Keegan Ales Four Philosophers

On Friday, I took a trip to Keegan Ales to try out their new specialty beer Four Philosophers. I had heard a lot about this beer and the combination of Keegan's strong history of brewing good beers combined with the expectations of naming it after Ommegang's great Belgian style quadrupel had me waiting in anticipation. I decided to try the beer before doing any research on it. The beer poured an amber color with a thin white head. The beer had malts on the first sip and continued into the middle palate. The finish was slightly dry with a small amount of hops appearing at the end. The beer seemed quite strong and later on I found out I was right as it checked in at 8% ABV. After finishing my pint, I sat down with Tommy Keegan and asked him about his new brew. He told me that Four Philosophers was a Belgian style Abbey Tripel and that those who enjoyed this offerring can look foward to his Belgian White that he thinks will be ready sometime in late April or early May. Overall, this was a delicious beer that if bottled at all could probably be cellared for a couple of months. I highly suggest getting to Kingston ASAP to try this fast moving beer. Cheers to the people at Keegan Ales for making another very good beer.

Ithaca's Flower Power makes it to the Final Four!!

Ithaca's Flower Power IPA advanced to the Final Four of the Great Lakes IPA National Championship before losing to Two Hearted Ale from Bell's Brewing Company in Michigan. Flower Power beat Dogfish Head's 60 Minute IPA in the first round, Anderson Valley's Hop' Ottin in the second round, and Boulder Beer's Mojo IPA in the third round before falling in the Final four.
Great Lakes Brewing News decided to celebrate March Madness "with a hops - not hoops - competition". Great Lakes formulated a single elimination bracket of 32 IPA's from around the country. The winners of each round were chosen by brewers who were separated into panels of three. The judges blind tasted 3 ounces of each IPA, which were labeled Sample "Alpha" and Sample "Beta". The panel would then move onto the next pair and was not allowed to judge more then six pairs.
The Foaming Head congratulates Ithaca Beer Company on Flower Power's deep run into the final four and we hope that they can bring the crown to New York next year!

http://www.brewingnews.com/nipac/nipacround4.shtml

New York Assemblyman Proposes $0.25 surcharge per bottle.

http://rnews.com/Story_2004.cfm?ID=59223&rnews_story_type=18&category=10)

Democrat Feliz Ortiz is proposing a 25 cent surcharge on all alcoholic beverages sold in New York state. The reason for the surcharge would be to raise money for treatment and prevention programs. The result of the plan would be an increase in the cost of a six pack by $1.50 and a case by six dollars. Ortiz believes that if the bill is passed, it would raise $800 million a year.

I have to believe that the reason for Mr. Ortiz proposing this bill has something to do with his own personal and political agenda. While I feel that alcohol and drug abuse are serious problems and need to be addressed, I do not think that Ortiz's motives are extremely pure. This proposal is not the way to go about solving the problem. First of all, the majority of people buying craft beer are buying it for enjoyment, not because they have a problem. Second of all, if this bill passes, it will be extremely difficult to afford craft beer in New York State. The combination of the hop shortage and this Democrat's bill would push the price of an average NY craft 6 pack up to around $10. I can only hope that government realizes that this bill is ridiculous and that it is shot down. If the bill get close to passing we have to hope that Ortiz is discovered to be one of the Clients #1-8 in the Emperor's Club prostitution ring.