Projo Beer Blog

May 2007 Archives

Journal Food Editor Gail Ciampa writes about summer brews this week.

Here's the beginning of her article, This season, why not try a different brew?:

Warm weather and cookouts are coming. That means dining and drinking outdoors and many a thirst turns to ice cold beer with a frothy head. But you don’t always have to reach for an American-style lager made with malted barley.

Last summer, I made wheat beers my seasonal favorite. Now I learn that I am not alone. While not taking the world by storm, and not new by any means, wheat beers are a fast-growing segment in the beer world. They’ve been among the darlings of brew pubs which specialize in craft and international beers. Now more beers made with malted wheat are appearing on drink menus in all manner of restaurants.

Read the full story.

By Bill Van Siclen
Journal Arts Writer

PROVIDENCE -- Beer drinkers used to have it easy. Back in the B.C. (before craft-brewing) era, most bars and restaurants stocked the same handful of nationally advertised brands from the same handful of nationally dominant beer companies. Now, of course, it’s not unusual to find familiar labels such as Bud and Miller mixed in with more exotic brews with names like Skull Splitter, Yellow Snow Ale and Ruination IPA.

The number of beer-related events has also boomed in recent years. Once confined to that frothy rite of fall known as Oktoberfest, beer tastings and festivals now take place throughout the year.

The latest reminder that Oktoberfest isn’t just for October anymore arrives this weekend in the form of The Great International Spring Beer Festival. An offshoot of the long-running Great International Beer Festival, the festival takes place Saturday at the Rhode Island Convention Center. In all, more than 250 brews will be available for tasting, ranging from traditional American-style lagers (think Miller and Coors) to European imports (Guinness and Heineken) to a wide array of artisan-made ales, stouts and specialty beers.

Read the full story.