The Pick Six – June 22, 2016 – EA Goes Indie, Big Ditch Low Bridge and Steam Summer Sale!

Brews:

Big Ditch Low Bridge – Hoppy Golden Ale, 4.8% ABV – If you’re getting tired of the same old same old light beer and might want to get your feet wet with hoppier beer, this one may be the ticket. It’s light, extremely flavorful and slightly hoppy (that bitterness that you may taste with an IPA). Sadly it is only available in Western New York but if you’re ever visiting, seek it out!

Southern Tier Salted Caramel – Imperial Porter, 10% ABV – The new kid on the block in the Southern Tier Blackwater Series is Salted Caramel. It’s dark like our souls and offers a more savory caramel flavor (far less sweet than Genesee’s Salted Caramel Chocolate Porter, which is still a favorite on Brewelist). It’s also more widely available than its Rochester equivalent and available now to tide us over until SCCP returns in the fall.

Games:

Tee Time for Robots – If you thought Golf was a dead sport, think again. 100ft Robot Golf will be bringing this honored sport back to the forefront as you take control of a giant robot as it destroys obstacles that get in the way of their shot. The game will be compatible with Playstation VR and you can control your robot from your headset. Will this be the new Rocket League? Find out this fall and look at the link below.

We Happy Few Gets an Early Access Date – Compulsion Games – Jackie was all about this title before the hype. No, really, she was at PAX East 2015 and was among one of the first to play it. It’ll hit Steam Early Access on July 26, 2016. If you’re a fan of dystopian survival horror (think Bioshock with trippier 60s styles), you’ll want to give this one a gander.

News:

EA goes indie? – EA is launching it’s own EA Originals program which will let indie game developers get their titles out to a wider audience under the EA banner. They are taking a three step approach of giving us unique games, supporting small developers, and helping them get funded. One of the first games to be released under this banner is Fe, an explorative adventure game along the lines of Journey. Take a look at the trailer below.

Video web content titled: Fe Gameplay Trailer - EA PLAY 2016

Bdubs Eyeing Beer To Go – This fall you might be able to pick up some of your favorite beer to go with your wings from Buffalo Wild Wings. They’re collaborating with MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch to figure out how to best enable their customers to leave with beer. So expect some options for growlers, crowlers and other vessel fills in a few months.

The Pick Six – June 15, 2016 – Sodastream Does Beer, Ohio lifts the ABV cap and Virginia Tech’s Fusion Lab Gives Rise to History-Based Video Game

Brews: 

Sweet Tang Lager With Grapefruit – Hamburg Brewing Company, 5.0% ABV – This lager has heavy grapefruit flavors. It lacks bitterness and is heavy on the citrus. It’s very crisp, very tasty, and very welcome on a hot summer day. And, at only 5.0% ABV, very drinkable.

 

All about the Hefe lifting – Widmer Brothers from Portland, OR is releasing its Hefe Shandy again this Summer. The seasonal beer features Hefe’s signature hazy appearance with the addition of lemon drop drops and natural lemonade flavor. It’s the perfect beverage to enjoy on your back porch with fireflies all around and a breeze through your hair. The beer only has 4.2% ABV, so it’s great for keeping you cool when things heat up. You should be able to get your hands on this beverage at a local brew stop near you.

 

 

Games: 

Our Pandemic: 1918 – Virginia Tech (Jackie’s alma mater) has created the Fusion Studio which allows participants across multiple disciplines to collaborate. In this case, a historian, a video game developer, an expert on pandemics and an artist joined forces to create a point and click game that explores the 1918 influenza outbreak. Also worth mentioning that Virginia Tech now has a microbrewery on campus and students can learn about brewing beer and whatnot. I’m glad to see my tuition dollars are being well spent long after I can no longer benefit from them (but I guess there’s always grad school?). The game isn’t out yet but I suspect it’ll be an interesting use of the medium.

 

Oxygen Not Included Announced at E3 – One of our favorite Indie Game studios, Klei Entertainment has announced their newest project, a space colony simulation called Oxygen Not Included. While no firm release date has been released, there is a Steam Page and speculation it will hit later this year or early in 2017. How will we fare as leaders in space colonization? Probably not well but we’ll have a lot of fun failing.

