Learn some more about beer, stay extremely classy, and if you’re in Europe, attend a craft beer festival. There are new inventions, new beer inspired products, and even some new brews with a cause in this week’s beer news roundup.

Off-flavors Explained

Ever wonder why your beer tastes like gym socks, baby vomit, or cardboard? Unless you’re drinking a gym sock themed brew, this isn’t normal. Check out this article to find out where each of these not-so-pleasant flavors are coming from.

What country do you drink like?

Turns out, I drink as much as Turkmen and drink like a Bolivian. Therefore, Bolivians must be drinking a lot of beer.

 A cigar named ‘Stout’

What’s classier than relaxing in a red velvet bathrobe with a cigar in one hand and a bold stout in the other? Pretty much nothing. Unless that chair is in a room built with rich mahogany and filled with leather bound books – that’s classier. For all of you trying to stay classy, you’ll probably be a fan of the “Impromptu Stout” by Quesada Cigars. Apparently it pairs perfect with a stout beer which is how it got its name. At around $11.50 a cigar, I’m thinking it should have the beer included.

State of the Art Beer Foamer

Photo Credit: www.dezeen.com

So I guess getting a bunch of foam from improperly pouring my beer is not going to enhance my drinking experience. What it will do is make a giant mess all over my living room table. For the perfect foamy head, beer snobs all over the world will be rushing out to buy this ‘beer foamer’ from Norm Architects to make their drinking experience even more pleasurable. Here’s how it goes: 1. pour your beer properly into an abnormally small glass like the man in the picture 2. pour a little bit more into the beer foamer 3. foam it up 4. pour the foamed beer on top of the glass of beer. This seems like way too much work for me but I’m sure some of you will give it a try. I think I’ll just invite the hot guy from the gif over to prepare all my beverages from now on.

A short history on how IPAs became the golden child of the craft beer world

Hops on hops on hops.

Anti-Gay Marriage Governor in Idaho gets a beer devoted to him: “Little Bitch Otter” by Crooked Fence

After Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter of Idaho put a hold on gay marriages, Crooked Fence brewery decided to create a very bitter brew and name it accordingly: “Little Bitch Otter” The label states, ‘Unfortunately brewed in Idaho’ because the owners of Crooked Fence are upset about this restriction of freedom. So far, the brewery has not received any complaints from the governor’s office but they have received requests for kegs of beer. I think this is quite a fantastic and creative way to protest against the tyranny of Gov. Butch Otter.

Paris Beer Week

If it weren’t for PorchDrinking’s own Kate Robinson, I would’ve thought Parisians were still only drinking wine. According to this article, they drink craft beer too! There’s even a festival devoted to its greatness: Paris Beer Week. The first annual week long drinking event starts May 24th and ends June 1st. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time or money to get to France right now but I can’t wait to see the highlights.