First, Deschutes Brewery, a craft brewer from Bend, Oregon, is no stranger to culture. They’ve produced this short film about two hipsters roadtripping through Oregon “from Black Butte to Mirror Pond to Green Lakes”, all incidentally landmarks that their beers are named after.

Their proudest namesake, however, is the Deschutes, a majestic central Oregon river that the people at the brewery are dedicated to conserving. In their latest effort, they’re rounding up indie artists to record and produce covers of river songs on the river itself.

First up is Eric D. Johnson of The Fruit Bats with his rendition of The Byrds’ “Ballad of Easy Rider”. [via DraftMag]

There are more Deschutes River Recordings on the horizon, but if you can’t wait for your beer-inspired ballads, check out this original diddy from Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers, a San Francisco “rock/country/soul” band that passes time in the van between road gigs by recording songs on an iPhone. Many of these “van sessions” are covers, but the most recent, Sierra Nevada Song, is a quirky original. [Also via DraftMag]

And if you’re sick of me stealing from DraftMag all the time, here’s the BoozinBlog list of songs about drinking:

10. Tubthumping – Chumbawumba
Choice lyric: Pissin the niiiight awayyy/ Pissin’ the niiiIIGHT awayyy

9. Too Drunk to F*** - Dead Kennedys

8. Beer For My Horses – Toby Keith ft. Willie Nelson

7. Plastic Cup Politics – Less Than Jake

6. Pop Bottles – Birdman ft. Lil Wayne

5. Red Solo Cup – Toby Keith

4. Beer – People Under the Stairs **Impressive number of craft shoutouts

3. Tequila – The Champs

2. Beer- Reel Big Fish

1. Rain Is a Good Thing – Luke Bryan

~Don JulianNo Tags

It is a statistical approximation that over 70% of office drones receive a majority of their news from aimless clicking every Monday morning. No Monday? No news.

Which is why you may have missed this juicy deet: on Saturday, September 1st, the White House released two of their buzzed about home brew recipes in a blog post by Sam Kass, White House Assistant Chef and the Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives (Click through for the recipes as well as a video worth the watch for any homebrew fanatic). [via The White House]

You can catch up on Presidential beer news here, but we’ve also got a few new details, in light of the news:

• Though the original petition called for 25,000 signatures, only 12,240 signed before the president decided to spread the wealth.
• There’s a first time for everything: though the white house brewers took advice from staffers with experience, none of the kitchen staff had actually brewed before. (It took them a few drafts to get it right).
• To Kass’ knowledge, the White House Honey Brown Ale is the first alcoholic drink to be brewed or distilled on White House grounds (although George Washington brewed beer and distilled whiskey at Mount Vernon).
• In addition to the Honey Brown Ale and Honey Porter, for which recipes were released, a Honey Blonde was brewed this summer.
• Obama is completely unaware that beer is able to be brewed without honey.

Okay, joking on that last one, but really? Three honey beers in a row? Just because Michelle has a beehive doesn’t mean all of the beer has to incorporate it. Doesn’t she have a hop garden somewhere? Or some bourbon barrels?

Not that we’re the experts, but at least one other homebrewer (with a lot more political clout than the Boozin Blog) agrees: the White House and its beers might benefit from a little less of the sweet stuff [via The Atlantic]

~Don JulianNo Tags

Hm? Not sure what an “RNC” is and I don’t believe in hurricanes, but SweetWater Brewing Co., Atlanta’s favorite beer factory, has announced a trek south as it expands to Tampa and Orlando this fall.

BeerPulse reports that SweetWater’s flagship pale ale, 420, will be rolling out on Tampa taps in October and Orlando’s in November. IPA and Blue will later follow suit, and each will be available in 6-pack.

This is all thanks to the brewery’s “new 250-barrel brew house and the addition of a slew of fermentation tanks.”

