Happy National Beer Lover's Day!

It's somehow fitting that the first Sunday of the 2025 NFL season just happens to fall on National Beer Lover's Day. 

Maryland, my current home, ranks 23rd in the nation with 134 craft breweries. That translates to 2.9 breweries per 100,000 adults of legal drinking age. (Click graphic for full-size image.)

Find out where your state ranks here. — Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the editor/publisher of The Hungover Gourmet. He will be celebrating National Beer Lover's Day by drinking some delicious GOAT IPA brewed here in Baltimore by the fine folks at Union Brewing.

Chesapeake Beer Crab Dip for National Beer Day

(Click for full size image)

For National Beer Day I was going to post a Beer Can Chicken recipe – one of my favorite meetings of two favorite things. But everybody knows how to make that so I dug deep into the archives and found a recipe I used to make that I clipped from the Philly Inquirer when I was just out of college. It's super tasty and reminds me a lot of the crab dip appetizer served at The Point here in Towson, MD where it is served with tater tots.

Flying Fish to Unleash Pork Roll Porter in September

First there was scrapple beer, a concoction whipped up by Dogfish Head that not only featured my favorite breakfast meat but also was named after a song by The Replacements.


Not to outdone, another regional brewer – New Jersey's own Flying Fish, located a hop, skip and a jump from where I spent the first 30 years of my life – has announced a Pork Roll Porter as part of its trio of specialty brews rolling out next month. (And, for the record, let it be noted that it's called "Pork Roll" Porter, not "Taylor Ham" Porter.)

Other flavors include a Exit 5 Sour Forage Beer made with pine needles (a nod to the Pine Barrens?) and an Exit 14 Imperial Pilsner whose impressive 8.5% alcohol content must be a nod to, uh, getting loaded in the Garden State?

Hoping one of these days they come up with an Exit 63 LBI Stout made with local clam shells a la 21st Century's awesome Hog Island Stout (which I finally found the other day after a long absence on local shelves).

Read the complete Philly Voice article for more details on the release and check out Flying Fish's page on the brew.

Quick LBI Report and Ship Bottom Brewery Coming Soon to Bay Village (LBI)

This has been our first extended trip to Long Beach Island, NJ (LBI) this summer and despite chilly ocean temps (60 degrees yesterday and 67 today) and a breezy day which chased us from the beach after a few hours today the visit has been great.

After spending yesterday on the beach and grilling out for dinner we awoke this morning to Ryan inquiring exactly what time we'd be leaving to get our first taste of Crust & Crumb cream donuts of the summer. Regular readers might be aware that I'm not much of a "sweets guy", though I do like the occasional tiarmisu and homemade bread pudding.

But for me it's not really summer until I have a cup of Lobster Bisque at Howard's Restaurant (check!) and a cream donut (or several) from Crust & Crumb. With everybody still lounging about after a long and well-deserved sleep and the first breakfast of Fruit Loops keeping nine-year-old Ryan at bay (I know, nine years... I've failed as a parent), we waited until our nephew was headed out, borrowed my father-in-law's car and headed down to Bay Village.

Surprisingly, while the back roads were packed with bike riders/runners and the main drag was clogged with cars we quickly found a parking spot at Bay Village and hustled our way into Crust & Crumb. Expecting a line out the door we were pleasantly surprised we were able to squeeze into the small establishment and had a few minutes before ordering so I could snap a picture of the Naragansett "Crush It Like Quint" retro can poster and send it to my similarly obsessed buds.

After securing a dozen donuts (hey, we're here for a few days) and an elephant ear we made a quick pit stop at the closest beer store to see what I could find in the way of craft brew. Unfortunately, on the island you're sort of at the mercy of the few stores that carry beer so you have to be willing to pry open that wallet and fork it over. But even I'm not willing to pay $19 for a six pack of Green Flash West Coast IPA although I was somewhat shocked that Ballast Point Big Eye (my favorite beer of the moment) was a mere $2.50 more than I'm used to paying at home.

Luckily, I spied a slightly familiar looking can at a more palatable $12.99 and decided to grab the Spellbound Brewing IPA. I haven't had this since my wife's uncle brought some down for our annual Xmas Eve Party and Unofficial Craft Brew Fest, but I recalled the can nonetheless. Crisp and hoppy with pine and citrus notes it's a nice example of the craft brewing that's at work all over the country, even in such surprising locations as South Jersey.

