Friday, May 31, 2013

Global Warming Beer

glacier beer


One might think that beer titled "global warming beer" might have something to do with a charity of some kind, but oohhh not so my dear friends. Think more "capitalizing on a shitty situation." The first brewery of the world's largest island,  Greenland Brewhouse takes a few extra chips off the ol' 2,000 year old ice cap and tries to create something magic.



"On July 31 a team of canny entrepreneurs unveiled Greenland Beer, an ale brewed with water melted from Greenland's ice cap, at a public tasting in Copenhagen, Denmark."

Wiki notes that the poor brewery didn't make it well through the years, but the website still has contacts and locations for ordering.

[caption id="attachment_427" align="alignleft" width="461"]060803-warming-beer Global warming beer?[/caption]

"The microbrewery filed for bankruptcy in October 2008. A month later—in November 2008—the main shareholder, Greenland Ventures, decided against further investment in the company and the brewery was declared bankrupt. The main Greenlandic newspaper Sermitisiaq reported the brewery left behind four million kroner in debt."

Being the first inuit brew house is interesting enough to be put on my list of things to do, but showcasing a fancy water source from a dying natural resource might not have been the best move.

We know that water is a VERY important to the composition of beer. People living in the middles ages had a better go at life if they imbibed only beer, like the stupid blond guy from the movie Cabin Fever. These people were able to stay healthier then their water sipping friends because the act of boiling the water removes most of the deadly aspects that can live in contaminated water. That being said, is boiling down the ice cap water going to remove some of those lovely pre historic aspects?

People on the rating sites don't seem overly impressed with the brew with average ratings and mild notes mostly adding things about how they taste thin or light but balance well.

I'll keep an eye out for this one and would love some first hand accounts of this Ice-capped effect on the beer, even if it has nothing to do with saving the planet.Greenland-1

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Let's think on Brew Packs

imagesTaster pack


Variety pack


Holiday pack


Survival pack


Beer can come in an assortment of mix and match ways ranging from Oskar Blue's new CANundrum to classic Sam Adams variety and seasonal sets.

These are all great ideas for people like me, who flow from stout to saison in a single day or breweries that want to offer a pre-packaged dose of holiday cheer but what good do these mix brew packs do?

lSixStyleMixPackMost respectable bottle shops sell beers as individuals anyway, so one can always grab a cardboard box and some ribbon to throw together a persionalized variety set.

Lets warm up the ol' hamster in the wheel- why don't more then one brewery get together to make a truly MIXED set? Granted, from a marketing and sales stand point, who would want buyers picking up beers from a competitor's shelf and profitting along with you. Team work people! TEAM WORK! "Beer is good, although we may not be," as my grandmother always says, so how about we let beer work it's magic without our material gains getting in the way.

How about having four different breweries each make a specific beer for charity, sold only in a combined set. The set would donate proceeds to, something meaningful, like orphaned children. Little Annie Brew Pack. The new family pack!

Beers for better homes.


No?

Eco! All organic pack from brewers who do all organic brews. Part of the proceeds can go to "anti Monsanto infected beer" sign paint.

Too hippy?


Santa!

01-nipponbeer

Breweries can be the new holiday icon. Proceeds from multi brewery holiday pack go to granting christmas wishes to sad, wide eyes children or IPA lacking inhabitants of foreign countries <cough, cough Nitch>

Children and alcohol not so socially correct?

Global warming! "Cool Beers for a Cool World"


060803-warming-beer


Anti Whaling! "A Whale of a Beer box set to help the Sea Shepard"


tumblr_lfq7laEfKS1qadri2o1_500

Smokey-the-Beer-31150

Forest fires! "Smokey beers from three breweries who want you to remember that YOU can prevent forest fires"


Okay, lets give the mental hamster a rest for now. Let me know what you come up with!

XOXO

 

Beer is good, although the music might not be

Beer is good!

We can agree on this.

What do you get when you mix heavy music and fun lyrics with a snappy power point and far too much BEER?

Youtube find from Beer is your Friend shows that although, yes Beer IS good, it does not always make us more talented or rational. I post this with a cringe like a mother wearing a noodle necklace out to dinner.

Good job kids! Just ah, don't do it again- ok?

http://youtu.be/O-jOEAufDQ4

Monday, May 27, 2013

Beer Tech

"Don't you hate it when warm beer ruins a perfectly good week day morning?"



