As I’m sure you can tell by the title of this post, today is International Stout Day! Like IPA Day, Stout Day is a worldwide celebration of craft beer that was designed to unite the world in a giant toast of this iconic beer style–the stout!

In honor of this awesome holiday, here is a super basic 101-style run down on the various sub-categories of stout and some of my favorite beers to imbibe from each category. If I forgot your favorite sub-style, feel free to mention it in the comment section below so I can update the site! Happy Stout Day! Cheers!

Stout 101 (as basic as it gets)

Irish Dry Stout

The original stout style that evolved from the porter. Dryness comes from the use of roasted unmalted barley. Most famous example is Guinness.

• Brooklyn Dry Irish Stout
• Boulevard Dry Stout
• Three Floyds Black Sun Stout
• Avery Out of Sight Stout

Foreign Extra Stout

Similar to dry stout, but with more gravity (aka alcohol and stuff). This is a rather broad class of stouts. They can be fruity and sweet, dry and bitter, or even have funky notes from Brettanomyces.

Recommended Foreign Extra Stouts:

• Elysian Dragonstooth Stout
• Green Flash Double Stout
• La Cumbre Mal Pais Stout
• Allagash Black

Russian Imperial Stout

Strong stout originally brewed in the 18th century by Thrale’s brewery in London, England for export to the court of Catherine II of Russia. This is the catch all category for high-alcohol stouts.

Recommended Imperial Stouts:

• Sierra Nevada Narwal
• Cigar City Hunahpu’s Imperial Stout
• AleSmith Speedway Stout
• Bells Expedition Stout

Barrel-Aged Stout

This is a pretty obvious category. Stouts aged in barrels–typically used booze barrels like Bourbon, whiskey, wine and such. Quite possibly the best invention ever!

Recommended Barrel-Aged Stouts:

• Deschutes The Abyss
• Founders KBS (Kentucky Breakfast Stout)
• Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
• New Holland Dragon’s Milk

Chocolate Stout

Stouts brewed with chocolate and or cocoa as well as stouts that boast a noticeable dark chocolate flavor through the use of darker, more aromatic malt; particularly chocolate malt. 

Recommended Chocolate Stouts:

• Rogue Chocolate Stout
• Bison Organic Chocolate Stout
• Southern Tier Choklat‘
• Fort Collins Chocolate Stout

Milk Stout

Stout containing lactose, a sugar derived from milk. Because lactose is unfermentable by beer yeast, it adds sweetness, body, and calories to the finished beer.

Recommended Milk Stouts:

• Left Hand Milk Stout
• Odell Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout
• Duck Rabbit Milk Stout

Oatmeal Stout

Stout brewed with oats, typically no more than 30% of the grain bill. Oatmeal stouts tend to be super smooth as a result of the high content of proteins and lipids in oats.

Recommended Oatmeal Stouts:

• Anderson Valley Barney Flats
• Rogue Shakespeare Oatmeal Stout
• Samuel Smiths Oatmeal Stout
• Breckenridge Oatmeal Stout

Coffee Stout

Another easy category to describe–stouts brewed with coffee!

Recommended Coffee Stouts:

• Bells Java Stout
• Schlafly Coffee Stout
• New Glarus Coffee Stout
• Flying Dog Kujo (Imperial Coffee Stout)

Oyster Stout

Stouts brewed with oysters. Some brew with only the shells, while others opt to brew with the entire oyster, shell and all. Oyster stouts are typically dark, roasty and dry with a mild brininess or slight gaminess.

Recommended Oyster Stouts:

• Upright Oyster Stout
• 21st Amendment Marooned on Hog Island
• Flying Dog Pearl Necklace
• Abita Imperial Louisiana Oyster Stout

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Depending on the sub-category, stouts pair well with a wide range of foods. Naturally, chocolate, cream and fruit-based desserts are a natural partner for the entire range of stouts. Stouts are also a natural pair for grilled meats and game–especially the drier versions. I’m a big fan of blue cheese and stouts. And you can never go wrong partnering a dry or oyster stout with oysters.

