I’m Back (and Other, More Beer-Related News)

First off, I wanted to thank everyone for the generous outpouring of support after the loss of my mom. The letters of condolence I received here, on Facebook and via email were all very touching and very much appreciated. Needless to say, I have an awful lot of catching up to do — both online and in the real world. But, while I get back to scouring the Interwebs for the best in all-things-beer, I wanted to tide you over with some fun little nuggets I was able to pick up on over the last few days:

How does smokin’ hot actress Catherine Zeta Jones stay, well, smokin’ hot? With beer, of course. According to a recent interview with the thirty-nine year old actress, “I do condition my hair with honey and beer. I smell like the bottom of a beer barrel for days afterwards but it’s very good for the hair.” (via PerezHilton.com)

While not exactly beer, I’ve always thought of mead as sort of a tasty bi-partisan effort between beer and wine. So I  was excited to read a few days ago a post by Shannon Bryan on the local Portland Press Herald-owned MaineToday.com about Portland’s own brand new(ish) Maine Mead Works, located in a warehouse on Anderson Street in Bayside. According to Ms. Bryan, Maine Mead’s HoneyMaker Dry Mead is currently on the shelves at Whole Foods, Aurora Provisions, Rosemont, Old Port Wine Merchants and Maine Beer & Beverage. And HoneyMaker Semi Sweet Mead is expected to appear at those locations the first week of February. (via PortlandFoodMap.com)

And lastly, I received an email a few days ago from reader Helder who has a school assignment (I’ll just assume it’s college or grad school, since high school students shouldn’t know anything about beer) in which he was asked to discover why “consumers make a decision between Domestic or Imported/Craft Beer”? So, if you could help Helder out and leave a comment on this post with your response, he (and I) would greatly appreciate it!

Many thanks to Pike Brewing Company of Seatle for the two bottles of vintage Old Bawdy Barleywine, and Rahr & Sons Brewing Co. of Fort Worth, TX for the two bottles of Blind Salamander Pale Ale, all of which arrived on my doorstep yesterday. I will sample and review each as soon as possible (except maybe for the bottle of 2006 Old Bawdy, which might go straight to the cellar). If you represent a brewery and would like to send me a sample for review or news, please don’t hesitate to contact me!

Thanks again and stay tuned; there’s plenty more where that came from…