 

 

News: 

Beer on demand going too far? – Sodastream has begun selling their “Beer Bar” product, which allows you to, allegedly, brew a craft beverage at will using their system. They swear you can’t taste the difference but I suspect it’s going to take a lot more than a Sodastream and some flavored concentrate to dupe an actual beer. While I’m curious to know what it’s like, I’m going to sit this one out. I mean, I still have difficulty accepting that gas stations can fill growlers…

 

Ohio Lifts ABV Ban – Previously, if you were an Ohio resident and wanted any beer above 12%, you were out of luck. The state has voted to allow the beers to be sold in the state, but must be labeled “High Alcohol Beer.” Sounds like a reasonable compromise to me.

 

The Pick Six – May 25, 2016 – Snape-ricot Ushers in Denver Comic Con, A Succulent Growing Simulator and Ommegang Wins Big at World Beer Cup

Brews:

Breckenridge to release Snape-ricot Limited Edition Brew for Denver Comic Con – As a tribute to the late Alan Rickman, who played the ambiguous wizard Severus Snape in a certain low-budget film series called Harry Potter based on a few short stories by the same name, Breckenridge Brewery kept up the tradition of making a new beer to welcome the Denver Comic Con back for another year. Apricots and Ale seem like a good combination and we’d love to have our hands on it but it will (tentatively) only be available locally in Denver and makes its debut on May 20th. Attendees of the Con can also pick it up.

 

From Beers to Bottles – Rogue Ales has over 7 million honeybees at it’s farms and each one will visit up to 1500 flowers a day. To celebrate all of this pollination bee-havior, the brewery is releasing Honey Kolsch and Marionberry Broggot; both made with honey foraged from spring nectar sources including marionberry, cherry, jalapeño, cucumber, pumpkins and wildflower blossoms.  Both beers will be available the beginning of June for your bee-rew consumption.

 

Games:

Viridi, or a Game in Which You Can Determine What a Terrible Pet Parent You Can Be – From the world that brought you a simulator for pretty much everything else, if you ever wanted to try your hand at planting and growing succulents (the allegedly low maintenance and very resilient members of the plant kingdom), Viridi can help you. The game is free to play on Steam and will be out on mobile for iOS and Android sometime in the next year. I find the premise unusual but intriguing.

 

The Cleaner – If you remember Party Hard, you may like The Cleaner. The aesthetics take us back to the 70’s and our protagonist is a guy who cleans up crime scenes. It’s not out yet but we’re looking forward to trying it out.  See the trailer here.

 

News:

Ommegang Wins Big at World Beer Cup – Cooperstown’s own Brewery Ommegang came home with three awards from the…well…World Cup of Beer. Rosetta, their cherry sour, won gold, Three Philosophers and Gnomegang won bronze and Ommegang was named the 2016 champion for a mid-sized brewery and brewmaster. In the event you’re not familiar with Ommegang (and if so, what’s the going rate on Airbnb for the rock you live under?) they’re the craft brewery that makes the licensed Game of Thrones beers. Congratulations!

 

Labatt Contributes to Disaster Relief Efforts in Fort McMurray, Alberta with Canned Water – Hold the jokes, kids. Yes, Labatt’s typical beer offerings are either the light, easy-drinking Labatt Blue, Blue Light or the horrid Labatt North American Non-Alcoholic beer. Which means that they’re also really capable of canning a bunch of actual water really quickly. And they have, to the tune of 200,000 cans that they are donating to Canadian Disaster Relief to assist firefighters and evacuated residents of the Canadian City that is currently being badly affected by wildfires in the region. You may recall that another Anheuser-Busch/InBev property, Budweiser, also contributed canned water to storm victims in Texas and Oklahoma last year.

The Pick Six – May 13, 2016 – Stone Brewery Founder To Save the Little Guys with True Craft, The Final Station and Comic Books + Beer = Bliss?

Brews:

New Belgium to begin Distributing in New York State May 16th – If you’re a fan of Fat Tire or any of the other delicious brews on offer from New Belgium Brewing Company but are located in the inconvenient state of New York, our wait is almost over. You’ll begin seeing their offerings on store shelves and in bars beginning May 16th, just in time for your summer get togethers.

Genesee Brewery Pilot Batch Local – Dean Jones, the mad scientist/brewmaster for Genesee Brewing Company has released an Imperial Lemon Cream Ale. Described as a “silky smooth and crips take on a Genesee Cream ale has subtle notes of lemon zest and a subtle malt sweetness.” Alas, if you are not in the Rochester area, you won’t be able to get this one, but you should be able to find the Pilot Batch IPA and Pilsner, both of which are acceptable substitutes.