Stouts are also really awesome to cook and bake with. Here are some of my favorite stout infused recipes:

• Chocolate Stout Braised Short Ribs
• Stout French Onion Soup
• Imperial Stout Texas-style Chili
• Chocolate Beer Cheesecake with a Pretzel Crust
• Stout Beer Glaze – Three Ways
• BBQ Bloody Mary with Beer
• The Rogue Diplomat Gone Nuts

Also check out these awesome recipes from Deschutes Brewery!

How are you celebrating Stout Day?

Is there (seriously, anything) anything on this planet better than bacon and beer? I didn’t think so…..

I’m super stoked to announce that the 1st Annual Bacon & Beer Festival is coming to San Francisco this month. And I’m very proud to be one of its organizers, along with Eat Boston and Bison Organic Beer (my beloved employer).

So what does a bacon and beer festival entail?

Over 25 Bay Area restaurants and food vendors will be offering bite-sized portions of fabulous bacon-based dishes while over 25 of the best craft breweries on the West Coast pour samples of amazing craft beers that pair perfectly with bacon. And if you need more of a reason to attend, proceeds from the 2013 San Francisco Bacon & Beer Festival will benefit Sprouts Cooking Club. Full Details:

SF Bacon & Beer Festival

Date: Sunday, August 25
Time: 2:30-5pm
Place: Fairmont Hotel
950 Mason St.
San Francisco, CA
Cost: $50 (buy them here)

The Bacon

21st Amendment Brewery, Ace Wasabi’s Rock-N-Roll Sushi, American Eatery/Prather Ranch Meat Co, Avedano’s, Bacon Bacon, Bluestem Brasserie, Brass Knuckle, Facebook, Farmer Brown, Fatted Calf, First Crush, Haven, Hopscotch, Kettle Potato Chips, KRAVE Jerky, Native Baking Company, Nojo, Oenotri, Sauce, T-REX BBQ Restaurant & Bar, Tacolicous, The Blue Plate, The Fairmont San Francisco, the girl & the fig, The Whole Beast, Thirsty Bear, Tina Tamale, Zoe’s Meats

The Beer

101 North Brewing Company, 21st Amendment Brewery, Alaskan Brewing Co., Ale Industries, Almanac Beer Co., Anderson Valley Brewing Company, Black Diamond Brewing Company, Bison Organic Beer, Calicraft Brewing Company, Drake’s Brewing, Green Flash Brewing Company, Highwater Brewing, Iron Springs Pub & Brewery, Lagunitas Brewing Company, Knee Deep Brewing, Pacific Brewing Laboratories, Peak Organic Beer, Pine Street Brewery, Rogue Ales, Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, Shmaltz Brewing Company, Speakeasy Ales and Lagers, Stone Brewing Co., ThirstyBear Brewing Co. Tioga Sequoia, Uncommon Brewers

Last Thursday marked the 3nd Annual IPA Day — a global celebration dedicated to one of craft beer’s most beloved and iconic styles — the India Pale Ale. This year was, by far, the most successful IPA Day yet—as evidenced by the statistics I am about to provide.

Thanks to the kind people at HashTracking.com, I was able to get my hands on a really solid report on the #IPAday hastag usage on Twitter. Unfortunately, I do not have similar numbers for Facebook, Instagram or Google+—but one could assume from its success on Twitter that the hashtag was equally prolific on other social media platforms.

It is also important to note that, the data I’m sharing with you today mostly reflects the Western Hemisphere and U.S. participation in IPA Day. Outside of the U.S., reports of IPA Day were recorded from all over Europe, China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia & Brazil — as well as other countries that I haven’t been able to officially capture data from. Although, many of these countries were very active on IPA Day, the data I’m about to share may not accurately reflect the world’s participation in IPA Day.

Nonetheless, the data is pretty exciting and I am pretty stoked to pass it along. If you have any questions, comments or concerns about any of these numbers or findings, feel free to comment below and I will do my best to address them.

