dreamed of owning your own bar. Where everybody knows your name. And they’re always glad you… well, served free drinks and cleaned up after everyone. Still, the dream’s alive, and it’s very attainable with our custom-made Old Irish Pub Sign. Simply give us your name - and bang, you’re Irish Pub is open for business.

You’ve always wanted to have your own lounge and now’s your chance. Where the glasses are clean, and the martinis are dirty! Oh, and getting naked is always an option. Your own bar sign personalized with your name on it letting everyone know what the rules are. Simply give us your name -we personalize it - and bang, you’re open for busines

In Celebration of the upcoming holiday!!

Tasting Irish Whiskey
with Colum Egan Master Distiller of Bushmills Irish Whiskey

“To taste whiskey you will need your senses of sight, smell and taste. Plus a little guidance and an open mind. Taste is a personal experience so there is no right or wrong.” - Colum Egan

Step 1: Prepare for the Tasting
The tasting room should be free of extraneous smells and should have good lighting. The right size and shape of the glass is vital and makes a huge difference in the ability to nose effectively. Do not use traditional whiskey tumblers. Instead use a snifter, which allows you to swirl the spirit and gather the aromas around the rim.

Step 2: Note Appearance
Pour about an ounce of whiskey. Hold the glass to the light, or against a white napkin, and take note of its color, depth and clarity. The whiskey’s appearance should be a guide to how it has been matured and how long it has been aged.

Step 3: Add Water
Almost all whiskeys benefit from the addition of water, which will open up the spirit in most cases. It’s always best to add water a little at a time. Older whiskeys (more than 20 years) or whiskeys aged in sherry can be damaged by the addition of too much water; the aromas break up and the flavor becomes flat. The water used to dilute the strength of your dram should be still and not too high in minerals. At professional tastings, distilled water is normally used.

Step 4: Nose the Whiskey
The aroma of a whiskey is called the “nose.” To determine the nose, tilt the glass, swirl the whiskey and inhale slowly. Do not sniff too intensely or too often because the alcohol can inhibit your sense of smell. The aromas are often complex and multi-layered. With a little practice, you will learn to break smells down and identify what they are.

Step 5: Taste the Whiskey
Take a sip large enough to fill your mouth, then roll it over your tongue. It is important when tasting, to hold the liquid in the mouth and to make sure it coats the tongue thoroughly to help determine mouth-feel. First register the texture and smoothness of the whiskey. Then try to identify the primary tastes — the immediate flavors your tongue collects. The finish, or aftertaste, refers to the sensation experienced after swallowing, as well as the flavors that linger in your mouth.

Tiramisu
Ingredients: (Serves 2)
- 1/4 cup espresso
- 4 oz Baileys Original Irish Cream
- 1/3 cup mascarpone
- 2 scoops vanilla, chocolate or coffee ice cream
- 2 to 4 ice cubes
- 2 soft ladyfinger cookies sliced lengthwise or shortbread wafers
- Chocolate-hazelnut spread
- Chocolate syrup

Blend together espresso, Irish Cream, ice cream, mascarpone, ice cream and ice until smooth. Drizzle chocolate syrup along inside edges of over-sized martini glasses. Pour mixture from blender into glasses. Spread a layer of chocolate-layzelnut spread in between the ladyfingers or sandwich between two shortbread cookies. Pass the cookies to dip in the cocktails. (Variation: Rim glass with chocolate syrup by dipping glass in a plate with chocolate syrup)

Dublin Dream
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 oz Irish Mist Liqueur
- 1 1/2 oz Carolan’s Irish Cream
- 1 1/2 oz SKYY Vodka
- 1 oz Chambord Liqueur
- 1 oz fresh cream
Garnish: mint sprig

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled rocks glass or martini glass. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Irish Snakebite
Ingredients:
- equal part dark Irish beer
- equal part hard cider
- shot of blackcurrant syrup

Fill pint glass with equal amounts of dark Irish beer and hard cider, leaving about 1/3 inch space at top. Add a shot of blackcurrant syrup and stir gently to mix.

