Iowa Lifts Restrictions on High-Alcohol Beer

We recently wrote about alcohol laws in Pennsylvania and their detrimental effect on the beer industry there. But on the opposite side of the spectrum, new legislation has just been passed in Iowa that will hopefully do great things for the state's beer production and sales; plus, it gives us beer lovers here at Beer Universe something to cheer about! The Iowa Senate File 2088, a massive government restructuring bill, was passed just last week, and signed into law by the governor effective immediately. While it addresses a number of gove...

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14th Annual ‘Beerdrinker of the Year’ Competition Ends

Readers, crack open a bottle of your favorite craft beer, and toast the new hero of the Beer Universe! Bill Howell, from Kenai, Alaska, was recently crowned the 2010 Beerdrinker of the Year.

Howell, the Director of Student Services at Kenai Peninsula College, has loved beer since his childhood, when his mother used to pour out a shot glass of beer for him every once in a while. Upon tasting his first craft beer, he realized that there were worlds of possibility in this marvelous beverage. Since then, he has become a well-known p...

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Prohibition-era Laws Still Causing Problems in Pennsylvania

It's hard to imagine that alcohol was once illegal in the US, given how freely we enjoy it today. 1920 to 1933 is known as the Prohibition era, and though that age is long gone, some of its effects are still being felt.

Three upscale Philadelphia bars - the Memphis Taproom, the Local 44, and Resurrection Ale House - were raided by police last week, due to an anonymous tip-off that the bars were selling unregistered beers. Police seized 3 quarter-kegs and 317 beer bottles in the raid. A controversy emerged, however, when it was discovered...

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An Introduction to the Lambic Beers

The craft beer industry enjoys a huge variety of products that differ in everything from taste to ingredients, even the basic brewing process. There are endless combinations of aging methods, yeast strains, and hops percentages, which means that the well-trained consumer can find many kinds of beer to enjoy. But, arguably, one family of beer stands out from the rest, and we'd like to briefly explore this little corner of the Beer Universe.

Lambic beer is the underappreciated cousin of the craft beer family. Mostly brewed o...

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Beer Shaken and Stirred

I am a beer lover. I think it’s the most perfect self sufficient alcoholic beverage. All you need to do is chill it (if appropriate) and you are ready to gulp it down. Occasionally you do like to wedge in a lime wedge (give your beer bottle a lemon wedgie) and sip it. Nothing tastes better than a cold beer on a hot summer afternoon.

While I was busy living my beer fantasy with blinders on my eyes, people out there were doing crazy things with this perfect drink of mine. After a probing a bit in tha...

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