Movie, T.V, and All Things Beer

Hey guys! Today when I got out of my last class I sat down at my computer itching to create another post for all of my fellow beer lovers, but for some reason just couldn't think of any ideas, writer's block maybe? Anyway, I decided I needed a break and headed upstairs into my living room where I found all of my roommates getting settled on our couches to watch a movie. So I grabbed a bag of chips and a blanket, found a spot on the couch next to Krista, and waited for the movie my roommates had already chosen to start. Then to my surprise, and delight, the movie that began was Beerfest, one of my all time favorites. The lightbulb in my head switched on and I knew what my next post was going to be about; at least one movie and t.v show that no beer lover should go without seeing!

Now for those of you who have not yet seen the movie Beerfest, do it now! This movie is not only one of my favorites because its all about beer, but because its absolutely hilarious. This outrageously funny beer-themed movie was written by and starred the comedy team, Broken Lizard, the same group of gifted comedians that created the cult classic, Super Troopers. 

The story begins with a game of quarters, a classic beer drinking game, played by two brothers Jan and Todd Wolfhouse. A death in the family leads the two brothers on a trip to Germany where they stumble upon a top-secret, international beer drinking competition, called Beerfest, where they are humiliated by their over the top and hilarious, long lost German cousins who claim that a recipe to the greatest beer ever brewed was stolen and taken to America by their grandfather.

The brothers leave Germany and swear get revenge for their humiliation and honor their family by creating an all-star American team to compete against the undefeated Germans at the next Beerfest. Jan and Todd recruit old college drinking buddies; "Landfill," an overweight competitive eater who out-chug just about anyone, "Fink," a Jewish scientist who studied everything there is to know about beer in his college days, and "Badrinath," a champion beer gamer who had fallen on some bad times and has become a male prostitute. Over the next year the team uses unconventional, outrageous, and laugh-out loud methods in training to become the best beer drinkers in the world. One of my favorite scenes is when the team, in an effort to see how their beer drinking and gaming skills compare to other experienced beer drinkers and gamers, attend a party at a local university and realize that their skills aren't what they used to be when college students out-game and out-drink them. The rest of the movie shows the team's hilarious progression from middle-aged men who were past their college glory days into world-class beer drinkers ready to take on the undefeated Germans. 

 Some of you might have heard one of your friends talk about a "Drunken Recall," or heard the chant "We're not that drunk" at a party, or know someone who owns a "Das Boot," all of which are beer-related phases that came out of this movie and are now engrained in college culture across the country. 

Now as for t.v I would defiantly recommend, if you truly love beer, to watch Brewmasters on the Discovery channel.

 Brewmasters only started two or three weeks ago, but my excitement and anticipation for this show to premiere started at the beginning of this semester when I first saw the previews. And I can say with all honesty this show not only lived up to my expectations, but surpassed them. Its amazing, and no beer lover should go without seeing it. Unlike my favorite beer-themed movie, this t.v show isn't a comedy or even scripted at all. The show follows celebrated brewer, Sam Calagione, as he travels across America discovering new and interesting ingredients and methods to brew the best beers possible. I have only seen two episodes so far, but I have already learned more then I ever thought I could know about beer!

So guys grab a glass of your favorite beer, sit down with some friends, and enjoy the beer-themed entertainment. And as always let me know what you guys think!

Feeling Bored, Need A Change? Check Out Some Local Bars!

 Hey everyone! Last night me and couple of my friends went out to the bar to have a few drinks, and while I was there I realized that I have yet to do a post about any local bars in Rhode Island. I know, and I think most of you would agree, that while drinking a few beers with your friends at home or going to a keg party is always a good time it can defiantly get old.

 Last night myself along with my friends Danielle, Nicole, Cassie, and Nate found ourselves extremely bored and in need of a change of scenery so we decided to head to the local bar, Charlie O's for Sangria Sunday. Every Sunday night Charli O's offers the deal of one pitcher of Sangria for just $5. Now even if you have never experienced Sangria Sunday I'm sure you can imagine the crowd of college students this deal attracts. In fact, I have been to Sangria Sunday more times than I can remember and I can say in all truthfulness that every single time I find myself running into friends, classmates, and even people from back home in New Jersey. 

Now you guys might be a little confused by this post about Sangria Sunday, I mean this is a blog about beer right? Well, not to worry! For those of you who are like me and would rather stick to beer, Charlie O's also offers one pitcher of Bud Light for just $5.

