Hey look, the Hawks brought back the Pacman logo! That's awesome! Also, fuck Kobe.

Reminds me of a story a buddy of mine had from his days at Auburn. He was in a class with Takeo Spikes and the professor needed to get Mr. Spikes's attention. "Tah-kay-o? Tah-kow?" she asked. He let her try a couple more times, then just yelled, "IT'S TUH-KEE-OH, BITCH!" She didn't call on him again after that.

Good list, especially with Pranqster. I'll add Gulden Draak from Belgium and Goose Island Matilda, as well.

Yep, that would be Fullsteam, right? They also makes a beer with pawpaws that the crew forages from along local rivers. I've never gotten the chance to try it, but it sounds cool.

The aforementioned 10 Barrel Brewing (RIP, beloved independent Oregon-based brand) won a gold at GABF with Cucumber Crush, which used a sour Berliner weiss as a base beer. Holy crap, that stuff is delicious and refreshing. There are other excellent fruit beers also made with the same base - Apricot Crush, Cherry…

The hops tend to take a back seat around the three year mark, leaving a pretty malty ale, more akin to a strong amber ale. Going back over a decade I've yet to detect any of the esters that indicate oxidation, and it just kind of grows in complexity. It's one of the lighter beers that holds up well for extended aging.…

Yep, I've seen those in the 32oz bottles. The true "wet hop" version is pretty excellent; the Southern Hemisphere version is kind of a bullshit gimmick, since, as I mentioned earlier, the hops are flown over from New Zealand after harvest and probably degrade significantly during the journey. I've tried it a time or…

It's a little difficult to describe, and somewhat dependent upon the hop varietal. My favorite fresh hops, like Double Mountain Killer Green, just taste "greener," which I know isn't a great descriptor. When they're super fresh, the best fresh hop ales accentuate the secondary characteristics of the hop varieties they…

Dude, that even kind of rhymes.

Woah boy, Will, if the northwest beer nerds get wind of this post, you're in for some shit later on (especially if my buddy Bill, aka the Fresh Hop Führer, reads it).

Ficker's son lived across the hall from my my freshman year of college. Dude was a piece of work, for sure. Then one time he went on a bender and apparently didn't get in touch with his family for a while. I picked up the hall phone one evening and the man himself was on the line, saying that if Jr. didn't call him in…

Well, sir, may I present to you The Bruery Chocolate Rain? It may not end the world, but it may very well be the beer you seek. Also very germane to this discussion, as it clocks in at 18.5%ABV. I'd say two ounces is about my maximum for anything that strong and sugary, but it might be right up your alley.

Yep, Triple Bock was the most expensive beer I've ever taken two sips of and then poured down the drain. Maple soy sauce, indeed. I don't get that at all from Utopias, though. It's more of a beer brandy. You can also just have an ounce or two and put the cap back on the bottle, since it's not carbonated.

There is a BA-defined style category for American-style black ale that is meant to encompass the Cascadian Dark/Black IPA realm of beers. It's definitely a bit more nuanced than just "throw a bunch of hops in a stout and call it a Black IPA," though that may very well be what some breweries are doing these days. It…

League-wide, you're probably right. Widmer Bros. does a substantial amount of sponsorship with the Timbers–there were rumors that Widmer would be the new shirt sponsor for next year, or possibly buy the stadium naming rights. The brand is starting to get enough national pull (admittedly with the help of a hefty…

I've also heard that Heineken adds some esters rather than light-shocking the beer before canning or kegging; that seems like a more reliable approach to delivering the "desired" off-flavor.

Nah, the craft brewing industry is so decentralized that this won't happen for decades or more. The A-B takeover of Goose Island and Miller's investment in Terrapin (to name a couple) are aberrations; look at the number of new brewing facilities opening up every week, month, year. It's more akin to the baking…

I have no idea. I think finding who your competitors are would be a plus for most anybody. Maybe the BA is just busy rolling around in the piles of money they made this past weekend to be bothered, and it will come out eventually.

Man, I traveled in Colombia earlier this year and that guy is still EVERYWHERE. Beer promos, Subway ads, mall grand openings. I guess Shakira's too expensive for endorsement deals and appearances, to El Pibe gets them all.

Unfortunately I'm not sure you're going to be granted the opportunity to look at all of the entrants. Hell, my buddy over at Beervana is trying to find out just the number of entrants by state, much less the actual entrants in any particular category, and the BA just isn't making that info available. Trade secrets,…