That Time I Met Dan Aykroyd

...and he insisted on keeping vodka (not craft beer) in that beautiful, beautiful bottle. 

After being lucky enough to attend a live radio interview of a living legend, and personal comedy hero,  Dan insisted on meeting, greeting and taking pictures with each one of the 30 or so attendees.  He couldn't have been nicer, more personable, humble and downright awesome.  Now, Mr. Aykroyd...how 'bout we talk about bottling some craft beer together?

Check out his Crystal Head Vodka here...a beautiful collector's item even if vodka's not your thing.

Craft Beer & A GoPro... Because Why Not??

Like craft beer?  Got a GoPro camera?  If you answered 'yes' to either of those questions, find a friend who can answer 'yes' to the other one and let the brainstorming begin!

It's contest time!! 

Combine some finely crafted beer and that strange, little, life-capturing GoPro camera to create an original, short video.

The only guidelines are as follows:

• You must be at least 21 years old
• The video must be original & tasteful (you know what I mean!)
• Less than 31 seconds long
• Involve craft beer
• Be shot with a GoPro camera
• Posted to Twitter and include the hashtag #BeerIsMyChurchGoPro. 

 That's it!

All videos must be viewable on Twitter by Friday, March 13th at midnight EST to be considered for the contest.   The winner will be chosen by March 15th and notified via tweet, so keep your head on a swivel!

Now...'what's in it for me', you ask? Swag. Pure. Simple. Swag. Including:  A Beer Is My Church t-shirt (in any size in stock), a genuine BIMC 13 oz. tulip glass, BIMC stickers, coasters & koozies!  Maybe more?!  Sure...maybe (definitely maybe)!

The winning video and any honorable mentions will be featured on the website and get plenty of well-deserved retweets.

So break out that GoPro & a fine ale...let's see what you've got!


- Cheers!
Zach
#crafbeer #brewsader

Ready Or Not...Budweiser Just Made Beer "Us vs. Them"

Well, like it or not, Budwesier beer has just declared war on craft beer drinkers.  That's you.  The craft beer brewsader, with a palate so discerning that it deserves to be scorned.  Budweiser has picked a fight with you, whether  you were looking for one or not.

This Super Bowl XLIX ad took direct aim that all we hold dear; care and quality.  "Proudly a macro beer."  "It's not brewed to be fussed over."  What the hell?  Did the world's largest brewer just tell the world's largest television audience that they don't really care how their beer is made?  That they just make it quickly and as much as they can?

There's so much that can be pulled out of this ad, "dissected", criticized, et. al, but ultimately, the message I received, as a craft beer drinker, was clear.  Budweiser no longer wants to live in harmony (despite the astounding hypocrisy of gobbling up craft breweries).  Budweiser will no longer tolerate those of us that appreciate a beer that is brewed to be fussed over.  Living in harmony is not something they are looking to accomplish.

Hell, over the last few years I thought maybe they were holding out an olive branch with their acquisitions of Goose Island, 10 Barrel, Blue Point among others.  They were beginning to lull me into a state of complacency.  I was never a Bud drinker, even during hard, college times (I'm a recovered Miller Lite drinker), but I also never really felt any malevolence toward them either.  That's all changed now.

It's now Us vs. Them.   I felt their shot across the bow.  Budweiser has shown their cards, and their cards are that of acknowledgement, fear and "oh yeah, well we're BIGGER than you!" 

You sure are Bud, you sure are...but I've never sided with a bully, and I don't plan to start now.  Size isn't everything.  In fact, in beer it's often a detriment.  If you've accomplished anything with this new tact, you've hardened my resolve to avoid your products.  Sadly, that now includes "craft beer" I've enjoyed in the past.

For that, I hate YOU now as much as you hate ME.

How Craft Beer Helped Save Me From Becoming An Alcoholic

Reposted from 2012.

I've toyed with the idea of writing this post for many, many months.  What it reveals is personal, but ultimately freeing and hopefully helpful.  Alcoholism runs in my family, as it does in millions of other families in America.  It's a terrible thing.  It's a disease.  It ruins lives.  It tears families apart.  It can kill and it had its sights set on me. 

I'm not here to say I beat alcoholism.  I don't believe I was an alcoholic...yet, but I was showing all the classic signs.  I was drinking to excess, and unaware of my limits.  I was missing events in my life because of hangovers.  I embarrassed myself and my family on occasion.  I had what's called a "drinking problem" or was a "binge drinker".  Regardless, I was headed down an rocky road.

When socializing in large groups or in party situations I'd grab the macro beer that "tasted great" or was "less filling"; the one everyone else was drinking.  Then I'd grab another.  And another, and another.  Soon, I had consumed enough of the yellow fizzy stuff to drown a brown bear.  Don't ask me why I drank so much.  I couldn't tell you.  I don't know why I blew right past my limit without so much as a hesitation.  It never even occurred to me to slow down or stop.  

The stuff tasted damn nearly like water.  I wasn't appreciating the beer at all.  I was enjoying how fourteen or more yellow fizzies made me feel, and I'm ashamed to admit that I did this much more often than any adult should.  It seems that alcohol has a way of altering my decision making skills.

Then about four years ago, give or take, I really started delving into and exploring craft beer.  I went back to picking up a six pack of anything I hadn't tasted before to share with family and friends.  I began to appreciate what I was drinking.  I began to really TASTE it.  Think about it.  Talk about it.  Read about it.  ENJOY it.  I slowed down to smell the roses (or hops in this case).

In craft beer I found a sort of salvation, both literally and figuratively.  Now I drink beer in moderation.  I appreciate it.  I don't swill it.  I sip it.  I don't punch holes in cans.  I collect fine, tuliped glassware.  

Craft beer taught me to appreciate the science and art of brewing beer.  Craft beer taught me to enjoy the little things like differences in hops, malts and yeasts.  More importantly, craft beer taught me some things in life are worth slowing down for and how to take the time to appreciate those things.  My drinking and my life are in check now, and I credit craft beer with that.

I urge you to not waste another day of your life or a dollar of your paycheck on bad beer.  Find craft beer.  Embrace craft beer.  Enjoy craft beer.  In moderation, of course.  

It's time to take control.  You can do it, but if you think you may need help, don't be ashamed.  There are lots of places to turn.  Life is simply too precious not to seek a lending hand...whatever form it may take.

Alcoholics Anonymous

AlcoholScreening.org

The Mayo Clinic

Cheers,
Zach
#craftbeer #brewsader