It's well past midnight. I'm fucking improv'n up here.

Apocalypto came on the TV after Mrs. Brewfus had gone to sleep, and the dog did too (or so I thought). Apocalypto is one of my favorite movies, have you seen it? It's the one where Mel Gibson goes crazy, and sacrifices a bunch of Mexicans. There is history (kind of), a man-hunt, a jaguar, and a guy all painted up in blue. And LOTS of bad teeth. So, I pretty much have to watch it now. And I am. While talking to you. I even went and grabbed a beer out of my fridge.

And there are cupcakes too. That's how I roll.

But this is all about Maine Beer Company, and Mean Old Tom. It's a stout aged on natural vanilla beans, but I usually just call those kinds of stouts "delicious." I already have expectations, so lets see how let down/pleasantly surprised I am. It pours dark, like a stout should. With a tan head...like a stout should. I can smell it from here, and the glass is just sitting on the table. Vanilla. Smooth vanilla and roast. I love it. So far, so good.

Ok, I just took my first sip. This is super thin, and a bit more carbonated than I care for in my stouts. I feel like the vanilla is more in the nose than anywhere else. I'm not picking much up. Maybe I'm drinking it wrong. Lots of coffee and chocolate, the booze is all "hey, whats up guys?" But Vanilla? Not so much. Sad. I was really craving it. Maybe Southern Tier Creme Brulee has ruined vanilla stouts for me. Maybe I'm just a fool with an uneducated palate.

Maybe I'm just not a huge fan of this beer.

I'm going to go eat some leftover buffalo chicken pizza. And that cupcake, was delicious.

Ok, so one year ago I decided to get busy, after taking pictures of my beers and (foolishly) considering myself a "beer snob" I started this little corner of the internet, Hipster Brewfus  I didn't know shit, and I still don't, but I'm learning. And learning is half the battle!

Knowing, learning. Whatever.

So, in one year, I have amassed a small army of people. And without those people, Hipster Brewfus wouldn't exist. So I would like to take the time and hold a giveaway of not-quite-epic proportions, but definitely better than my last two, just to say thank you.

So let's break it down. This giveaway will last for ONE MONTH, and you will have multiple chances at entering. There will will be TWO winners. I will use the same Rafflecopter format I have used in the past. This year, my darling friends over at J. Timothy's Tavern in Plainville, Ct have joined in to help with the giveaway. One of you lucky bastards will be taking home one of these bad boys:

I have one of these at home, and I love it.

So, here are the prizes, as I have them figured right now. They are totally subject to change.

First Prize Winner:

• Hipster Brewfus t-shirt or stone coaster set (1st prize gets dibs on one or the other).
• Two bottles of something (beer, but unsure of what kind yet)
• J. Timothy's mug
• ????

Second Prize Winner:

• Hipster Brewfus t-shirt or stone coaster set (whichever 1st place didn't take).
• One bottle of something (beer, but unsure of what kind yet)

Sound good? I hope so.

The exciting part about the Brewfus swag, is that you'll be the only person in the WORLD with it! Because I'm making them to order. And they will be emblazoned with one of these awesome logos:

I ask that you share, and share alike. I want this giveaway to be as big as possible! Eleventy bajillion years from now, when the internet archives are scoured, I want them to find this and use it as a sign of how awesome we all are.

Best of luck, and thank you, from the bottom of my beer-soaked heart.

Lets do this shit!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Aw, yissss. Motha. Fuckin. Zombie Dust.

One of my friends out in Far Away Land gave me a heads up that he was going to pick up a couple of few cases of beer, and was willing to send me a couple bottles. In a few days the beer fairy arrived, and I got stupid excited. My bottles of Three Floyds have arrived.

I couldn't write the review and not mention the label art, it is a goddamned piece of work. Can we just take a moment to acknowledge this? Just for a brief moment?

LOOK AT IT IN ALL ITS DRAMATIC SUNLIGHT
ZOMBIE KING GOODNESS!

Zombie Dust. Oh, you. You poured a nice, translucent orange. With a huge fluffy head, I was captivated by your swirls of what I assume to be the actual zombie dust, in my glass. Are you bottle conditioned? Am I going to turn into a zombie now? You carry a light scent about you. Sweet and floral. way better than the expected "rotting flesh and putridness." You kind of remind me of a mimosa. Citrus, but not a very strong presence of hops. It's there, but masked by all the florally goodness.

At this point I need to interfere. If you didn't know, I write my reviews while I drink, which is usually days or weeks before I actually post the review. Reading my notes is cracking me up. I may have been (probably was) drunk.

