Beer - The Magazine... Yeah Another One...

Lately I've been reading DRAFT Magazine but was given this new magazine simply titled Beer. The cover sure doesn't turn you off, that's for sure. So I started reading and it was pretty apparent from the outset- this magazine has a schizophrenic frat boy vibe. 85% of the time they focus on what most of us craft beer enthusiasts would call the dreaded macros. Yep, on the first real page we have blurbs about Miller Chill, Michelob fruit-infused beers, and Bud Chelada. Later on there is a feature on the Pilsner style. Heineken and Labatt Blue make appearances there. And then the main feature is "Great American Beer Shootout: Blue Collar Beer" featuring Miller Genuine Draft, Olympia, Hamm's, Schlitz, Old Milwaukee, Miller High Life, Pabst Blue Ribbon, Coors, and Budweiser (the winner).

In addition there are articles addressing the lemon in the hefe debate, storing beer away from light and heat, 7 ways to open a beer bottle (oh boy!), and strategies for getting free beer at bars. Lets not forget the 7 pages dedicated to Beer Pong and what toilet paper is the best.

However there is that 15% that makes you think the magazine does know a good bit about its craft beer. The short review section in the back features Firestone Double Barrel, Sierra Nevada Porter, Deschutes Black Butte and Mirror Pond, Stone Pale Ale and Ruination, and Flying Dog Snake Dog IPA and Road Dog Scottish Ale. There is a nice article on the types of beer glassware and an introduction to homebrewing.

This magazine wasn't for me, and chances are the same for anyone who actually reads this blog, but I could understand the demographic they would be targeting.