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Tom MacGowan

A Stone Skips Across the Pond: Stone Brewing Plans To Open European Location

by Tom MacGowan
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Extra! Extra! Read all about! News from the beer world! Stone Brewery plans to completely take over the European market! Well they’re not exactly planning on it, but they just might do it. Stone Brewery from Escondido, California, whom I visited in May (Look for an Upcoming Video), does not simply intend to expand by exporting their beers [...]

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Tom’s "Too Hot For TV" Ultimate Summer Beer List: Part III & IV

by Tom MacGowan
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Tom wanted to shoot a video of himself tasting and discussing the following hand-picked list of “kick-ass” summer beers, but our editors thought it would be just “too hot for TV” (or webTV, in this case). We did however let him write about it. This is Parts III and IV of a four part series. [...]

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A Jersey Take On Williamsburg’s Bar Scene

by Tom MacGowan
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Recently a friend and I made a trip across the Hudson, through Manhattan, to Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  For over a decade, Williamsburg has been a hot bed for hipsters, artist, musicians, professionals, and people just looking to have a good old time.  It’s also becoming well known for it’s eateries and eclectic beer bars. Being from [...]

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Autumn Seasonals Hit the Shelves: Pumpkins and Oktoberfests

by Tom MacGowan
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I was enjoying a nice summer day, until I got to the beer store where I work and saw that we had received a delivery of Pumpkin and Oktoberfest beer. I know it’s a bummer, but the summer is nearly coming to a close. The fall beers are making their way back into the circuit [...]

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Tom’s "Too Hot For TV" Ultimate Summer Beer List: Part II

by Tom MacGowan
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Tom wanted to shoot a video of himself tasting and discussing the following hand-picked list of “kick-ass” summer beers, but our editors thought it would be just “too hot for TV” (or webTV, in this case). We did however let him write about it. This is part two of a four part series. Read Part [...]

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Tom’s "Too Hot For TV" Ultimate Summer Beer List: Part I

by Tom MacGowan
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Tom wanted to shoot a video of himself tasting and discussing the following hand-picked list of “kick-ass” summer beers, but our editors thought it would be just “too hot for TV” (or webTV, in this case). We did however let him write about it. This is Part I of Tom’s “Too Hot For TV” Ultimate [...]

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Saison du Buff: Sam Calagione, Bill Covaleski, & Greg Koch Declare War on Bad Beer

by Tom MacGowan
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Recently, while visiting the Stone Brewing Company in Escondido, San Diego, I was fortunate enough to score a coveted tasting of the Stone, Dogfish Head, and Victory collaboration brew – Saison du BUFF. Once upon a time in 2003, three great brewers from opposite ends of the country came together for a press conference to announce to [...]

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Playing Hard to Get: A Slippery Frog

by Tom MacGowan
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I recently picked up some 22oz bomber bottles from the Hoppin’ Frog Brewery.  This is a tremendous brewery coming straight out of the Midwest, hailing from Akron, Ohio. Although the beers from Hoppin’ Frog can be difficult to get your hands on depending on where you live, they are available in the NY/NJ/PA area, so for those of [...]

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Beer and Loathing in Atlantic City (Celebration of the Suds…Part Deuce)

by Tom MacGowan
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Were you part of the thousands of beer nuts who swarmed Atlantic City, March 20th and 21st?  If you were you may have run into The Beer Sessions crew.  And if you weren’t there, we got your back.  Hey, what are we here for? Eugene charging from the west, myself from the north, we had our [...]

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Do Beer Rating Systems Actually Work?

by Tom MacGowan
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Recently, my manager and I were discussing our displeasure with numbers, yes, numbers. We were hating on rating!  Beer ratings, wine ratings, bourbon and vodka ratings, what do they tell an audience?  I mean what distinguishes a 93 from a 100?  Or a 75 from an 83?  Some of the beer rating websites out there, [...]

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Eataly: NYC, Rooftop Brewpub, Dogfish Head, & Mario Batali. Is this Heaven?

by Tom MacGowan
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Good news for New Yorkers and any beer drinker willing to road trip. The brewers from Dogfish Head and Russian River are teaming up with Mario Batali (through his B&B Hospitality Group with Joe Bastianich) and the two Italian breweries, Birrificio Le Baladin and Birra del Borgo to create an unbelievably revolutionary Brewpub in the coolest [...]

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Smart Monkeys Choose Cans

by Tom MacGowan
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Who loves a Pale Ale? We all love a good ol’ American Pale Ale!! Nice, crisp, smooth, and bitter!  Hmmm, sounds so good, I’m going to have to grab one. Never mind, make that two!  This is another “If you like this beer, you’re gonna LOVE this brew!!”  It’s where I take a well known popular beer [...]

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Celebration of the Suds!

by Tom MacGowan
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Time to book a room at your favorite casino and have some fun!!! Just one thing, don’t forget about the beer show. It’s time for the “Celebration of the Suds!” On Saturday March 20 and Sunday March 21, brewers from around the world will be saddling up and heading to the “City Of Sin,” Atlantic [...]

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Like Guinness? You’ll love Beamish.

by Tom MacGowan
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Guinness drinkers, listen up! If you like Guinness you will definitely love Beamish Irish Stout! Over the last year, my friend and co-worker at the Hoboken Vine, Anthony Petruzella, and I have been trying to get beer drinkers to add variety to their repertoire of taste. While sampling a wide variety of beers, he and [...]

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Green Flash Double Stout

by Tom MacGowan
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Green Flash Brewing Co is an incredible brewer based outside of San Diego, California. They are just about to celebrate the seven-year anniversary of creating innovative and insane beers!!! Green Flash takes a very nice approach to the double stout, effectively showing the versatility of their craftsmanship. This beer was awarded the 2008 California State [...]

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East Coast vs. West Coast

by Tom MacGowan
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Lakers vs. Celtics? Biggie vs. Tupac? No, this is the battle of the beer! Over the last twenty years or so the craft beer scene has exploded in the United States. There are great breweries dotted all across this nation.  The Midwest and the Rocky Mountain region are swarming with excellent breweries, but for the [...]

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