While I was at Charlie O's last night playing pool with my friends, everyone with their own $5 pitcher, I got to thinking about my experiences at all of the bars around URI and I decided that it would be an awesome idea to give you guys a sort of guideline for a few of the local bars, what beer deals they offer, and of course tell you guys some of my personal opinions about each of these bars. Although Sangria Sunday at Charlie O's is great for those nights when your looking to end the weekend with a bang, if your like me and more often than not your just looking for a place to relax, drink a few beers, and have good conversation with friends I defiantly recommend you check out Rhody Joe's.

Rhody Joe's is probably my favorite bar in this area. Here they offer a low key atmosphere, amazing chicken wings, and $2 tall glasses of Keystone. If any of you guys are thinking about checking out this bar I urge you to go on Monday night, better known as wing night. I can honestly say that some of the best memories I have made with my friends came from drinking tall glasses of Keystone, eating delicious and cheap chicken wings, and playing my all time favorite bar game, photo hunt. For those of you who don't know what photo hunt is, it can be found on the computer screens on the bar at Rhody Joe's. All you have to do is insert a dollar and choose from dozens of fun games that can have multiple players. By the way, my friends Gary, Nate, Dan, Alie, and myself currently hold the high score for photo hunt, so you can only imagine how much time we spend playing our favorite bar game. 

The last bar I a going to tell you guys about is Bobby G's. Now the only word I can think of to describe this bar is... interesting. Unlike Charlie O's and Rhody Joe's, both very popular among college students, Bobby G's is not a place you would describe as "nice." Here you can find a more run-down environment with an always entertaining crowd consisting of various local people, some of which can only be described as "characters." But don't let that stop you from going here! In fact, Bobby G's is one of my favorite bars because of it's unique surroundings and population, and of course the extremely cheap beer. If you find yourself with only a few bucks in your pocket, Bobby g's is the place to go for a draft beer costing only $1! 

Whether your looking to have a blast and socialize while listening to loud music, or just in need of a place to wind down from the day while drinking a few beers with close friends all of these bars offer great times and cheap beer! 

  Charlie O's 

2 Sand Hill Cove Rd.

Narragansett, RI 02882     

   Rhody Joe's

515 Kingstown Rd.

Wakefeild- Peacedale, RI 02879

Bobby G's

703 Kingstown Rd.

S. Kingstown, RI 02879                                   

It Power Hour Time!

Hey everyone! Today I woke up after a night of some beer drinking with my roommates and decided I just had to write a post about Power Hour. For those of you who don't know what power hour is I would definitely suggest reading this post because power hour is a great way for beer lovers to start the night off right.

 It has become some what a tradition to hear the phrase "it's power hour time!!" being yelled throughout the halls of my house by my roommate Gary on weekend nights from anywhere between 8:00 p.m and 10:00 p.m. And sure enough once this phrase has been said all of my roommates grab a beer and a shot glass, gather in the living room, and begin what is sure to be a great night.

I know all of you are avid beer lovers, and power hour is a beer drinkers bread and butter, mainly because it can only be played with beer and its a whole lot of fun!

Power Hour is not so much of a game as it is an activity where you drink one shot of beer every minute for and hour, and for obvious reasons can't (or should defiantly not) be done with any alcohol other than beer.

 Heres what happens:

Every participant must have beer in hand and one shot glass ( I suggest you keep a good amount of beer close by because you tend to go through a lot during power hour). Then everyone, as a group, decides which "power hour mix" is going to be used. There are plenty of awesome power hour mixes that can be found online. There are several websites dedicated to creating mixes specifically for power hours, some of which I have listed at the bottom of this post. But you can also just go to youtube.com and search for various mixes depending on what type of music you and your friends like. My personal favorite mix, and one i think you should all try, is the "2000's Decade Power Hour Mix" which is a collaboration of 60 of the most popular songs from this decade, and can be found on youtube. After the mix is chosen all you have to do is take a shot of beer every time the song changes (every minute). Easy Right??

The best part of power hour is the always noticeable progression from completely sober at the first song to not so sober by the last song. As each song comes and goes the atmosphere gets lighter, the laughter gets louder, and the beer supply diminishes. 

I cant tell you guys how many great memories I have of myself and my roommates, my closets friends, coming together in our living room, after hearing Gary's summoning of "It's power hour time!", all of us with beers in hand talking, laughing, and making fun of one another while listening to the songs change and enjoying our favorite activity, power hour. I will never forget the jokes that were made, the adventures that were had, and memories that were spawned all from various power hours with the friends I love. 