Something about the taste just makes my brain scream "ORANGE SODA?!" Because you know who loves orange soda?! No, it's not Kel. It's Hipster Brewfus. And I don't even really like orange soda, but this beer is fucking good. Up front, the taste matches the nose, light, sweet, and loaded with juicy, juicy citrus. Towards the back though, the hops starts to tingle and after you swallow you can exhale all the strong hops that snuck up on you, LIKE A FRIGGIN' HOPS DRAGON!!

You can see the swirls of evil in the sunlight!

If this beer was readily available to me, it would easily be a mainstay for me when I'm craving the hippity hops. And since it's not, I want to grab whatever object is nearest me, and throw it across the room. Seriously, this beer is deserving of all the accolades it gets. its an extremely well made American Pale Ale. IPA? APA? WTF? Does it even matter anymore? This onez for da hop headz.

I was lucky enough to get a bottle of this, along with a bottle of Alpha King, too. And I have a poorly worded review of that coming soon.

Seriously, they need to distribute over here. Mostly to me though.

Strap on your ear goggles, turn up some metal, and head on over to their corners of the internet and check them out!

Website: http://www.3floyds.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3floyds
Twitter: https://twitter.com/3floyds


3 Floyds Zombie Dust

Smell: 4.5/5
Appearance: 3.5/5
Taste: 4/5
Feel: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.875

This beer pairs well with: Wayne Static - The Creatures Are Everywhere

Ha, this post isn't really about me!

Well, maybe a little. Kinda, sorta. Aw hell, let's just jump into it!

State of the Brewnion Follow Up

First, my last editorial post (State of the Brewnion) really took off a lot more than I ever could have imagined. Inside of the first 24 hours, It had over 400 page views  For me, that is INSANE. The views keep on going up now. Seems I really struck a nerve with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek.

The first place my post popped up that surprised me was over on Beerit, Reddit's beer sub-forum. It's not my favorite hang-out on the web, but was really happy to see it get picked up over there.

You can view that thread here.

To follow in those footsteps, my good friend Tony from Beer 411 took the liberty of forwarding my post to the guys over at Beer Coasters Podcast. I had no idea. So I'm sitting in the worst traffic in the world, contemplating how I can end my life with whatever I had in my car, when I got this tweet.

Shout out to @hipsterbrewfus on last week's addition of the @beercoasterspod beercoasterspodcast.com #IPApril
— Tony (@ToeNee11) May 3, 2013

Alright, well, maybe life isn't so bad. I raced (sat in traffic for another 45 minutes) home, and tuned in, sat down and listened intently. These dudes were funny, and extremely knowledgeable. Around the 1 hour mark, I kinda lost my shit when I heard my name. Not only did I hear my name, they discussed the topic for a good while. Seriously, Tony, and Beer Coasters, if you read this, thank you SO much. You made my day. Go ahead and check these guys out! You can listen to the episode here, in their "Interesting IPA" issue for IPApril.

Check out the podcast featuring me, and all of their other episodes on their website: http://beercoasterspodcast.com/

That post was a lot of fun, and sparked a lot of conversation, which is what I want out of all this!

Maryland Craft Beer Festival

Are you going? I'm totally going. I'll be on the DuClaw #BamBus!

This will be my first real event since moving down to Baltimore. I'm wicked excited. Join me and over 20 of Maryland's best breweries, for what will be an incredible day of beer, food, and tunes. For more information regarding breweries, tickets and such, visit the events website: http://www.mdcraftbeerfestival.com/

This event comes at the heels of Frederick Beer Week (May 11th -18th)

CT Beer Week

So this happened. Connecticut now has its very own beer week! Like Fredericks, Connecticut's beer week is May 11th - 18th. Whoa, I get two beer weeks in one week.

One of my favorite things is how Tony, yes the same Tony from above, with the help of a few people managed to make this happen:

That, my friends, is Connecticut's very own Untappd badge. You can read more about how to get it on Untappd official blog entry. Here is the link: http://blog.untappd.com//ct-beer-week-2013

#CTBrewCrew represents pretty damn hard, and I'm proud to be a part of it.

And lastly, speaking of the #CTBrewCrew...

CraftBrewGuy: Revolution Brewfest

CBG is probably the most active guy in craft beer I know. To show the world just how serious he is, he is hosting his very first brewfest. Looking at the lineup (which is apparently getting bigger each day), this is going to be one hell of an event. Follow CBG on Twitter (@CraftBrewGuy) and/or Facebook (/FOLLOWCBG) for updates! I couldn't be more proud of the guy.