First, let’s talk basic stats. The official hashtag was tweeted out 33, 697 times by 22, 877 different users. The #IPAday hashtag had the potential reach of 25.04 million people and appeared on nearly 54.2 million timelines. You can compare these numbers to last year, where the #IPAday hashtag was only tweeted 11.8 thousand times by 8 thousand people.

Now, let’s talk about the top lists. According to Hashtracking.com, the Most Popular list was determined by a combination of mentions and retweets with the hashtag #IPAday. The user @untappd topped the most popular list, boasting 13,067 mentions and 237 retweets. @dogfishbeer came in second, with 439 mentions and 133 retweets. And surprisingly enough, yours truly came in third, with 351 mentions and 137 retweets. I was followed by 4. @StoneBrewingCo 5. @BrewDog 6. @BeerAdvocate 7. @draftmag 8. @sweetwaterbrew 9. @thebeerfridge and 10. @DeschutesBeer.

Next up, we have the most tweets list. Not surprisingly enough, I topped the list with 56 total tweets using the hashtag #IPAday. Following me was 2. @epicbeergirl (47 tweets) 3. @Calistoga (33 tweets) 4. @activebeergeek (28 tweets) and 5. @BrewDog & @Tapworks (27 tweets each).

Most Reach was another interesting statistic that we were given. This stat pretty much reveals the most prolific tweeters that used the #IPAhashtag throughout the day. With nearly 4 million followers, @WholeFoods topped this list. They were followed by 2. @wilw 3. @threadless 4. @Disc_Health 5. @dwell 6. @BeerAdvocate 7. @SubEWL 8. @drinkcraftbeer 9. @newbelgium and 10. @dogfishbeer.

Next we will talk about links. Of the 33k #IPAday tweets, 19k were sent with links and 14k were sent without links.

Not surprising, untappd.com topped the list as the most tweeted link.

I really really really want to thank @hashtracking for helping me collect all of this very valuable data. And I highly recommend their services to anyone and everyone that wants to track hashtag data on Twitter.

I also want to thank Andy Sparhawk at the Brewers Association, who helped me track the various U.S. cities in which the hashtag was an official trending topic. These cities included: Austin, Birmingham, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnatti, Columbus, Cleveland, Denver, El Paso, Greenboro, Harrisburg, Honolulu, Indianapolis, Jackson, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Louisville, Mineapolis, Memphis, Milwaukee, Portland, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Diego….. and well just about every major U.S. city on the map.

But the most exciting news of the entire day happened at 1:30pm PST/ 3:30pm EST….. when the #IPAday hashtag started to trend on the national level.

Now, if you have a hard time picturing how big of a deal this is, let’s break it down like this. #IPAday was, at one point during the day, just as popular, if not more, than Justin Bieber.

Well kids, that’s all the data I have for now. (You can view the whole report HERE). If I can find a way to collect more data from Facebook and Instgram, you all will be the first to find out.

And before I sign off….. allow me to thank the most important person who helped to make this the largest, most successful IPA Day yet—YOU!

THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU THAT SUPPORTED AND PARTICIPATED IN IPA DAY 2013. You are awesome.

To commemorate IPA Day, the world’s largest celebration of craft beer, my good friend Gina Schuland of Deschutes Brewery worked with her co-worker Rebecca Selkregg to put together this really awesome infographic. They were able to come up with some awesome, fun & educational data from IRI and create this illustration to share with fans about IPAs for #IPADay!

About Gina Shauland

• Social Media Coordinator & Event Promotions, Deschutes Brewery
• Been w/Deschutes for almost 6 years
• Love social media and beer events
• Stared a women’s beer club called Central Oregon Beer Angels
• Love biking, photography, camping, traveling & meeting new friends everywhere I go
• Can’t go a day without having fun!!