 

Games:

The Final Station – Do you like trains? Do you like zombies? Do you like survival horror games? The Final Station may fit the bill. Jackie played a bit of the adorably horrifying 8-bit game at PAX (which was oddly available to play on the other side of the booth that was also demoing Party Hard…). Not only are you responsible for yourself, but the passengers on your train. You’re also salvaging what you can from stations as you go while defending yourself from dark creatures (which is harder than you would imagine). The game will be out in Summer 2016 as of this writing, but no firm release date has been confirmed.

Fallout 4: Far Harbor Docking at A Console Near You May 19th – You’re in search of synths on an assignment for Valentine’s Detective Agency. Bethesda is billing it as the largest landmass they’ve ever created for an add-on and it’s going to have a file size to match. It looks like it’ll be around 3 GB and will cost $24.99 by itself unless you’ve already gotten the Season Pass (which is now $50).

 

News:

Greg Koch, Co-Founder of Stone Brewing Co, creates True Craft – In what Jackie suspected was inevitable, Greg Koch, the scruffy co-founder of Stone Brewing Company has created True Craft. This collaboration is intended to enable small craft breweries to remain independent and help the little guys who just want to get bigger do so without having to sell their soul, and their business, to an In-Bev or similar operation to stay in the game. At least one person was skeptical of such an arrangement, fearing that eventually True Craft would become just as bad, if not worse, than the powers-that-be that currently exist. It’s a novel approach to a problem that no one saw coming, but we’ll keep an eye on it to see what comes of it.

Comics and Beer DO Mix: Wonder Woman and Dark Knight III: The Master Race writer Brian Azzarello is teaming up with 3 Floyd Brewing to bring an interesting combination to the masses. Azzarello and the eccentric brewing company will be creating a comic called Alpha King, which will pair nicely with a craft beer of the same name. This all-new series is a heavy metal mad mash-up through a futuristic medieval apocalypse.

The Pick Six – April 29, 2016 – Jack’s Abby Smoke and Dagger, Post-PAX Depression and More

Sorry I bailed on y’all last week, kiddos. I was very, very busy on a covert mission into Bahsten for a little game convention called PAX East. But, it’ll all be for the best because we’ve got some awesomesauce everything for you this week.

Brews:

Jack’s Abby Brewing Smoke & Dagger Black Lager – 5.8% ABV, Black Lager – Born right down yonder from where I spent PAX weekend, this deliciously dark black lager gives you all the color and flavor of a stout or porter but without the thick aftertaste (which I don’t mind but you may not care for). So impressed was I with this that I tried Hoponious Union and bought some of their other offerings. Should I do a Boston Beer Haul? What do you think?

Lord Hobo Boom Sauce – American IPA, 8% – Boston is a magical city. So magical, in fact, that you can get craft beer in a train station. IN A TRAIN STATION, PEOPLE. The beer group I belong to (Holla FCBAA!) was RAVING about this. It’s a pretty decent IPA with a lot of flavor, a lot of color and…also brewed in Massachusetts. It was worth the hype and I managed to snag the last can at the store while I was buying a bunch of other beer…but if you happen across this brew, take a sample why don’t you?

Games:

Axiom Verge – I just met this game this week and the fact that it is made by a single person is impressive and gives me a lot of hope. I can’t wait to play through the whole thing since I failed miserably at playing only a little bit. (Sorry if you were behind me, I kind of suck at old school games). It’s got great reviews on Steam and while it’s “pricey” as indie games go, it’s worth every penny. Go support an indie!

Zelda Returns – Hahaha, Just Kidding. Well, kinda. Nintendo decided to play a cruel joke on all you Link fans by announcing that the next Legend of Zelda game will be coming to the Wii U; but you’ll have until 2017 to get your hands on it. To soften the blow of this bad news, Nintendo brought along some good tidings by saying that their next-gen console dubbed the ‘NX’ will be out in March of 2017. By that time, I’m hoping the internet will realize that Link is actually not named Zelda.

News:

Hardywood Park Expanding into Charlottesville – IN news that makes Jackie’s Virginia Heart Happy, Hardywood Park is headed to Charlottesville, VA. While the location is in the heart of enemy territory, it will help expand the reach of the brewery that brought us such delights as Gingerbread Stout and Sidoma Coffee Stout.

Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem are Coming to Mobile (eventually) – Nintendo announced the first two mobile applications based on popular Nintendo franchises. The games will be out this fall, however, prices have not yet been discussed. All we know for certain is that they’re destined to be a time suck and we’re not complaining.

The Pick Six – April 15, 2016 – Anheuser-Busch InBev Takes Another Victim, Perry’s Chocolate Stout Ice Cream Taste Test and Beer Does Good

Brews:

Perry’s Chocolate Stout Ice Cream – Last week we let you know that this magical unicorn of an ice cream existed and Jackie got her hands on it. It’s very creamy but still light with lots of chocolate flavor. As the creation contains no actual alcohol, adults and children can enjoy it just the same, but with all things, moderation is key. The ice cream is available in premium pints at scoop shops and grocery stores in New York State and Western Pennsylvania.

Everyone else can use their imaginations.

Great Lakes Turntable Pils – Czech-Style Pilsner, 5.3% ABV – There’s nothing retro about this flavorful pilsner from one of our favorite nearby breweries. Light in color but not flavor, this hoppy beer packs a bit of a punch. We hope it’ll stay for the summer and it’s worth getting your hands on if you’re #blessed to live within their distribution range.

 

Games:

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture Comes to PC – Yesterday, the PC Master race scored another victory as the much lauded Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture indie game from The Chinese Room came out on Steam. The title was previously a PS4 exclusive which made me salivate and quietly contemplate buying a PS4 to play it. Now I don’t! Expect a more thorough review soon if I ever resurface.

It’s Not Really a Game But You Can Find Some Here – Casey recently told Jackie about bgr.com. Every week day they feature apps that normally cost money but are free. Get ’em while they’re hot because many of them are one-day only deals. They range anywhere from useful apps to help you make sense of your life to, you guessed it, video games. Even if you end up not liking them…they’re free!

 

 

News:

Anheuser-Busch to Acquire Devils Backbone – InBev has claimed another craft brewery, this time one of Virginia’s largest craft operations, Devils Backbone. Devils Backbone is best known for their Vienna Lager and European-style beers. The brewery will join other acquisitions as part of “The High End.” Anheuser-Busch is no stranger to the Virginia beer market, having operated a Williamsburg location for many decades. As always, the promise is there that everything that makes the craft brewery special will remain, but time will tell if this promise can be kept.

NC Brewers Using Beer to Fight H8 – Beer has been the great equalizer throughout history. In the legendary words of Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Proving that not everyone in North Carolina agrees with the “Bathroom Law” aka House Bill 2, Mystery Brewing Company and Ponysaurus Brewing Company have created “Don’t Be Mean to People: A Golden Rule Saison.” In addition to protesting a law that regulates that which is none of our business, it will take advantage  of North Carolina grain and sorghum molasses. Proceeds will benefit Equality NC and QORDS LGBT summer camp program.

The Pick Six – April 8, 2016 – Founders KBS, Chocolate Stout Ice Cream and Mobile Games

Brews:

Founders Kentucky Bourbon Stout 2016 – April 1 saw the very limited release of Founders’ always anticipated Kentucky Bourbon Stout. The beer is brewed with chocolate and coffee and then aged in bourbon barrels until it’s ready to be rehomed with many beer enthusiasts. I preferred this year’s variant over last year’s (which was a bit heavy on the bourbon for my taste) and look forward to seeing how it develops over time.

Perry’s Ice Cream, Chocolate Stout – Western New York’s own Perry’s Ice Cream has yet another way for us to keep cool this summer. They’ve released Chocolate Stout which gives you everything you love about chocolate stouts minus the alcohol. Sold in a premium pint, it’s a chocolate stout flavored ice cream with roasted chocolate stout swirls and fudge flakes. Sadly we’ve not gotten our hands on it yet but will report back when we’ve had a chance to sample it. Good thing it’ll be available year round!

Games:

Twofold inc. is a cute puzzler to pass the time – There are a LOT of puzzlers out there to waste time on your mobile device with and Twofold Inc doesn’t do anything to break the mold necessarily, but it’s still a fun time. It’s basically a mobile version of that old puzzle where you slide the tiles to get them all to match. The big difference is that there is a robot to guide you and a somber soundtrack. Check it out on iOS and Android for Free.

Attuned is the Ouiji Board Game You Never Wanted –  I was intrigued by the idea of a supernatural puzzle game on my phone. Summoning the dark forces of beyond any time I wanted was something I couldn’t pass up. Unfortunately, Attuned, did not satiate my otherworldy desires. The basic premise is to create different shapes by swiping with your finger.