And speaking of brewing, after a quick stop to fish off the dock and walk around Bay Village we were happy to discover that Ship Bottom Brewery is opening a tap room right next to and above Spice It Up. While they're only selling merchandise at the moment we had a chance to pop in, take a look at the still under construction brewing tanks and chat with Rick the tap room manager. He says that they're waiting for licensing and that they plan to open later this month. Brews are currently available at a few local spots such as Tuckers and The Plantation but their lineup includes Beach Patrol Hefeweizen, a blueberry wheat ale (Blueberry Bikini Bottom), The Shack IPA (which pays homage to an LBI landmark), an IPA collaboration that shares its name with local eatery The Chicken or The Egg, and an awesome sounding west coast style double IPA that promises to pack a 10.4% ABV punch (Double Overhead).

The south end of Long Beach Island has long been in need of a place where you can pop in while shopping or after a day at the beach and have a quick, delicious local beer or three. I'll be dropping in to Ship Bottom Brewery as soon as humanly possible and will be shore, er, sure to report back then. – Dan Taylor

Summer's Gone Part I: Charm City (And Surrounding) Edition

The Spaghetti & Meatball Pizza at Joe Squared in Baltimore.

Now I'm standing in a doorway, thinking of summers gone by
It ought to make me happy, but it just makes me want to cry.
– Summer's Gone, The Kinks

So, uh, anybody out there want to tell me exactly where it is that summer went?

Seems like just yesterday I was picking Ryan up on the last day of school, ten weeks of opportunity and adventure looming large ahead of us. Swim team, fishing, boat trips, the beach – ahhh, yes, the beach – and so many other things to do.

Turns out ten weeks isn't as long as I thought and ten 10 days ago I was packing my third grader (?!) in the car for the first day of the new school year.

But between vacation trips, beach weekends and catching up with old friends, THG has been doing a lot of out and about drinking and eating recently. And I do mean "a lot".

One of our favorite treks of late was down to Columbia, MD which, while only a 30 minute drive, always sounds much further away. But when old friends were in town to visit their daughter it seemed like a great chance to try Victoria's Gastropub. Set amidst one of those confusingly cobbled together groupings of stores, banks and chain stores, Victoria's is quite the craft beer and upscale pub grub oasis.

Though our reserved table netted us nothing more than a cramped booth next to the kitchen, I was happy to see they offered a robust beer menu in addition to the varied dinner fare. Bonus points, too, to the server who admitted that our friends were much better off hitting nearby G&M for their legendary softball-sized crab cakes than ordering at Victoria's. Love the honesty, dude.

Chicken Liver Pate was smooth and not at all gamey – though still not as great as my father-in-law's but on par with the Smoked Chicken Liver Spread I made back in 2009. I must admit, though, that we were definitely disappointed that steamed clams were already off the menu at such an early hour. On the other hand, entrees were met with a lot of enthusiasm, especially my juicy Wagyu burger with mushrooms and Swiss cheese which had me scrambling for my napkin to stem the tide of juice running down my hands.

The ambience doesn't quite capture the gastropub/craft beer feel they're going for and our second round of beers was completely mixed up, but any hiccups were smoothed over by the hearty sides of addictive Duck Fat Fries that were devoured by everyone, even the 8 year old diner in our midst.

Two recent trips to Ryleigh's Oyster House in Cockeysville, MD met with definitely mixed results. (They have a couple other popular locations but we've never been.) While I love noshing on seafood at Mama's on the Half Shell down in Baltimore, the opening of Ryleigh's in Cockeysville has brought some of that convenience a lot closer to home. We're talking ten minutes versus thirty, not to mention no lengthy wait for a table.

On National Oyster Day I accompanied my buddy and his son out for lunch, which resulted in picture perfect service, ice cold Natty Boh drafts, smooth and chunky Cream of Crab Soup and my usual, a Fried Oyster Po' Boy that may not be as good as Mama's but is worth stopping in for every month or so.

Unfortunately, another recent trip to Ryleigh's resulted in the first time I was officially disappointed in the restaurant. We had decided to meet an old friend there on a Saturday afternoon and sat under an umbrella on the steamy patio, which sits, unfortunately, right along busy Padonia Road. To be frank, I'm still trying to find a nearby Baltimore County patio/deck bar that doesn't butt up against a busy thoroughfare.

Service from the patio bartender was a little shaky – a bit too much time between courses, forgotten soup – and my Grilled Fish Tacos were a major letdown, though everybody else seemed to enjoy their lunches. Unfortunately, my flour tortillas were a dense, soggy mess, the grilled fish limited to one nearly tasteless strip per taco, with whatever flavor the fish might have had overwhelmed by the pico de gallo.