Here are some links to always fun power hour mixes. Try them out and let me know what you think!

http://www.mixpod.com/playlist/69021224
http://drinkingpartner.com/power-hours/drinking-songs-power-hour.php


Really guys if you love beer, gather some friends and give power hour a try... I guarantee it will be a great time! Let me know how it goes!! 

Boys Vs. Girls: Punch Or Beer

Hey guys! Ok So I don't know if anyone else has noticed this, but doesn't it always seem that at a parties where beer is not the only option more often than not the majority of girls present will opt for hard liquor drinks and the boys will mainly stick to beer? Well I have! 

I have been a student here at the University of Rhode Island for the past three years and I can't help but wonder why it is that a keg will be surrounded by males and females walk around with cups filled with punch, which is generally a mix of some type of hard liquor and juice. Why is there such a clear and constant divide? The reason I decided to dedicate a post to this question is really because... I just don't get it! 

I mean punch generally produces twice the hangover beer does, greatly increases the chances of the consumer to reach a level of intoxication that they didn't originally want to achieve, and punch simply just doesn't taste nearly as great as beer does. Taking all of this into account I found myself asking why is it constantly proven time and time again that girls, rather than boys, walk right by a keg and reach for the punch? 

 I decided that I wanted to conduct a little field research in an effort to try to find an answer to this question that has baffled me for years. 

 I was invited to a party last night, and figured this would be a perfect opportunity to do some investigating on the matter of beer vs. punch between males and females. 

Last night I walked into the party with the intention of observing and questioning the people who were there, and of course to have a good time! As people, both male and female began to show up my predictions proved right. I watched as each person grabbed a solo cup, and slowly but surly the room was divided with the girls forming a line in front of the punch container on one side and the boys eagerly sticking our their cups to the person pumping the keg on the other.

 Of course there were some exceptions. For example, I headed straight for the keg with no intention of ever filling my cup with punch. As the party continued and cups were emptied and re-filled I began my questioning phase of this mini investigation. 

I simply asked the girls why they were drinking punch rather than beer, and the boys why they chose beer over the punch? These were some of my findings:

Girls Responses:

" Punch gets me drunk quicker."

"I don't like beer, don't like the taste."

"Beer has way more calories."

"I only drink beer if I'm playing a drinking game."

Boys Responses:

"I can drink more and for longer by drinking beer."

"That punch is nasty."

"I'm drinking beer and punch!" 

"I get a better drunk off beer, I don't get as out of control or angry."

"We really only made the punch for the girls."

"I don't like punch, if I'm going to drink liquor its going to be a "real" drink at a bar."

Overall I really didn't find a solid and conclusive answer to this question except for the fact that punch seems to be better suited for girls, and beer is more often than not just the preference of most boys. Although I have shed some light on the mystery of why the majority of girls go for the punch and boys tend to consume more of the keg, I want to hear your thoughts and opinions on this constant  theme of college parties... Let me know!! 

10 Fun Facts Worth Knowing About Beer

Hey Guys! Here are some fun facts all about beer that I have come across while writing posts for this blog: 

1) The ancient babylonians were the first to brew this legendary beverage

In fact, the ancient babylonians considered the brewing of beer such an important and vital task, that if a batch was brewed bellow their high standards, the brewer was punished to death by being drowned in the unacceptable batch. 

2) How you get drunk

After consuming beer, the alcohol is absorbed in your stomach and eventually carried through your entire bloodstream. This is why drinking on an empty stomach speeds up the process of getting drunk

3) Beer is mostly composed of the chemicals H2O, as you all know water

This doesn't sound like a particularly interesting fact, but did you know that in the middle ages clean water was very difficult to find, so many people chose to drink beer instead because the alcohol content made it safer to consume than water?? " Not all chemicals are bad! If we didn't have the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen we would not have water, and therefor no beer! Then where would we be? Very bored I guess."- A quote from my friend and frequent drinking parter, Gary.  

4) "Cenocillicaphobia"

This little known word actually means "the fear of an empty glass of beer." The term "double-fisting" resulted as a solution for those who posses this fear. Double-fisting, a term popularly used among college students, means to hold two beers at all times to ensure that when you finish one beer, you are able to immediately start drinking another beer.

5)  If you collect beer bottles your are a "labeorphilist."

Collecting various beer bottles is a common practice among college students. My friend Matt has been collecting since his freshman year and has accumulated and impressive collection. 

6)The first brewery in America was built in Hoboken, NJ in 1642.

