The Pick Six – March 20th, 2016 – Alberta Clipper, Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island and New Belgium Brewing

Brews:

Great Lakes Brewing Company Alberta Clipper – 7.8% ABV, Porter – Great Lakes releases this brew around February every year. It’s worth hunting down when available because it was Jackie’s Beer of the Year for 2015. This beer is super dark but almost oddly refreshing as it has very, very prominent raspberry notes. It’s also more tarte than sweet considering the chocolate notes in it. It’s like a dark chocolate raspberry truffle but with alcohol and without the extraneous sugaryness.

Games:

Skylar & Plux: Adventure on Clover Island – In the same vein as a Jack & Dexter or a Ratchet & Clank, the duo of Skylar & Plux are on their way to your action-platforming heart later in 2016. The game features jetpacks, powerful upgrades to your weapons, and beautiful landscapes. Check out the trailer HERE from the Grip Digital, the people behind The Solus Project.

Dragon Land – Take your mind back to the first time you played Spyro on the Playstation. You’re a tiny dragon that doesn’t quite know how to fly, but breathing fire is becoming second nature to you. You jump along in a 3D platformer and you’re having a ton of fun. Dragon Land is pretty much the same thing, but for your mobile device. It’s free-to-play, but costs to keep going if you run out of lives and hearts…unless you want to wait for them to regenerate. Lots of fun, great controls, and looks good too!

Collapse Simulator – Ubisoft – A companion tool to Ubisoft’s Tom Clancy’s The Division, it takes you through the collapse of civilization due to a virus that is 3x more deadly than smallpox. The simulator gives you choices to make, from the pharmacy where you attempt to get medicine, to the international destination you go to in order to escape the plague. It’s a fun mini game that you can play while working and no one will be the wiser. If you like playing the architect of the apocalypse, you may also want to consider playing Plague, Inc. which is available for both computer and mobile operating systems and was conveniently reviewed on a previous episode of the Brewelist Podcast.

News:

Gray water translates to Great beer? – Half Moon Bay Brewing Company is making small batches of it’s Mavericks Tunnel Vision IPA with recycled waste water. You heard it right. Your sink, shower, dishwasher, and washing machine water is being converted into beer for your drinking pleasure. The San Francisco beer maker is brewing up the perfect solution for California’s water shortage. Dirty water has never tasted so refreshing.

Thanks to FoxNews for the info.

New Belgium Has a Doctor In the House – New Belgium Brewing has added an on-site doctor’s office to their newly renovated facilities in Colorado. CEO Christine Perich wanted her employees to have access to a doctor so they would not be reliant on emergency services or an urgent care facility and hopes the addition to the staff will have a positive impact on employee health. Dr. Patti Palagi has been with the company since March of 2015. If the program works well, New Belgium may provide similar services to their Asheville, NC brewery, set to open in April 2016.

Kudos to Brewbound.com for the info.

Opinion: Craft Beer and Female Fans

An article was brought to my attention by a friend “How Craft Beer Fails its Female Fan Base” and I thought I’d give my two cents on the topic based on the Stereotypes that are brought up in the article:

1. WOMEN HATE BITTER, AND LOVE SWEET AND FRUITY.

I do know women who want a sweet beer, or a fruity beer, or a light beer and because I know them pretty well, know it’s because they want to get into craft beer and are nervous because they’re used to wine and cocktails and are overwhelmed by options. To be perfectly honest, it was a fruity, sweet beer that got me into craft beer in the first place. I’m happy to recommend these when asked but am also very, very open with other stuff I like that may not fit into these categories that they may also like.

I’ve since embraced other flavors and do like the occasional refreshing fruit beer but I don’t drink them exclusively. I like porters, stouts, sours, gose-style and (gasp) IPA beers. I don’t dig most Bourbon-Aged beers though but that’s just a general distaste for bourbon in general.

Just like with everything else where women are not included or considered because there is a perception, which may or may not be based in fact or actual evidence, I’d say presume the person who’s asking you knows what they’re talking about and are actually very interested in your opinion.

Good rule of thumb: If a woman asks for your opinion, your next question should be “Sure, what do you normally like to drink?” And go from there.

2. ALL WOMEN GET INTO CRAFT BEER THROUGH THEIR BOYFRIEND, HUSBAND, BROTHER, ETC.

My husband likes hard liquor and IPAs. I assure you that it’s more me dragging him into Craft Beer than the other way around.

And I’ve probably dragged other friends down the rabbit hole too. I’m not ashamed.

3. WOMEN CAN’T BE BREWERY OWNERS OR BREWMASTERS.

Women can be whatever they want to be. I wanted to be a video game writer, so I did it. I then wanted to be a craft beer reviewer, did that too. And I’m in good company in the craft beer world.

4. WOMEN NEED BEER “MANSPLAINED” TO THEM WHEN ORDERING.

I’ve not experienced this when I’m out and I’m typically the person who’s making recommendations on beer before someone actually goes up to order.

In the times where I have inquired about a specific beer or asked for a recommendation, the men behind the bar have been very polite and very informative. Anything less is just poor customer service and unnecessary condescension.