More impressive was a Sunday afternoon trek to Joe Squared on North Ave. for some pizza and beers before catching a documentary at The Ottobar. I've always liked the food and drink at JS, even if parking your car and walking three blocks reminds me of my days walking from classes at Drexel to a bar or friend's house in West Philly. And not in a great way.

Despite an air conditioning system that was clearly struggling on a sultry summer afternoon, I loved the Spaghetti and Meatball Pizza that my buddy Dave suggested. To be honest, I was expecting something far heavier but JS once again elevated the simple concept and delivered a delicious thin crust packed with red peppers, meatballs and just a hint of pasta.

Dave and I ordered a 14" pie, but I could have definitely housed another few slices. And maybe another small pizza before we headed to The Ottobar for a screening of DON'T YOU WISH THAT WE WERE DEAD about one of my favorite punk bands, The Damned.

And, yes, we even spotted two large rats cavorting in the Ottobar parking lot afterwards, so it was an official Baltimore trip!

I'll be back with Part II of our Summer Wrap-Up soon, with some thoughts on new and old haunts on our home away from home, Long Beach Island (NJ). – Dan Taylor

Dan Taylor is the editor and publisher of The Hungover Gourmet. Be sure to check out THG on Facebook and Twitter.

Stick 13 Black Pins in the Cork and Other Hangover Cures for St. Patrick's Day

Oh no, it's the dread mid-week St. Patrick's Day! You know damn well you should practice moderation and common sense since work / school / responsibilities beckon early tomorrow morning. 

But, well, we all know that's never been your style. 

Since you know damn well you're going to drink too much tonight – and probably again this weekend at some combination St. Patrick's Day / Bracket Buster NCAA gathering – we have collected some of the best hangover cures from the weird to the classic for our faithful readers. 

Have a cure of your own that you'd like to submit? Feel free to submit it in the comments below.

My Own Cure

The Hungover Gourmet has, unfortunately, had plenty of experience with hangover cures through the years. I can attest to the fact that things like Alka-Seltzer make me throw up, so I steer clear of them. However, after much experimentation I've found this reliable regimen: before going to bed drink a large glass of water and take four extra strength ibuprofen. Don't take acetaminophen as this has been known to cause health problems over the long term. When you get up, repeat the process and then eat breakfast. I like eggs, sausage or pork roll, and an English muffin. Keep your caffeine consumption down as it will only rob your body of hydration. Have some juice. Relax. 

PS: I've also discovered something else that also works... don't drink so much!

This May Not Work with Beer Cans

If you're up for a funkier, flashier approach, Haitian voodoo practitioners recommend sticking 13 black pins into the cork of the bottle.

Hair of the Dog

We've all heard this one and sometimes it just seems like a desperate excuse to get the party revved up again. But there is some actual science at work here. The ethanol in the booze makes your head stop hurting, which is caused by the methanol in the booze. So, it's really just a vicious circle.

The Only Exercise You Ever Get is the Shakes

Know what causes Delirium Tremors? Insufficient Vitamin B1 or Thiamine. Beans, rice, grains, cereals, peas and other fiber-filled goodies are loaded with B1 and will help settle down the shakes. This might be the perfect time to try our Hangover Chili. You can also go out an pick up some B1 tablets and while you're there grab some B2 (for your bloodshot eyes) and B12 (which'll get the blood rushing through your veins again).

Get Juiced Up

"Getting juiced" the morning after takes on a whole new connotation. Juices contain water which helps rehydrate your body and citrus juices like orange, pineapple, grapefruit, etc. are loaded with natural sugars that help your body break down any alcohol that might be in there.

You Say Tomato...

Tomatoes are another great hangover helper, and it comes in many convenient forms. Have a Bloody Mary or a Bullshot (Campbell's Condensed Beef Consome Soup, tomato juice, Worcestershire, Tabasco, salt, pepper, lemon). Also, juices like V8 or plain ol' tomato juice are loaded with the vitamins and nutrients your body is sorely lacking after a night of well, you know.

A Ride in the Saddle

Sex, or any physical exertion, will get the blood pumping and help your body sweat out the alcohol, which is poisoning your system. Plus, it will help you rest afterwards until it's time to get up and do it all again!!

OTC Cures

We polled members of our crack staff and they suggested such readily available all-in-one over-the-counter cures as Dramamine, Pedialite popsicles (rehydrate without the ghastly taste of actual Pedialite), and Excedrin Migraine (complete with caffeine, a pain reliever and an anti-nausea med).

Listen to those Old Wives

I know we've all heard it a million times: "Before before liquore, never felt sicker." Well, this one happens to be true. The carbonation in beer – or champagne for that matter – speeds up the body's ability to absorb alcohol. This isn't exactly a cure, but more of a prevent defense to keep in mind. If you start with beer or champagne, stick with beer or champagne. You'll thank me later. But be mindful of that ABV, especially if (like me) you enjoy a craft beer or seven.

