DRAFT Magazine

Buzzards Bay Brewing of Wesport, Mass., produced its first barrel of beer in the summer of 1998, and since then, has never turned its back on producing award-winning lagers and pilsners. Help Buzzards Bay celebrate its 10th anniversary by attending the LageRythm Festival: Live music, good food and samples of New England’s finest lagers are one sweet way of celebrating a decade in brewing.

The two-day festival begins August 15, and tickets are $20. For more information, go to www.buzzardsbrew.com.

The Olympics aren’t the only popular international event starting this week; the Great British Beer Festival is now open once again, drawing brewers (and those who love them) from around the world. Over 450 beers will be available for attendees, ranging from ciders and parries to fruit beers and lagers. A number of breweries from all corners of Britain will also be represented with their own bar, where brewers will be selling new beers and hosting competitions all through the festival, now in its 31st year.

For those who are too intimidated by the sheer number of different beers and breweries to start right away, the festival still offers plenty to do. Traditional British pub games, snacks and live music abound at this festival, and who knows? With this many breweries around, you may just find your new favorite beer.

The Great British Beer Festival runs from August 5 through August 9. For more information on the festival, or to book tickets online, go to www.camra.org.uk.

Dogfish Head isn’t just known for its popular craft brewed ales or unusual name; the Delaware microbrewery also has a reputation for environmental responsibility. What better way to combine a strong social conscience with strong brewing skills than by hosting the Dogfish Dash, a beer-centric 5k/10k with all proceeds going to The Nature Conservancy? The 2008 Dash doesn’t happen until October 4, but runners (or walkers) whose feet are itching for a race can register for the event now. There’s better incentive to finish the race quickly than knowing that at the end of the race, Dogfish will present awards, food, raffle giveaways and great beer!

To register, and for more information on Dogfish Head, go to www.dogfish.com.

On August 16, McMenamins Lighthouse Brewpub of Lincoln City, Oregon, is hosting its 13th Annual Brewfest, showcasing over 20 Northwestern breweries, as well as the coolness under fire of the brewers themselves. Before the festival, each brewery is randomly assigned a beer style, and is given only a few weeks to craft the perfect beer in that style for the festival. This “Vallancing Act” (named for former Lighthouse brewer Rob Vallance) puts brewers under a serious time crunch, but working under pressure seems to agree with them. With original beers including Konigsallee Alt, a Northwest take on a German original, the Festival Espresso Stout, which averages about a shot and a half of espresso per pint, and Unmata Scotch Ale, a malty, sweet ale with 8% ABV, these brewers have proven their mettle with the kettle!

For more information on the festival and McMenamins Lighthouse Brewpub, call 541.994.7238.

Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia is an area of the city known for its trendy boutiques, luxury apartments, and upscale hotels. In September, however, the neighborhood may gain a new reputation: home to one of the newest and hippest drinking and dining destinations in the city, Pub & Kitchen.

“We simply want to offer a great neighborhood spot to eat and drink, inexpensive enough that our guests will join us whenever they feel like it,” says Dan Clark, owner of Pub & Kitchen. Clark is a long-established Philadelphia restaurateur, and will host some of the city’s most well respected restaurant talent at Pub & Kitchen, including Jonathan “Johnny Mac” McDonald, who was named “Chef of the Year” by Philadelphia magazine in 2007. In addition to fine food (think fresh oysters, bangers and mash and a lobster BLT), the pub will offer 12 taps pouring locals and imports like Breckenridge and Sly Fox.

For more information on Pub & Kitchen, visit www.thepubandkitchen.com.

Have you ever gazed longingly at the draft dispensers at your local bar, envious beyond measure of the bartenders who can pour unlimited glasses of your favorite brews on command? Then Kegerators.com may have the contest for you! The Web site is asking all Kegerator fanatics a simple question: What would you do for a free Kegerator? Starting August 1, every American of drinking age is invited to make “a funny, shocking, cool, stupid or impressive” home video showing people just how far they would go for a free Kegerator, with one lucky person winning a Kegerator of their very own!

For more information and contest rules, go to www.kegerator.com/kegerator-giveaway.php.

Last year’s Championships of New England Barbecue competition, sponsored and hosted by Harpoon Brewery’s Windsor, Vt., location, hosted more than 6,000 people and crowned a barbecue team that went on to compete at the most prestigious barbecue competition in the world. On July 26 and 27, Harpoon Brewery will try for a repeat. The 8th Annual Harpoon Championships of New England Barbecue will feature more than 40 competitive teams from across the Northeast, and all will arrive with smokers in tow to compete for the coveted title of New England’s Barbecue Champion.

The competition begins on Saturday, July 26 with professional barbecue teams going head-to-head in four categories: chicken, ribs, pork and brisket. The team with the highest score from all four categories will be crowned 2008 Harpoon New England Grand Champion, and will qualify for the “world series of barbecue,” the American Royal in Kansas City, Mo. Amateurs are invited to join the fun the next day, when the Harpoon Summer Sizzler challenges both amateurs and professionals to compete in four different categories: chicken wings, pork chops, sausage and the Chef’s Choice category, where teams vie to create the best dish made with a Harpoon beer-based sauce.

The Avery Brewing Company of Boulder, Colo. is bidding a fond farewell to the current commander in chief in a way that politicos on both ends of the spectrum will enjoy: by launching a new “presidential” Pale Ale. Ale to the Chief, Avery’s newest limited-release brew, is a new twist on the classic American Pale Ale, made of only the purest American ingredients like West Coast Cascade hops and the American Ale yeast strain, producing a bright amber beer with intense flavor.

The beer’s inaugural bash will be held at the Avery Tasting Room on July 15 from 4 to 7 p.m., where Avery Brewing Co. will taping a firkin of Ale to the Chief in the type of bash Americans usually only see every four years. For those who can’t make it, don’t fret; Ale to the Chief will be available on tap and in 22-ounce bombers at bars and bottle shops across the country Don’t forget to set aside a few for election night!

For more information, go to www.averybrewing.com.