Last week, dozens of breweries, beer bloggers and craft beer enthusiasts joined together to simultaneously announce the return of IPA Day! The 3rd Annual IPA Day will be hosted on August 1st 2013 (it is always the first Thursday of August). And today, I’m very excited to unveil the official logo for IPA Day 2013—designed by one of my favorite craft beer enthusiasts to follow on social media, Emily Ragle (@EmilyRagle on Twitter).

This year, Emily designed 3 different logos—two black and white and one color. Feel free to share them on all your social media platforms, blogs and use them on any IPA Day marketing and event materials!

Need higher res? e-mail emilyragle@gmail.com

Color

Black & White #1

Black & White #2

ABOUT EMILY RAGLE

Emily Ragle is a graphic designer from New Jersey. She works full-time at a small studio making iPad apps, and part-time giving tours at Carton Brewing. She’s a certifiable craft beer nerd who also enjoys baking, football, travel, and the occasional bourbon. When she has free time (which is not often) she directs/films/produces a web series on homebrewers. Check her other work out at http://emilyragle.com or follow her on twitter & instagram @emilyragle.

ABOUT IPA DAY

Some of you might be asking yourself, what is IPA Day? Great question!

Founded in 2011, IPA Day has quickly become the world’s largest virtual beer party. It is a universal movement that was created to unite the voices of craft beer enthusiasts, bloggers and brewers worldwide, using social media as the common arena for connecting the conversation.

For the past two years, hundreds of events, tastings, festivals and dinners have been hosted around the world in celebration of IPA Day. Last year, roughly 12 thousand tweets from more than eight thousand people were sent out over a 24-hour period, yielding over 10 million impressions for the #IPAday hashtag on Twitter.

The goal is to make this year’s IPA Day even more viral. Getting involved is easy, the only requirements are an appreciation for great craft beer and the willingness to spread the word. On August 1, share your photos, videos, blog posts, tasting notes, recipes and thoughts on IPA with the world. Be sure to tag your posts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Google+ and other social media platforms with the #IPAday hashtag. Please note that this year we are using a lower case “d” in the hashtag to reduce confusion.

Wanna take your participation to the next level?

Organize an IPA Day event at your brewery, brewpub, restaurant, bar, bottle shop, home or office. Be sure to post your events on the CraftBeer.com Event Calendar so others in can join in. Here are some helpful tips on submitting an event.

Skip the Guinness this St. Patrick’s Day. Celebrate with an Irish-inspired craft stout instead!

According to Brewer’s Association, the traditional Irish stout falls into two categories, depending on alcohol strength. These two style categories include the Classic Irish-Style Dry Stout (think Guinness Draught) and Foreign Export-Style Stout (think Guiness Foreign Extra Stout). Both styles are black in color with prominent coffee-like roasted malt aromas. Each boasts an initial malt sweetness with hints of caramel flavor and distinctively bitter, dry-roasted finish. Classic Irish-Style Dry Stouts have an alcohol range of 3.8-5% abv., while Foreign Export-Style Stouts are between 4.5-7.5% abv.

Here is a list of 10 Wench-approved craft beer substitutions for Guinness, in no particular order. Can’t find any of the beers listed below? Check out RateBeer.com for a great list of Irish-inspired dry stouts. Cheers!

10 Craft Beer Alternatives for Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day

1. Brooklyn Irish Dry Stout

Commercial Description: Brooklyn Irish Stout is brewed the old-fashioned way, without the nitrogen addition. A large portion of the grain is roasted like coffee beans, developing the typical color and flavor of this beer. Aside from British pale malts, the beer includes caramel malts, black patent malt, unmalted black barley and a proportion of flaked raw barley, which helps the beer develop a beautiful, thick natural head. 4.7% abv

2. Moylans Dragoons Dry Irish Stout

Commercial Description: Dry, roasty and incredibly rich in flavor, Dragoons Dry Irish Stout is made with a unique blend of imported hops and malted barley from the United Kingdom. This award winning stout is brewed in the Irish tradition to commemorate General Stephen Moylan, Irish-born commander of the 4th Continental Dragoons during the American Revolutionary War. 8% abv.

