This has been making all of the lists, but in case you missed it, tune into the History Channel on Wednesday night for two booze-related shows:

Distilleries (Wednesday, November 16 at 8:00 Central)

From water and grain…to mash…still…vat…barrel and bottle–the distilling of alcoholic spirits is a big business and near-sacred religion. Its acolytes eye the color, swirl the glass, inhale the bouquet, sip, then ponder their ambrosia. What’s your pleasure? Bourbon, Scotch, Rum, Gin, Vodka, or Tequila? We trace the history of distilling from the one-man/one-still tradition to the Voldstead Act of 1920 that devastated American distilleries to the mega-sales and high-volume distillery of today.

Brewing (Wednesday, November 16 at 9:00pm Central)

It’s one of the world’s oldest and most beloved beverages–revered by Pharaohs and brewed by America’s Founding Fathers. Today, brewing the bitter elixir is a multi-billion-dollar global industry. Join us for an invigorating look at brewing’s history from prehistoric times to today’s cutting-edge craft breweries, focusing on its gradually evolving technologies and breakthroughs. We’ll find the earliest known traces of brewing, which sprang up independently in such far-flung places as ancient Sumeria, China, and Finland; examine the surprising importance that beer held in the daily and ceremonial life of ancient Egypt; and at Delaware’s Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, an adventurous anthropologist and a cutting-edge brewer show us the beer they’ve concocted based on 2,700-year-old DNA found in drinking vessels from the funerary of the legendary King Midas.

Minnesota Homebrewing Association: The Boiler

Cellars in Minnetonka will be pouring some German brews (Jubel Double Bock, Burgerbrau Wolnzacher Hell and Neuzeller Klofter-Bru Golden Abbot) for your tasting pleasure on Friday from 4-8.

On Saturday, from 2-5, they’ll be sharing some beer from Belgium, included Val-Dieu Brown and De Dolle Ara Bier and more.

Sounds good to me! On a related note, if you run/manage/own a store and plan on having a beer tasting, let us know. We’ll gladly post any event… so long as it isn’t a Meister Brau tasting! Get in touch via our contact form.

The Minnesota Homebrewers Association is sponsoring this Saturday’s “Teach a Friend to Homebrew Day” at Barley John’s in New Brighton from 10:00am to 3:00pm. It’s all a part of the American Homebrewers Association’s national event. So if you’re interested, head on down to Barley John’s, check out the homebrewing demonstrations and grab a pint and a bite to eat at Barley John’s.

I have a couple of friends who have been patiently waiting for Summit to release their Winter Ale, and I’m happy to inform them (and anyone else who isn’t aware) that it’s available now. Summit has also released this year’s sampler pack featuring their Grand Pilsner, Extra Pale Ale, Winter Ale and IPA. Personally I would have thrown the Porter in in place of the IPA, but that’s just me.

I couldn’t resist the temptation, so I settled and bought some Winterhook a while back. Not a bad beer per se, but the bitterness has a flavor mixed in there that’s not unlike nicotine, and I can’t help but think about that every time I pour myself a glass of that beer.