Presenting… the Winners of Beerfest Contests!

Joshua won the Guess What’s in My Pint Contest rewarding him with CDs by UUVVWWZ and The Rural Alberta Advantage.

ginacuce and BBBellezza won the ReTweet Contest.

ginacuce won a copy of the Strictly Background soundtrack.

BBBellezza won a copy of The Young Werewolves CD.

and…

our final contest, the Beer Quiz, was won by NJ native Patti Bright with a score of 7 correct answers. Her prize is a Killian’s bottle opener keychain, a bottle of Apollo, and CDs by Paulson and LA Symphony.

Here are the correct answers to the quiz (questions can be found here):

1. Hamm’s

John Cusack routinely drinks decent beer in his films. Nothing high end, but never piss, either… often local or small-ish breweries.

2. Git-R-Done

I’m sure this isn’t very good, but it’s fun nonetheless.

3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Holy Grail Ale

Unfortunately the beer is not nearly as entertaining as the movie, which itself is quite overrated actually.

4. Goldings

Mentioned in the previous contest post… used in most English ales.

5. Fuller’s

The only British brewery allowed call it’s bitter an ESB is Fuller’s. Many American breweries have bitters called ESB’s, but in Britain the name is a trademark

6. 1987

While Yuengling is the oldest active American brewery, the beer that put them on the map is the same age as my little sister.

7. Ballantine

Now Ballantine is a malt liquor consumed by college kids and drunks, however it was once a highly regarded pale ale.

8. Death Penalty

In some texts it is noted, specifically, that offenders were to be drowned in the swill they had created by watering down the valued beverage.

9. Miller Lite

While it cannot be denied that Miller Lite is crap, it can also be noted that the Philadelphia eagles will be the cream of the crop in the NFC in 2009, relegating the Giants to #2 in the East and displacing the Cards as the NFC champs.

10. Charlie

Charlie was a great one off brew by Weyerbacher… so great in fact that they gave it a permanent name and a place on the seasonal brewing list.

All prizes will be shipped by Wednesday. I hope everyone enjoyed TPM Beerfest. The final post for this week long extravaganza is actually being featured on my wife’s blog, an excerpt is below but the full piece can be found here.

As a beer geek, I enjoy craft brews, almost exclusively. One thing that many geeks like me try to do is buy local. Supporting local brewers supports your local economy and provides you with fresher beer. It’s the best way to do it.

Luckily, I reside in Pennsylvania, home of MANY great breweries. On my webpage, thepaintedman.com, I intend to feature a semi-regular column on my favorite PA craft breweries. I figured, I will share my first of such columns with the readership of this fine website, as well.

Today, I the Chubby Hubby, want to highlight my favorite three PA breweries, Weyerbacher (Easton), Stoudt’s (Adamstown), and Yards (Philadelphia).

Let’s start with announcements…

The winner of the “Guess What’s in My Pint Glass” Contest is…

Joshua with the guess, Newcastle Brown Ale

(Who has already claimed two CDs as his prize, UUVVWWZ and RAA)

The winners of the Retweeting Side Contest are…

ginacuce AND BBBellezza

(Who need to email justincharlesharlan@gmail.com to claim their prizes)

And.. rather than post my review of Honey Lager this evening, it is being pushed back for a SECOND beer contest. This one is a quiz… 10 questions about beer. The first person to answer all 10 correctly (that hasn’t won already) wins a bottle opener keychain, a surprise bottle of beer, and 2 surprise CDs. If no one gets all questions right, the person to email me the most correct answers by Saturday at Midnight wins!

Answer these 10 questions and email justincharlesharlan@gmail.com…

1. What beer is John Cusack drinking on he couch in High Fidelity?

2. What is Larry the Cable Guy’s beer called?

3. Which Monty Python movie has a beer based on it? and what is the name of it?

4. Name my favorite hops. Hint, it’s been mentioned recently.

5. What is the only British brewery allowed to use the name ESB, technically?

6. In what year was Yuengling Lager released?

7. What beer did Ernest Hemingway endorse?

8. What was The Code of Hammurabi’s punishment for watering down beer?

9. What is the official “beer” of the Philadelphia Eagles?

10. Now known as Fireside Ale, what was Weyerbacher’s original name for the beer when it was only a one off release?

Now, go… answer away! MAY THE FORCE (of hops and barley) BE WITH YOU!

So, you were all expecting a review of Labatt Honey Lager, but I decided to push that until tomorrow, along with an article about the joys and pains of being a novice homebrewer… tonight, we’ll be playing a game instead.

I am going to present a review of one of my favorites, albeit not REALLY a Summer beer… then, your job will be to guess what beer it is. If anyone can guess the beer, they’ll win their choice of a plethora of CDs in the TPM Vault (which doesn’t close unlike those bastards at Disney) and your choice of a copy of the hit movie Beerfest or my favorite beer book, Pennsylvania Breweries. So, one answer yields two choice gifts!

Appearance:
thepaintedman rates this:

This beer has crystal clear clarity with a beautiful brown color. Not too dark, but certainly not just a typical deep amber… it screams to me, “Justin, this beer is for you!” The beer has little head, but who the hell needs head with such a lovely color?

Aroma:
thepaintedman rates this:

Despite the fact that I know I absolutely LOVE this beer, the aroma does nothing for me, as it has little to no aroma. It does get a few points for not having any undesirable smell to it and does have a hint of something noticeably sweet.

Flavor:
thepaintedman rates this:

The perfect mix of full flavor and drinkability. Caramel, nuttiness, and vanilla all standout as prominent flavors. Big enough to satisfy a malt junkie like me and smooth enough for my Busch drinking buddies to down while watching an Eagles game with me in my basement.

Palate:
thepaintedman rates this:

Nothing to write home about, but better than average. Carbonated in an almost soda like way, but that doesn’t take away from its smooth mouthfeel. It has a wonderfully sweet finish.

Overall Rating:
thepaintedman rates this:

It’s best quality is the one that matters most, flavor flavor flavor! It’s hopped by one of, if not my, favorite hops (Goldings, to be exact). Malt is what matters here, so if you like maltiness like I do… this is a GREAT choice.

On Friday, I announced the second contest in the past few weeks. The hope of these particular contests has been to increase the interactivity on this website.

The winner is Rachel Shaffer, who has her choice of a sixer of Poison Apple Dry Malted Cider or a copy of Frank Lenz’s soundtrack to Strictly Background. Rachel, step on up and claim your prize.

Expect another contest on Friday, only this one will be based on helping promote this site. Thanks for participating folks!

In an effort to increase interactivity on the site, the best comment on any post over the weekend will win their choice of a six-pack of Poison Apple Dry Malted Cider when it’s ready (early July) or a copy of the Strictly Background movie soundtrack by Frank Lenz (review of this great soundtrack will be up next week.

Free CD or free booze… can’t beat that!

Next weekend, I will unveil another contest with a big prize, so comment away this weekend and look forward to something different for next!