I have come up with the best idea ever. It's called Beer Stein Pong. There are plenty of differences between beer stein pong and regular beer pong. But, let me build the game for you from bottom to top.

First of all, you will need at least 12 beer steins. 20 is better. 6 to 10 beer steins on each end of the pong table.

Second, you will need a large battle field. Put several dining room or banquet tables together. Also, you can use the floor. If you use the floor, you…

When you hear the words, “flight” chances are pretty good that your first thought is of aviation world. However, there’s more here than airplanes. The world of craft beer has beer “tasting flights” and while they’re something different to most drinkers, they’re excellent ways to get up close and personal with some of the new options that have come to market, without the risk of buying an entire 6-pack that you may or may not enjoy. So, what is a beer-tasting flight? What should you know…

Let me first start out with a huge thank you to everybody that came out and attended one or all the events for Beer Army Beer Week to include the Grand Opening of the Beer Army Combat Brewery. Hopefully you were one of the lucky 100 that received a free limited edition, “I Survived Beer Army Beer Week” T-shirt because I didn’t and I’m jealous as it is a kick ass shirt!

I know I have stated it many times, without YOU, this simply wouldn’t be possible because YOU are Beer Army. It was…

The guys at Beer Army have something quite in common with Jeffrey Jay, even though he lives 2,986 miles away. I'm not talking about the love of craft beer (that's something we ALL have in common). No, I'm talking about taking a dream born as a homebrewer and turning it into a public brewery so that they can share their craft with the world.

In fact, the guys at Beer Army are going to be pouring their first beer to the public this…

The US craft beer segment has exploded in the last few years. Evidence of this proliferation is everywhere, from liquor stores to grocery stores, brewpubs, bars and the number of new breweries going up all over the place. However, one facet of this explosion might have passed you by – the number of craft beers being sent overseas to other countries. This marks a huge shift in the beer industry, as most countries haven’t been particularly interested in most mainstream American beers (Bud,…

What a whirlwind of events that have taken place over the past couple of weeks. Build out of the brewery is ongoing, we are making upgrades to the Outpost and we just returned from the Craft Brewers Conference that was being held in Washington D.C. this year. The turnout was amazing as 6400 folks in the professional beer world inhabited the convention center for a whole week in our nation’s capital. Just as impressive was the representation from over 40 countries in attendance this…

Some people dream of Jeannie or even a White Christmas, but my dreams are never quite delightful—just embarrassing. I don’t think that even Freud could figure out why I always wake up thoroughly confused about my bizarro themed dreams, such as the recent captivity of the Planet of the Apes by purple and surprisingly friendly, singing penguins. Yes, it is embarrassing to bring up my vague recollection of a controversial penguin uprising but it’s nowhere near as humiliating as my vivid-purple…

If you didn't have a blast, you weren't doing it right! I heard about the pub crawl in the small town where I'm from and they were having a great time. I saw the pictures and heard the stories.

What I found hilarious is in the mindset of that small town, they don't realize pub crawls are all over the place. Most of them think they have the only one. I enjoyed mine in Clearwater, Florida. Actually, it was in Dunden. But, if you know anything about this area, you can easily cross the…

Living in the San Francisco Bay Area leaves no shortage of craft beer tasting opportunities, but would you believe me when I told you that living in Novato gives me one of the best sample chances in the region?

Have you ever heard of Novato? It's home to Moylan's Brewery (and what puts my Marin County city "on the map," as far as I'm concerned), and it's ultimately the first stop anytime I take one of my visiting friends on a beer tour.

It's just a few exits up 101 from…

When you peruse the craft brew offerings at your local liquor or grocery store, chances are pretty good that your gaze is reflected in shiny glass bottles for the most part. Cans have been limited to big beer companies. However, things are changing and it might not be too long before you see your favorite craft beer in a metal can rather than a curvy glass bottle. What’s up with the shift and who’s leading the charge?

The Argument for Glass

If you ask the average craft beer…

Those of you that follow this column know the love affair with the beast that I like to call Murphy, as in Murphy’s Law. That SOB has raised his ugly head on more than one occasion over the past four plus years that Beer Army has been in existence. There have even been times when I have challenged Murphy to a fight. Sometimes we win and sometimes… well, you know the deal.

Never in a million years would I have predicted that we would have all of our permits from the federal, state and…

There is just too much changing in this world. I don't know if I can keep up with it all. But, beer is still the same right? Or is it?

Budweiser was accused of watering down their beer! What? I mean, they are a part of history. They are a huge part of American history.

When the Prohibition was over, Budweiser filled a trailer and strapped on their infamous Clydesdales for a little walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. That's right! The first beer that was delivered to President…

The most invigorating beer discoveries happen during road trips. When you finally reach your destination and get to escape from seeing a car-sign-nothing-sign-sign-nothing-car in lala land, you end up stepping onto unfamiliar terrain. Even the air feels different, but by reassuring yourself that these are the curious steps of a new venture, you are able to stay cool. However, road trips tend to incorporate the following default categories:

 1)      I…UH…GOT TO…

Winter is a great time to drink beer. So are summer, fall and spring, obviously. But the wintertime is one of my favorite times for beer festivals in the Left Coast.

We're right smack in the middle of SF Beer Week -- a big-time beer fest that goes far beyond San Francisco but incorporates much…

Home brewing is certainly nothing new – it’s actually a throwback to the roots of brewing, when families made their own brews because there were few alternatives. That changed in the US with the rise of big breweries, but the modern resurgence in brewing at home truly is something new, or rather, something old happening for new reasons. Why is home brewing gaining so much steam? Here are some interesting reasons cited by actual home brewers.

Really Social in an Age of False…

Hell no, we will go! People weren’t chanting outside as they lined up to attend the 3rd Annual Jolly Skull Beer Fest. Perhaps it had something to do with the coldest weather streak we have had in a long time in Eastern North Carolina. It was amazing to see the thousands of festival goers who braved the ice storm the night before and stood in freezing weather the day of.

There was a lot of concern in the Beer Army camp as the cold weather came down on us; we just weren’t sure about the…

SOOOO, I finally made that long overdue visit to the Beer Army Outpost store!  It took me a while to find it, I’m convinced my navigation system is possessed—she’s ancient and can only do one accent…robot! The vibes inside the Outpost were great; people were hanging out enjoying some beer on draft while I wandered around the aisles. It’s just the right size, but I did get lost in the rows of spectacular beers. Seriously, the selections are amazing. The Germany section had all of my favorite…

Clearwater, Florida has a new addition for the beer community to enjoy. Sea Dog Brewing Company has finally opened. I had been waiting for months, from the first time I saw construction going on in the old Psghettis.

Sea Dog had a family and friends night for two days, then they opened on Sunday the 13th. Work kept me from being able to check the place out on any of those occasions. But, Wednesday rolled around and I was ready to see what Sea Dog was all about.…

Having been drinking for most of my life, I’ve developed a few gripes. I know that there are plenty of beer enthusiasts who agree with me when I complain. Because we have all been there and it’s time to let our voices be heard.

One thing I absolutely cannot stand is when I go out with a bunch of guys and I see a certain person tagging along with us. Normally, I don’t mind who I’m drinking with when I’m out on the prowl having fun. But, there is always that one guy who never…

Where did 2012 go and can you believe 2013 is here already? Shouldn’t we all be operating flying cars by now? I guess we should at least be happy that John Connor is not running around destroying human killing robots or that we are not simply code in the machine.

Beer Army is flying down the road at a million miles an hour. We still had some stops to make along the way but then it seemed like the curtain came down on 2012 and all I could think was, “Hey, we aren’t done yet!” Luckily…