One Year Blogaversary

I have zero news regarding this. It's fast approaching, and when the day comes, I suppose I will have to come up with something. Got any ideas?!

Another weekend in Connecticut, another night in a hotel room, another pirated movie, and another delicious bottle of beer. But this is no regular beer.

I decided today, after panning for gold, and mining for gems, that I was in dire need for some love from my local favorite, Relic Brewing. I was elated as I walked through the door and saw Mark standing behind the bar. I couldn't get my tiny glass filled fast enough. I worked my way through the 6 beers on tap, and with each one being delicious in its own right, "One Foot in the Grave" stood out to me the most. On tap, OFitG had a light citrus, lemongrass, almost tart taste to it. A nice malty body, and just crisp and refreshing overall. I immediately pictured myself slaving away, mowing my lawn, and coming in afterwards to a nice pint of this. I loved it, I had two tastings, and asked Mark to put aside one of the two bottles for me.

Now it's a bunch of hours later, I'm less sober, and my daughters headphones are terrible (I left mine at home). This beer however, is still delicious. Just....different from the tap version I had earlier today. The nose is sweet, floral, and  even yeast is getting in on the action. If the smell had a look, it would be pretty. The taste is all kinds of lager-y (despite being the "made-up" Imperial Kellerbier). Strong malts, a very clean finish, drinks smooth. But the two things that stand out are the spice and the alcohol. This beer has no shame in it's mystery ABV that I can't find on the bottle. I could Google it...but I'm not going to. Because lazy. The tart-y, lemongrass-y taste from the tap is nowhere to be found, but I'm ok with this.

Go, go get some now, before it's too late. Because there is a slight chance I got one of the last two bottles.

I was able to blog while watching this. I am amazing.

This might be my new favorite warm weather beer. Crisp and tart and delicious.... (One Foot In The Grave) untp.it/186VHUW
— Hipster Brewfus (@HipsterBrewfus) April 27, 2013

Bottled this time. Booze fest '13 — Drinking an One Foot In The Grave @ Baymont Inn & Suites — untp.it/164R40Q #photo
— Hipster Brewfus (@HipsterBrewfus) April 28, 2013

Good evening America,

I travel a lot, and I also go shopping a lot. With all this shopping, and all the damn traveling, I find myself having to eat at some less than stellar places. And more often than not, their beer choices are less than stellar. BUT....That is not the point of today's piece. If you want to hear me bitch about InBev or other non-craft beer, than you came to the wrong place (here is why). Instead, I'm going to nit-pick, name call, and be whiny and snarky.

There are a few things I'm starting to notice (that I'm sure have been prevalent for some time) in the restaurant business that I'm beginning to take umbrage with. It doesn't affect me, but I just like to complain.

My first issue is this:

Olive Garden: Specialty? Where? Oh you mean the Blue Moon? YOU DON'T SAY!
And the availability is limited? MUST BE MY LUCKY DAY! And don't even get me
started on their "Premium" selection. 

Applebees:  I took this picture in Connecticut, Manchester to be exact. Literally
zero of those beers are "local." Sure, Boston is only an hour and a half away,
but there are a bunch more local beers in Connecticut that aren't Sam Adams.

Buffalo Wild Wings: Probably the "best" of the bunch.  But still, their
"craft and specialty" includes things like Mike's, Smirnoff, and Shock Top.
I was still able to get a Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, and a 90 Minute.

Relatively harmless, right? It's just that I..hate wrong information. With the Olive Garden, I could very well be arguing semantics. Premium? Specialties? Who gives a shit, right? Right. NO! Not right! Budweiser is not a "Premium" beer. It's just not, and I feel trying to market it as such to customers is dishonest. Applebees and their "Local" selection? Again, I feel its just preying on the ignorance of people. And Buffalo Wild Wings? Well, believe it or not, they actually have a semi-decent selection. But marketing the Blue Moon, Shock Top, Bud Light Lime, and Killian's as "Craft and Specialty" is again, misleading and dishonest.

This all makes me think of the whole Yankee Stadium debacle.

Look, I really don't care what beer these places serve. I just do not care one bit. There are plenty of places I can go to if I want some craft beer goodness, that wouldn't sell a InBev product in a million years. I don't expect every restaurant to cater to my wants, but I do expect every restaurant to not be a bunch of lying, manipulating, jerks.

Captivating segue.

