I just came back from visiting Germany and I miss everything about it...the beautiful sites...the beautiful people, and most importantly the beautiful beer or “bier” in German.

1. Beer is everywhere! You can drink it here or there…you can have it anywhere. Forgive my Dr. Seuss enthusiasm but the availability of beer was mind-blowing. Even every gas station had a variety around the same price range. It’s not like in America where you look over at the delicious imported…

This information is highly unclassified and is meant to inform those who care about what the masters of the brewing business are up to. There have been a lot of expansions to several of the west coast breweries, causing heightened awareness of the beer culture and a drastic increase in the beer geek population. So keep your eyes peeled, your ears open and your liver intact while Fort Left Coast brings the good news of beer and all of its glory...

Left Coast Unit…

Bar ideas are fluid. Not every idea that works will work in any bar that you might want to run. So, you take ideas from all bars and you fit the ones you like with your theme and your particular taste.

If you recall, a few months ago I talked about a favorite bar of mine that closed. For the longest time I had to travel further to find a watering hole I was comfortable visiting. That is until recently when a new bar went in across the parking lot from the old bar.

Of course, I…

For this session of Chow Hall I thought I would breakdown a coursed out meal. Some of these pairings might be a little off the wall and some might be tame. The idea is to experiment, push the envelope, diversify your pairings, and to never settle. Some of these pairings are of my own design, others are from working with my chef Jorel Pierce at Euclid Hall, and others are from the ingenious mind of Ryan Conklin, Euclid Hall’s Certified Cicerone. No matter who thought up the pairing the…

MMMMMMM! Buster Nut

We will be moving on May 15 2012 to The Habor House at 147 Front street in downtown Swansboro. The new location is larger and will be better to serve all your Homebrew, Winemaking, coffee and ice cream needs.…

Hey! What do you know, I turned out not to be a liar after all. I called my shot in last month’s Stout Objective swearing up and down that we would be open by the end of April. I guess Murphy decided not to show up and spoil it for us.

On Monday, 16 April, we expected the Beer Army Outpost in New Bern to open up to not much fan fare. The whole idea was to have a soft opening and do it at the beginning of the week to work out all the kinks in the systems before the weekend. I guess we…

Hard cider has become one of the most visible segments of the craft brewing industry and has a marked appeal (or should that be ap-peel?) with both men and women. Hard cider offers quite a lot, from a taste that differs immensely from beer to historical roots deep in American culture. With those benefits, cider is also gaining a lot of notice from Big Beer these days and the purchase of Crispin Cider Company by MillerCoors shows just how attractive big brewers are finding the fermented apple…

As online news manager for WCTI-TV, I had the pleasure recently of talking with Dustin Canestorp about the new Beer Army Outpost, and his vision for the future of craft beer in New Bern and the rest of ENC. That same day, I also had to pleasure of trying Lafferty's Hop Grenade IPA for my side gig. Read and enjoy!

Beer Army on WCTI: http://j.mp/IcyKGR

Hop Grenade on The Man FAQ:…

Never judge a book by its cover…the old saying that I repeat to myself whenever I see something that has the “ooh shiny” or “whoa-wow” appeal. As much as I try to remain neutral about appearances, sometimes I can’t resist getting googly eyes. When something visually enticing makes me feel nostalgic…I’m a goner. Ready? I’m setting you up for a flashback.

It was the winter of 200?—well I can’t remember which New Year’s weekend but it was sometime when I dated what’s-his-face.…

Bake Bottle and Brew received our first order of white labs liquid yeasts to better serve your homebrew needs. WLP001 California Ale yeast, WLP 002 Engish Ale yeast, WLP029 German Kolsch yeast, WLP060 American Ale Yeast, WLP568 Belgian Stlye Saison yeast, WLP575 Beligian Stlye Ale Yeast.

As Americans, we are known for our love of beer and food, so much that it is arguably as much of a movement as it is an epidemic, apparently. In fact, as I’m sitting here writing this piece, I have an apple and a Reece’s candy bar sitting on my desk in front of me. So which one should I go for? What can I say; I got a sweet tooth bigger than my eyes which are bigger than my stomach. As much as I love food, I can’t help but wonder, “What kind of beer would pair well with this nutty,…

There is drinking beer, and there is taming a beer beast. Here’s my list of five beers that will punch you right back in the mouth should your dare to tame them. Be careful, they could knock you out.

Pliny the Younger, Russian River: It’s only available for one week out of the year, and when I was there back in 2010 the brewery sold out on the day of release. The massive IPA was…

The experts of beer brewing might like some of these combinations every bit as much as the beginners who have just brewed their first lager or ale. Of course, the great taste of all natural beer cannot be matched. But, we like to impress each other every once in awhile. Also, we like to try new things. Who doesn’t?

Brewers have already come up with honey, raspberry, pumpkin and chili. Yes, chili! One recipe for brewing chili beer at home calls for adding roasted green chili peppers to…

1.  Working on the yard during the sun season is a great excuse to get outside and moisten the brow plowing one’s own refinanced plot of land.  Its these sizzlingly humid and gritty days of glorious silt digging to come that I look forward too the most – to enjoy the first crisp soul satisfying sip of cold brew after watching someone else doing all that sweaty mucky nonsense while I lay in my hammock re-reading The Hunger Games trilogy.  Nothing spells a satisfyingly smooth summer as…

For this session of Chow Hall I thought we’d talk about a very easy way to pair great food and great beer. This is probably one of the simplest and best forms of pairing and yet it’s also the one pairing that’s most commonly overlooked. No matter the situation you can find a way to make this pairing work time and time again. Have you guessed what kind of pairing method I’m talking about? Are you dying to know? I’m talking about pairing food and beer from the same regions of the…

“Hey, when are you guys opening?” Our response “should be next week.” The following week we are asked, “Are you guys opening this week?” Our response “should be next week.” The week after that we are asked… You see where this is going?

Bill Murray is an extremely funny guy. The movie Groundhog Day should be on everybody’s list of all time favorites. You definitely need to check it out if you haven’t viewed it. Without spoiling the movie for those who haven’t seen it, basically Bill…

I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this question but I really don't want a batch of beer to die an un-noble death haveing not been concumed.

  So here we go.  I brewed a batch of Stout (3rd batch of beer) last night and found it perculating nicely this morning.  By this afternoon, I have yeast products and foam going up into my air lock.  So what do I do.  Do you leave it alone and clean up the mess as it bubbles over?  Do I bust out my sterilised spare and do the…

Half Egyptian. Half Redneck.  That’s my response when someone asks the blunt question, “What are you?” after sending over a few confused stares. Thanks to my Egyptian mom, finding sunglasses that stay in place without my nose bullying them off is impossible. Thanks to my American dad, turning into a lobster after being in the sun for fifteen minutes with my complexion is always possible. As much as I enjoy being dramatic about it, I’m proud of my ethnicity. I tend to favor my Egyptian…

While winter might still be clutching your area in an icy grip, spring is here. For beer lovers, that means finding the perfect beverage to welcome back spring and all its promises of new growth and returning warmth. Of course, this begs the question – what exactly makes a beer ideal for springtime, anyway?

What’s Spring Beer?

It seems like every season has brews dedicated to it – summer gets light, refreshing lagers that cool you off and revitalize you. Autumn finds folks…