Come one, come all - World's First Beer Bloggers Conference

Fellow beer bloggers, Jom112 stumbled upon this the other day and alerted us to its presence:

http://beernews.org/2010/06/world%E2%80%99s-first-beer-bloggers-conference-announced-are-you-going/

It's sponsored by Draft magazine and the Colorado Brewers Guild, is in Colorado (which gives us access to not only local breweries but many "left" coast beers that you can't get in KC or Chicago), and is held in the Boulder Marriott. Yay for Marriott points.

The potential for this event's awesomeness is through the roof - $95 for a weekend and the chance to rub elbows with anywhere from lil ol citizen bloggers like ourselves to industry blogging big wigs to brewery reps? Yes please.

Head West young men (and women)!!

Brew Review - Caldera IPA

Brew Reviews are back (we'd like to say they're better than ever, buuuutttt...yeah)! We thought it appropriate to start off with a summery brew that we've been drinking a bit of lately in the Caldera IPA. CANNED Caldera IPA.

We don't know much, but we do know that we were told long ago, "Canned beer = evil". And outside of our occasional 10-12-18 hr drinking binges, we don't really disagree...until now. To be clear, this isn't your father's $2.99 six pack, but instead a $14 six pack that puts a healthy dent in your wallet. Are there more affordable/possibly better brews on the market? Sure, but we feel that the can is part of the novelty. Plus, in that outdoorsy Oregon way, the can's descriptions of eXtreme/non-couch based activities makes you feel bad that you aren't rafting some category 5's at that moment.

Simply put, we liked the beer. The beer poured a nice, light golden/amber color with less than an inch of off white foam. The smell is what got us - heavy, floral hops and super super "clean". A boner quotient of 4 if you will (you'll hear us use that lingo every now and then...we don't even know what it means). Unfortunately, the taste was a slight let down compared to how great the smell was. Caldera has a good piney, grassy, flowery after-taste that has some maltiness and only a little bit of hop. Being huge DIPA fans and all around bad asses, we wanted the hops to be a bit bolder and more inline with the smell. Still, overall enjoyable and worth purchasing when my Christmas bonus shows up.

Music-wise, this beer screams Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer. Laid back, the twang of the guitar in the background, dangerous undertones (listen to the lyrics, it is about a killer after all), it's all there. When we listen to this song we visualize ourselves drinking a Caldera IPA straight outta the can with our currently unpurchased cowboy boots up on the rail of our currently unpurchased Craftsman house.

Serving Type: CAN (!!!!!)
Glassware: Nonic pint glass (and some straight out of the can)
Color (hue and head): Light amber with an off-white head
Clarity: Settles clear

Aroma: Intense floral notes, citrus hops, grassy, clean

Taste: Hoppy, a bit of a malt aftertaste, piney Grade: 87 (B+)

Musical Pairing: Blitzen Trapper - Black River Killer

Surroundings: At home, eating a Chicken Fajita Burrito from Jalapenos

White Collared, Non-Beer Industry Workers Unite!

For WE can exact change!

What is that change, you ask? We demand two things - 1) the ability to drink beers on the job and 2) the ability to become outraged when our morning and afternoon snack beer drinking privileges are restricted.

We've been doing a number of news and non-brew review articles lately, but we felt we had to post and discuss what is quite possibly the largest global news story of the last two months:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/36314745

Just when we think we're the greatest nation in the world, we are forced to gaze to the East to a little beer producing nation named Denmark in order to be rudely awakened. How many jobs in the States can we drink during the work day? "Entrepreneur", artist, un-employed? There is but one professional job named "brewer" which employs roughly .1% of our workforce. Now, how many jobs do you know where you can both drink AND operate heavy machinery? Exactly.

As a nation we've come a long way in our 230 year existence. From democracy to alternating current (thanks Crispin Glover) to legal at home brewing, we've been a nation of invention and progress. Sadly, this article shows us just how much more progress needs to be made.

Imagine a society where we can pound beers from dawn to dusk while being paid for our professional skills. A society where we are left to our own "responsibilities" in order to limit our drinking on the job. A society where drunken markering, sexting, and liquid courage would be just as likely to occur at 10 am as it would at 10 in the evening.

Our demands are simple...our demands are absolute. Unite workers, unite!