Maine is fast becoming the state to be in if you’re interested in going to some great beer festivals. In addition to the yearly biggies (the Spring Brewers Festival, the Maine Lakes Brew Fest and the Maine Brewers Festival), Maine is hosting the second annual Central Maine Brew Fest this April.
The second Central Maine Brew Fest is scheduled for April 17th at the Augusta Civic Center. The first big brewfest of the year is hosting 16 brewers and brewpubs from around the state, from small outfits like Sheepscot Valley Brewing to the big dogs like Shipyard and Allagash. Kennebec Home Brew Supplies is also listed among the exhibitors, although I’m not entirely sure what the brewing experts are going to have on hand.
Tickets are still available, and go for $25 a pop – not a bad price for the number of breweries that will be at the festival. As is the norm with beer festivals, there are both afternoon (2 p.m. to 5 p.m.) and evening (7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.) sessions. Along with food and prizes, both sessions will feature live music from the State Street Traditional Jazz Band and the School Street Band. Like last year, both the Comfort Inn and Holiday Inn in the capitol are offering reduced room rates for the night of the festival, so out of towners can still imbibe.
Check after the jump for a full list of brewers, accommodations and ticket information from CentralMaineBrews.com and Central Maine Festivals, LLC.
Tags: Augusta, Beer, beer festival, central brew fest, Maine
In February, Electronic Arts and Visceral Games released a video game loosely based on the first book of The Divine Comedy. The release of Dante’s Inferno was met with a good amount of criticism - not just for deficiencies of the graphical and gameplay varieties, but for the developer having the gall to take inspiration from Dante’s classic work. On one hand, I think this is totally valid, as the game has some pretty lackluster story and storytelling according to most reviews. Apparently, it’s tough to craft a rough-and-tumble action game based on a book that’s mostly about an author following a poet around. On the other hand, it’s kind of disappointing to see how some observers from the literary world used the release to dismiss the ability of games to tell good stories at all.
I think this dismissal is a bit misguided, although probably not ill-intentioned. The fact is, a lot of folks still think of games as kids stuff, and games like Pong and Rampage didn’t have a lot of story to tell (although Ms. Pac-Man did have some cute intermission scenes). In the four decades since home and arcade video games started appearing, the storytelling in games has evolved to something nearing the level of film and prose - albeit in an interactive rather than inevitable form.
As I wrote for Laws of Play, the audience that plays games has also evolved. Sixty-nine percent of American heads of households play games, and the average gamer isn’t a teen or child, but 33 years old. This maturation of the audience means that there’s room under the umbrella of video games to tell adult stories for adult players. Studios like Rockstar Games, Bioware and Quantic Dream have used the platform of video games to create fantastic, involved and interactive fiction for a mature audience. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 1984, batman, Books, civilization, dante's inferno, fallout 3, half-life, the passage, video games
This week, I use my soapbox over at RateBeer to recount the 2010 release of Portsmouth Brewery’s Russian Imperial Stout Kate the Great.
Monday, March 1st was Kate the Great Day at the Portsmouth Brewery, the latest uber-hyped beer release in the craft beer world. In December of 2007, Beer Advocate magazine named Portsmouth’s Russian Imperial Stout Kate the Great the best beer in America – and the second best in the world. The stout also clocks in as part of the 100th percentile club here on RateBeer, and reviews around the web give the beer really high marks. The love of the well-brewed beer, along with it’s rarity (the brewery only has the capacity to brew about 10 barrels a batch) makes Kate one of the “gotta catch ‘em all” white whales of the craft beer community.
Check out the full post on the Hop Press.
This week on my Hop Press column over at RateBeer.com, I address the snobbishness and ad hominem attacks rampant in online craft beer communities.
Every so often, there’s something going on in the beer world that’s generating so much conversation that it needs to be addressed. A little while back, it was Rock Art’s trademark dispute with Monster over the Vermonster name. Last week, everyone was talking about Sink the Bismarck, the newest super-high alcohol beer from the Scots over at BrewDog. This week, people on Facebook, in forums and on Twitter seem to be buzzing about two topics in particular; the Call to Action posted by documentarian Anat Baron (director of Beer Wars) and a post on New Brew Thursday titled “Want to advocate for Craft Beer? Then don’t be a hater!“
You can read my collected thoughts on the posts on the Hop Press.
Tags: Beer, beer advocacy, hop press, ratebeer
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Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
That distinction goes to the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA.
I haven’t really made my love of the Dogfish Head Brewery a secret here on Brews and Books. My guest posters and myself have written quite lovingly about a number of different brews from the Delaware powerhouse. Hell, I even pushed a Dogfish beer on the community at Murmur.com by incorporating beer in the site book club. But none of the crazy, unique beers they produce hit me quite the same way as one of their tasty (and surprisingly traditional) brews.
Here’s how the brewery describes the India Pale Ale;
So, tons of hops, lots of citrus, and the ever-important balance - sounds great coming from the brewer’s mouth, but what does it all mean? Follow me down the tasting rabbit hole after the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 60 minute ipa, Beer, Beer Reviews, dogfish head, Reviews