These Are The Metalheads In Your Neighborhood: Our week was considerably brightened when local concerts page Jukely interviewed one of our favorite neighbors, Arty Shepherd of Saint Vitus Bar in Greenpoint. Regular readers of this series know that we’re unrepentant metalheads, punk fans, and the like here at the Brewery, and it was a pleasure to hear from one of the forces behind such an important Brooklyn institution. See you soon, Arty!
And The Brewmasters From Outside Your Neighborhood: This week also saw Allagash founder and brewmaster Rob Tod profiled in Food Republic. Whether you’re a fan of the Witte or hang on news of their coolship, hearing from the mind behind one of the finest breweries in the world is a thrill. Read with care, however: you’ll likely rack up a serious bill from your bottle shop after reading this one.
Raiders Nation Causes Drought: Raiders fans en route to last week’s game against the Chiefs apparently succeeded in a goal we never even thought was possible: drinking an entire airplane dry. The flight was a mere 3 1/2 hour jaunt from California, but that didn’t stop the thirsty horde. Unfortunately, their achievement was the main Oakland accomplishment this week as the Raiders fell to the Chiefs 21-13 last night. Those return flights had better stock up.
Beer Goes X Rated: Porn site xHamster recently announced it will be releasing its own beer, the first project of its kind in the adult media space. The site, which attracts roughly 25 million unique visitors a day, will now be represented by a Belgian tripel simply dubbed “xHamster Beer.” And before you ask, no, we won’t link to this directly. Even breweries have HR departments.
Let’s Replace IBUs: Beer geeks the world over have vigorously debated the importance of including IBUs as a measure of bitterness in beer. Fortunately for anyone who’s ever gotten trapped at a tasting event, the American Society of Brewing Chemists is on the case. Two separate presentations made in August detail solid headway into creating a measurable scale for perceived bitterness, which is infinitely more useful to consumers than a chemical measure. Until the scale is rolled out, remember: IBUs don’t matter to youse.
Your Friday Geekery: We close this week with a look at Sasha Petraske’s comp policy for his most celebrated bar, Milk & Honey. While your buyback results may vary across dives and cocktail dens, Petraske’s rigorous system is an inspiring one for any bar regular. On a related note, please contact us immediately if you know where to find trained cats.