Being from new Jersey myself, I find this fact extremely interesting, especially because the first micro-brew made in America at this brewery in New Jersey was my all time favorite beer, Yuengling!

7) Pilgrims on the Mayflower stopped at Plymouth Rock, rather than continuing to Virginia because they ran out of beer

My roommate Krista told me this random beer fact while in the middle of a power hour session last weekend, and we both agreed that we would have done the exact same thing if we had run out of beer. 

8) Store your beer upright

By storing our beer upright, it minimizes oxidation and contamination from the cap. Im sure all of my readers have experienced a beer or two exploding after opening one that has been stored on its side.

9) Beer is a great source of B- complex vitamins!

Who ever said beer was an unhealthy drink?! We all know that college students don't have the best dietary habits, and although I don't recommend an over consumption of this beverage, if you drink a few beers here and there you don't have to worry about your B vitamin intake!

10)A beer lover or enthusiast is called a "cerevisaphile"

I consider this fact, above all I have come across, to be the most appropriate for this blog, for obvious reasons. 

"What's Your Favorite Way To Drink Beer?"

Hey beer lovers! So its Saturday morning and I hope everyone had a good start to their weekend last night, I know I sure did! My roommates and I, along with a few of our close friends decided to have a night in at our house and drink a few beers, which was much needed after the stressful and seemingly endless week I had. 

We all hung out, played some beer pong, and talked about life. And of course since we were drinking beer, my blog came up in several conversations. One discussion, which turned into some what of a debate, was started by my good friend Dan. Dan loves the fact that I dedicated my enthusiast blog to beer, and thinks it is very fitting for me. While we were all sitting around our coffee table Dan asked the group "what's your favorite way to consume beer?" it may sound like an odd question, but it sparked an interesting discussion and material for this post. 

Some people might be confused by this question and say "What? You drink beer out of the can/bottle, just like any other beverage." But my friends and I have witnessed and tested quite a few fun and seemingly out of the ordinary methods to drink beer.
Funneling

Keg Stand

Gargoyle

Shot Gun

Power Hour

Edward 40 hands

Although each of these methods are both fun and great ways to preserve your beer, my personal favorite is, and always has been, funneling. Actually, its kind of funny, we have a house funnel and myself and my roommates tend to take it with us everywhere we go. In fact, all of our friends expect us to have our funnel every time they see us out. Funneling has become some what of an art to me. As weird as that might sound, it does take quite a bit of practice to prefect the act of funneling.

My roommates Gary and Paula strongly disagreed, and made the argument to why power hour is the best way to drink beer while having a good time, while my friend Nate said "NO WAY! edward 40 hand's is by far the coolest method. 

During the discussion, Dan stood up and stated that we were all wrong, and proceeded to demonstrate to the room why shot-gunning a beer is always the number one method of drinking. 

Myself, Krista, D-ham, and Jess held firm to our opinion of funneling as the supreme way to go about drinking beer, and as the discussion ended we all agreed that even though we all have different preferences, each of the previously mentioned ways to drink beer are all effective and a lot of fun!

No matter what way the beer goes down... there is never a wrong way to drink this beloved beverage!!!

Rhode Island Beer Festival: Save The Date!

Reminder!!

The 14th annual International Beer Festival
is right around the corner!

This is America's Largest International Beer Festival...And I know all the avid beer drinkers and beer enthusiasts will NOT want to miss this exciting, fun, and educating event. This event is a great place to meet fellow beer lovers, listen to live music, learn about the history of American and international beer and breweries, enjoy some free food, and of course have a great time with friends..... Oh and did I mention the unlimited sampling?! Yup, thats right, no need to bring your own beer. In fact, anyone who attends this event will be in heaven while sampling some the most acclaimed beers from breweries all around!

Tickets are $37 for a day of unlimited beer, food, music, and fun!

Date: Saturday November 13th, 2010

Location: Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence

The event begins at 1pm, and ends at 10pm

You MUST be 21 years of age or older to attend this event! A diver's license or other form of government issued i.d must be presented upon entering the convention center. 

And remember Be Safe! Plan to have a designated driver to and from the event, Providence Police will be on scene, so plan ahead of time and drink responsibly! 

And as always, have a good time!

I encourage all of my readers, those that are of age, to attend this event and share their experience, stories, and favorite beer tasting moments from the day! I cant wait to hear all of your thoughts!

Directions to the Rhode Island Convention Center(from URI) : 

http://www.providencenightlife.net/business/events/business_info.php?business_id=65