The Brew Basement

Feel like getting your hands on some rare and vintage brews?
Feel like supporting a good cause?
Liquids Solutions (my favorite online beverage retailer) is giving you a chance to do both by hosting a vintage beer auction starting this Friday, May 9th and ending on Sunday the 11th. All proceeds will be going to a Parkinson’s […]

Hello fellow beer fanatics!
I seem to be getting more and more mail lately and please trust me, I’m trying hard to answer everyone somewhat timely (unfortunately I’ve been terrible about responding to comments on the site - I promise to get better there). I have just one request for you all - please keep those […]

Today I’d like to give special thanks to Brew Basement reader Clint who has generously allowed me to share his fantastic Beer Cellaring Spreadsheet with you all. I’m in the process of putting my collection over onto this sheet’s format, and I recommend it highly for keeping track of your beer collection.
I’d also like to […]

Here’s my latest round of six-month tastings! It’s amazing what seems to happen on these vintage tastings - there’s always a mixed bag of success and failures.
Jolly Pumpkin La Roja - Big disappointment here. Diminished sweetness has left this brew wildly unbalanced and extremely sour.
Victory Weissbier - Just forget it - drink this fresh only. […]

Thanks for tuning in to the second part of this series. If you haven’t yet, be sure to check out the first part, Smoke’s Preservative Effect on Aging Beer.
There’s a whole host of phenolic compounds present in beer, but three are much more common the others. Phenol itself, the most basic of phenolic compounds, gives […]

I would guess it’s no great surprise to anyone when they find out that smoked beers tend to age well. Most of us have been exposed to all sorts of preserved smoked meats, seafoods, and other products for all our lives – why should smoked beers be any different? And indeed, the differences between smoked […]

Looking for a good smoked brew? They’re a bit of an elusive breed, to be honest. In your typical US beverage store you’ll find stacks and stacks of lagers, row after row of pale ales, but not very many smoke flavored beers. It’s a simple fact that if you find yourself in the mood for […]

Hello everyone! I’ll be diving into the world of smoked beers this week. I’ll be examining the science behind the preservation power of smoke, posting the results of a few tastings of some famous smokey brews, and doling out a few recommendations for purchasing some brews of your own.
I thought a nice way to kick […]

Hello everyone! How about that Siena beating up Vandy in the NCAA tourney last Friday!
Here’s my latest round of six-month tastings. Not a bad bunch of aged brews here, I must say. One disappointment, but the others are going strong!
Corsendonk Abbey Brown Ale - A nice enough little brew, but it seems like it’s not […]

Ethanol. It’s that wonderful little molecule that makes my wife loopy after too many strawberry daiquiris. It’s the compound that more and more of us are filling our cars up with here in America. It’s really the only thing most of us think of when we hear the word “alcohol”. I say most of us […]