Entries from December 2006 ↓

This has to be seen to be believed. Be sure to watch the second part since it shows the result a bit better.

The KegWorks blog points out a few holiday gift items they have in their store. I really like these slate cheese platters, but the Urinals of Ireland poster is cool too.

Also, be sure to check our our Beer Gifts. 

[tags]beer,gifts[/tags] 

On NPR, Jeanne Martinet author of The Art of Mingling: Proven Techniques for Mastering Any Room walks the host through a mock party to show how to talk with people at parties even if you don't know them or anything about them. Check out the audio for the full story.

Like most things in life, this is mostly common sense but it always helps for someone to put that sense into practice and show how it is done. I've been at parties where people have used the "honest approach" and it definitely works–and if it doesn't then get out as soon as you can. 

Link via: The Old New Thing 

To celebrate their 100th anniversary in February 2007, Kirin is bringing back a couple beers from their early history and a new anniversary beer:

The old-style Kirin Lager of the Meiji Era (1868-1912) is made as it was at the Japan Brewing Company when it started brewing Kirin Beer in 1888. The Kirin Pilsener is a Taisho Era (1912-1926) beer made as it was when the first Kirin beer factory was built in Yokohama in 1907.

On January 17th, Kirin will be releasing a limited 100th Anniversary bottled beer, and they have even more beer/campaign surprises for 2007.

Check out the article for more details. Thanks, Michael, for the link.

[tags]beer,kirin,japan[/tags] 

This is a paid review. I've agreed to review this site in exchange for beer money.

Homebrew 4U is a site based in England which carries homebrew kits, supplies, and also has a homebrew forum. Their main products are homebrew kits, wine kits, and cider kits. Their prices are competitive with other UK sites I checked but their site was much easier to navigate and had good descriptions for all the products. They only ship to the UK.

The Brew Buddy homebrew kits are a cool idea since they make 40 pints and you can buy refills for less than half the price of the kit. They have lager, bitter, and cider kits and refills. Note that the kit requires either a 5 gal. pressure barrel or 40 x 1 pint bottles which are both available for purchase on the site. The total cost if you go the bottle route is about 55 pounds or a little over $100 USD.

At this time, the forums look new since there is only one post which is a welcome type post. I like the forums idea for a site like this where there is high interaction with the product that naturally lends itself to discussion or questions and answers–like product support for your homebrew kit.

Instructions for the homebrew kits are available on the site which is nice in case you lose the paper copy from the box, spill half-finished beer on them, or the dog eats them. Also, they have siphoning instructions on the site to help you minimize lost beer. The whole process takes about 18-20 days.

If you are in the UK and want to give homebrewing a try or need some supplies, this looks like a nice place to shop online. The site is easy to navigate, looks professional, and has prominent links their shipping and returns policy and contact information. If you have tried them or do try them, feel free to let us know in the comments how it went.