Laughing Buddha is a Seattle microbrewery. I picked up a 22oz. bottle of their Ginger Pale Ale on a whim, my curiosity stirred by the note on the bottle that referred to fresh ginger and Mandarin orange peel. It's a pale golden-orange in color, with almost no head. The scent of ginger is distinct from the start, but as the beer warms the mandarin notes are there too. In style it's a bit like a traditional English pale ale, one made with Munich malt, crystal malt, victory malt, two row barley, ginger, galangal, Mandarin orange peel, and noble hops. The taste is dominated at first by the ginger, but the mandarin is a pleasant accompanying note, with almost no detectable hops at all.

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Pear cider, by which I mean the alcoholic version, not sparkling pear juice, is sometimes called Perry. Traditionally, there's a distinction, at least in Europe, between Perry, and Pear Cider, with Perry defined as 100% pear juice that has been fermented, and pear cider a fermented beverage made with a blend of pear and apple juice. I first had pear cider at a microbrewery in Westwood, California. The pear cider was made there, and wasn't always available, but to this day that pear cider is the one against which I judge all others.

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You know those seasonal beers? The ones released for just a few months, then retired? I've lost my heart to one—Kona Brewing Company's Pipeline Porter.

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While frequenting one of my favorite local haunts to see what new beers were on the menu, my eyes stopped at the newest beer on the list- Black Boss Porter. This Polish porter weighs in at 9.4% alcohol by volume so to say it’s got a bit of a kick for a beer is a serious understatement. The beer poured fairly dark in my glass. In the light there were some very dark brown and gold undertones but all in all black as night.

One of the first things I noticed was that Black Boss Porter comes in a pint-sized bottle. Not only does the alcohol content weight in quite high, but the nice people at the Boss Browar Witnica brewery believe in a larger than average serving size. I’m used to many domestic and Northern European beers coming in 12-ounce services or less. I’m glad the brewers went with the pint size; it’s tough to put the glass down once you experience all that this beer has to offer.

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Having to buy just one brand of beer at one time is always a troubling decision for me.  I love good beer, and buying a couple of six packs of quality beer can become fairly expensive.  The solution?  Mix your own pack!

There are a few fine retailers that offer this convenience.  Most have great selections as well.  If you haven’t checked it out, look on the shelves of Cost Plus World Market.  In their beer aisle they have about 20 different beers at about $1.50 a pop.  Fill your case and you’re on your way to a night of custom flavor sampling.  And here you thought they only sold towels and ottomans from India?

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Using recipes, archaeology, and DNA, scholars and brew-masters have joined forces to re-create a variety of ancient beers. Perhaps the most famous effort in this field, was the one that partially inspired Crichton's Jurassic Park: Professor Emeritus Raul Cano of the California Polytechnic State University managed to extract a yeast sample from a Lebanese weevil trapped in Burmese amber some 45 million years ago.

Next, Cano used the yeast to make beer. Fossil Fuels Brewing makes both a pale ale and German wheat beer, sometimes available on tap at Kelly Bros. Brewing Co. and Stumptown Brewery, both in Northern California.

According to Egyptian mythology, the deity Osiris first taught humans to brew.

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If you have never heard of a popular mixed drink called the Irish Car Bomb then let me fill you in really quickly shall I? Basically it’s called such because it involves two classic Irish beverages mixed together for the perfect culmination of dark beer and creamy, Irish liquor. A classic Irish Car Bomb is made by pouring a pint glass two-thirds of the way full with Guinness Lager, and then adding an additional shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream to the mixture. The drink is then downed as quickly as possible and this maneuver is repeated until a buzz is felt and the drinker can handle no more; think Sake Bomber meets the Ireland and you will have the right idea in mind.

So, with the coming New Year’s Eve upon us, the ideal time to drink an Irish Car Bomb is at midnight – when you can toast the coming New Year with a good friend and be well on your way to insobriety in a matter of a few drinks.

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In the spirit of Awards season, (what, you're not stocking up for the Oscars already?)  I thought I would create our very own little ceremony to acknowledge outstanding on-screen performances from some of the world's favorite beers during 2008.

And the awards go to . . .

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With indulgences such as red wine and chocolate being praised for their health benefits, I thought it was about time to bring to light some positive health properties of beer.

Obviously I need to stress that any health benefits that can come from beer come from moderate drinking, and that heavy consumption of any type of alcohol will damage your health.

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When it comes to the seasonal beers and ales that are around for only but a few short months during the yuletide season, amongst my favorite have always been the domestic Samuel Adams variety. So I felt, it being near to Christmas and all, and there still being plenty of days left in the calendar year to enjoy these seasons’ brews, to share with you my favorite Samuel Adams seasonal ales and beers. Cheers!

White Ale: This famous and seasonal white ale is brewed using ten exotic spices and a secret brewing process in the style of the great beer brewers: the Belgians. It looks white, hence the name, because it is unfiltered wheat ale, which is whitish when brewed.

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