Beer books by Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione

Now that Dogfish Head beers are in the Grand Strand market, you might want to check out some of the books written by brewery founder, Sam Calagione.

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!

Dogfish Head swims into the Grand Strand market; or, what I did at Mellow Mushroom last night

Today, I went to the Piggly Wiggly at The Market Common and bought a four-pack of Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA.

I also saw Midas Touch, Palo Santo Marron, and Immort Ale, the first two of which I had tried the night before.

That's when I had chatted with Claus Hagelman, indie guru for Dogfish Head Brewery, at Mellow Mushroom about his company's beers and its move into the Myrtle Beach market. (I also talked with some of the Yahnis Co. guys, who will be distributing the Dogfish Head products in our area.)

The samples I tasted Monday evening blew my mind -- new favorites, and new respect for Dogfish Head.

I'll write about Dogfish Head's move into the Myrtle Beach market for the April 3 edition of the Weekly Surge, and I'll be blogging about these new-to-us brews in the upcoming days. Stick around and check back.

The Bruery's Saison de Lente and Bear Republic's Racer 5 IPA, from Bodega in Conway

I had to file my column before I had a chance to review the two beers I mentioned, so I left a note saying I would offer my tasting notes on this blog.

Saison de Lente was light and very bubbly, almost a champaign in its pour and color. It reminded me of many lighter, Belgian-style beers. Pleasant, and worth the $10.99 for the big bottle.

Racer 5 IPA is my new favorite IPA. Imagine New Belgium's Fat Tire retooled for the IPA profile -- Racer 5 has that exquisite and rich malt profile along with the expected, and in this case, measured, hop presence of an IPA.

Two mugs up on both of these! One place to find them is Bodega in Conway. I also saw Racer 5 on tap at Myrtle Beach's Mellow Mushroom.

Tomorrow: Downtown Sumter Microbrew Festival

Get info here and also here.

Pat Monahan of Train performs with Fantasia: Vh1 Upfront 2010

NEW YORK - APRIL 20: Pat Monahan (L) of Train performs with Fantasia during the Vh1 Upfront 2010 at Pier 59 Studios on April 20, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images)
Content © 2010 Getty Images All rights reserved.

Coming later this week in the Surge: What a runaway trailer has to do with Victory Helios Ale

The story will be told in this week's edition of the Weekly Surge, due out this Thursday.

Help Loris High School! Vote for their killer design for Vans shoes!

Check out the image of Loris High School's killer design for Vans shoes, and then click here to vote! It's Vans' Shoe Customization Contest, a national competition for a new design of Vans, and the winning high school receives $10,000 for its art department! Vote Loris!

'Cleverest women are the heaviest drinkers'

I'm not making this up:

Those with degrees are almost twice as likely to drink daily, and they are also more likely to admit to having a drinking problem.

A similar link between educational attainment and alcohol consumption is seen among men, but the correlation is less strong.

The findings come from a comprehensive study carried out at the London School of Economics in which researchers tracked the lives of thousands of 39-year-old women and men, all born in the UK during the same week in 1970.

Read it all here.

Vote now!

Read today's Beerman column in the April 8 edition of the Weekly Surge, and then vote (just to the right of this post) on one of the burning topics of our time:

Should Major League Baseball players be allowed to drink beer in the dugouts?

This week's column in the Surge

This week I'll be writing about Thirsty Thursday at the Myrtle Beach Pelicans home games at BB&T Coastal Field, and I'll give a recap of the 2nd Annual Myrtle Beach Beer Fest.

The next Weekly Surge hits the stands Thursday!

Meanwhile, for my recent columns, click here.

Beer for Easter

A fine Belgian Trappist ale would probably be more appropriate for the Christian holiday, but this weekend I'm into Rising Moon, Blue Moon's spring seasonal, a wheat ale made with Kieffer lime leaves and peel.

Dan Aykroyd promoting Crystal Head Vodka

There pics are too good to pass up, even if they are a couple of weeks old.

NEW YORK - MARCH 18: Actor Dan Aykroyd promotes his Crystal Head Vodka at Park Avenue Liquor Shop on March 18, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Content © 2010 Getty Images All rights reserved.

All done!

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Here's a good Beer Fest crowd

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