And since we’re focusing locally, it’s worth noting to all Atlanta readers that Sweetwater’s new rye IPA, “LowRYEder”, will be kicking off next Saturday, September 8th with a launch party and car show. If I were in the ATL, I’d be there (not that I’m a huge car fan; I just miss The George Lopez Show). [via BeerPulse]

—

Speaking of natural disasters I’m embarrassingly unaware of, the aftermath of the High Park Fire, a wildfire that destroyed at least 248 homes and clocked in as the second largest fire in Colorado’s history, is affecting more than just the lives and homes of innocent people. It’s ruining their beer!

I mean no insensitivity, as the destruction caused by this fire is unimaginable and home destruction vastly eclipses any peripheral damage to a business. However, as this is a drink-focused blog, I would be remiss for omitting the debacle Fort Collins-based New Belgium Brewery faces with fire-contaminated water.

According to The Daily Meal, the water New Belgium uses to make its beer comes from the Poudre River, a body of water that runs through affected areas. This water can pick up as many as six chemicals that alter the taste of New Belgium’s brews, forcing them to close down for 24 hours at a time in case of contamination. [Via The Daily Meal, The Coloradoan]

~Don JulianNo Tags

[JIM WATSON / AFP- GETTY IMAGES; Time article]

Let’s catch up:

-Back in February, POTUS Beer came on the scene when President Obama served his homebrewed White House Honey Ale to partygoers alongside offerings from Green Bay and Pennsylvania’s own Yuengling. [via Draft Mag, Gawker, Obama Foodorama]

-The topic of Presidential Brews laid low for a while, coming back into the spotlight when he visited Ziggy’s Bar in Amherst, Ohio, and made safe, but ultimately not his own decisions on what to drink. His Miller Lite was a copy of Governor Ted Strickland’s order, and the Bud Light he later sipped was purchased for him by a patron. Pretty boring, but this same article gave us former Deputy Press Secretary Tony Fratto’s “Rules for Political Beer Ordering”: stay local, keep the names simple, and never order fruity. [via CNBC]

-Half Moon Brewing Company of Half Moon Bay, CA made polling fun with the release of their Alection Ale. From their website: “Instead of costing $10 million and being full of hot air, the Alection Ales are cold and delicious every time.” On November 6th, their brewpub will be holding a mock election based on quantity of Obama Ales versus Romney Ales purchase. [via Half Moon Brewing Company]

-One week ago, Time’s White House Correspondent, Michael Scherer, took an in-depth look at Obama’s beer focus as the president hit the brews hard in Iowa (hard for a candidate: one or two at a time), especially in relation to Romney’s religious temperance. The article is interesting from a strategy speculation point-of-view, but also reminds us about the President’s homebrew, which he travels with on the campaign trail, and, in at least one case, gave to a supporter. [via Time Swampland]

-From NPR’s food blog, The Salt, a bit more on that homebrewing: notably, though Mr. Obama approves of and enjoys his homebrew, it is not truly his own; the white house kitchen stuff handles the brewing’s heavy lifting. [via The Salt]

Now, I know. “Where’s this action you promised? Why all the backstory?” To that I say…

Boom:

The petition to make Obama’s homebrew public AND the Freedom of Information Act request filed for the release of his recipe (If you’re a red tape junkey- they exist!- the original reddit post is worth a perusal). [via HuffPo, Reddit]

The latter is now at the hands of bureaucrats, but you can still sign the petition! Only about 22,000 more signatures needed over the next month! Democrat or Republican; Hophead or Mormon; ask the president to Free this Information

Let your voice be heard!

Let this beer be made.

~Don JulianNo Tags

But what if it didn’t? What if back-to-school was just a time to continue the party, or at least the science behind the party? For anyone lucky and bold enough to pursue a degree in fermentation science, this fantasy is the reality. After dabbling in three rounds of my own homebrew (IPA, Dubbel, Porter, in case you’re wondering), I can’t say I haven’t itched to test and grow my knowledge in a classroom setting, but three things are keeping my silly dreams at bay:

1. I’m already living out one set of silly dreams in my pursuit of a career as a writer.

2. School is EXPENSIVE. The only thing more expensive than school is a child- an actual human being- and they really only get in on the technicality that if all goes well, they will eventually attend… school.

