DRAFT Magazine

We’ve scoured the country from Alaska to Hawaii and Portland, Maine to Portland, Ore., to find the bars where you’re guaranteed to sip unmatched suds. Romantic or boisterous, scuzzy or dressed to the nines, the flavor of the places where fine brew is served runs the gamut. Here, the 150 places where craft is king and fun comes in all fashions.

Today: Connecticut.

Eli Cannon’s Tap Room
Middletown, Connecticut
This small, intensely decorated establishment might not boast the most adventurous draft list in the world, but they aren’t afraid to stock Brooklyn Monster Barleywine or Yellow Snow Ale (taps rotate daily). Even the harshest craft critic will find something to enjoy. Plus, you can sit on barber chairs, theater seats and leather couches — much more fun than lame old bar stools.
695 Main St.

Hop heads of the world, rejoice: A new brew’s on the shelves to satiate your appetite for bitterness. Released in January — available through April — Deschutes Brewery’s Red Chair NWPA (Northwest Pale Ale) is a citrusy, sweet-and-bitter joy worth celebrating.

Up from Red Chair’s beautifully clear, deep-orange body floats floral notes, a touch grassy, but clean throughout. Spend some time letting this beer air, and a distant piney, resinous hop quality eventually emerges.

On the front of the tongue, this brew’s all floral, citrusy hops. It perks the taste buds before a swell of biscuit and sweet caramel flavors pool toward the middle; mouthwatering, yet balanced by bitterness. A final wave of grassy hops takes this beer into the finish. As one would expect with a well-hopped 60-IBU brew, the finish is bitter dry in the throat, however a lingering sweetness prevails on the tongue. Breath deep, and phantom orange notes rejoin the caramel sweetness for a tasty, yet not overpowering aftertaste in the mouth.

Forget flying cars. What we really want is a robot that wanders around parties serving beers to hungry guests. Luckily, a crew of scientists at Middlesex University is solving this problem.

The group brought their invention to the Kinetica Art Fair in London. How’s this baby work? Well, it follows a pre-programmed path and “when a party guest hold his or her hands above its sonar-sensing head and hands the kegbot a cup, the machine serves up a beer and continues on its merry way.”

That sounds just dandy, now doesn’t it? Want more? Engadget has the video.

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On a day when we learned that the top four breweries in the world account for more than 50 percent of the market share comes the news that Japanese beermakers Kirin Holdings and Suntory SUNTH.UL are ending talks for a proposed merger.

The potential deal fell through because executives couldn’t agree upon how the resulting company — which would have rivaled Pepsi Co. in size — would be managed.

“We determined we would not be able to gain understanding from stakeholders for management independence and transparency of the merged company as a listed entity,” Kirin president Kazuyasu Kato said.

Sure.

As a result, Kirin will ramp up its overseas expansion plans.

Inspired by this weekend’s Barleywine Festival at Toronado as part of San Francisco Beer Week, we want to know what’s your favorite barleywine? Sounds simple, but this requires more thought than you’d think. Good luck.

As always, let us know in the comments, via email, or on Twitter. We’ll post the best answer on Friday.

Okay, so beer may not actually help prevent prostate cancer but according to a new study, there’s reason to believe it can limit the risk of Osteoporosis.

A group of researchers from Department of Food Science & Technology at the University of California, Davis found that “beer is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density.” Brews with high levels of malted barley and hops have the most silicon in them, so bring on the triple-hopped pints.

You can find the entire article in the February issue of Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.

We’ve scoured the country from Alaska to Hawaii and Portland, Maine to Portland, Ore., to find the bars where you’re guaranteed to sip unmatched suds. Romantic or boisterous, scuzzy or dressed to the nines, the flavor of the places where fine brew is served runs the gamut. Here, the 150 places where craft is king and fun comes in all fashions.

Today: Colorado.

Falling Rock Tap House
Denver, Colorado
Few brewers haven’t stepped inside this Denver icon. As the unofficial post-Great American Beer Festival hangout (when it’s stiflingly packed with encyclopedic beer brains), this chill joint is poised to sate savvy palates. Sixty taps and 80 bottles pour out some of the finest from the American West to Belgium, and the cask selection tops none.
1919 Blake St.

Lady Falconburgh’s
Durango, Colorado
Boasting the largest beer selection in the Four Corners region, Lady Falconburgh’s continues to push excellent craft beer in the state that practically invented it (on this side of the world, anyway). It boasts 38 rotating taps that serve local craft like Left Hand Warrior and worldly favorites like Delirium Tremens. Come for a burger and $2 pint night, and enjoy an authentic Colorado beer bar experience.
640 Main Ave.