Gentlemen in craft beer are really excited to talk to someone who also loves craft beer regardless of gender. If they feel it’s necessary to mansplain they’re probably just d*cks in general.

Again, to repeat what I said before: If a woman asks for your opinion, your next question should be “Sure, what do you normally like to drink?” And go from there.

In Conclusion:

Do I feel like marketing that is man-centric is annoying and sometimes inappropriate? Yep. It’s not isolated to craft beer. Yes, it’s a problem that plagues the craft beer community. It’s also still a huge problem in gaming (see also the backlash from Xbox’s GDC party and subsequent apology) and in marketing in general.

Am I concerned that beers like Clown Shoes’ Trampstamp use suggestive imaging that might be misinterpreted? Not really. If you understand the tongue-in-cheek nature of most craft breweries, it’s not as bothersome. I have bigger bones to pick with other industries’ portrayals of women.

The apathy is probably pretty heavy with me since I’ve come across much, much worse but I’d *love* for Craft Beer to lead the charge and be a shining example of how we can include women in marketing without reducing it to gimmicks or pink labels.

The Pick Six – March 13th, 2016

Welcome to the latest member of the Brewelist family – “The Pick Six.”

Inspired by those craft-your-own packs you can get of craft brews, we’ll review a combination of beers, games and news each week.

Brews:

Smartmouth Brewing Company Murphy’s Law Amber Ale – A mellow brew from my homeland, this amber ale, to me, has a little bit of apple to it. It’s light and tasty and easy to drink at 5.8% ABV. This is a year round beer, if you’re lucky enough to live within distribution range.

Ballast Point Black Marlin Porter – Tall, dark and hoppy, this porter is another beer that is light on alcohol but not on flavor. You’re in for some smooth sipping all year long. It’s 6% alcohol and 100% yum and dark, like my soul.

Games:

Wordbubbles – Too proud to admit that Scrabble isn’t your thing? Pretty good with words? Try out Wordbubbles. It’s free to play and download but your first purchase gets rid of ads (it’s worth it). Daily challenges give you free hints, which are sometimes more necessary than you’re willing to admit.
Faily Brakes – Have you ever wanted to get the feeling of driving your vehicle, at high speed, while barreling down a mountain, with the brake lines cut? If so, then this is the game for you. It’s free-to-play, but you can pay for different looking cars in which to crash into trees and rocks and jettison your passenger from the car. The further you go and the more damage you take, the more points you rack up!

News:

Cigar City Acquisition – Tampa, FL based Cigar City has been purchased by Fireman Capital Partners, a firm that has united multiple craft breweries under the United Craft Brews LLC banner.  Previously it was rumored that In-Bev was looking to acquire Cigar City, much to the dismay of craft beer lovers.

This is the latest in several acquisitions over the last year, one of the most recent being the 1 Billion dollar acquisition of Ballast Point by Constellation Brands.

Does Oil and Barley Mix? – Oil giant Sunoco is planning on opening up a Malt House in Central New York to the tune of $9.1 million dollars. No word as to when this will be happening, but this facility will have the capacity to to process 100,000 bushels of malted barley each year and the company will look to supply most of that to the beer craft sector.

If you’re a craft brewer in the NYS area, look no further than your local gas station to get your hands on some malts. Most Sunocos locations have craft beer on tap, so gas up, fill up, and enjoy those malty brews!

Transistor and Blood Orange Hefeweizen from Ellicottville Brewing Company

This very special episode of the Brewelist podcast pairs the fantasticly futuristic game Transistor with the Blood Orange Hefeweizen from Ellicottville Brewing Company. Hosts Jackie and Casey delve deep into both and you should take a listen below!

You can pick up the game on their website, on Steam, or PSN. Visit the Ellicottville Brewing Co website to see where to get your hands on this brew.

Check our Facebook page for updates, along with our Twitter and Instagram. We also have an UnTappd account where you can see what we’re drinking; and you can catch us on iTunes for your listening pleasure.

Any ideas you have for a game to play and a drink to go along with it? Email us: brewelist@gmail.com.

Stay Thirsty and Play Indie!

Drinking Quest: Journey into Draught Brings the Party Back to Kickstarter

You may recall that dontforgetatowel.com reviewed the Drinking Quest Trilogy, which was funded to fruition in 2014. This hybrid of a drinking game and tabletop RPG has taken the indie gaming world by storm and continues to grow.

Anarchy’s most recent Kickstarter success is the more Zen card game Haiku Warrior. This game expands the Drinking Quest Universe and brings back many of our old friends from the original Trilogy.

As of this writing, the game has hit its funding goal and has 28 days remaining for us to hit all the luscious stretch goals I’m sure he has planned. (Such as stylish and hilarious coasters of our favorite colleagues).

sexy-stretch-goals

Backers can choose many tiers, some of which also give you discounted access to previous games by Jason Anarchy. I can vouch personally for the quality and hilarity of the games and if you and yours are good at RPGs, it’s a fun addition to any get together.

I mean…there are cards with Sexy Cthulu and Earl Grey Hot.

Check out the campaign on Kickstarter here.