http://tomauer.hoppress.com Just another The Hop Press weblog Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:30:11 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [A trip to a fairly dry corner of the world causes me to reflect on the fact that time away from craft beer helps me remember how satisfying beer can be.] Even in Dubai, I can have a Duvel, at the proper temperature, in a tulip glass, before my flight home. ... http://tomauer.hoppress.com/2010/01/29/a-trip-to-the-desert/ [I recently finished my blind tasting of a dozen examples of Abbey Dubbels. The tasting was spread out over a week, with my lovely fiancée providing beer pouring services, ensuring that I had no idea which beer was which. These are my results. Standard Disclaimer: I paid for all of ... http://tomauer.hoppress.com/2009/12/27/december-of-a-dozen-dubbels/ [As the year comes to the close, I’m impelled to produce some list of beers based on my past eleven and half months of drinking. After I created this list, I had the idea of listing my top five beer and food experiences of the year, but I couldn’t remember ... http://tomauer.hoppress.com/2009/12/06/my-top-5-new-beers-of-2009/ [An opportunity to give thanks and reflect on what makes all of this great beer possible.] Buddhist, thinker, and activist Thich Nhat Hanh once wrote, “The existence of this page is dependent on the existence of a cloud.” He was referring to the grand inter-connectedness of the universe, describing how a ... http://tomauer.hoppress.com/2009/11/22/giving-thanks/ [Engagement with the local food scene here in Rhode Island prompts me to consider how “local” craft-brewed beer can be, what some of the limitations are, and what’s next to make craft beer even more local than it already can be.] The term “local beer” is a bit of a misnomer. ... http://tomauer.hoppress.com/2009/11/08/almost-local-beer/ [This week I reflect on not chasing after rare beer, drawing a comparison to chasing birds, and offer some reasons to stay home and enjoy what you've got. Also, it's official: this is a bi-weekly blog.] “The most radical thing you can do is to stay home.” – Gary Snyder Snyder, a ... http://tomauer.hoppress.com/2009/10/25/not-chasing/ [A recent transition from graduate school in Pennsylvania to a new job in Rhode Island means I’m a week behind my originally imposed weekly writing schedule. However, it has given me inspiration to discuss the craft beer scenes of the two locales, taking a look at what I’ve left behind, ... http://tomauer.hoppress.com/2009/10/11/changing-scenes-a-move-from-pennsylvania-to-rhode-island/ [caption id="attachment_6" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Out on the porch, enjoying a cool snifter of homebrewed Saison on a hot summer day."][/caption] I've already had two beers, I'm ready for the broom - Bob Dylan & The Band [Welcome to Ready for the Broom, a unique, on-the-street view of the craft beer movement, as seen ... http://tomauer.hoppress.com/2009/09/27/the-name-of-this-blog-is/