3. I know I made that joke before about studying the science of partying, but that was just to help create a colorful intro to draw you in (SECRETS OF WRITING HERE). The science and math behind beer and wine is still science and math: chemistry, accounting, bacterial genetics, and other studies I can’t begin to pronounce.

HOWEVER, should you decide that these setbacks do not apply to you, here are three brewing schools you should check out:

1. UC Davis – As a part of UC Davis Extension, Davis’ continued and professional education arm, the brewing programs came about in 1991 as a collaboration with faculty of the undergraduate fermentation science program (they’re teaching beer to undergrads!). Davis’ program stands out as the only North American program of its kind to be recognized by the “prestigious Institute of Brewing and Distilling in London” (which I’ve never heard of, but totally believe is a thing).

2. Weihenstephan – What if you found out Dogfish Head or Rogue or… Evan Williams was not just a delicious thing to drink, but also a school at which you could make delicious things to drink? Those aren’t yet (but if Evan U. ever opens its doors, I call first dorm).

At the Technical University of Munich’s Weihenstephan (Freising) campus, you can learn to create beautiful brews at (or near?) the very brewery that crafts Weihenstephan (I’ll be honest; a lot of the literature’s in German so I can’t totally figure this out, but it’s definitely on the Brewer’s Association’s list of brewing schools here).

3. Siebel Institute of Technology – Celebrating its 140th anniversary this year, this Chicago-based brewing academy survived prohibition by briefly branching out to other technical studied: “baking, refrigeration, engineering, milling, carbonated beverages” and more. Thankfully back to it’s original purpose, the current school sits across from Chicago’s famous Goose Island Brewery and offers the full Diploma Course in Brewing Technology, as well as shorter courses in specialized brewing skills.

—

These were my favorites, but if you’re looking for information on other schools, or programs specializing in beer knowledge and service (such as the Cicerone Certification Program), check out the Brewers Association list (here’s that link again).

~Don JulianNo Tags

You’re bound to find some articles with titles like “12 Real Signs of the Apocalypse” or “7 Pieces of Legislation [Candidate] Has Passed That Will Make it Legal to Kick You in the Nuts”.

Frankly, it can all be very depressing and, even worse, repetitive. So considering all the negativity running around our newsfeeds, it’s nice to see that the beer world has kept things positive. Without further ado…

3 Ways Beer Is Still Awesome

1. Craft beer is on the upswing.

According last week’s press release from The Brewer’s Association (via BrewPulse), “ Dollar sales [for small and independent craft brewers] were up 14 percent in the first half of 2012, while volume of craft brewed beer sold jumped 12 percent during that same time period.”

This is excellent news! Despite “this economy”, people are still coming out in increasing droves to drink tasty beer. What’s more interesting is that the growth is specific to craft beer since overall beer sales have declined. Not to knock the less-tasty macros, but if people are focusing less on quantity and more on (quantity of) quality, I think that’s something to celebrate.

2. There are more IPAs today than ever before

Another thing to celebrate? More IPAs. Say what you want about beer styles; have your pet favorites if you will, but the IPA is the Kanye of the craft beer world. In spite of his “I don’t give a f*** how bitter you think I am” attitude (and probably because of it), we have to admit that he’s good. Like really good.

So what if IPA is dating Kim Kardashian? Does this make his flow less perfect? His beats less flawless? Okay, the metaphor ended a second ago, but the point is we can all appreciate a good IPA. And, as Ashley Routson points out in this article for CraftBeer.com, we now have a few more to appreciate.

In addition to the typical American-style IPA, English-style IPA, and the higher-than-high gravity Double IPAs, Routson lists and provides examples for a number of emerging sub-categories. My personal favorite is the Black IPA. If you’ve never had one, definitely seek it out. It’s a twist on the usual bitterness, and a perfect example when explaining why one should never judge a beer’s taste by its color.

