Beer, American Beer Drinking Club,

camaraderie of beer drinkers across America, then there is no better place to congregate than the American Beer Drinking Club. Welcome All!

July 4th is our 2nd anniversary and we are proud to announce that membership in the club is closing in on 3,800 beer member friends. We would like to welcome our international friends in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, and Scotland to the club.

MillerCoors Donating 8,000 Cases of Beer to Troops

By The Business Journal of Milwaukee

MillerCoors is donating 8,000 cases of beer that will be shipped to U.S. troops in the Middle East in time for the Fourth of July.

The donation is being made as part of program launched by Pizzas 4 Patriots, a nonprofit organization created to support service men and women that is in its second year of delivering food and beverages to the troops overseas.

The organization will send more than 25,000 pizzas and a total of 8,000 cases of Coors Light and Miller Lite to the Middle East through the donations of products and services by corporate sponsors MillerCoors, Pizzeria Uno and DHL.

The beer and pizza will be loaded onto a DHL jet at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on June 19-20 for air transport to the Middle East.

White Ale's Creamy Taste No Match For Hoegaarden

By TODD HAEFER

The Belgian witbier, or white beer, style is one that is highly enjoyable in warmer months with its fruity, spicy character and crisp carbonation. I've always thought that the imported Belgian Hoegaarden was the best of the commonly available brands and thought it was time to see how it compared with America's Samuel Adams White Ale.

Hoegaarden's straw color was noticeably lighter than the pale amber hue of the Sam Adams (SA), both of which were poured in similar Belgian tulip-style glasses. Both had nice aromas of orange peel, coriander and grains, although SA had more of a wheat smell.

The bright white head that formed from the Hoegaarden quickly dissipated to about one-eighth of an inch, while SA poured a thicker, creamier head of about two inches that had staying power. Both had similar crisp carbonation, but SA was the one that kept a steady stream of bubbles making its way from the bottom of the glass, which accounted for its durable head.

The most common spices for witbier are orange peel and coriander, and the lemon and orange flavors from their use in Hoegaarden were more prominent than the SA. Hoegaarden also had a more acidic tartness that complemented the fruit flavors well and left a clean, crisp aftertaste. SA had a creamier body while still maintaining good carbonation.

Samuel Adams is a nice example of a witbier, but I gave Hoegaarden the edge because its tartness seemed better suited for the lemon-orange character of the style.

Refreshing Belgian Brews
by David Kirkpatrick

If you hear the words Belgian brew and think of delicious but heavy ales filled with rich and spicy notes, prepare yourself for a paradigm shift. The Flemish people have embraced more styles of beer than any other country, and that includes a variety of bottles that are just the thing for early summer drinking. Here are three new arrivals that will help you understand just how wonderfully complex the world of Belgian ales can be.

Halve Maan Brugse Zot
This fairly new brew--first released in 2005--comes from a rather old brewery (they opened their "new" facility in 1856). This eminently quaffable ale throws a rich, frothy head. The flavors are lightly sour with a nice dried fruit quality (apricot and apple). This beer finishes on the dry side but with a soft malt sweetness and touches of orange and spice. It comes in a 20-ounce bomber.

Van Eecke Poperings Hommel Ale
This is the original hopped-up Belgian ale, which makes sense. It has been brewed for hundreds of years in Poperinge, the preeminent Belgian hop-growing district. Hommel translates as hops in the local dialect, and this brew is filled with zesty, just bitter flavors, tinged by citrus and orange zest. It pours a hazy amber with floral aromas of rose petal and honeysuckle. On the palate, it is exceptionally well-balanced, with spice notes coming through on the dry, grain-laced finish. It's a marvelously refreshing ale.

Van Steenberge Monk's Cafe Flemish Sour Ale
It you're thinking sour as in tart, like kraut or lemon juice, think again. This unique brew pours a copper-tinged chestnut brown with a decadently frothy head that lingers. It's a traditional blend of young and old beers bottled for Philadelphia's Monk Cafe, and the aromas do sport a sour dough-like quality, but the first impression on the palate is of sweet caramel malt. Then the sour starts to kick in, further sips offering elements of tart cherry and apple along with soft oak and vanilla. Surprisingly refreshing for such a brawny brew, this one will grow on you in an insidiously lovely way.