Chill Puck to the rescue!


http://youtu.be/1HxBWUXr8pk

The commercial is a riot but I'll admit that I"m unlikely to purchase this nugget of a gadget. More plastic added to the world and the page for advertising almost makes me sick. It reminds me of those plastic wrist bands that were <are?> a rage fad. I guess Nitch is just a fan of natural thermal progression. Then again, I haven't lived in Arizona in a long time- desert people might surely be in need of this invention.
This miracle worker is filled with a super cold material that defies the laws of physics. This same potion has been used to slow global warming, preserve the body of Michael Jackson, and keep Frosty alive.

NASA wants it...

but we're saving it for YOU.

Thirsting For: SwagBrewery.com

SwagBrewery.com has done what we've all been waiting for:

Beerified everything.

I sent them an emailing inquiring about international shipping costs- cross your fingers with me all you Non America Dwellers.

1-DSC_0275_1024x1024

Looking for that next great gift for grandma? How about some flash bottle cap earrings

Don't know what to get your mum for mum's day? She will be flattered and stunning in this woman's "Hop Head" t-shirt.

Womens-Craft-Beer-Shirt-Hop-Head-Swag-square_1024x1024

 

 

 

 

 

Grad gifts- no need to push deodorant on the guy, get him some beer soap and he'll be washing in between classes

DSC_0122_1024x1024There's even some hop candy for those little creatures all your friends keep making!cascade_hop_candy_1024x1024_NEW_1024x1024

 

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Nitch has moved!

No one is home!


Get the new taste at 
TASTINGNITCH.COM

See you there!

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Beer Autism Hope

Lets take a moment to enlighten ourselves and expand our loving abilities. Beer Autism Hope is a project to help a self taught beer expert finish a life long book dedicated to beer.

First watch this:

http://youtu.be/Diuv3XZQXyc

Now consider that, instead of donating a kidney or saving children in africa, the least you could do is support your fellow beer advocates <not the website>.

If you haven't already, watch Lance and his family peck out searches on the computer then be astounded by the power of beer.

http://youtu.be/hgW3V0UasSM
"Beer is one of those things can bring people together- like cookies," as my grandmother always said.

$1


$10


$1,000


Donate what you can, then spread the word. It only takes $1 from each beer lover to make dreams come true.

I'm surprised that some breweries haven't jumped on board and offered to feed and house them along the way, if not aiding finically.

Any brewers with a spare room and a heart of gold?!

Beer Beauty- Hop Lip Balm

Hops right under your nose!

I’ve talked before about how beautiful slick lips might turn heads as you walk in a bar but it will also ruin the head of your beer.

Lip products flatten BEER HEADS!

But don't let that stop you from enjoying a little hop right under your nose in this herbal infusion of beauty and beer-

The creators of Atlantic Farms had an excess of hops, so they come up with some delightful new creations to keep you feeling smothered in resin and essential oils all day long!

slideshow_1

My friend Mr. Sean Inman over at Beer Search Party recently posted how he prefers the grapefruit flavor because it co-ordinates beautifully with BEER.
"I have seen hops in lip balm as swag from Sierra Nevada at some beer events but this is the first that I have seen Double IPA and grapefruit.  Grapefruit works well with beer so that would be my choice."

With flavors like: Hops Mint, Double IPA, Hops Grapefruit, and Hops Lavender, the steep chop of $6.50 per tube might be worth it.


Grab the sale four pack for only $20!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

"If you are sad and like beer, I'm your lady"

What does beer filled glass lady legs


1930’s black and white film


and Canada


Bring to mind?


If you aren’t thinking Guy Maddin films then you likely have some interesting dreamscapes.

 

Fyodor:  Are you an American?

Narcissa: No, I'm not an American. I'm a nymphomaniac.

 

Lady Port-Huntley, the Baroness of Beer, organizes a contest to find the saddest music in the world, while lining her – and her investors – pockets, feeding off the sadness of the Depression area by selling the masses BEER. Musicians from around the world descend on Winnipeg, Canada in this off beat and extremely unique comedy from Director Guy Maddin. The guy who did a lot of other movies you haven’t likely heard of, but works with a lot of actors that you have.

