Snake in a Beer
A friend dropped off a copy of Jackson, Wyoming's alternative newspaper: JH Weekly. The cover story: Making Suds at the Base of the Tetons. It's a nicely-crafted (heh, heh) piece, and they write highly of Snake River Brewery, which--from what I could gather when I was there last summer--is the town's favorite son.
When we travel, we like to try different places, but we liked that place so much, we went back two nights in a row. Unfortunately, I couldn't drink any of the beer due to some medical problems, but Marie tried a couple and loved 'em. I'll have to see if I can order them locally somehow, though the article implied that they're trying to keep their brewing volume at lower levels.
Withering Hops
Alright, we gotta do something now. Bring on Cap and Trade, make Michael Moore the climate czar, give Al Gore the crown: Climatologist Martin Mozny of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute and colleagues say that the quality of Saaz hops - the delicate variety used to make pilsner lager - has been decreasing in recent years. They say the culprit is climate change in the form of increased air temperature. Global warming is hurting beer? This ****'s not funny anymore.
Cong Beer
Next time you're quaffing cold Commie brews with your friends, you can wax erudite: After chasing off cheap Chinese beer competitors a decade ago, Vietnam's state-run brewers are gearing up to fight a new invasion from Western beer brands. One of their secret weapons is a popular, unpasteurized brew called bia hoi that already enjoys a cult following in parts of the country.