Stay Clear of the Brown Stuff

Want to know what drinks (in excess) will provide the easiest hangover? Think clear my friends. A cocktail with plenty of ice (think vodka and soda or gin and tonic) will give you a nice buzz without delivering a crippling hangover the next morning. Beer (especially lite beer) will hurt you in the long run, but won't be as bad as long as you remember to rehydrate before passing out. Once you get into brown liquors and red wines, you're on your own. Scotch, brandy, rum, bourbon, red wine and port (a fortified wine which is as scary as it sounds) will all deliver a nasty hangover that'll ruin your day... or days in some cases. But, as the great Ron Swanson once said, "clear alcohols are for rich women on diets" so just don't let Ron or Duke Snider see you sipping that vodka gimlet.

What's the Deal with Hangover Preventers?

We've all seen the ads and checked out the sites. Some work by absorbing the elements in alcohol that cause hangovers while others provide your body with vitamins and nutrients that will allegedly ward off the effects of a hangover. And there are plenty of other tablets, pills and powders that taken during your night of debauchery will supposedly help you wake up feeling refreshed and happy. The only drawback I see with these items is that many of them require you to take them while you drink. Right. While drinking I've forgotten: my name, who I was dating, that hard liquor makes me speak in tongues, that I don't smoke, where I left my keys, where I live, who my friends are and many, many more things. (Oddly enough, liquor has also made me remember old girlfriends' phone numbers at 4 AM, but that's another story, another part of the brain.) I don't know about you, but the odds of me remembering to take some stupid pill or tablet with every drink is, um, unlikely.

That said, there's still time to order a variety of pills and powders for delivery by tomorrow.

Disclaimer: The Hungover Gourmet is not a doctor and has only watched people play them on TV. Please drink responsibly and whatever you do, don't drink and drive, people!

Happy Uncle Jumbo Day!

Happy Presidents Day!

If you're looking for a fun, historical read about drinking, check out MINT JULEPS WITH TEDDY ROOSEVELT: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF PRESIDENTIAL DRINKING by Mark Will-Weber.

It's the perfect reading recommendation for the day, a fun, easily digestible look at the drinking history of the men who have been Commander in Chief (as well as some of the First Ladies).

I'm about halfway through but I think I'd have liked to hang with Grover Cleveland aka "Uncle Jumbo". He was a fan of chops, sausage, cheese, beer and cigars and once had a secret operation on a boat for fear of news of his health having an adverse affect on an already creaky economy.

Of him, Twain once wrote, "Cleveland drunk is a more valuable asset to this country than the whole batch of the rest of our public men sober... I wish we had another of this sort."

MINT JULEPS WITH TEDDY ROOSEVELT: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF PRESIDENTIAL DRINKING is available from Amazon.

All I Wanna Do is Drink Beer for Breakfast...

The Replacements are my all-time favorite band.

Beer is my favorite beverage.

Scrapple is my favorite breakfast "meat".

Leave  it to the folks at Dogfish Head – who already make what we call at THG HQ "The Precious" – to combine all those things in the awesomely named "Beer for Breakfast".

No videos of The Mats performing it that I can find but here's The Get Up Kids doing a very faithful rendition...

Free Beer for Life? Now That's a Kickstarter I Can (Hic) Get Behind!

How many of you have contributed funds to a Kickstarter campaign?

I've done it a few times and I've received: a nice t-shirt or two (and in one case a nice t-shirt ruined with a graphic telling people I supported the Kickstarter campaign); a couple books; a DVD about my favorite band that I have yet to watch (actually, two DVDs because I contributed twice); and, some zines/self-published comics.

All of these things are nice and I probably could have done without all of them and saved whatever money I contributed. But, to be frank, I'm a little burned out on the whole Kickstarter thing thanks to people like certain directors who shall remain nameless that can surely find the funding for their latest movie but go this route instead.

But a savvy entrepreneur in Texas has caught my attention with his crowd-funding pitch. In an effort to raise $30,000 for his brewhouse, Cory Hodgson is offering those who pledge $2000.00 – get this – three beers a day for four days a week (plus 25 growler fills).

With less than a month to go, the campaign has raised half of its goal.

Check out CrowdBrewed – a crowd-funding site for craft beer projects – for more info.

Thrillist Ranks Best Small Beer Cities in the US

I used to go to Asheville, NC for the annual ActionFest film festival.

