I hear it from women in the store every single day, “I don’t like beer”. They’re usually accompanied by their boyfriends or husbands who typically reinforce this notion by saying something like “yeah, she really hates beer”. There’s a deep cultural reason for both men and women’s attitudes regarding beer and it’s one that we need to confront and overcome.

We don’t typically think too much about gender roles in what we eat and drink, we just accept that some things are appropriate for men and some for women -- and when those lines cross, it’s like when the beams get crossed in Ghostbusters, chaos ensues. Well, I for one, am openly advocating chaos. If a man wants to drink a cosmo and a woman wants to enjoy an imperial stout I say good on them both. Drink what you want and tell the world to shut the hell

Why can’t I buy the beers I want, no matter where I live?

Since we launched our website and more recently opened our first brick and mortar location I have been asked this question literally dozens of times every week.  The answer always raises more questions, so I thought I would take the blog post this week and try and provide a little more clarity on the issues restricting access to the beers we covet.

Right off the bat I have to address the real reason that a small brewpub in Vermont doesn’t have beer on the supermarket shelves of Michigan or Montana and simply put, that’s capacity. 

Bottoms Up Down Under

I love a delicious beer even more than I love wearing a nice pair of strappy heels. Until a recent vacation in Australia, I never really felt like my love for beer was any more unusual than my penchant for strappy shoes. 

My family uses our Irish ancestry as a ready excuse to be zealous about our beer drinking. In fact, while my home-brewing dad discourages me from changing my car engine oil (why would I want to get my hands dirty?), he has encouraged my hearty drinking of good beer. So it never occurred to me that my beer drinking might actually be a challenge to my womanhood (oh, yes, I am a woman).

I know beer has traditionally been associated with men and manly things, like cavernous rooms with overstuffed black leather couches, big screen TV’s, and lots of corn chips and yelling. But I thought we had evolved to a beer drinking that could be done out in the open, by both men and women, while having real meals

Cold weather is upon us.  Everywhere you look it’s evident, from the trees turning color and dropping their leaves to the pumpkins on your neighbor’s doorstep.  Halloween decorations and temps in the low 50's – all signaling autumn is here.  What better time to drop by your favorite bar or sit by a fire and drink a glass of the season’s best hard cider? 

Traditionally associated with England, ciders and perries (pear cider) have been a staple for centuries.  Call for a glass of Cider in an English pub and you can find a range of choices, from a clean, sweet, amber-colored, sparkling drink, to a complex, dry, and cloudy, oak-laden brew.  Many will argue that few beers can match good cider for lightness and complexity.
 
In early America, cider was considered “the drink of the people” from

Drink More Good Beer…Longer

I have a buddy who regularly keeps a keg of Alpha Dog Imperial IPA around. The problem is if he drinks as much as he wants, Alpha, with a hefty 8.9% ABV, makes him hallucinate before dinner's served. When he admitted to prepping with a few Miller Lights, I knew it was time for an intervention.

I had to explain the concept of session beer: beer low on alcohol and big on flavor, allowing you to enjoy more of what you love (without lapsing into totally antisocial behavior).

Lew Bryson, a