Beware the St. Ides of March

Yes that's right, as a time honored tradition here at the "Janglin" ranch, we once again, for the 37th year in a row, pay our yearly tribute to the disputed Duke of Forties, St. Ides. Now this beverage is one that can not be judged solely on our usual metrics. While we do take into account the eye, nose and mouthfeels, this malty dream is much, much more than that. The faint yellow color, funkified smell and corn malt taste are not what defines this heavenly brew. Oh no, you must look beyond the typical senses. You need to look at your seventh sense, your heart and soul. Because "the Ides" is about emotions and feelings. Everyone has a story about when they first, or even last, had this saintly forty ounces. It takes you back in time without pumping 1.21 gigawatz into a flux capacitor. It conjures so many feelings and stories, like some sort of alcoholic story telling quilt. More so than any other malt-ernative, I'd be willing to wager. For me it takes me back to my meager beginnings. Me and my "homeys" chillin' in the cal-de-sac, cranking our DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince cassette tape, discussing the difficulties of growing up as middle-class white males. I get a little choked up just thinking about it. Now sure it doesn't have the ringing endorsements of say, Colt 45, but for once planet Earth don't let Billy Dee Williams make your decisions for you! You may come up short in other categories St. Ides, but when it comes to Heartfeel, you will always, and I mean always, be a five in my books. I'm sure I speak for the rest of the "Janglers" when I say "the Ides" has a special place in all our hearts, and Bill's uvula.

Bottoms Up
Willie 3:16

The Best Baseball Promotion Pretty Much EVER.

We here at Beerjanglin' are, without doubt, a baseball-loving bunch. Our loyalties are a bit divided, sure (Red Sox Nation, Yankees Country, and whatever the hell superlative Mets fans use to describe themselves as a collective are all represented among our numbers), but when it all comes down to nuts and bolts, we enjoy getting together to drink some good beer and enjoy watching our true national pastime.

So, when we were perusing this site, which lists the coolest promotions for the upcoming season of Major League Baseball, something caught our eye. It was this logo:



That's right. The Oakland A's are hosting a beer festival. On June 21, the technical first day of summer, no less.

According to the site, "The game’s not until 6PM, but come to McAfee Coliseum from 11AM to 1PM and sample beers from 30 breweries and listen to live music. Then go to the parking lot and tailgate. Can you tailgate in Oakland?

Admission is free with a game ticket, but you’ve got to pay $10 for a souvenir acrylic mug and two tastings. When you think about it, those might be the cheapest two beers you’ll ever buy at an MLB stadium."

After minutes of painstaking internet research, we uncovered a partial taplist from last year's event: Deschutes Black Butte Porter, Corona, Dos XX Lager, New Belgium Fat Tire, Skinny Dip, Heineken, Heineken Premium Light, Deschutes Inversion IPA, Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale, Red Hook, Singha Lager, Singha Light Lager, Tecate Light, Trumer Pils, and Widmer Hefeweizen. While there are lame elements to this list (do you really need to waste taps on Singha and Singha Light? On Corona and Heineken?), there are some interesting picks (we are now intrigued by these Deschutes people). It's not perfect - far from, but credit to these folks for trying something different in an attempt to bring beer-nuts out to the ballpark. The odd timing notwithstanding (11 AM to 1 PM before a 6 PM game? Seriously?), this makes us wish we were somewhere near Oakland in June.