3. Boulevard Dry Stout

Commercial Description: Velvety black and perfectly opaque, this surprisingly smooth, drinkable beer is a delightful harmony of smoky roasted flavors and tangy, coffee-like notes. Available only on tap at fine establishments throughout our distribution region. 4.9% abv.

4. Short’s Uncle Stevie Irish Stout

Commercial Description: Short’s version of the classic Irish Stout, complete with a dark color, soft head, and smooth full flavor typical of this lighter bodied style. A simple grist formula provides a base of roasted malt flavors while the infusion of nitrogen adds the creamy drinkability everyone loves. 5.5% abv.

5. Starr Hill Dark Starr Stout

Commercial Description: Starr Hill’s Dark Starr Stout has won more national and international awards than any other Dry Irish Stout in the country. Brewed with roasted barley, and with hints of coffee and dark chocolate, it packs a robust taste into a surprisingly light body. This signature brew pours like velvet and drinks like a slice of grandma’s pumpernickel bread. 5.2% abv.

6. North Coast Old No. #38

Commercial Description: Named for a retired California Western Railroad steam engine on the Fort Bragg to Willits run through the Redwoods, Old No. 38 Stout is a smooth, firm-bodied stout with the toasted character and coffee notes of dark malts and roasted barley. 5.4% abv.

7. Sprecher Irish-style Stout

Commercial Description: This tribute to St. Patrick’s Day is smooth and creamy, with distinctive flavors and aromas reminiscent of bitter-sweet chocolate and dark coffee. Just one precious batch of this robust, ebony colored stout is brewed each year. 5.73% abv

8. Avery Out of Bounds Stout

Commercial Description: This big, roasty stout takes flavor to the extreme. We aren’t afraid to use plenty of rich roasted barley and a mountain of hops to give this full-bodied stout that little extra something you’ve been looking for in a beer. 6.3% abv.

9. Bison Chocolate Stout

Commercial Description: Like Barry White’s voice in a bottle, Bison’s Chocolate Stout is a dark, slow-pouring aphrodisiac of the smoothest proportions. Rich and roasty with charismatic flavors of dark chocolate and espresso, and creamy, dry finish. 5% abv. (Disclaimer: I work for Bison)

10. Saranac Irish Stout

Commercial Description: Deep within the heart of the Irish lies an uncanny passion for what they call “Leann Dubh”, or black ale.  Saranac Irish Stout is a lavish beer blended with dark malts to create a coffee like taste.  Look for a roasted character that is surprisingly smooth and refreshing, pint after pint. 5.5% abv.

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Slainte!

Look out red wine and Champagne, chocolate beer is Cupid’s new favorite liquid of love. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Whole Foods Market Global HQ and I have teamed up to co-host a chocolate beer tasting love fest – LIVE on Twitter.

On Feb. 7 from 7-8 p.m. CST, join Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) and myself (@TheBeerWench) as we chat about chocolate beers, cooking with beer recipes, and perfect beer pairings for Valentine’s Day. Taste and tweet about four tantalizing chocolate beers with the breweries that make them.

To participate, pick up one or all of the featured chocolate beers and tweet your experience using the hashtag #WFMBeer. Every 15 minutes, the focus of the tasting will shift to a different beer. The schedule is as follows:

5:00 p.m. PST: Samuel Smith’s (@merchantduvin) Organic Chocolate Stout

5:15 p.m. PST: Odell Brewing (@OdellBrewing) Lugene Chocolate Milk Stout

5:30 p.m. PST: Bison Organic Beer (@bisonbrew) Organic Chocolate Stout

5:45 p.m. PST: Southern Tier (@stbcbeer) Choklat

Skip the diamonds and the pearls this Valentine’s Day and woo your special someone with a velvety smooth, rich and chocolate-y craft beer.

Participation is limited to those 21 years or older.