Which brings me to my next point. Kind of. Not really. But still...

Look at the frost on that glass. LOOK AT IT!

KNOCK IT OFF WITH THE DAMNED ICED GLASSES!

Seriously, enough. If you're already taking the time to serve beer craft beer, or even something like Sam Adams Oktoberfest, I believe you have a responsibility to serve it correctly. Now, I'm not talking about proper glassware (that's a whole other bag of "what the fuck??" for another day), I mean something as simple as not serving a good beer in a glass that's colder than a witches tit in a brass bra. Call me crazy, but I actually do enjoy the taste of beer. It is not a purely a functional drink. It is not an American Adjunct Lager that I chug down to blot out the memory of a life gone awry. It is a $6 a glass luxury that I afford myself, and enjoy immensely. So when you serve me my bottle of Kona Koko Brown, and I ask for a glass and you give me a hollow cylinder of ice, I'm going to be upset for a couple reason. First, It's just not right. Secondly, now I have to sit there glass in hand, breathing on it like a weirdo, just to get it to a reasonable temperature so I can enjoy my beer that didn't pair well at all with your delicious, spicy, half rack of ribs. That was my own fault.

Being the obnoxious guy that I am, I took the the Internet to find some vocal support in my crusade, because damnit, this has to stop! I asked some of my favorite beer folk on Twitter what their thoughts were, and the responses made me laugh, and nod in agreement. And helped me validate that the tears I shed are not in vain.

@hipsterbrewfus @toenee11 @dansmith523 @addmorehops Obnoxious? #coldisntaflavor
— CraftBrewGuy (@CraftBrewGuy) April 23, 2013

@hipsterbrewfus Although I avoid them when possible, iced glasses are ok for beers that need to disguise how they really taste. #macrobeers
— Tony (@ToeNee11) April 23, 2013

@hipsterbrewfus @craftbrewguy @toenee11 @dansmith523 creates too much foam. And waters down the beer, IMO.
— Michelina (@AddMoreHOPS) April 23, 2013

@hipsterbrewfus @craftbrewguy @toenee11 @dansmith523 @addmorehops iced glasses can be slippery and dangerous after a few beers. #imaklutz
— Tattooed Brewer (@TattooedBrewer) April 23, 2013

@hipsterbrewfus I am immediately depressed and mad when I get beer in a frosted glass. I can wait untill it warms, but even then, watery.
— The Beer Babe (@beerbabe) April 23, 2013

And then The Beer Babe said something that I skimmed over a bit in the preceding paragraph:

@hipsterbrewfus I am especially disappointed when I am in a nicer place (not a dive bar or a sports arena) that should know better.
— The Beer Babe (@beerbabe) April 23, 2013

I may have pumped my fists in victory.

I even asked some local breweries what they would think of their beer being served in frozen glasses, but I've yet to hear back from them.

Facebookers weighed in on it, also:

See, I'm not crazy.

Lastly, America, I'm creeping up on one year of Hipster Brewfus. it has been an incredibly fun and knowledge-filled year. So to thank you heathens for your support, I will be holding another giveaway. It will most likely be more than just a beer or two, I just haven't figured it out yet. So, you know, be on the look out for that.

And there you have it. Take it easy, 'Merica

I live lavishly.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the first installment of "The Paper Cup Diaries,"a series of shortened posts based on the beers I enjoy whole traveling and staying in hotels.

This weekend I'm drinking Rodenbach Grand Cru. I just picked up the bottle for about $9 at Manchester Wine & Liquor in Connecticut.

It pours a mystery brown, as I'm drinking it out of a paper cup. Opacity? Beats the shit out of me. I'M DRINKING IT OUT OF A PAPER CUP!! Oh my god, I hope some beer snob sees this and flips out.  It does, however, have a dingy, silky, sticky head. It smells great. Sour with some vinegar, all while being a bit fruity. It doesn't taste nearly as tart or acidic as I was expecting. In fact, almost the opposite  It was very fruity and juicy. Lots of sour cherry, with the tart coming in towards the end. It's totally awesome. It drinks great. It's a pleasant carbonation, incredibly smooth and crisp as hell. I put down the entire bottle inside of 2 hours while watching Silent Hill: Revelations without blinking (or noticing).

I friggin' love this beer.

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. I love this.EVERYONE COME SEE HOW GOOD THIS BEER IS... (Rodenbach Grand Cru) untp.it/ZGEwnN
— Hipster Brewfus (@HipsterBrewfus) April 7, 2013