Deschutes is coming!

To our knowledge, Deschutes (the super-fantastic brewery out of Bend, Oregon) will be gracing the good people of Kansas City with its presence in February, 2012 or thereabouts. Here's your opportunity to get ahead of the curve; check out our reviews of Deschutes Hop Henge and Hop in the Dark, just to get your mouth watering. Things are looking up in Kansas City.

Niche Brewing from Fort Collins

My aunt Kathy in Fort Collins thought I would be interested in this story about a solo brewer who is making a name for himself nanobrewing sour beers, using brettanomyces. Sound familiar? If so, it's because our friends at the Blue River Brewers Guild brewed a scottish ale with brett a few years ago. An acquired taste, to be sure, but I acquired it pretty quickly. Interestingly, too, the story appears to suggest this is a brew on premises sort of operation—makes me wish I were in Fort Collins right now…

Now that's what I call a stiff drink!

I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself, after reading this story about a British brewery that has created a 7.5% ABV IPA laced with Viagra, of all things—because after 3 IPAs, you'll probably need a little help in that department, if you catch my drift. Read on to learn about Pfizer's new chewable Viagra, to appeal to people who are unable to swallow. (Yes, I'm sure there's a joke in there as well, but we're taking the high road).

Work out, then drink up

My wife is always after me to drink more water, and I generally don't have a problem with that; after all, the Reinheitsegebot (German Beer Purity Law) informed us 500 years ago that water is one of the few allowed components of beer, which is where I get most of my water anyway. However, I was pleased to run across this study suggesting beer is preferable to water for recovering after a hard workout—one more arrow in my beer-drinking quiver. Next step: engaging in a hard workout. We'll get to that tomorrow.

Beer: It's not just for breakfast anymo—wait, it is

I'm sick of critics telling us what to watch, what to wear, and now, what kind of beer to have for breakfast (their unhelpful answer is, apparently, none at all). Tell that to the crew of Baltic Sea treasure-hunters responsible for salvaging 5 bottles of what may be the world's oldest drinkable ale from a Finnish vessel that sunk en route to St. Petersburg nearly 200 years ago—those guys deserve a beer (for breakfast or otherwise). The brew, which reportedly is "golden and cloudy, with hints of seawater and a sour odor that expert tasters likened to French cheese," will serve as a template for modern brewers to replicate cheesy, golden seawater beer from the 1800s; I, for one, can't wait. Meanwhile, it's breakfast time—barkeep!