In my opinion, very few things in this world pair best with (college) football than craft beer and artisan potato chips.

In honor of the BCS Bowl Championship Series, I partnered with Kettle Brand® to create 5 kick-ass craft beer & chip pairings for each of the major 5 bowl games. I kicked the series of BCS Bowl Chip & Beer Pairings with picks for the 2013 Rose Bowl, 2013 Orange Bowl, and the 2013 Sugar Bowl. Up next are my picks for the 2013 Fiesta Bowl!

2013 Fiesta Bowl: Oregon vs. Kansas State

One of the most sought-after bowl game in college football, the Fiesta Bowl hosts the Big-12 champion against a top-tier at-large opponent, unless the Big-12 champion goes to the BCS National Championship Game. This year, Big-12 Champion Kansas State got the automatic bid to the Fiesta Bowl. After losing to Stanford, top-ranked and once-National Championship-bound Oregon was shut out from the Pac-12 Championship game, leaving it ineligible for the Rose Bowl yet still the highest ranked at-large team. And so, #5 Kansas State has found itself matched up against #4 Oregon in, quite possibly, one of the best match-ups of the year.

Fiesta Bowl Kettle Chip: Jalapeño Jack

Outside of the sponsor chip (no need to promote that brand here), no chip pairs with the Fiesta Bowl as good as this Southwestern cheesy blend on a crunchy, fresh baked potato chip. This 1989 Kettle Brand classic has the same creamy flavor as Jack cheese but packs a fiery punch with peppercorns and jalapeño pepper that you can actually see and taste!

Fiesta Bowl Beer Pairing: American IPA

One of my all-time favorite flavor pairings in this world is hops and heat. Both the high level of hops and the moderately high levels of carbonation in an IPA have a pleasant cooling effect that help this style of beer stand up to some of the spiciest of spicy foods – especially ones that are greasy!

The only exception to this rule is high-alcohol IPAs in the Double and Imperial range. Alcohol intensifies the burn from hot spices, which can make the pairing extremely uncomfortable. Avoid pairing really spicy foods with high alcohol beers.

Known for producing some of the most potent, bitter and intense hops varietals found anywhere, the Pacific Northwest produces about 20-percent of all the hops on earth, and more than any other region of North America. These Cascadian-grown hops offer a range of flavors and aromas unique to the region. Aromatic, fruity, and floral to resinous, piquant, and bitter, Northwest hops offer a gusto unlike any others grown around the world. For this, folks from British Columbia to Northern California, Oregon to Idaho have developed a palate for the potent and intricate nuances of these varietals.

Oregon Fan Recommendations: Ninkasi Total Domination IPA, Oakshire Watershed IPA, Hop Valley Alphadelic IP, Falling Sky Exposure IPA

Kansas State Fan Recommendations: Free State Brewing Stormchaser IPA, Tallgrass Brewing IPA, Little Apple Brewing Prairie Ale, Blind Tiger Tiger Bite IPA.

Wench’s Fiesta Bowl Pick: Oregon Ducks

My rationality on this pick has nothing to do with my love for Oregon beer – although, I do love it very very much.

Both Oregon and Kansas State had dreams of making it to the National Title Game. And if it wasn’t for each of their performances on November 17th, they both would have made it.

This year, Oregon joins the ranks of Ohio State, USC and Miami, as the fourth program to play in four straight BCS bowl games. Although Oregon is 2-2 in BCS Bowl games, Kansas State lost to Ohio State in its only other BCS appearance (Fiesta Bowl in 2004). Technically, Oregon has also lost to Ohio State in a major BSC Bowl game, but that is neither here nor there.

Both Oregon and Kansas State boast two of the best offenses in the state. This season, Oregon averaged an impressive 50.8 points per game, while Kansas State averaged an even more impressive 40.7 points. Although not as highly ranked as their offenses, both defenses are also pretty evenly matched. Oregon has forced a major-college-high 39 turnovers, while Kansas State forced 31.

My prediction is that the game will be very, very close. But the Oregon Ducks will come out on top!

