KegWorks Blog

If you are looking for something to do while in New York this coming weekend, you must check out the Ellicottville Beer and Wine Fest at the Holiday Valley ski resort. Here is a link for this year’s event.

I have attended the Beer and Wine Fest for the last 3 years and it is a great time. It typically takes place outside of the chalet at Holiday Valley and it features many different locally brewed beers and some wines as well.

Brewers include:

See you there!

TAGS [ BEER FEST | BEER FESTS | WINE FEST | WINE FESTS | ELLICOTTVILLE | ELLICOTTVILLE BEER FEST | HOLIDAY VALLEY ]

Whether you’re environmentally conscious or you just happen to like shiny glass objects (I admittedly fall into both of those categories), you’ll love our set of handmade glass straws.

Handmade from the strongest glass commercially available, these fancy sippers can be used with cold or hot drinks and are dishwasher and microwave safe… although, for the life of me, I can’t fathom a reason one might microwave a drinking straw. At any rate, I suppose you could test them yourself, as they come with a lifetime guarantee against breakage.

The set comes with four glass drinking straws, each with decorative glass bubbles - red, blue, green and black. Not only do they look sleek, but they make it easy to tell which drink is who’s. Plus, you get a cleaning brush to keep your glass straws in perfect condition.

Elegance is yours for the taking…

TAGS [ STRAWS | GLASS STRAWS | DRINKING STRAWS | BAR TOOLS | GLASS DRINKING STRAW ]

I’ve been invited to several different BYOB events that friends are having at their homes. With our economy, everyone is trying to save a buck but still enjoy their weekends after a long work week.

Some events are very basic; you know – those plain red or blue plastic cups and pour-at-your-own-risk bottles of spirits. One gathering even had, what I would consider to be, the very first ever made wine bottle opener. The strongest guy in the house could not pull that cork out. So, the wine drinkers were force to indulge in real adult beverages.

In a few weeks it will be my turn to host an event. Having an inside advantage working at KegWorks, along with a healthy competitive ego, I’m convinced that mine will be the best yet…and, I will get a chance to show off some of the cool items we have here at KegWorks.

First, I will make sure that I have several Cork Pops Wine Bottle Openers along with plenty of Refill Cartridges. Don’t want those wine drinkers to be out of their element around us true drinkers.

I will also have some classy, but still plastic, glasses for us to sip from. plastic pilsner glasses for my beer guys, and disposable martini glasses for the sophisticated ones in the crowd.

I’ll be showing off my personalized Scandinavian beer mugs (even though I won’t be drinking beer), but hey, they have my name on them and it’s my party – I can do what I want to. Did I just date myself with that verse? I’ll even have 2-ounce shot glasses and flip-top measured liquor pourers on top of every liquor bottle so everyone can pour the perfect drink.

With all of the cocktail mixers KegWorks has, from Fee Brothers to Peychauds, I’ll have my crowd feeling like they are at a high class bar enjoying old fashion cocktails.

I’ll let you know how it turns out.

I bet none of my friends have a slate cheese tray…Ha!

TAGS [ HOUSE PARTY | PARTY SUPPLIES | PARTY ESSENTIALS | SHOT GLASSES | BAR TOOLS | COCKTAIL MIXERS ]

Winos, connoisseurs and dabblers alike will appreciate this digital dual bottle wine chiller. Looking like something straight out of a spaceship, this wine chiller ensures your reds, pinks, whites and champagnes are at the perfect drinking temperature and ready for immediate consumption.

Two wireless temperature probes fit into your uncorked wine bottles and seal the spout while sending accurate temperature readings of the wine itself – not the storage chamber – to LCDs on the outside of the chiller. With separate thermostats, each chamber can be programmed to a different temperature, allowing you to chill a bottle of red and a bottle of champagne at the same time.

Your chiller is programmed with suggested serving temperatures for champagne, red, white or rose wines but you can adjust them manually if you’d like. The LEDs warn when wines are too cool or too warm and they’ll let you know when they’ve reached the optimal temperature for consumption.

Of course, you personally don’t need to be in the know on proper wine temperatures. The dual bottle digital wine chiller makes it easy - just press the button that matches the type of wine you’re enjoying and let it ride.

Cheers!

