Michael J. Casey's Blog

Though the carols, decorations, and gift-giving might appear standard on the surface, no holiday feast on the calendar is as varied as what makes it to the Christmas table. Every family has its own tradition, and the bigger the family gets, the more traditions and the more meals you’re likely to enjoy. At this point … Continue reading This Week in Drink — Christmas Beers

Remember beer events? Weren’t they fun? Back in the before-times, it seemed like there was one every day, sometimes four on the same evening. Granted, we’ve had a few to enjoy these past many months since the Colorado Brewers Guild pulled the plug on Collaboration Fest back in March 2020, but for the most part, … Continue reading This Week in Drink — Brewvents

We talk about Hog as the beer that saved the brewery,” Adam Avery says. “It really was because it got us in with out-of-state distribution.” As the name might indicate, Avery is the founder of his namesake brewery, Avery Brewing Company, and the beer he’s talking about is Hog Heaven—one of Avery’s iconic ales and arguably … Continue reading This week in Drink — Hog Heaven Imperial Red IPA

I thought that Mortal Kombucha was trying to be a hard kombucha, probably from day one,” Becca Schepps tells Boulder Weekly. You know Schepps: she’s the woman you read about two weeks ago, the one who started the Boulder-based kombucha company slightly out of spite and guided it to a successful line of non-alcoholic beverages adorning grocery store shelves … Continue reading This Week in Drink — Becca Schepps on Mortal XXX

When it comes to pairing food and beer, no style is more versatile than saison. Noted for its creamy malt, clean hops, and spicy yeast, saison cannot be beat. Just about every brewery tries their hand at this classic—Cellar West Artisan Ales and Funkwerks produce two of best in the state—but the tradition of Thanksgiving … Continue reading More Thanksgiving Beers

Many will bring wine. Some may even bring a nice bottle of single malt. But you, faithful reader, plan to bring beer to Thanksgiving. And not just any beer, but the king of food beers: Saison. Technically speaking, saison isn’t a style. At least not in the way we think of pilsner or pale ale. … Continue reading Know Your Brew: Saison

Thanksgiving isn’t just one of the biggest food holidays on the calendar; it’s also one of the biggest drinking holidays, the time when hosts bust out special bottles of single malt and long-held wines. And though many will crack a cold one while watching one of the three football games on turkey day, beer usually … Continue reading This week in Drink — What to Drink With What You Eat: The Thanksgiving Edition

It was Type 1 diabetes that turned Becca Schepps on to kombucha. And it was a joke that turned Schepps on to making kombucha. “I just had this moment where I was just like: I’m going to make aggressive kombucha,” Schepps says. “I’m going to make Monster, you know, Red Bull, Rockstar—that version of kombucha.” … Continue reading This Week in Drink — Becca Schepps on Mortal Kombucha

Thanks to a bureaucratic oversight during the repeal of Prohibition, homebrewing remained illegal in the U.S. until 1978. Many practiced and taught the hobby—notably Boulder County resident Charlie Papazian—despite the illegalities, but all that changed on Oct. 14, 1978, thanks to President Jimmy Carter’s signature on H.R. 1337. From a federal standpoint, homebrewing was once … Continue reading This Week in Drink — Learn to Homebrew Day

Life might not be all Skittles and beer, but tonight it is. Chances are, you’ve got a couple of piles of Halloween candy lying around the house, and Boulder County has plenty of beers to go with. What should you pair with your bag of Skittles? Those Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and M&Ms? The Candy … Continue reading This Week In Drink — Skittles and Beer