For an archive of older Bright Beer stories, click here.

A Great Food Story (With a Little Beer at the End)

October 24, 2007 -- In the “Life” section of today’s edition of The Globe and Mail newspaper is an excerpt from the new book, My Last Supper, written and photographed by Melanie Dunea and published by Bloomsbury. In it – the excerpt, not the book – six chefs set the scene for their own personal last-supper-before-I-shuffle-from-this-mortal-coil. The book, which I have not yet read, features an additional 44 chefs and their tales.

Musings on the Price of Beer

October 17, 2007 -- My friend and colleague Stan Hieronymus likely raised a few eyebrows this week when he wrote about the real value of some of the beers poured at the recent Great American Beer Festival. Noting that the brewers participating in the GABF are not compensated for the cost of their beer, he highlighted some of the rather pricey brands offered by southern California’s The Lost Abbey, including Cable Car, a limited edition beer created for the 20th anniversary of the Toronado beer bar, which retails for $30 per 750ml bottle.

Raise a Glass to the Life of The Beer Hunter

September 12, 2007 -- As earlier reported, Michael Jackson, the extraordinary writer and author of numerous books on beer, died late last month at his home in London, England, following a decade-long battle with Parkinson Disease. No one did more than Michael to further the cause of good beer around the globe, and so to honour his memory and his legacy, the first of what will no doubt be many tributes has been planned.

The Death of a Beer and Spirits Writing Legend

August 30, 2007 -- About fifteen minutes ago, I received word that Michael Jackson passed away last night at his home in England. Details are still sketchy, but according to one source, his death was a peaceful one.

Superb Writing on Underage Drinking

June 22, 2007 -- I’m in the middle of reading what I’m finding to be a superbly enjoyable book, The Joy of Drinking by Barbara Holland (Bloomsbury USA, 2007), which I shall review in detail at a later date, either here or in my blog at That’s the Spirit. While finishing my day with a chapter enjoyed on my condo balcony (with a rather spectacular bottle of Bell’s Expedition Stout for company), however, I came across a passage that I knew immediately I had to share.

SADD, so sad!

March 23, 2007 -- Have you heard about SADD? It’s an organization called Students Against Destructive Decisions, and as its website mission statement declares, it was originally organized to help students say no to drinking and driving. But then the group decided to expand its mandate...

Idiot Legislators Gone Wild

February 2, 2007 -- I can scarcely contain my outrage! After 19 relatively uneventful but thoroughly enjoyable years as a family-oriented beer festival, the high foreheads at the Oregon Liquor Control Commission have decided that persons under the official legal drinking age of 21 years will not be allowed to partake in the 20th anniversary Oregon Brewers Festival.

That Beer Tastes Like What?

January 27, 2007 -- I understand that Canadian beer drinkers are supposed to bow in profound appreciation whenever our nation’s newspaper of record, The Globe and Mail, deigns to cast its gaze upon anything beer or beer-related. But still, it would be helpful if on occasion the words printed had at least a little meaning.

A-B, Budvar Ink Deal

January 8, 2007 -- Here’s a marriage few people expected: Anheuser-Busch and Budejovicky Budvar, brewers of the beer known in many countries as Budweiser Budvar and in North America as Czechvar, have signed an agreement to make the U.S. brewer the exclusive importer of the famous Czech lager in the United States.

Guinness Goes…Red?

October 27, 2006 -- Okay, the good folks at Diageo, owners of the world’s most famous stout, have gone insane. According to my friends at the British hospitality mag, The Publican, Diageo have confirmed that they plan to test market a new brew called Guinness Red, a variant of the original Guinness brewed from toasted, rather than roasted, malt.

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