Category Archives: Cicerone

by Steven Doyle | June 24, 2011 · 1:30 pm

One Beer Island: Summer

by Jeff Fryman

The crazy, fake bunch of hoodlums that held me captive for a week, forcing me to slam Oskar Blues GUBNA like I was in Cancun for Spring Break are back and they want me to pick a beer for the hot Texas summer.

Being born and reared in Texas, trust me when I tell you, it can get pretty hot. Sometimes, I feel like I am literally cooking in my own sweat; I am the primary ingredient in a veritable Jeff au jus. They don’t call it the panhandle simply because it looks kind of like a pan-handle. Ok, maybe they do, but you get my point: it’s freaking hot. And how do you beat the heat? With a beer that loves hot weather just as much as us, Texans (I am saying that last part with a good ol’ Texas draw).

If stranded on an island for a week with only one beer to drink, this week I would pick: Brasserie Dupont’s Saison Dupont Vieille Provision. Continue reading →

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Filed under beer, Cicerone, Crave, Jeff Fryman, Party!, Uptown

by Steven Doyle | June 14, 2011 · 9:19 am

Eddie Eakin Third Beer Cicerone for Dallas

by Steven Doyle photography by Brad Murano

A cicerone is one that has been tested and proven to be an expert in the field of beer. Consider them to be a beer sommelier. Through their studies they receive this special designation according to the cicerone organization. Dallas now has three such designates with the recent inclusion of Veritas Wine Room employee Eddie Eakin.

We sat down with Eakin recently to ask him a few questions. Continue reading →

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Filed under beer, Cicerone, Crave, henderson, Steven Doyle, Wine

by Steven Doyle | June 8, 2011 · 10:51 am

The Common Table: Beer vs. Wine Dinner Battle

by David Donalson

Imagine the announcer at a big fight, introducing the match-up: “In this corner, coming in shades of red and white, representing the east coast of California, the underdog, Wine!” (Tim Campbell waiving from the corner, smiling knowing he has a great product in unfriendly waters) Then the drum roll begins, with Jeff Fryman walking in under thunderous applause as the announcer begins “And in this corner, the hometown favorite, the one, the only, Beer!”

Okay, so this did not really happen this way but when you came into the Common Table for the Beer vs. Wine dinner, you knew you were in for an all-out fight. Truth be told, both Tim and Jeff were very supportive of each other and as Corey, proprietor of the Common Table, said: “We are here to have fun.” Continue reading →

The Common Table Celebrates One Year

Dirk ist glücklich über diese beiden

by Steven Doyle

The Common Table, one of Crave’s favorite brew pubs in Dallas (OK, we like ’em all) is celebrating its one year anniversary. Traditionally the one year gift is paper, but they plan to host so much more. Read on my friends for another chance to see Jeff Fryman and Corey Ponds in lederhosen:

Continue reading →

One Beer Island

by Jeff Fryman

What is your favorite beer? That is the question I hear most often. At first, it was flattering. The people I talk to trust and respect my opinion so much that they care to know my favorite beer. Awesome. But less than a second before the question sets in, I am blank. It is hard to answer. What is your favorite movie? Well, I really think Ace Ventura is hilarious, but Taxi Driver also holds a small place in my heart, Annie Hall never skips a beat, and on and on it goes.

I cannot honestly answer. However, I am not a pompous jerk so I quickly reword their question as, ‘if I were on a deserted island and could only drink one beer for the rest of my life, what would that beer be?’ I wish you could see the blank look on my face. What an easy question… to ask. I would probably demand to know why I was being held against my will on an island that could only manage to stock one beer (even if it was one that I really liked). Continue reading →

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Filed under beer, Cicerone, Crave, Jeff Fryman