TAGS [ WINE CHILLERS | WINE | WINE BOTTLE CHILLER | DIGITAL WINE CHILLER ]

I know it’s still pre-Halloween but it’ll be that time before you know it. Slaving over the bird, dressing and gravy. Shopping in vain for the right gift for that special someone – and then having to wrap it. Those damn icicle lights.

If there’s one thing thousands of men across the country share in common during the holidays, it’s overcoming these and other maddening, yet traditional, tasks. Don’t fret; with some help from your friends here at KegWorks and the folks at Newcastle Brown Ale, you’ll get through it. We’ve got all of the products and tools you need to host killer holiday parties and Newcastle has put together an awesome guy’s guide to entertaining in style. The genius guide, dubbed the "Man-ual" is slated to hit supermarkets nationwide in November.

Newcastle has printed 175,000 of the 16-page guides (free for the taking) and they’ll be available at checkout counters at grocery and beverage stores across the country.

Along with lifesaving tips for navigating the entertaining season, the Man-ual will also offer consumers delicious, easy-to-make holiday recipes on perforated recipe cards courtesy of cookbook author and TV cooking personality "Sam the Cooking Guy." We were lucky enough to get a sneak peak and we can attest that it’s a fun read packed with tons of great info. And it’s free!

Newcastle partnered with tons of national brands for the give-away and they offer some great promotional discounts. The Man-ual boasts recipes including an Au Revoir Fondue made with Cabot Cheddar Cheese. For easy fireside entertaining with not-your-average Yule log, you can check out discounts on Java-Log®, the first and only eco-friendly fire log made from recycled coffee grounds.

Other highlights from the Man-ual include tips on toasting co-workers and how to avoid committing a fashion faux-pas at holiday parties (can you say reindeer sweaters?). So make sure your keg is full, stock up on some party essentials and grab the Man-ual for a stress-free and successful holiday season.

TAGS [ NEWCASTLE | NEWCASTLE BROWN ALE | MAN-UAL | HOLIDAY MAN-UAL ]

One of the things I love most about Halloween is the clever ways in which people choose to display their Halloween spirit. Some are content to simply go with orange or purple string lights, plastic spiders, paper cutouts to hang in their windows, and other similar décor.

What really gets my attention more than any of those store bought items is originality - or, in the case of The Pumpkin Works, the disturbing projects resulting from what could only be described as a very imaginative, very artistic and very talented (if not slightly disturbed) mind.

Behold the horrific glory that is pumpkinrot.com!

I don’t know about you, but I’d be tempted to take a step or two backward if I stumbled across one of these bad boys while taking a shortcut through a field, a wooded area - or even on a darkened, residential street, especially the scarecrows or bog man.

Happy Haunting!

Ed

TAGS [ HALLOWEEN | SCARECROW | PUMPKINROT ]

We are getting dangerously close to All Hallow’s Eve, my friends. In fact, I already had my first taste of haunting mischief and far too much fun this past Friday, at a friend’s (here, in his Madd Hatter costume) 6th Annual Madd Tattoo Halloween Bash. Delicious fun, in every way - thanks for throwing yet another delightfully creepy party, Mark. Glad I was able to attend this year!

Of course, the riotous fun continues in full swing this coming Friday - did I mention how I love when Halloween lands on a Friday? So nice to be able to play until the wee hours of the morning, without repercussion, and finally slink into one’s homestead once light begins to emerge in the east - vampire life, for sure.

Thus far this season, I’ve only posted candy-coated cocktail recipes for your Halloween holiday. If you’re anything like me, you can’t handle an entire night of mouth-puckering sweet concoctions. At some point, only a classic will do. Well, this isn’t quite a classic, but it certainly has the bones of one. I bring you, the Monster Mash.

Monster Mash
2½ oz brandy
1 oz carbonated water
4 mint sprigs
1 tsp superfine sugar or simple syrup
1 cherry
1 orange slice

Muddle the mint sprigs with sugar or simple syrup and carbonated water in a rocks glass. Fill with ice cubes and add brandy. Stir well. Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.

Just a few classic ingredients, the Monster Mash is sure to please those of you who, like me, will most often imbibe in a Manhattan, muddled Old Fashioned or Maker’s, neat.

Cheers… and have a most fantastic Halloween!

TAGS [ HALLOWEEN | COCKTAILS | COCKTAIL RECIPES | HALLOWEEN COCKTAILS | HALLOWEEN RECIPES ]