I’m not a big TV junkie but I have a soft spot for cooking shows and I must admit, I really enjoy Top Chef. The show is a fantastic mix of food, drama, and classic product placement. It’s not difficult to see who the affiliates are. Glad, GE and Whole Foods make regular appearances.

Last season took place in NYC and they used some local products on the show, one of them being Brooklyn Beer. As the contestants waited in the "stew room" to confront the judges, they were served bottles of Brooklyn.

This year, the show is set in Los Angeles and they will be featuring beers from one of my personal favorites, Stone Brewing Company. Chris Cochran, the marketing coordinator of Stone explained, "Someone on the crew worked at a bar in New York City called Blind Tiger Ale House was familiar with our beers, and asked us if we could supply them with beer. A total no-brainer."

According to an article in Product Placement News, this is not the first time that Stone Beer has been featured. The craft beer has also made its way onto shows like Weeds and West Wing. If you ask me though, its biggest credit to date is still the movie Old School.

If you haven’t tried anything from Stone yet, you should get on that. Arrogant Bastard Ale seems to be their claim to fame and it’s always delicious. Today, September 9th, they’re releasing the Stone 09.09.09 Vertical Epic Ale series – it’s flavored with tangerine peel and chocolate malt aged in French Oak to enhance the vanilla flavors. I can’t even think about it without drooling.

If you’re already one of Stone Brewing Company’s biggest fans, we’ve got plenty of opportunities for you to give them product placement in your life. My personal favorites are the Stone Brewing Company Imperial Pint Glass and the oh so adorable "My Daddy Is An Arrogant Bastard" Onesie for baby.

Cheers to good television and even better beer.

TAGS [ STONE BREWING COMPANY | ARROGANT BASTARD ALE | STONE BREWING VERTICAL EPIC ALE | 09.09.09 EPIC ALE ]