Unfortunately, we would spend pretty much every waking moment either sitting in a theater watching a movie, in the lobby of a theater waiting for the next movie to start, chatting with folks like Michael Jai White (see photo), or stuffing our faces at Fryz so we had enough food in us to last through nine straight hours of movies.

But everywhere we turned in Asheville there were signs, magazines, brochures and tourism types telling us how it was one of the best beer cities in America. I always told myself that the next time I went back I'd spend some time appreciating the surrounding beer culture.

Naturally, they've never had another ActionFest. Sad trombone.

Anyway, when Thrillist popped up in my inbox this morning with the headline "The 9 Best Beer Cities in America?" I had a feeling that Asheville would be on the list.

No surprise, there it is, along with Burlington (VT), Bend (OR), Hood River (OR), Longmont (CO – home to my beloved Oskar Blues), Missoula (MT), Portland (ME), Santa Fe (NM), and Traverse City (MI).

You can check out the full list here.

Flying Dog Devoted 65% of Production to Old Bay-Flavored Dead Rise Summer Ale

When it was unveiled earlier this summer it might have been easier to actually see dogs fly or the dead rise than find Flying Dog Brewery's Dead Rise Summer Ale flavored with local fave Old Bay on your beer store shelf.

My first experience with the brew was courtesy of a lonely single bottle in the sampler fridge at Fairgrounds Liquors across from the State Fairgrounds. The guys at the counter assured me that I'd dig it – and they were right – but told me it was almost impossible to keep in stock – right again.

Subsequent trips saw THG come away empty handed, until one morning visit when it must have just been delivered and I snagged a six-pack from the cooler. When I brought it to the counter even the owner, who was working the register, expressed shock that I found it.

These days, though, Dead Rise is a pretty common sight at the store with a display as you walk in and plenty available for crab feasts, shrimp boils, cookouts and simply lounging around Charm City.

Turns out that Flying Dog was as surprised by the beer's popularity as anyone and – at one point this summer – ended up devoting 65% of their production to churning out the subtle but tasty seasonal brew.

Between the popularity and what Flying Dog CEO Jim Caruso suggested might be "hoarding", the beer flew off the shelves at such a rapid clip that the company had to suspend sales to states outside the Maryland / DC / Northern VA corridor.

Read the full article at Baltimore Business Journal.

The Hungover Gourmet's Favorite (New) Beers of 2013

I knew taking pictures of the beers I "tasted" over the course of 2013 was a good idea!

Sure, thumbing through a digital diary of all those beers was, um, sobering and made me think "that's a lot of beer" but it also made it easy to separate out the ones I simply liked from the ones I really loved.

So without further ado, here's The Hungover Gourmet's list of Ten Favorite New Beers of 2013...

• Ballast Point Sculpin IPA: expensive but worth it!
• Steen Brugge Tripel Ale: a Christmas Eve treat
• Union Craft Duckpin Pale Ale: a hoppy, canned tribute to a Baltimore pastime
• Harpoon Summer Beer: the beer of summer 2013
• 21st Amendment Brewery Marooned on Hog Island Stout: a perfect warm weather stout brewed with oyster shells
• Stone Brewing 11/11/11 Vertical Epic Ale: another Christmas Eve tasting... complex and peppery
• Troegs DreamWeaver Wheat Beer: the surprise entry on the list as wheat beers aren't usually my thing but I loved every cloudy, fruity glass
• Sierra Nevada Beer Camp (Imperial Red Ale 2013, Sierra Nevada IPA and – my favorite camper – Belgian-Style Black IPA): I couldn't pick just one... probably dropped more $ on these than any other beer on the list

Honorable Mentions go out to: Samuel Adams Latitude 48 IPA, Sierra Nevada Summerfest, 21st Amendment Bitter American, Lancaster Brewing Kolsch, Victory Brewing Summer Love, Finch's Fascist Pig Ale and Just Beer Project Just IPA.

Granted, these were just my favorite new beers that I tried over the course of the year and doesn't include such old favorites as Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale, Little Yellow Pils and Old Chub Scotch Ale, Dominion Brewing Oak Barrel Stout and Flying Dog UnderDog Atlantic Lager (which would go great with the baby back ribs that are currently slow cooking in my kitchen and making my stomach growl!).

Survey Says! Americans Prefer Wine Over Beer

Though it doesn't give many specifics about the poll collection, an article at something called The Ardmoreite (based in Ardmore, OK) suggests that Americans prefer wine over beer... though just slightly.

