NYC. Back in September, we fortunate NY'ers took a stroll over to Vol de Nuit on W.4th St. in the Village. If you haven't been, it's a destination pub for Belgian beers. The bartenders actually know what they're talking about. Sitting there, discussing recent events at the U.S. Open, we struck up a conversation with a guy at the bar, when he noticed we were drinking Palm, a new arrival to the U.S. from Belgium. He said his brother was one of the U.S. distributors of the beer and he wanted to know what we thought. Well, we'll tell you. It's a brilliant light ale. Beautiful rich, light amber color. Modest head. Tending toward sweetness, but just enough bitterness on the back to make lager drinkers happy. And, guess what? It's now making its appearance in bottles around the City. Just saw it today. Look for it.

Birmingham, AL. We all spent a weekend in 'Bama recently, sampling a few of the Robert Trent Jones Trail courses. Oxmoor, a bit to the southwest of downtown Birmingham has two 18-holers, plus an executive course. While both courses (Ridge and Valley) are worth playing, the Ridge course was tremendous. Wicked fairways drop off on both sides, big elevations up and down, water traps teasing. This course was a mental game. Everything was well-maintained, and the staff was friendly and accommodating. And, best of all, one of us finished with the putt of his life.

NYC. Alright, intellectual property may have gone to far. They're trademarking the name of hops these days??

Still, we have to say we enjoyed Weyerbacher's Double Simcoe (TM) IPA. It's dark and full like an ale: full mouthfeel. Foamy ale head. But then, the head sticks around like a lager; it lasts and lasts. Does it have a mind of it's own?

And those hops on the back-palate: they are crisp and strong like a powerful IPA. And the alcohol content: 9%. Stay away from the heavy machinery.

The brewery started this one as a seasonal in 2005, but say they kept it all year round after good demand and reviews. And it comes from Easton, PA, home of Lafayette College, Crayola Crayons, and Dixie Cups. But what it really does? It hits hard enough in alcohol content and taste to make Easton native Larry Holmes proud.

And those trademarked hops? Straight out of the U.S. Pacific Northwest, a fairly new variety first released in 2000. IPA or ale? Who cares? Try it.

NYC. This beer wins our award for "best looking bottle and label." Seriously, this one looks like a high end single malt scotch label. Not too surprising, it's a beer from Scotland: Innis & Gunn Original.

They age the beer 77 days in oak casks. They claim it adds "an incredible depth of taste." We say it's honey sweet. Interesting, but sweet, sweet, sweet. Carmel tasting, not a great head, but good mouth feel. Some back palate tastes that we really couldn't identify. A shame we bought just one bottle, but we fear that the sweetness would've just been too much for a second tasting.

We'll try this again, just to make sure we weren't missing anything. But they sure got one thing right: they sure know how to label a bottle.

New York. Ok. Call us slow. But, even after extensive travels, this is the first time we've come upon the thousand-year-old beer Žatec. And it was right here in NYC.

Some history. People in Žatec have been brewing since 1261. On the label, they've stuck the year 1004, which, apparently is the earliest date they have for the production of hops in this region of the Czech Republic (Bohemia), where Žatec is located. The actual brewery had it's cornerstone laid in 1798.

So, argue all you will about the date the brewing started, but this beer is the real deal.

Heineken has purchased the Czech Drinks Union, whose products include Zlatopramen ("golden spring"), from Usti nad Labem. The company only had 3% of the Czech beer market, but the purchase now means that Heineken controls this brewer in addition to Starobrno, Hostan, Slovakia's Zlaty Bazant, and one of our world favorites, Krusovice.

Austin, TX. While folks up in the N-E are still freezin', it was over 90 degrees the last couple of days in Austin, double the temp in NYC. We were lucky enough to get in a round yesterday morning, at Grey Rock Golf Club, formerly Circle C. It's conveniently located south-west of the center city, and consistently ranked high in the Austin area for public courses.

It's a lovely course, moderately challenging, with greens of impeccable quality. The greens have very few flat spots and were pretty lush. The course itself was a bit on the dry side, and you could occasionally see dust kick up when balls hit. There's not much tree cover, so we'd assume it's pretty tough playing in the summer sun, but we give it a recommendation.

Austin, TX. In addition to good golf, central Texas has two more things going for it. First is the best BBQ in the world. For that, a drive a half-hour south of Auston to Lockhart is mandatory.

Second, you can down your beef brisket with Texas's own Shiner Bock, from the Spoetzl Brewery. It's one of the first things we do after arriving in Texas: belly-up to the bar and grab a cold one. It's a dark beer with a light taste. It's not filling, and has just the right sweetness. It's classified as a dark lager, which is fitting, since it's very reminiscent of Czech dark beers.

The brewery has been making beers for 99 years, and it claims to trace its roots to German and Czech immigrants in the 1800s, and those who started the Shiner brewery in 1909. It's a great success story, as the brewery only had a 1% market share twenty years ago, but has been growing strong. It's now owned by San Antonio's own Gambrinus Company (named after the patron saint of brewing and owners of some awesome beers like Pete's Wicked Ale, and Portland, Oregon's Bridgeport).

Also deserving of mention is a copy-cat from A-B: the Ziegen Bock. Worth a try...if you can't get a Shiner.

Report : Chicago, January 2008

Slushy snow underfoot, barely bearable windchill, ever shorter days, grim economic news. How does one salve the ills?

Thanks be to the weighty, unctuous 8.3% Lagunitas Limited Release Cappuccino Stout. A Petaluma, California Ale brewed with Colombian Coffee, natch, "brewed with Sebastopol's own HARD CORE COFFEE".

And, as the famous, eponymous Crimean duel between Russia and allied French and English forces, it is a classic struggle between the bombardment of the latter's caffeine cup-of-chino-esque charms: versus the stoic, reliable high booze; and chocolatey mouthfeel of a sturdy stout.

Is it an ersatz Vodka | Red Bull challenge, for beer purists? At the end of a 1 pint 6 oz serve one considers the aggressive push of the caffeine surging  valiantly against the relaxing, and defensive Rusky alcohol. Comrade/Jolly good sir, are you coming, or going?

All in all, at the end of this battle of the palate and metabolism, against the backdrop of gloomy weather and diminished light of a Chi- Town winter, the tastebuds and one's general good countenance are the victors.

Award (another ) full credit to the innovative and experimental brewing culture of the U.S.A.

Madison, WI. On a recent snowy day in Madison, we found ourselves downing pints at the Great Dane Pub & Brewery, a terrific pub near the center square. A highlight? The German-style pilsner called Verruckte Stadt German Pils. Imported German hops make this a marvelous beer.

What better way to kick off the night...before heading over to the Essen Haus for boots of beer?