Battle Mug

It's not too early to start shopping for Christmas gifts for your favorite craft beer drinker. If that beer fan also happens to be a fan of defensive weapons, I've got the perfect suggestion for you, the Battle Mug.

Hero-Gear started the Battle Mug project over 2 years ago as members of the staff sat around and contemplated what they should do with a slug of M4 carry handles they had laying around from a recent Police dept. upgrade to BUIS on their patrol rifles.

Long viewed as either “hardcore gun guys that like to drink” or “hardcore beer guys that like to shoot” it only seemed natural that they figure out a way of combining two great passions into one ass-kicking device.

Thus Battle Mug was born!

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I'll make your shopping easy for you. I'd like mine to have a Sig Sauer logo please. You can find the full description and ordering details at the Hero-Gear website.

Hat tip to and photo courtesy of Oleg Volk.

A Confession, "Shaker Pints"

You can't read more than a few beer blogs before running into a post about "proper glassware". I've written my fair share. Likewise, the expected post denigrating the "lowly" shaker pint. I've done that one too. Well readers, I have a confession to make. I admit I'm reaching for the shaker pint more and more frequently.

First, why all the disdain? Too heavy. Too boring. Wrong shape. The list goes on. And those points are not by any means completely invalid. But are they enough to relegate these glasses to the back of the cabinet?

Generally the objections to the shaker pint revolve around the shape. However, the shape of the glasses make them easy to hold. There's certainly enough room to get even my nose down near the beer. There's plenty of glass to look through to see the beer as well. I happen to like the heft of the glass better than, say, some light snifter. They're inexpensive and stack in a small space. The shape makes them easy to clean. (My understanding wife ensures all beer glasses are washed by hand.)

Many of my favorite memories about enjoying craft beer revolve around pubs and friends. In most pubs, you'll find the ubiquitous shaker pint. Those memories stick. When I'm entertaining friends at home, especially when there's a crowd, I'll bring out the collection of pint glasses to ensure there's enough glasses to go around. Many of those glasses sport logos from brewery or festival visits which bring back enjoyable memories as well. That is what good beer is all about; creating and sharing memories. Perhaps there's just something deep in our memories that just makes the shaker feel "right."

My name is David, and I'm a shaker pint user.

Sierra Nevada Celebration; Marking the Season

I picked up the first Sierra Nevada Celebration of the season this weekend. I always look forward to this perennial favorite, both for it's intense flavors, but for the way it introduces the oncoming "Winter" beer season. The wintery scene of the label reminds us of the upcoming colder weather and the joyous Christmas season. I am also reminded that soon I'll be enjoying some of my favorite seasonal beers. Personally, I don't look forward to the short days and cold nights, but the beers of Winter are among my favorites. Sierra Nevada Celebration heralds their arrival.

For some interesting background on Sierra Nevada's Winter seasonal, see "Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale – Clearing Up Myths" at TheFullPint.com.

Veterans Day

Today, raise a toast to all of the men and women who have served our Country.



Enough said.