3. “Craft Beer” is in the DICTIONARY

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary adds about 100 new words upon its annual review, but The Washington Post was able to share this year’s top 25, and “craft beer” made the cut. The official definition:

craft beer n (1986): a specialty beer produced in limited quantities: MICROBREW

It’s in good company, joined by such gems as gastropub (“a pub, bar, or tavern that also offers meals of high quality”), mancave (“a room or space (as in a basement) designed according to the taste of the man of the house to be used as his personal area for hobbies and leisure activities”), and f-bomb (no explanation necessary).

So the world may be ending and we all hate each other, but beer is plentiful, diverse, and recognized in our official lexicon. S**t’s not all bad!

~Don Julian

REFERENCES

http://beerpulse.com/2012/08/brewers-associations-2012-mid-year-numbers-volume-up-12-dollar-sales-up-14/

http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/stories/craft-beer-muses/show?title=the-ever-emerging-sub-cat
egories-of-india-pale-ale

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/f-bomb-sexting-flexitarian-highlight-about-100-new-words-definitions-in-dictionary/2012/08/13/a31f31cc-e58a-11e1-9739-eef99c5fb285_story.htmlNo Tags

Well, beer-loving hackers are at it again as two brew-friendly geek endeavors have gone public in the past week.

1. Pubdar

In many ways, Pubdar is similar to WTFSIGFD. It’s British and not too practical, but potential for loads of fun.

The mobile app (by Google Play developer, Pinecone) is extremely simple: activate the app (available only for Android at press time) and a green diamond against a red brick facade locks on and points to the closest pub to your current location. If you’re not feeling that bar (the app also tells you the name of the chosen watering hole), you can hit “Next pub” and the app will point to the next closest.

PROS:
-Unlike WTFSIGFD, this an app instead of a website, and actually useful while “in the field”.
-If you’re in an adventurous state of mind, this will totally play like a real-life video game, which–as we all know–are second only to virtual video games.

CONS:
-When tested, it located many, but not all of the bars nearby.
-All you get is the bar’s name. No reviews, no hours, no imaginary star ratings. This means you could beeline for a pub, only to find that it’s dead, closed, or  way too expensive.

2. BeerText.US

This morning (9 hours ago), Redditor dougiebuckets posted a text-based beer app he built at a hackathon this weekend.

Ever wanted more info on a specific beer, but found yourself too far from a laptop or smartphone? Just text the name of the beer to 315.679.4711 and expect a text (or a few) giving you ABV, style, and maybe some fun facts. More info is available at the website or the original reddit post.

As the app was developed in a hurry (at a hackathon), many issues are still being tweaked, but the creator seems to be very receptive to comments and set on righting any annoying glitches ASAP. Beertext.US was created by dougiebuckets, a grad student at Syracuse’s School of Information Studies, and an undergrad from the same school.

PROS:
-No need for a laptop or even a smartphone for use.
-The developers are aware of and working as quickly as possible to fix the kinks (I’ll keep an eye and update as it gets better).

CONS:
-There are kinks. It sends multiple texts for long reviews and scrapes all information from brewerydb.com, a database that often just has cut-and-paste commercial descriptions of these brews.
-BreweryBD is not exhaustive and the app’s error message doesn’t always get sent, so some of your texts may go unanswered.
-If you have a smartphone and don’t mind looking like a jerk surfing the web at a bar, there’s really no need for it (at this point).

~ Don Julian

REFERENCES

Pubdar: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pinecone.pubdar

Pinecone (Pubdar’s developer): https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Pinecone

BeerText Website: http://beertext.us/

BeerText reddit thread (many comments on usability): http://www.reddit.com/r/beer/comments/xe807/beertextus/

DougieBuckets (Beertext Developer): http://www.reddit.com/user/dougiebuckets

BreweryDB (Beertext’s Database of choice): http://www.brewerydb.com

 No Tags

Apparently, they’re nice guys?

