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LOU PAPINEAU

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Hey! An excuse to drink! Raise a toast to American Craft Beer Week

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands
Since 2006, the Brewers Association, the alliance of US beer makers, marketers, distributors, and other biz folks, has held American Craft Beer Week (ACBW) in May (pre-'06 July was American Beer Month).

By: LOU PAPINEAU | May 10, 2012

’Gansett hits the charts! Plus, the Newport Fest and Let’s Pour

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands
Last week, the Brewers Association, the group that keeps track of production stats for US beer makers, released its list of the top 50 brewing companies (the top five: Anheuser-Busch, MillerCoors, Pabst, Yuengling, and Boston Beer Co., aka Sam Adams).

By: LOU PAPINEAU | April 25, 2012

Shelf life: Building the Best beer store

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands
I spend a lot of time in liquor stores (hey, it's in the job description).

By: LOU PAPINEAU | April 04, 2012

Something to honk about: Goose Island delivers the Belgians

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands
Two weeks ago we huzzahed the arrival of Founders.

By: LOU PAPINEAU | March 21, 2012

Reasons to be cheerful: Founders arrives in the Ocean State

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands
The tweet from Madeira Liquors said it all: "So friggin' excited to announce Founders is now available in Rhode Island!"

By: LOU PAPINEAU | March 07, 2012

Beer ’round here: Grey Sail, ’Gansett, and Newport Storm

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands
When the building at 63 Canal Street in Westerly opened in the 1930s, it housed the Westerly Macaroni Manufacturing Co. It also served as a post office.

By: LOU PAPINEAU | February 22, 2012

60 bottles and 1 can: Great samplers, and a gloriously sticky beer

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands
In the gift guide a few columns back, I recommended variety packs as an ideal present, a gateway to craft brew exploration, a great deal, and a way to avoid mix-a-six anxiety.

By: LOU PAPINEAU | February 10, 2012

Gateway to beer heaven

Local pros share their first loves and choose their ‘forever’ brew
The craft beer biz is booming . The evidence is everywhere: on tap, as more bars and restaurants diversify their offerings; at the stores, where shelves are crammed with a dizzying array of product; and on the ledger sheets.

By: LOU PAPINEAU | January 26, 2012

Anticipation – or, new year, new beers

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands
In 2011 we welcomed great brews from Firestone Walker, Sixpoint, Breckenridge, and White Birch to the state.

By: LOU PAPINEAU | January 11, 2012

A bevy of huzzahs!

The year in beer
Reflecting on the Year In Beer, it's the singular moments that stand out.

By: LOU PAPINEAU | December 21, 2011

Give the gift of beer: A suds-soaked shopping list

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands
We're working beer-related gifts in Bottles and Cans land. You like beer, yes? Chances are your friends like beer, yes? So give 'em some beer!

By: LOU PAPINEAU | December 07, 2011

Need mead? Plus, Revival’s here and Lagunitas Sucks

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands
Pete Seeger sang, "We will pray just like the Druids/Drinking strange fermented fluids/Go dancing naked through the woods/They're good enough for me." Those "strange fermented fluids" were mead.

By: LOU PAPINEAU | November 22, 2011

A talk with Greg Koch; plus, the perfect beer for Thanksgiving

Bottles and cans and just clap your hands
Greg Koch and Steve Wagner, the founders of the revered Stone Brewing Co., both cite Anchor Steam as their gateway beer to the wonderful world of craft.

By: LOU PAPINEAU | November 10, 2011

Bottles and Cans and Just Clap Your Hands: ’Gansett’s Battle Roy-ale

Plus, Pearl Jam and the Great Intl. Beer Fest
DEMOCRACY! Narragansett Beer's craft brews — Fest, Porter, Bock, and Summer Ale — are all seasonal delights (especially the Bock; let's skip fall and winter and get right to spring; no, let's not, then we'd miss the Porter, the delicious winter warmer which just arrived in stores).

By: LOU PAPINEAU | October 27, 2011

The taste of autumn

Plus, the sublime quest for ‘good beer’
So I was ready to do the obligatory Oktoberfest column. I had decided to wait till, you know, Oc/ktober, despite the fact that some of these beers have been in stores since August (and then it was 80 degrees this weekend and too hot for lederhosen).

By: LOU PAPINEAU | October 12, 2011