Shadow Bug – iOS, Muro Studios – Released last week, Shadow Bug has you saving your forest home from an evil factory. Some of the landscape looks eerily like a Mass Effect 2 Praetorian but the rest of the graphics have a cool artsy feel. And all you need to do to fight is tap. What more can you ask for?

News:

Hey (Moderate) Beer Drinking May Be Good For You: Compounds from hops may help prevent cancer and other conditions like Alzheimer’s. Dr. Kristopher Waynant from the University of Idaho hopes they’ll be able to soon isolate the ingredients so treatments can be developed that don’t cause harm. Previous studies have linked the tasty beverage to stopping the development of prostate cancer, lowering the chances of getting kidney stones and dark ales and stouts can reduce heart attacks. Of course, all of these benefits mean nothing if you drink too much, so it’s probably a good thing that someone is trying to figure out what gives us those benefits without us needing to drink so much. No word if the compounds will be successful in helping you get through your next family gathering, however.

Read the original, magical article here (www.foxwilmington.com).

The Pick Six – April 1, 2016 – Blue Moon’s New Packaging, Stone/Dogfish Head/Victory Saison du Buff and Miitomo

This week there will be no beer news. Sorry.

(April Fools!)

We’ve actually got quite a lot of beer for you. Plus news. Plus some new games. Let’s get this month off to a fresh start in this week’s The Pick Six.

 

Brews:

Saranac Summer Pils – 5.2% ABV, German Pilsener, Seasonal – Summer will soon be upon us (once the weather makes up its mind) and its seasonals are starting to pop up. Saranac’s contribution to the party is a hoppy German Pilsener. It’s light, refreshing and just enough hops to keep it interesting. Now if only drinking it would bring on the warm sunny days we’re all looking forward to.

Stone/Dogfish Head/Victory Saison du Buff – 6.8% ABV, Saison, Limited Release – Stone’s been collaborating with some of their craft beer peers (last year they created North by South IPA with Sierra Nevada) and they’ve adopted “the more the merrier” with their newest release, Saison du Buff. This three-way collaboration with Dogfish Head and Victory is a Limited Release in the Saison style. The bottle describes it as “A farmhouse style ale brewed with parsley, sage, rosemary & lemon thyme,” which may make you think of an Italian dinner but it actually works well. There’s more hops and less effervescence than I’ve experienced in other Saisons but it is very tasty. So pick some up before it’s too late and decide for yourself.

 

Games:

Nintendo Miitomo Invades North America – iOS/Android – We get to join those lucky, lucky Japanese in Nintendo’s first mobile app Miitomo. If you’re ready to waste a lot of your future life with the rest of us, you’ll get the most out of it by creating a Nintendo Account and linking your Facebook and Twitter profiles. The game is still in its infancy so we’ll see how it evolves (and how long we’ll be able to go until we get bored).

The Star Wars game that I can’t stop playing – Yes, I’m well aware that Battlefront is the Star Wars game of choice for most gamers out there, but the one that keeps me coming back is Galaxy of Heroes. A turn based Roleplaying game, a la Final Fantasy; it boasts an endless amount of different characters, a fantastic leveling up system, and tons of different battle modes. It doesn’t take a huge time commitment and even with the Level 70 cap, there’s still more things to do after that. Lots of fun for Star Wars and video games fans alike.

 

News:

Blue Moon’s Packaging Is Getting an Update – Is it putting lipstick on the pig? A clever marketing ploy? The MillerCoors “craft” brand is releasing new packaging, set to start appearing on shelves today.  The goal is “celebrating the notion that creativity is always brewing,” says Ryan Hemsing, director of marketing for Blue Moon.

The company hopes to establish itself as a “gateway beer” to craft beer. If Blue Moon is the gateway, what should be the brand consumers pick once they’re ready to upgrade?

Virginia is for (Craft Beer) Lovers – Deschutes Announces Plans to Open a Facility in Roanoke, Va. – After vetting “hundreds” of potential cities for the East Coast operation, they settled on Roanoke, Va. The project is expected to cost around $85 million, $3 million of which comes from Virginia’s “Commonwealth Opportunity Fund.” The strategic location will enable them to better distribute beyond the Mississippi and becomes the second big craft brewery to establish a base in The Old Dominion after Stone Brewing opened a Richmond-based brewery earlier this month.

 

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.

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!