Virginia Gov. signs law enabling distillers to sell bottles at fests

Received this press release from the Virginia Distillers Association. Great news for the Commonwealth!  Last week, Governor Terry McAuliffe formally signed off on Senate Bill 1448 and House Bill 2029 which are identical bills presented by the Virginia Distillers Association (VDA); which will enable Virginia distilleries to sell bottles at events conducted for the purpose…

Diageo to build Guinness brewery in Maryland

Diageo announced that it’s planning to open a U.S. version of Dublin’s Guinness Open Gate Brewery near Baltimore. Here are some details from the company’s press release: As currently planned, the company would build a mid-sized Guinness brewery and a Guinness visitor experience with an innovation microbrewery at the company’s existing Relay, Maryland site. This…

Pizza, burgers & beer!

My latest piece in FSR Magazine details how the rise of great beer paralleled the same revolutions in pizza and burger restaurants. Read it here.

Drink more Fernet Branca (in beer form!)

A few years back, Odell Brewing released Fernet-Aged Porter, a chocolatey, coffee-like brew aged in barrels that once held fernet produced by Denver’s Leopold Bros. Distillery. Now, Chicago’s Forbidden Root restaurant and brewery, known for “botanic beers,” has taken that concept a step further and developed a brew using ingredients based on the flavor profile of the famous…