Big announcement in my next Beerman column -- a summer beer fest in Myrtle Beach

That's right, folks. You'll hear it first on the Weekly Surge's Beerman page. It's not the Atlanta-brewed beer story, so if you see that, the new column hasn't been posted yet.

Original video! Beerman on what's inside his fridge now!

OK -- here are some killer Beer Pong shots

For Lent, man can live by beer alone

Yes, at least one man is fasting and drinking only beer and water during Lent. Read the CNN article.

London Calling -- Happy New Year!

Hi everyone -- a very Happy New Year from London! I stood for 5 hours on Waterloo Bridge to get these shots, so I hope you enjoy them!

'You can take sex and violence off television, but where ya going to put 'em?'

Beerman in London, Part Three

As in January, so in July: Stella Artois ads everywhere.

The ads in the tube stations declare Stella is made with only four ingredients: malt, hops, maize, and water.

Maize = corn.

Should we thank them for leaving out the rice?

Beerman in London, Part Two

This is cute:

BBC News this morning calls it the "U.S. Oil Spill."

Not the "BP Oil Spill."

The "U.S. Oil Spill."

Beerman in London, Part One

I never see 12-ounce cans on the beer shelves in the grocery stores here.

I haven't studied each can available, but they all appear to be 16-ounce or 24-ounce cans.

Yesterday morning, when we arrived at our place in Lambeth, my in-laws, Kristi and I celebrated by splitting a can of Strongbow cider.

Tell the Weekly Surge your PBR stories!

Hey folks! Use the comments link below to tell us your Pabst Blue Ribbon stories, praises, curses, whatever! Your comments could appear in an upcoming cover story for the Weekly Surge! So scroll down and tell us what you think today!

'Blind Faith' now available!

Hi everyone! That ridiculous-looking blindfolded guy on the cover of the Weekly Surge is -- wait for it -- me.

The cover story, "Blind Faith: Beerman's Local Brew Crew Taste-Tests Budget Beers," will let you know how to get the best possible cheap beers this Labor Day weekend.

Pick up your free copy of the Weekly Surge at area grocery stores and publication racks.

Choosing the right cooler for beach & boating

I saw a Styrofoam cooler at a local grocery store for $5.99. I figured you could pack 18 cans and ice into it - and then pick the beer off the ground when the bottom busts out.

If you're going to buy a cooler, make a little investment. Skip the Styrofoam.

A better idea would be to look for the Thermos collapsible can cooler, which expands from a cloth ring into an insulated cylinder full of brews. It holds 54 cans plus ice, keeps the beer cold for three days, and retails locally for around $20.

Better yet, try the 64-quart Coleman Extreme, a traditional rectangular structure, outfitted with wheels, and enough space inside to pack 85 cans. It can keep the brews cold for five days, and retails locally for around $60.

Just remember - if you're going to invest in a nice cooler, put some decent beer in it.

Best locally brewed beers in the Myrtle Beach area

Hey folks -- my cover story in the Weekly Surge will be available at this link for about three more days. Check out my picks from Myrtle Beach / Pawleys Island microbreweries and brewpubs. If you are a beer drinker who lives in the greater Myrtle Beach area, or if you are planning a visit, this article is a must-read if you want to make the most of your beer-drinking dollar.

Me, vodka cocktail judge, this Monday evening

From my Beerman column in the Weekly Surge:

At 6 p.m. Monday, I will join three other judges at Droopy's, 5201 North Kings Highway, Myrtle Beach, to choose the Myrtle Beach Signature FireFly Cocktail.

FireFly Vodka, based in Wadmalaw Island, is flavored with muscadine wine. The folks at FireFly have held a competition for drink recipes that reflect Myrtle Beach in originality, taste, and presentation. Chef Miles Huff and his culinary class at Trident Technical College in Charleston narrowed the entries down to five final recipes.

Now it's up to me and my fellow judges, FireFly owners Jim Irvin and Scott Newitt, and Mixin Dixon of The Sound 107.1 FM, to choose the best one.

Droopy's will offer free FireFly samples along with special FireFly drinks. Come out and see us.

New South's Blonde Bombshell at T-Bonz

I tried New South's Blonde Bombshell tonight at T-Bonz in Barefoot Landing, North Myrtle Beach.