Winners of each musical round slide into in a massive beer pool! Yet to be determined if real steaming suds were used or, more likely, a hot soapy bath.  They battle for a wapping $25,000 grand prize, which would buy a heck of a lot of beer in the Great Depression. You get a great show of music, comedy, loads of one liners and the joy of watching beer be leading actor.

Expand your film viewing, beer loving volume and take a sip at the rim of something extremely rare-

“The Saddest Music in the World”SaddestMusicintheWorld

 

The bit where lady Port-Huntley dances on her beer filled legs gives me little butterflies of jealousy and fear. Delicious!

saddestmusiclegs

Kinda makes ya wana cut your legs off and move to Canada.

Not really.

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Beer Quote:

 

cats-cradle-vonnegut05

“Oh a very sorry people yes, did I find here, for they had no music and they had no beer.

And oh every where were they tried to perch, belonged to Castle Sugar Incorporated or the Catholic Church.”

-Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

Thirsting For: HomeBrew Tours

If there isn’t one in your city yet- be the first to create it!

http://youtu.be/vXzZQ4zPsXo

Joshua lays the ground-work on a fantastic craft beer movement activity: HomeBrew Tours. Small groups of people orangized for a day of intimate beer sampling with the people who hobby on beer instead of work on it. What a better way to get more people brewing then to show them their neighbors! Keepin up with the Joneses, as they say, might bring people around to making the most of their Sunday afternoons.

I'll make one for Paris/France! Although for the moment I only know one home brewer and myself so the tour will be rather short, throwing in some nano-breweries might be acceptable.

HAPPY SIPPING!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Free Online Beer School- The Art and Science of Making Great Beer

backtoschool-400x339

UReddit is Reddit.com’s open online university where people on one side of the planet can teach people on the other side of the planet <or across the street>, things they don’t already know, called MOOCs.

MOOC = Massive Open Online Course

What is Nitch <and you, of course> interested in?

The Art and Science of Making Great Beer


“Are you interested in making your own high quality beer at home? Are you a already an all-grain homebrewer? This course is designed for beginning and advanced homebrewers alike.

I have been homebrewing for years and have a degree in microbiology. I am also a real-life teacher (for now, actually looking to move into the pro-brewing industry).

This class will feature homebrewing demo videos, lectures/presentations about the science of brewing, and interviews and discussion with other brewers (home and pro) about various relevant topics.”

6 Lessons all supplemented with videos, pdfs and discussion boards.

Around 1,300 people signed up for the course which began June 1st 2012 and looks like it ended around June 25th 2012 then fizzled away.

Beer pilgrim talked of adding class courses on filtering, fruit additions and kegging, then of “big announcements” which turned out to not announced as there hasn’t been a post since. We assume that the opening of Pilgrim’s tap room (which I was unable to find the name of) has distracted him from the philanthropic teaches of the global mass.

C’est dommage mais c’est la vie.

I’ll run through the course and see if I learn anything or if it is worth while

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Beer Shower Project

We've all had those days where the coolness of a beer bottle and the heat of a warm shower combine to create the ultimate in hangover relief or post stress release.


Big Fry Photography has taken it to another level and captured sloppy wet beer lovers in moments of pure soapy bliss in the Beer Shower Project

Each one is a ticket to the insight of the people312229_275022305842272_5031758_n


 Burleigh Head's Distincly 70's- INDEED185431_262801163731053_3473890_n


Hot chicks are EPIC wet308631_277204045624098_3933344_n


Beer Bellies are Nitch's favorite379604_315034658507703_621069593_n


Great beer choices are a must- Hitachino Nest White Ale. Looks like they feel refreshing to the face as well379604_315034661841036_243852958_n


Killer work, that not only displays a variety of great beers from around the world but showcases how individuals identify with their beloved brews. This might a snobbish sounding thing but what you drink says a lot about who you are as a person. I refuse to be flirted at by people who are drinking beverages I don't approve of.
"Yellow, fizzy beer is for wussies," -Stone Brewing.

I can't wait to see what else BigFry comes up with and would love to get myself a portrait. What beer would I take, is the great question, seeing as how I have a million favorites. I think I'd end up having a Maui Brewing Coconut Porter. It defines me as person, although I'm still confused about rather or not canning beers is better or worse for the environment. The one thing I DO know is that I love that beer and would take a shower with, in it or while intoxicated on it any day with out question. 

What beer would you take for your shower portrait?