There are many holidays on the American calendar that are meant for drinking — New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Whacking Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, to name a few. While the original meaning of some of these days are lost in a frothy amber puddle of celebration, it is important to […]
In the Fall Guide, I made this bold statement about Beervana Fest: “It’s not open to debate. It’s simply the best local beer event.” Need proof? Here it is: Location: On October 16 from 6:30-10pm, the seventh annual fest will be held at Rhodes-On-the-Pawtuxet at 60 Rhodes Place in Cranston, a splendid and century-old space […]
When talk turns to beer, it doesn’t take long for the topic of the tangled web of alcohol laws — particularly growler sales at breweries — to rear its convoluted head. Let’s cut through some of the red tape and explain the situation. In 2006, Newport Storm — then the state’s lone brewery (Narragansett is […]
No one likes a sellout, but in the complicated world of craft beer sometimes even the most fiercely independent beer makers look the corporate world in the eye and blink. It’s actually more common than most people realize, and you’d be amazed at the number of so-called craft beers that have major corporate ownership. Not […]
Fall. Autumn. The season elicits a specific kind of ambivalent response. The death of summer. Harbinger of winter. That special time when kids go back to school, adults rejoice and college coeds fill red cups and get to learning. Not to mention the ubiquitous pumpkinism, spiced eu pumpkin, pumpkinish, pumpkings, a la pumpkins, etc. Some of […]
As you’re reading this, it has already happened. The daytime sounds of kids playing in their backyards or poolside are replaced by early morning school buses. Lazy days of August are transitioning into the hustle and bustle of back to work reality and the warm, dewy nights, previously only disturbed by subtle breezes, have an […]
The fall brings a bounty of beer fests and other cheers-inducing events. Dive into this list of happenings and start planning when and where to sip and spend your brew budget. The debut edition of the Tapped Craft Beer Festival will be at the Shannon View Inn (1901 Post Rd, Warwick) on September 18 (6 – […]
At last count there were 10 vineyards in Rhode Island. Who knew? We live in wine country! Almost all of the vineyards are family run, some into the second generation. The oldest winery in Rhode Island is Carolyn’s Sakonnet Vineyard, recently purchased by Carolyn Rafaelian, owner of Alex and Ani. The vineyard is on the same […]
It’s here: The pumpkinpocalypse. Every year at about this time the Basic in all of us rears its ugly head. Fall inevitably ushers in the advent of sharp flavors and pumpkin spiced this and that. Samuel Adams has traded in their lemon-hinted Summer Ale for the fuller bodied Oktoberfest and a multitude of pumpkin ales […]
I’ll be the first to admit I’m a bit of a beer snob. I like my beer to have a crisp hop flavor or a citrusy bouquet on the nose and a complex malt background. However, I like to think that I’m a bit more open-minded than some of my more hard-nosed kin, which is […]