Hail the Ale! Beer Blog

Hail the Ale! beer links for June 13th:

• Boing Boing: Beer bottle solar water heater – mmmm, beer water heater
• Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home » Blog Archive » New Beer Rule #4: Variation is not a flaw – Why variation in beer is good.
• Jeffrey Morgenthaler » A Bartenderâs Advice to Women – Part 4 –

If you are in the Orlando area, be sure to check out Orlando Brewing and the Jaycee's Beer-B-Q event on June 23. The brewery and the Jaycees are putting this on to benefit a couple local charities. There will be BBQ, beer, music, and a car show–exactly like the event title says.

I'll be there, just look for the guy w/a Blackwater Porter in one hand and Nikon D40 in the other (which reminds me of a classic line from Raising Arizona…).

Link via Metroblogging Orlando 

[tags]orlando,beer,bbq[/tags] 

You may have seen this already since it seems to be picking up some buzz but just in case… Is this the only good thing to come out of bud.tv?

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve5bVP5dz4E[/video]

Video link if embedded player above doesn't show up. 

Link via Gavin Hall. 

[tags]beer,budweiser[/tags] 

Hail the Ale! beer links for June 5th through June 7th:

• KegWorks Blog » Blog Archive » This Pimped Out Ride is Helping New Orleans – A limo w/beer taps outside and in
• Consumer Reports Rates Light Beers » Hop Talk – In case you need exhaustive research to know what light beer you like
• Stonch’s Brewcam » Hair of the Dog Dave | Los Angeles Beer Blog | California Beer Ratings – Watch beer ferment if you’re into that kind of thing
• Top 21 Innovations in Beer Illustrated » Hop Talk –
• Appellation Beer: Beer From a Good Home » Blog Archive » Beer Geek speak for beginners – Get your beer geek on.

A new USDA proposal would change the rules for hops used in organic beer. The actual rules proposal is at the USDA's site. 

The change would add hops to the National List which would allow non-organic hops to be used in certified organic products if the organic version is not "commercially available". According to the rules, the commercial availability is determined by an "accredited certifying agent" as follows:

The ability to obtain a production input in an appropriate form, quality, or quantity to fulfill an essential function in a system of organic production or handling, as determined by the certifying agent in the course of reviewing the organic plan.

The critics of this part of the rule call it the "Budweiser exemption" since it was allegedly lobbied for by the beer manufacturer. Critics also charge that "commercially available" is industry speak for expensive so although organic varieties may be available, the high cost does not allow it to be commercially available.

Lakefront Brewery's president commented on the proposed rule to argue that organic beer should use organic hops with no substitutions. You can read this and other info. on this topic at Beer Activist. 

[tags]beer, organic[/tags]