An enterprising licensee has come up with a novel way of keeping his customers cool throughout the summer. David Wardleworth, the head chef and licensee of

the Traders Arms in Mellor, Lancashire, has produced a new beer flavoured ice-cream using Thwaites Original cask ale.

The Traders Arms staff makes all their own ice-cream and regularly experiment with different flavour combinations. The Thwaites Original ice-cream has proved so popular, that regulars are now asking for batches to take away to enjoy at home.

Big Island-based Kona Brewing Co. has become the 14th biggest craft beer producer in the nation based on sales last year, up from 24th the prior year, according to the Brewers Association, a trade group for small and independent U.S. brewers.

Kona Brewing said a 51 percent increase in the volume of beer sold last year ranked it the fastest-growing company among the 50 largest craft brewers.
Much of Kona Brewing's growth was due to the expanding Mainland distribution, particularly on the East Coast where the company late last year began having the Redhook Ale Brewery in Portsmouth, N.H., brew its beer for regional distribution.

You know the drill: You’re standing at the barbecue, grilling up two big steaks, plus about half a dozen burgers, 20 hot dogs, and some chicken for the guys. Your beer is balanced on the edge of the barbecue’s work surface between two plates and a basting brush, when your tail-wagging dog trots over and knocks that bottle right onto the deck. Face it: You need a beer holster.

If you’re the type for whom “Colt .45” means 40 ounces of malt liquor rather than a six-gun, you’re going to love the Beer Holster. Its tough leather-and-rivets construction will keep your bottle or can snug and safe while you barbecue or raid the hors-d’oeuvres tray, and its drop-leg design keeps it at the ideal quick-draw height. The use of nylon for the thigh strap is good for both adjustability and price, and it’s easy to clean if you get a legful of brewski or ketchup at your next cookout.

In the looks department, the holster is pretty Spartan. In fact, similar offerings by Brew Holster Club and Beer Outlaw have all manner of engraving and color options, as well as more cowboy cool, but there’s something classy and modern about the clean lines and utilitarian nylon strap of this Beer Holster available at Red Envelope.

The iconic Iron City beer, made at Pittsburgh's last commercial brewery, is leaving Lawrenceville for Latrobe in a move the owners say must happen in order for the beer maker to survive.

"We would not be viable in this plant much longer. It's a business decision we had to make," Iron City Brewing Co. President Timothy Hickman said.

Under a five-year deal, City Brewing Co. will begin brewing Iron City products — Iron City, IC Light and Augustiner — at its Latrobe brewery in July. Iron City will brew the last batch of beer in Lawrenceville beginning the week of June 22.

Iron City Brewing, previously Pittsburgh Brewing Co., is the city's last commercial brewer. The Pittsburgh area was home to about 25 breweries in the late 1800s until consolidation, Prohibition and industry trends put brewers out of business. Iron City's corporate headquarters will remain in Lawrenceville.

Brewing volumes are too low and costs too high at Lawrenceville to be profitable, Hickman said. The company must produce and sell about 250,000 barrels of beer a year, far more than the current 170,000 barrels.

What Iron City loses by breaking its historic connection with Pittsburgh, it will gain in production capabilities in Latrobe, which was home to Rolling Rock beer until 2006. The Latrobe brewery can produce 25,000 cases of 12-ounce bottles in an eight-hour shift, compared to just 10,000 cases in Lawrenceville, Hickman said.

Voting is brisk with the following Results:

Natalie Gulbis 20% Paula Creamer 19%

Anna Rawson 18% Tina Miller 8%

Carlie Butler 5% Nikki Garrett 5%

Brittany Lincicome 4% Danielle Montgomery 4%

Grace Park 3% Michele Wie 3%

Danielle Amiee 2% Sophia Sandolo 1%

Christie Kerr 1% Paula Marti 1%

Chris Brady 1% Morgan Pressel 1%

Annkia Sorenstam 1% Jennifer Rosales 1%

2008 WINNER "Sexiest Female Golfer"