In a July 23rd Businessweek article by Claire Saddath, it was revealed that, when it comes to trademark violations, Jack Daniel’s is actually pretty easy-going.

This is especially surprising as they get ripped off all the time. Anyone who’s been on a college campus in the past ten years will remember seeing a multitude of greek organization–or even academic club–t-shirts riffing on the iconic black and white logo.

In the article, David Gooder, managing director of the chief trademark counsel for Jack Daniel’s, has a refreshing take on handling violations:

“We get so many infringement situations a year, and we look at each of them separately. We don’t have a standard approach to them; we just do what we think is the most fair. As a trademark lawyer, one thing I’ve always been concerned about is how a brand will present itself in one voice to consumers and then come out swinging a sledgehammer when someone does something it doesn’t like.”

So they aren’t always so friendly, but douchebaggery is a last resort. In the article’s main example, an independent book publisher clearly jacks Jack’s label for a publication’s cover (picture to left), and Gooder’s team politely asks only that any reprints be given a new, non-conflicting cover.

So cheers to understanding. When you get home today, crack open some JD and have a drink in the name of cooperation. Enjoy it.

Just don’t enjoy their logo on anything but the bottle.

~Don Julian

REFERENCES

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-23/q-and-a-why-is-jack-daniels-legal-team-so-nice

Wesinsk, Patrick. Broken Piano for President. Lazy Fascist Press.No Tags

I’m not out chaining myself to corrupt corporations or holding one of those annoying clipboards on a street corner, but I do very much love recycling. It’s one of those things that leaves a feel-good buzz of productivity while requiring little no energy on my part.

Me:   “Where should I put this bottle?”
You: “In that brown paper bag.”
Me:   “Done.”
You: “YOU’RE A SAINT!”

Much of the time, I limit my save-the-earth activities to those that can be done with a flick of the wrist, but every now and then something sustainable comes along and, while it requires work on my part, the final product is pretty frickin’ cool, so I give in.

Which brings me to “beer bottle beer glasses”.

Last week, while hopping around the internet, educating myself on the state of beer, I found a video with a very unique, fruitful suggestion on what to do with one’s empties. Recycling them is so noble, but as you should ask with all noble endeavors, what does it leave YOU? A warm, fuzzy feeling? No, that’s probably the beer you just drank.

If you want to keep your bottle from entering a landfill and get something to show for it, give this MAKE Magazine video a watch.

I don’t think it’s worth doing to every bottle you finish, but anything (bombers especially) with a painted or etched design as opposed to a stick-on label will make a pretty nifty addition to your cabinet o’ drinking**.

If DIY isn’t your thing, I apologize; I know this blog so rarely has crossover with Pinteresting activities, but it’s the summer time! It wouldn’t kill you to take on an art or a craft, god forbid both.

~Don Julian
PASSIVE ENVIRONMENTALIST

**If you don’t have a cabinet o’ drinking, this should be your next summer project.

REFERENCE

“How-To: Bottle Cutting”. MAKE Magazine.

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The week after July 11th (National Free Slurpee Day) is a melancholy one. Those of us who partook are lamenting the fact that a gratis frozen slush drink no longer awaits us, and those of us who missed it- well, I don’t think I need to spell out the tragedy there.

But we at BoozinGear are advocates of forward-thinking! Do not grieve lost opportunity. Let it inspire! Say, “How can I do better? How can I one-up my fleeting romance with complimentary, icy, sugary gloop?”

The answer is simple: make it boozy. The only thing better than a free slurpee? A cheap slurpee with a kick. With two months of summer left, you’ve got plenty of time to mix and match your favorite beat-the-heat (and beat-the-sober) brain-freezers, but here are a few ideas to go with my 5 favorite flavors.

Bone Slurpateet!

