UPS and FedEx Favor Wine and Reject Beer

Some stories in the news recently have brought to light the difficulties that brewers have when trying to ship beer. UPS and FedEx appear to welcome wine shipments, but prohibit beer shipments even though the two products are, for all practical purposes, very similar. Why the discrepancy? I don't know, but I can tell you that I have personally experienced difficulty when trying to ship beer to a competition.

I once had to go to two different FedEx locations to ship my entries. The counter person at the first location seemed thoroughly confused and needlessly apprehensive. After consulting with her supervisor, she informed me that I would have to go to the main hub/warehouse to ship my "yeast samples." Long story short - when I got to the hub, the agent gladly accepted my package for shipment. My mind screamed - WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE! - as I smiled and swiped my debit card. Ultimately, it was worth my time and aggravation, for the beer in that box earned two medals when they reached their destination.

For more information on the perils of shipping beer and what you might do to help improve the situation, please check out the linked story.


UPS and FedEx Favor Wine and Reject Beer When It Comes to Businesses Shipping to Consumers

Troopers raid popular bars for unlicensed beers | Philadelphia Daily News | 03/08/2010

Not a Colorado story, but an interesting one none the less. Some of these "unlicensed" beers are widely available brands. Can you say neo-prohibitionist?

Troopers raid popular bars for unlicensed beers | Philadelphia Daily News | 03/08/2010

Beer Quote

Beer drinkers have been duped by mass marketing into the belief that it makes sense to drink only one brand of beer. In truth, brand loyalty in beer makes no more sense than 'vegetable loyalty' in food. Can you imagine it? "No thanks, I'll pass on the mashed potatoes, carrots, bread and roast beef. Me, I'm strictly a broccoli man."
— Stephen Beaumont

Tour of Ska Brewing

Ska Brewing Co. is located in Durango CO. Here is a video tour of their facility.






Part two of the tour:

Beer consumption could strengthen bones

A recent study conducted at UC Davis, linked beer consumption to stronger bones. Apparently, the stronger the beer, the more silica it contains. Silica has bone strengthening qualities. Of course one must be careful when consuming strong beers, because no matter how strong your bones are, if you fall down you might just break something!
You can search the web to find more details about the study. Here is an article to get you started:

Beer and Bone Study a Boon for Microbrews? - DailyFinance

Colorado Breweries Make RateBeer Top 100 List

Congratulations to the following Colorado Breweries who were awarded the designation of top 100 brewers in the world for 2010 by ratebeer.com. Well deserved! Keep brewin' that world class beer!

• #93 Odell Brewing Company
• #80 Left Hand Brewing Company
• #42 Oscar Blues Grill and Brew
• #23 New Belgium Brewing Company
• #20 Avery Brewing Company
• #08 Great Divide Brewing Company

For the complete list, visit the rate beer site here.   

A Limerick

Limericks are a fun, clever, sometimes bawdy form of poetry. They follow a very specific, well defined form. A limerick has five lines. The first, second and fifth lines rhyme with each other, as do the third and fourth. The form looks like this: a-a-b-b-a. The rhythm is defined also, with three stresses on lines 1, 2 & 5 and two stresses on lines 3 & 4. Due to their musicality, limericks are best spoken aloud!

Here is a limerick for today, written by yours truly:

Mother thought gin was just dandy,
But father was fond of his brandy.
Tho' barley and hops,
In my book are tops!
Together they’re better than candy!