Some of the poll highlights include:

• Americans prefer wine (40%) over beer and red wine (51%) over white wine
• Domestic beer (53%) barely gets the nod over imports 
• And, vodka is America's hard liquor of choice (24%), besting bourbon, rum and tequila

I'm definitely a domestic beer kinda guy and will typically take red wine over white. I've found over the years that I can drink the cheapest red wine on the planet without many adverse effects but I can't buy a bottle of the white stuff under $10 unless I'm in the market for a screaming headache the next day.

Hard liquor and I don't usually agree, so I tend to stay away from that option, but I'll go the whiskey/bourbon/scotch route if need be.

How do you compare with the "1000 American adults" surveyed? Answer in the comments section below or visit our Facebook page.

THIRSTY THURSDAY: This is My Kind of Camp

I'm not sure about you, dear reader, but when I was a kid I did not go to camp.

Not that I'm bitching. My summers were spent about as carefree as one can hope for in suburban New Jersey circa mid-1970s... bike to the pool for swim practice, bike home for lunch, bike back to the pool to play tennis, bike home to deliver newspapers and have dinner, hang out (or bike back to the pool), watch 'Night Gallery', sleep. Get up and repeat every weekday from mid-June till Labor Day.

So, really, there was absolutely no need for camp. But when I see my daughter come home from summer camp or craft camp or creative camp simply bubbling with stories, her arms full of her creations, well, there's a little part of me that wishes I'd done something like that as a kid.

But it's all made better when I walk to The Beer Fridge (a new addition to THG's garage) and pull out a bottle from Sierra Nevada's 2013 Beer Camp. Yes, while everybody else has been all ate up about the Oktoberfest brews and those unavoidable, out-far-too-early pumpkin beers I have been doing my best to work my way through a variety of, well, variety packs.

My favorites this season have definitely been the selections from Troegs and the aforementioned Sierra Nevada. Both avoid the temptation to unload some horrific fruit beer on the masses a la Sam Adams and I've actually ended up trying – and enjoying – beers I would have never plucked off the shelf otherwise.

For instance, Troegs Dream Weaver is a yeasty wheat brew that even comes with pouring instructions on the bottle. And I'm glad I followed them as the resulting glass of hazy brew has a fruity (dare I say "banana-esque") and nutty quality that really refreshed after a day at the beach.

If I had one complaint about the Troegs pack it would be that there's probably one variety too many. With only 12 slots in the box there's only two acceptable options: three bottles of four varieties or four bottles of three varieties. (I simply refuse any box that goes for the two bottles of six varieties or does some kind of random count.)

Me? I'm a four bottle man. Sure, three is probably plenty for me to enjoy but I'll be damned if sometimes I just don't want that fourth bottle.

Sierra Nevada definitely gets it right with their 2013 Beer Camp, though I've seen rumblings in forums that drinkers just didn't enjoy the offerings as much as in the past. For me this was my first Beer Camp and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked each style.

The standard IPA is a hoppy but very sessionable brew (no surprise there) while the Imperial Red Ale features a nice, ruby red body with a little bit of caramel and a little bit of citrus but not too much of either.

For me, though, the Black IPA is the true winner of the bunch, a complex but balanced beer that packs a wallop. (Both it an the Red Ale feature ABV of 7.0%+.) You'll want more than four but trust me... you probably don't need it.

And just this morning I saw that Stone Brewing Co. is also getting into the Mixed 12 Pack featuring Arrogant Bastard and Runination...? Yep, seems that drinking and proofing (or designing) is a lethal blend and the brewer found themselves with 50,000 boxes with a glaring typo.

But, hey, why trash 'em when you can have a few laughs at your own expense?

FOOD COURT: Stadium Insecurity Edition

Have you ever been to an NFL game? I have. A bunch, actually. But I stopped going because: a) it costs a fortune; b) it eats up your entire day; c) I'd rather watch at home; and, d) you take your life into your hands.

I've seen drunks start fights in smelly bathrooms, the stands and on concourses. I've been called names for wearing another team's jersey in an opposing stadium. I've even taken my jersey off and stuffed it in my cooler as I walked from one side of the parking lot to the other to avoid confrontations with "overly enthusiastic" revelers.

So I feel like stadium security probably has better things to do than toss out some dad who had his teenage son hold his beer so he could take a photo.

THIRSTY THURSDAY: Well Played, Mr. MillerCoors... Well Played

You would think somebody nicknamed The Hungover Gourmet would be more careful about where they chose to live.

I get bummed out when I hear about people in New Jersey buying beer in grocery stores (didn't happen till after I left, at least around where I lived) and we're all well aware of the archaic laws in Pennsylvania, another of my long-time residences (state stores for booze/wine and beer distributors for cases of beer, though take-out packaged goods have made a big improvement from what I hear).