~Don Julian

1. Coke

F**k variety. F**k your opinion. Coca-cola is hands-down, 100% the best flavor of slurpee. Ever. There are the obvious mixers: whiskey, its derivatives, rum, etc. But it’s the summer time! Let’s think that way! Nothing tastes better on a sticky, humid July day than an iced tea!

Reverse Long Island Iced Tea
A normal L.I. calls for a lot of liquor and a splash of coke, but it also calls for instantaneous blackout, so let’s switch up the ratio a bit:

8 oz. Coke Slurpee
.5 oz. Vodka
.5 oz. Light Rum
.5 oz. Tequila
.5 oz. Gin
.5 oz. Orange flavor shot (They’re right next to the soda fountain. Uh, duh!)

-Fill slurpee and deposit flavor shot at 7-11.
-Go home and add liquor.
-Mix thoroughly, but slowly. You don’t want to disturb the icy integrity of the Slurpee.

2. Pina Colada

I’m surprised this got away with being a flavor of a drink line so clearly directed at children. Why stop at Pina Colada? Where’s my Slurparita? Or Slurpee Old Fashioned?

Slurpee Colada
8 oz. Pina Colada Slurpee
1.5 oz. Rum
Garnish?

-Fill slurpee
-Search 7-11 for appropriate garnish. David Wondrich of Esquire says (of normal Pina Coladas), “hell, whatever you’ve got. Cherry. Pineapple. Fruit”. This is extra-true for us. 7-11 is not known for its fresh produce, so literally go with whatever you can find that doesn’t have bruises or flies.
-Go home and add liquor slowly. Also, keep the liquor chilled before you add! Warm liquor will turn a slurpee into syrup.

3. Mountain Dew: Live Wire

The first time Mountain Dew: Live Wire came out, the label said something along the lines of “THIS SUMMER ONLY! DRINK IT ALL IMMEDIATELY!”, so my friends and I immediately bought ten 2-liter bottles because we loved it so much and wanted to have it forever. Years later, it still returns annually, so the stockpile is an embarrassing mar on the history of our friendship.

But since it is the absolute tastiest orange bastardization I’ve ever had, I’ve forgiven them and you should, too.

Dewar’s and Dew
8 oz. Mountain Dew: Live Wire
1.5 oz. Scotch (Doesn’t have to be Dewar’s. I just like alliteration.)

-Pour. Add. Mix slowly. You know the deal.

4. Hawaiian Punch

Until now, we’ve been using the smallest size available–8 oz.–as it’s most appropriate for a single-serving recipe, but I would be remiss for doing a slurpee feature without highlighting the unnecessarily wide range of sizes. Punch is for sharing, after all…

JUNGLE JUICE.
20 oz. Hawaiian Punch Slurpee
20 oz. Sprite Snowball Blast Slurpee
? oz. Everclear

-Fill a 40 oz. Slurpee cup halfway with Hawaiian Punch slurpee.
-Top off with Sprite Snowball Blast.
-At the liquor store, avert your eyes while buying Everclear. Let nobody see your shame.
-Add as much or as little as you feel comfortable with. We all know how much the recipe called for in college, but that’s not something we’re comfortable advocating here.
-Share with whatever friends you have left!

5. Frawg

This would be higher up on the list, but I’m pretty sure it’s a defunct flavor. Regardless, Frawg, the caffeinated apple soda flavor, wins a spot if only for being the only apple soda I know. For those of you unacquainted with the magic of the Frawg, it is sickeningly sweet and just as green, so there’s only one way to go with it:

Frappletini
8 oz. Frawg
1.5 oz. Vodka
.5 oz. Orange Liqueur

-Pour slurpee, mix ingredients slowly, bla, bla, bla.
-Make a few Scrubs jokes, finish the drink, and go find the guy with the jungle juice.

***

REFERENCES

http://www.esquire.com/drinks/pina-colada-drink-recipe

http://www.7-eleven.com/drinks/cold/slurpee/default.aspx

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