Beers

Rodenbach and Rodenbach Grand Cru – which returned to the U.S. market earlier this year – are now available in New York and North Carolina and are on the way to Ohio.

Winking Lizard Taverns in Ohio will be the first in the United States to serve Redbach. Redbach is based on Rodenbach, with unfermented cherry juice blended in.

Rodenbach brewmaster Rudi Ghequire and Kris Walgraeve of Palm Brewery helped kick off Rodenbach’s entry into New York City earlier this month. Along with Duvel USA, they sponsored and participated in parties at The Blind Tiger, Grammercy Tavern, DBA, Le Frit Kot, the Hop Devil, the Waterfront Ale House, and BXL Café.

Bobby Valentine is so popular in Japan that Sapporo has named a beer after him.

The pilgrims and beer, beer with turkey, pumpkin beers and other holiday delights. Greg Kitsock offers plenty of beer suggestions in this once-a-month column in the Washington Post.

Delaware online offers a timely guide to winter beers from local breweries.

As Ric Hoffman, who runs the brewery at Stewart’s Brewing Company in Bear puts it:

“You want a darker beer for the cold weather. One that warms you and puts meat on your bones.

A nice touch to the article is the addition of suggested dishes to have with the beers. For instance, chocolate cake or pecan pie with Stewart’s barleywine or southwestern cuisine with Iron Hill American barleywine. How about spicy foods like barbeque, Indian and Mexican with Dogfish Head Pangea (which features ingredients from every continent)?

Rocky Mountain News chooses Dale’s Pale Ale as the top Colorado-brewed beer. The explanation:

Why it’s tops: The folks at Oskar Blues in Lyons have turned the craft-brewing world on its head by packing Dale’s in cans. This rich-tasting brew loaded with European malt and American hops has become popular because it tastes great, travels well, and it’s fresher tasting because it’s protected from light.

New Belgium’s Fat Tire captured the People’s Choice award.