If you couldh’t make it to beer dinner featuring the beers of Denise Jones, head brewer at Moylan’s held at Noonan’s in Larkspur in Marin County last week and wondered what was served, check out Brookston Beer Bulletin for a report from Marin I-J editor and reporter and beer columnist Brent Ainsworth….I went last year and was blown away by he quality of the food and the beer.

New beers and beers to come…. Bourbon County Stout from Goose Island in Chicago has arrived in the Bay Area. It’s on tap right now at City Beer Store, 1168 Folsom St., San Francisco. It’s making its way to other good pubs and in bottled to better beer stores this week …

One to watch for is Green Flash Grand Cru. The new release is now available in bottles at the brewery in Vista in San Diego County and no doubt will soon make it to Northern California. It’s bottle condioned, brewed with both a Belgian and the regular Green Flash house yeast. Last year’s was stunning.  Gotta’ try this one.

While we’re in San Diego County…here’s a note from Erick Gordon at Stone 1999 Citracado Parkway, Escondido, CA

• Stone Fans, It’s time to make more room in your fridges/ cellars because we have some great Stone specialty beers available in bottles at the Stone Company Store.  And there are limited quantities available, so don’t delay.

• Sawyer’s Triple (22oz) , Stone 11th Anniversary Ale (22oz), 2008 Stone Imperial Russian Stout (12 oz), 2008 Double Bastard Ale (22oz) Also available starting today…. 2008 Double Bastard Ale 3 Liters

Wonder what’s happening with the Budweiser empire  in the first Christmas under InBev?  Bud’s coming out in a new, thick, old-style bottle for Christmas.  A-B also will be releasing Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale. It’s being made by the new spinoff, Michelob Brewing Co. , which has its own brewery within the A-B complex in St. Louis. banner as part of the Michelob Craft collection of beers.  Check out www.michelob.com for more information.

According to a local A-B distributor,  Michelob is brewing a number of craft-style beer (Guess that means no rice or corn adjuncts and serious bitterness.) My distributor source, for one, is cheering and hopes that what August Busch IV started, InBev will bless in the future.  I tried several of the new Michelob beers at the Great American Beer Festival and found them far above the ordinary A-B beers.  No, there was no Pliny the Elder clone, but decent.