Wow, this beer+internet thing has really taken off. I have all kinds of beer-related links to share:

• March Madness
  Make your picks in the National IPA Championship, sponsored by Great Lakes Brewing News. I have Two-Hearted Pale going all the way.

  A single elimination bracket of 32 IPAs from across the nation are going head to head in a battle to see who has biggest cone-jones! The National IPA Championship (NIPAC) starts with the preliminary round on February 23rd in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
  Enter your prediction of each round on-line to qualify for the 2008 NIPAC Winners Contest. All contestants that correctly predict the winners of every round and the final champion will be included in a NIPAC Contest Winners Drawing. Prizes include a full case of beer from the 2008 National IPA Champion, tee-shirts, posters and brewery merchandise.

• Sam Adams Pours One Out for the Little Guys. Jim Koch sure is a swell guy.
• Allagash Brews North America’s First Spontaneously Fermented Beer. And there’s a video! On the internet! What’s next, downloadable beer?
• Beer on the Radio! What’s next? Downloadable beer? What? Did I stutter? Somebody make it happen!

Got beer links? Send ‘em to us with our phancy-schmancy contact form!

We get some pretty great e-mails via our fancy contact form, but this one ranks as one of my favorites. Imagine my post, helping to put on a bacon festival … in my hometown of Des Moines, Iowa. I can feel my heart beating a little faster (harder?) just thinking about it.

Hey Dave,

Great Blog! I thought you may find some interest in this…

The Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival

It is going to be held here in Des Moines, IA on March 1st. Brooks, the guy who is putting it on, wants me to give a talk about making home made bacon. I’ve only made it once, so far, following the directions you put up. I left a note in the comments section after I finished it as well. I’m not sure if I’m going to speak at it yet, I would like to put together a presentation showing the different steps if it works out.

Also, the place where the event is going to be held “El Bait Shop” has over 100 beers on tap. The Iowa Brewers Union is going to be there as well with samples of some beers specially made for the event.

Austin

Oh, I’ve been to El Bait Shop. I reviewed it. And it is awesome. Not “homemade bacon” awesome, but pretty awesome. Thanks for reading, Austin

Sometimes, you put off a great blog post just a little too long, and someone else scoops you. It’s a little frustrating. It can also be liberating – especially in this case …

Over at The Brew Site, Jon has been conducting a series of posts called “American Macro Week,” in which he tried, and rated, 15 of America’s best-known industrial lagers. It’s a story idea we’ve kicked around over here at BS Brewing, as Dan and Bruce are particularly fond of High Life and Pabst, respectively. And now you can see why I called this pseudo-duplication of efforts liberating – now I don’t have to drink all this crappy beer!

Jon’s results, from best to worst, with links to each beer’s review:

1. Coors Original and Pabst Blue Ribbon (tie)
2. Olympia
3. Icehouse and Miller Genuine Draft (tie)
4. Hamm’s
5. Miller High Life
6. Rainier
7. Budweiser Select
8. Budweiser
9. Miller Lite
10. Bud Light and Keystone Light (tie)
11. Coors Light and Busch (tie)

I really enjoyed reading the reviews. I have a story about almost every beer he reviewed (Bud was my first beer at the ripe old age of 14) and I liked that he relayed his own personal stories with the tasting notes. Nice work, Jon!

Quick survey: who’s been using BS Brewing’s Portland Beer Calendar? It’s a feature we added to the blog’s sidebar over the summer, but it doesn’t seem to be getting much use from anyone other than me and my iPhone.

I’ve gotten behind on updating it for December, but if people out there are using it, I am inclined to keep it up.

Please comment in the affirmative if you want it to live on!