Pintley

An Interview with Magic Hat

June 25, 2010 | Posted by Tim Noetzel

When Magic Hat’s PR agent contacted me about running a story on the brewery, I jumped at the chance. The larger craft breweries are the subjects of some controversy in the beer world. While these breweries have garnered devoted followings, especially in their home states, accusations of disingenuous marketing campaigns and mediocre beer are equally common. I thought an interview with Magic Hat’s cofounder, Alan Newman, would prove a good opportunity to set the record straight. And having only tried Magic Hat’s #9, Circus Boy, and Wacko, I decided a liberal sampling of Magic Hat’s less pedestrian products wouldn’t be amiss either. What I discovered was a reality far different from the stories of either the fanboys or the critics—and much more interesting.

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Newcastle Brown Ale

March 12, 2010 | Posted by Jim Leether

Newcastle Brown Ale is an English Brown Ale that was introduced in 1927, and is currently manufactured by Scottish & Newcastle in New Yorkshire, owned by Heineken International.  Although Newcastle is pretty ubiquitous, I hadn't tried it until I was in Sarasota, FL at a training event.  A few of us were going to go back to our hotel for the evening and relax with a few beers, so I picked up some 12oz bottles.

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Appalachian Brewing Purist Pale Ale

March 11, 2010 | Posted by Josh Lindenger

Over the past few weeks, I've been sampling American Pale Ales from around the country. For this review, I popped open a bottle of Purist Pale Ale from the Appalachian Brewing Company in Harrisburg, PA. Appalachian started in 1997, and they appear to be a small, local brewery/brewpub chain.  Apart from Harrisburg, there are locations in Camp Hill and Gettysburg as well. If I recall correctly, I got this beer as part of a $20 mix pack that included their Water Gap Wheat Ale, Mountain Lager, and Jolly Scot Scottish Ale as well—all decent brews by the way. That puts it at less than $2 per bottle, which I'd say is pretty reasonable.

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Brown Does Nothing for You: A Form Letter to UPS

March 08, 2010 | Posted by Tim Noetzel

Shannon recently blogged about a recent UPS decision to selectively deny service to internet beer distributor Brewforia. When I heard the news, I was so outraged that I decided to both call and email UPS asking them to reverse their decision. I have written a form letter for those of you that might also want to contact UPS to express your concern. If you'd like to show your support for Brewforia, you can contact UPS at customerrelations@ups.com and use the following form letter:

 

Dear UPS,

As a loyal UPS customer, I'm alarmed at the recent news I've been reading about the company selectively denying service to small internet beer distributors.  I recently stumbled across this story describing the United Parcel Service of America's treatment of Brewforia, an Idaho-based beer retailer company: http://www.pintley.com/blog/post.cfm/why-do-they-hate-beer

This story is spreading rapidly, creating significant negative PR for UPS. Internet users on popular sites like Twitter are decrying the decision to deny service to Brewforia, stating things like: "What can Brown Do for You? Apparently Nothing." Given my repeated positive experiences with UPS, I wanted to bring this story to your attention and explain to you why I will be boycotting UPS until this policy is reversed.

Brewforia is a lawfully-created American company that follows all applicable laws and regulations. By retailing craft beer, Brewforia provides a unique and valuable service to its customers that supports America's historic brewing tradition. I believe that selectively denying service to Brewforia is unethical, unpatriotic, and harmful to the economy.  Moreover, I believe that selectively denying service to small businesses significantly harms the brand and image of UPS and undermines the marketing efforts and expenditures intended to position the company as the premier resource for small business shipping.

I do not support the policy of selectively denying service to Brewforia or other beer retailers without legal grounds, and neither I nor my business will use UPS services until UPS changes its policy.

Sincerely,

{Your Name Here}

Why Do They Hate Beer?