Maryland – my home for the last 12 years – has its pockets of archaicness, too. And I happen to live in one. While folks in Baltimore City and some surrounding counties can hit the liquor store on a Sunday afternoon to grab a six-pack for the game or even just goofing off in the backyard, we Baltimore County denizens need to stock up or be prepared to face the consequences.

And on a recent Sunday afternoon I faced those very consequences. With beer supplies running dangerously low, homebrews not finished and friends coming over to grill (and possibly chill), I headed out to a local restaurant that had been touting their seven days a week booze availability. Whew!

Not surprisingly, the "liquor store" they had been advertising was more like a couple shelves of booze, a rack of wine and two coolers of beer, but well, beggars can't be choosers.

After quickly surveying the options – mostly the Big Three plus a little Corona and some Dogfish Head – my eyes wandered over to something called Third Shift Amber Lager.

The cardboard carrier with dark blue and black graphics and lettering smacked of trying for a craft feel without really being a craft brew and I should have been – and was – immediately suspicious. But I honestly didn't want to be the douchebag lush in the package goods store who was using his phone to check the pedigree of a Sunday afternoon beer.

I scanned the bottles and packaging looking for any telltale URLs, locations or parent companies but none were forthcoming. Yeah, I know, yet another sign. But you have to love the warm and fuzzy, slightly romanticized marketing that adorns the packaging...

Late at night, when most people have clocked out and gone home, a Band of Brewers® keeps on brewing; pouring everything they have into the pursuit of new and different beers, the best of which have won gold. This collection of award winning beers is Third Shift™, the product of their passion.

Well, hell people... how can I resist this pesky band of brewers (registered trademark!) that kept on brewing long after the lights were turned out??? Sounds kinda un-American to me if I did.

Naturally, the first thing I did after I drove home and unloaded the suspicious-looking six-pack was to Google the name and – GROAN – just as I suspected that ragtag band of after-hours brewers works for MillerCoors! Argh!

Oh well, as most reviews you'll find online will tell you Third Shift Amber Lager is a sweet, malty brew, light on carbonation and without much in the way of hops. I'd bitch and moan a bit but I'm drinking Natty Boh as I write this and the first taste test of my first batch of homebrew was met with "Hey! You made Schlitz!" from my neighbor and drinking buddy.

In other words, if your local gas station, convenience store or restaurant adjunct has a limited selection of brews, Third Shift Amber Lager isn't the worst thing you could pick up. 

I'd consider that as close to a rave review as it's gonna get.

THIRSTY THURSDAY: Fascist Pig Ale

I started out the summer thinking I could make a decent dent in Thrillist's 'Summer Beers Checklist' and I actually got off to a pretty good start.

I shopped with the list in my back pocket, I grabbed six packs instead of twelve packs and, well, I probably drank more beer than I should have.

And after the first couple weeks I had more than a handful of entries knocked off – at which point I started getting a little cocky. Because, as I often do, I fell into a rut. This time it wasn't as bad as eating the same thing for breakfast every day for over a year but it was a rut nonetheless.

Pretty soon I found myself checking the list only to realize I was buying the same things over and over and over.

"Harpoon? Nope. Already had it. Sierra Summerfest? Eh, already had it."

Luckily, one of my local beer stores (the excellent Fairground Discount Beverages) has a case of handy singles which I've been scouring for entries from the aforementioned checklist – like 21st Amendment Bitter American and Anchor Brewing Summer Beer – as well as other brews that catch my eye.

Such as Fascist Pig Ale from Finch's Beer Co. I grabbed one of these last week as I made my way to the counter with a twelve of – doh! – Sierra Nevada Summerfest, laughing as my daughter kept referring to it as "Fashion Pig Ale". Then again, judging from the can you can see how she might have made that mistake.

At home I poured the slightly cloudy red ale into a pint glass and found it to be quite enjoyable. A nice, slightly thick and creamy brew with notes of malt, toffee and caramel, Fascist Pig Ale boasts 8% ABV and 72 IBU.

Though it's a brew I'd probably enjoy a bit more in the fall as the temps are dropping and the leaves are starting to turn, it provided a nice break from the heavy dose of Pale Ales and Kolsch-style beers I've been frequenting.

The Waiting is the Hardest Part: Homebrew Update #1

Cooking and home brewing have many similarities.

You have your ingredients, you follow a recipe, there's a bunch of utensils, accessories and implements... but there's one important difference I had sorta pushed to the back of my mind.

