Sour Beers Put Smiles on US Brewers' Mugs

One new highbrow bottle, with 27% alcohol, costs $150

(NEWSER) - Beer with a high alcohol content is in the spotlight after two breweries announced supercharged creations—Boston Beer Company's Utopias, with 27% alcohol, and BrewDog's Tactical Nuclear Penguin, with 32%. Are they good for the average guzzler? Salon gets details from expert Brooks Hamaker:

• They don’t come cheap: Utopias will set you back $150 a bottle.
• Yes, it is beer: Regardless of alcohol content, it’s made from barley, malt, hops, water, and yeast—but it’s not carbonated, "or at least not very well," because of its high sugar content.

New drinks throw away rules about mixing alcohol

(NEWSER) - The days of keeping your beer and liquor separate are over, with bartenders crafting crossover drinks that mix beer with other spirits—even wine. “Other countries have been doing this for a long time,” one beer connoisseur tells the New York Times. Creations range from the “Muddy Puddle”—iced espresso with bourbon, stout, and a peanut dust rim—to the beergarita—a margarita with sour ale and framboise. More»

Recession spurs Americans to make their own beer

(NEWSER) - Home brewing has grown in popularity as Americans with increasingly sophisticated taste in beer look to cut costs, Time reports. Despite layoffs and bankruptcies nationwide, a couple in Connecticut just opened Maltose Express, a beer-brewing supply shop, and are already doing brisk business. Home brewers also gather there to share their wares and socialize. More»

Beer is first new Guinness since the 1960s

(NEWSER) - Guinness will sell a new beer in honor of its 250th anniversary, the AP reports. The Guinness 250 Anniversary Stout, due in US stores April 24, will be the first new stout Guinness has exported to America since the famous Guinness Draught debuted in 1960. The anniversary brew is carbonated, as opposed to the draught, which is aerated with a mixture of carbon dioxide and nitrogen. More»

Super-small operations cater to niches in US niche markets

(NEWSER) - Some so-called “microbreweries” have grown much too large to use that sobriquet, but as certain outfits outgrow the label, others are just growing into it. Portfolio's Lew Bryson introduces the future of beer: one-man brewing. In a market where once-boutique names like Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada now command significant share, ultra-small operations have distinct advantages—and disadvantages. More»