Blonde Bombshell is crisp, smooth, well-balance, light-to-medium in body, and so drinkable your quick stop at happy-hour will end with the barkeep pushing you out at closing time.

I had dropped in on May 14, just three days after T-Bonz had first tapped this seasonal brew, and I ordered a pint, only to see the suds sputter -- the last keg had just done dry. I was stood up by the Blonde Bombshell.

Tonight, the joke was on me -- I ordered my second, and guess what? The tap started sputtering suds again.

This time, however, there was another keg in the back.

-Colin Burch

This could be the day for more beer choices in S.C.

S.C. Senate amendments added to House Bill 3218 will be debated today on the House floor.
If the debate concludes, a vote could come today.
HB 3218 would allow South Carolina (retailers, wholesalers, bars, etc.) to sell beer with alcohol-by-volume percentages of greater than 5 percent, thus allowing many fine imports, craft beers, and microbrews into the state.
Georgia and North Carolina allow beers with higher percentages of alcohol. I recently made about 40 minutes north of Myrtle Beach to the Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Sunset Beach, N.C. Some of the beauties I found there included:
Dogfish 90 Minute IPA
Three Philosophers
Duvel (in the larger, corked bottle and in a four-pack of bottles)
Chimay: red cap, blue cap, and white cap
What glories await us if our state representatives will just pass the bill.
For updates throughout the day, keep any eye on this blog from Pop the Cap-South Carolina:
http://ptcsc.wordpress.com .
-Colin Burch

Apparently committee vote on beer bill delayed

In the S.C. General Assembly, the House Judiciary Committee was supposed to vote Tuesday on whether to send House Bill 3218 to the floor for a full-House vote. The bill would allow South Carolinians to buy, and retailers and wholesalers to sell, beers that exceed the current limit of 5-percent alcohol by weight.

Apparently, this vote has been delayed. I haven't received a return phone call from the Judiciary chairman's office for the official explanation, but I have two decent pieces of evidence that suggest the vote was delayed.

1. The State House Web page devoted to House Bill 3218 doesn't list any activity taken on the bill yesterday (Tuesday). The page includes a "History of Legislative Action" which tracks each procedure that the bill goes through. The line for today, April 11, reads, "Debate ajourned on Senate amendments until Wednesday, April 18, 2007." So one could guess that, possibly, the Senate has offered some tweaks to House Bill 3218, so the vote is delayed perhaps because the committee members need to give some thought to those tweaks. Read the House Bill 3218 page at http://www.scstatehouse.net/sess117_2007-2008/bills/3218.htm .

2. A group called Pop the Top South Carolina has been monitoring the bill's progress in the House and the Senate, and their blog post from today says essentially the same thing I have above. You can read their post here: http://ptcsc.wordpress.com/2007/04/11/41107/ .

I'll post updates as I get more info.

-Colin Burch

Whiskey for Saint Patrick's Day

I had a $15 shot of Irish whiskey last Monday night, preparing for my Saint Patrick's Day column. Midleton Very Rare was an amazing sipping experience. Kristi, who is a Jack Daniels drinker, liked Midleton better than the other Irish whiskeys we tried that evening.

Speaking of which, we also tried Bushmills, Michael Collins, and Power's.

Read about the Irish whiskey adventure here: http://www.weeklysurge.com/beer.html . A link to previous columns is on the same page.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day,

Colin

Gluten-free beer: Is the end near?

Redbridge is a beer made from sorghum, a type of grass that was used to make syrup in the Old South. Redbridge is for people who are living a "gluten-free lifestyle." So it is made with no wheat or barley.
When I saw this near beer at the package store, I thought the apocalyptic Left Behind series might be onto something.
But when I tasted it... well, click here and find out: http://www.weeklysurge.com/2007Archives/022207%20archives/beer022207.html

-Colin

At local Hooters, beer goggles aren't enough

Two Hooters locations here in Myrtle Beach, and another in North Myrtle Beach, have added full-liquor bars, joining 51 others nationwide. Until now, Hooters served beer, wine, wine coolers, champagne and soft drinks.

Of course, the move to liquor makes perfect sense. Beer-drinking men are so well-behaved around busty girls in short shorts, why not let them get drunk quicker?

I talk about the Hooters' development in this week's Beerman column: http://www.weeklysurge.com/beer.html .