When I cook something it's usually ready to eat, if not immediately, then pretty darn soon. Brewing – as I was quickly reminded – is a lot of "hurry up and wait". Though I must admit that the advancements in brew kits over the past 15 years have made the cooking part of the process a lot less painless.

The Hungover Gourmet Homebrew Throwdown got started last Friday when I took advantage of my daughter's last day of camp till mid-August. The Mr. Beer Home Brewing System was hauled out, assembled, reviewed and readied for action. A quick read of the directions refreshed my memory on the basics, though it feels like there's much more emphasis on sanitization than there was back when I was doing this in the mid-to-late 90s.

Some of the reasons that I ended up pulling the plug on my earlier career as an amateur brewmaster included: a) the time it took to brew up a batch; and, b) the amount of equipment I seemed to be amassing. By the time I moved from Pittsburgh back to the Philly area I had cases and cases of bottles, at least two 5 gallon carboys, tubing, stoppers, cappers, siphons, hops, malt, yeast... the list goes on.

With Mr. Beer you get the mini keg pictured above, ingredients and some plastic bottles. You provide a few handy implements (like a spoon, measuring cup and can opener) and you're ready to go.

Why didn't I get one of these sooner?

Mr. Beer employs malt extract kits similar to what I was already used to, and they're even manufactured by the folks at Cooper's (same folks who had the larger malt extract kits I was already familiar with, though Mr. Beer kits are already hopped). It wasn't long before the old techniques were kicking in (like soaking the extract can in hot water so the syrupy contents would flow more evenly) and the kitchen was filled with familiar aromas.

To be frank, I'm still a bit suspicious of the barrel-shaped Mr. Beer keg that's currently residing in my pantry. (I keep checking the pantry, half expecting my canned goods and paper products to be soaked with warm, flat half-beer.) The oversized five-gallon carboy with the air lock has been replaced by the cute-looking keg with its notched lid and bottling spigot, but everything seems to be progressing as both the instructions indicate and my memory suggests.

And now, we wait.

To be continued...

Getting Ready to Start Home Brewing Again

With my daughter heading off to all-day camp next week it's looking like a good bet that I'll be getting started on the Homebrew Kit Throwdown for the next issue of The Hungover Gourmet.

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened up my Mr. Beer Kit yesterday – which I got during a recent "scratch & ding" sale – and discovered that it has malt extract kits for both Czech Pilsner and Mexican Cerveza styles.

I don't think I've made homebrew since trying to make a batch while, ahem, "altered" while I was living in Pittsburgh. I vaguely remember lugging all my equipment across the state when I moved back to the Delaware Valley in 1998 but I don't think I ever brewed again. (Though I wonder what the hell happened to all my equipment.)

The thought has crossed my mind at various times over the last dozen years but I never wanted to go all in again on the expense, not to mention the storage space required, etc.

Enter brew kits like Mr. Beer and its throwdown competitor from Brooklyn Brew Shop and homebrewing just got a lot more attractive.

THG #12 Update and a Quick Serious Note

Looks like things are starting to come together for the new issue, despite our intended print shop closing their doors! (It's okay. Fellow publishers – and Google – came to the rescue and we have a couple potential printers. And yes, in case you missed it, we are re-launching the print version of The Hungover Gourmet this fall. You can read more details and get info on how to contribute at an earlier post.)

Articles have already landed in our hands from past THG contributors like Crites and The Beer Snob and I hope to have an interview lined up with a craft beer luminary who is behind a new launch of sessionable craft beers.

In addition, my wife – an award-winning baker with a long history in family restaurants (which she wrote about in THG #8 which is available in limited quantities from our store) – is going to chronicle her efforts to take home more ribbons at the 2013 Maryland State Fair. This year should be more interesting than ever as our soon-to-be-six-year-old daughter will be old enough to enter baked goods in this year's competition.

We're also making a return to the world of homebrew after a prolonged absence and the issue will include a Homebrew Kit Throwdown between kits from Brooklyn Brew Shop and Mr. Beer. May the best beer win!

Other contributors have expressed interest, but I'll keep mum on anything else until I have firm commitments or actual articles.

As for the font cover photo contest... details are still being worked out and I should have info posted by the beginning of June.

On a more serious note, good pal and THG contributor Louis Fowler (whose epic 'Stupid Size Me' graced THG #11) informed us that the devastating tornadoes that ripped through Oklahoma earlier this week were only miles from his home. Though Louis and family are safe, hundreds are injured, many are dead and thousands are dealing with the aftermath of this disaster. You can help by texting REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation or visit the Red Cross website to make a donation in any amount to their disaster relief efforts.

Have a great Memorial Day weekend filled with food, drink and fun and remember, relax ... it's only cooking.