Stay tuned for my National Championship picks!!!

Cheers!!

Does your favorite local craft beer bar have a seat with your name on it?

Do you sneak your recycling bin out at night for fear your neighbors will think you are an alcoholic?

Do you spend every waking minute drinking, serving, selling, writing about, reading about, talking about, or posting all over the Internet about craft beer?

Does your relationship with beer severely impede your ability to have *normal* social interactions with *normal* people?

If so, you could be the next Beer Drinker of the Year! Once again, Wynkoop Brewing Company is seeking beer resumes from the nation’s most beer-minded men and women for its 2013 Beerdrinker of the Year contest. The 17th annual contest seeks and honors America’s most passionate, knowledgeable beer lovers and ambassadors.

Jay Wilson, 2012 Beerdrinker of the Year / Photo: Iowa Register

So what’s in it for you? Well for starters, the winner gets free beer for life at Wynkoop Brewing Company. Woot! Wynkoop also springs for a $250 bar tab at your favorite local beer bar. Double Woot!

Winners also recieve 2013 Beerdrinker of the Year clothing and have their name engraved on the Beerdrinker of the Year trophy at Wynkoop. Fame, fortune – you can have it all!

To enter the contest, applicants must submit beer resumes that include the entrant’s beer philosophy and details on their passion for beer and their 2012 beer experiences. Resumes should also detail the entrant’s understanding of beer and its history and importance to civilization, along with the entrant’s efforts to educate others to the joys of great beer.

Resumes for the Beerdrinker of the Year are reviewed by the nation’s beer experts, beer journalists and previous Beerdrinker winners. The top three entrants are flown to Wynkoop Brewing Company (at Wynkoop’s expense) for the Beerdrinker of the Year National Finals on February 23, 2013.

Resumes must be sent by email to marty@wynkoop.com, and be received by Wynkoop by no later than December 31, 2012. Each entrant will receive an email confirmation that their resume was received.

Good luck, my friends!

A few more rules:

• Resumes cannot exceed three 8 1⁄2″ x 11″ pages and must be written in 12-point or larger font, in Word format.
• Resumes must include the entrant’s home brewpub/beer bar and T-shirt size.
• Do not enter if you are currently employed in the beer-making trade.

Taste and tweet about holiday beers and food pairings on December 18^th

Tis the season to be jolly, and nothing makes the fa-la-la-la-la’s quite as merry as a frothy glass of holiday ale. In celebration of the season, Whole Foods Market has teamed up again with yours truly to co-host a virtual beer tasting LIVE on Twitter.

On Dec. 18 from 7-8 p.m. CST, join Whole Foods Market (@WholeFoods) and myself (@TheBeerWench) as we chat about favorite holiday beers, cooking with holiday beer recipes, and holiday beer pairings. Simultaneously taste four unique and festive ales while tweeting alongside the folks behind the breweries that make them.

To participate, pick up one or all of the featured holiday beers and tweet your experience using the hashtag #WFMBeer. Every 15 minutes, the focus of the tasting will shift to a different beer. The schedule is as follows.

• 6:00 p.m. PST: New Belgium (@newbelgium) Snow Day
• 6:15 p.m. PST: Bison (@bisonbrew) Gingerbread Ale
• 6:30 p.m. PST: 21^st Amendment (@21stAmendment) Fireside Chat
• 6:45 p.m. PST: Deschutes (@DeschutesBeer) Jubelale

Whether spent cuddling next to the fireplace, entertaining a household of family and friends, or airing your grievances around the Festivus pole, these festive winter ales are sure to bring extra sparkle to your holiday season.

If you can’t find one of the recommended beers above, simply ask your local Whole Foods Market beer specialist to make a holiday beer recommendation and then join the conversation on Twitter. Don’t forget the hashtag #WFMBeer.

And don’t for get to leave one of these beers out for Santa – rumor has it, he loves craft beer too.

Participation is limited to those 21 years or older.