March 08, 2010 | Posted by Shannon Hicks

Tons of recent anti-beer news has me pretty riled up. Over the weekend I was made aware that Pintley retail partner Brewforia is currently in a battle with UPS and FedEx over shipping beer to their customers. It seems that both shipping companies will happily ship wine and spirits anywhere it's legal to ship to, but oh boy, beer isn't allowed. Except that they seem to be singling out Brewforia, since there are plenty of Beer of the Month clubs out there that are still shipping their product without any hassle. If you believe that beer should have the same shipping rights as wine and spirits, then let UPS know at (404) 828-4900, or by e-mail at customerrelations@ups.com. Be sure to mention "Beer Equality" in your email or phone conversation. Harassing/yelling at/mocking the poor customer service reps that are not involved in the decision making is counter-productive. Please make your stand in the same manner that you'd present an argument to your mother.

Similarly, Philadelphia Daily News reports that the state police just confinscated a whole bunch of beer from three popular craft beer bars, because the beer that they sold did not match word for word a list of "properly registered" beers. Of course, lots of other bars and grocery stores sell some of these beers, and even advertise them in their flyers, but none of them got targeted.

Ok, there's one advantage of living in Wisconsin

March 08, 2010 | Posted by Shannon Hicks

Greetings Pintley users! I'm Shannon, the lead developer for Pintley. When I'm not coding awesome new features for you all to use, I'm watching out for interesting beer news.

My friends know that everyone once in awhile I have to complain about living in Wisconsin, but on a rare occasion there is something interesting that I can boast about. This is one of those instances.

Check out this map of the beer belly of America.  Go, Wisconsin!

Stone Pale Ale

March 04, 2010 | Posted by Josh Lindenger

For my second American Pale Ale (APA) review, I popped open a bottle of the Stone Brewing Company's Pale Ale.  In the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit up front that I am a major Stone fanboy.  They have a well-deserved reputation for being fine connoisseurs and purveyors of the humulus lupulus ("hopheads"), and, if you are into that, everything they make is at minimum very good and more often than not phenomenal.  Stone is based is Escondido, CA.  For those of you who, like me, have no idea where that is, it's about 30-40 miles north of San Diego.  Unfortunately for me, it's also approximately 2,685 miles west from Baltimore.  If it wasn't, I'd probably be there right now!

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Evolution Craft Brewery - Rise Up Stout

February 19, 2010 | Posted by Jim Leether

Recently, Evolution Craft Brewing released its latest creation, Rise Up Stout.  It's a roasty, full-flavored caribbean stout that has been cold steeped in Rise Up Coffee, which is yet another brand local to this area, making this the ultimate in local brews.  The cold steeping produces a strong coffee flavor with minimal caffiene content.

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Otter Creek Pale Ale

February 18, 2010 | Posted by Josh Lindenger

To begin my study of American Pale Ales (APAs), I headed out to my local beer store and acquired a smattering of examples of the style from breweries around the country. The first one that I popped open to taste was new to me: the Pale Ale from Otter Creek Brewing in Middlebury, Vermont. Otter Creek is a family-owned brewery that started in 1991. I had not previously sampled any of the offerings from either of their two brands: Otter Creek and Wolaver's Organic Ales, so I was excited to try something new. Unfortunately, this brew was a rather inauspicious, hop-backward start to my exploration of APAs.

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Dogfish Head Squall IPA

February 16, 2010 | Posted by Jim Leether

Squall IPA is basically the unfiltered, unpasturized, bottle-conditioned version of Dogfish Head's 90 minute IPA.  It's only available in 750ml bottles, a standard for any bottle-conditioned brew.  Squall is dry hopped with Palisade, Amarillo, Simcoe, Cascade, CTZ, and Willamette hops, giving it a bold, bitter flavor.  The 9.0% ABV is standard for an Imperial IPA, but it can catch you off gaurd if you're not expecting it.  I enjoyed a bottle of Squall with my dinner at Dogfish Head Brewpub in Rehoboth Beach, DE.  It paired perfectly with the custom-built burger I ordered.  Squall is a remarkable beer in a beautiful bottle, which they let me take home.

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