Arts Orbit

Cooking with beer: three intoxicating recipes.

Growing up in Milwaukee, Wis. where Miller Lite and PBR are the city’s prized libations reared me to be the frugal drinker I am today. That’s not to say I don’t know and can’t enjoy a good beer (I definitely can); what I’m saying is I drink these beers without any irony whatsoever. So starts the 2012 Yelp Drinks on Monday, April 9 for the next seven days where the thrifty drinkers can indulge a bit without opening their wallets too wide. Fine drinking establishments like Barbette, Pat’s Tap, and Town Hall Brewery (among many others) are offering a selection of their proudest concoctions for 50 percent of the cost (just mention Yelp Drinks) at any hour of the day (so long as it’s open). It’s a happy week ahead, indeed.

- Morgan Halaska

In the past thirty years, two dominant beer trends have emerged. First, people are drinking less beer. Second, people are drinking more small-batch craft beer. We’re trading quantity for quality. But, Minnesota’s beer distribution system isn’t particularly oriented toward the small brewer. Industrial economies of scale don’t match up with artisanal brewing. With demand for flavorless beer dwindling, public policy shifts are in order.

MONDAY PICK | Grab a Minnesota-made tallboy at Grumpy’s NE

It’s Monday, which means there’s a Minnesota-themed happy hour at Grumpy’s NE: all local beer is half-price from 5:00-9:00 p.m. There’s no better time or place to grab one of the flashy and (relatively) new “Big Friendly” cans of Grain Belt Premium, a beer that will make you feel like summer’s just around the corner no matter how much snow is on the ground.

Enamored though I am of the Big Friendly can (Grain Belt: “Look for the argyle in the aisle!”), a little Googling revealed via Etsy (?!) that it’s not the first Grain Belt tallboy—and may not even be the best-looking. What do you think?

- Jay Gabler

(Source: tcdailyplanet.net)