Blackcurrant syrup: In saucer, bring one cup sugar and two cups blackcurrant juice to boil. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until mixture appears thicker. Cool in ice bath and pour into final storage container, adding 1 oz vodka as preservative. (Cocktail created by: Gwen Kaiser Sutherland, Master Mixologist, Cocktail Times)

And Dont Forget to Check Out All the Cool Stuff We Have at WWW.AFTER5CATALOG.COM

The birds are chirping, the sun is shining and when you step outside the smell of fresh cut grass envelops you like blankets…Ahhh yes this can only mean one thing…Spring is here…and with spring…comes none other then BASEBALL!!!!

Over 100 years ago, in 1903, Major League Baseball held the first modern World Series with the Boston Americans defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since then the sport has managed to-become one of the most predominant activities in the United States and brings in talent from all over the world. Its the one and ONLY sport herald as “America’s Past Time”…. With the passing of Monday, March 10Th, we are now less then 2 weeks away from the opening day of the 2008 MLB season!

The 2008 Major League Baseball season is scheduled to begin on March 25, 2008 in Tokyo, Japan with the 2007 World Series champion Boston Red Sox playing the Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome in the first game of a two-game series, and end on September 28 of that same year. The Civil Rights Game in Memphis, Tennessee will take place March 29 when the New York Mets play the Chicago White Sox. The All-Star Game is scheduled to be played on July 15 at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York. The road to the World Series will begin on October 1 with the League Division Series, followed by the League Championship Series starting October 11, and the Fall Classic beginning October 22. If the 2008 World Series goes the full seven game limit, the season (barring postponements due to inclement weather) would end October 30.

Being from Detroit, its probably obvious to concur that my team of choice would have to be the Detroit Tigers, who with the paramount addition of both Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrerra, are looking pretty hot this year. Dontrelle Willis won 22 games in 2005, posting a 2.63 ERA in the process. Only Chris Carpenter’s magical season in St. Louis kept the Marlins’ left-hander from a Cy Young Award trophy. The next two campaigns, however, were a true collapse. Willis’ ERA spiked by more than a whole run each year, and last season he added a 1.60 WHIP to his deteriorating stat line. Now that Willis is in Detroit, what can his owners and all Detroit fans expect? I’d say with Jim Leyland running the show, we can always expect the bast. And as for Mr. Miguel Cabrera, well if you dont know about him you really arnt paying attention to baseball at all…

With baseball come tradition. It plays a factor in almost EVERY aspect of the game. From the rules of how the game is played down to rituals batters preform before they step up to the plate. One of baseballs finner traditions (and the tastiest) is the Dodger Dog… The Dodger Dog is a hot dog named after the Major League Baseball franchise that sells them (the Los Angeles Dodgers). This foot-long ballpark frankfurter wrapped in a steamed bun is consumed by the millions over the course of the baseball season. Sold at Dodger Stadium located in Los Angeles, CA, it is the top selling hot dog in baseball and widely regarded as “the perfect food.”

There are two queues for Dodger Dog vendors: steamed or grilled. The vendors of the grilled dogs locate near the back wall of the stadium so that the smoke doesn’t overwhelm the baseball fans. Some purists believe the grilled dogs are superior to the steamed variety.

Every year there always that one team to beat, usually its the World Series Champions from the year before, and this year is no exception. The Boston Red Sox will attempt to become the first repeat World Series Champions since the 1999/2000 New York Yankees and also be the first repeat Champions of the 21st century. They will also try to become World Series Champions three times in five years and with faces like Big Papi and Manny Ramirez staking claim in beantown, the Sox are looking nastier then ever.

BUT…the beauty of baseball is “you never know”…just like the 2004 world series champion Red Sox can tell you after having come back from a three game deficit in the American League Champion to defeat their arch rival New York Yankee’s…

But when its all said and done, its really all about YOU…the fan…the ones who fill the stand and crowd the TV blabbering about so many stats it would turn any non baseball fans face green. So I have listed some stuff below that any respectful baseball fan might find amusing…for now we will have to sit and wait till the season starts…and dont worry this will not be the last baseball blog you see…until then, keep your eye on the ball..and have a blast