Most people will tell you that I’m not into new age ideals and that superstitions aren’t a big part of my daily life; however, I never pass up an opportunity to read my horoscope. Whether it’s waiting for my latte at Starbucks or flipping through the pages of a magazine, I’ve always liked the idea that there is some sort of cosmic guidance offering us insights into the coming day, week or month.

So, imagine my excitement when I stumbled across an online guide to the ideal beer for you, based completely upon your astrological sign. Divine beer guidance? This was something I had to read. Here’s a quick look at the LAD zodiac and what the universe has in store for our palates:

• Lisa & Katie (Taurus) – Brooklyn Lager
• Jackie (Gemini) – Guinness Stout
• Stephanie (Virgo) – Smithwick’s
• Lota (Scorpio) – Old Ruffian Barley Wine

You can find the complete article here. What do you think about your cosmically perfect brew, ideal match or unfathomable flop? Feel free to post your thoughts in the comments section below.

Are you a Guinness fan? If so, Men’s Journal recommends you swap out your current brew of choice in favor of Deschutes Brewery’s Black Butte Porter. The magazine named the beer as one of “America’s Best Beers” in its October issue.

Men's Journal

Many of you may be wondering why I’m so excited about a “festive winter ale” in September, and to you my answer is simple – have you ever tasted Jubelale? Full of dark crystal malt, it’s nutty, it’s sweet and generally delicious. Mmmm…..

So what prompted this sudden outburst of Jubelale love? Last night Deschutes Brewery held simultaneous Jubelale launch parties at its Bend and Portland public houses, offering a lucky few the opportunity to try the 2008 brewing before it’s release to store shelves in the beginning of October.

In addition to traditional Jubelale the pub was offering a special nitro Jubel and a menu of delicious beer infused options. We tried the “Pig’s Ear” dessert which was similar to an elephant ear (with bits of bacon incorporated into the dough) and came with caramel sauce and a Jubelale ice cream. Pretty tasty.

So, if you’ve got a craving for some Christmas in September, I’d recommend heading down to the pub and getting your hands on some Jubelale before word spreads and you can’t get a stool at the bar.

Kegs

Are 21 year olds interested in beer and food pairings? What’s the best social media platform to reach young consumers? Which craft breweries have the most brand awareness with the youth market?

These are just a few of the many questions we’re trying to find answers to here at LAD comm headquarters. To help us in our mission and to provide more industry insight for our client partners, we’ve developed a new online survey that we’ve sent out to our network of targeted beer-loving consumers.

If you’d like to chime in and give us your two cents, check out our Zoomerang survey here. The survey is quick and easy (it should take about five minutes.) We’re interested to hear your thoughts – but don’t worry, all responses remain anonymous.

*UPDATED 10/1/08: Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete our beer survey.  Due to the high volume of responses we received the survey is now closed.  We’re excited to start analyzing the data and reading your feedback.   Please check back soon, we’ll be posting some of our findings in the coming weeks.

The new Portland Deschutes Brewery and Public House is featured in the October issue of Food & Wine as one of Oregon’s “Drink Here Now” destinations.

Check out Food & Wine's October issue

When I was in high school one of my friends discovered she had celiac, an autoimmune intestinal disorder aggravated by eating gluten. After being diagnosed, she changed her diet and was able to manage her symptoms, but on the downside she was unable to have traditional gluten filled foods like bread, pasta, and brownies.

More and more Americans are being diagnosed with the disease. In a recent story, USA Today reported that there are currently 110,000 diagnosed cases of celiac disease in the U.S., up from 40,000 cased in 2003. (You can see the complete article here.)

Because traditional beers are made using malt and barley, beer has long been considered one of the main no-nos of a gluten free diet.

Well, Deschutes Brewery is planning to change that. The brewery has plans to release a new Gluten Free Golden Ale. Using sorghum, brown rice, and roasted chestnuts instead of malted barley or wheat as the sources of extract to avoid gluten, the brewers were able to create a flavor very similar to the crystal malt used in many of their other signature beers.

Although the brewery has produced a small batch of low gluten beer before, the Deschutes brewers were so fastidious in brewing the Gluten Free that they not only double cleaned the brewing equipment, but also grew the yeast culture used to ferment the beer from a single cell using only sorghum as its nutritional source.

Oregon’s celiacs can check out this new hand-crafted brew on draft at the Deschutes Brewery and Public Houses in Bend and Portland at the end of the month. You can check out the complete pub menu here.

Mmmmm, beer.